Chapter 592: Get It Done

The crowd buzzed with talk about Ye Yaodong buying two stalls.

Everyone was astonished.

They hesitated over buying just one, pondering again and again, weighing every option, and finally mustering the courage to pay the deposit—some even scraped together the final payment from every corner they could find.

This era wasn't short of people with sharp vision.

Some saw great potential in the aquatic market's future; given how bustling the old market was, most people had a rough idea—it was just a matter of whether they had the guts to act.

Some knew they'd make money if they bought, yet still couldn't bring themselves to commit, wavering; others faced family opposition and lack of support, leaving them with no choice but to give up.

Worse still, some knew the future would be bright, yet simply couldn't afford it.

Someone like Ye Yaodong, buying two stalls alone—no one had ever done it here before; he was the first, and he looked so young.

Everyone began speculating again: what did he do? How did he get so rich?

People chattered beside him, but it didn't affect his lottery draw at all.

The market supervisor beside him chuckled and said, "This comrade is one of only two who bought two stalls—the other hasn't arrived yet today. Young man, you've got great vision. Show everyone which stall number you drew last!"

Ye Yaodong pressed his lips together, smiled faintly, and opened the slip in his hand, glancing down at it.

Sure enough, luck wouldn't keep favoring him.

"It's stall number six at the second entrance."

"Oh? That's pretty good!" the market supervisor laughed.

"Thank you."

Ye Yaodong smiled in thanks and returned to his group.

Ye Ye Yaohua exclaimed excitedly, "Ah Dong, our stalls should be close—I got stall number nine at the second entrance, so there should be just three stalls between us."

"Too bad—I drew stall number two at the third entrance. I heard it's a bit worse…" Ye Ye Yaopeng sighed.

Ye Yaodong comforted him, "Not necessarily. Let's go down and check together—we might find they're right next to each other. The four entrances probably correspond to the four sides."

At that moment, the market supervisor by the desk said, "Alright, everyone here has drawn. The remaining slips in the basket will be kept for those who arrive later."

"You're the early birds—you've claimed three of the four stalls around the first entrance; only one remains for later arrivals."

The crowd nodded quietly among themselves.

Ye Yaodong also felt his luck had been decent—he drew one from the first entrance and one from the second.

"Now that all draws are done, you can go down and check where your stalls are. Once you've seen them, come back up to register. Staff have already been arranged."

"Good good good～"

Everyone rubbed their hands eagerly and hurried toward the exit—they still had no clear sense of the entrances or their locations.

Ye Yaodong and the others followed the crowd toward the exit; everyone was desperate to go downstairs and find their stalls.

The first entrance was easiest to find—it was the very one they'd entered through. After going downstairs, they headed straight for it.

Others also wanted to see where Ye Yaodong's stall was first, since only four had been released.

Everyone headed out from the first entrance first, then walked the entire perimeter of the market stalls.

The stalls around the first entrance were especially prominent—all faced the road, each marked with a number: one side had odd numbers, the other even.

Stall number twelve at the first entrance also faced the main road; pedestrians walking toward the market could clearly see the row of stalls on both sides of the first entrance.

After finding his stall, Ye Yaodong was thoroughly satisfied—this was a prime location; in fact, the entire row was prime.

Others saw it too, looked around at the surroundings, and agreed this row was excellent—no wonder only four had been released; the rest were being held back.

"Wow, your spot's great! Right on the roadside—anyone walking by can see it."

"Dongzi's luck has always been good—he got lucky again today, drawing first."

A Cai shook his head and sighed, "Ugh—everything good ends up with you. Even the best stall went to you."

Ye Yaodong grinned broadly, but knew he shouldn't gloat—he feigned modesty.

"It's fine. I just got lucky with the first draw—the second one landed near the second entrance anyway. Yours aren't bad either. Come on, let's find the second entrance."

He, Ye Ye Erge, and A Cai all drew near the second entrance, while his eldest brother and the other A Gui drew near the third entrance.

They walked in circles—the second and third entrances faced each other; the first and fourth entrances faced each other.

Those who drew near the fourth entrance sighed—it was the seller's side according to the old market, though it still depended on what the stall sold.

Some rejoiced, others lamented; after finding their stalls, everyone lined up upstairs to register.

By the time everything was settled, it was already mid-afternoon.

The group had only eaten a few buns and eggs that morning and noon—they were starving. Once done, they hurried back to the tractor.

Luckily, it was bitterly cold—the wind blew all day and there was no sun; otherwise, Ye Yaodong's 1000 jin of dragon-head fish would have spoiled.

With the main task done, everyone relaxed. On the ride back, they chatted freely about the stalls, but none had concrete plans yet—the distance was too far for convenient trips back and forth.

In this era, going to the city was already a long trip; some elders had never even set foot in the county town.

So everyone thought they'd post rental notices.

"The market said they'll move all stalls after the New Year, right?"

"Yes—after the New Year, all old-market stalls will relocate to the new market, then the old one will be torn down. Everything else stays the same."

"That's fine—it's only a little over a month until the New Year."

"So should we post rental signs early?"

"Yes yes yes—post them early, rent them out, then just wait for the rent."

Ye Ye Yaopeng looked gloomy, "The new market just opened—who knows if anyone will rent? Mine's near the third entrance—I doubt I'll rent it out."

"Try anyway. But Dongzi's stall near the first entrance will definitely rent fastest."

"Dongzi, you're always going back and forth to the city—next time you deliver goods, could you stick up a notice on our doors?"

"Let's all try our luck—see if we can rent them out and get some rent back? We spent so much money—when will we ever break even?" Ye Ye Yaohua also looked worried.

But Ye Yaodong wasn't worried at all—temporary hardship didn't mean the future would stay the same.

He didn't need to say much more — they'd already bought it anyway, and later they'd find out for themselves; he just hoped they wouldn't laugh their heads off when that time came.

"Sure, it's no trouble. Just write your village number and your names on the notice. When you get back to the village, find some red paper, get that person in the village who can write brush calligraphy to write a few characters for you, then bring it to me. Next time I go to the city, I'll put it up for you on the way."

"Oh, alright~"

"Then I'll have to trouble you when the time comes."

"Don't mention it, it's just a small favor, no trouble at all. Just make sure when you collect the goods later, you bump the price up a bit."

Ah-Cai said, annoyed: "Would I dare lowball you? You go back and forth to the city all the time — what price are you not clear on? If I dared to push the price down, wouldn't you curse me to death and smash up my little shack?"

"Look at what you're saying, am I that kind of person?"

"The prices for us fellow villagers will definitely be fair, we're just earning a bit of hard-earned money…" Ah-Gui chimed in with a smile from the side.

"Hehe~"

The matter was settled, and with something to look forward to, everyone instantly felt a lot more at ease.

All in all, buying property was something worth being happy about. Chatting all the way back, everyone's mood was left with nothing but cheer.

After returning home, the couple began discussing things inside the room.

Lin Lin Xiuqing said, a little worried: "Are we really going to ask my dad to look after the shop? He's already quite old, I don't know if he can manage it, and he probably won't be willing to go."

"You haven't even asked him, how would you know? Besides, he's only in his fifties, he's not yet seventy or eighty."

"He's used to living in the countryside, how would going to the city suit him? He has to go check on the fields every day. If he had to stay in the shop all day long, how could he sit still?"

"There are plenty of shops around, chatting with other people won't be boring, and the surroundings are pretty remote with a lot of wasteland and open ground. Let him bring a hoe over, and if he wants, he can clear a few fen of land and grow something."

Lin Lin Xiuqing rolled her eyes. "You make it sound so easy, even bringing a hoe along."

"The main thing is we don't know who else to hire? If we don't know them inside out, how could we feel at ease? What if they just run off with everything — wouldn't that be for nothing?"

He had no choice either, otherwise why would he go to the trouble of bothering his father-in-law?

It was also because he saw his father-in-law going from street to street selling things without any sloppiness, and the old man had plenty of experience, that the idea had struck him on the spur of the moment.

"After a while, when you go back to your parents' home to deliver New Year goods, mention it to your dad. If he's not willing, we'll forget about it. If he's willing, you won't have anything to say either."

"Fine, fine, you've said everything already."

"I'm only asking for his opinion. If he's not willing, I definitely won't force him. If he's not willing, then when the time comes we'll just put up a rental notice too."

"If we can rent them out, best to rent them all out, saves us from having to make trip after trip into the city later — what a hassle that would be."

"The shop I picked, No. 12 at the first entrance, that one will definitely be easy to rent. The one at the second entrance isn't certain right now — we'll have to wait until the market matures a bit, maybe a month or two, or one or two years, two or three years."

"We've definitely got to make use of these, can't just leave them sitting empty. Whatever we can earn is a little — we're really strapped for cash right now…"

You know the family coffers are at the bottom too?

Lin Lin Xiuqing turned her head away, focusing on folding her clothes, not planning to listen to him rattle on about this and that. Anyway, she hadn't even seen what the shops looked like — everything was just what he said, what he planned.

"Hey, are you even listening to me?"

What kind of attitude is that?

"I'm listening, you talk, I'll fold my clothes."

"Then when are you going back home to deliver New Year goods?"

"Around the start of the month, I guess. Wait a few more days, or wait until those dried Bombay duck fish you brought back today are all dried in the sun, and bring some of those along. Then buy two tins of malted milk powder, buy a pig's trotter, buy a few jin of meat, and buy a little of this and that — sweets and snacks — for the kids. That should be about enough."