Chapter 701: Invitation

Ye Yaodong waved his hand dismissively. "If there really were treasure, with so many boats going to the island, they'd be too busy to bother with me. They'd be too busy hauling it off to care about any boat passing by on the sea."

"Fair point, but you still need to be careful."

"Don't worry, this is nothing. Maybe they're really just going to the island to scavenge the sea. I'm probably overthinking it. We don't even know what's going on yet, nothing to worry about." As he spoke, he handed her the two nuggets of dog-head gold in his hands and told her to keep them put away.

"Lock it up properly. Best to drape a cloth over the wooden box so the kids don't see it when they crawl into the wardrobe."

Lin Lin Xiuqing took them, put them in the cabinet, locked it up, and said, "The kids play hide-and-seek in the wardrobe. Even if you cover it with a cloth, it won't help. It's locked up anyway, and I don't go out usually."

"At least it's covered up, so it doesn't look so obvious. So you're not planning to go work at the village committee anymore?"

"Huh?"

"Stay home and watch the treasure. What if someone breaks in? Our family can't do without you. You're the pillar of our household."

"What nonsense. How did we end up back on this topic? Didn't I say there's no rush? Let me think about it some more."

"Didn't you say it yourself? You don't go out usually. Our household has old folks and little ones, and no one to help. There's so much stuff at home. Just forget it? If you really want to work later on, I'll think of something for you then?"

Lin Lin Xiuqing shot him a look. "You think your face is that big? Think of something… Work isn't that easy to come by. Once you give this up, there's no guarantee another chance will come along."

"That's a problem for later. How do you know there won't be good jobs later? You can't go now anyway, so just give it to Ye Ye Huimei."

"Think about it. Ye Ye Dasao and Ye Ye Ersao are both out at sea with my eldest and second brothers now, and the kids all have to go to school during the day. If there's no one at home and only an old lady is left, a thief could walk right in and we'd be helpless."

"If someone's there, the other party has to think twice, and we can call out to the neighbors for help."

Ye Yaodong advised her earnestly. He really didn't think much of the village job now. After all, he was still on good terms with Chen Shuji.

Once the kids are older, if his wife wants to go to work, then she can go to work. The key thing is the kids are still young now. Ye Ye Chengyang has no one to watch him, and Ye Ye Xiaoxi is still wailing for milk—she hasn't been weaned yet.

The old lady's fated tribulation hasn't even passed yet. Can the household manage without someone watching her?

If she took a fall and lay at home until she died, no one would even know.

Lin Lin Xiuqing was getting annoyed by everything he said, feeling thoroughly frustrated. She had been thinking of putting it off for a while. She really couldn't bear to part with it—such a good job, something so many people would beg for, and he wanted to give it away.

"Fine, fine. I'll go talk to Ye Ye Huimei tomorrow. If she's busy too, we'll hold onto it for now, or I'll mention it to Chen Shuji."

"Mm, alright. Do as you see fit."

"Do as I see fit… Sounds nice, doesn't it? But don't I always have to go along with what you want? If I don't, you just keep going on and on." Lin Lin Xiuqing said irritably.

Usually he talks nice, says let's discuss it, but when it comes down to it, isn't it always his call? If she disagrees, he talks her into agreeing.

And once she agrees, he actually has the nerve to say "do as you see fit"?

She really wants to hit someone!

Ye Yaodong grinned and pulled her into his arms, leaned down and smacked a wet kiss on her cheek. "Isn't it good to stay home counting money until your hands cramp up? Going out to work means watching people's faces, taking orders from them—how unpleasant. With so many people at home, they're all under your management."

"Cut it out. You're filthy. Go take a bath. I'm going out to cook now. After your bath, it'll be just in time to eat. You actually came back early today."

"Mm, there wasn't much cargo these past two days, so I came back a bit earlier."

He had forgotten to give her the receipt. He let go of her, fished through his pockets, handed her the cargo receipt, and told her to put it away.

Lin Lin Xiuqing saw that today's sales were over 50 yuan and felt it wasn't bad. After deducting fuel costs, expenses, and his father's share, she could keep 40 yuan for herself.

"Not bad, right?"

"That's because the sea cucumbers and small green dragons were expensive. There wasn't much of the other stuff."

"Oh, true."

"Go on with your stuff."

Now that his mind had relaxed, he really did feel a faint, lingering smell of seafood on his body. And when he moved around a bit, the stench of his feet drifted out from the opening of his rain boots in wisps. In this small room, it wasn't easy to dissipate.

"Mm, you go boil hot water first. I'll get your clothes and pants out so you don't have to rummage around later and call me again."

"Got it."

With a wife like this, what more could a husband ask for?

Ye Yaodong's steps became light again.

Over the next two days, he didn't have the heart to move to a different spot. He still operated around the reef area and kept an eye on that island.

The fishing boats from Luzhou Island still docked at the island every day at the crack of dawn. By the time they went to retrieve their longlines and left, the fishing boats still hadn't departed. He wondered if they were only willing to leave once it got dark.

He had no idea what they were up to. If they weren't looking for gold, what were they looking for? Not figuring it out was really maddening.

Luckily, on the third day, fog rolled in. They had only just gotten up in the night and stepped out the door when they turned back. No need to go out to sea, so no need to pay attention to it. For now, he didn't have to think about it.

Just as he had taken a nap and woken up, sitting idly at the doorway in a daze, he was sent to the yard to pick long beans when someone was poking their head around the gate, and the dogs were lined up barking wildly.

"Woof woof woof woof woof～"

"Oh my…"

"No barking!"

The moment he said no barking, they stopped at once, and in a string they all came running toward him.

Ye Yaodong tossed the long beans he'd just picked into the blue basket, set the basket down on the ground haphazardly, clapped his hands, and walked toward the gate. "What wind blew Director Ade over here? Come in and sit down."

It sounded nice, but he was really just a lone director at the village committee. There weren't many people to begin with, but the title was grandly bestowed.

Director Ade looked to be around 40. At that age, he could be on buddy-buddy terms with his father, and also with him. Calling him director just made people feel a bit more comfortable.

"Never mind, never mind. I'll just stand at the gate. If you only had one or two dogs, it'd be fine, but this whole row of them staring at me… I'm just here to deliver an invitation anyway. Nothing much."

"What invitation?"

"It's an invitation for Goddess Mazu's birthday. The beam-raising ceremony and the birthday celebration are being held together. The beam-raising is at five in the morning on the twenty-third of the third month, and the banquet starts at half past eleven at noon. Every household's adult men must come to the beam-raising."

"Definitely."

Ye Yaodong looked at the stack of red cards in his hand and took his own with both hands.

"I noticed long ago that the temple was almost finished. Finally, the beam-raising is here."

"It was nearly done after the New Year, but it kept raining. The last bit of work only took a few days to finish. But they had someone check the date, and it turned out the birthday happened to be an auspicious day for the beam-raising. The village head and the secretary just decided—why wait for another day? Let's combine the beam-raising and the birthday for a bigger celebration."

He knew about this. He'd heard before, which was why the nylon bags tied up over the Goddess Mazu temple hadn't been taken down. They were left there to shade from the sun and block the rain, waiting for the beam-raising.

"How many days did you book the opera troupe for? When the time comes, folks from all the nearby villages will be coming to our village to watch the show."

The whole village, young and old, had barely seen a few opera performances in their entire lives, so when the time came, it would really be lively.

"Please give us five days. Our village's Tianhou Temple is the only one of its kind in the whole county right now, and plenty of important figures are keeping an eye on it. When the time comes, it'll definitely make the papers. After the opera troupe leaves, we're planning to set up six tables in the middle of the stage to specially entertain the important figures." Director Ade said with a beaming smile, growing prouder as he spoke.

Ye Yaodong also laughed cheerfully. "Then the village will be lively when the time comes, and our village will become famous again."

"Who says it isn't? We're already starting to gather the villagers, planning to reorganize a few temporary militia teams to patrol, just in case anything happens."

Ye Yaodong's eyes lit up. "Oh? How many people do you need? Do you think I'd do?"

"Of course, you'd definitely do! You're now a famous big shot in our village—nobody's more suitable than you. If you want to join the temporary militia team, isn't that just a word away? We'd be more than happy to welcome you."

"Hahaha, Director Ade, you're too kind. How could I possibly count as a big shot? I just want to do my part for our village. With such a big event coming up, we can't afford any accidents. It's not easy for our village to hold such a grand occasion—we've got to make it perfect."

"Haha, I'm speaking the truth. You're not just famous in our village now—the nearby villages have all heard the name Ye Yaodong. Nobody knows what our village chief is called, but mention Ye Yaodong from Bai Sha Village who buys dried fish, and everyone knows him."

Ye Yaodong's heart blossomed at his words—who doesn't like hearing praise? He liked hearing it too.

Normally, besides going out to sea, he only hung around with a few shady buddies. He had no time to run around everywhere, so he really didn't know he was this famous?

"You're too kind, too kind. How could I compare? I'm just a small fisherman—don't you see me diligently going out to sea to catch fish every day? Can't compare, can't compare."

"Hehe, no need for modesty," Director Ade patted his shoulder. "You've brought honor to our village too. The new Tianhou Temple being completed, you played a major role. When the time comes, there's a seat for you on the stage too."

"Huh? I can sit in the middle too? When did my face get this big?"

Ye Yaodong was both surprised and delighted—he could share the stage with the leaders?

He felt secretly gleeful. Ha, when did his status get this high?

Going out to sea every day to fish, he didn't even know he was this famous?

He stayed in the village all day and never went out. If nothing big had happened, he really wouldn't have known he was now something of a celebrity?

"There absolutely has to be a spot for you. You played a huge role—you're number one on the merit stele too, so of course there's a place for you. Take a look at the seat number written on your card."

He had just flipped it open and only glanced at his own name and the time, not really looking at the seat number.

"Ah, thank you, thank you so much. Sorry for all the trouble you've taken to arrange things—much appreciated, much appreciated."