Chapter 749: Appliances Delivered Home

Ye Fu was grinning so wide his mouth couldn't close.

Although he had long expected that once the fishing boats docked, the villagers' eyes would pop out in shock, seeing everyone so astonished and envious still felt as refreshing as a sip of ice water on the dog days of summer.

No wonder his wife at home was always fond of showing off—watching the envious looks from the villagers really did feel good. Now, whose family could match theirs in number of boats?

"It's all because our Dongzi is cleverer, quicker in the head, knows more people…"

After a lifetime of hard work, always the most ordinary fisherman in the village, suddenly being envied by everyone because of his son's success made him happier than if he himself had made good.

Ye Fu was also grinning from ear to ear, feeling an exceptional sense of shared honor at everyone's praise.

"Right, we watched your family's Ye Lao San suddenly strike it rich…"

"It must be the feng shui of your house that's good!"

"Exactly, exactly, this is amazing. The year before last you bought one boat, last year you bought a shop, before that I heard about one, then later heard about two more, and recently boat after boat has been coming back… incredible…"

As more and more fishing boats docked, word spread by mouth, and the number of people exclaiming grew, with flattering words pouring out as if they cost nothing.

"Incredible, incredible, so accomplished… all at once several boats, all the money in the world must be earned by your family…"

"I heard your eldest and Li Li Laoer also bought shops in the city. Shops and boats both—you really know how to have sons, each one more impressive than the last…"

"Your family is number one in the village now, no one can compare, no one can match…"

When these people really started flattering, they could truly make one feel like floating up to the heavens. Ye Yaodong's grin was almost splitting to the back of his ears, but luckily he had somewhat anticipated it. Happy as he was, he didn't get carried away.

Some flattering words are fine to listen to, but who knows how sour they sound behind one's back.

"It's nothing, all luck. Everyone please step aside, we need to unload the stuff first. The day after tomorrow is an auspicious day, I'll treat everyone to wedding cakes then, haha."

"Oh good, good, let us share in the good fortune too…"

"What did you buy back this time? Oh my, a sewing machine, a big item, and a radio too…"

"Several sewing machines… and a bicycle too. Heavens, did you go to the city to stock up…"

"Incredible, incredible, not only did you sail back, you bought all these big items back at once…"

"Oh my, you bought so much… did you strike it rich somewhere again?"

"Do you need help? We can help you carry them…"

Ye Yaodong's face was covered in black lines—these weren't things he bought, yet everyone acted as if he had. Anyone who didn't know would think he'd gone into smuggling too, hauling back so many big items at once.

"I didn't buy these. They did. Each person bought one or two items, and we brought them back together, so it just looks like a lot."

The people on the boat carried things two by two to the side of the gunwale, then Ye Ye Yaopeng and Ye Ye Yaohua went down to receive the goods, so they didn't need help from people on shore anymore.

Everyone watched as the cargo was carried off the boat piece by piece onto the open ground at the dock, all unloaded, and they gathered around the goods on the ground, commenting and critiquing.

How much does this sewing machine cost? How much does that bicycle cost? And that radio—don't let its small size fool you, it must cost quite a bit too…

"You bought quite a lot…"

"They all suddenly got so rich, buying all this stuff back when it's not even New Year or a festival…"

Ye Fu said with a smile, "Don't talk about others. These hundred-yuan items, anyone can afford them, it's just a matter of whether you're willing to part with the money. Their families didn't have these things either, so they bought them all together."

"Don't some of your families have bicycles and sewing machines too? Nothing to envy. They bought these themselves and brought them back together—it just looks like a lot because of the quantity."

After speaking, Ye Fu ordered his two sons again, "There are so many carts at the dock, just push any one of them over, load the stuff onto the cart, take turns delivering everything home, then push the cart back and return it."

"Okay, Dad."

They picked one with a familiar mark to borrow, to avoid dealing with some stingy household that would make a fuss.

"Oh? So what's the plan for Adong's three boats? Going to rent them out? Going to do the same as your son-in-law's family?" Someone in the crowd suddenly caught on and asked Ye Fu.

"Right, right…"

"You have so many boats, your own family can't run them all. What's the plan?"

"Not sure yet, we'll see. First we'll hire workers and fish ourselves for a few months," Ye Fu played along, brushing them off casually, then urged them to hurry up and move the stuff. "Be careful, don't bump or scratch them. These things were just bought, take good care of them…"

The crowd was whispering among themselves, discussing how at this point they surely wouldn't bear to rent the boats out, they'd definitely have to earn the squid money first, this and that…

"Forget it, stop guessing… they have so many relatives…"

"Every connection is a relative… who knows if we can catch any of the good fortune…"

Ye Yaodong ignored everyone's chatter, only turning to instruct A-Cai to set aside five or six bowls of different seafood for him—he'd come out to get them later. Right now he had to head back first, no time to stand around listening to everyone's sour talk.

After loading the stuff onto the cart, he casually greeted people, then quickly pushed the cart and left.

Sometimes too much enthusiasm can be overwhelming. Better to leave first; let them gossip behind his back as they will. Not hearing it is a relief.

Otherwise, some people with no sense of boundaries really do make demands in front of a crowd, and sometimes it can be quite embarrassing.

"Phew—" After leaving the crowd, Ye Yaodong also breathed a sigh of relief. "Being too famous isn't a good thing either, so many people swarming around."

"A crowd of people enviously surrounding you and praising you, lifting you to the skies—isn't that good? We can barely get a kind word." Xiao Xiao deliberately teased him.

"Nonsense, they were praising your skills too, buying all those big items back…"

"What do we amount to? Hundred-yuan items—can that compare to your boats?"

"Wrong, three boats!" A-Zheng corrected.

"Right, three boats. Not to mention anything else, just what's visible right now, plus the shops in the city, and you're already a ten-thousand-yuan household."

"Don't even mention ten-thousand-yuan households. Last year and this year I heard many people raising pigs, ten-thousand-yuan households have become much more common, not that rare anymore."

"Still a ten-thousand-yuan household!"

The two friends took turns talking, leaving him a bit helpless. "I'm good, you're good, everyone's good. The rich leading the way for those who follow—that's what the great man said. You guys wait, I'll take the lead up front, strike it rich first, see if the road to riches is easy. Then you guys strike it rich behind me, and the road will be even smoother."

"Fine then, but remember to leave us some soup!"

"Easy to say, easy to say!"

Ye Fu watched them shamelessly bragging back and forth, smiling and shaking his head. He was already very used to his son's friends talking like this.

"Deliver to my house first, we're closer. Unload the sewing machines and bicycles for my eldest brother and Ye Ye Erge first."

"Of course, do we even need to say it?"

"Who knows if you'll push the cart around the village for a couple of laps before pushing it home."

"Got it. It's just that the boat's hard to haul ashore. Otherwise, you'd probably have to carry three boats and walk a few laps around the village."

Ye Yaodong's mouth twitched. Is he that kind of person?

"I could carry it around for three days, visiting every village within ten li!"

"When you can actually afford a motorcycle someday, then yeah, you could ride around for three days!" Ah Zheng said longingly.

"How could that be enough? I'd have to ride it all the way to town and hang around for ten days!"

"Hahahaha～"

Everyone chatted and laughed, bragging as they went, the road filled with cheerful voices. Lin Lin Xiuqing and the others, hearing the noise from outside while at home, immediately ran out at the first moment.

They all knew Adong had gone to town to buy a boat today, and the others had gone along to try their luck and see if they could buy one too. All morning the women had kept peering out the doorway, hoping they'd bring the boat back.

It was just that mealtime had arrived, and they had to cook, so they all went inside.

Seeing the group of people with smiles all over their faces, the women also broke into smiles and went to meet them.

"How did it go? Did you get the boat?"

"Did you bring the boat back?"

"Why is there so much stuff on this cart? Who bought all this?"

Ye Yaodong said with a smile, "The boat's been brought back, it's anchored outside the dock. The things on the cart are clearance goods we just happened to come across—all cheaper than market price. Everyone bought one or two big items to bring back, so at least we didn't come back empty-handed."

"Huh? You didn't manage to buy a boat?" Ye Ye Ersao frowned.

Ye Ye Yaohua's originally happy smile faded. "It's not that easy to buy. When we went and asked, they just said there were none left."

"Ah, so they sold them off themselves?"

"Mm."

"No boat is fine, the old boat at home can still be used. It'll just need fixing more often. Adong brought another boat back anyway, so you can each take one to run as agreed." Ye Ye Dasao wasn't too disappointed.

"Stop crowding at the door. Push it to the entrance first and unload the stuff from the cart," Ye Fu said. "Other people need to get home too."

"What stuff? Who bought what?"

"The eldest bought a bicycle, Li Li Laoer bought a sewing machine, Dongzi bought a camera."

"Huh? Why did you buy a bicycle?" Ye Ye Dasao's eyes went wide. She hurried to the cart, saw there really was a bicycle on it, and instantly got angry, swatting Ye Ye Yaopeng twice.

"Are your legs broken or what? Why'd you buy a bicycle? What do you need a bicycle for? It's not like you can't walk anymore?"

Ye Ye Ersao also frowned. "Bought a sewing machine? Well, forget it, what's bought is bought. It's a bit more practical than a bicycle."

She had originally wanted to give him a hard time too, but on reflection the sewing machine seemed a bit better than the bicycle—something she could actually use, so she wouldn't have to keep running over to Ah Qing's place to borrow hers.

Ye Ye Dasao, hearing this, grew even more sullen. "Of all things, you didn't buy a sewing machine—you bought a bicycle. Is your money burning a hole in your pocket? Everyone else bought a sewing machine, and you bought a bicycle…"

"What's all this chatter? Unload the stuff first, we'll talk inside." Ye Fu also frowned.

"Father didn't even try to stop him."

"Stop what? He's a grown man—can't he buy what he wants? Are you really that short of a hundred yuan? A bicycle is convenient too."

"A hundred yuan was enough?"

"We just happened to catch the clearance sale—all a hundred yuan, and brand new. Everyone bought one or two items. What's wrong with a bicycle? It'll be convenient for going to town in the future." Ye Ye Yaopeng glared at her. If you've got something to say, say it inside the house. In front of all these people, where's he supposed to put his face?

"Step aside first, push the cart to the door, then unload."

"Still don't know why you didn't buy a sewing machine." Ye Ye Dasao muttered under her breath at the back, still thinking the sewing machine was the better buy.