Chapter 815: Epilogue (Extra Chapter Two for Alliance Leader

The next day's parade and blessing procession went in the opposite direction from the first day, heading toward the town, starting from the neighboring Xishan Village.

The villagers from nearby villages, ten li or eight li around, had all witnessed yesterday's grand occasion. Even though many villages had not yet been visited, most people had heard the news and come over to watch the excitement yesterday.

Even so, the crowds lining both sides of the road today showed no sign of thinning — a sea of people, even more lively than market day. Some places were farther away, and certain villages only learned of it yesterday, so they had rushed over early this morning; that was possible too.

However, when their troupe entered the village to the beat of gongs and drums, the villagers were not as fanatical as the day before. After all, whatever excitement needed to be felt had already been felt yesterday, and whatever kneeling and worship needed to be done had been done yesterday. Today it was purely lining the road to welcome them and watch the fun.

Today too, wherever the procession passed, the air was filled with the din of voices. From morning till night, every village gave them a warm welcome.

During the midday rest, nearby villagers were still bringing water and eggs, which warmed the hearts of everyone in the parade troupe immensely.

Originally the plan was to work harder on this second day, walking from their village all the way to the town, strolling once around the main street and then returning. But plans never keep up with changes.

From the enthusiasm of the nearby villagers on the first day, it was clear that everyone hoped the Goddess Mazu parade and blessing troupe would linger a little longer in their village. The second day was no exception.

So much so that even though on the second day they deliberately tried to shorten their stays and sped up on the main road, by the time it got dark they had only managed to reach the village on the edge of town.

The troupe had no choice but to hurry back the way they came, after all it was already dark.

After returning to the Tianhou Temple, Ye Yaodong didn't bother listening to how the others discussed tomorrow's route. He ate quickly and hurried home to lie down — his shoulders hurt even more today than yesterday.

When Lin Lin Xiuqing massaged him, the pain made him grimace and bare his teeth.

"Dad, can you stop yelling~" Ye Chenghu stood at the bedroom door, shouting from inside the room.

"It's disturbing your TV watching, isn't it? You little brat!"

"Yeah, you're an adult, can't you bear with it a little?"

"Damn!"

He really wanted to grab the kid and give him a beating — this was the difference between a little padded jacket and a little brat.

Lin Lin Xiuqing said toward the door: "Just close the door then."

"Fine."

"Tomorrow either let Dad carry it, and you go carry the flag."

"Sigh, since I've already carried it this far, I have to see it through to the end, right? Luckily, just one more day tomorrow and it's over."

"Isn't it only half a day?"

"Probably a full day. We couldn't reach the town before dark today — too much delay on the road, every village we passed wanted us to come in."

"So that means tomorrow morning we head straight for the town, parade around for half a day and come back, then in the afternoon do another round of the village and the beach, and that's it?"

Ye Yaodong's head was buried in the pillow, his voice muffled and not very clear: "Should be, I'm guessing. Originally there was half a day free tomorrow too, so that's probably how it'll be arranged. They were discussing it over there in the evening, but I didn't listen — I came back right after eating."

"Then if tomorrow takes a whole day, let's just have Dad do it."

"We'll see tomorrow."

His shoulders were smeared with medicated oil, afraid of staining the mat everywhere. These past two nights he'd been sleeping on his stomach — but for him it made no difference. After a tiring day, the moment he touched the pillow, he could fall asleep.

The third day was indeed arranged just as he had said — in the morning they paraded directly along the town's main street for half a day, then returned to the village.

Some townspeople who had come along the route yesterday to watch the fun knew the troupe hadn't reached their town yesterday, so they came today too. Some had been standing by the road early, waiting in anticipation.

As soon as the parade and blessing troupe entered the street, not only did their own troupe have firecrackers arranged, but some of the crowds along the street spontaneously bought firecrackers to set off as well.

Some even bought fireworks in broad daylight, letting them bang away — even if you couldn't see the fireworks, you could still hear the sound. Of course, only people with some family fortune and a bit of money could afford to do that.

Their entire coastal area believed in Goddess Mazu — under heaven, all Goddess Mazu worshippers are one family. So all the townspeople also joyfully lined the streets to welcome their arrival. It was everyone's first time seeing a Goddess Mazu parade.

Such a lively scene also blocked the town's main street so tightly that not a drop could trickle through. It could be said that the whole town had come out to watch the fun — the windows upstairs in the houses on both sides of the street were also packed with heads.

Ye Yaodong endured the whole way, with beads of sweat the size of soybeans constantly dripping from his forehead. Although it was overcast, the temperature wasn't low, and there was no wind — it was stiflingly hot. After walking all morning and entering the town's area, he had to keep bouncing the sedan chair from time to time, nearly wearing himself to death.

After parading down the entire main street of the town, the troupe headed toward the wharf. Praying for favorable weather and peace, of course they had to visit the wharf and patrol the seaside.

All the townspeople followed along on both sides, escorting them the whole way. The sounds of firecrackers and fireworks rang out at every wharf along with Goddess Mazu's parade.

By the time they came out of the town, it was already 12 o'clock. To hurry back to the village, they couldn't bother with a midday rest — they ate hard biscuits as they walked.

Ye Fu, seeing there were no pedestrians on the road, came jogging over carrying a small flag and asked if he wanted to switch.

Ye Yaodong figured it wouldn't be much longer before they were back at the village, and there was no rest on the road now — everyone was hurrying. If he suddenly stopped to switch people, it wouldn't be appropriate. If there were a midday break, he could have asked to swap.

"Forget it, I'm fine. It's not convenient to stop now. Just bear with it — half a day and it'll be over."

"Alright."

Seeing another village ahead, the suona players in the troupe also began to play. Ye Fu quickly returned to the ranks.

He shifted the carrying pole from his right shoulder to his left, and placed the sweat towel over his shoulder as a cushion — this was something Ah Qing had specially brought for him today, thinking it would pad his shoulder a bit and offer some relief.

After hurrying back to the village, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. The end was almost here — just grit their teeth and push through.

Although the villagers had watched three days of fun, their enthusiasm hadn't waned at all. From far away they heard the sound of the troupe returning, and everyone rushed out to greet them.

Their troupe would pass by each household's door, stopping every few meters to make it convenient for the surrounding residents to offer incense.

Because of this, Ye Yaodong also saw Lin Ji, who hadn't shown his face for most of the year. Seeing his spirited, ruddy-cheeked appearance, he knew the man was fine and living quite comfortably.

Lin Ji, seeing him miserably carrying the sedan chair, drenched in sweat and looking wretched, only smiled and greeted him after finishing his incense.

"Haven't seen you in a while — looks like you've gotten even more hardworking?"

"Doesn't it just figure? Labor is glorious, diligence brings wealth, struggle hard, dare to innovate."

"Indeed, everyone's saying you're the richest man in our village…"

Ye Yaodong was just about to take advantage of the incense-offering break to sip some water and rest a moment, but hearing that, he sprayed the water straight out. Luckily Lin Ji wasn't standing opposite him — if he'd sprayed it right in someone's face and they held a grudge, what then?

"Cough cough cough… what kind of richest man am I? Don't say such things. Although my skin is a bit thick, I couldn't be that shameless. You must have misheard. Behind my back people call me Salted Fish Dong, Cuttlefish Dong — those have become my new names."

In front of this man, how would he dare call himself the richest? It was just that the other fellow's business couldn't see the light of day, so he hid it tightly and pretended to be poor.

Lin Ji's eyes were full of amusement. "What's there to be nervous about? Everyone's praising you — a prodigal son who turns back is worth more than gold. You're the model of diligence bringing wealth…"

"Damn, that's actually kind of rhyming…"

"Hahaha~ it really is~"

Lin Ji couldn't help but laugh now, and Ye Yaodong was amused by it too.

"Where have you been making money lately? How come I never see you?"

"In the city, running back and forth, pulling a rickshaw, earning a bit of hard-earned money."

Pull a rickshaw?

Ye Yaodong couldn't help the corner of his mouth twitch—not bad at coming up with excuses.

"I heard shining shoes makes pretty good money these days…"

"Really? Then I'll go learn it another day. Pulling a rickshaw is too hard."

"Mm, next time tell me which bridge you set up at, I'll go give your business some support."

"Thanks a lot."

"No need to be so polite. We've all met, dropping in to support the business is only right."

"Ah Dong, is it really true that shining shoes makes money in the city these days?"

A villager who had been watching the fun on the side, hearing their dead-serious conversation and that shining shoes could make money, took it to heart and, finding an opening, hurriedly asked.

"Huh? Huh! Yeah, shining shoes makes pretty good money. I saw in the city there are plenty along the roadsides and bridges—set up a little stool and you can earn money."

That one question nearly stumped both Ye Yaodong and Lin Ji.

The two of them were talking at cross purposes, spouting nonsense, just chatting randomly.

Just idle talk, and someone actually took it seriously.

Actually, to tell the truth, shining shoes really is pretty easy and can make a bit of money.

"I see. Then are there many people shining shoes?"

"Quite a few, I'd guess. Don't city folks all like wearing leather shoes? Walking down the street, if the shoes get dirty, don't they need a shine? Rich bosses don't lack money—they're particular about these things."

Ask him—how would he know? Every time he went to the city he had a purpose, never wandering around idly, so he could only spout nonsense.

"Then shining shoes sounds pretty simple… Hey… A Shang, when are you going to learn to shine shoes? It's easier than pulling a rickshaw."

Lin Ji was instantly speechless, not knowing what to say.

Ye Yaodong held back his laughter.

Watching the people around finish their incense, he hurried back to his spot and, shouldering the palanquin, moved forward.

Who knew that their two bits of random nonsense would actually be taken to heart by someone.

Anyway, toss the headache over to Lin Ji—it's not like he's the one going to shine shoes. Hahaha～

This little interlude amused him, and he didn't feel quite so miserable anymore. Besides, once they entered the village, he didn't have to keep shouldering the palanquin the whole time—just shift it forward a bit every now and then, so Goddess Mazu could pass by every household's door, making it convenient for nearby villagers to offer incense.

The village households would offer incense first, and only at the very end would the palanquin be carried toward the seaside, where it would finally be the turn of those few households of theirs by the sea.