Chapter 865: Planning and Arrangements

Lin Xiuqing glared at the two children, "If you two are full and have nothing to do, go move that firewood over there for me. Hurry up."

"Got it." Ye Chengyang took off running toward the firewood piled in the corner.

"Hmph~"

Ye Chenghu snorted at Ye Chengyang's back and honestly followed him to move the firewood.

"Let's eat first? There's so much here, we definitely can't finish boiling it in a short while."

"You go shower first. I'll start the fire. We can boil while we eat. We'll burn both pots inside and outside at the same time, so it can be faster. Otherwise, with this quantity, we'll be busy until midnight."

"Alright."

Ye Yaodong looked at little Ye Xiaoxi, who was also following her two brothers to get firewood. He just ruffled her short hair as he passed by her.

He didn't know how noisy she had been; the wisps of hair on her forehead were damp with sweat, sticking to her forehead in strands. Her cheeks were also flushed, and she was grinning and laughing as she ran.

He ran to the back door and took a quick "battle shower." While showering, he heard his second sister-in-law's excited, loud voice next door.

"We can split this much? It's only been a few days, so wouldn't it be several hundred in a month?"

"Oh my, we should have invested more shares..."

"Then won't we be able to earn back our capital in a few months? Everything split after that will be profit, right?"

"That's great..."

"Ah! Then eldest brother lost a fortune..."

"Why can't I say it..."

"Then... were all those trash fish and shrimp given to Adong? Don't you want some too? You idiot... such a large quantity..."

"I've been idle at home lately too... this is really..."

Do not worry about scarcity, but worry about inequality; do not worry about poverty, but worry about instability.

So, when it's time to calculate money, it must be calculated. Even if it's something worthless, since it was caught, of course, everyone should have a share. It wouldn't be appropriate for him to keep it all to himself. He would have to make it clear when he went to A Guang's house later.

What should be bought must be bought; only then can it last long.

After showering, Ye Yaodong picked up the water in the basin, rinsed his feet, rubbed his heels back and forth a few times, threw the towel into the basin, and took it into the house. Only then did he sit at the table to wipe his feet and slippers.

Three or four bowls of dishes had already been placed on the table. The ones he brought back hadn't been boiled yet, but adding two or three more bowls would be enough to eat.

The old lady was killing fish at this time, small squid were being blanched in the pot, and a plate of washed shrimp was placed on the stove, waiting to be blanched in turns.

She turned her head and said to him distractedly, "If you're hungry, eat first. I'll let Chenghu go call your father and mother to come eat first, otherwise, they're probably busy with those trash fish."

"I'll go call them. I'm the only one with nothing to do, and I'm faster on my bicycle."

"Then go and come back quickly. The squid is also boiled. Boiling some shrimp and fish will be very fast."

"Hmm."

The three siblings at the door were moving things back and forth, as diligent as little bees. Smiles reappeared on the two brothers' faces, and they were laughing and comparing who had taken more.

It was them who fought, and it was them who laughed; they were back to normal in just a short while.

He shook his head.

"It's time to eat, why are you still pushing your bicycle out?"

"Going to the old house to call Father and Mother to come eat, so they don't look at that pile of fish and worry so much they can't eat."

"Why would they worry..."

Ye Yaodong didn't turn his head or respond to the voice behind him, pedaled his bicycle, and went out first.

Ye Mu was indeed worrying. The quantity was too large all of a sudden. Before, they only did small-scale work of a few dozen jin or a hundred jin a day, which was simple and easy.

Now that over a thousand jin were moved back for her to process, other things were fine to say, but there were no containers. With such a large quantity, even if she emptied the water vats at home, it wouldn't be enough.

When he arrived, Ye Fu and Ye Mu were discussing going to buy a few large wooden barrels to save the situation.

It wouldn't be a problem for a large wooden barrel to hold three hundred jin. They would buy a few more first and pickle all of these to avoid them not being fresh overnight. Anyway, the wooden barrels could be reused later.

It was just that if they bought many wooden barrels, the expenditure would not be small, and the couple was a bit hesitant.

"Father, go buy them, I'll pay." Ye Yaodong got off his bicycle and interrupted.

The neighbors should have already watched the excitement and no one was surrounding their door. Moreover, it was mealtime, and now only his father and mother were there discussing it.

Ye Yaodong had also thought that if this fish sauce was sold in his shop later, the money would go into his pocket, and it would be sold together with other goods, all mixed up.

If he separated it, it would be difficult for his father-in-law to keep accounts, after all, they were illiterate.

This fish sauce didn't have separate packaging. A large vat was like soy sauce or vinegar; people would take bottles and jars to get some. The selling price was mixed in with the dried fish. How could he have the time to separate it and record how many jin were sold today?

It would be better for him to pay for all the costs, and then calculate more wages for his mother. This way, she wouldn't need to bear the risk, and she only needed to provide labor and craftsmanship.

After all, she was getting on in years. It would be better to be stable, have money to take, not worry about profit or loss, and worry less.

"You pay?"

Ye Yaodong called his father and mother into the house and told them about this matter. He had to make it clear, otherwise, they couldn't keep working for him for free, and he wasn't their only son.

Ye Fu and Ye Mu looked at each other after listening. Ye Mu also rarely thought seriously, "This works too. You pay for the capital and materials, and it's simpler. I'll just help do some work. You decide on the wages."

"Then I'll go out and talk about it. Your eldest sister-in-law and second sister-in-law won't gossip, thinking that we two old things are favoring you and helping you do everything. Calculating wages can also shut their mouths."

"Also, we need to buy more coarse salt. It's best if we go and order a few more large wooden barrels, taller ones. Otherwise, if the quantity is too large, it's easy to not have enough space. After all, you aren't just fermenting a few thousand jin."

"I see that every few days, you can send back thousands of jin. It's best to use one or two large barrels per batch, pour everything in to ferment, and that's it. Later, we can also know which barrel was fermented on which date, and roughly how long it will take to ferment well."

"After all, it won't be long before you have your own large boat. By then, there will be even more fermentation. This fermentation will take at least a year. In this year of continuous fermentation, more wooden barrels will be needed."

Ye Mu became serious, and her speech and actions were clear and logical.

"Mother's words make sense, but it's hard to say how much can be fermented in the future. Let's ferment what can be fermented for now. Let's go eat first. Let's work after eating. There's no rush for this moment. After the meal, I'll have A Qing give you the money."

"Father, ride my bicycle to the carpenter in Dongqiao Village next door, see how big the largest barrel is, buy a few, and then order ten large barrels that can hold a thousand jin. If there's a need later, we'll increase it. Buy more coarse salt too."

Ye Fu was a bit worried, "Although A Guang and the others said they don't want money for those trash fish and are giving them to you, these wooden barrels aren't cheap if we buy too many. Are you sure these can make money? Will they sell well? Will the quantity be too large? What if they can't be sold?"

Ye Mu also said, "Did those I made last year sell out?"

Ye Yaodong didn't mention the matter of paying A Guang for the trash fish for now. Anyway, it wouldn't be much money.

"They sold out long ago, in less than a month. Some people bought one or two jin, and some brought vats to buy twenty or thirty jin. It was gone in a flash. Originally, there wasn't much quantity."

"Later, there were people coming back to ask, but they couldn't buy any. They were all very regretful and kept asking when there would be more. I only let my father-in-law say that we have to wait a year or a half, because it hasn't fermented well yet."

"Mother's craftsmanship is good, and the fish we use for fish sauce is especially fresh. The fish sauce made is salty, fragrant, and sells very well. After selling it once, why worry about selling it?"

"This, once made well, won't go bad if placed there. Just sell it slowly. It's just the cost of the wooden barrels in the early stage. Nothing else is needed. The small trash fish are our own, and the cost of salt is also okay."

Now there's no packaging; people take their own bottles to get it. Later, there can be plastic bag packaging and bottle packaging. By then, there will be large quantities of ready-made fish sauce. Won't the assembly line come out?"

It will be a year later when these are fermented. By then, we'll see. Otherwise, transporting a large vat to the market shop to sell is also fine. Stick a piece of paper at the door saying wholesale sale of large quantities of fish sauce. Mother's craftsmanship is good, so it will definitely sell well."

Ye Yaodong wasn't worried about sales at all.

Ye Mu was also very happy to be praised by him. Her craftsmanship was affirmed, and there were people who repurchased and kept asking. She was quite pleasantly surprised.

"Is it true that so many people say it's good? Why didn't you say so earlier."

"What's the use of saying it earlier? We didn't have that many trash fish. Most people catch a little bit themselves and use it to feed chickens, ducks, and pigs. How could there be any left for others."

"Then saying it earlier could also make me happy. It made me not know anything."

Ye Yaodong rolled his eyes. If he had said it earlier, his mother would probably have proudly told half the village that her craftsmanship was good and very popular.

"Be low-key. Your son and son-in-law are very much in the limelight in the village now. Everyone in the village is envious. We don't need to tell the whole world about everything we do."

Ye Fu also nodded in agreement, "Right, don't go shouting about everything outside. It's enough for our own family to know our own business, so as not to provoke jealousy. Like before, Dongzi was reported."

"Got it, got it." Ye Mu said impatiently, feeling depressed. If she couldn't share happy things, what if she stifled her heart?

"Let's go, let's go eat first. You guys lock the door first. Just leave these fish outside. Anyway, no one will take them."

"Go, go, go, then let's go eat first. There's still a lot to do after eating. For so many fish, smearing salt layer by layer and putting them into barrels, we'll have to be busy all night."

Ye Fu went out first. Ye Mu, holding a bunch of keys, fell behind, locked the doors, and then trotted to catch up with the father and son.

On the way, they met some neighbors who were standing at their doors with rice bowls eating. Seeing them, they would also ask, "Have you eaten?"

The most classic and favorite greeting of the Chinese people!

Some people didn't know Ye Fu had returned. Seeing him, they also asked kindly, when did you return? The harvest should be good, right?

Ye Fu's popularity in the village was quite good, especially after his three sons and one son-in-law all became successful, his status was obviously higher.

He laughed and answered every question.

Ye Yaodong couldn't stand his father and mother stopping to talk as they walked, so he rode his bicycle back first.

He finally knew why sometimes when children were asked to call people to eat, the children would come back very quickly, saying people were right behind, while his mother would only arrive at his house half an hour later. ===== CHAPTER 866 =====