Chapter 890: East Rise

This typhoon had no real impact on their area — the sun still blazed high as usual, the only difference being slightly bigger waves, which made it unsuitable to go out to sea, and slightly cooler weather, with temperatures not quite so high these past few days.

Ye Yaodong went into the city the next day. By the time he reached his brother-in-law's shop, it was nearly noon and the place was still bustling. The couple's faces were both lit up with smiles, and the children were all full of enthusiasm. Seeing that, he felt reassured.

On the way back, he also brought along more than 2,000 jin of baluo fish, and told Wang Wang Guangliang to still have them boiled and sun-dried that evening.

"This fish is good eating, Brother Dong. Once it's dried, you can steam a bowl over rice, or tear it into strips to cook with noodles, or stir-fry it — all delicious."

"If it didn't taste good, why would I buy it?"

This dried fish was a household staple for every family, and even decades later it would still be a household staple.

"Brother Dong, you've got a lot of stock in your warehouse, but isn't it a bit wasteful? Why not just use the shop as a warehouse and rent a place in the neighboring village to use as one instead?"

"Why are you so dumb? Every one of those old houses leaks — how could any of them serve as a warehouse? Besides, if you rented one, wouldn't you need to leave someone to watch it? The market side is different — there's already someone managing things, people coming and going all the time, someone's always keeping an eye on it. Isn't using a shop as a warehouse more convenient?"

And it's close by too — whenever you need something, you can just pop over and move the goods, no need for all that hassle.

Still, in the future, if he could buy a plot of land nearby, he could build a proper warehouse on it — but that would have to wait. Right now, there was no way to spread his operation that wide.

"Right, right, right — Brother Dong, you really do think things through."

"I'm off, hurry back — by the time we get home it'll be nearly dusk."

Although this typhoon hadn't affected the village, many days had passed and the waves still hadn't weakened or subsided. The villagers were all guessing that a new typhoon eye had formed — which was why the mainland hadn't been affected, but the open sea kept getting battered by wind and waves.

Recently, every evening when the weather forecast came on, Ye Yaodong would sit in front of the TV and listen. Although the forecasts were hardly accurate, having a broadcast was still better than none.

Just two days later, sure enough, as expected, the weather forecast announced that a new typhoon had formed and the coastal belt might be affected, telling everyone to be careful when going out and all that.

Ye Ye Yaopeng and Ye Ye Yaohua were also paying close attention to the weather forecast and listened along with him.

As soon as the broadcast ended, Ye Ye Yaohua started grumbling, "That big ship has only just gone out twice and now it's delayed again — it's already been half a month. One typhoon passes and another comes right after — it never ends."

"Nothing for it — this time of year always brings typhoons. At least none of them are heading straight for us."

"Let's hope it passes quickly and doesn't cause any damage…"

After listening to the forecast, the brothers headed out and chatted with the neighbors about the incoming typhoon.

Ye Yaodong figured that as long as it didn't head their way, it wasn't a big problem. Let them rest — as long as it didn't rain and the sun was out, he could still dry fish as usual.

The forecast had only just said the typhoon eye had formed; even if it did affect them, it would take a few more days. This batch of baluo fish would still have time to dry.

Once he had money, he'd have to buy a drying machine — relying on the weather for a living wasn't exactly reliable. He didn't have the means right now, so he could only make do with rough, small-scale work for the time being. Earn whatever he could, for now.

Ah Zheng was quick as ever. Just the other day when they were drinking he'd mentioned buying a boat, and not many days had passed — the second typhoon hadn't even cleared yet — when word spread through the village that he'd already bought one.

Any little stir in the village never lasted till the next day; within a few hours the whole village knew. All the more so for something as big as buying a boat — ordinary folks who managed it would want the whole village to know.

After hearing the news, Ye Yaodong went over to take a look, confirmed the boat had indeed been bought, and said they just needed to pick an auspicious day to go bring it back. He couldn't help but admire Ah Zheng's efficiency.

That same day, Ah Zheng called the few of them together for drinks to celebrate. They hadn't drunk much yet, but Ah Zheng was already plastered, so excited he was nearly floating off the ground, slurring away nonstop.

"Never thought Laozi would have such a glorious day~ *hic*~ I'm actually doing better than most people in the village…"

"They all looked down on me, said I was useless mud that couldn't be propped up on a wall. But today they look at me more warmly than they look at their own fathers — open their mouths and it's nothing but how promising I've become…"

"Hahaha, I really have made something of myself… Oh my, today my old man's grin was about to split from ear to ear… What a rare sight — usually his face is stinkier than the stone in a latrine… hahaha…"

"Actually, my dad put in 500 yuan, and each of my four older sisters kicked in 100… hehe… I didn't put in much myself… *hic*~"

"Brothers, watch me make a big splash once the typhoon passes — hahaha~ Money come, money come~ Come pouring down from the sky~ Come every moment~ East wind blow it over~ Come, come, come~"

By the end he was so worked up he jumped to his feet, propped one foot on the stool, yanked open his shirt, and kept fanning himself with it, striking a pose like money was raining down on him…

Everyone: "…"

"He's drunk, hurry up and get him back to his room…"

"I'm not drunk, I'm scooping up money… money come, money come… the one with money is Laozi, the one without is the grandson… I'm the Heavenly Emperor Laozi…"

"I'd be the Jade Emperor next, the way he's drinking — look at the sorry state of him." Ah Zheng's dad cursed him in disgust a few times, then helped the others hold him down and drag him back to his room, to spare them from any more drunken antics and any more laughable words.

The main character was drunk, so the rest of them didn't linger either and took the chance to head home.

The next day, without coordinating, they each sent over a set of firecrackers and fireworks.

Even Ye Fu couldn't help but remark, "I never thought your friends — the ones who always looked so unreliable, doing nothing but eating and drinking all day — would turn out to look so proper now. They're even sharper at buying a boat than anyone else — said they'd buy one and they just did."

"Watch how you talk, Dad. They were always decent people — they just lacked someone to guide them. And your son here — that's me — is their benefactor!"

Ye Fu looked him up and down with disgust. "You, a benefactor? Stop trying to put gold on your own face. You only halfway climbed up the wall yourself, and you have the nerve to call yourself their benefactor."

"If you ask me, it's his dad cursing him every day that knocked some sense into him — same as with you. Your friends are all the same — not a single decent one among them."

"You just dragged your son-in-law into that too."

"You're all the same. Ah Guang only looks proper now that his dad's back and someone keeps him in line. Otherwise, would I have married Ye Ye Huimei off to him? He can dream on!"

Ye Yaodong couldn't help but wipe a sweat for Ah Guang. That kid should be grateful to him for eight lifetimes — without his reminder to change his name early on, could Ah Guang have had such smooth sailing?

Could he have stayed in the village and slowly made his fortune?

Could he have married his younger sister?

These were clearly all his doing, yet his father had just wiped out his credit entirely!

Those friends of his had clearly all been guided upward by him. There was no need to mention Ah Guang — he'd always been much better than the others, it was just his name that was bad, his luck that was bad.

Fatty had Laozi backing him, following along and eating and drinking well, living better than anyone. You couldn't find a few families in the whole village richer than theirs — no need to work hard.

Still, he'd helped him find a job, and now he'd led him into opening a shop. Yesterday he heard Fatty had already discussed it with his wife, quit his job a couple days ago, and had been looking for a storefront these past few days.

As for Ah Zheng and Xiao Xiao, they were simply envious that he had a boat and could make money. On top of that, each of them now had proper work, so they had no one to hang out with — they could only copy him, find a boat, and run it like amateurs.

They were working and playing at the same time, and even their own dads didn't take them seriously, treating it as small-time fooling around and not bothering with them. After all, it was just a little wooden boat — let them mess around.

But unexpectedly, the two boys started getting serious as they played. Unless something special came up, they rarely took a day off. Though they egged each other on to rest, neither could bear to.

In the end, they were doing better than those who toiled away with their heads down — upgrading from a small boat to a trawler, and then each having one of their own, no longer needing to go in together.

They really were doing better than most villagers. Even though their families' help couldn't be discounted, they were still impressive.

"Dad, it really depends on the person. Mainly, you need the luck. In our whole village, top to bottom, four or five hundred households — how many have trawlers? Every one of them is either rowing a little wooden boat or working a job just to get by."

"To make money, you need the luck too. Otherwise, even going out to sea the same way, some people just bring back more than the rest. Some people are up before dawn and working till dark but still bring back little — that's the gap."

"Some people go out looking for work and run into bandits on the road. Someone leaves home with 20 eggs and eats them all before getting halfway, then turns right around — how can anything get done that way?"

"Look at me! Glowing with health, a full forehead, a square and rounded jaw — at a glance, I'm clearly someone who can do great things! And look at my upturned brows — do you know what that's called? That's called holding your head high!"

Ye Fu had been rather dismissive, but after hearing him out, he actually took a serious look and felt that what he said seemed correct.

Indeed, he looked especially proper and upright, glowing with health, and the tails of his brows were indeed turned up.

He couldn't help but nod. "What you say does have some truth to it, so it's destined that you'll do better than your two older brothers."

The old lady also laughed and spoke up, "Not just that — Dongzi's earlobes are big too. Xiao Jiu's earring looks just like his — born with good fortune."

Ye Yaodong couldn't help but touch his own earlobe — indeed, it was quite big. Good fortune in appearance +1.

"It's all my mother's fault for giving birth to me looking this good, and the old lady's fault for holding the right posture when delivering me. No wonder I'm called Ye Yaodong — I must have been born facing east, purple aura rising from the east!"

"Hahaha~" The old lady laughed heartily. "Right, right, right — when you were born, you really were facing east."

Ye Yaodong was smugly pleased. He hadn't expected that he was just talking off the top of his head, making things up, and he actually got it right.

"I've decided — once my big ship is in hand in the second half of the year, I'll name it the Dongsheng!"

The Dongfeng was our country's first ten-thousand-ton ocean-going ship of self-designed construction. He wouldn't shamelessly ride on its coattails — calling it the Dongsheng wasn't bad either.

It contained his name — the rising sun. Just like his newly acquired fishing boat, it signified a beginning, and every return of the fishing boat to port meant the sun setting back to its nest, cycling endlessly — rising in the east, setting in the west.

The more he thought about it, the more he felt this name was good!

At first, after naming Aguang's fishing boat the Harvest, he had slapped his thigh in regret — a good name should be saved for himself. Afterward, he'd been mulling over finding an even better one for himself.

Now he had it — the Dongsheng!

Tomorrow, whenever he had a chance to go to the shipyard, he'd mention it to Captain Wu and ask him to spray the paint on then, claiming the name in advance.

Ye Fu also looked at him in surprise. "Dongsheng? That's a fine name — why on earth are you thinking about naming your own ship this early? Isn't this a bit too soon?"

"Isn't it just one thing leading to another — it suddenly popped into my head?"

The old lady agreed wholeheartedly. "I think this name is good. It has your name in it — it's bound to go smoothly."

"Then wouldn't it be better to call it the Dongfan?"

Ye Yaodong stroked his chin. "Dongfan? Dongfang? That seems to work too? Anyway, anything with 'Dong' in it — I feel pretty awesome."

Lin Lin Xiuqing said with a smile, "Why not think about it some more? It's a bit early to be naming it now — it's almost ready for delivery. You can decide when the time comes."

"Then let's tentatively settle on Dongsheng and Dongfang. When the time comes, we'll get everyone to discuss it together and vote."

Ye Fu nodded. "The weather's been really good these past few days — the typhoon didn't affect us, and it didn't rain. Yesterday's forecast also said it's heading toward the little Japs' place. We're already past the middle of the month. Take a look — should we call Comrade Chen Jianian a bit early to ask?"

"Huh? Now? Isn't it still a bit too early? It's only July 18th — last year we didn't go until late August…"

It was a full month earlier. He'd originally planned to call at the end of the month — his father seemed a bit anxious.

"That's because last year in early August we ran into a typhoon that delayed the fishing. During fishing season, being half a month earlier or half a month later is perfectly normal. Every year here, the squid season starts earlier or later. Just to be safe, if we're planning to go, we have to prepare early."

"Alright, I'll go to the village committee right now to make a call. Have Chen Jianian call the processing plant over in Zhejiang Province to ask — have they started fishing yet, or have jellyfish appeared?"

"Right, ask in advance or have him put in a word to keep a close eye. If there's news, have him call us right away."

"Did someone come to you to ask about it?"

Ye Fu nodded. "Yeah, your Lin Shu came to ask me last night. He said the typhoon should pass in the next day or two, and asked when we're planning to go catch jellyfish. He told me to be sure to let him know — he wants to go along with us when the time comes."

"Oh, then Dad, you're on top of it. The key is to tell Lin Shu in advance. Otherwise, when the time comes, if we take people out and something happens, we're responsible."

"I know that — I won't take everything on myself. If anyone else in the village wants to come along, let them come. But we definitely need to make things clear in advance — they can come, they can band together, but if anything happens, we're not responsible."

"Right — after all, we're going onto someone else's turf and harming their interests. At most, we can just try to look out for each other and band together."

"Mm."

Ye Yaodong sat down at the table, sprawled across it with his entire bottom sticking out past the stool, and said lazily, "When the time comes, it won't be every able-bodied boat in the village following us, will it?"

"It's possible. After all, since we came back last year, word has spread through the village. Some people have been planning since last year to follow along this year."

"Like Lin Shu, for instance."

"Hehe, yes."

"And the brothers next door will definitely come too."

Ye Yaodong counted on his fingers and found that the village now had, without anyone realizing, fourteen or fifteen trawlers — plus one extra this year, Aguang's Harvest.

Moreover, the households with trawlers all had fairly close ties to him. Except for the two new boats added earlier this year, they were all fellow villagers.

Impressive — in just one year, the number of fishing boats in their village had nearly increased by half!

If they waited until next year, there would surely be even more.

And the nearby villages — Xishan was a small village with only about a hundred households, and their boats basically all relied on their village's port. The two villages had close dealings, so when the time really came to set off, they would probably all follow along too.

That would be quite a sight…

Ye Yaodong couldn't help but imagine it in his mind — over a dozen boats sailing together. When they were out on the water, passing fishing boats would surely steer well clear of them.

Thinking about it, it was quite a sight. With more boats, there'd be more people, and when the time came, they really could look out for each other and not be left isolated and helpless, fumbling in the dark.