Chapter 918

Several people followed behind Ye Yaodong toward the guesthouse. Along the way, the streets were quiet, without even a single person walking, desolate to the extreme.

Looking from afar, only the lanterns at the entrance of the guesthouse were lit.

But when they walked in, the front desk clerk was already lying in the back asleep. After being woken up and hearing they were coming in to make a phone call, the clerk immediately flew into a rage and scolded them while driving them out.

They had brought bad luck upon themselves. If it weren't for the older Uncle Jingye following and holding them back, these few would probably have scolded everyone in the entire guesthouse until they all climbed out of bed.

And then, without a doubt, they would definitely have been tied up and sent to the police station to be locked up for ten days or half a month.

That would be disastrous.

They were here to make money, not to go to jail.

"Motherfucker, what's so great about you? A broken front desk job, is having a permanent position something to be proud of? And you won't even let us make a call."

"Exactly, what time is it and what are you sleeping for? Sleeping for what? It's not like we aren't paying. Damn, is earning a few cents in wages something to be proud of?"

"Don't even say that, having a job really does make you a 'superior person'; their eyes are practically growing on top of their heads."

Ye Yaodong was also very indignant.

When they first went in and saw the person sleeping, they had been polite and soft-spoken when waking them up. Who knew the person would have such a bad temper upon waking and say a whole bunch of impatient things.

Once they knew they were just there to make a call and not to stay, their face grew even longer and their temper even worse, which ignited the short tempers of the whole group.

"Whether someone answers the phone or not is our business, it's not like we aren't paying the phone bill. Dog-born, who are you looking down on?"

"Looking down on people, bah. I earn more in a day than she earns in a month. I really want to take money and smash it in her face."

Uncle Jingye hurriedly pacified these youngsters, "Sigh, calm down, calm down. When we're away from home, we can't cause trouble. We aren't locals to begin with, and people bully us for not being locals. It's not good to cause trouble. Endure it, let's change places to make the call."

"Let's go, let's go. Better to avoid trouble than to invite it."

"Damn it, it's too infuriating. You're the one spending money, yet you have to act like a grandson."

"That's just how these people with jobs are nowadays, acting so arrogant. In a few years when they get laid off, they won't be able to act arrogant anymore; they'll have to beg everyone for work. Let's go, don't think about it."

Ye Yaodong felt balanced thinking about the wave of layoffs, but he still missed the service attitude of hotels in the future. Although there were some with bad attitudes, it was still much better than now.

"Bad luck. If I'd known, I would have gone straight to the police station."

"You guys should also restrain your tempers. The police station isn't a good place either. If you provoke someone and they get angry and arrest you for a beating, or lock you up for a few days, not everyone is necessarily reasonable."

Uncle Jingye gave earnest advice, feeling that coming out with them was the right thing to do. Young people just had too much fire and were easily ignited; they didn't know what it meant to endure when away from home, and it wouldn't do without an elder watching over them.

Ye Yaodong also nodded, "That's right, restrain yourselves. When we go to the police station in a while, we have to be polite. Otherwise, if they find you an eyesore, they'll charge you with obstructing public order and lock you up for a few days. Then you'll really be calling to heaven with no response and calling to earth with no answer."

"Sigh, when will I be able to eat from the public pot?"

"Stop dreaming. See if your son or daughter has a chance?"

"Mm, when I go back, I'll tell them to study hard. If they don't study hard, I'll beat them to death with a stick."

They muttered as they walked. The town was only so big, and the police station wasn't far; they arrived in 5 minutes.

The entire police station didn't have any lights on, and the surroundings were pitch black. It was actually only past 10 o'clock, but in this era without nightlife, you could hear a needle drop on the road.

Seeing the police station gate, they felt a bit timid for a moment. As honest, law-abiding citizens, who comes to the police station for no reason?

They were all honest citizens!

It was normal to have awe in one's heart.

Azheng stood at the entrance, looking up, and said timidly, "Are we really going to the police station to make a call? Will we be driven out directly? This doesn't look like anyone is here."

"There must be someone on duty, it's just that it's almost 11 o'clock, they should have gone to sleep long ago," Ye Yaodong said calmly.

"Then are we still going in? Will they just detain us and not let us leave?"

"That shouldn't happen, right? We're just here to ask for help."

"If I'd known, we should have brought that half-dead person from the boat. We could have just said we found someone and didn't know how to handle it, so we sent him over, and then taken the opportunity to make a call."

Hearing Xiao Xiao also chimed in, "Exactly, we should have brought that half-dead person from the boat."

"You're stupid. Bringing him over might just keep us busy until midnight, and we wouldn't be able to go back to sleep."

"How so?" Ah Guang asked curiously, "I was just thinking, why didn't we bring him over? He's in the way on the boat, and I'm afraid he'll die, and then we'll have to bury him."

"That person doesn't have any identification on him. If you send a half-dead person to the police station, they might just think you're looking for trouble, adding to their burden in the middle of the night and not letting them sleep."

"What's more, there are plenty of homeless people and beggars begging for food everywhere these days; half-dead people lying on the street are common. Have you ever seen anyone send them to the police station?"

"Only kind-hearted people perform acts of bravery. How can the authorities manage every single homeless person?"

"We'll just go ask for help to make a call. If they don't let us, we'll just go back. We can still get a good night's sleep and have the energy to work tomorrow."

"If that person can survive and wakes up, we'll give him a meal. When he's recovered, we'll let him find his own way home. If he doesn't wake up, we'll just bury him. Are there ever few corpses drifting at sea every year? Who carries them all to the police station?"

Actually, subconsciously, everyone preferred not to trouble the police if they could avoid it. After all, everyone has a sense of awe.

The people's servants were just a slogan after all; no commoner would really take it seriously. In their hearts, those people were 'superior,' but the People's Liberation Army was truly the best.

People's thinking nowadays is very different from the future. In the future, people call the police for everything, but nowadays, people basically avoid them if they can.

In the middle of the night, sending a half-dead person to the police station for no reason—who wouldn't think you're bringing bad luck?

"So we're just going to walk in and knock on the door like this?" Ah Guang gave a thumbs up and pointed at the gate.

Ye Yaodong looked at him like he was an idiot, "Yeah, otherwise you want to climb over the wall?"

"Then let's go in. Ask first; if it doesn't work, we'll just go back and come again tomorrow morning to make the call to report our safety."

Uncle Jingye listened to them chatter on and on and hurriedly interrupted them, lest they keep talking endlessly.

"Let's go, let's go. Anyway, there are so many of us. If we're polite and courteous, we don't have to worry about being arrested for no reason. I reckon there are only two people on duty in the middle of the night; at most, we'll just get driven out."

"Then let's go, let's all go together. Go knock on the door and see if anyone pays attention."

Several of them went up with their arms around each other's shoulders, but it was still Ye Yaodong who knocked on the door.

"Let him do it, he's quick-witted and knows how to talk."

"Shh, keep it down, someone is coming to open the door."

The person who came yawned and stretched, looking at them impatiently, "What important business do you have in the middle of the night?"

"Sorry, Officer, sorry to disturb you so late at night. We really had no choice, which is why we came to ask for help. When away from home, you in uniform are the most reassuring people..."

"Just tell me what it is. Coming here to knock on the door in the middle of the night instead of sleeping—if you need help, can't you pick daytime?"

"If it were daytime, we wouldn't need to come to the police station for help. Our elders told us since we were small that you in uniform are the people's servants and our strongest backing. I've admired you from the bottom of my heart since I was a child. That's why, as soon as we had trouble, the first thing we thought of was to ask for help from our People's Police, thinking you definitely wouldn't ignore us commoners..."

The young policeman looked at him, dumbfounded. He had no temper left after hearing that; all his sleepiness was gone.

"Alright, alright, alright. Just tell me what it is. What kind of help do you need in the middle of the night?"

"It's like this, Officer. We are fishermen from Fujian Province, here to catch jellyfish. We only arrived here tonight and wanted to make a phone call home to report our safety, so they wouldn't worry and be unable to sleep all night."

"At home, I have an 80-year-old grandmother, a one-year-old child, and elderly parents. I can't be unfilial and let them worry."

"At this time, my grandmother must still be sitting at the village committee entrance waiting for me to report our safety. If I don't call back, she might just sit there until dawn..."

The young policeman had even less temper now.

"Come in, come in. Stop talking, hurry up and make your call."

"Hey, alright, alright, alright. The young officer is really great, willing to serve the people even in the middle of the night and make things convenient for us." Ye Yaodong followed behind, beaming with joy.

The others behind him were also grinning and making faces, and some were secretly giving him a thumbs up.

Ye Yaodong turned his head and glared at them secretly, putting his index finger to his lips to remind them not to talk nonsense.

"Since you've said all that and are already standing at the door, how could I not let you in to make a call?" The young policeman was also full of helplessness.

"How did you think of coming to the police station to make a call? Where are you staying? A guesthouse? Doesn't the guesthouse have a phone you can use?"

"Officer, don't even mention it. The guesthouse doesn't have your quality or cultivation. We went in and politely begged them to let us make a call, but that female comrade looked at us with disdain and scolded us before driving us out," Ah Guang said, praising one while stepping on the other.

Ye Yaodong also said, "Exactly. Now it seems the old folks' words make sense; you are our strongest backing. When away from home, we can only rely on you."

"It's just a phone call, it's going too far for the female comrade to act like that."

Hearing Xiao Xiao: "Exactly, it's not like we aren't paying the phone bill, we'll definitely pay..."

Azheng: "Right, you're the good one, not looking down on people and willing to make things convenient."

Uncle Jingye also smiled and said, "The officer is so young and already a policeman; you must have gotten in through university, right? Educated people have high quality; you'll definitely have a bright future."

They followed behind, one sentence after another, whispering, complaining, and flattering.

"Mm, the phone is here. You know how to use a phone, right?"

"Yes, yes, yes..."

"We know how, we know how."

"Then make the call."

"Alright, we'll just make two calls. We definitely won't occupy police resources or delay the officer's time."

The young policeman nodded with a smile.

After their flattery, the person was quite pleasant now, without the impatience and frowning from when he first opened the door.

Who doesn't like hearing nice things?

Ye Yaodong dialed the village committee's number, counting the beeps in his heart. Under normal circumstances, if no one answered after 7 rings, he would hang up.

It rang six times, and he frowned, preparing to hang up after one more ring, but someone actually picked up. His face lit up with joy.

He hadn't held much hope to begin with; it was so late, he was just trying his luck.

After all, over a hundred people had left the village, so the village committee should take it seriously and instruct the old man at the gate to keep an eye on the phone.

Hearing the complaints on the other end of the line, Ye Yaodong felt that this trip to make a call was a wise move.

It turned out that tonight, more than half the village had been waiting at the village committee entrance. From the time they finished dinner, they had brought their own stools to the village committee entrance, chatting while waiting for the call.

But by 9 o'clock, the phone hadn't rung, so they had all gone back, disappointed and worried, planning to come back tomorrow.

It was so late that he didn't want to trouble the old man to run to his house to call people, so he just told him on the phone that because they set off late, they arrived late—around 9 o'clock—and simply reported their safety.

However, the old man was very thoughtful and offered to go to the house to help call people, telling him to call back in 10 minutes.

He hung up the phone and waited on the side, taking the opportunity to chat with the young policeman.

It turned out he really was a university graduate assigned here, having worked for only a year. His value was truly high.

Everyone was very savvy, surrounding the university student and flattering him, almost making him feel like he was floating on air, though he certainly felt very comfortable.

Ye Yaodong waited for the phone to ring again, picked it up, and reported their safety once more.

Hearing his voice on the other end, Aqing immediately let out a sigh of relief.

"You finally called back. You almost worried us to death. The grandmother and I didn't even take off our clothes when we lay down tonight, just in case you called in the middle of the night..."

Before she could finish, an urgent voice from the elderly woman sounded on the side.

Before long, Ye Yaodong heard Lin Xiuqing say the grandmother wanted to talk to him.

"Dongzi, it's good that you've arrived. Be careful, and if anything happens, remember to call back. Even if nothing happens, call back every few days to report your safety, you hear?"

"Oh my, we were so worried we couldn't sleep because we didn't get your call all night. It's good you called back, it's good that you're safe."

"When you're away from home, endure a bit more if you run into trouble. Don't get angry with people. Whether you make money or not, you must come back safely on time, you hear?"

"Call more often. I know you won't be stingy with the phone bill. No matter how busy you are, find time to call, you hear?"

"And listen more to your father, and to the other uncles and elders traveling with you. If you run into trouble, ask more questions, you hear?"

With several "you hear?" he could only keep nodding and responding, "I know."

Lin Xiuqing took the phone back, "It's good you called. After the grandmother went back from the village committee earlier, she sat at the entrance until past 10 o'clock before going inside."

"Mm, you guys go to sleep early. I'm fine. Also, remember to tell the others in the village tomorrow that we've all arrived and are very safe. Nothing happened on the road; it's just that there were many boats, and I was afraid the others couldn't keep up with the horsepower, so we drove a bit slower."

"I know."

After Ye Yaodong gave a few simple instructions, he asked before hanging up if anyone else wanted their family to take the call.

If they did, he wouldn't hang up; Aqing could run over to call them, as the village was only so big.

The others all shook their heads. It was too late, and if everyone called their families to take the call, it would probably take an hour.

"Forget it, don't trouble them."

"Anyway, you've already called to report our safety. The village will know tomorrow. We'll just find time to call back the next time we come to town."

"It's so late, they might have already gone to sleep. Let's avoid the trouble."

"Alright, then I'm hanging up."

After Ye Yaodong hung up, he smiled at the young policeman and said, "Officer, thank you. It was really too late today, and we had no choice but to come and ask for help. See how much the phone bill is, we'll pay it, and we won't disturb your rest anymore."

"You only made one call, right?"

"Yes, yes. It's too late today, and everyone was afraid of troubling you by waiting too long or adding to your burden. Anyway, we've called back to report our safety, so we'll just call back again during the day tomorrow."

"Mm, alright. No need to pay. The unit's phone isn't for making money."

"Ah, how can we be so rude? The phone bill is quite expensive."

"It's fine. This is a public phone, and serving the people is our purpose."

Ye Yaodong was full of gratitude, his face sincere, "Then thank you so much. You really are a good comrade; you'll definitely be a good official in the future, with a boundless future."

"Heh, that's saying too much too soon."

"Then we won't disturb your rest anymore. It's really too late, sorry about that. We'll be leaving now."

"Mm, go ahead."

After the others also said a few words of thanks, Ye Yaodong stuffed two packs of cigarettes into his hand, and they retreated.

After walking a distance away, Ye Yaodong looked back and said, "It's good we ran into a good person; the trip wasn't in vain."

The others also followed suit and looked back, "Indeed."

"I thought we were going to be driven out again!"

"There are still more good people in this world."

"So, it's true that when you have problems away from home, you should find the police."

Uncle Jingye watched them chattering while walking and looking back, and hurriedly urged them, "Let's go, stop talking, hurry back. It's already past 11 o'clock; it'll be 1 o'clock by the time we get back."

"No need, when we came, we spent time looking around because we weren't sure of the way. By the time I drive back, it should only be past 12."

"Still, walk faster. The sky will brighten after 4 o'clock. Tonight, the earth is our bed and the sky is our quilt; we'll get up with the sun tomorrow."

"Run~ we'll make big money tomorrow~"

"Run, run, run, make big money!"

"Charge, make money, make money!!!"

"Charge!!!"

Lin Jingye watched this group of youngsters suddenly act like they had been injected with chicken blood, running excitedly, and was stunned. How did they get so excited all of a sudden?

"Wait for me, slow down. I'm an old bag of bones, run slower."

He hurriedly jogged behind them, only to be scolded by an auntie who pushed open her window.

"Which cursed, wicked ghost is screaming in the middle of the night? Don't other people need to sleep?"

Those few had already run far away, leaving only him to silently endure the auntie's storm.

After glancing at her, he also hurriedly ran to catch up.

The four of them ran while waiting for Uncle Jingye behind them. Once the distance closed, they continued running until all four boarded the boat, and Ye Yaodong drove back.

Azheng: "Dongzi, this person is still lying there half-dead. Should we feed him some water?"

Hearing Xiao Xiao: "You go feed him."

Azheng: "I don't want to. I don't think he's thirsty."

Ah Guang: "Should we go check if he still has breath?"

Hearing Xiao Xiao: "You go check."

Ah Guang: "I don't want to either. I think he should still have breath."

Azheng sat on the ground, hands on his knees, and touched his chin, "The fact that this person ran into us means his life wasn't meant to end; he won't die. Anyway, didn't you guys have the boatman feed him rice soup earlier? There are no wounds on his body, which means he's weak and just dehydrated. Feed him some rice soup from time to time, let him rest, and he should wake up tomorrow."

Hearing Xiao Xiao also agreed very much, "I think so too. Heaven won't take him, and it's a testament to his toughness that he ran into us. So don't worry about it, let's rest."

Ah Guang also sat down directly, "I'm sweating all over, I also wish someone would feed me water."

"I have some saliva, want some?" Azheng said with a cheeky grin.

"Bah, get lost."

Lin Jingye watched them chatting and joking as they sat down, shook his head helplessly, and went to check the person's breathing himself, while also touching his neck.

"Is he still alive, Uncle Jingye?"

"Didn't you all say he's tough and still alive? Then he must still be alive."

"That's good. Saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda. Amitabha, is that how the saying goes?" Ah Guang said happily.

"That's right. You have the potential to be a monk!"

Ah Guang glanced at Azheng, leaned against the boat's side, and didn't speak.

After being out for a day, they were actually all tired. Although they hadn't done anything and just sat on the boat, it was still exhausting.

After joking for a few sentences, they didn't speak anymore. They either smoked, closed their eyes to rest, or looked at the stars in the sky.

Today was of special significance to the three of them. It was their first time going so far, even leaving the province. Before last year, the furthest place they had been was the town.

As a result, they went to the city last year, and this year they even left the province. They were running further and further, but their family foundation was indeed becoming more and more prosperous, and the wealth they had was increasing, much better than rotting away at home like before.

However, they also had a few more confusions. They had never thought about the road ahead. Now that it was quiet, with only the sound of waves in their ears, looking up at the starry sky, they felt a tranquility they had never felt before, and also felt that they were being pushed forward.

They were confused, still thinking they would just take it one step at a time. Their fathers' footsteps gave them nothing to refer to.

Their fathers all ate from the "big pot," obeying the production team's arrangements for everything. Whatever they were told to do, they did, without their own thoughts. Anyway, as long as the whole family had something to eat and didn't starve to death, that was enough.

Hearing Xiao Xiao asked confusedly, "How much money do you think we can make on this trip?"

"Don't know. Until the money is in our hands, who knows how much we can make?"

"Do you think we can earn the cost of the boat back in one trip?"

"That probably depends on how long we stay. Anyway, as long as we can make money, that's it. If we couldn't make money, Dongzi wouldn't bring so many people here to take risks. Stop thinking blindly; whatever we should earn, we will."

Azheng was a bit carefree.

Hearing Xiao Xiao fell silent again.

Ah Guang comforted him, "If we can stay for more than a month, it will definitely be more than the cost of one boat. You have to know that your boats now are all your own, and you don't have to share with others. Last year, my dad told me that after deducting expenses, he made a net profit of over 3,000..."

"Ah!"

The two of them immediately sat up straight and glared at him, "Your dad is so cunning! Last year he kept telling people he only made one or two thousand yuan."

"Heh, my dad was also looking at Dongzi. They didn't say the specifics, so he didn't either. He always said there's nothing wrong with hiding a bit; why show your family's foundation to others?"

"So cunning!"

Hearing Xiao Xiao patted him, "Talking nonsense in the middle of the night! It's being smart!"

Azheng shrank back and immediately reacted, "Right, right, right, it's being smart."

"No one can say for sure about this year's situation. Anyway, just relax. Since we're here, let's not talk about how much money we'll make, at least we can gain some experience."

"Mm."

As the fishing boat sailed, fish on the water surface jumped out and fell back in from time to time, and scattered splashes occasionally splashed in from the side of the boat, spraying onto their necks.

The few of them moved in unison to lean against the cabin side.

This time, having just finished thinking about life and ideals, they had no interest in fishing or catching fish, just wanting to sit quietly and rest.

However, the carefree Azheng, because of the fish jumping on the water, started thinking about the toys they caught in the afternoon.

He suddenly slapped Ah Guang's shoulder, "I forgot to tell you, how many cars did your box actually open up this afternoon?"

"Damn it, you scared me!"

Ah Guang was startled by his sudden outburst, as everyone had been pretending to be deep just a moment ago.

"A whole box full."

"Split two."

Azheng stretched his right hand out in front of him, only to have it slapped away.

"Ask Dongzi for them yourself. I only got two."

"What cars? What are you talking about?"

Azheng sprayed saliva everywhere as he vividly told him about how they fished up a box in the afternoon, which contained two large rubber dolls and many tin toy cars.

"Damn, I want two too."

"Why ask me? I wasn't the one who fished it up. Ask Dongzi."

"Where did he hide them? I'll go ask."

These men, despite their age, still had a childlike heart.

Until they brought out a basket of toy cars and picked and chose for a long time, not in a hurry, just playing with them one by one. Only when the boat returned to the deserted island did they decide which two they wanted, and only then were they satisfied.

Ye Yaodong took one more for Lin Jingye before taking the basket back to the cabin to hide it.

They each took two. After all, this was his father's friend, and he knew him well, so he couldn't be too stingy.

A heavy loss; they couldn't take them out for others to see until they got home.