Chapter 933: Earning More Than Last Year

Everyone was quite gleeful at their misfortune—if they got taken in, then the rest of them could rest easy for a while.

After listening to the excitement for a while, they hurried to seize the time, hollering for everyone to head out to sea together again.

When they came back in the evening, Agu gave them another vivid retelling of the morning brawl.

Turns out it really was the previous local bully Chen Chen Guolong who'd done it. Last night he heard that those people had been collecting protection fees at the dock yesterday evening, and had even cursed him as useless, so early this morning he'd gone over in high spirits to pick a fight.

Recently he'd heard that Chen found himself a livelihood, so he had no time to mind the dock, which let these people slip in through the gap.

Originally these idle young men, with nothing to do, loved fighting and brawling—whoever had the bigger fists called the shots, and plenty of them formed gangs.

And the skating rink had been the favorite hangout of all the young people these past two years; from morning to night it was never empty, you could catch someone there every time, so after the fierce fight in the morning, the rink was half empty by the afternoon.

"Well, that's that then, peace at last."

"Still, Dongzi's tactic was clever—what's it called, it's called 'diverting trouble eastward.'"

"They're just stupid."

"We went to the skating rink for a look in the afternoon too. It looked pretty lively—although this is only a town, there really aren't that few young people."

"Who could refuse skating? It's just us with our old arms and legs who can't glide anymore—one fall and we'd fracture something."

Ye Yaodong rubbed his chin. "When we get back someday, I'll buy a few pairs of skates as gifts for the kids at home."

"You don't have any kids, do you?"

"So what? Just tighten the laces a bit more. Kids grow faster from falling."

"There's nowhere to skate either—it's all dirt roads."

"My little workshop will do. The floor's been smoothed over anyway, and it's not like I'm drying fish there every day. They can play there, or I can have them bring them to school to play—the school ground is flat."

"My daughter's too young, she can't even walk yet. Let's talk about it in a few years."

"Can you buy them for your nephew and niece? I've got a whole pile of nephews and nieces at home."

Agu shot him a look, giving him a glance that said, figure it out yourself.

"What're you looking at? You're making money now, aren't you? Don't you owe me a little thanks? Before we head back later, buy some gifts for your nephews and nieces, and I guarantee you'll instantly become their favorite uncle-in-law."

"Where'd you get 'favorite'? I was already the only uncle-in-law to begin with, alright?"

"Fair point."

"Alright then, it's settled." Ye Yaodong clapped him on the shoulder.

Great, saved another expense.

Agu glanced at him without a word, which amounted to tacit agreement.

Xiao Xiao changed the subject and asked, "I think I just saw Chen Jianian—is his injury healed too?"

"Pretty much. Let me book him for tomorrow, and get Yang Guo'an to come for a meal together."

A Zheng asked in surprise, "So he's just going to get up and collect goods himself tomorrow?"

"Yep."

"Lucky him. He lay around at home for a few days, and once he's healed things are peaceful too. We probably don't even need to treat him to that meal."

"You're overthinking it. We still have to treat him," Ye Yaodong cut in. "After all, he's still planning to come back every year as our middleman to make money. This money is so easy to earn—no need to weather wind and sun and rain, no costs either."

Agu also said, "Right? This money is so easy to earn. Since he wants to keep coming back year after year to make this money, we still have to keep him sweet as usual. We're not counting on him to do much for us, but at least it lets outsiders know you're not that easy to push around."

"Sounds like a hassle. Forget it, I can only stick to fishing. If I had that kind of brain, I'd have gone to school."

"IQ and EQ are two different things, brother."

A Zheng was baffled—what on earth were IQ and EQ?

Ye Yaodong shook his head and stopped wasting words with them. "Let's go, play a few hands of cards and then sleep."

"Not playing. You win every day. They seem to be dealing over there—I'll go place a couple of bets."

Xiao Xiao immediately followed. "I'm going too!"

"I'll go take a look too." Agu also tagged along.

A bunch of grown men gathered together, and before bedtime they always had to find some entertainment. With several dozen of them, it was inevitable that some wanted to gamble a bit and have some fun.

Ye Yaodong couldn't help feeling grateful that they all got paid after they got back. Otherwise, they'd come out with two bucks in their pockets and go home owing two hundred—their wives would probably come looking for him.

With not much money in their pockets, and working hard day after day, they were also restrained when gambling. When they ran out of money, they wouldn't borrow too much either.

Seeing them all go watch others gamble, Ye Yaodong followed along to join the fun for a while.

But he didn't gamble either—after all, there was a whole pile of people crowded around inside, and those outside were even standing on chairs trying to peer in. He couldn't squeeze his way in.

Looking at the smoke-filled room, anyone who didn't know would think this had always been a gambling den. He stood at the doorway for a bit, took a couple of looks, then went back to the other house to lie down on the floor mat and keep an eye on things.

Luckily there were already a lot of them, so a bit of noise was perfectly normal, and they wouldn't play for too long. Otherwise, with a group gambling like that, the neighbors would report them for sure, and then they'd have to trouble someone to bail them out.

No one came to collect protection fees, and they were all much more settled.

Chen Jianian got out of bed the next day and contacted vehicles to collect goods on his own, and the people he'd brought naturally sold their goods to him again.

Agu didn't care either way. After all, he still had 18 boats on his side—minus the middleman fee for Dongzi's two boats, that left 16 boats' worth. With that much cargo, it was enough for him to make a killing.

Now at the dock, as soon as it was time to collect goods, it was piled high with jellyfish, dense and packed. At a glance, the open ground was covered with all kinds of containers.

Busy and bustling, until the fishing boats sold off their cargo and immediately rushed back out to sea to keep fishing. After all, it was fishing season, and everyone had cut back on mealtimes to save time for fishing.

But some boats came back early, some late, so the dock had people coming and going, carts coming and going, the whole day long.

The town's little thugs didn't come back to the dock to collect protection fees after that. Maybe some of them got caught, maybe they were afraid Chen Chen Guolong would come after them again, or maybe they were simply intimidated by their large numbers and their guns.

In any case, no one dared to be so tactless as to cause trouble for their group, and by extension no one went looking for trouble with Chen Jianian either.

Calm and peaceful fishing and selling, everyone felt a lot more relaxed—just that nature is unpredictable.

No man-made disasters, but there were natural ones. At the end of the month, a typhoon blew in.

It probably didn't pass directly through the town—maybe it just brushed by. After a few days of blazing sun, there were two days of light, drizzling rain and half a day of howling wind, then it cleared up right away.

They were also lucky to get a rare break, and when it wasn't raining, they went out in groups to look around.

Ye Yaodong had been thinking about that safe for days. Not for saving money—even just using it to store clothes would be good. The key was it looked good, carrying it in your hand had style! Taking it out gave you twice the face!

It happened that the rain had stopped, and only the wind was blowing there, so when everyone went out for a stroll, he took the chance to buy one.

And Aguang and the others looked on and were very tempted too.

A combination lock suitcase — carrying it in your hand looks way better than lugging around a burlap sack or cloth bundle.

"Tsk tsk tsk, sling it casually over your hand — that's a proper big boss right there."

"Looks good, right?" Aguang held it in his hand, gesturing this way and that, looking rather pleased with himself.

"Looks great. Once you carry this combination lock suitcase out, walking down the street I could hold my head up high," Ah Zheng liked it very much too. "Only bosses carry this kind of combination lock suitcase — I want to buy one too!"

"If you all buy one each, should I buy one too?" Hearing Xiao Xiao was also eyeing it enviously.

"Buy, buy, we're all buying — one each. When we go ashore and back to the village, won't that be something?" Aguang egged them on to each buy one too.

Hearing Xiao Xiao said, "Mainly I want to use it to hold the bills. Otherwise those bills get stuffed everywhere, all crumpled up — either they get wet, or I forget where I put them."

Ye Yaodong also said, "It's good for packing luggage, or for holding toys. Having a suitcase like this is convenient — no need to carry a cloth bundle or haul a burlap sack wherever you go."

"Then one each."

The four of them each carried a combination lock suitcase. Just as they stepped out of the supply and marketing cooperative's main door, Ah Zheng reached out to block the way ahead, took the lead with a stride forward, then turned to face them.

"Not quite — we're still missing a pair of sunglasses! Still missing a floral shirt and bell-bottoms!"

Ye Yaodong stared at the sky speechlessly, stepped around him and walked on. "You think we're out here to have fun?"

The others also stepped around him and followed along.

Aguang: "Nice idea — sunglasses, floral shirt, bell-bottoms. People who don't know would think you're eighteen, but you're actually twenty-eight."

"So what if I'm twenty-eight? I only just became a father at twenty-eight — why can't I wear floral shirts and bell-bottoms?"

Ye Yaodong: "An old fart and you've got the nerve to talk. Laozi became a father at twenty-one. An old man like you still copying those teenagers and twenty-somethings wearing floral shirts and bell-bottoms."

"My grandma still wears floral shirts — why can't I? It's the fashion. I've seen plenty of young guys on the street wearing them."

Hearing Xiao Xiao: "Then go buy one, nobody's stopping you."

"Forget it, if you all won't buy them, won't I look weird wearing them alone back in the village?" He trotted along behind them anyway. "Don't you guys think those young people look really cool wearing sunglasses?"

"Then go buy one."

"Then will you guys buy them?"

"If you want to buy, just buy — why are you asking us?"

"Isn't this about keeping the team uniform? If we're buying, we buy together — everyone wearing them out together looks even cooler. Otherwise if I'm the only one wearing them, it just feels weird."

"Wearing sunglasses to go out to sea and fish — that's cool?" Aguang retorted.

"Forget it, pretend I didn't say anything."

Ah Zheng instantly deflated. He was just a fisherman — every day either out at sea fishing, or at home teasing cats and playing with dogs. If he wore sunglasses, people might think he was blind.

Aguang said as they walked, "When we head back, you can buy one to wear for fun — counts as a souvenir."

"Going back is still a long way off."

"Just buy one — it won't cost much anyway. If you buy one, I'll follow you and buy one too."

Ye Yaodong thought those floral shirts and bell-bottoms were tacky as hell, but this was the trend — the most popular thing right now.

But sunglasses were actually pretty practical out at sea. The sea surface often reflects the sunlight, and having sunglasses on out there keeps it from being glaring.

Ah Zheng was instantly thrilled. "Then let's go, let's go, let's head back in."

The two of them, arms around each other's shoulders, walked back into the supply and marketing cooperative.

Ye Yaodong wandered around once more, saw some overalls for sale, and bought two more — but these were children's sizes.

The two silly boys at home are going to be thrilled to death.

The other three watched and felt envious — they had no sons! Only daughters!

"Once I get back, I'm going to have a son."

"Me too."

Ye Yaodong glanced at them. Sons are useless — all they do is spend money. Better to have daughters, who buy things for their old man.

He wouldn't tell them that — best to let them have a bunch, a whole litter of sons in one go.

He changed the subject. "Looks like this typhoon didn't have much impact — just a couple of showers. The wind and rain have stopped now, probably passed. We should be able to go out to sea tomorrow."

"Probably just got brushed by the tail end of the typhoon."

They didn't see anyone along the way — everything was damp everywhere, and few people went out on rainy days.

They each carried a suitcase, originally wanting to show off a bit, but walking down the road there were only one or two ghostly figures, and they were hurrying by, heads down, eyes only on their feet.

Ah Zheng had been wearing his sunglasses when he came out of the supply and marketing cooperative, so he had no choice but to sneakily take them off again.

Utterly disappointed — he could only take it back and show it off to the villagers.

When Ye Fu saw Ye Yaodong come back carrying a combination lock suitcase, he had originally wanted to nag him a bit, but seeing they each had one, he stopped. You can't punish everyone — and they'd earned quite a bit of money lately. If the kid wanted a combination lock suitcase, then let him buy one.

The boatmen looked on and were quite curious, feeling them all over, and were very tempted — but once they heard the price, they lost interest.

They were just workers, so they shouldn't even think about it. Buying one back was just for holding clothes anyway, only slightly better-looking. Better save the money — after working so long, they hadn't even seen their wages yet. They'd have to get back to get paid.

"Dongzi, how much is this combination lock suitcase?"

"One month's wages for you."

"That's so expensive — why buy a combination lock suitcase when there are better things to buy? In the end someone will just haul the whole thing off in one go."

"I'm not putting money in it, so what is there to fear? Carrying a suitcase back looks great — returning home in glory!"

Ye Fu shook his head and let him be. When there's no money, you can't control him; when there's money, you can't control him even more.

After resting for three days, once the rain stopped, everyone slept well tonight.

The previous few nights, because of the rain, the washbasins and bowls in the room had all been brought out to catch water — in the middle of the night, everyone's ears were filled with the pitter-patter of dripping water.

The floor inside was very damp, so everyone had spread a layer of straw on the ground before daring to lay down the sleeping mats — otherwise there was no way to sleep.

No different from home — whenever it rains, the place turns into a sieve.

The next day, the sky was bright and clear, with a reddish glow on the horizon; the sun was definitely coming out, and the typhoon had truly passed.

It was fortunate; they were only swept by the tail of the typhoon, which lasted two or three days, causing little impact. However, the tides on the sea were still surging, the waves were somewhat large, and the seawater was very turbid.

Many fishermen on the shore were hesitating whether to set sail. The waves were a bit large; although they were only along the coast, small wooden boats were not very capable of withstanding wind and waves.

Ye Yaodong, Ye's father, and a few others were also discussing whether to go, since the typhoon had just passed, the waves were indeed quite large, and they would not recede quickly.

In the past, even under such bright, sunny skies immediately after a typhoon, they would always wait another day or two until the wind and waves calmed before setting sail.

But now it was the Fishing season; stopping for a day meant a huge loss.

Many fishermen on the shore were also reluctant, hesitating there, but no one dared to be the first to directly sail out.

They were also discussing it.

The younger ones were saying to go out and try, to take a look; if things looked wrong, they could just come back.

But the older generation was saying to stop for a day to be safer. With so many people on the boat, any accident would be troublesome. Besides, the waves outside were truly too large; it wasn't as if you could return immediately if you wanted to. The wind and waves were ruthless.

Just as they were arguing without resolution, a huge wave surged up, and with a "smack," it drenched a group of people standing relatively close, soaking them from head to toe.

"Truly chilled to the bone."

"Alright, no need to go. If the waves are this big right on the shore, let alone out there."

"Then shall we go back to continue sleeping?"

"Alright, everyone go back, go back. The waves are too big; we can't go..."

Just as everyone was shaking their heads in regret, another huge wave surged up. This time, however, it rolled up a large patch of seafood, as if making up for the previous wave coming up empty-handed.

With a "plop," fish, shrimp, and crabs rolled up everywhere on the ground. Some people were even hit by them; a fish landed directly in someone's arms, filling them completely, which delighted the person greatly.

Suddenly, an octopus appeared in Ye's father's arms. He was stunned. Only when the octopus's tentacles wriggled and crawled back and forth on his body did he react in panic, quickly grabbing hold of it.

"Buckets, buckets, buckets! Did anyone bring a bucket? It actually fell straight into my arms..."

"A crab fell on my head too! It even clamped onto my hair. Holy crap, those big claws..."

"There's a fish under my feet too, and it's still moving..."

"Hurry, search again, pick them up. They've all been rolled up by the waves..."

"Ouch, this fish is huge! You guys, hurry and pick them up. Our lunch ingredients are right here..."

Everyone on the entire dock was caught off guard by the wave, and at that moment, they all bent down, heads lowered, to pick things up.

Just as the waves on the sea surface had finished surging and receded, another wave instantly swept over, rolling up another surge. Everyone was either squatting or bending over with heads down searching, and their backs took a heavy hit.

Ye Yaodong was also stung by the seawater, but two large white pomfrets fell from his back.

Since his body was already soaked by the seawater, he simply took off his tank top to hold the fish; otherwise, they had come out with empty hands and had nothing to carry them in.

"Ah, damn, who over there picked up a huge jellyfish?"

"We have one over here too. Two smaller ones just happened to fall nearby. Whoever goes back, grab a basket. We have nothing to carry them in and can't take them back."

"I'll go get it, I'll go get it..."

Everyone on the shore went crazy with joy, smiling broadly as they bent down to search everywhere.

"Yesterday, when the wind and waves were huge, nothing was caught. Today, the rain has stopped, yet the waves are still hitting so hard..."

"How do you know nothing was caught yesterday? People nearby yesterday already ran out to pick things up."

"Then let's wait and see if there's more. Anyway, we can't set sail, and we're all soaked..."

Ye Yaodong and the others each gathered the goods they had picked up at their feet, waiting for someone to bring a basket to pack them.

The waves didn't keep hitting; they hit twice and then stopped.

"Forget it, no need to keep picking here. Anyway, nothing valuable was found. Let's rest for another day today, or come out again in the afternoon. When the waves aren't so big, we can go in the afternoon."

"Then let's wait and see after lunch..."

Ye Yaodong, seeing that they weren't setting sail, decided to make a phone call home later to check, since a typhoon had struck and almost the entire coastal area would be affected.

When the rain affected them the day before yesterday, he had made a phone call back. Now that the typhoon had passed, he prepared to make another call to check and report that they were safe.

The waves on the shore didn't keep hitting high. While they waited, they basically just surged and washed up a little. Waves as big as the ones just now did not appear again.

So, when the baskets were brought over, they threw all the goods everyone had picked into them, then carried them directly back to the rental house, not joining the locals in the excitement of waiting on the shore to pick things up.

It was already September. He didn't know if the typhoon these past few days, which delayed the fishing, would result in slightly more catch.

Before the typhoon, when they were fishing, all the boats had already crowded into the bend after a full day of fishing.

It was good that this typhoon caused a delay; it provided a buffer to see if the stocks could recover a bit more and not be fished out so quickly.

Otherwise, based on his observation, in no more than ten days, the catch in that sea trench would probably be fished out almost completely.

There were too many fishing boats, and the daily catch volume was huge; the fish surfacing simply couldn't keep up with those being caught away.

If it was all fished out in about ten days, everyone would have to find another way out. It was just unknown when the Fishing season would end.

Last year, the catch was already low before the Mid-Autumn Festival, so they ended the fishing and went back to celebrate. If they waited until the sea trench was fished out and the catch on the sea surface was low, they might just go back early.

After returning, with nothing to do, Ye Yaodong discussed it again with his father, talking about possibly ending the fishing early this year and going back early.

Ye's father watched every day and was mentally prepared.

"If we finish fishing early, we might as well just go back early. After all, we've been out for over a month now. Last year, we only stayed a little over a month before going back. This year, we've already been out longer than last year, and you've earned a lot."

"Who would ever complain about having too much money? We can't just look at the time. We came early this year, so the Fishing season should be a bit longer. It's rare for the dock to be so quiet lately, with no one causing trouble. It feels a bit of a pity to go back so early."

"Yes. After the local young people had that fight, we've been completely peaceful and comfortable. Going back directly like this is quite a pity. Let's decide when the time comes."

"Mm."

"How much have you earned since we came out until now?"

"Almost 20,000. Expenses haven't been calculated yet; we'll calculate them slowly after we get back."

Ye's father nodded, his eyebrows and eyes curved in a smile, his mouth open to reveal a full row of yellow teeth.

"Much more than last year. Last year, one boat hadn't even earned as much as one boat this year. Last year, even without deducting expenses, it was only eight or nine thousand."

"(Only) My father describes it so well."

Sure enough, people are the most greedy animals. Once you compare, earning 10,000 in a fishing season now feels like nothing special.

Ye Yaodong was also extremely satisfied with this year's harvest. He lowered his voice and said, "We can still fish for a few more days now. Our two boats definitely won't break 30,000 this year, but 27,000 or 28,000 is definitely no problem."

"Shh, keep your voice down, don't let the others hear."

"I'm already speaking very quietly. Isn't it because you asked?"

"Hehe, after being busy for so many days, of course I'd want to know the harvest. Coming out on this adventure trip, it's worth it no matter what."

"Mm, you go chat with the others later, tell them a bit. That spot probably won't last much longer, won't hold until the fishing season ends. Give the others a heads-up. I need to go make a phone call."

Ye Fu instantly became a bit worried. "If the goods from that sea trench this year can't even last until the fishing season ends, then next year will probably be even more uncertain. There will definitely be more boats next year, and it will definitely be harder to fish."

"What can we do? Anyway, the money we should have earned, we've already earned it back this year. Just consider it money earned in advance. Earning so much right under the locals' noses, we should be content."

"Their local fishing boats, after one fishing season, probably only earn two or three thousand. We secretly earned this much, we should be laughing up our sleeves."

"Next year's business, we'll talk about it next year. We haven't even finished fishing this year. I'm going to find the in-laws to chat."

After Ye Yaodong saw his dad go out, he followed him out, and incidentally called his friends along to make phone calls together.

Otherwise, one person coming and going alone is boring. If you end up alone, you might get dragged into an alley by jealous people and get beaten up, that would be unfair.

It just so happened that everyone was idle too. When they heard he was going to make a phone call, they all followed along.

"Sigh, I all want to go back."

"Me too. First time being away this long. A golden nest or silver nest isn't as good as your own doghouse."

"Then you all hurry back and go, just leave the money for me to earn."

"Bah, that won't do. Money is my life."

"Dongzi, how much longer do we have to fish?"

"Probably end before Mid-Autumn. We'll see then if there's a lot of cargo. If there isn't much, we'll head back early. Anyway, you all have already earned plenty."

"You're the one who truly earned plenty. Your two boats are both powerhouses. We each only have one boat. You're the only one with two boats, earning more than double what we do."

"Shh shh shh, don't talk about money when we're out. Talk about something else happy."

"Dongzi!" Ah Zheng sneakily whispered: "The boatmen on my boat said they found a good place, somewhere you can have some fun and let loose. Recently, whenever they win money, they go in groups of two or three, taking turns."

"You want to go too?"

"Don't you all want to go?"

"Asking that question is obviously asking for me to get beaten." Ah Guang said resentfully.

"Oh right, your brother-in-law is right next to you."

Ye Yaodong glared at Ah Zheng, "Ah Guang can't go. You two go ahead, up to you. I'm not going anyway. I have to keep myself pure for my wife."

"Pfft~ if you don't say and I don't say, who would know?"

"My conscience won't allow it. My wife is so good. At home she takes care of the kids, looks after the elders, and is there drying fish and watching over the workshop. How could I mess around?"

"It'll overflow."

Ye Yaodong kicked him, not caring about him. Seeing the post office right in front of him, he went in first—first come, first served.

"Dongzi, while you're at it, get the old man at the gate to go to our house and call someone too."

"Got it."

The village's phone lines have been ringing off the hook during this period. Every couple of days, someone calls back. This month's phone calls already exceed the total of all previous months combined.

The moment Ye Yaodong picked up the phone, he heard children's noisy sounds nonstop from the other end.

Ye Ye Xiaoxi's voice was still the loudest, and he even heard the sound of someone slapping a table.

Lin Lin Xiuqing's voice came helplessly from the other end of the phone: "Your daughter lately can make phone calls with even a brick, jabbering away. Just now she heard someone at the door calling that there's a phone call for you, and she took off running. I almost couldn't catch her."