Chapter 934: All Done Fishing

The moment Ye Yaodong heard her mention the children, his face broke into a smile, and on the other end of the phone a noisy clamor of children's voices could be heard.

"Give it to me, give it to me…"

"Give it to me first, I want to talk to Dad…"

"I want it, give it to me… give it to me…"

"Mom, you stop talking first, give it to me, I'll make the call…"

"Is there a phone for my dad? Why doesn't Dad ever know to call back? Give it to me, I want to ask Third Uncle…"

"All of you, stop fighting!" Lin Lin Xiuqing snapped, and only then did the other end of the line quiet down.

Ye Yaodong also said, "How did you end up bringing the whole pack of kids over? So noisy."

"They were all playing at the door to begin with. The moment they heard Xiao Jiu shouting that Dad was on the phone, they all came running over. So annoying, chattering away without end."

"When is Dad coming back?"

"Dad, remember to bring me a gift!"

"Dad, I miss you! Miss you! Miss you… miss you…"

Daughters really are the considerate ones—the first line was spoken by Ye Ye Chengyang, the second by Ye Chenghu, and the last one was Ye Ye Xiaoxi shouting at the top of her lungs.

And after saying it she kept yelling on and on, endlessly repeating miss you miss you…

The old father's heart bloomed with joy. When he went to the supply co-op earlier he hadn't seen any little floral skirts; in a couple of days when he's free he'll go look again. It wouldn't make sense for the stinky boys to have things while his little padded jacket doesn't.

Lin Lin Xiuqing, worried about whether the typhoon had affected them, held back the children's noise and asked a round of questions.

"No real impact, just rained for two days. The wind passed last night, and today it's clear again. The waves are a bit big though, can't go out to sea yet. I'll stop for a day today and see how it looks."

"Good, good, good. You be careful. Out there on the road it's not like home—safety first. We're all at home waiting for you to come back."

"These past two afternoons, did the dried fish get damp? Is it okay?"

"It's fine. I heard the weather forecast ahead of time that there'd be a typhoon, so I didn't dry any for several days. It's been raining here too these past two days, but no leaks. The mouths of the sacks are all tied up tight, don't worry. Once it gets dark tonight I'll have A-Cai check if there's any stock and bring some back, then I'll keep drying."

"Mm, stock up more. I'll probably still be back by the end of the month, before Mid-Autumn."

"Then remember to bring a few more mooncakes. That big meat-filled one from last year was pretty popular, the kids love it too. Don't buy anything else, and don't listen to them—buying gifts and all that…"

Lin Lin Xiuqing chattered on and on, while on the other end of the phone there was also a noisy clamor of voices shouting to buy, to buy.

Right after that, in no time at all, the phone ended up in Ye Ye Chenghai's hands.

"Third Aunt, let me talk to Third Uncle for a bit. Last time I didn't get to say anything, I missed him so much…"

"Third Uncle, why doesn't my dad ever call back? How come you're so free? You tell my dad to remember to call more often too…"

This stinky boy—just now he was thinking the kid had some conscience, got his hopes up for nothing. The little rascal actually thinks he's free.

"Alright, next one, switch."

"Get lost, get lost, let me talk. Dad, remember to bring me a gift when you make big money. I want a Golden Cudgel…"

"Later I'll have your grandfather carve you one. Alright, next one…"

Ye Ye Chengyang's voice immediately came through the phone, "Dad, just send me a red envelope…"

Ye Yaodong: "…"

You really know how to ask for things.

"Me too, me too…" Ye Ye Xiaoxi chimed in loudly.

"Alright, alright, let your little aunt take the call."

After saying that he handed the phone to A-Guang. Each of them was staring eagerly, waiting to take the call—he couldn't hog too much time.

Anyway, as long as everyone's fine at home, that's enough. Every one of the kids was just talking nonsense.

As they took turns on the phone one by one, Ye Yaodong, with nothing to do, went off to a corner to smoke. He didn't expect to see Chen Chen Guolong swaggering down the street with a few of his underlings.

"Oh, out-of-towner, what are you doing here?"

"Ah? What a coincidence. I'm making a phone call—just finished and came out to wait at the door. They're still on the phone inside. Where are you lot off to strike it rich this time?"

Every one of them was a fish that slipped through the net. They'd just finished a fight yesterday, and today they were already out on the street with bruises still purple on their faces.

"Got nothing to do, going skating."

"Haven't seen you around lately—did you strike it rich?"

"Heh, not bad, not bad, just scraping by."

"Oh~ got it, got it."

"If life weren't tough, who'd be willing to take risks. You out-of-towners aren't easy to mess with either—always moving in big packs, dozens or hundreds of people, a whole mob. Every time I go collect protection money I have to think it through, wait until you lot are few before going."

"Lucky that day the other bunch of yours were pretty cowardly. I found a new way to make money too, so I'm not counting on that anymore. Just sneak in and beat them up good, then go make money elsewhere."

So this guy also bullies the weak and fears the strong?

Ye Yaodong chuckled, "Isn't it even better if there's a more profitable way? If there's a way to make big money, of course you go make big money."

"Of course. I'm off—time to live it up." Chen Chen Guolong gave a greeting and walked off straight away.

Just in time, the other three also came out after finishing their calls.

They all craned their necks, watching the backs of Chen Chen Guolong and his group.

A-Zheng: "Dongzi, you were chatting with him?"

Xiao Xiao: "How do you manage to chat with anyone, strike up a conversation with whoever it is?"

Ye Yaodong gave them a baffled look. "No, I just happened to pass by and saw him. He asked why I was here, so we exchanged a few words."

A-Zheng: "Aren't we supposed to be enemies with him?"

"Are we enemies?"

A-Guang: "Aren't we enemies?"

"Are we enemies?"

A-Zheng scratched his head. "I guess not really? We didn't even fight. Chen Jia-Brother Nian is the one who's his enemy."

Ah Guang also looked puzzled for a moment. "That seems right too. He hasn't been that rude to us, and it seems like he's been gradually pushing his luck with the Chen family year by year."

Xiao Xiao blinked her eyes. "So it's normal to say hello when passing by?"

"Of course it's normal, what's the big deal? More friends mean more paths. Besides, he doesn't collect protection fees anymore; he's found a way to get rich. Let's go, let's go home. Did we settle the bill?"

"We settled it. If we hadn't, could we have walked out?"

"Ah Guang, being generous and wealthy, already paid for everyone in advance."

"Not bad, you have vision. Let's go buy a few wheat cakes while we're at it? I want one with meat filling." Ye Yaodong gave the order without any hesitation.

"I want one too."

"One each!"

Ah Guang glanced at the three of them, seeing their eyes wide open even wider than his own, so he had to admit defeat.

"Let's go together."

"Alright then."

Taking advantage of the sun coming out and more people on the streets, the four of them walked while looking, and ate while looking. By the time they returned to the rental house, their bellies were all round and full, so there was no need to eat a meal.

Of course, Ah Guang paid for all the snacks while they strolled and ate, since he had earned money from the brothers, he couldn't be stingy.

The fishing that followed remained calm and peaceful. Their relationship with the Chen family year by year was also good, and they always maintained the practice of going in and out together.

Also, because they had been hanging around the dock for a long time, they had become familiar with some of the fishermen in the small town who went out to sea from the same dock every day.

They could greet each other and chat a few words when they met. Occasionally, they would give away the seafood they caught that they couldn't finish in their nets, and the other party would give back some local melons and fruits to eat on the boat. It was a mutual exchange.

It wasn't as strange as when they first arrived, and no one was spreading gossip.

After all, most people nowadays are quite simple, and there must be a give before there is a take between people.

There were so many of them, so as long as there weren't any major conflicts, the local fishermen wouldn't deliberately cause trouble for them. Plus, with the Fishing season in full swing, everyone had a good harvest, so no one kept staring at them. Mainly, everyone knew they had guns and didn't look easy to mess with.

Thanks to their diligent efforts of three trips a day, the jellyfish in the sea trench gradually decreased at a visible speed. After about a week of fishing, the number of jellyfish in the sea trench was almost gone.

Everyone saw it with their own eyes and knew the reason clearly: it was because there were too many fishing boats and they fished endlessly without stopping. Their fishing speed was much faster than the speed at which the jellyfish floated up.

The night before, they had discussed it collectively, to see if the situation of jellyfish floating up after one night was enough for them to fish for another day.

Obviously, whether it was because the Fishing season was about to end or not, the number of jellyfish floating up these past two days had dropped sharply.

It was only noon today, and they had already swept all the jellyfish in the sea trench clean with one net. Before the fishing boats returning to shore to sell had come back, there were already no jellyfish left to catch here.

After everyone had no catch to fish for, they all gathered together in one place.

"It's already gone?"

"It's gone here, does that mean it's all gone?"

"So what do we do if there's nothing to catch? Do we have to scatter and look on the open sea?"

"Are there any places like this left? Can we find another one? I saw jellyfish in other places intermittently. Are there other sea trenches like this? Is it possible to find another one?"

"Impossible, right? How can there be so many such good places? Relying on just this place, we twenty-plus boats have been fishing here for over a month, catching dozens of tons a day."

"Do you think it's like Chinese cabbage? How can such a good place be found so easily? Even the locals don't know about it; I discovered it by accident."

"So from now on, does everyone fish for themselves? Go find their own?"

"Why do I feel like the numbers have dropped a lot recently? Has the Fishing season passed?"

"I feel the same way. When we cast a net and went back last night, the number inside felt about the same as what we saw this morning. There wasn't much more this morning either."

"Right, it feels like there's no increase. Does that mean there aren't many jellyfish left at the bottom either?"

"It's also possible that during this period, the Fishing season has been floating up intermittently. The Fishing season is almost over, so there aren't many left to float up."

Ye Yaodong listened as everyone chattered like thousands of ducks, shouting and discussing across the boats. He himself moved a stool to sit by the ship's rail, propped his hands on the gunwale, rested his chin on his hands, and gazed at the sea surface.

In his heart, he thought: When are they leaving? When are they leaving? Hurry up and go. The jellyfish have been fished clean. They are still here talking, talking, talking, talking. Why don't they hurry out to the open sea to look for more?

"Dongzi, what do you say?"

"Huh? What do I say?"

Ye Yaodong heard someone call his nickname and looked up with a puzzled expression.

"Everyone says that from now on, we should just fish for ourselves and not stick together. Anyway, there's no catch here anymore. The sea area is so vast; sticking together isn't appropriate."

"There's no catch here anymore, so why form a group? Everyone goes fishing on their own, wherever there's catch. Anyway, you just calculate the time to dock yourselves."

Hurry up and go, hurry up and go.

After leaving empty-handed, he would dive into the water to take a look, to see what the sea trench at the bottom looks like and investigate thoroughly.

Last year, they actually didn't fish until the Fishing season ended completely; it was just nearing the end, but there were still some jellyfish popping up intermittently every day. So he didn't dive down to look, and he was also in a hurry to return before the Mid-Autumn Festival.

This year, it's already fished clean, so he can go down and take a look to see how deep it is and if there are still jellyfish at the bottom.

As for the workers on the boat seeing his fishing equipment, it didn't matter. He would just say he got it through connections found by a leader. Anyway, he would move it to a large boat by the end of the year.

Moreover, most of the people on his boat are now cousins who still rely on him for food, so safety concerns are nothing to fear.

"Then let everyone fish on their own. Since there's no catch now, if we all gather together, no one will fish anyway. It's better to just go home directly."

"Then everyone should just scatter. It's all fished clean here. We've been talking here for several rounds, and only one or two have come up nearby. It's not even enough to fill everyone's teeth."

"Then we're leaving..."

"Then let's go out and look for ourselves..."

"Then we're leaving too..."

"The other fishing boats haven't returned yet to deliver goods to the shore. If they come over later, Ah Dong, you guys help remind them to take their boats out to fish too. As for anything else, we can talk about it later when we chase them down at night."

After speaking, no one lingered. The boats brought by the Chen family year by year moved first, and the other boats followed behind and went out together.

Since it was all fished clean, everyone didn't want to stay any longer and waste time. There was still most of the day left today. If they went out and looked around again, they could catch a little more on the sea surface.

Although the harvest in the coming period would definitely not compare to the previous time, they could still catch something. There was still more than half a month until the Mid-Autumn Festival; they couldn't waste it. They could still earn a little more.

After all, this place was discovered by Ye Yaodong first, and he selflessly contributed it to share with everyone, allowing everyone to earn quite a bit of money during this period.

Now that the area has been fished out, it might as well be left for him; occasionally catching one or two stragglers would still be barely acceptable.

One boat after another departed in succession, but every fishing boat leaving would first pull up alongside his, thank him, exchange greetings, say a few words, and then head off first.

Most of the fishing boats on the sea had already sailed away from the trench, passed through the bend, and the distance between everyone gradually widened as they went farther and farther; all that remained were their original five boats and Little's little boat.

Ah Zheng's boat had gone to the dock and hadn't returned yet.

"You all should head off too, it's been so long and not many have popped up around here? Waiting here won't do any good, no need to wait. We'll stay here and see if we can pick up any leftovers; if not, we'll leave in a bit too."

Little nodded, "Alright, then I'll head off first. When Ah Zheng comes back later, let him know."

Ye Yaodong nodded.

After Little left, Father Pei also departed.

Ye Ye Yaopeng and Ye Ye Yaohua's two fishing boats also left at the very back.

The entire trench instantly became empty and desolate; just this morning it had been overflowing with boats, and now in the blink of an eye only his two boats remained drifting inside.

"Dongzi, should our two boats also split up to fish separately?"

"Let's not for now. Let's linger here a bit and see? See if the jellyfish popping up intermittently are plentiful; if it's barely acceptable, we won't need to go out to the open sea to look for them. Searching everywhere takes time too."

"That works then, let's keep watching. The other boats should be back soon."

"Let's start fishing first, another one just popped up over there…"

With less cargo, the people on the boat seemed a bit idle. Originally this year they had hired one extra person, thinking more people would mean faster fishing and they could keep busy.

Now that there wasn't that much work, they didn't need that many people either.

Ye Yaodong sat with an easy conscience, not shifting his bottom at all, continuing to sit by the gunwale, propping his chin with his hand, staring at the sea and spacing out.

He'd wait for those boats to return, and after they left, he'd go into the water to take a look.