Chapter 941: The taste of home (added for alliance leader Moonlight Soda Water 1)

"Uncle Zheng is joking. Where do you still need to rely on us? You have a big boat yourself, we are hard to catch up with."

"Stop joking, you have so many boats in your hands, I count as a ball..."

"You say that, it makes me feel ashamed. In front of you old predecessors, I count as a ball..."

A Guang also said with a smile: "Alright, alright, don't talk about this in front of me. Among the people standing here, only I am a ball, all relying on a good father."

"That's your good life!"

"Can it be as good as yours? Salted fish Dong

"Hahahaha, stop blowing smoke, stop it... I just got lucky, you all aren't bad either..."

After splitting the money, everyone's pockets were bulging and their faces were full of smiles; they weren't in any hurry to leave.

Showing up just to take the money and leaving immediately would look too eager and too unsightly.

After the usual round of commercial mutual flattery, everyone finally took their leave, satisfied.

Ye Yaodong shoved his hands into his pockets, clutching the thick wad of cash, and couldn't help but whistle.

Ye Fu watched his smug look but didn't dampen his spirits; after all, today was truly a happy occasion—a good day for counting money.

Ye Yaohua hadn't closed his mouth the entire way back, greeting everyone he saw; he felt that if he didn't say something, he couldn't express his excitement.

Yet, everyone was thinking about wanting a piece of the pie.

"Adong, you're going again next year, right? We'll go with you next year..."

"Yeah, bring us along next year too..."

"Hire you as a boat hand?"

"I mean bring me along to fish! I want to captain a boat. You don't make much as a hired hand; how can that compare to having your own boat? Every time they go out and come back, they're all 'ten-thousand-yuan households.' Since when did being a ten-thousand-yuan household become as common as cabbage, being wholesaled in batches every two months..."

"You don't even have a boat, and you're talking about captaining one? What kind of big talk is that?" someone nearby said.

"I can buy one! I can borrow money to buy one first. They made a fortune on one trip this year; are you afraid I won't make enough to pay for the boat?"

They had only just returned in the afternoon, and by evening, everyone was already planning to follow along next year.

One by one, they were itching to go order a boat immediately.

Ye Yaodong just dropped a single sentence—"We'll talk about next year"—and walked away directly. The people behind him kept discussing it endlessly, their enthusiasm undiminished, not discouraged in the slightest.

All the way back, everyone he met asked him questions—either asking how much money he made, or asking if he was going again next year and if he would take them along.

He dismissed them all with "We'll talk about next year" and didn't slow his pace.

When his father and second brother met acquaintances who pulled them aside to talk, they stopped to greet them, but he just said he had things to do and left first, not stopping at all, while reminding his second brother to go home early.

These idle chats were meaningless, all just flattery and requests to be taken along.

Idle chatter—who knows how long that would drag on? He had a huge pile of money in his pocket that he needed to get home first, lest it disappear.

His second brother was still talking on the road about how he had too much money in his pocket and was so happy he was getting a bit carried away.

Ye Yaodong walked quickly home. At the entrance, there was still a huge crowd of children, noisy and restless. The smiles on their faces were brighter than the stars in the sky; for them, today was truly happier than the Lunar New Year.

When those children saw him, they immediately swarmed around him.

"Third Uncle..."

"Third Uncle... Third Uncle..."

"Dad, wait..."

"What is it?" Ye Yaodong was surrounded and couldn't even walk.

"Can we go ice skating in the workshop tomorrow! The ground here isn't flat, we can't skate. Only your workshop is big, and the ground is flat, you can let us skate."

"Aren't there dried fish in the workshop?"

"We'll just stand on the edges holding the wall, just walking a bit. We don't know how to skate yet, we have to learn first, we definitely won't touch your dried fish."

"Yeah, yeah, we'll just hold the wall and walk. We were just playing in your courtyard for a while, but Third Aunt chased us out when she brought the chickens and ducks back, she thought we were too noisy."

"We promise we won't knock over your dried fish!"

"Let me go back and ask your Third Aunt when the fish inside will be dry and how they're coming along. It's already dark today, you guys play again tomorrow."

"Can't we do it now?"

"What's the rush? You got so many gifts today, can you even play with them all? Take your skates home first, play tomorrow. Play with something else tonight, you'll have to go home to sleep in a little while anyway."

"Alright."

"Let's go, let's go, look at my little car, it's so cool, it's awesome..."

"I have one too, let's play with the little cars..."

The children beside him started chattering excitedly again, and in no time, they all ran off to the empty lot nearby to play.

With no one blocking his way, Ye Yaodong headed straight home.

Just as he entered the courtyard gate, he smelled the rich scent of chicken soup. He had smelled it when he was at the entrance earlier, but the fishy smell in the air was also strong, so he hadn't thought much of it, just assuming someone was stewing chicken.

The old lady was sitting in the main room in front of the television.

"Where's Aqing? Why is she stewing chicken again?"

He looked left and right, then peered into the doorway of the room, but didn't see anyone.

Seeing him return, the old lady hurriedly stood up: "She took the clothes you brought back to the river to wash; she hasn't come back yet."

"What's the rush? It's already dark and she's running out to wash clothes. It would be fine to wash them tomorrow. I haven't even showered tonight, she'll just have to wash them again when I change."

"She just can't sit still. She should be back in a moment. She finished tidying up, killed the chicken, and chased the ducks back before going out to wash clothes. You go shower first, you've been tired all day. By the time you're done, the chicken will be ready to eat."

She took the basin from the stand, intending to fetch him hot water.

Ye Yaodong took the basin: "I'll do it myself. You watch your TV, don't busy yourself."

The old lady didn't insist, just tilted her head and said with a smile: "Being away for two months is too hard. You didn't eat or sleep well out there, you look like you've lost a lot of weight. It's just right that I had to chase the chickens and ducks back tonight; they're easier to catch in the coop."

"I'll stew one chicken tonight, and another duck tomorrow night. You just got back, so rest well at home these few days and nourish yourself. Don't rush to work."

"You've earned so much money, you won't be able to spend it all in this lifetime, don't work so hard. Rest more at home. You've hired so many children to work, just let them do it. Those kids are diligent, they bring a cart of firewood over every day even when there's nothing to do."

Ye Yaodong nodded in agreement while scooping the hot water.

It was impossible that he wouldn't be able to spend it all in a lifetime; it was only a few tens of thousands. It looked like a lot now, but in a few years, inflation would be terrifying.

Still, he had to think carefully about what to do with this money, otherwise, it would really be eaten up by inflation. He would discuss it with Aqing later.

The old lady kept chattering away beside him. He had already carried the water to the back door to shower and had taken off his clothes and pants, but the old lady was still standing by the door, watching him and nagging.

"Stop nagging, I know everything. You go watch your TV, I need to shower."

"Oh, alright, alright, I won't watch, I won't watch. When you were little, I was the one who bathed you. You were so tiny back then, all white and thin..."

Ye Yaodong looked at her back helplessly.

When people get old, they like to reminisce. Even as she walked into the house, she still had to mutter a few more words.

He had been on the boat all day and hadn't done anything, so his body wasn't actually dirty. He had just walked back after getting off the boat and sweated a little from the sun, so he hadn't showered the moment he got back.

He rubbed some soap on himself, rinsed off, and was done.

The old lady hadn't been idle after going inside. Once the lid was lifted, the rich, pungent aroma of chicken soup wafted through the entire house and spread through the doors and windows to the front and back.

Ye Yaodong hadn't been very full to begin with, and after walking back and forth, he felt a bit hungry smelling the scent. He missed it dearly; this was the taste of home.

By the time he finished showering and went inside, the old lady had already scooped a large bowl of chicken soup and placed it on the table, the chicken meat piled high.

"Come quickly, come quickly, eat while it's hot. I don't know where your father died off to. You went out together, and he didn't say he'd come over. I'll have to send some over to him later, it's such a bother."

"He's on the road with Ye Erge, chatting with others. I don't know if he'll come over later. If he doesn't, I'll just send it to him after I finish eating."

"He's not even proactive about eating, having to have it sent to him... You eat first, don't worry about him..."

Well, he was the favorite grandson, sons were useless.

"I'll kill a duck tomorrow, and maybe another goose the day after? That goose has been raised for over half a year and is quite big. It looks like it weighs twenty jin; one can equal four chickens. One or two have started laying eggs these past two days, I'll cook goose eggs for you tomorrow morning..."

"I've collected those first-laid eggs, they're the most nourishing..."

"No need, just kill the chickens and ducks. Keep those geese, how could we eat so many? Raise them for a few more months and kill them at the Winter Solstice."

"There are many, we raised a lot of chickens, ducks, and geese this year. Eat without worry, we raised them for you and the children to nourish yourselves anyway."

"Keep them. You drink some chicken soup too."

"I won't drink, I'm observing a fast. I have to chant scriptures for the Bodhisattva later."

"What fast? I got you those dentures so you could eat meat, and you're still fasting? Eating vegetarian isn't good for your health."

"I started fasting after you all left. I'll eat meat again after I fulfill my vows tomorrow."

"Alright then."