Chapter 954: Another Acquisition

Perhaps it was because he had gone to sleep too early the previous night, but Ye Yaodong woke up at the crack of dawn the next morning.

His daily routine had been a bit chaotic lately; going to bed as soon as it got dark and waking up at two, three, or four in the morning was all due to the constant back-and-forth travel.

The toil of going out to sea was nothing compared to this.

Seeing that the mother and daughter beside him were still asleep, Ye Yaodong climbed out of bed lightly, but the bed board let out a creaking sound that woke Lin Xiuqing.

"Didn't you say you weren't going so early today? Why are you up so early?"

"I went to sleep early, so I woke up early. You go back to sleep for a while; I'll just get up."

He should see when he could buy a Simmons mattress. This bed board—never mind doing anything else, it creaked every time he turned over at night. It was only durable because it was sturdy; even when Ye Xiaoxi jumped up and down on it, it didn't collapse.

However, he would first have to ask a carpenter to build a wooden bed. The height of this bed's frame was fixed, and it was a hassle to adjust or modify it. When the time came, he could move it to his sons' room so that the two boys could each have a bed; otherwise, they would be sleeping with half their bodies on the floor every day.

Perhaps he could also wait until the end of the year when the two-story house was built before ordering beds and buying Simmons mattresses.

As Ye Yaodong got out of bed and put on his shoes, the thought just crossed his mind.

Lin Xiuqing looked at the sky outside the window, which was only just beginning to brighten, and obediently lay back down.

People grew old and needed less sleep. Every morning, the old lady was the first one up to cook porridge and feed the chickens and ducks anyway, so it made no difference whether she got up or not.

When Ye Yaodong went out, he was surprised to find that the old lady was not in the main room. The fire in the stove was still burning, but he didn't know where she had gone.

However, he heard a tapping sound. Walking toward the source of the sound at the doorway, he saw the old lady sitting on the doorstep, holding a hammer and tapping at river snails.

"What are you doing?"

"Eh? Why are you up so early? The sky has only just brightened; why not sleep a little longer?"

"Why are you tapping river snails?"

"Feeding the ducks. Yesterday, those children each brought back a pile of river snails. They had nothing to carry them in, so they even used their school bags. I couldn't just throw them away, so picking out the meat to feed the ducks is just right."

Ye Yaodong looked at the water bucket on the side; it was crawling full of river snails, each one with its tentacles extended, clinging to the walls of the bucket. They were huge, so they really could only be fed to the ducks.

"They were all bored after eating their fill; playing in the water was the real reason. They were afraid of getting a beating or a scolding for coming back soaking wet, so they just grabbed a school bag full of river snails on the way."

"Hehe, they still got beaten anyway. Go and feel if the school bags hanging on the bamboo pole are dry yet."

He obediently walked toward the two bamboo pole racks standing in the courtyard. The military green canvas bags were embroidered with a five-pointed star, and the words "Serve the People" were written on them; they were considered the trendiest school bags at the moment.

"Not dry. This fabric is too thick; it won't dry overnight. It'll take a whole day in the sun to dry."

"Then let Chenghu carry his books to school today."

"You go inside and tend the fire; let me do the tapping here."

Ye Yaodong squatted down and took the iron hammer from the old lady's hand. The old lady supported herself with her cane in one hand and held her waist with the other, slowly standing up, quietly making a fist to pound her lower back.

"My legs go numb after sitting for too long; I have to stand for a while."

"Isn't there a small stool next to you? Why not sit on the small stool?"

"Sitting on that requires bending over; an old person's waist can't take it."

"Alright, this isn't urgent work. You should leave it for Ah Qing to do; why must you be here tapping away so early in the morning?"

"Isn't it just that sitting there is idle anyway? It's better to have something to do."

Ye Yaodong grabbed a handful of river snails, scattered them on the ground, and picked up the hammer, *pap-pap-pap*, a whole pile. The meat he tapped out was quite large. After removing the shells, he picked out the meat and threw it into an empty malted milk canister nearby.

Looking at the quantity inside, it wasn't much; just a thin layer at the bottom that didn't even cover it. The old lady shouldn't have been at it for long, or perhaps the old woman's hands and feet were slow.

The old lady stood and chatted for a while, and after recovering, she leaned on her cane and went into the house.

The porridge cooking in the pot also needed to be stirred with a spatula from time to time to prevent it from sticking to the pot.

By the way, she also fished out several salted duck eggs that were cooking with the porridge and put them into a water ladle.

Immediately after, she used chopsticks to create a cross-shaped rack in the pot, placed the already prepared dried fish on top to continue steaming, and then walked to the door, leaning against the door frame to watch Ye Yaodong work.

"You don't have to tap them all out; just tap a little. Keep the rest and tap them tomorrow. Those ducks go to the beach to find fish and shrimp to eat by themselves every day; they don't really need much feeding."

"Got it."

Later, he would tell them to find some small ones the size of a fingernail today, and they would stir-fry them with spicy snails in the evening.

After eating too much seafood, they needed to change their palate and eat something freshwater.

After the boys got up and received the order, they were all happy. This time, they had instructions and were ordered to work, so they could openly go into the water after school without getting beaten.

"Third Uncle, do you want the crabs in the river? I saw some huge ones yesterday, all in the crevices of the rocks, so many of them."

"Yes, yes, yes, they were as big as a fist, and they felt very fat. I caught one to play with, but my mother threw it away, saying we couldn't even finish eating the ones from the sea, let alone catching ones from the river, and said I was too full, and I got beaten twice more."

"I want them. Those are called hairy crabs. When you get out of school this afternoon, catch all the ones you see and bring them back. Remember to bring a bucket to school at noon so it's easier to catch them after school."

"Good, good, good, Third Uncle, we'll catch a bucket for you to drink with this afternoon."

The children were all extremely excited.

"Don't forget to cut pig grass, or your mother will peel your skin off when you get back."

"Know it, know it, let my sisters go cut the pig grass, we'll go to the river to catch snails and crabs."

"Third Uncle, my father and the others don't eat things from the river, saying they have a muddy smell, and only give them to the chickens, ducks, and livestock at home. Why do you want to eat things from the river?"

Ye Yaodong backhanded a slap onto Ye Chenghe's head.

It was bad enough that this child was stupid, but he also didn't know how to speak!

"If you don't know how to speak, shut your mouth! No one will treat you like a mute!"

"Oh..."

"Still not going home to eat?"

"Oh."

Ye Yaodong sat at the door, with a pile of dogs sitting or squatting by his feet.

Today the sky was a bit gray, with no light on the horizon; it was probably an overcast day. It was cool in the morning and evening, and there was a hint of the crispness of autumn.

It was already October, and there probably wouldn't be any typhoons. This year could be considered a peaceful year, with no major typhoons, at most just the tail end of a small one sweeping by.

He recalled in his mind that there seemed to be a big typhoon next year, but he couldn't quite remember the specific month.

In his impression, he only remembered that there was a strong typhoon in '85, which had a great impact on the local area, and the village lost quite a few fishing boats.

Just as he was pondering, the old lady called him back into the house to eat. The whole family was already up.

He had no choice but to cast the thought aside; it was a matter for next year anyway.

After the meal, there was still half an hour before the departure time, but seeing the whole family waiting at his courtyard gate, he thought there was nothing else to do, so they left early, sending Ye Chenghai to call Uncle Zhou.

He went to the workshop to tell the twins on shift to help keep an eye on the house.

The neighbors on the left and right had also made a fortune following them to catch jellyfish, so now they were extremely enthusiastic when they saw them. Their relationship hadn't been bad to begin with, but now they were even closer.

Early in the morning, while feeding the chickens and ducks at the door, they curiously watched the whole family dressed so well and standing at the door, so they all curiously walked over to ask.

"Are you all going somewhere to be guests or visit relatives? The whole family is dressed so nicely."

"Ah Qing, when did you buy this dress? It's quite pretty; I've never seen you wear it out before..."

"Going out to be guests so early in the morning? Is today a very good day?"

"Auntie, when did you buy this brooch? The big red flower is shiny and really pretty. Is your whole family going out together?"

Lin Xiuqing was also a bit embarrassed to be named. Ye Yaodong had bought her the dress a few months ago, but she hadn't been embarrassed to wear it out yet. Just now, it was only under his strong request that she wore it.

He said that if she didn't wear it this year, the color would fade by next year. The new clothes hadn't even been worn yet, and they would suddenly become old clothes.

She had already been praised by her sisters-in-law just now, and now she was being watched by the crowd.

Ye Mu was actually very happy to be praised. "This was brought back for me by Dongzi from the provincial capital yesterday. We can't buy this here; only the provincial capital has it."

"We are going to the city to look around. It just so happens we're free. The three brothers have had their shop in the city for so long, and we haven't been to see it, so we're taking the time to go together today."

Sister-in-law Ye smiled and said, "The men have things to do, and we women are idle at home anyway, so we're just going along to see, and by the way, look around to see what the city is like, and if it's as lively as our market here."

Everyone couldn't help but show envious expressions.

"Going to the city? And the whole family is going together? So cool. I thought there was some happy event in your family, and the whole family was going out to visit relatives."

"I haven't even been to the county town, and you're already going to the city? Aiyo, your family is still the best, with good fortune. You're even going to the city to play as a whole family."

"Tell us what the city looks like when you get back. We can't go, but at least we can listen..."

Sister-in-law Ye was also all smiles. "Hehe, we'll tell you about it when we get back. Why hasn't the tractor come for such a long time?"

"This tractor is almost becoming your family's. The whole village is being used by your family; you might as well buy one yourself."

"Yeah, you ask for a tractor to haul goods to the city every three days, you might as well buy one yourself. It can be used for decades, saving a lot of money."

"Exactly, like the one in the village, it only costs three or four thousand yuan now, right?"

"Depends on the horsepower. The one in the village is 12 horsepower; a 25-horsepower one costs 6,000." Ye Yaodong couldn't help but speak up.

Lin Xiuqing asked in surprise, "How do you know?"

Uh... he forgot to tell her last night, only thinking about keeping his private money.

But it didn't matter; he would talk to her properly when he got back tonight.

"When I went to the provincial capital, I passed by a tractor factory. When I got off the bus, I asked about it roughly, so I know a little, but I didn't have a chance to go in."

"Oh."

"Are you taking the children too?" The neighbor sister-in-law looked at the group of children standing on the side and asked again.

"Why take them? They have to go to school, and it saves us the trouble of watching them. If they get lost, there's nowhere to find them."

"Let them go to school by themselves later. They're all so big, who needs watching?"

"Hey, it's here, it's here, I heard the sound..."

Everyone's spirits were instantly lifted.

The children also stretched their necks. After the adults all got in the car and left, they immediately jumped three feet high and cheered excitedly.

Without adults watching, they were also equivalent to being liberated. With no one in charge, they could do whatever they wanted all day today.

The old lady held her cane and tapped Ye Cheng-hai, who was shouting the loudest.

"Behave yourselves. Your father and mother are not at home, so you must honestly go to school. Come back obediently at noon to eat. Otherwise, my legs and feet are not agile, and I have nowhere to find you. If you don't behave, I'll tell your mother when she gets back, and you'll have to get beaten again."

"Hehe, we will definitely be honest, definitely behave."

"Go, go, go, go home and find the toys..."

"And the roller skates, I don't know where Mom hid them..."

"We can't get into that room..."

"Find them first..."

The few of them ran while talking, scattering in a flurry.

Lin Xiuqing took Ye Xiaoxi with her into the car, and only after arriving at Ah Guang's gate did she carry her down to keep Ah Guang's daughter company.

Fortunately, Ah Guang and the others also knew they were going to the city today, and they were tired from resting early last night. When they got up early today, they were all prepared, and they could leave as soon as they lifted their feet.

Ye Xiaoxi had a playmate of the same age to play with, so her attention was also attracted. Moreover, the two little babies were also tricked into the house and coaxed with things to eat, so they didn't look for the adults anymore.

Father Lin in the city had received the news two days ago and had made an appointment with someone in advance.

As soon as they arrived at the shop, Mother Lin led the large group of people to Lin Xiang Hui's breakfast shop.

It was already nearing noon, and there was no one in the breakfast shop. The couple was clearing the stall and tidying up, preparing to cook lunch. It just so happened that a large group of people arrived, so they all ate together.

The couple opening a breakfast shop also made it convenient for Father Lin and Mother Lin. The problem of eating was solved, and they didn't need the two old people to cook, which saved a lot of trouble.

Sister-in-law Ye was seeing her own shop for the first time, curiously looking left and right.

"Is your breakfast shop business good? Why does it look like there's no one? It seems there aren't that many people around either?"

Sister-in-law Lin smiled while busy. "It's noon already. We do breakfast business; where would there be people at noon? And this market is a morning market; there are the most people in the early morning. Of course, there's no one at noon. We're about to close the stall."

Lin Xiang Hui also said, "I heard recently that the market is going to change, changing to opening at 9 or 10 at night and closing at 12 noon. I don't know if it's true or not. They say it's to make it convenient for people from remote towns around to come and transport goods."

"Anyway, what time it opens doesn't affect you; you also do breakfast."

"Right, so we didn't specifically ask."

Mother Lin smiled and greeted everyone. "Come, come, come, you guys hurry in and sit. The rice has already been cooked in advance. Two big pots were cooked; I don't know if it's enough to eat. If it's not enough later, there are steamed buns and meat buns to make up for it."

"Too polite, such a large group of us coming over still has to trouble you..." Ye Mu also said politely.

"What trouble or not trouble? We're all our own people. It's rare for your whole family to come to the city to look around. It would be being a stranger not to eat here. After eating, go around and look properly; you haven't been here either..."

"Good, good, good, we can eat anything, don't be too troublesome..."

The two families were polite back and forth, walking inside, and after sitting down separately, they chatted properly about the situation of the nearby market.

Sister-in-law Lin brought out a basin of sea bass soup, a large bowl of braised pork, and stir-fried a basin of potatoes and a basin of eggplant.

"It's not as convenient as at home, so I didn't make so many varieties of dishes. You guys just make do, ha. When you go back to your hometown next time, I'll entertain you properly."

"It's already very good. There's fish, meat, and vegetables, and they're all in large basin portions. It's enough, very good. You guys are so busy, and still have to trouble you..."

Everyone was polite back and forth again, saying a lot, and then they picked up their chopsticks.

While eating, they started chatting again. Ye Yaodong and Father Ye were anxious to see the shop, so the two finished eating early, waited for Ah Guang and his son for a while, and then went out with Father Lin, leaving the others to eat slowly.

After everyone finished eating and helped clean up, they went to look around the outer area first, and then went into the market to stroll slowly.

Ye Yaodong's side was also fast. Although there were many people who had put out the word that they wanted to sell their shops, seven or eight of them, not many people came today.

Some people disappeared while talking, some had temporary things to do, and it was too far to come. There were reasons for everything.

Only three people came. Although he was quite disappointed in his heart that he couldn't buy many, he thought about it later, and buying in batches was not bad, so as not to buy too many at once and be too conspicuous.

Father Lin only told people that his relatives wanted to buy.

There is a long time to come; the first year hadn't even finished yet.

Three shops, two at the No. 3 entrance and one at the No. 4 entrance, Ye Yaodong wanted them all. There were only three in total, so he couldn't pick. It was better to take the ones with slightly worse locations and use them as warehouses to store goods first.

After the fish sauce was transported over after the New Year, it would also need a warehouse to store it. The original warehouse was already full of dried fish.

The one at the No. 4 entrance just wanted to get rid of it quickly, saying it was bought for 3,000 yuan, so it was still 3,000 yuan. The two at the No. 3 entrance felt that their location was better than the No. 4 entrance, and wanted to add 200.

Ye Yaodong refused to add, only saying that the original price was what it was. The location wasn't that good, half a catty to eight taels, the whole area around was cold and clear. It was already good enough that they could get rid of it at the original price; adding price was impossible.

It was originally spending the same money, all depending on luck.

The area around was cold and clear, and they still wanted to raise the price on the spot. It was already good enough that he didn't bargain.

He didn't want to bargain, also thinking that people who could buy shops should have loose hands. If he really suppressed the price, he estimated that people would keep it in their hands and wait and see first.

Only half a year, and losing one or two hundred in the transfer, who would be willing? Unless they were in a hurry for money.

Those two people had no choice, and after considering it, they agreed, thinking that anyway, they bought it for how much, they would sell it for how much. It was good to be able to get the capital back and not have to worry about this shop problem again. No loss, no gain.

Just like this, Ye Yaodong very smoothly took down three more shops.

However, he only said that he was buying for his relatives, and everyone didn't feel suspicious. After all, they were indeed a large group of people.

He found the market department to help draft a contract, act as a witness, and then went to the Industry and Commerce Bureau to file a record. After finishing, he settled the money for the shop with them.

This trip, he specially brought 20,000 yuan, not thinking that he could still have more than 10,000 left.

The original hope was only achieved by one-third, but he could continue to pay attention in the future. Things would never develop according to his ideals.

Three shops, he hung one under the name of each of his two sons.

As for his daughter... all three were surnamed Ye, he felt it was a bit inappropriate, so he hung the other one at the No. 4 entrance under Ah Qing's name, and would give it to Xiao Jiu later.

He had the common problem of all men. Although he liked his daughter more than his sons, his daughter would always have to marry out. He could give her enough dowry, but it wouldn't exceed his two sons.

His sons would also have to wait until he died to possess all his things, but his daughter could possess what he gave in advance.

With him there, that was Ye Xiaoxi's confidence.

After Ye Yaodong and the others left, he put away the contract and the filing form, and then spoke heart-to-heart with Father Lin.

"If Big Brother has the heart to buy a shop, he can buy it early. According to the development of the wholesale market now, the prospects will definitely not be bad. If you don't buy it now, it will definitely rise in price in a few years, and it will rise more and more outrageously. It won't be easy to buy even if you want to."

"If Big Brother feels that the location he bought is not good, he can put it there first. Anyway, his shop has already been rented for a year, so he can work in the original location first."

"When the surroundings slowly develop and it gets more and more lively, he can move."

Father Lin frowned and thought, "Do you really think that even shops with bad locations will rise in price in the future?"

"Definitely. The surroundings will get more and more lively. The rent will definitely rise. Renting from others is not as good as buying one yourself, so as not to give others the opportunity to raise the price on the spot. I'm not talking about my Big Brother; I'm talking about the market situation. This shop will definitely not worry about renting in the future."

"I'll talk to him later. I mentioned it once before, but he was thinking about earning money first..."

Ye Yaodong calculated, "Hmm... three months, he should also know how much he can earn every day. The daily fluctuation should not be large. Now it can be considered stable, and money is coming in every day. You can persuade him."

"It's just that buying it empties his pockets, and he will feel that these few months were in vain, and he has to compensate for his family's foundation. He should consider it again."

"Then let him see for himself. Otherwise, save for a few more months, and talk about it after the New Year. If he's really in a hurry, it's not urgent for these three months, and it won't be earth-shattering in just two or three months."

He also understood this feeling. He finally earned a lot of money, and hadn't been happy for long, but returned to liberation overnight. Although he bought property, having empty hands would also make his heart ache. It would really feel like a few months were in vain.

If it were him, he would also think about waiting to save more before considering it. This way, even if he spent it, there would be a surplus in his hands, and it wouldn't ache so much to look at.

And feeling that there is money left in his hands, accumulating it would also be faster. If it were empty, he would feel that the accumulation was slow.

"Right, talk to him later. If he has concerns, wait until after the New Year or before the New Year to talk about it."

After Ye Yaodong finished a major event, his mind also relaxed.

His Big Brother and Ye Erge also came up after eating, accompanying him throughout the whole process, but didn't speak, just watching them go back and forth, and then setting the shop.

Hearing him persuade his father-in-law to let his brother-in-law buy one too, Ye Yaohua was also extremely tempted.

Dongzi bought three at once, it shouldn't be wrong, right?

After Ye Yaodong finished talking with his father-in-law, he also looked at his two brothers. "If you have loose hands, you can also buy one and keep it in your hands. After all, two sons must have enough to share so they won't fight."

"Ye Erge only has one son, but who would dislike having too few ways to earn money? Money won't increase in your hands. Anyway, if a small part is gone, you can earn it more actively."

"Earn more, spend more; earn less, spend less."

"We'll go back and think about it, ponder it. After all, we just bought a boat." Ye Yaopeng said tangledly.

"How much was the deposit for that boat? The delivery period is next year, and the money is only needed next year. What are you worrying about now? There is a lot of money in your hands. Taking out a few thousand yuan to use won't make your heart ache."

"It will ache, how can it not ache? It's just that you earn too much and it won't ache."

Ye Yaodong shrugged. Of course, his heart ached too. He spent nearly 10,000 yuan directly today, but thinking that there was still a lot left, his heart didn't ache so much.

"Then you go home and think about it slowly, consider it slowly."

"We are also thinking about adding a floor to the house later, which will also cost a lot of money. In a few days, we have to prepare to order wooden boards and pillars. Let's talk about it later, see how much money is left after building the house, and we can't spend it all."

"Discussed and confirmed to add a floor to the building, right?"

"Right, you weren't at home these two days, and I discussed it with Ah Hua. He said you said it was okay before. We thought about waiting for you to finish your work, then talk about it together, and then decide."

Ye Yaohua also nodded. "Right, seeing that you are very busy recently and not at home, we thought about waiting for you to finish your work before talking."

"Okay, I have no opinion. If we want to build, of course we build together. Our three families are side by side, so we must build neatly together."

"Then when we go back, we will decide on the wood. The wooden boards on the second floor must be ordered from the carpenter in advance. Otherwise, it's not certain that the three families want to finish building before the New Year."

"Big Brother, just look at the arrangement."

Father Lin said with emotion, "Your three brothers' lives are getting better and better, and you have all built high-rise buildings. Not to mention the only one in the whole village, but you can also rank in the village."

"Father-in-law is joking. Dongzi is really ranked in the village. We can't. There are quite a few high-rise buildings in the village. This trip is not just our family earning money."

"That's also very good. In our countryside, when can we afford to build a high-rise building?"

"Hehe... aren't we all coming to the city now? It will always get better and better."

"Hehe, that's what I think."

Ye Yaodong pulled a long bench and let them sit down and talk.

"I don't know how long those women will go shopping. I didn't have time to take care of them just now, and I don't know when they went. Do you want to find them?"

"I don't know where they went, how to find them?"

"Department store, otherwise where else can they go? They must go to the department store first."

"Then let's go and see?"

"You go. There is a rickshaw at the door, a few cents is fine. I want to stay here and watch."

Carrying 10,000 yuan on him, how dare he wander around. ===== CHAPTER 955 =====