Back to the small fishing village in 1982

Chapter 1016 Inquiry (7000 words)
Ye Yaodong put his hands behind his back and walked around the workshop in a swagger. He walked around behind a group of women who were killing fish and also walked around behind a group of women who were washing fish.

They were chattering non-stop, and when they saw him coming they just smiled and greeted him, then continued talking. His arrival did not affect their gossip at all; their eyes, noses, and eyebrows were all full of drama, and they were talking with great excitement.

He listened curiously and stood nearby for a while.

"I didn't expect you to be so fearless. Last time you almost made money, but you didn't make it back alive. How long has it been since then?"

"Yeah, it's only been 10 days, and I'm already in a hurry to get out of bed and start drying fish again..."

"He still refuses to admit it, saying he's drying some for himself. Who would believe him? He buys hundreds of kilograms of it from Ah Cai every day, and he thinks everyone else is a fool..."

"You're not afraid of losing everything you have... It's so dangerous out there... Money is not that easy to make. If it was that easy, who wouldn't be able to get rich?"

"I didn't expect them to recover so quickly. They were out of bed in ten days..."

"How is he better? His face is still covered in bruises, his eyes can only open a crack and are still swollen, and he walks with a limp, yet he can't wait. He really thinks his life is too long..."

What these women were discussing was that after the New Year, Wang Laoqi and his two sons wanted to copy his path and went to the city to sell dried fish. At that time, they said that they finished selling the goods in the early morning and waited at the entrance of the station to take the first bus back at dawn. As a result, their money was robbed and they were beaten half to death. They walked back miserably and collapsed at the door of their home.

"I heard that they wanted to dry it out as soon as possible because the weather has been good recently. Otherwise, it might rain in a few days. If it rains from time to time, it will be difficult to deal with it."

"You really are not afraid of death. It was fine before, if you saved up for a year and then sold it, you wouldn't suffer any loss. At most you would be beaten up. But now you are actually spending money to buy it, and you are not afraid of losing everything and having to beg for food..."

"Of course they can't dry much. The weather is getting hot now. The best time to dry fish is of course autumn and winter. Now it's spring. If we wait a little longer, there will be more rain. They can't dry fish for a few days. What a waste of time. Do you think everyone can be like Ah Dong?"

"Yes, whether you can make money depends on your luck. I lost all my money and got beaten just after the first year. How dare you do this..."

After Ye Yaodong understood what everyone was talking about, he walked back inside. If they wanted to learn, then they could. If they really made a fortune, it would be because they were lucky.

Even though he was beaten so badly, he still dared to start drying the fish as soon as he was able to get out of bed and walk. This shows that he already knew the benefits and profits in it, so he was determined to do it again as soon as he was able to move.

He also thinks that getting rich really depends on fate and luck. Although there are great opportunities these days, they are accompanied by risks. It is easy to get rich, but also easy to get unlucky.

This morning the old lady sat next to a group of women who were picking up goods. There was a radio playing next to her. She happily listened to everyone talking around her while sitting upright and helping to sort the goods with her hands.

Maybe it was because the light was not good at night and her eyesight was not good, so she sat there where the fish were being killed in the evening to chat. Today the sun was shining and the light was sufficient, so she sat here.

All the children went to school today, and were sent away unwillingly before they had time to earn money. Only Ye Chengyang, who was not yet old enough to go to school, worked happily and hard.

As soon as he saw Ye Yaodong coming, he immediately shouted happily and loudly, "Dad!"

"Yeah, he's pretty hardworking. He didn't go out to play early in the morning, but he still helps with housework."

"Didn't you tell them that they would be paid ten cents an hour? Isn't that very positive? Ah Hai and his friends were planning to ask for leave this morning and not go to school. But they were beaten up and sent to school in a chaotic manner."

Ye Chengyang said with sparkling eyes: "Dad, you have to keep your word. Others charge 10 cents an hour, so of course I will do the same."

"Why would my own workshop pay me? When I get old, all mine will belong to you three siblings."

Ye Chengyang tilted his head and thought for a while, feeling that these words were quite familiar.

"But you are not old yet."

"Then it will all be yours from now on. How can you ask yourself for money? Be good and work hard. Ah Hai and the others are outsiders. They only need to be paid for helping us with work, just like those old ladies over there, they are all helpers. This workshop will all be yours from now on. Why should you pay me? Have you ever seen me pay myself?"

Ye Chengyang was a little confused by what he said, and he was dazed and didn't know what to say.

I'm a little confused as to whether I'll get paid for drying fish here?
Father Ye rolled his eyes. Aren't these the words that the woman at home used to say? She even used them to fool the child.

"Why did you get up only now? Don't you have to go to the county town to do some work?"

"Yesterday, Xiaojiu slept in the doghouse. The whole family searched everywhere for him in the middle of the night. It took a long time to find him, so we got up late today. I just came out after breakfast to take a look. Now I'm going to the county town right away."

"Sleeping in a doghouse? How could she sleep in a doghouse? She couldn't fall into a doghouse no matter how hard she tried. Didn't you lock the house when you went to bed at night? Did she run out by herself?"

Ye Chengyang was also surprised, "My sister slept with the dog yesterday?"

Ye Yaodong glanced at his silly son before giving his father a brief explanation.

"Luckily, he ran to the doghouse instead of outside. It was already dark, pitch black. If he had really run outside, he would have frozen to death."

"Well, I've learned my lesson. I'll have to keep a closer eye on you next time. I'm going to the county town. Do you want to come with me?"

"Yes, of course I have to go with you. You have to go to the shipyard today, so of course I have to keep an eye on you. If I go with you, I will not be cheated. I came here early in the morning to wait for you to go to the county town together."

"Then let's go, it's faster on a motorcycle."

Father Ye's eyes lit up, "Okay, okay, let's go on a motorcycle."

He was so happy that he habitually wanted to wipe his hands on his clothes, but then he remembered that he was not wearing work clothes today but a cotton-padded jacket for the New Year, so he stopped abruptly, then walked past Ye Yaodong and went towards the group of women washing fish.

"I'm going to wash my hands first, wait for me."

Ye Chengyang was eager to make a move, looking at it with a conflicted look on his face, wanting to say something but stopping himself.

Ye Yaodong smiled and raised his eyebrows, "Do you want to follow?"

"Dad, do I get paid for drying fish?"

"Well, I'll give it to you even if it's just reluctantly. Otherwise, everyone else has it, but you don't."

With a sly smile, he posed a difficult question to Ye Chengyang: should he stay here and earn money, or ride with him on a motorcycle to the county in style?

After Ye Chengyang knew for sure that he would be paid, he was happy for a moment, but his face was full of struggle, and he finally couldn't resist the charm of money.

"Forget it, I'll just earn my wages here. Dad, you have to keep your word."

"Well, do it well."

He nodded happily.

Given the choice between money and being in the limelight, he chose money in a pragmatic way, which is not a stupid thing to do.

After washing his hands, Father Ye saw that he was still standing there, and hurriedly urged him, "Come on, why are you still standing there? It will be noon soon, and you are still dawdling. Go early and come back early..."

Lin Xiuqing had just finished her meal and brought her children over to help with the work. She saw the father and son shouting and about to go out together, so she hurriedly asked him.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going to the county town to do something. You don't have to cook for us at noon. We'll leave on our motorcycles now. Remember to keep an eye on the house and make sure the boxes in the yard are not moved away. Let the old lady go back... Forget it, I'll lock a few more dogs in the house, two in the yard, two at home, and one in the room."

The workshop is so lively. The old lady likes crowded and lively places. There is no way to call her back to sit at the door, stretching her neck and staring at this place in a daze. It is better to let her stay here and listen to the excitement.

If she really got robbed, it would be too much for an old lady like her to handle. She probably wouldn't even be able to scream, and that would be the end of her.

The dogs at home are quite smart and clever. The two sides are close to each other here, so Aqing can just go back and open the door to take a look from time to time.

"That's fine. When Aliang and the others are carrying water, they can also stop by my house to take a look. It will be around 10 o'clock and we need to cook lunch, so I will go back."

"Well, then I'm leaving."

Before leaving, Ye Yaodong bent down and pinched the face of the little fat boy next to him.

The little fat boy had a bad memory and had forgotten nothing about his wrongdoing. He even smiled happily at him, revealing his two rows of tiny teeth.

He felt it was a bit amusing, so he squatted down and put his head close to her, "Kiss me?"

Damn~
"Be good, I'll buy you some candy when I come back."

Ye Xiaoxi nodded happily, and the two little ears on top of her head also trembled.

Seeing that he was hesitating there, Ye's father went ahead of him and shouted to the dogs running around, asking them to follow him home.

They followed obediently back to the yard, but when Ye's father called them into the house, none of the dogs went in and all of them retreated.

"Go in, any one of you can go in, quickly..."

All the dogs barked at him twice and then stood in the corner. Ye's father hurried over to catch one, but they ran around the house and then ran out one by one.

Ye Yaodong had just entered the yard when he saw the dog trying to run out, so he quickly closed the door.

"What are you doing? Why are you running? I have a glorious and arduous task for you. I raise a dog for a thousand days but only use it for a moment. Come here and cooperate with me. I will buy you pig lungs and bones later."

"Why are you running? Why are you hiding? Didn't you behave well last night? Keep up the good work today..."

He looked at the dogs barking and running around in the yard, and could only catch them one by one with his father.

Little Heizi is the biggest, so let’s go with it first.

Lock it up in a room, safer.

After Xiao Heizi was caught, he was dragged into the house with a look of despair on his face. He turned his head to look at the other dogs and made whimpering sounds.

"Be good, I'm just looking after the house. I'll give you a snack at night, definitely more than other dogs."

Ye Yaodong dragged the dog into the room and warned it, "Don't dig around, don't run onto the bed, don't crawl into the cabinets, just stay in the open space."

"Woo~"

It lay listlessly on the ground behind the door, with its head pressed against the ground, motionless, like a dead dog.

Ye Yaodong couldn't bear to see it in such a dead state, so he kicked it and said, "Stop pretending to be dead. Be smart and take care of the house."

It immediately stood up slowly again.

Only then did he lock the door.

"These dogs are well-raised and obedient. They are not wasted, and they can still look after the house."

"Of course it's well-fed. Look at its shiny, sleek fur. It must have eaten more good food than other dogs. If it eats more, it must work harder."

After saying this, Ye Yaodong went back to the yard and caught two more and locked them in the main room.

By the way, I took a basket down from the wall of the house. It was filled with shrimps that had just been dried after the New Year.

I had originally planned to keep them for my family, but now I was going to visit the county town and couldn't go empty-handed, so I just happened to bring a basket of shrimps with me, which would make the appearance look better.

When he locked the door, the two remaining dogs in the yard all hid in the corner. One of them even went out of its way to hide in the nylon bags he used to cover the boxes, as if that would allow it to escape from his sight.

The two dogs that were locked in the main room were now lying on the window, with their heads pressed against the glass, looking outside, looking somewhat pitiful.

"Be good and stay at home. I'm leaving. Don't eat anything given by strangers. If there are any other messy things in the yard, you are not allowed to eat them either. Do you understand?"

"Wang~"

Only one Dalmatian hiding in the corner responded, while the other Dalmatian hiding in the nylon bag remained silent.

He kicked the dog while riding his motorcycle, and the dog succumbed to his power and barked.

"Dad, go open the gate."

"it is good."

After Ye Yaodong rode out on his motorcycle, he locked the gate again.

Father Ye was already excited and climbed into the sidecar hurriedly to wait.

Except for when he just rode the motorcycle back, he touched it and rode it once. After driving it back and forth twice, he never sat on it again. He had long forgotten how to drive it, so it felt quite fresh to sit on it this time.

He had never sat in this sidecar before. He stamped his feet twice inside, touched the seat, and looked left and right.

"Hold on tight, I'm driving?"

He immediately sat up straight and held on to the hollow handlebars on the car to avoid being thrown out by the bumpy road.

After Ye Yaodong saw that his father was ready, he started the car slowly and then walked slowly towards the village.

Some old men and women were sitting at the door basking in the sun. When they heard the sound of his motorcycle, they stretched their necks to look towards the source of the sound, then stood up. They did not withdraw their gaze until the motorcycle was long gone.

Ye Yaodong could not hear the whispers behind him. He focused on the front and only sped up a little after he got on the main road.

A lot of time has been wasted since I got up, and it's already a little after 9 o'clock.

According to the speed of the motorcycle, we can reach the county at the latest 9:, but there are many people coming and going in the county, and the motorcycle certainly cannot be as fast as riding on the road, and it will definitely move at a snail's pace.

This motorcycle is quite eye-catching. There are only a few of them in the whole county. Only those who are well-dressed can ride one on the street. Most people carry a basket and ride on their own two legs.

He chose to take the small roads. Most of the county town was farmland at that time and had not yet been expropriated, making the urban area seem particularly small, just a tiny bit in size. After arriving in the urban area, he soon drove to the alley near Director Chen's house.

Even if he had ten times the courage, he would not dare to drive the motorcycle directly to the gate of the Maritime Administration, nor would he dare to drive it to the bottom of the family building, so as not to cause trouble to others.

"Dad, you watch here, I'll go over there, there are only two alleys."

"Don't you want me to go with you?"

"No, it's more important to keep an eye on the motorcycle. What if it gets stolen? We can't drive the motorcycle under someone else's family building. What if it causes trouble for the leader? We have to be more sensible."

"Okay, okay, I'll wait here. Remember to ask more questions and make sure they are clear. Don't get yourself into trouble. If the goods are being checked, we might as well just hand them over. Don't take advantage of them. It's not good to get into trouble, and don't make things difficult for others."

"I know. I know my limits and I'm not the kind of person who's blinded by money."

Ye Yaodong walked forward after he finished speaking. He took out his watch from his pocket and looked at it. After a moment's hesitation, it was only 10 o'clock and it was not time to get off work yet.

Thinking that I would have to wait for a long time downstairs in the family building, and the Maritime Administration was not far away, I simply walked directly to the door of the Maritime Administration and squatted there.

It's just that he was happy to squat at the door, and the guard was not happy to see him and came to drive him away.

He had no choice but to explain his purpose. The man looked him up and down, and seeing that he was dressed quite nicely and looked decent, he took two cigarettes from him and happily went in to report.

Ye Yaodong got up this morning and dressed up. He shaved off his beard which had not been shaved for a few days and combed his hair into the most popular slicked back style, making him look like a successful man.

Clothes make the man, and saddles make the horse.

There is some truth in respecting clothes first and then people.

When Director Chen heard that a fair-skinned and energetic young man was coming to see him, he thought it must be Ye Yaodong, so he hurriedly followed him out.

"Comrade Adong, why are you here again? Come into my office and sit for a while and have some tea."

"Okay, thank you. Sorry to bother you again. Are you busy? If you are, I will wait for you at the door until you get off work. There is no rush. It's nothing. Official business is more important."

"Nothing, just a small matter. Come in and sit for a while and have some tea."

"Okay, okay, why does it feel like there are fewer people here?" As soon as Ye Yaodong walked into the dilapidated yard, he saw that there seemed to be fewer people inside and several doors were still locked.

"I'm on some business."

He said "oh" but didn't feel comfortable asking more questions until he entered the office and handed a basket of shrimps to Director Chen.

"I came back from my first trip to the sea after the Chinese New Year to dry them. The weather was good these two days, so they dried quickly. I brought a basket here especially for you to try. These shrimps are good for calcium supplementation and are good for long-term consumption."

"Thank you. Sit down. Sit down."

Ye Yaodong went straight to the point and asked him what he had told him when he came over a few days ago.

"Is the canned fish matter useful to you? We were at sea this time and wanted to contact the fish collection ship we usually call, but we couldn't get in touch with it. I don't know if the group of people a few days ago have been released?"

Director Chen's expression was extremely serious. "This matter is confidential now. It involves a lot of things. I can't say anything, and you don't have to ask anything. This matter will take several months to be resolved. You have to contact the freshwater ship again, and don't ask about the original company."

Ye Yaodong immediately sat up straight. He had never seen Director Chen look so serious before. Although he had long thought that anything involving caviar must be no small matter, his imagination was limited and he did not have a clear understanding.

Now I knew something big must have happened.

Not to mention caviar, the boat full of canned fish alone is valuable, at least hundreds of thousands. He doesn't believe that there are no big fish involved.

I just don't know if it can bring any benefits to Director Chen, but since it was reported by others, it should have some influence and credit, right?

"Since this is a serious matter, are they going to salvage the sunken ship on the seabed?"

"How can we salvage it? It has sunk to the bottom of the sea. Who knows how many hundreds of meters deep it is? How can we salvage it? It's not like before near your fishing village, where it's shallow enough to salvage it."

Ye Yaodong nodded pretentiously, "That's true. It must have sunk to the bottom. Even if we spend manpower and material resources, we may not be able to salvage it. Anyway, we already have a piece of physical evidence."

"Yes, it has been transferred to the provincial government. How to solve it is not our business. I don't know how it will be handled. Just wait for notification."

"When the fishing boat sank, many boxes piled on the deck also floated on the sea. I didn't know about it, but I saw one floating near me, so I tried to fish it out of curiosity. The others that were not fished out in time floated away. Will they encounter other fishing boats at sea and be fished out by other fishing boats? What if these are accidentally fished out by other fishing boats and flow into the market?"

"I don't know. If there is no report to us, the public security bureau here and other public security bureaus will definitely know nothing. What we are investigating now is the background of the manufacturer... Comrade Ye Yaodong, keep it confidential. It is a confidentiality stage now. Don't ask anything."

Ye Yaodong understood instantly that people who bought canned fish in the market would just think they were normal purchases and eat them directly. Who among the ordinary people would send a can of fish to the public security bureau?
Generally, when fishermen see boxes floating on the sea and salvage them, they will just sell them directly, knowing that the boxes are valuable and can be sold for money. They will never think about whether there are any problems with the goods.

It's really a pity that people buy caviar by accident. I guess ordinary people will think that the merchants are unscrupulous and the things they sell are not what they said. They will just come to the store to ask for a refund. Except for foreigners, who in their country eats caviar?

Just like the bags of goods he accidentally fished out from the sea when he returned from Zhejiang Province the year before last.

After it was salvaged, would anyone be stupid enough to send it to the Public Security Bureau?
He must have sold it privately.

Therefore, he could also sell the boxes he salvaged directly at Linji, and he could take out the caviar separately and put it aside for a few months to avoid mixing them together when they are sold.

The most eye-catching thing in this batch of goods would be the caviar. At worst, he could just hold on to it and keep it for himself.

As for the manufacturers above, so what? A factory cannot only produce one batch of goods. It is also possible that the goods were made before and sold to other people.

After Ye Yaodong figured it out, he felt relieved. He thought that he should be able to sell it secretly.

"I understand. I don't ask anything and I don't know anything. I just came here today to give you a basket of shrimps so you can try them."

"Well, you have a lot of heart. There are not many small fishermen who can be as successful as you. Besides, you are still so young and down-to-earth. You are much better than some of the youngsters nowadays. Those youngsters just wriggle around in the park every day. What a mess."

"I don't think you've ever seen Director Chen's son or daughter?"

"My two daughters are in the army. I also have three sons. One is also in the army, one works at the city's power bureau, and one is in college. They are usually not at home. Having so many children is useless if they are not around. It is still just the two of us old people at home to take care of them."

Ye Yaodong's face was full of envy. "You are a complete winner in life. You are only in your forties, and your son and daughter are both very successful. There is nothing to worry about."

"People live to be 99, but they worry until . There are still many things to worry about. When I get old, I hope my children are around. If none of them are at home, it will be difficult for me and their mother to be called if something happens. Oh, forget it. Young people should work more."

"As long as you have something to show for yourself, you will come home eventually. You are not old anyway, you are still very young and in your prime. If it weren't for policy issues, it wouldn't be a problem for you to have more children."

"Haha, that's nonsense. I'm already old and my children are already this grown. If I have another one, people will laugh at me. How can I have the energy to raise a child?"

"What's so funny about this? They will only praise you for being still vigorous and a real man. But, we have to follow the policy now and respond to the country's call to have fewer and better children so that we can live a happy life. When you retire, let them send the children back. You can take care of your grandchildren to kill time and have someone to keep you company."

"Haha, so now I'm just looking forward to retiring in a few years when I'm older, and I don't expect much else."

"You will still have many years to go before you retire. You will surely be promoted in the next few years, and you can also help your children and be their strongest support. It is said that a father's shoulders are like a mountain, supporting all hopes. My father's shoulders are like a carrying pole, carrying the whole family."

Director Chen smiled and patted his shoulder, his face full of love, "You are still good at talking. I have three sons, each one is more serious than the other."

"Haha, the living environment is different. We are used to free-range animals in the countryside..."

Ye Yaodong sat there and chatted with them for a while, trying to comfort the empty-nest elderly man and make him happy for a while. Then he left with the excuse of not disturbing him at work.

Director Chen was also very happy to send him out.

Maybe he does feel a little lonely without his children around, and he can talk, so everyone treats him very nicely.

"You didn't ride your bike here?"

"Yes, at my father's place. He's traveling around the county. I'll go find him after I finish my work."

"Okay, then go back early. I haven't finished get off work yet, so I won't invite you to my house."

"No, no, you're busy. I'll go back with my dad directly."

"Well, take care." Director Chen smiled and waved at him.

(End of this chapter)