Back to the small fishing village in 1982

Chapter 1066 Matchmaking (Ah, collapse, my saved draft is gone)

People were chatting animatedly outside the house, and there was also chatter inside the house, mostly Ye Xiaoxi complaining about Pei Yu.

"Bad sister~bad sister~I don't want to play with you anymore, I don't want to sleep with you anymore~I hate you~"

Pei Yu opened his big clear eyes, sat on the edge of the bed and swung his legs, watching her scolding with tears in her eyes, with an innocent look on his face.

Seeing that she just looked at him without saying anything, Ye Xiaoxi started to cry while scolding him, "Wow~ bad sister~ ah~ scared~ snake~ snake~ bad sister~"

Lin Xiuqing took clothes for them first, then turned around and couldn't help laughing, then smiled at A Guang's eldest sister.

"Xiaoyu is still clean, but her trouser legs are wet and dirty. Take off her trousers first, and I'll get some hot water. Xiaojiu's sleeves and trousers are all covered in mud, so you need to wipe it off her body."

"Okay sister-in-law, I'll watch them here, you go get some hot water." She looked at Ye Xiaoxi who was crying and cursing and laughed, she was so happy.

"Bad sister~I don't want to play with you~"

Pei Yu tilted his head and looked at her crying, and said in a baby voice: "Don't be afraid, don't be afraid, you can eat..."

"No, it's too scary..."

“It’s delicious~”

"I hate you~"

The two of them were communicating in baby voices, and one of them even had a crying tone to it, which sounded as adorable as it could be.

When Lin Xiuqing was changing their clothes, she suddenly heard someone shouting outside, "Yingqiu~ Yingqiu~"

After A Guang's eldest sister responded, she said to Lin Xiuqing, "My father called me to go out and take a look."

"Go ahead."

After Lin Xiuqing changed the clothes of the two children, she asked them to stay on the bed and not get down. She took the water out to pour it first. As a result, just as she took the water out, she saw Pei Yingqiu running back into the house with a red face, and almost bumped into her and spilled the water.

"I'm sorry, sister-in-law..."

"what happened?"

Everyone at the table was laughing.

Mother Ye stood aside and smiled, "Just now the village chief asked Captain Chen how old he was and whether he was married. His comrades all said no. It just so happened that Yingqiu was here, so they thought of her. The in-laws heard everyone talking about it, so they called her out."

Lin Xiuqing also smiled at Captain Chen, who had an embarrassed look on his face. He looked dark and mature, but she didn't expect that he was still not married.

"This is a good thing."

The village chief and his friends at the dinner table also joined in the fun, saying with a smile, "It seems like you have a connection with our village, why don't you marry a woman from our village? Are you from this city too?"

"Our captain is from the provincial capital..."

"Oh……"

When they heard the provincial capital, everyone suddenly became less enthusiastic. A provincial capital was something that the country people from their small place could never reach, not to mention that it was far away.

Father Pei didn't think so. "The provincial capital is great. It's a big place, prosperous and lively. I often dock in the provincial capital when I'm trawling, and I can see the hustle and bustle of the city."

"I am also from the provincial countryside, not the city. Please stop joking. Girls are thin-skinned. What's more, we have a rule that we cannot get married in the garrison."

"This is not your base, and you are not sent here to be stationed. You are just here to support local construction. You will return to the city after building the lighthouse. A Guang is her eldest brother and he is still in the city. His family also has two shops in the wholesale market in the city." Ye Yaodong retorted with a smile and added some information about the Pei family.

Soldiers these days are still very reliable. The people's soldiers serve the people wholeheartedly and are full of sense of responsibility. Besides, they have been serving for so many years, so when they are demobilized, they will definitely be in good condition, which is much better than finding a job in the countryside.

Just think about how prestigious it would be, you'll be a politician in the future, which is definitely better than those country folk, and besides, they're all relatives.

When Lin Guangyuan graduates from junior high school next year, he will ask someone for help to see if he can get in.

How nice it is that we are all relatives and can help each other.

Several other sailors also followed suit.

"Yes, yes, Captain. We are not stationed here. You can marry a wife here and bring her to the city to settle down. After two years, when you are promoted, you can bring your family with you."

"It's okay even if we're stationed there. We can get married first. When the lighthouse project is completed, we can get a transfer order to station there. That will be after we get married, so it won't count as getting married at the station."

"Yes, yes, it's not against the rules, and you're over 25, you're already 26..."

Each one of them was more enthusiastic than Captain Chen himself. They were all excited and clamoring to introduce him to a bride, and they couldn't wait to get him married and enter the bridal chamber right away.

Captain Chen glared at everyone else with an embarrassed look on his face, but there was no threat at the dinner table; everyone was laughing and not afraid at all.

"Don't make a fuss. Don't affect the girl's reputation. It's okay to joke with me. Just go back and carry the weight for 20 kilometers."

Father Pei had no idea at first, but since the village chief and others started it, he became very interested and kept asking about Captain Chen's family situation.

Since he was asked, he felt embarrassed not to answer, so he just gritted his teeth and answered each question awkwardly.

For those who didn't give a complete answer, his comrades actively helped him to supplement it. As long as they knew the answer, they would tell him everything they knew, which made the atmosphere even more intense.

"Otherwise, you guys can repair the circuits a little slower and come to my house for dinner tonight?"

"what?"

"Ha ha ha ha………"

Everyone burst into laughter.

After Lin Xiuqing poured the water, she stood in the main room and listened for a while, with a smile on her face, before returning to her room.

Pei Yingqiu's cheeks were still red with embarrassment. She sat on the edge of the bed with her head down, not knowing what she was thinking.

The two children on the bed had made up and were doing somersaults happily.

"What are you thinking about?"

Pei Yingqiu raised her head awkwardly, "Nothing..."

"Haha, Captain Chen stayed in our hometown for a month. My parents-in-law said he was a nice guy. When he left after completing his mission two years ago, he even gave my nephew from my mother's family a set of sailor shirts. My nephew still treasures them and often writes to Captain Chen."

"We also supply dried fish to the troops. It was Captain Chen who helped to take the lead. Apart from anything else, Captain Chen is a really good person. I just don't know if this is fate."

Pei Yingqiu lowered his head and said nothing. Lin Xiuqing was too embarrassed to say more, so he stopped after saying two sentences.

After all, this is not her sister, but her sister-in-law's sister-in-law. It is not her turn to say much or worry too much. Anyway, she has a stepmother now and does not need her mother-in-law to help worry about her.

Who knows if Captain Chen will leave? If he gets married and leaves, it will be even more disastrous.

So she guessed that this was probably why soldiers were not allowed to get married in the garrison. They were afraid that after being transferred out of the garrison, they would abandon their wives and children, and if they told the country about it, they would be considered criminals.

There was constant talk of excitement outside, and Pei Yingqiu did not dare to go out for a moment, for fear of being teased again. She had no choice but to stay in the room with Lin Xiuqing and play with the two children.

Fortunately, there were two children present, so it wasn't awkward. The two of them put aside the previous topic and had a happy chat, and they also talked about Aunt Ma.

Pei Yingqiu said that Aunt Ma was always polite to them, but they were all grown up and didn't need to bother her with anything. They washed their own clothes. At most, they helped when Aunt Ma cooked. Aunt Ma basically did all the housework.

When Father Pei was not at home, Aunt Ma would usually live next door to accompany her own children. She would only call her if there was anything, but they would eat together.

Lin Xiuqing nodded. After all, the two girls of the Pei family were going to get married, so it was better to be polite to each other. The one she could really get along with for a long time was still Guang Huimei, but they were both not at home now.

However, after I bring the baby back home after giving birth, I will probably have to ask Aunt Ma to help take care of her during the confinement period. Fortunately, we are from the same village, and Mother Ye will definitely visit us every day and help take care of her.

After the noise outside had died down and the noise had faded away, the two of them came out of the house.

Pei Yingqiu did not leave immediately, but also helped to clean up the mess on the table.

However, Ye's mother was very polite and didn't let her do it, and just asked her to accompany the child.

"How can we let my aunt do it? We can just do it ourselves. It's just clearing the table. You go and look after these two little ones, and we'll clear this side."

The old lady politely pulled her back and told her not to get involved, so she had no choice but to go back into the house to look after the two children.

Lin Xiuqing also quietly followed Ye's mother to ask, and nodded towards the house, "What did that say just now?"

"Everyone talked about it as a joke, and after a while, they stopped talking about it. It depends on what the other person means and how the in-laws plan to deal with it. After all, he is a soldier and is away from home all year round."

"oh oh."

"Don't worry about it. It's their own father who will worry about it. We should just listen to the fun."

"Then don't tell anyone about it. If people find out, it will start to spread. This kind of gossip will change as it spreads. It will probably become outrageous in the end."

"I know, I know, I don't say everything."

"I'll clean up here. It's not raining outside anymore. Mom is going out to help promote the kelp collection. After I'm done here, I'll be able to go to the workshop later. Ah Dong will go out with them and wait until we get to the power supply box. Watch them busy working and they will probably be back soon."

"Okay, then I'll leave it to you to clean up. I'll go out for a walk." Mother Ye wiped her hands and got down to business.

Lin Xiuqing had to collect kelp in the afternoon and do some work, so she couldn't take care of the two children. The ground outside was wet, and if one didn't keep a close eye on the two children, they would probably get wet again.

So after finishing the cleaning, she followed Pei Yingqiu, each holding one child, and sent them to Pei's house.

Ye's mother was also very efficient. When she was walking towards the village after sending the children, a group of women stopped her and asked her questions.

"Ah Qing, does your family really harvest kelp?"

"I heard from your mother that you are planning to collect all the kelp that everyone dried a while ago. Is that true?"

"I heard about it too. When my sister-in-law next door told me just now, I thought it was just a rumor. How come you all heard about it? Is it true?"

After someone pulled her, a group of sharp-eyed people surrounded her soon.

It had just rained and it was wet outside, so not many people wanted to go out, but everyone was saying that their family was going to collect kelp, so some enthusiastic relatives and neighbors went to other people's houses to inform them.

Therefore, all the women in the village are now alert and running out to ask their neighbors.

Now that I have met the real culprit, how can I let him go?

"Is it true? I heard that her mother came out and said she would take as many as she could. I just finished collecting the kelp at home. It's all here. I'm about to send it over."

"I have also picked them all up. Luckily I picked up a lot, about 1 pounds. I heard that it is 6 cents per pound, and I can sell it for or cents here, which is enough to cover the seasoning expenses for a month."

"Six cents? That's fine, I found it anyway."

Lin Xiuqing looked at a group of people surrounding her and talking to each other, and some people were running towards her.

She quickly confirmed, "Yes, that's right. Ah Dong thought that everyone had picked up a lot of kelp some time ago, so he wanted to try to see if the kelp was easy to sell, and to increase everyone's income. This way, if everyone encounters it next year, they can pick up more."

"Okay, okay, this is good..."

"That's good. The things in the sea don't cost money. Everyone should pick up more next year. Today, no one thought of picking up the small ones. It's a waste."

"Then I'll go home and get it..."

Lin Xiuqing said loudly again, "Don't worry, it will take two or three days to collect. If you have relatives who have picked a lot of kelp, you can send it to my workshop, but not to my door."

"Okay, take it to the workshop, right?"

The enthusiastic women shouted loudly to those who had run away, asking them to send them to the workshop.

Those who already had the money in their hands walked beside her and followed her all the way to the workshop to weigh it.

There were not many people, so she asked them to wait while she went home to get the money. She paid as much as she could and there was no need to keep a record of it, which saved trouble.

She happened to have a lot of jars of change at home, and it was perfect for her to take out some of it to settle the small change.

Basically, each family brings more than five or six kilograms, and some even bring more than ten kilograms. There is no more than that. After all, everyone just picks up a little and keeps it there, eating it occasionally. There are always some in the sea every year anyway, it just depends on luck whether they will float to the beach.

If we had known it would sell for money, everyone would have gone crazy trying to get it.

By the time she sorted out a pile of change and took it to the workshop, there were already twenty or thirty women waiting there, and more people were coming in one after another at the door, holding seaweed.

Ye Yaodong was already in the workshop, trying to comfort everyone, "Don't worry, we'll take whatever you have anyway, just take your time, and once Ah Qing brings the money over, we'll weigh it."

"Here I am, let's start weighing. You weigh and I'll pay."

"Okay, let's start weighing."

Ye Yaodong shouted, then watched everyone squeeze forward and continued, "Don't worry, take your time and line up. If you sell out, if your relatives still have some, they can bring them back."

After the nonsense, Ye Yaodong used the newly bought scale to weigh the things, and also took a wooden scale and asked other younger brothers to weigh the things at the same time, so that both sides could do the weighing at the same time.

After weighing, Aqing gave the money immediately.

The first few people who got the money did not leave. They stood by and talked and chatted with smiles on their faces. The other people who had just arrived were also relieved when they saw that they could indeed make money.

Everyone was talking there, discussing how many pounds each of them had picked up and how much they could sell it for.
Some slapped their thighs and regretted not picking up more, while others regretted giving some to relatives and friends, feeling extremely regretful.

In the homes of villagers who don't have much income and don't have stable jobs, a little bit of money still counts, and even the smallest mosquito leg is still meat.

The work of collecting kelp was carried out in an orderly manner, and more and more people came to the workshop. People kept coming in, and those who had sold their products did not leave. Some came to watch the fun. It seemed that the workshop was crowded with people and full of noise, no less than a vegetable market.

After weighing for a while, Ye Yaodong handed the job over to another younger brother and stood aside.

Ah Zheng Xiaoxiao had already run over to watch the fun, but seeing that he was busy there, he didn't come closer. It was only after he saw them that he walked towards them.

"Why are you here?"

"I came to see you struggling, to see how you're going to make money. Is it useful to charge so much?"

"Just give it a try, it's just a way to make a living."

"Do you still want to go to the shipyard this afternoon? The rain has stopped."

"now?"

Ye Yaodong looked at everyone queuing there and thought there wouldn't be any problem. Besides, the items were only worth one or two hundred or two or three hundred yuan, and there wouldn't be many in their village.

By the time the news spread to other villages and people came, it was already after noon, and there were probably even fewer people, so it made no difference whether he was there or not.

"That's fine. Hand the goods here over to others. I'll go with you to the shipyard to take a look. I'll go talk to my wife."

Lin Xiuqing was too busy to pay attention to him, she just nodded, thinking that it would be fine as long as someone could help her weigh the items.

Ye Yaodong asked them to go back and ride their own bicycles. He also went home, rode his bicycle, put on his hat, and waited to meet them at the village entrance.

When he passed the power box, there were not many people gathered there.

After the meal, everyone had other gossip to talk about and focused on his workshop. Only his father, Pei's father, and a few village cadres were watching.

Thinking that someone had to watch over there, he went to talk to his father and asked him to watch over the workshop. He also told him that he was going to the shipyard with his friends.

They were gone for the entire afternoon, and it was not until dusk that the three of them rode their bicycles back to the village.

The work of collecting kelp in the workshop also came to a temporary end. When he came back, his father, mother and A Qing were sorting sacks of kelp and carrying them onto the cart.

"Why not put it in the small warehouse here? Where should we take it? Put it at home?"

Some time ago, Linji ordered another 5000 kilograms of goods, but he was not at home a few days ago, so A Qing weighed all the goods for him. The unused room in his home was vacated all of a sudden, and even the fishy smell in the house has dissipated a little in the past few days.

"It just rained, and I'm afraid it will be damp if the door is left open all the time. It will be better at home, after all, the door of the empty room can be closed and the window can't be opened."

"Oh, how many pounds did you collect?"

"Just as you expected, we collected more than 3000 kilograms of rice in bits and pieces. Some people from other villages brought some to sell later, but it wasn't much. Let's see if we can collect a little more tomorrow. 1 kilograms is impossible. Without advance notice, no one has stockpiled much. They just dried some and kept it for their own consumption."

"It doesn't matter. The rain has stopped. Let's see if anyone goes out to sea tomorrow. If they do, they will probably go to the nearby islands to search for goods. If the weather clears up, we may still be able to find some goods after waiting for two or three days."

"We'll see then."

Father Ye interrupted and asked, "How was your inquiry at the shipyard?"

"The price has gone up. A boat like the Dongsheng costs 16000 yuan, while a boat like the Fengshou costs 18 yuan, which is 000 yuan more expensive. The key is that it cannot be made yet, and it will not be made until the end of next year. If you go to the province in a few days, you can ask around. I called the city this morning and asked A Guang to go and ask around. Anyway, his family has ordered several boats in the city, so it would be a good idea for him to ask."

“So much more expensive?”

"Yeah, I don't know why, but it's so much more expensive. They only told me that the material price has increased and the workers' wages have increased. The key is that they told me directly that they can't make it and won't accept orders for two years from now. I don't know if they think I'm taking advantage of them and don't want to schedule it for me until next year."

"Then we can only ask somewhere else."

"Ah."

Ye's mother said, "Then you can do it later. There are kelp and fishing boats here, and there are so many boats at home."

"Don't worry about it until it's settled. You should worry about it when it's not settled."

"Let's not talk about it for now, let's push this cart home first."

Ye Yaodong waved to his two younger brothers and asked them to push the goods back to unload, while he continued to talk with Ye's father.

"Has the circuit been repaired? When I came back just now, I didn't see anyone at the power box."

"I don't know. I've been watching here all afternoon. I'll have to ask your mother..."

"It's repaired. The village chief and the secretary will return to the village committee at two or three o'clock. Those sailors will probably return to the town." After saying this, Ye's mother walked towards the bicycle in the corner.

"That's pretty quick. It'll only take half a day."

"How do you ride this bike? It's all muddy. It's scary. I thought I got it out of the mud."

"It just rained, the roads are all muddy, isn't it normal to ride like this? Look at my trouser legs, they're all over the place."

"You can only ride your bicycle for two more years at most before it's broken. Others can ride it for 30 years, but you can only ride it for three years at most."

"No, it can still be used after washing. Push it back and wash it."

Ye's mother felt really sorry for him ruining things, so after scolding him a few words, she really pushed the things back and helped him wash them.

Only Ye's father and he were left in the workshop.

"Why didn't you directly say you wanted to donate two boats during lunch?"

"Don't worry. They still have to hold a meeting to discuss it. There's no need for me to rush in. Once they're sure, they'll come back to me."

Knowing that they can sell them for money, bring income to the villagers and improve the living standards of the whole village, they will give it a try no matter what.

After all, the amount of labor required at the beginning is not that great and does not require the efforts of the entire village, but it is possible that the whole village will benefit.

Use small things to make big things happen.

He estimated that within three days at most, the village committee would call him to discuss the matter.

At that time, when they are having trouble with funding, he can donate two boats to show that he is highly conscious, sincere, and cares about all the villagers.

With his investment at the beginning, it is only natural to give him the profit after the harvest.

"It's good that you know this. Did you ask about your remaining six boats when you went to the shipyard this afternoon?"

"I asked, and they said I will have to submit one more in half a month, and the rest will have to wait until the end of the year or early next year. Maybe then I will have to submit two more at once, and the last two will have to wait until the middle of next year."

"That's perfect. When we get back, we can temporarily park it at the dock instead of renting it out. When we go to Zhejiang Province next month, the Dongsheng will pull ten small wooden boats, and the new boat will be used to carry more than 20 people."

"Correct."

"When you call A Guang two days later, you must also tell him about this and remind him to call the jellyfish factory to ask about it. Keep in touch with them more often. You must be more diligent at the end of the month and call every few days to ask about it."

"Ah."

“It’s not going to be easy this year.”

"It doesn't matter. It will be even harder next year."

Father Ye had nothing to say and could only ask when they would go out to sea after the rain stopped.

"Listen to the weather forecast tonight, check the weather, and then discuss it with Uncle Pei."

However, the reality was beyond our expectations. Before the weather forecast at 7:30 pm, it started raining heavily after dark.

The light bulb above my head flickered on and off, like a firefly.

The whole family was sitting there watching the news broadcast, and everyone had their mouths wide open, either looking at the flickering lights above their heads or at the crackling sounds coming from the TV.

"Wow~"

The old lady shouted anxiously, "Oh my, my, my, my, turn off the TV and unplug it quickly, there is no signal, there is a power outage again, don't burn it..."

As soon as she stood up, the light went out with a click.

“The power is out again!”

Lin Xiuqing also said at the same time: "You all sit still, I will go light the candles."

Ye Yaodong was also depressed and said: "The power is out again."

Ye Chenghu said happily: "It's raining heavily."

"Why are you so happy?"

"My brother said that we don't have to go to school if it rains heavily."

"You wish. The rain will stop tomorrow morning, just like it did today."

Ye Chenghu didn't dare to say anything for fear of being beaten.

Lin Xiuqing lit the candles and asked, "Will Captain Chen and his men come in again tomorrow to fix the circuit?"

"Who knows? Maybe he was scared away by everyone's suggestions during the day and doesn't dare to ask to come in."

"What if it comes again?"

"It doesn't mean anything if you come again. It can only be said that the first time is unfamiliar, the second time is familiar."

The old lady smiled and said, "The soldiers during the day were all very nice. If one of them doesn't want to, can you ask the others if they are willing?"

"You can't be so careless. You have to find out about his family background."

"I think Uncle Pei was also quite excited this afternoon."

"Don't say he's moved. I'm moved too. What a pity. The cabbages at home have been eaten by pigs. Damn, if it was two years later, what would Guang have done?"

"What are you talking about? Huimei is already married, you can't say anything nonsense."

"I'm just saying it casually, just to vent my complaints, I won't say any more."

　Ah! Damn, I set the timer to midnight, and updated directly...

　　I'm devastated. I just saved a manuscript with great difficulty, and I just threw it away like that. This should be an update after midnight!

　　Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, my defense is broken, please give me a monthly ticket to comfort me

　　
　
(End of this chapter)