Back to the small fishing village in 1982

Chapter 1133 Chocolate

Come to think of it, Ye Yaodong still found it interesting. Pei's father was really awesome.

When people reach middle age, both wealth and population will prosper!
"Your father married a good wife. He married one, brought up three, and now she's pregnant with another. Your family went from having only two male children to suddenly having a bunch."

Ah Guang rolled his eyes at him and said, "You're just going on and on. You're still just two adult men, me and my father."

"It would be fine if we wait two years. Lin Jianshe will be an adult. We are all family. Aren't we all on the boat now?"

"arrive……"

Ye Yaodong looked up and saw that they had really arrived at the dock, so he didn't say anything.

After paying the fare, the two men each carried a large cloth bag and walked towards Lao Hai, who was sitting at the door to enjoy the cool air.

"Morning, bro."

Ye Yaohai looked at his watch. "It's already noon. Is it still early?"

"Is it noon?" Ye Yaodong also looked at his watch and laughed, "It's only 10 o'clock, it's still morning."

"The early bird catches the worm. If you do this, others will make all the money."

"The early worm catches the bird, haha."

Ye Yaohai was stunned for a moment, "Strange, it turns out that you can say it the other way around, there's nothing wrong with saying it the other way around."

Ye Yaodong sat down next to him and asked straight to the point: "Brother, have you asked for the filling equipment for me?"

"How can it be so fast? You asked me to ask yesterday afternoon, and you want the answer this morning? Just wait, I'll find someone to help you ask when I can."

He nodded, knowing that this couldn't be rushed, it wasn't something that he could do in the future where he could just make a phone call and ask.

"Okay then. Please ask for me. If you have any news, please call me."

"What do you want to put in it? Are you going to sell ice water like them?"

"No, I want to pretend something else," Ye Yaodong changed the subject, "You sit here all day and have no business. Aren't you bored?"

"What's so boring? I can't even think of such a good job. In the summer, I can sit and enjoy the breeze, eat popsicles, and eat sunflower seeds. In the winter, I can bask in the sun and drink tea. If there is work, I can do it. If there is no work, it doesn't matter. It's so comfortable."

“It’s so cool.”

Ye Yaohai asked Ah Guang, "Did you find out everything you found out yesterday when you went to ask people?"

"I found out about it and checked the population of the family. There's nothing wrong with him."

In fact, he had been engaged once. The other party was a female educated youth who had been sent to the countryside and whom he had met before joining the army. She was only in her teens at the time. They were supposed to get married a few years ago when they reached the age to do so, but the engagement was cancelled when the educated youth returned to their hometowns. That's why Captain Chen has been single until now.

This is harmless to them.

It's just a trip to find out more about the family so that they can marry their sister off. If the other party is unwilling, then there is no loss for them. They can just give up and find a family nearby for her to marry off.

I really can't afford to delay it. I'm already a well-known old maid and I've divorced twice.

It's almost the same when compared to Captain Chen.

After hearing this, A Guang felt that it was a good match, except that it was a little far. However, since he was a soldier, it didn't matter much where his hometown was. Dongzi also always said that transportation would be more convenient in the future.

Their family will definitely have to buy a tractor at that time. Having a tractor at home will make it convenient to go anywhere. They don't have to drive around everywhere. At most, it will just take a little longer to drive.

He has already thought it through. Being a soldier is really popular these days.

They sat and chatted for a while, and then Ye Yaodong saw that it was almost time so he called them to go to the state-owned restaurant for dinner. He called all seven or eight of Ye Yaohai's brothers in the restaurant to come, so that they could make up a large table.

It was also very lively. He asked around at the dinner table and found out that most of them were surnamed Ye. They were all relatives and neighbors. Their ancestors were all from the same family. The village where their grandfather came from was basically full of people surnamed Ye, and those who were not surnamed Ye were all relatives in some way.

Fujian is really a place where clans gather. Even Ye Yaohai brought a large group of brothers from the same clan with him. They are really united. Unlike their village, there are many outsiders with all kinds of surnames.

After three rounds of drinks, those who were not familiar with each other became familiar with each other and could chat and brag freely. Even though they could not speak Mandarin fluently and their local dialect was mixed in, everyone could understand what they meant and the atmosphere was exceptionally good.

Men, after drinking, become brothers.

They didn't leave until mid-afternoon, when all the food on the table had been cleared away, and everyone's cheeks were red from drinking and their tongues were swollen when they spoke.

Ye Yaodong and A Guang followed them back to the dock, watched them lock up the hut and sleep soundly inside, and then left.

It’s no big deal for them anyway. If they drink too much, they can just close the door and go to sleep. It won’t have any impact.

Ah Guang also burped, "My legs are also shaking, I quickly stopped a tricycle and went to the station to buy a ticket. Fortunately, I had lunch early, so it's not even 2 o'clock now."

"Let's go, we should still be able to catch the last bus."

"I didn't expect your family to be so large, with so many overseas Chinese. I guess if these overseas Chinese want to take people out, they have to ask Lao Hai to make arrangements?"

"If you get your visa, of course we'll meet at the airport. If you don't get it, we'll have to meet at the pier. If you can't take a plane, you'll take a boat."

"Why doesn't my poor family have any overseas Chinese?"

"You can also choose to send your current brothers and sisters abroad, so that they can have overseas Chinese status in the future."

"Forget it. I don't have any capable relatives."

The two got on a rickshaw and continued chatting.

There were so many people around just now, so A Guang didn't ask too many questions. Now that he was a little more sober, he thought of the filling machine that Ye Yaodong had asked someone to ask about.

"What do you want that canning machine for? I saw you didn't intend to talk more, so I didn't ask."

"I used it to bottle fish sauce. I ate the bag of ice water a while ago, and I thought of using that bag to bottle fish sauce. This way it would be easier to transport, and there would be no need to store it in a clay jar. It would also be easier to buy and sell bags of one pound each."

Ah Guang was surprised for a moment, and admired his quick thinking and his ability to think so far ahead.

"That's true. You're smart and quick-witted. No wonder you earn so much."

"I think so."

"That machine can make money by making ice water, so it doesn't make sense that you can't make money by using it to make fish sauce."

"I think so."

"Well, now you have overseas Chinese from the same clan and ethnic group. It should be easy to ask them to help you build a few machines, right?"

"I think so."

"It seems that you will be rich again soon, and you can even equip your workshop with machines."

"I think so."

"Can you change the word?"

Ah Guang looked at him depressedly. He was almost talking to death, but with such a reaction, how could he continue talking?

"I drank too much. What you said gave me a headache. The sun made my headache hurt even more. Please stop talking and call me when you get there."

Although there was a sunshade on the red envelope car, the sun was still as hot as before when it shone through. After drinking some wine and it was already afternoon, he felt a little drowsy.

Listening to Ah Guang chattering in my ear like Tang Seng, the shaking of the rickshaw made me even more sleepy.

As soon as he finished speaking, he tilted his head and fell asleep. Ah Guang had no choice but to keep his eyes open and look ahead, to avoid being dragged to an unknown place and used as a fat sheep. In fact, he was also very sleepy, and the breeze made him look drunk.

The two of them had their eyes half open and half closed. After getting off the bus, they still knew to hold the cloth bag tightly in their arms and go to buy tickets. They completely relaxed after sitting on the bus, put the cloth bag behind their waists and leaned their heads against it as a waist pillow before they fell into a deep sleep.

Originally they thought that since the cloth bag was against their skin and felt close to their bodies, it would be impossible for a thief to steal the bag. After all, his money was in his underwear pocket and A Guang's money was in his Liberation shoes, so it should be safe.

However, when they arrived at the station, they found that there was a big tear in the cloth bag.

"Fuck, this could be stolen." A Guang quickly picked up the torn cloth bag and checked it.

Ye Yaodong also took out his cloth bag and looked at it, then breathed a sigh of relief, "Luckily I was sitting in it, it's not broken, everything is still there, what did you lose?"

"It's okay. Only a few toys, ballpoint pens and harmonica are missing. The other notebooks were pressed down by me so they probably weren't taken away successfully, so they're still there."

"That's not bad. They probably thought we had some money in there, but it turned out to be just some small stuff. They were probably so angry that they took everything they could. I bought a lot of harmonicas and ballpoint pens. I'll give you a few."

A Guang didn't bother to be polite with him and put away his things first. The two of them got off the car quickly at the driver's urging.

It was already past 6 o'clock, the sun had set and only the sunset glow was left.

They hurriedly got on a rickshaw and went to the wholesale market.

It was too late to go back now. When he was shopping at the Friendship Store this morning, he had already called A Qing and asked him to have a tractor take Lin Guangyuan to the city and pick him up on the way back.

It’s estimated that the tractor has only been at the market for an hour or so, and it’s probably still waiting at the market entrance. It probably won’t go back unless we see him.

It’s not safe to travel at night, so it looks like I’ll have to stay in the city for another night.

By the time they arrived at the market entrance, it was almost dark. The market entrance was deserted with few people around. As soon as the two got out of the car, they were frightened by a figure rushing towards them. They covered their bags and ran away immediately.

"Ah...you haven't paid yet...don't run..."

"Brother Dong, Brother Dong, it's us..."

Ye Yaodong immediately braked and yelled, "Did you do this on purpose? You rushed over like that, I thought you were going to rob me."

Ah Guang said angrily, "You were so desperate that you rushed over without saying a word. It scared me."

"Haha...who knew you guys would react so strongly."

"You just found a thief, and then someone else ran towards you without saying a word. Do you think you are robbers? Dongzi, I think they did it on purpose."

"Go back and do 50 push-ups."

Ye Yaodong felt in his pocket, took out some change and paid the fare. He had just scared the rickshaw driver, who thought they were riding a free taxi, so he had to chase after them.

Now I hurried home with the money to avoid any accidents. It was getting dark and there were many robberies.

The two twins came, both scratching the back of their heads embarrassedly.

"I just waited for a long time, and when I saw you finally came, I was excited, so I ran over immediately, but who knew I scared you guys."

"You're just scaring me to death. Say hello first next time you meet." Ye Yaodong said unhappily, "Where are my father-in-law and brother-in-law?"

"They have gone home."

"Then let's go. You're almost getting married, but you're still so impatient... If you had yelled a few more times and had a stick in your hands, I could have saved the fare."

"Hehehe..."

Ye Yaodong walked and cursed, scolding the two of them harshly.

Lin's father and mother were sitting at the door chatting with their neighbors while enjoying the cool air. When they saw him coming, they quickly got up and went into the house to talk.

They came out after a long time. Ye Yaodong planned to sleep on the floor in the store at night. There was no need to go to some guesthouse which was too much trouble. Anyway, he could sleep until the store opened in the early morning and they could drive the tractor back.

Lin's father and mother also followed them to the market. They were going to open the door of Lin Xianghui's shop there and get them some food. It was already late in the evening and they hadn't eaten yet, so they rushed over immediately after getting off the car.

They didn't cook in the rental house. Ever since Lin Xianghui opened a shop here, they had three meals a day in Lin Xianghui's shop.

When Lin Xianghui's family knew he had arrived, they all ran over and walked to the market with them.

Ye Yaodong told them not to bother, as they had to get up at two or three in the morning to sell breakfast. In the past, people would be ready to go to bed at this time, so he told them not to bother and go with him, and he didn't need to ask them to do so.

Their family of five, including Lin's father and mother, still went to the market together as usual.

To them, Ye Yaodong was their family's lucky star, the son-in-law who could lead their family to prosperity. He was the most distinguished guest among distinguished guests, so of course they had to greet him warmly and not just ignore him.

Originally, the son-in-law is also a distinguished guest.

Ye Yaodong didn't say much. He talked with Lin Xianghui about the tidying up of the vacant land while walking. He asked whether Wang Jianxin was on time every day and whether there was any supervision from morning to night.

"That young man is OK. He came early in the morning to wait, and then he arrived before the workers came. He left only after the workers left. It was an easy job, and he didn't need to do anything. He just had to sit there and watch people work. At most, he got a little bit of sunburn."

"That's good."

"Your land is a mess, full of garbage and some earth slopes. It will probably take a full ten days or half a month to clean it up. Then you have to dig a ditch around the edge and chisel some big rocks from the mountain to fill the foundation before you can build a wall to enclose it."

"I know. My family has built houses before, so I understand this. I have to go to Zhejiang Province again in a few days. Brother, you can tell Wang Jianxin if you have anything to say. Ask him to supervise diligently and not be ignorant of everything."

"Didn't you just come back not long ago? Are you going again?"

"There was an accident last time, so I planned to come back first. Now the situation over there is stabilizing, so I plan to go again. It will only take about a month, and then I will be back."

"Then you should be more careful. It's not easy to make money on someone else's territory. It doesn't matter how much you make. The most important thing is to return home safely."

"Ah."

As soon as Ye Yaodong walked into the store and sat down, he put his cloth bag on the table and took out all the things.

"I just came back from the province. I went shopping in the provincial department store and bought them some school supplies, pencil cases, ballpoint pens, pencils, etc. I also bought some copybooks. Regardless of whether their grades are good or not, their handwriting reflects their character, so they need to write beautifully. Sister-in-law, remember to supervise them to write the copybooks every day. I will give you some points later."

Instantly the three siblings began wailing.

Lin Guangyuan had a sad face, "Uncle, I haven't even finished my summer homework yet, why are you buying me calligraphy? I don't want them, you give them to them."

The two younger brothers and sisters below also shook their heads and said in unison, "I don't want it either."

Sister Lin smiled and said, "Everyone is so scared of writing these last-minute exams these past two days that they are almost crying."

"It doesn't matter. Let's keep these for when school starts. Everyone will get a share. No one will be left out. I'm fair. When we go back, Ye Chenghai and the others will also get a share."

"I really don't want it. I don't even want to do my homework. Uncle, please give it to Dongxue. She has good grades and loves to read..."

"Don't worry, you don't have to take care of her like that. You all have a share. I bought a lot, so I'm not afraid of missing anyone."

Ye Yaodong distributed copybooks, notebooks, various pens, erasers, pencil cases and so on to them without hesitation.

"I heard that they are all new models, just released. I guarantee that you will be very proud to bring them to school, and you can even brag that you brought them back from the province. Just imagine that your classmates will look at you with envy. Isn't that great?"

Mother Lin said, "None of them can read. Why buy such good stationery for them? It's a waste of money. Don't give them..."

"Yes, yes, yes, thank you, uncle. We want this."

"I also want……"

Lin Xianghui reminded them, "You have to practice calligraphy every day after you get it."

The three of them nodded reluctantly, "Okay."

Ye Yaodong: "Be happy!"

They immediately broke into a grin.

"Poor students have a lot of stationery, put them away, study hard, knowledge can change your destiny."

"Okay, uncle."

Ye Yaodong touched them and gave each of them a harmonica, then put the rest away.

When he was flipping through it just now, he found a few foreign exchange coupons stuck in the copybook. They had exchanged a few of them with Ye Yaohai and others when they were having dinner during the day. He had originally planned to go back and buy more, but he didn't have time.

He thought, either wait until daybreak to set out tomorrow, there is no need to leave so early, there is a Friendship Store in the city, and he can go there to buy chocolate then.

Otherwise, if you keep it in your hand, it will be useless after a long time. The next time you come back will probably be at least a month later. Now that you have already exchanged it, you'd better spend it quickly.

"A Guang, let's go back later tomorrow. After daybreak, we can go to the Friendship Store to spend some foreign exchange coupons before going back. After all, it's our own tractor, so we can decide when to go back."

"Sure, I'm not in a hurry anyway. If you're not in a hurry, it's up to you."

"Show me what a foreign exchange certificate looks like?"

"I also want to see……"

Ye Yaodong looked at the heads that stretched out to him curiously, and then he took out the foreign exchange coupons again to let them broaden their horizons.

"Ah, why does it look like this? What's the pinyin on it?"

"I'm telling you that you're uneducated and don't study hard. These are the English alphabets. You'll know them when you go to junior high school and learn English."

"My brother is already in the third year of junior high school. He can't do that even at his age."

Lin Guangyuan touched his nose and remained silent. It was not his fault that his grades were bad. He had dropped out of school for two years. It was good enough that he could return to school.

Father Lin sighed and said, "All the children of your generation have to rely on Dongxue, the hope of the whole family."

"The hope of the whole village." Ye Yaodong continued the conversation as usual.

Lin Xianghui smiled and said, "That's right. If Dongxue's grades are always so good and she can get into college, she will be the only college student in the village. It's not wrong to say that she is the hope of the whole village."

"I'm sure I'll pass."

Ye Yaodong knew this. He was the only college student in the village. Although he was a junior college student, it was still very impressive. Nowadays, taking the college entrance examination is like thousands of troops crossing a single-plank bridge.

Otherwise, why do so many people want to become overseas Chinese?

Other benefits are one thing. If children have overseas identities, they can also participate in the joint entrance examination as overseas Chinese students. They no longer have to "cross a single-plank bridge with thousands of troops" and can easily knock on the doors of famous domestic universities.

The policies give too many preferential treatment to overseas Chinese.

However, Lin Dongxue and Lin Guangyuan are now in the third year of junior high school, and they still have to study in high school for two years. They can only take the college entrance examination in 87, which is still too early.

"Brother Dong, you are amazing. You can even get foreign exchange certificates. We have never seen it in our lives. We have only heard of it. Today is the first time we have seen it."

"I also exchanged it with someone else. Otherwise, how could I get this thing? I will take you to the Friendship Store tomorrow to broaden your horizons. If you can't buy it, it's good to take a look. It will also help you broaden your horizons."

"Yeah."

"Uncle..."

As soon as Lin Guangyuan spoke, Sister Lin slapped him on the head, "Don't keep calling me uncle, give him some noodles first. You haven't finished your homework yet, and you're still thinking about going to play with me? You've been playing with me at the beach for so long, and you're still thinking about running around. You're so old, and you're just thinking about playing all day. If you stayed in the village, you'd be able to get married by now."

Ye Yaodong showed a helpless look, then put the foreign exchange coupons away again and ate the noodles first.

They have all settled down in the city now, so are they afraid of not having the chance to visit the Friendship Store? They don't need him to take them there.

Lin's mother had already gone to the shop next door and laid out mats for them so they could lie down and sleep after eating.

Ye Yaodong thought that the old couple would have to come over to open the shop for business early the next morning, so after eating, he took a shower with the cold water prepared by the breakfast shop and went back to bed early.

He woke up when he heard the noise in the early morning and helped open the door to sell goods. It was not until 8 o'clock when the sun was shining brightly that he took the profits of the store and got on the tractor to the Friendship Store.

He and A Guang each exchanged 20 yuan worth of foreign exchange coupons. The foreign exchange coupons were hard to get, and they didn't feel comfortable exchanging more. They didn't bring much extra money with them when they went out. They just thought they could find out more and it shouldn't cost much.

Yesterday's lunch cost more than 20 yuan, and it was all delicious food and wine.

With that little money, he couldn't even buy anything high-end, let alone big items. Besides, he didn't have anything big to buy, so he just wanted to buy a few pieces of chocolate and bring them back for his wife and children to taste.

He also remembered that Lin Xiuqing's birthday seemed to be in the next few days. After being married for decades, he couldn't remember when her birthday was.

She always remembered his birthday, and every time it was his birthday, she would cook him a bowl of longevity noodles and two poached eggs early in the morning.

She has never celebrated her birthday and has never told anyone her birthday.

The children in my family never celebrate their birthdays. In the past, we would only cook two extra eggs for them on their birthdays.

Come to think of it, he was really incompetent. He didn't even remember the exact date of her birthday, he just remembered it roughly.

She had said this a long time ago, when they first got married, but he never took it to heart.

Damn it...

But now Aqing has money on hand, and his home is fully equipped with various small appliances, watches, leather shoes, and all the daily necessities of food and clothing.

When he was shopping at the Friendship Store yesterday and saw imported chocolates, he immediately thought of buying some for her.

Decades later, it was very popular to give chocolates to wives and girlfriends, and he thought it was a good idea to buy this. This thing is rare now, and it is imported, and she has never eaten it.

Ye Yaodong, carrying a cloth bag across his shoulder, walked with a few people through the mall. After they had bought everything, he took them to the Friendship Store.

While they were still looking around with great interest, he had already made up his mind and went straight to the counter to buy chocolate with a very clear purpose.

20 yuan of foreign exchange coupons can buy 5 boxes of Hershey's chocolate.

Ah Guang followed him and asked curiously, "You bought this? This dark...chocolate? Is it delicious?"

"It's OK, sweet and a little bitter."

"Is it so weird? Never mind, I'll just buy some cookies. Both the old man and the kids love to eat them."

"Whatever you want...By the way, do you know my sister's birthday?"

A Guang asked in confusion: "I know, why are you asking this suddenly?"

"Nothing, just asking, just to remind you."

"Tsk, how could I not know my wife's birthday?"

Seeing his puzzled look, Ye Yaodong quickly changed the subject, "Well, have you finished shopping? Let's go after you're done?"

How could they not know each other after growing up together? With just one look, they could probably understand what the other was thinking.

For example, he was just saying it casually yesterday, but looking at his expression, I didn’t expect that he was actually going to be a brother.

It's the same now.

A Guang also realized why he asked this question.

"You don't know when Third Sister-in-law's birthday is, do you?"

"Of course I know. I bought this chocolate specially for her."

"I have my doubts."

"Don't doubt me, you'll know whether I lied or not when we get back."

Ah Guang was skeptical. "Then call the two twins and go home to see if they have finished shopping. Or wait for a while. It doesn't matter if you wait a little longer. We are already here."

"Well, now I'm here."

These four words are also the quintessence of Chinese culture.

The two thought that waiting was of no use, so they continued watching. While Ye Yaodong was walking around, he set his eyes on another Transformer.

But as soon as I saw that it cost 100 foreign exchange coupons, I immediately shook my head and put it back.

His son doesn't deserve to play with such expensive things.

100 foreign exchange coupons are more expensive than 100 RMB, they are not of equal value.

On the black market for foreign exchange coupons, the value of a foreign exchange coupon may be more than 30% higher than the same denomination of RMB.

When they exchanged with Lao Hai, they only paid a 10% premium.

Ah Guang was also dumbfounded, "A toy actually costs 100 yuan in foreign exchange coupons."

"It's imported. The big doll you have at home must cost a hundred yuan."

The corner of A Guang's mouth twitched. "Xiao Yu has played with her like a black doll. She drags herself along the ground every day, wasting things. I'll spank her when I get home."

"Let's go, there's nothing to linger for."

"Call those two up."

(End of this chapter)