It’s Mid-Autumn Festival again, and people are reunited under the full moon.
As long as it is a holiday, the children are not unhappy. If nothing else, a day off is enough for them to cheer.
Moreover, they would have a feast at noon, another feast at night, and worship the moon. They had been looking forward to it a few days ago.
Although the family has made a lot of money these days, their wife has a lot of money and plenty of food and drinks, but the atmosphere of the dinner is different.
Ah Cai also brought a large shark, two yellowfin seabream, and two kilograms of prawns over early in the morning. A large group of children were delighted and excitedly clamored to eat fried shark meat and shark balls.
Ever since his son was snatched away from the traffickers last year, the two families have become much closer. In addition, the dried fish they are drying now are all from Ah Cai, and he has made a lot of money in the process.
This year, whenever they are not out at sea, he will send some fish over from time to time.
It's been three or four days since he came back, and this is the first time he's seen Ah Cai
Ah Cai was also there joking, saying that he was different now. The dragon had seen its head but not its tail. It had been many days since he came back, and he could only see people today during the festival.
"There will be a lot of things going on right after I come back, so I have to make arrangements before I can enjoy the festival with peace of mind."
"You are busy people. Alas, I heard that you earned a lot this time. It is not comparable to last year. If I had known, I would have gone to work as an intermediary for you with my friend. At least I can get a share of the pie. I missed it.
.”
"Who knew that all the big boats in the village would go there this year? As a result, I didn't have much to collect. Just the little cargo from those small boats was not enough to fill my teeth. It's also a loss to collect fish from your family in the past two months.
I can earn a little, otherwise I will cry to death."
The news about their two months in Zhejiang Province had already spread throughout the village in the past two days, and there was no need for him to add anything more. Ah Cai was just complaining.
Last year, I asked him to introduce any friends he knew with connections. If he had gone with Chen Jianian because he was the introducer, he would still be able to get a share of the pie this year.
Now if you want to get a share of the pie next year, it is absolutely impossible.
"You should just help me collect the fish honestly. It's too late to think about this now."
"Then when will you go to sea?"
"After the holidays, I still have a lot of work to do. I won't have time to go to sea until all my work is over."
"He is really a busy man."
"My brother and the others will only have one day off tomorrow after the festival, and they will go to sea almost the day after tomorrow."
While they were talking, a group of children in the open space next door suddenly became excited and cheered.
"TV! TV!"
"TV, I have a TV at home!"
"My family also has..."
Ye Yaodong stood on tiptoe and looked at the wall next door. He also saw a group of children rushing towards the roadside and surrounding the cart in front.
Ah Cai also stood on his toes and looked, but he was too short and didn't see anything, so he had to run to the courtyard gate to take a look.
"Good guys, you three brothers now all have TV sets. Your eldest and second brother went to buy a TV set early in the morning."
"I just said that I slept in a daze early in the morning, and those kids kept making noises."
Ye Yaodong also walked towards his eldest and second brother, thinking that he might have to help get the cable and adjust the channel later.
Both couples were beaming with joy.
They have been busy for a few days since they came back, and they also dealt with a lot of seven aunts and eight aunts. It is a rare holiday today, and the couple wants to add happiness to each other.
After making so much money, it makes no sense not to add something big.
No, during the morning break, the two families got together and hit it off, so they went to town together and brought back a TV set.
"Why didn't I hear you say you wanted to buy a TV last night?"
"We also heard last night that everyone had bought a TV set in the past two days. When we were sleeping at night, we also discussed buying one. When I got up this morning, I asked my eldest brother, who was also very interested, and then we went there together.
Already."
"It's a good thing. After making money, of course you have to improve your life."
"Let's move in first, you bastards get out of the way and don't stand around getting in the way."
The leader, Ye Chenghai, immediately shouted for the others to get out of the way, and the other children also quickly followed suit and shouted excitedly to get out of the way.
Ah Cai saw their family busy and busy, so he didn't stay any longer.
Lin Xiuqing listened to the excitement next door and started killing fish. She made fish balls for the children in advance. As for the fried shark fillets, she had to wait until they wanted to eat them in the evening before frying them. It was best to eat them freshly fried.
A shark can make a lot of shark balls. She gave a big bowl to the two families next door. When she went to A Guang's house for a dinner, she also brought some to their family, and they could eat the rest at home.
Two days.
If A Dong and the others go to the province tomorrow, they can also bring him a basket to eat on the road, so as not to eat dry eggs or cakes all the time on the road, and it can also give him a change of taste.
This whole day was a happy day for the children. They ate and played. These days were more exciting than the Chinese New Year. They had never been so satisfied, except for the day they were beaten.
They were reluctant to go out and stayed at home all day watching TV. Only at night when they were worshiping the moon with mooncakes were they willing to go out to play, but they did not forget to publicize that they also had a TV at home.
Ye Yaodong took the time to talk to his father today and asked him to go to the province with him tomorrow. He also told Aguang and his son that they would also go. Anyway, the travel expenses are all for one trip. No matter how many people there are, let him go too.
Take a look.
Father Ye agreed immediately. Since his in-laws had gone, he must go too, otherwise the limelight would be taken away from his in-laws.
It was in the province, and many villagers and elders had never even been to the county town in their lives. They only lived in one-third of an acre in their village. At most, they went to other villages or towns when going to the market.
If he goes to the province for a tour and comes back, it will be like modern people who go abroad and come back with a layer of gold. He must go!
At night, the father and son sat at the door and watched the children worshiping the moon in the open space, and also discussed there.
"You want to buy that land, but the village committee hasn't responded yet?"
"No, after we talked about it early yesterday morning, I went to the county seat. It was almost dark when I came back, and I chatted with Aguang for a long time. Today is a day off again. I don't know if we have discussed it yet."
"Can you go to the village chief's house or Secretary Chen's house and ask?"
"Don't be in a hurry. Today is the holiday. What's more, I'm going to the province tomorrow and I'm not at home. When I get back, it won't be too late to ask. I have to give them time to discuss the matter."
"That's fine. Anyway, we have to wait until we get back to measure the land. We weren't there when we measured the dried fish workshop, so we have to watch this time."
"Um."
"Actually, you don't need to rush to repair the motorcycle. Just leave it there first. You can do other things at hand first. The land is still waiting for a reply, and the shop is waiting to receive news. Repairing the motorcycle is not that difficult.
important."
Ye Yaodong refused.
"Who said it is important to repair motorcycles? They have been piled there for two months. Machines are easy to break if they are not used. What's more, if they are already broken, they will be even more broken and difficult to repair.
manage?"
"I don't know when there will be news about the store. I can't just sit at home and wait. Once the land issue is confirmed, I can't escape."
"Anyway, I'll send the motorcycle over tomorrow to see how long it will take to repair it. If it's quick, it can be repaired in a day or two, and I'll stay in the province for a night or two. If I have to queue up for maintenance, I'll come back first.
, when the repairs are completed, then take the train to the province and drive back."
"Then you see for yourself and make your own decisions." He was just a tool anyway, and he never listened to what he said.
"Then you go back to bed early. We will set off as soon as we polish up tomorrow."
"Okay, then I'll go home and sleep." Father Ye also stood up, picked up his hookah and went out.
Ye Yaodong also stood up, crushed the cigarette butts under his feet, and went into the house. Today was a holiday, but he didn't rest either. He also helped with this and that. He was also tired and wanted to go to bed early at night.
The next morning, it was just dawn.
As soon as he got up, Lin Xiuqing woke up and got up too.
"You go to bed, don't get up. I heard the noise outside. The old lady should have gotten up to cook eggs."
"It's okay. I can go back to sleep later. I have put all my clothes in the lockbox for you, just in case you want to stay out overnight."
"There is no need for a lockbox, just bring me a cloth bag to put some clothes, a pair of shorts and money. I can stay for a night or two at most, and I might come back the same day."
"You bought this lockbox and don't need it? Isn't it just convenient to carry it when you go out?"
"Ahem, I just bought it and pretended to be cool when I returned to the village. Just go out to the big city to avoid being robbed."
"Okay, then you didn't buy this for nothing, just use it once and throw it away at home."
"Then take it with you? It's okay if you don't put the money inside. Just show it to Uncle Zhou when you get off the car. This saves you having to clean it up early in the morning."
"It'll be fine if I pack it up. If you're afraid of being robbed, don't take it with you."
"Take it with you, take it with you. I guess Aguang will also carry it. Anyway, the whole journey is in a car. When we walk to the street, who is walking around carrying the password box."
"Okay."
After Ye Yaodong got dressed, he took out the money from the password box and put it in the secret pocket inside his crotch.
It doesn't matter if you carry it with you, if there is a thief, the lock box will distract your attention, and the money on your body will be safer. Ah Qing generously brought him a thousand yuan on this trip, because he was afraid that the repair cost would not be enough.
The secret pocket inside was also big. He put the money in half and tidied it up, and it didn't look too bulging.
After he finished, he lifted up his clothes, pointed at his crotch and teased his wife, "I'll be bigger!"
Lin Xiuqing's cheeks instantly turned red, "Are you shameless?"
"Shameless, you don't have any face at home, you only have shame when you go out."
She slapped him twice and said, "You are about to go out, and you are still so immoral..."
Ye Yaodong put his arms around her waist and hugged her. He originally wanted to kiss her, but he heard a gentle knock on the door.
"Dongzi, are you up? It's time to get up."
"Get up."
After Ye Yaodong replied in a normal tone, he told Ah Qing that he was leaving, then let Ah Qing go, carrying the password box and walking outside.
Lin Xiuqing also followed behind and went to the main room.
The old lady had already cooked two bowls of hot spring eggs in sugar water when she got up early in the morning. After telling him to brush his teeth, he ate them while they were hot.
The fire in the stove was still strong, and the wood-fired stove was crackling. Lin Xiuqing opened the lid and took a look. It was full of eggs, duck eggs, and goose eggs. There were fifty or sixty of them, and the pot was half full.
The old lady came over and said, "I brought all the eggs at home to boil. Anyway, chickens, ducks and geese lay eggs every day. I sent a few boys to catch more earthworms in the past two days and brought them back to feed. I'm not afraid of running out of eggs."
Lin Xiuqing nodded and put the lid back on the pot, "There should be enough food for the journey. Huimei will definitely prepare it. When they get to the provincial capital, they can buy something to eat without fear of starvation."
"Hey, it has become much more convenient in the past two years. You can buy food when you go out and have money. Before, you had to bring your own dry food."
As the old lady spoke, she sat down in front of the stove again, picked up the fire tongs and stirred the fire inside, then put it down again.
"Dongzi is up. His father doesn't know what he is doing. He can't come over yet. He is taking his time. The older he gets, the more he touches him. You can go back to the house and continue to sleep. There is still half an hour before dawn. I am here to watch and wait for these eggs.
Bring it out of the pot and I'll cook some porridge."
"It's okay, I'm not sleepy when I wake up."
When Ye Yaodong was eating hot spring eggs after washing up, his father happened to come over.
The old lady said something to him complainingly and hesitated.
"The car hasn't even arrived, so why are you in a hurry? We're not in a hurry, and we're not asking you to go."
"You don't know how to be anxious until you are in a hurry. I must get up early and prepare early for this long trip. Hurry up and eat your food. With so many words, it makes sense to get up later and come here later."
"What did I say about me?"
"I can't stop your mouth even if I eat. Look, your in-laws are here too."
Father Ye turned back and glanced out the window, put down his spoon and went forward.
Father Pei smiled and said, "You guys eat, you guys eat, don't worry, we've already eaten."
"Hey, okay, then you guys sit down for a while."
Ye Yaodong took a look at the password box A Guang was carrying.
Hey, what a coincidence, I said this guy will definitely bring it with him, after all, he is going to the province.
While they were still eating, the old lady took out the eggs and put them in the basket.
Lin Xiuqing took it and took it to the back door to rinse it with cold water to make it easier to peel it. Then she and the old lady wiped it dry one by one with a rag and put it in a cloth bag.
The old lady babbled while busy, "I just ate two hot spring eggs in the morning and I won't feel full. If you feel hungry later on the road, just eat a few more eggs. There is also a bag of fish balls here for you to eat on the road."
of."
"I know, you don't need to prepare so much, there will be a place to eat when you get there."
"It's better to go out than at home. You should be careful and take care of yourself. Come back early when you are done with things. Don't stay outside all the time. It's not safe outside..."
"Everything costs money to eat and drink outside. No matter how nice it is outside, it's not as good as home. Just get your car repaired and come back."
"Such a big iron lump can be sold as junk and can be sold for a lot of money. If you ask me, a bicycle is enough. You can go anywhere around. What kind of oil does this thing need? We don't eat much oil...
"
It is not easy to travel far away these days, it is even more difficult than going abroad now. The old lady got up without sleeping all night, and did not say a few words. She was very worried.
No one in the group responded, so she was left alone to chant.
After Ye Yaodong finished eating, he went out to the yard to take a look. Just now it was dark outside, but now it was bright and the rooster was crowing.
The old lady followed him closely. When she heard the rooster crow, she opened the chicken coop, sprinkled a handful of chaff, and let out the ducks.
The sound of the tractor's clicking came from far and near.
"Please help lift the motorcycle later."
"You need to use a stronger wooden board as a cushion. It's easier to push up if it's tilted."
"some."
After the tractor turned off at the entrance of the yard, the five grown men also got busy. After pushing the motorcycle out, they also took a thick wooden board and leaned it against the back of the tractor.
But it was difficult to push, so they called Ye Yaopeng and Ye Yaohua from next door to help. With everyone's combined efforts, they slowly pushed the motorcycle up little by little.
It was so early in the morning that everyone was covered in sweat.
"Dongzi, are you really going to the provincial capital?"
"Don't you think it's too late for me to say this? The car has already been pushed up, so I didn't ask."
"Haha, when will you come back? It's better if there are more people there, and there will be someone to take care of those who are away from home, otherwise it will be difficult for one person to encounter anything."
"Well, let's go first and set off as soon as it gets light. We should be there at noon or afternoon."
"When it's time to make a phone call," Lin Xiuqing said.
"knew."
One by one, they climbed onto the tractor, and Ye Yaodong also climbed up and waved to them.
Uncle Zhou used the crank to start the tractor, and the tractor rang again, and everyone waved.
It is not easy to go on a long trip, and the whole family is there to see each other off.
Ye Yaodong was so scalded by a large bag of eggs that he put it at his feet and took out a bag of fish balls for them to share.
"Eat, rest on your belly. The eggs in the morning are sweet, but it makes your mouth feel uncomfortable. You'd better eat something salty."
The four of them sat on the bench side by side and leaned against the wall. They had nothing to do along the way and could only sit and eat.
"Third sister-in-law, you are pretty good at making fish balls. You can ask her to make some fish balls and sell them in the shop."
"She's so tired. How can she have time to make fish balls all day long? And in this weather, the fish balls can't be kept for a long time. It's okay in winter. The temperature is low and can be kept for two or three days. Let the fat man and his wife make it.
It's okay to sell it in the store, mine is a dry goods store."
"That's okay. Please ask two people to make fish balls and deliver fish balls when delivering dried fish."
"It doesn't have to be so troublesome. The fish balls have small heads. Just let Fatty and his wife make them some other time. They also sell cooked food."
He doesn't need too many tricks now. First, he can make the dried fish and fish sauce look good. These two are the big ones. He already has a lot of goods in his hands.
It depends on the situation next year. If the market does well and is stable, we can hire two more people to fish balls.
Then it is best to buy a tractor yourself, let Wang Guangliang and the others learn it, let them deliver goods, and start a whole production line for delivery, then it can be called something decent.
Otherwise, Uncle Zhou now has a lot of private work, and he is not always on call. He has to agree in advance. Ah Cai will ask Uncle Zhou to transport more goods this year.
Fortunately, he is not in a hurry most of the time, and it doesn't matter if the delivery is a day or two late.
"You are also engaged in a wide range of fields. When I have free time, I will go to your store in the city to see it." Father Pei said with interest.
The day before yesterday, Aguang went back and had a long talk with his father. His father was also very moved when he said that, who doesn't want to have a lot of property in their hands, money begets money is the last word.
"Okay, after we get back from the province, we will go to the city."
"You are still brave. When you said you were going to the city, you went to the city. When you said you were going to Zhejiang Province, you went to Zhejiang Province. Now you are going to the province again. You are running everywhere, but you don't feel panic at all."
"It's nothing. It's not that far. Our country is so big. We can't stay in one-third of an acre all day. We have to go out and see the world."
"I can't speak. When I go out, I can't even open my mouth. How can I run around? It's also chaotic outside. I heard that the public security is not good. If someone beats me to death, no one will know."
"Be honest, be polite to others, don't cause trouble, and come back after a short stroll, and you won't stay too long."
Father Ye also said: "It's better to finish the matter and come back early, don't run around."
"Um."
They chatted while eating.
Early in the morning, there were many hardworking people carrying burdens on the road, some coming out of the village, some going into the village, shouting something from time to time.
In the farmland along the way, there are already many people working with hoes. They work quickly in the early morning, when the sun has not risen yet and it is still cool. They can rest when the sun is high.
, go to work after the sun sets.
There are also many piles of hay taller than a person on the road, and carts are constantly transporting them. These are good materials for taking home to make fires or twisting hemp ropes.
There are also many women washing clothes by the stream.
Early in the morning there was busy scenery along the way.
After sitting in the car for a long time, they all lost the desire to talk. They all put on their hats and began to take a nap with their heads down.
Ye Yaodong thought he would have to ask Uncle Zhou to put a black mesh cloth on top of the tractor's head to protect him from the sun. The October sun was still very poisonous.
The tractor road was shaking and bumpy, and the surrounding scenes were constantly changing from farmland, village, and mountain forest.
When everyone wakes up, they can eat two eggs or grab a handful of fish balls. Having someone to keep them company makes the journey not so difficult.
The two old men were very patient, and Ye Yaodong and A Guang would look at the watches on their wrists from time to time.
When the pointer still hadn't reached one point, Aguang nudged Ye Yaodong with his elbow, "It's been eight or nine hours and it's still not there yet. Can you ask me?"
"It should be soon, right?"
He also looked at his watch, stood up and asked Uncle Zhou: "Uncle, are we almost there?"
"It's coming, it's coming. We should be arriving at the provincial capital in half an hour. Didn't you notice that the road is much smoother?"
"oh."
He sat back down and told everyone that there was still half an hour, and everyone became energetic.
Fortunately, no one was motion sick, but they were just a little tired after sitting for a long time.
"Then let's eat something more..."
Half of the fifty or sixty eggs were left, and the fish balls were almost bottomed out. They were sitting there doing nothing, and everyone's stomachs were like bottomless pits. They ate whenever they had nothing to do.
"I want to save my stomach and see if there is anything delicious when I get there." A Guang ate a full stomach of eggs and had no appetite for fish balls.
Ye Yaodong didn't criticize him. In fact, there wasn't much to eat in the provincial capital. The food was similar to what they had. There was nothing special about it. The most famous one was fish balls and fish noodles.
In his previous life, he came here often, and he was really indifferent to the food in the provincial capital, which was not as delicious as their local snacks.
The group regained their energy and started chatting again until they saw that there were more villages. They guessed that they should have reached the provincial capital.
Ye Yaodong was also a little curious about the provincial capital these days. It was already a millennium ago when he went to the provincial capital in his previous life, and the city was changing with each passing day.
He stood up and looked at the surrounding houses, roads and streets, and couldn't help but look disappointed. They were not much different from their county town, just as shabby and old.
"Dongzi, didn't you say that big cities are clean and changing with each passing day, and they have built high-rise buildings? Didn't you see it? Isn't it similar to where we are?"
Ye Yaodong was a little embarrassed. In his opinion, this was at least the provincial capital, and it should have several tall buildings.
He explained: "We have just entered the city, and we are on the edge. The surrounding area is of course similar to the villages over there. We have to go to the left and right of the center to roughly see it."
"That too."
As the tractor moved forward, they actually saw several tall buildings, and there were other construction sites nearby. The city looked cleaner and tidier. Basically, everything they saw were short and flat buildings.
There is a constant flow of pedestrians.
They also saw a country bus on the road, and a bunch of people stood on the roadside and crowded onto the bus.
"The buildings in the provincial capital are so tall. They have to climb up and down such a tall building every day. Why don't they die from exhaustion?"
"There is an elevator, brother. There must be an elevator in such a high building. Otherwise, you will have to climb until your legs are weak."
All technological progress is to facilitate human laziness.
"That bus looks much better than our tractor. I saw there are a lot of seats inside. This bus must not be cheap. We have never seen such a bus there."
"It will be available in the future."
"Dad, look, there are many shops on the street here. The streets are all surrounded by hawkers. You can't even squeeze in. There are so many people gathered in front of a small stall."
"Take a closer look."
"It looks much more lively than in the city, the buildings are taller, and there are more people than in the city."
"This is only a small area. The provincial capital is definitely bigger than the area in our city. Look, if you go forward, there are still buildings being built."
"When we get to the motorcycle factory and put your motorcycle down, let's go for a walk and take a look at the high-rise building. Do you have your camera?"
"I definitely brought it!"
The night before, he specifically asked Lin Xiuqing to bring him a camera, and he would take pictures and show them to her.
Just as they were getting excited, Uncle Zhou suddenly stopped the car. They stood up and took a look. It turned out that they had come down to ask for directions.
He went down and asked passers-by, talking and gesticulating, before continuing forward.
The motorcycle factory was not in this area. They stopped and asked questions as they walked. It took them more than an hour to see a large number of factories.
"We're here!" Uncle Zhou shouted, then stopped the car.
Everyone jumped down one after another, but their mouths opened wide in an instant.
"Is the motorcycle factory this big?"
“Isn’t this almost ten acres of land?”
"Did you go the wrong way? There are several bungalows that look like factory buildings coming all the way ahead."
"That's right, look at the words written on the wall." Ye Yaodong pointed to the words written on the wall.
"You don't know the characters, you two can read them aloud."
"That's right, it's right here."
"You guys wait here first, A Guang and I will go in and ask."
Chapter completed!