Back To the Small Fishing Village In 1982

     Chapter 43 They All Have to Follow

Second Sister-in-law Ye was blocked by Father Ye's words and was stared at by Ye Yaohua. Reluctantly, she stopped fueling the argument.

She felt that her own man did most of the work, while Ye Yaodong didn't do much and had been reaping the benefits. For a long time, she had been feeling quite resentful about it.

Now, when they go out to sea with the family and earn money, it all goes into the family funds, but Ye Yaodong goes out on his own and keeps the money he earns. No matter how she thinks about it, it doesn't feel right. She always feels like she's doing more work.

Father Ye saw his second daughter-in-law quiet down and stared at Ye Yaodong. "Did you hear that? Don't you dare go out fooling around. We have house construction matters to attend to at home. You need to help me with the work on the homestead every day. If I come back and find out you've disappeared again, I'll break your legs."

"Got it, stop nagging."

"We’re telling you all this day after day for your own good. You're over 20 years old, not a three-year-old child. You have to help with the household chores. You're married and have children, so you should have some sense of responsibility and family values..." Mother Ye couldn't help but start nagging again.

Ye Yaodong suddenly felt overwhelmed. After he returned, he did help with the chores and sea digging, but his parents' perception of him remained stuck in the past. They subconsciously ignored the fact that he had already made some changes.

It's normal to hang out with friends. After all, one doesn't have to give up on friendships just because they have a fresh start in life. Besides, his friends are all good people who are loyal and dependable.

He can only continue to slowly demonstrate his changes over time.

"Alright, alright, I know, I know, I know... I will work hard. Mom, you better start cooking quickly. Dad is about to starve!"

"You little brat, it's you who's going to starve! Can't you watch your mouth?" Father Ye got angry as soon as he heard him speak.

"Ah... right... it's me who's going to starve. I'll starve... you all eat, I'm leaving first!"

"We're about to have dinner. Where are you planning to go and starve?"

"I'm going to Ah Guang's house to eat and save some food for the family..."

As Ye Yaodong continued speaking and walked away, his voice gradually faded into the distance. Inside the house, Father Ye's scolding words could be heard, criticizing Ye Yaodong for being unruly and inappropriate...

The smiling face that was there when he entered the house had vanished as if it was just everyone’s illusion.

While Ye Yaodong enjoyed spending time with his friends, he still had a sense of propriety. As the evening grew darker and they finished their meal, he took his leave first and headed back home.

“Why are you smoking and drinking again?"

"Is the smell bothering you? I only had two drinks."

He raised his arm and took a sniff, realizing that the smell of smoke was indeed quite strong. Even his fingers still had the lingering scent of seafood that he hadn't washed off.

"I'll go wash again."

After taking another shower, he finally entered the room.

Lin Xiuqing couldn't wait and asked, "Can the boat be rented tomorrow?"

"We can rent, but it will cost extra. The old lady at Ah Guang's aunt's house found out that we used their fishing net today and caught over 7,000 jin of mackerel. She went straight to Ah Guang's house in the afternoon and asked him to charge us more."

She frowned, "Why is it like this? How much more do we have to pay her?"

"Ah Guang said his aunt and uncle are quite reasonable, but the old lady is a bit difficult. She said we can still rent the boat tomorrow, but it will cost five yuan. For two days, it adds up to ten yuan. She wants us to compensate her with eight yuan, or else she won't rent it to us."

She sat up in surprise and exclaimed, "Ah, five yuan? Why don't they just go rob us? Other families earn just over a dozen yuan for a whole day of fishing with expenses like fuel. If we were to rent for a month, it would cost 150 yuan? How much do workers earn in a month? They can just lie around and not do anything!"

"Moreover, you're just going sea digging. Today was just a stroke of luck encountering a school of mackerel. It's crazy to spend five yuan renting a boat for sea digging, and even the fuel still costs a few cents."

He didn't want to tell her he rented the boat to overcome his own fear. Otherwise, who would spend money to rent a boat for sea digging without a good reason? For those whose luck is not as good, the boat rental and fuel costs alone would not be worth it.

People in this era are generally very frugal and hesitate to spend money, even on basic necessities like food.

"Shh~" Ye Yaodong saw that the two children had been disturbed and turned over, lying in crooked positions. He whispered softly, "We are also at fault. We only mentioned renting the boat before and didn't mention renting the fishing net. The old lady is quite stubborn, and it wouldn't be right for us to argue with her. Besides, we have earned quite a bit. Let's just take the money from the sales and divide the cost."

Having already tasted success, everyone was eager to go again the next day. Even Chen Wei and Fatty were excitedly expressing their intention to join them and go together.

Being friends, they didn't feel comfortable refusing their request.

"Are there more people going tomorrow?"

Her attention immediately shifted, and her brows furrowed even tighter.

Putting aside the money issue for now, since they had already earned 1,600 yuan, it was acceptable to deduct ten yuan from that. However, with more people going, if they encountered another big catch, wouldn't the amount of money they each received be even less?

"Sigh~ When they heard that we caught over 7,000 jin of mackerel today, they all regretted not going with us. They insist on joining us tomorrow."

In reality, they weren't too thrilled about having two more people to share the spoils with. However, since they were all long-time friends, it was difficult to refuse. Besides, they knew that today's success was due to luck, and it wouldn't happen every day.

Since everyone wanted to go, they had no choice but to bring them along. They couldn't afford to have a falling out over uncertain matters. It's the same thought, it would be great if they had their own boat.

"How can they have the audacity? They only show up when they see you making money, wanting a share of the pie..."

"Ah, let's not dwell on it. If they want to come along, let them. There aren't any valuable seafood resources in the nearby waters anyway; we have to venture further out to sea. With so many people, the cost of the boat and fuel could at least be covered. We can gather some seafood for a meal. We’ll go to the isolated island and see if we come across any more big catches. We'll take it as it comes."

However, such opportunities are rare and unpredictable. He didn't hold high hopes, but if they could find something worthwhile while fishing, that would be great.

"You men are like this, always emphasizing friendship and loyalty..."

Women tend to be talkative and worry about things that haven't even happened yet. He didn't have any golden fingers, and if he did, he would quietly go make money on his own, keeping it a secret from others and silently amassing wealth.

Seeing his wife nagging endlessly, Ye Yaodong simply blocked her mouth with his actions.

"Don't come, your legs were weak yesterday..."

"Damn it, who do you think you're looking down on?"

Youth is capital, not to mention a man's self-esteem does not allow him to shrink back!

Although the tide doesn't recede until the afternoon, considering that they’ve rented the boat at a high price, everyone is enthusiastic and eager. They certainly can't wait until the afternoon for the tide to recede like they did yesterday before heading out.

As soon as daybreak arrived, everyone gathered at Ye Yaodong's house, even before he had fully awakened.

Under the urging of everyone, he quickly ate a few spoonfuls of lukewarm porridge and gulped it down. Then, carrying the tools that Lin Xiuqing had prepared for him in advance, he joined the excited group and headed towards the pier.

Fatty also took the initiative to buy diesel fuel as soon as they arrived at the pier. He thickened his face and decided to contribute towards the cost of the fuel.