Back to the small fishing village in 1982

Chapter 1872 The Atmosphere of Everyday Life

Chapter 1872 The Atmosphere of Everyday Life

As the Lunar New Year approaches, markets are everywhere. Early in the morning, crowds of people flock to the markets, which sell everything imaginable. The crowds are so dense that they are shoulder to shoulder.

It was barely dawn when they had to drive their cars to secluded spots to avoid the morning market.

Ye Xiaoxi was still too sleepy to keep her eyes open. She swayed from side to side in the bumpy ride, yawning repeatedly. Finally, she simply leaned over and lay on Lin Xiuqing's lap, mumbling something with her eyes closed.

Lin Xiuqing gently gathered the hair that was scattered on her cheeks, letting her lean against it, and took a small blanket to wrap her head so that she wouldn't catch a cold from the wind.

By the time they boarded the boat, it was already broad daylight. The dock was bustling with noise: the whistles of ships docking, the shouts of those carrying cargo, the calls of fishermen, and the roar of cars.

Ye Yaodong instructed Lin Xiuqing, "Go to the rest pod and sleep for a while longer. It's not very hygienic, so just make do."

"It's okay, she'll only be lying down for a couple of days. I brought a blanket, and I've already let your daughter go back to sleep."

"Call my son over to help me steer the boat."

"Big or small?"

"Call both of them over to take turns driving. Don't forget that Chenghu hasn't been open for a long time."

Lin Xiuqing smiled and agreed, then went to fetch the people for him.

The two brothers, one excited and the other utterly dejected, entered the cockpit.

"Yangyang, why do you look so sad? Did I owe you money?"

"No, we've all gone home, but we still can't escape the fate of sailing. I don't want to sail at all."

"You're nothing compared to this. Your brother has spent much more time at sea than you have. Do you see him as someone like you?"

"He's reliving old dreams, that's why he's so excited. We'll let him drive every day from now on. He's so happy. Once he graduates, we'll let him stay at sea."

"Get lost. I haven't been at sea in a long time and I'm a little excited, but I don't want to stay at sea every day."

He's not stupid; he doesn't really like being at sea.

"Yangyang, come first. Let me see what you've accomplished this year."

"Okay, my brother and I will take turns."

"Tch, are you afraid of making me feel good? You're such a good brother."

“I’m worried that you haven’t sailed a boat for a long time and have forgotten how to sail. You can’t forget your roots. You have to sail a boat from time to time to learn and review your lessons.”

"Don't I know you?"

The two brothers bickered, but they were just as capable as ever when it came to work. Ye Yaodong stepped aside and simply watched as they were being guided.

After Ye Xiaoxi and the others had had enough sleep, they also crawled into their cockpit.

"Well, you're all here. You didn't even tell me. I'm glad I came looking for you."

"It's like we've been doing something behind your back. What do you think it's good?" Ye Chengyang turned and glanced at her.

He doesn't want to come, he doesn't want to do it.

Some are dying of drought, while others are dying of flooding.

"You've come all this way to sail a boat, I want to learn how to sail too, Dad, teach me!"

Ye Xiaoxi immediately hooked her arm around Ye Yaodong's and swayed it back and forth, acting coquettishly.

"You don't need to learn. It's useless for a girl like you to learn. You don't need to sail the seas. You can just stay at home and enjoy your life."

“Yeah, we two can handle this hard, tiring work,” Ye Chenghu chimed in.

"Can I let you do all of this by yourself?" Ye Chengyang asked.

You want to eat shit?

Ye Yaodong added, "Look, neither of my two older brothers wants to do it. What good can it be? They don't need to learn. They always come back from the sea half-dead. You've seen it yourself."

"Okay, then forget it. I'll let my brother do the hard work. I'm not going to learn anymore. I'll just stay here and watch you guys."

Ye Chenghu turned to tease her, "Isn't your brother cool driving the boat?"

"Awesome! Super awesome! Incredibly awesome! My brother is amazing, he can do everything, except learn to fly a plane, drive a train, and drive a tank."

"Forget it then. A plane crash is almost certain to kill you. I'd have to work my whole life before I could drive a train, and I don't know how many years I'd have to serve in the military before I could drive a tank."

"You're already amazing. Every girl would be smitten with you. You should bring Xiaoya home with you so she can see you sailing the boat."

"Ha ha ha ha……"

"Sycophant!"

"Second brother, how could you say that to me? I was just telling the truth. I've been praising you every day. I've never seen anyone who looks better than you with glasses. They all look ugly with glasses, but you look so handsome with glasses. You're only a 90 out of 100 in terms of looks, but you look like a 95 out of 100 with glasses."

Ye Chengyang was amused by her, "Hahaha, you're exaggerating so much, why don't you give me 100 points?"

"The 100 points are reserved for Dad. Only Dad has 100 points. None of you have any."

Now it was Ye Yaodong's turn to be overjoyed.

The three men in the cockpit were all delighted by her charm, their lips practically agape.

"Oh no, you're really going to have a good time now. You're so good at talking, what will you be like in the future? Who can handle you?"

She patted Ye Yaodong on the shoulder and said, "Then you should work hard. Whether we can enjoy a comfortable life in the future depends on you."

"No problem, you can enjoy life even if you don't work now."

"Big brother, why don't you invite Sister Xiaoya to visit our hometown? That way she can come back with us."

“It’s Chinese New Year, who would rather spend it at someone else’s house than at their own home? It’s not appropriate. I want to stay with you, and she wants to stay with her family.”

"Okay, then I'll stay with you guys forever."

As she spoke, she climbed onto Ye Yaodong's lap and sat on his legs.

Standing for a long time and craning your neck to talk is tiring.

Ye Yaodong hugged her and said, "Just don't let the allure of the outside world blind you."

What do you mean?

"Don't end up like Zheng Shuya, being led astray by a scoundrel like your older brother."

"Hahaha, big brother is a dog of a man."

With Ye Xiaoxi joining the cockpit, things were noticeably more cheerful, and everyone was happy all day.

In the evening, Ye Yaodong handed the boat over to the captain, and his family went to rest.

It's not safe to sail at night, so there's no need for my two sons to drive.

To accommodate the speed of other fishing boats, their journey was slow, and it still took them more than two days to reach the town's dock.

After getting their feet on solid ground, everyone jumped around a bit, and looking at the bustling scene at the dock, all their fatigue vanished.

Ye Xiaoxi stretched lazily and said, "I'm home."

Ye Chengyang: "I'm not home yet, I still have to ride for a few more minutes."

Ye Chenghu: "I'm so tired, I need to go home and lie down for a bit."

"Sister, please disembark quickly..."

Everyone gathered together in a lively atmosphere, and after everyone on the boat had disembarked, they found several large trucks to transport everyone back together.

Ye's mother and the old lady at home had been eagerly waiting for this moment. Starting yesterday, the two of them sat at the door of their house, craning their necks to wait.

We've prepared a ton of food and drinks, just waiting for everyone to come back.

"Why aren't they back yet?"

"Who knows what happened? They still haven't come back."

The two of them ask each other 800 times a day, "Why haven't you come back yet?"

"They should be back today, but let's wait a little longer. They usually arrive in the afternoon."

"The sun has already set, and it's still afternoon? It's almost evening..."

The old lady had barely finished speaking when she saw several figures running happily towards her from the front.

"Grandma...Grandma..."

"Grandma...Grandma..."

The two old men immediately beamed with joy, stood up from their stools, and looked ahead with smiles.

"You're back? It's good that you're back."

"You're all back! Are you tired? Sleepy?"

"I'm so tired, I'm going to lie down on the sofa."

Where are your parents?

“They took their luggage home first and asked us to come and tell them, so we came.”

They ran into the house talking as they went, with Ye's mother and the old lady following happily behind, occasionally responding to the neighbors and saying a few words.

"They're all back. We've been waiting all day, but we're finally home..."

"My man should be here by now..."

They were sprawled out on the sofa, all sprawled out, and started arguing.

"Move your foot a little, I have nowhere to lie down..."

"Get away from me, you're stepping on my hand..."

"Big brother, you're stepping on my hair..."

"Move over a bit, I don't have anywhere to sit..."

They started arguing as soon as they got home; the house was like a boiling pot, and suddenly it felt lively.

Ye's mother was very happy to see them. Everything about them was pleasing to the eye. Even their arguing seemed lively and created a homey atmosphere.

She smiled broadly, "The twins look like they've grown quite a bit taller."

Ye Xiaoxi chimed in, "You've gotten quite a bit darker, like a piece of charcoal."

"We call this healthy; only black is healthy."

"Are you hungry? I'll cook something for you. I didn't know what time you'd be back, so I didn't cook dinner in advance. For dinner, we'll just have some noodles or something. I'll cook a big meal for you tomorrow."

People responded one after another.

"Okay."

"We're not picky."

"I'm fine with anything!"

……

Mother Ye happily tied on her apron and went to the kitchen to get busy. First, she washed a bunch of fruit for them and put it on the coffee table before she started cooking noodles.

After resting for a while, the group was immediately recharged and devoured all the snacks and fruits on the table, leaving fruit peels and shells everywhere.

They've all started arguing over a TV, piling up into a towering pile of arhats.

Some want to play video games, some want to watch TV, and then those who want to watch TV have different opinions, and everyone wants to watch different kinds of TV shows.

The old lady looked around happily, then looked at that, trying to mediate the fight.

But the voices were too soft, not even as loud as any of theirs. Everyone fired at each other, and the old lady's voice was completely drowned out.

She didn't mind, and continued to advise her as before.

"The older ones should give way to the younger ones..."

"Eat more snacks and fruit..."

"Did your parents say when they're coming?"

Ye Chenghu responded, "They'll come over as soon as they drop off their luggage. They're coming over for a meal. There's nothing at home. Just wait, they'll all be here soon."

"Okay, okay."

He offered half of the sofa to the old lady, wanting her to sit down, but she waved her hand.

"I'm not sitting. I'll go to the door and see if they've come yet. The pot is already cooking, so I need to come quickly, or the noodles will be mushy by the time they arrive."

The old lady, leaning on her cane, headed towards the door again, intending to wait for Dongzi there.

As soon as Ye Yaodong arrived, he saw her wiping away tears of joy.

Why are you crying?

"I didn't cry. I was happy to see you come back. How come you've gotten so tanned? You used to be so fair-skinned. You must have worked so hard."

"It's not hard work, making money is very enjoyable. Let's go inside, the sun has set, it's cold outside, don't catch a cold."

Only the two of them came over. As soon as he got home, he put his things down and came over with Lin Xiuqing. The others are probably still dawdling, packing their things, or talking to their wives, and haven't come yet.

Even from the doorway, he could hear the commotion inside; everyone was shouting louder than the last.

He laughed and said to Lin Xiuqing, "Tsk tsk tsk, this is outrageous! They've just come back and are already making such a fuss. They'll probably be kicked out tomorrow."

"If it were me, I would have kicked them all out tonight. How could they possibly stay until tomorrow? This is a real headache."

"You're having a headache because you hear it so much and never have a moment of peace."

Inside the house:

"You've been watching for half an hour, it's my turn now, I don't want to watch this..."

"It's not half an hour, you've only watched for 10 minutes..."

"How could that be? You're cheating again..."

"Left Peipei, Right Peipei, your feet smell awful! Can you go wash your feet first?"

"How do you know it's our feet that smell? Couldn't it be yours? Smell them and see if they smell bad?"

"It must be your smelly feet!"

"Then smell it..."

"I don't want you, you're disgusting..."

Ye Yaodong went in, laughing and shouting, "If you keep making this noise, you'll be kicked out tomorrow!"

Mother Ye came out of the kitchen with a smile, "Yes, you can't be so noisy. If you keep making noise, you won't be allowed to stay here anymore. You can go back to your own homes."

"Dongzi's here just in time, it'll be ready in a minute. Where are your older brothers?"

"Stay home and pack your bags. They should be here soon."

"What's the point of tidying up? You didn't come over for dinner right away when you got back. What's the point of tidying up a few old clothes?"

Lin Xiuqing had already rolled up her sleeves to find an apron, ready to go to the kitchen to lend a hand.

Ye's mother stopped her, "I've already cooked it all, you don't need to bother. Go and rest, you must be exhausted from traveling all this way by boat and car."

"I've already chopped and prepared the vegetables and ingredients, just waiting for you to come back and cook them. There's nothing else I need to help with; they'll be ready in no time."

"You're here early, so have the first pot first. I'll cook the second pot for the others. Did you invite Huimei and her husband to come and eat too?"

“When they go back, the kitchen will be cold and empty. They don’t know when they’ll get to eat, so we have to call them over to eat.”

Lin Xiuqing said with a smile, "The three children are all staying here, how could they not come over? They're probably putting away their luggage. I'll go to the kitchen and get the noodles for you."

"No need, you go and rest, I can do it."

"Then I'll be a guest today. Wait until we eat."

The old lady was already pulling Ye Yaodong along to try on the scarves, hats, and gloves she had knitted.

It was tough on Ye Yaodong, a tall man, who had to squat in a horse stance to accommodate the old lady's height so she could tie her scarf.

"Perfect, the craftsmanship is still there. It's so warm to wear, I'm not afraid of the cold anymore. I have to cover up the door when I go out."

"It's much warmer now."

The old lady beamed with joy, "It's beautiful, put it away, we're about to eat."

"Hey."

P.S.: Spent the whole day cleaning and washing the house today. A clean house is essential for a happy new year.

(End of this chapter)