sbdcsierra Chapter 1613 Settlement
Chapter 1613 Settlement
Chapter 1613 Settlement
After two busy days, it was time for Ye Chenghe's wedding.
The newlyweds haven't even met in the last two days; the matchmaker has been running around handling everything, discussing the details.
Ye Chenghe also put on his wool coat early in the morning, just like Ye Chenghai a few days ago, with a red flower hanging on his chest.
His wedding was also modeled after Ye Chenghai's; the two brothers were very similar.
Ye Chenghai also returned to help on the third day after returning to his parents' home.
Sister-in-law Ye was too busy to take care of the new bride, so she just had her two sisters-in-law help her.
The two brothers followed the same wedding procession, as they both adhered to their local customs and drove cars to pick up their brides.
When the car drove into the bride's village, it caused quite a stir. Everyone said that Chen Xiuni had married well and fallen into a lucky hole. Even her wedding was so grand, with a car to pick her up. This was the first of its kind in the whole village.
The Chen family was incredibly welcoming, and they were beaming with pride.
Ye Chenghe was worried that something might go wrong today, but things went very smoothly from the moment he entered the door.
He led his brothers to pick up the bride, while the Chen brothers loaded all the dowry onto the tractor, including the large color TV.
The surrounding villages started talking about it, thinking that the family was just joking, but they didn't expect that they would actually give a large color TV as a dowry.
At this point, no one said anything negative; everyone was saying flattering things, or talking about how Ye Chenghe's family had become wealthy in recent years, how rich they were, and so on.
The conversation revolved around the two families.
They said the same things, praising Chen Xiuni for marrying well.
When Ye Chenghe entered the house, he was relieved to see the intact and packaged color TV. His family hadn't been shameless enough to take the TV, otherwise the wedding would have been off.
He was certain that the family wouldn't dare, and when it was delivered, all the neighbors saw it and knew it was part of the dowry.
Chen Xiuni had already warned her a couple of days ago, knowing that if the marriage didn't happen, she was finished.
Actually, her parents didn't do anything excessive. At most, they kept one-third of the bride price and used the rest for their wedding expenses and dowry. It wasn't really taking too much.
It's only right that parents leave some of the dowry money to support their daughter after raising her for so long. Most of it was taken with them, so that's acceptable.
Many ordinary families around here do this: they leave some things behind and take some with them, unless they are particularly poor or unconcerned about such things.
Ultimately, all these incidents stemmed from Chen Xiuni comparing herself to Ah Hai's wife, fearing that the gap between them would be too large and she would be outshone and lose face.
So he always tried to compare himself to Bai Xiaoqin in everything, wanting to be like her so that people wouldn't say he was inferior to her, which is why he made so many demands.
Chen Xiuni's family wasn't particularly well-off; they were just an ordinary family with a bunch of siblings. How could they possibly empty their savings just for her?
It's impossible for me to spend that much money on her wedding, which is why she keeps hoping that Ye Chenghe can save face for her.
Ye Chenghe made it clear a couple of days ago that if they continued to make trouble, there would be no need to get married, and of course he was also afraid.
So today's wedding went smoothly, right up to the ceremony of entering the house and bowing to the ancestors.
The villagers who witnessed the ceremony praised Chen Xiuni's family for their generosity, saying that they even included a color TV as part of the dowry.
They praised Sister-in-law Ye for marrying well, saying that one daughter-in-law brought a washing machine and the other a large color TV as part of her dowry.
Sister-in-law Ye knew how the color TV came about, and although she wasn't very happy about it, she still happily agreed on the surface.
It wasn't until before the wedding ceremony, when the bride's brothers placed the betrothal gifts on the table—1200 yuan in 12 bundles of ten-yuan bills—that the smile on her face became strained, and she looked at Ye Chenghe.
Ye Chenghe was puzzled by his mother's inexplicable glare, but he was also surprised when he saw the betrothal money on the table.
Didn't they say they would only let us bring back 600 yuan in cash?
The wedding expenses and gold-giving cost more than 500 yuan, and his parents left more than 600 yuan. How come there is still 1200 yuan left?
Those around them, unaware that one mother and son were angry and the other was puzzled, only kept praising them.
"Chenghe's wife got a color TV, which was a bit pricey, and Ahai's wife brought a lot of cash. These two wives were definitely worth it..."
"Yes, I didn't expect Chenghe's wife to have such a large dowry. Her parents must be good people..."
"Oh my, your family really knows how to pick wives. Both of your wives are equally good. No wonder they got married so early."
"That's right, I wanted to introduce you to some, but I couldn't. It turns out you've all found good wives."
"Haha, isn't there also Ajiang? He's 19 or 20 this New Year, he can get married now."
"My sister's daughter is 18 too..."
Putting aside the mother and son's doubts, when it was time for the wedding ceremony, they went through the formalities and then took their seats.
It wasn't until lunch break that Ye Chenghe finally had a chance to ask Chen Xiuni a question.
"Didn't you say that you only had a little over 1200 yuan left from the bride price, and that your parents planned to keep half and only bring you 600 yuan? What happened? You're not taking a single penny and are bringing it all to you?"
"No, the extra 600 yuan was what I saved up during the two years I worked at my third aunt's place. I added it in to make it look better."
Ye Chenghe knew that she had to give half of her earnings to her family, but he didn't expect that she had saved up quite a bit in two years.
"I thought it was a gift from your parents, or maybe they were just pretending to give it to you so you could pay them back after the wedding. But you're rich, so why were you crying and complaining to me the other day about how the bride price was too low and it didn't look good?"
Seeing that he looked a little angry, Chen Xiuni quickly explained, "I felt that adding my own savings would make it too short, so I wanted you to add some to make it better. But you disagreed, right? Then I'll forget about it. I think 1200 yuan is fine."
Ye Chenghe reluctantly accepted her statement, "Alright, it's not a small amount, everyone's praising it."
"Uh-huh."
After Ye Chenghe and the others went out, he explained the situation to his mother.
His mother came over and questioned him, asking if he had given the extra money. He swore that it wasn't him, and only then did his mother become doubtful.
Now I have something to explain.
After hearing this, Sister-in-law Ye was no longer angry. "It's good that I have the money to make up for it myself."
Ye Chenghe didn't tell her that Chen Xiuni came to him a couple of days ago asking him to make up for it; otherwise, things would probably be different now.
Instead, they might say: "Why would I ask you to cover my expenses when I have my own money? Do you think I'm taking advantage of you?"
After explaining to his mother, Ye Chenghe was about to leave when his sister-in-law pulled him back.
"Remember, don't give her all your money right after you get married. Keep your own money to yourself. You earn quite a bit, don't let her squander it."
"understood."
"Just keep the money she brought with her as dowry. Back when I married your father, there was no bride price. I only had a dress and a quilt made for her before I married into the family. Your father didn't have a penny on him. I only had a few dollars that I had saved up as a girl."
After finishing her story, Sister-in-law Ye began to reminisce about the past, "In those years, your father and I had nowhere to earn money. We could only rely on work points to get a small share at the end of the year, but that didn't go into my pocket. So many mouths in the family were eating."
“Our family’s money was all saved up little by little by me from making fishing nets, or from exchanging things with others.”
“This family was built from scratch by your father and me, bit by bit. But we’re not as lucky as you, our wife. You had everything as soon as you married into the family, and you can even make a lot of money.”
"She never shared your hardships, she just married into the family and enjoyed the good life. She never experienced the hardships you went through, so she doesn't know how hard it is for you to earn money. She's prone to spending money recklessly, so you'd better watch out."
Ye Chenghe gave a perfunctory reply, then quickly ran away.
His mother has been telling him this for the past few days, afraid that he will give all his money to his wife after he gets married. He's tired of hearing it.
He didn't even tell his older brother this, only told him. It's so frustrating. He keeps saying he's not smart. It's really too much.
No one knew about the inside story of their family except for a few members. Even when they had their feast in the evening, it was still lively and bustling.
The bride went to offer tea, recognize the guests, and receive red envelopes. Ye Chenghe, like Ye Chenghai, also knelt down to pay respects to the elders and receive red envelopes.
When it was Ye Yaodong's turn, he kowtowed, which surprised everyone and made them laugh. Others would only kneel once and then get up immediately.
He laughed heartily, "My third uncle always says that when I get married, I have to kowtow to him a lot, and I'll kowtow to you a couple more times?"
Ye Yaodong laughed and quickly helped him up, "That's enough, that's enough. I was just joking, you still remember that."
"Of course, I kowtowed, so the red envelope has to be big."
"Haha, of course, there's a surprise for you," Ye Yaodong handed him the red envelope he had prepared beforehand. "You'll know when you open it tonight, and you'll know which red envelope is mine as soon as you open it."
"Really? Thank you, Uncle. I'm looking forward to everything you've said."
"Haha, go ahead."
Their gift packets are signed with names, since they need to be repaid. However, the red envelopes for serving tea and kowtowing are unsigned; it's entirely up to the individual's sentiment to decide how much to give.
If some people don't receive enough, wouldn't writing their names on the document expose them?
Some people are disgusting; it's not impossible for them to put a single cent in there.
When Ye Chenghe opened the red envelope at night, he only got a dime, which made him so angry that he cursed loudly.
Logically, the minimum price should be one yuan now, so one cent is a bit insulting. It's just that I don't remember the name, and I don't know who gave it to me.
However, he was overjoyed when he opened Ye Yaodong's red envelope.
"Uncle is really generous, 200 yuan for just kneeling. What's this note?"
He had long forgotten the IOU he had written to Ye Yaodong.
"Holy crap, Uncle Three still has him?"
Chen Xiuni curiously leaned closer, "Hmm, what's this? Why did Uncle put it in the red envelope?"
"I wrote an IOU to my third uncle. I've forgotten what I wrote it for, but I remember it happened."
"...After I marry Chen Xiuni, Uncle San doesn't need to give a red envelope..." Chen Xiuni was both amused and exasperated. "Wait, why did you write this kind of IOU? When was it written?"
Ye Chenghe chuckled, "I forgot, the last character is a bit blurry too, I think it was 1985? Anyway, it was before I started dating you, when I was chasing after you."
She smiled sweetly, "You're not even married yet, and you've already used up the red envelope money meant for our wedding."
"Hehe, this isn't short, it's 200 yuan! The two 200 yuan bills you just got must have been given by your third uncle and aunt. No one else would give such a large amount. My parents only gave me 100 yuan each."
"I guessed so. Uncle and Aunt are the richest, so it's normal for them to be generous. How many boats does Uncle actually own? I always hear people say he has dozens of boats; he's the shipping king of our area."
Ye Chenghe continued to open another red envelope and said, "There are plenty. There used to be thirty or forty, but we disposed of a batch of worthless small boats to our relatives before the New Year."
"There are probably a dozen or twenty of them now, but they are all valuable large ships. I heard that a big factory in Shanghai is still producing his large ships."
"I heard there are still many ships that haven't been built yet. My third uncle is really amazing. He's building bigger and more advanced ships every time."
"It's a brand new ship that just returned before the Lunar New Year. It's the biggest and most famous ship in the entire fishing port. It even has its own processing production line. It's really impressive."
Chen Xiuni's mouth dropped open in astonishment; she even forgot to open the red envelope.
"Is Third Uncle that amazing?"
"Of course, the reality is much more powerful than what's being said outside. Not to mention anything else, he has four or five hundred workers under his command, and most people in the village listen to him."
"If anything happens, he can mobilize thousands of people with just one word. My third uncle is very famous at the docks up there; he's practically a legend."
“His words carry more weight in the village now than the village party secretary's. Now, if there’s anything going on in the village, everyone has to come and let my third uncle know.”
Ye Chenghe believed he was not exaggerating and was telling the truth, but it was still somewhat unbelievable to listeners.
"Is Uncle really that amazing? He looks so young."
"Yeah, otherwise, would he have taken us to play every day when we were little? I used to think every day, why isn't my third uncle my dad? Haha, luckily I always whispered to my third uncle and my dad didn't hear me, otherwise he would have beaten me to death."
"If you were Uncle San's son, that would be incredible."
"Nephew is good too. I rely entirely on my third uncle to make money now. He's smart, so he became successful in just a few years. Nobody is as capable as him. Our family is also benefiting from his success."
"Then we need to stick close to Uncle San."
"Look, my dad bought a big ship too. Who knows, he might call me to go out to sea sometime soon."
However, he felt that his father was still young and could work until he was 60 without any problem. His grandfather was still helping his third uncle with the work.
So he won't have to take over fishing boats for at least another 20 years.
By then, they might not even need to take over. The ship will be old enough to be sold and they can retire there. He will definitely have made enough money with his third uncle and won't need to go to sea anymore.
Let his dad do the job now.
His father has two sons, so it's not appropriate to give the boat to either of them. He can just sell it to support himself when he gets old.
Chen Xiuni hesitated and said, "Dad is still young, he shouldn't need to ask you to go to sea too, right?"
"Who knows? Anyway, let's see. If we can make money with Uncle San, we'll make money for now."
How much do you earn in a month now?
"Not necessarily. It depends on how much cargo Uncle has. He didn't earn a single penny this month. Most of what he used to earn was given to my mother. After all, my father bought a big boat, which cost the family a lot of money. I also spent a lot of money to marry you."
Ye Chenghe, having been advised by his mother, became more cautious and did not immediately reveal his family's wealth. He was also worried that his wife might be confused, so he decided to wait and see.
It's not too late to give her the money I earn in Zhou City later. Anyway, it's only a matter of the end of the month or the end of next month. I can give her all the money I earn this month, and all the money I earn in the future.
When his father returned by boat before the Lunar New Year, he did give his mother some money to help her out. After all, he had money on hand, and of course he had to contribute when the family had a big event.
When Chen Xiuni heard him mention that it cost a lot of money to marry her, she didn't dare to say anything, afraid that he would accuse her of being a perfectionist and that's why it cost so much.
She changed the subject, asking, "Now that we're married, when are we leaving?"
"Tomorrow we'll ask Uncle San when he's leaving. We all listen to him; whenever he leaves, we all follow suit. The new Liberation Army has already set off a few days ago."
"When I go up there, can I find a job with my third uncle? I heard he runs a huge factory up there with hundreds of workers."
"I'll ask when I get up there. It's okay if I don't find any work to do. I can just stay home and do my laundry and cook for me. I never want to do laundry again."
She smiled and gave him a reproachful look, "How much time does it take to do laundry and cook?"
Ye Chenghe looked up and saw her coquettish eyes. His heart instantly burned with desire. He didn't even want to open the red envelope anymore. He tossed it aside and pounced on her.
"Let's not demolish it; it's a waste of time."
"Ah... the whole bed is covered in it..."
"It's even better to sleep right on top of the banknotes..."
The newlyweds were having a passionate night, and without even turning off the lights, they started eagerly changing their clothes.
"Where is it... I can't find it..."
"I can't squeeze in..."
Despite the freezing weather, Ye Chenghe was sweating profusely and extremely anxious.
"Where exactly is it...? It's not above, and it's not below... Shall I pry it open and take a look?"
"don't want……"
"It's a pity I can't find it..."
The two were extremely anxious, but then they heard a creaking sound from the next room, which made them even more anxious.
Ye Chenghe even started cursing under his breath.
……
The next morning, Ye's father discussed the departure with Ye Yaodong and his two brothers.
"Your mother thinks tomorrow, the 18th, is an auspicious day for travel. Should we leave earlier tomorrow? By the time we get there, it'll be the 20th already?"
The other two brothers both looked at Ye Yaodong.
“Sure, it’s already later than usual. Now that Chenghe is married, we can go back to his parents’ home today and leave tomorrow.”
"Hey, I'll take care of the things from yesterday's wedding with your older brother today. We'll return what we owe, and you can start making preparations for our departure."
"OK, no problem."
"Someone will definitely come over and ask when we're leaving. We'll tell them it's the 18th, and tell them to get ready so we can all go together."
Ye Yaohua asked, "Is it tomorrow morning, noon, or evening?"
"Around six or seven in the morning, that should be enough time for everyone else to get ready. It'll be a bit busier here because there are more workers in Dongzi. I'll have your mother help to notify everyone properly so they can get ready early."
"Ok."
After discussing it, the father and his two sons ate their meal.
The old lady reluctantly picked up the calendar and flipped through it, saying, "It's only tomorrow, why the rush?"
Ye's mother said, "You have no idea how much money Dongzi can earn in a day. If he misses a day at sea, he doesn't even know how many tens of thousands of yuan he will lose."
"Even if you earn that much, you can't spend it all."
"He still has to make money. So many people work for him, and if he doesn't make any money, how will they get paid? The factory has been open for a long time. Luckily, he got his big Jiefang truck up there early and brought all the people he needed to take with him to arrange things at the factory. Even so, he's still on the phone every day."
"Ugh……"
Ye Yaodong said, "Do you want to come up with me?"
The old lady shook her head. "Why would I go? I'm an old woman, I can't take any more trouble. I'll just stay at home and hope I can live a little longer."
I'll call you whenever I have free time.
"Sigh, I should call back more often. Even if I can't see him, it's good to talk to him."
"Ah."
Ye Yaodong originally planned to take Lin Xiuqing with him, but the handover of the workshop work and the affairs in the city couldn't be left behind in a short time.
She planned to gradually hand over the workshop work to her mother and then wash her hands of it, focusing on city affairs first.
Let's leave it at that for now. Anyway, there's a boat that delivers goods to the town, so it can bring some goods back when it's free, which is convenient.
As for Ah Qing and his three children going with him, that can be put on hold for now. They can be taken away together when Ye Chenghu graduates from junior high school and Ye Chengyang graduates from elementary school, and when they are sent to Shanghai.
Ye Chenghu hasn't even graduated from junior high yet; he'll be in his final year next semester, so one more year won't make a difference.
This is something the couple has been discussing for the past few days.
They've decided to postpone building this house, focusing instead on finishing the old one, as they don't necessarily plan to live here in the next year or two.
If we build the old house nicely, we can all celebrate the Lunar New Year together there next year.
They've been busy with Ye Chenghai and Ye Chenghe's wedding lately. The foundation for their old house has been laid, and they're ready to start building on it.
Ye's father also planned to stay at home for a few more days to watch the house being built, and then go up to help Dongzi at the end of the month.
Building a house is a major event in one's life, and Mr. Ye wouldn't feel at ease unless he personally oversaw it, as this would be his retirement home.
If Ye Yaodong hadn't planned to go up and reorganize things, and then take the boat to the deep sea after arranging affairs, he wouldn't have wanted to go up. He probably still wanted to stay home and see the house completed.
For now, we can only keep an eye on it for a while, and then let Ye's mother keep an eye on it. He can only communicate by phone or wait for the delivery to come back and check it out in a couple of days.
After confirming that they would be leaving the next day, the whole family hurriedly got to work.
Not only them, but the whole village got involved. The whole village was talking about the two brothers' wedding and their big day of leaving tomorrow.
This is a very important event for the whole village; the men are going on another long journey to start earning big money this year.
Ye Yaodong also went to town in advance to arrange for the fishing boats to refuel. After making preparations, he also stopped by Hong Wenle's place to inform him of his departure time.
Actually, there's still one important thing to do: the handling of the lighter factory's shares. However, Fang Jingfu hasn't called yet, which means the inventory hasn't been completed, and he has to wait patiently.
Anyway, he's been very busy lately and hasn't had time to deal with this. He's in a hurry to leave now, so he'll let me know when I call home.
He'll see how things go when he gets back to deal with it. If it's too late, we'll wait until he comes back from the deep sea.