The next door families are all next to Ye Yaodong's house, separated only by a courtyard wall and two vegetable plots.
They also used the remaining stones and mud to level a large open space in front of their house. On rainy days, there wouldn't be puddles of mud everywhere, and when you step into the house there wouldn't be yellow mud footprints everywhere.
Zhou Da was still eating, and Ye Yaodong was sitting on the wooden bench at the door waiting.
As soon as he sat down, other people came over, including Zhou Da, and they simply sat at the door and started chatting.
On a hot day, it is quite comfortable to sit at the door and enjoy the sea breeze. Moreover, after the typhoon, the nights are especially cool. The salty sea breeze is also a unique scent of the seaside.
"What do you think? Do you want to go to the city to have a look?" Zhou Dayi asked as he came out of the house.
Ye Yaodong looked at everyone, you looked at me, I looked at you, and some were still hesitating, so he said: "Those who plan to go, raise your hands? Those who don't plan to go, or haven't made up their minds yet, just keep silent?"
Zhou Da raised his hand and said, "Sure, I want to go, but if there are not enough people, forget it."
Ye Yaodong also raised his hand, "Me too, I can also consider it as a way to see the world. After all, I have never left the county town in my life."
Others also hesitated one after another. Three hands were raised, and only two people were still undecided. They were the two brothers of the Lan family.
There were six households living next to him, including two brothers from the Lan family and four brothers from the Zhou family.
"If you two don't plan to go, we have five people, so we can go directly to the secretary's house to get a letter of introduction and apply for the use of the tractor."
There's nothing untrustworthy about the folks in the village, they just feel it's too much trouble and too far away, so it would be more convenient to leave it at the dock.
"Don't be so hesitant, man. You are probably like me, and have never left the county in your life, right? Let's go out and take a look. Now that things have been reformed, everything is getting better. I heard that the city is getting better every day, and the city must be even better. Are you sure you don't want to go out and see the world?"
It was unknown whether Ye Yaodong's words touched them, but the two looked at each other. After Lan Da nodded, Lan Er gritted his teeth and said, "Okay, then let's go together and just go out to broaden our horizons."
Lan Da also said: "We have a lot of goods. The price in the city is definitely higher than the dock, and we can make more money."
"Okay, let's go with seven people. I'll go get the secretary to write me a letter of introduction. You guys should prepare what you need and go to sleep if you need to."
"I'll go with you." Ye Yaodong also stood up, "Dad, do you want to ask big brother and second brother if they want to come with us?"
Forget about it for a few friends, they went late. I found out beforehand that the number isn't that big, so the difference isn't that big, so let's not bother.
"Yeah, just call your two brothers along, since we're all going the same way."
Father Ye hesitated for a moment. "I mentioned this to them earlier and asked them to consider whether to take it to the city as well. I don't know if they are willing to do so. I'll go ask them."
Ye Yaodong nodded, "Alright, then you go ask. We'll go ahead and you can go to Secretary Chen's house when you get the answer."
"OK."
After the decision was made, everyone went back to prepare. Ye Yaodong and the eldest son of the Zhou family also walked and talked with flashlights towards Secretary Chen's house.
It was already dark. It was a rare night but the village seemed quite lively. Every house was brightly lit. In the past, in order to save electricity, everyone would turn off the lights when it got dark and go to bed after a while of cooling off.
Today, every household is still queuing outside the dock. Women, who rarely turn on the lights, are waiting there while weaving nets, and children are running and jumping at their doorsteps.
Those who sold their goods early were reluctant to go to bed and were in high spirits.
"Those who sold early made a profit, as they caught up with the good price. Oh, by the way, did you sell the big ones for 37 cents and the small ones for 30 cents this morning?"
Ye Yaodong nodded, "Yes, there was no one there at that time, and I delivered it early, so I picked it very carefully. Damn it, I had to sort it out the same way later, without any adulteration, it was real, otherwise I wouldn't have been so unwilling to send it to the dock. If I had mixed 10% or 20%, I wouldn't have bothered and would have queued up directly."
"It's a good thing you picked carefully. No one is blind. The buyer will definitely check it roughly. It will definitely sell for a good price."
"I hope so!"
Everything has been selected and tied up, it would be too troublesome to mix it in, so this is it anyway.
They talked as they walked. There were not many people walking on the street. Most of them were sitting outside their homes. However, people on both sides of the road looked at them. As soon as they passed by, some people started talking.
There is gossip everywhere in the countryside, and things to talk about are everywhere.
As soon as Ye Yaodong and his companions arrived at Secretary Chen's house and explained their purpose, Secretary Chen was surprised but still gave them a letter of introduction.
If they need to use a tractor at night, it's hard to say because it's too late. It can be approved, but they have to find a few people in the village who can drive a tractor to discuss who will go and how much to pay. They have to discuss this among themselves.
Both of them said it was no problem.
After they came out, they planned to find someone who could drive a tractor, and happened to meet Ye's father coming over.
"Your eldest and second brothers said they have been waiting in line for quite a long time, so they won't bother anymore. The line is moving now, and there is no jam. They are waiting patiently in line."
"Okay, then I won't force it."
"Um."
Father Ye actually wanted the three brothers to work together, do everything together, and make money together, but each of them has grown up and can only let his children and grandchildren have their own blessings.
After they had made all the arrangements, they agreed to set off at 10 o'clock and then went back home to sleep.
Four hours is considered sufficient. In the past, buses drove slowly and stopped frequently, and would stop for fifteen minutes to wait for passengers in the next county, which took a little over three hours. Tractors drove slowly at night, so a direct route should take three hours.
Ye Yaodong was afraid that he would not be able to fall asleep too early, so he drank two glasses of white wine with his father before lying down.
It was almost ten o'clock when Lin Xiuqing called him and he woke up.
"I boiled two eggs for you, and also took a can of food and some rice cakes and put them in the bag I prepared for you. Remember to take some when you're hungry."
"OK."
"It's also convenient to carry a shoulder bag. It won't fall off easily when you carry it in front of you. Remember to carry it well so that no one can snatch it away."
Lin Xiuqing held a pair of shorts in her hand and continued, "Also, I just sewed a secret compartment with buttons inside this pair of shorts for you. Put the money inside after you sell the goods, so it won't fall out. Put it on when you get up."
Ye Yaodong didn't take the shorts. Instead, he held her face and kissed her fiercely, "Wife, you are so thoughtful and considerate."
Lin Xiuqing smiled and pushed him away. "Of course you have to be careful when you go out, especially since you are going far away. Remember to come back early and come back after you have sold the goods. Don't wander around. The more people there are, the more chaotic it will be."
"Don't worry, I know my limits..."
"What sense of propriety do you have? If I don't say a few words, you might wander around everywhere. My father asked me to warn you not to run around everywhere. If you want to gain more experience, there will be plenty of opportunities in the future."
"knew."
Anyway, he had to answer in a nice way. Ye Yaodong took the shorts, got out of bed, took them off and put on the ones that Lin Xiuqing had just sewn.
He even touched the secret compartment inside, feeling that it didn't matter if he didn't touch it, as his boxer briefs were very loose anyway.
After putting on his long-sleeved shirt and long pants, he went out. Lin Xiuqing followed him, intending to see him off. This was his first time going on a long trip, and she was a little worried. He was such an unreliable person before...
As soon as Ye Yaodong opened the door, he looked at the dock in the distance. The lights were still on there, and there were many flashlights shining everywhere on the shore. It seemed that there were quite a few people there.
Several hours have passed, and I didn't expect there are still so many people. I don't know if his elder and second brothers have sold all their goods.
He took a few looks and heard the sound of chatting coming from next door, so he walked out of the courtyard and went to the door of Zhou's house. Everyone else had already gotten up and was chatting there.
"Good morning!"
"Hahaha, it's still night time."
"Ah, yes, it's still night."
Ye Yaodong smiled. He was already sleepy. It was not even midnight yet, so what was so early
Before they could chat for a while, the sound of tractors approached. He looked at his watch and it was very punctual.
Everyone helped each other, loaded their goods onto the tractor and stacked them, without worrying about mixing up their goods, as they all had their own marks on the sacks.
The same goes for Ye Yaodong. The mark on his sacks is Ye San. He had to pay for the sacks, so of course he had to mark them.
After everything was moved, they climbed onto the tractor. Ye Yaodong waved to Lin Xiuqing who was standing at the gate and said, "Go back and go to bed early. I'll be back tomorrow."
"Be careful, don't run around."
"knew."
Others also waved to their family members standing at the door.
The tractor cranked the handle slowly for a few circles, accelerated when it was running normally, and the car made the motor sound again. When it reached a certain speed, the pressure was released, and the crank automatically withdrew after fire. All in one go, the young man driving the car also climbed onto the tractor.
"Xiao Zhou, it's okay to drive slowly, safety first."
"Yes, the typhoon just passed, and the mountain roads are difficult to drive on. There are potholes everywhere. It's better to be careful. It's okay to drive slowly."
"Okay, I have a headlamp."
"We brought it too."
They all carried a flashlight and consciously turned it on to help light the way ahead, putting safety first.
The tractor was driving on the mountain road, which was very bumpy with puddles everywhere and it was pitch black all around. Fortunately, there were many of them and they weren't lonely.
He even knocked over two bags of shells on purpose and everyone sat on them.
As we chatted along the way, I felt nervous, excited, and a little confused.