After changing buses and another hour of bumpy and shaking ride, the father and son finally saw the village in the distance.
There were some houses scattered around the village with small lights on, as faint as fireflies in the night sky.
Although we were delayed for some time because of waiting for the tractor, it was only a little after 7 o'clock.
It’s just because it gets dark early in the winter, it’s already dark at 5:30. In the autumn and winter, as soon as night falls, everyone basically goes to bed early to avoid the cold wind. Most people are reluctant to turn on the lights to weave the nets, and would rather get up early the next morning.
Ye Yaodong stood up holding the edge of the tractor. "Oh my god, we are finally home. It was such a tiring journey. I am so tired. It would have been easier if I had just hired a tractor to take us to our destination."
Father Ye also relaxed as he looked at the familiar village. "It's good to be home. There is no place like home."
After saying that, he stood up again and instructed the driver which way to go.
The women in the house were also awake, waiting for them to come back. They turned on the lights and weaved the nets while keeping their ears perked up, listening to the noises outside the house.
Tractors passed by the beach entrance several times today, and they thought they were the ones coming back. But when they went out to check, they found out that they were not the ones. They were either transporting sand or going to the dock to transport seafood. They were disappointed.
They waited from dawn till dusk, and the old lady was actually the one who was most worried about the father and son.
Because Lin Xiuqing has a baby to take care of, she will not be thinking about them all the time, and Ye's mother is at work outside all day, so the old lady is the only one idle, and there is nothing to divert her attention.
When the sound of the tractor was still faint in the distance, the old lady had already heard it with her sensitive ears. She stood up and said happily: "I heard the sound of the tractor. They must be back."
"It seems like there really is the sound of a tractor." Lin Xiuqing was also surprised and quickly put down the half-knitted sweater in her hands and stood up.
Mother Ye also heard it, and it became clearer and clearer, but she still said stubbornly: "Did you hear it wrong again? You said the same thing during the day."
"Of course not. It's so late. There won't be any tractors coming to our village. They should be back by now. They've been gone all day. They left when it was dark. It's already dark the next day."
The old lady quickly opened the door and went out to take a look.
It was windy at night and the old lady had poor resistance, so she couldn't stay at the door exposed to the wind. She was dissuaded and could only wait in the house.
As soon as the door was opened, the sound of the tractor became louder and closer, and even Ye Chenghu, who was cramming for an exam in the room, ran out.
Ye Chengyang also jumped and followed his brother, shouting happily, "There's a tractor, Dad is back!"
This kid followed the old lady and shouted several times today. As soon as he heard the sound of the tractor, he shouted that his father was back and then ran to the door.
At this moment, everyone was standing at the door, listening with their ears perked up, looking into the distance and talking.
Lin Xiuqing laughed and said, "Why do you know your father is back when you see a tractor?"
"Because my dad is awesome, he always rides a tractor!"
Everyone was instantly amused by him.
Ye Chengyang didn't know what the adults were laughing at, and suddenly felt shy. He pointed at Ye Chenghu awkwardly.
"My brother said that. He told Little Stone that Dad was awesome because he always rode a tractor."
Even Ye's mother couldn't help laughing. "So proud? Are you showing off your dad everywhere? Is your dad proud of you? If your dad heard this, he would be so proud that his tail would be up to the sky."
Ye Chenghu was fearless and said loudly: "My dad is awesome. Other people's dads walk, but he rides a car or a bicycle."
"Look how proud you are! Your father is just lazy. On this broken road in the village, walking might be faster than riding a bicycle. Just let him die of laziness."
"But he also rides a tractor! So impressive."
Mother Ye smiled and patted his head, "You have to go and tell your father about this, and flatter him at the same time."
"Here he comes, around the corner, it's really Daddy who's back."
They stood at the door and watched, and the tractor actually came straight towards their house.
The two children ran towards them like butterflies.
The others also walked quickly to the gate of the courtyard.
"Why did you come back so late? Have you sold all the items?" Ye's mother ran to the back of the tractor and looked inside. She was immediately overjoyed to find that it was empty.
"Did they really sell all of it? Those nearly 300 kilograms, were they really all sold? The dried fish that we dried in the countryside are actually so popular?"
Lin Xiuqing was also very surprised. "It's really sold out. I thought there would be some left. It's good that it's sold out. I can save time by buying more. You must be exhausted, right? Let's go inside and eat. The vegetables and carrot soup are warming in the pot."
The old lady was also happy to see the father and son jumping out of the car one after another. "It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back. You come back every day at an uncertain time, which makes me worried."
"Let's go inside first. I'll pay for the car fare first."
"How much? I have..."
Lin Xiuqing hurriedly reached into her pocket for coins, but Ye Yaodong got there before her and took out a handful of banknotes, counting out eight yuan. This made the women's eyes widen.
"Why so many?"
"Did you give the wrong amount? You just gave me a few dollars. Did we hear it right? Eight dollars?"
Ye Yaodong put away the remaining change and said, "I didn't give the wrong money. There are no rides this late at night. I don't have that much money, and people are not willing to travel so far. Besides, it's already dark, and my father and I don't want to bother anymore. Since we can't bargain, we'll just forget it."
Father Ye: Don’t take me with you!
The tractor driver counted the money and ran away immediately after making sure it was correct, fearing that the two men would go back on their word and leave him behind.
"This is too much..." Lin Xiuqing also felt that it was too much.
"Hey, hey, he's about to run away, stop him quickly, why would he need so much money? Hurry up and get some back..." Ye's mother raised her hands and shouted, wanting to chase after him.
"Hey, we've already agreed, why are you stopping us? Go inside and eat."
Mother Ye slapped her thigh in annoyance and glared at Ye Yaodong, "Why are your hands so loose?"
"Stop talking so much, I'm exhausted. What can you do if they don't give you a discount? If you don't accept it, you can only walk back by yourself. How long will it take you to walk here in the middle of the night? We have to deliver the goods early tomorrow morning."
Ye's father walked into the yard first, glaring at Ye's mother.
Ye's mother's attention was immediately diverted, and she followed behind him in surprise, "We still have to deliver goods tomorrow. What goods are we delivering? Where are we delivering them to?"
"What else can you deliver? What else do we have besides dried fish? Come in and sit down and we'll talk slowly..."
At this time, Ye Yaodong was already being harassed by two children before he even entered the yard. They were happy to see him at first, but then they immediately became disappointed.
"Dad, you really didn't bring anything for us?"
"No, I'm so busy that I don't have time to bring you one. I'll take you there next time when I'm not busy."
The brothers' mouth corners immediately turned down.
The old lady followed behind without commenting. Although she felt bad about the high travel expenses, she was happy as long as the father and son returned safely, especially since they were both exhausted.
She spoke to comfort the two children now, "Don't bother your father for now. He must be exhausted after coming back from so far away. Wait for him to finish his meal first."
Lin Xiuqing also opened her mouth and scolded Ye Chenghu, "Don't talk back at me. You haven't finished your homework today. If you don't finish it by eight o'clock, I will turn off the lights, and you will go to school the next day and stand on the palm of your hand as punishment."
When Ye Chenghu heard that he was going to be spanked, he felt an inexplicable burning pain in the palm of his hand. He immediately let go of Ye Yaodong's clothes and hurried into the house.
"I cram every day..."
The old lady helped to speak up, "He is still young and has only been in school for a few months. It is normal for him not to want to do his homework. He will be fine when he grows up."
"It's better to talk about everything in a bigger way..."
There was Ye Chengyang at his feet, so Ye Yaodong picked him up and held him in his arms.
"He's grown up, just let him go by himself. You've been tired all day."
"It doesn't matter. He doesn't weigh that much. He's very light."
Ye Chengyang hugged Ye Yaodong's neck and immediately twisted his body, "I'll walk by myself."
Ye Yaodong felt relieved immediately and decided to go by himself.
Lin Xiuqing asked him hurriedly, "Dad just said that he has to deliver goods early tomorrow morning. Where are you delivering the goods? What's going on?"
"I ran into Captain Chen who had come to our village before in the city this afternoon..."
Ye Yaodong put the long story short and simply told her.
Ye's mother also learned what happened today from Ye's father and was very surprised.
She walked around the room happily, "This is great. If we sell this directly to the army, it will be much easier. We don't have to set up a stall at night. There are a lot of people in the army, so they will definitely need more in the future. If this is done well, there will be a steady stream of business in the future. Oh my God, you really met a noble person when you went out."
"It is indeed a blessing to meet a noble person, so tomorrow I will send everything in my house over to have a look. If there are still more, we can come back to collect the ones in the village."
The old lady also smiled with her gums showing, "Then you can't think they are expensive. The PLA comrades are helping to speak for you, so you have to think they are cheaper."
"Of course."
Ye Yaodong looked at his mother while eating, "Is there a scale for sale in the village? Mom, please help me buy one. I almost died today because I didn't have a scale."
"Yes, yes, yes. They're sold at the grocery store. I'll go buy you one."
Father Ye added, "By the way, tell the eldest and second brother to dry more fish tomorrow so they can sell them. If the army doesn't want them, they can use them to set up stalls and sell them easily."
"Okay, okay."
Seeing his mother's excited and happy look, Ye Yaodong was afraid that she would shout about it again, so he quickly reminded her, "Mom, you can't tell others where I sold the goods, how much I sold them for, how much I earned, etc."
"We can't even tell anyone about sending it to the army. We have to keep a low profile and not tell anyone, otherwise the whole village will know how much I sell my stuff for, and it will be hard to buy it at a low price."
When Ye's mother heard this, she knew that she was being disliked for her big mouth again, and she immediately said unhappily: "If you are so worried about me, why did you tell me?"
After saying that, she walked out quickly with nimble legs and feet.
Ye Yaodong thought: He didn't want to tell his mother, but who told her to ask so many questions, and his father was too excited and spoke too quickly. Anyway, it's fine as long as he told his mother not to spread it, his mother can still keep the secret.