"Otherwise, what? Why would I buy a boat if not to fish? Just to look at it?" Ye Yaodong replied irritably, feeling unjustly questioned after trying hard to impress.
The old lady hadn't spoken much, but now her face lit up as she took his hand, saying, "Dongzi has grown, wanting to buy a boat to fish on his own. You need to be careful when you go out alone."
"I know!"
Ye Father shot a glare at the old lady; he hadn’t even agreed yet.
He still needed to consult his other sons about it.
He turned to his two older sons, asking, "The third wants to buy that boat. What do you both think?"
Ye Yaohua's face turned red as he exchanged glances with his brothers, feeling a bit embarrassed.
"Father, I... I want to... ah!"
He glared at Ye Ersao, who had pinched him, but she merely smiled at Ye Father and said, "Father, let’s discuss it in the house later. Yaodong shouldn’t be in such a rush, right?"
Ye Father frowned at her, choosing not to engage in conversation, knowing the second son was somewhat easily swayed.
He looked at the eldest.
"What do you think?"
"How much does Dongzi plan to spend to buy it?"
Ye Yaodong shrugged.
"That’s for Father to tell me how much he’ll sell it for."
"Oldest brother, do you have any ideas?"
"I need to think it over. I'll give you an answer after dinner."
"Alright, you all think it over. The third can discuss it with his wife when we get back. Don’t just blurt things out without thinking!"
In the end, Ye Father still didn’t fully trust him! The way the second son’s wife acted made him feel displeased, viewing his second son as too soft-hearted.
He hoped the third son’s wife would keep a closer eye on him, guiding the aimless third son to listen more to his wife.
A father’s thoughts are so contradictory.
If a son listens to his wife, he feels disturbed; if not, he wishes he would heed her words more.
Ye Mother smiled and said, "Why don't you all discuss it in the house? I’ll go make dinner; it’s already noon, and I haven’t started cooking yet."
The chores were simple, and Ye Mother didn’t require any assistance.
Once Lin Xiuqing returned home with Ye Yaodong, she immediately pulled him aside and asked, "How come you want to buy that small wooden boat? If we leave it in the public domain, anyone who needs it can use it, wouldn’t that be better?"
Heaven knows how much she struggled to hold her tongue.
The moment he blurted out wanting to buy the boat, she had so many questions.
But it was hard to interrupt.
"If we keep it in the public, who gets to keep the profits?" Ye Yaodong shot back.
Lin Xiuqing fell silent.
"Right now, working with Father, the money we earn goes towards the house. After we divide the family, when we go out to sea, Father might share the earnings or calculate wages. But with three of us, we take turns, and at most, we get ten days in a month. If there’s machinery to fix or if storms come, we might hardly go out at all."
"If we have our own little boat, we can make some nets and check for fish every couple of days. Isn’t that more stable? Plus, we don't have to go out at midnight."
Lin Xiuqing stared at Ye Yaodong, wide-eyed.
"Are you serious?"
"Of course! If no one believes me, you can’t not believe me!"
"Why should I trust you?"
This...
Ye Yaodong rubbed his head.
"Hey, I’ve been performing pretty well recently. Haven't you noticed?"
"Who knows how long you’ll keep that up?"
"Can we not crush my enthusiasm? Aren't you supposed to encourage me? Don't you want me to work hard and earn good money?"
She replied with a serious tone, "I only feel there’s hope for you because of your recent performance. That’s why I asked if you were serious. In the past, I wouldn’t even bother asking. Don’t think you can get money out of me."
"If you genuinely want to work hard, I will definitely support you. But if it's just three days of fishing and two days of leisurely lazing about, then don’t waste the money."
Ye Yaodong sighed, feeling helpless.
He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, running his fingers through her short hair, and spoke sincerely for the first time.
"Trust me once; even a wayward son can turn back."
Upon hearing this, Lin Xiuqing felt a little teary-eyed, her nostrils stinging.
After a moment’s pause, she replied, “You’re on!”
“Yes, I am!” He noticed her soft tone, and gently patted her back.
"Let’s buy the boat. A chance like this is rare. Once we earn money, we can buy a bigger ship, and we can sell the small one too. We won't lose anything."
"Okay."
She hugged him back.
Given what he had shown lately, she was willing to give him a chance.
If he were to trick her, she could always sell the boat; the risks wouldn’t be too great.
After the couple agreed, they began discussing how much money their father would sell it for.
Surely it wouldn’t be too far off from market prices, especially with Eldest Sister-in-law and Second Sister-in-law watching closely.
However, Ye Yaodong wasn’t worried.
His parents weren’t overly driven by money.
"Let’s see what Eldest Brother and Ah Hua think. I noticed Ah Hua seemed a bit tempted just now."
"Didn’t Ersao object? Asking her for money will be harder than anything."
He pouted, understanding why he had saved quite a bit of money in his past life without any money left in his pockets now.
"We’ll know soon enough. They probably want to help Father directly anyway—no capital required and much safer."
"We actually don’t need to go solo..."
"Not going solo, but rotating among the three brothers? Just going out a few days a month while I enjoy life the rest of the time?"
Lin Xiuqing tightly pressed her lips together.
Perhaps it was better to go solo.
If work was done tightly, maybe they would avoid trouble.
"Then let’s do it your way. Let’s buy it, but you definitely can’t selfishly go alone to fish while Eldest and Second Brother do all the hard work at home. You’ll need to pitch in!"
"I know! The family is busy; I can’t just go out every day. I also need to help with the new house. I can sneak out when I find time.”
Moreover, he still needed to learn how to row.
To him, driving the boat wasn't tough, but rowing... that felt quite old-fashioned.
He hadn’t learned how to row back in his youth and would have to spend some time near the shore practicing.
Once the couple discussed everything, they headed out just in time for a meal.
During dinner, Ye Yaopeng said directly, "Father, the third wants that small wooden boat; you should sell it to him for a lower price. It's rare he wants to work hard, so I don’t want it."
"Well, the second son...?"
Ye Yaohua shamefully stole a glance at Ye Yaodong.
"If the third wants it, then let him have it; a second-hand wooden boat isn’t worth much..."
He grinned with his teeth showing, furrowing his brows...
It was easy to guess that Ersao had pinched him again!
Anyone with eyes could see.
Ye Mother glared at Ye Ersao disapprovingly. “Why are you interrupting when the men are talking?”
"Oh... I... I didn’t do anything, Mother..."
Ye Father cast them a glance, not wanting to comment on the second son’s wife.
As a father-in-law, he felt it wasn’t his place to say anything.
Putting down his chopsticks firmly, he declared, "We're brothers, so we need to be clear about the finances. It can’t be given away for free, and that small wooden boat isn’t really small either. By the market's standards, it’s worth about two hundred. Since everyone seems okay with it, let’s give it to Dongzi, and he can pay about 150. We’re family after all. This money can go towards the house; does everyone agree?"
Ye Yaopeng and Ye Yaohua had no objections.
Ye Ersao, having received a warning, dared not say anything further, while Oldest Sister-in-law always knew how to protect herself.
And so, it was settled that the small wooden boat was to be sold.
(End of Chapter)