Back To the Small Fishing Village In 1982

As soon as he stepped outside, before even stretching his lazy waist, Ye Yaodong saw Secretary Chen and his family paying a visit.

"Oh? Secretary Chen, why do you have the time to come over? Come, come, please have a seat," Ye Yaodong greeted them and then shouted, "Dad, Secretary Chen is here.”

He didn't know if his father was in the room or at the back door, anyway, he just yelled.

Father Ye heard his shout and hurriedly pulled up his pants as he entered from the backyard, his belt still undone.

"Oh, Secretary Chen is here. Sit down quickly. Let's have a drink together. We also have a few dishes to go with it."

He didn't feel embarrassed at all. He naturally invited them to sit down and have a drink. However, Ye Yaodong felt a bit awkward. He didn't know if his father had washed his hands or not.

Entering the house in such a hurry...

Secretary Chen smiled and said, "No need, no need. We already cooked at home. I came here specifically to thank Yaodong. If he hadn't reached out in time, my grandson might not have made it."

As he spoke, he took the basket from his wife's hand and uncovered it, revealing two packs of cigarettes, two bottles of Maotai, two cans of food, and two red paper-wrapped cakes, which were famous local tea pastries.

This was the most extravagant gift they had ever received. Just one bottle of Maotai costs over ten yuan. The Ye family in the main hall was stunned.

Father Ye widened his eyes. "What... What are you doing? Yaodong just lent a helping hand. Quickly take these back. They're worth a lot of money. Why spend so much? Please return them."

Ye Yaodong was also surprised. He didn't expect Secretary Chen to be so generous. He had only wanted to see if he could save the child's life. He didn't expect to receive all this in return. After all, it’s also a life, right?

"It's only natural, Old Ye. Don't refuse. Today, my son and daughter-in-law came back, and only then did I realize how dangerous it was for my grandson. He almost didn't make it."

"That doesn't require such a generous gift. We're all from the same village. Helping each other is what we should do. Yaodong didn't do anything. It's your child who was lucky. His life was not meant to end."

"No, the doctor said that it was thanks to Yaodong administering first aid that my grandson managed to hold on until he reached the hospital. Otherwise, he would have stopped breathing. You must accept these. It's just a small token of our gratitude."

"No, no, we can't accept such a generous gift. Please take them back. Take them back. It's only right for us to help each other as fellow villagers. There's no need for such expensive gifts."

Father Ye refused to accept, not because he wasn't tempted, but because he believed that helping each other was only natural. How could he accept so many valuable items?

"Oh, these things can't compare to a child’s life. Please accept them quickly."

"Just accept them. Don’t refuse..."

"This is just a small token of our appreciation..."

"We really can't accept..."

"You should take them back quickly..."

Both families pushed back and forth. If it weren't for the smiles on their faces, someone who didn't know the situation might have thought they were about to fight.

Watching their back-and-forth, Ye Yaodong felt somewhat helpless. This was how Chinese people exchanged gifts. They liked to push and refuse, or exchange some polite words. It seemed as if accepting straightforwardly would make them lose face.

He leaned against the corner of the wall, watching them go back and forth. Anyway, it was just something he had casually done. Whether his parents accepted or not was up to them.

In the end, Father Ye and Mother Ye couldn't refuse any longer and accepted with smiles on their faces...

"Is the child alright?" he asked, seizing the opportunity.

"He's fine. We brought him back today. He just needs a few days of rest at home."

Mother Ye spoke up, "The child must have been frightened. Go to the pharmacy and buy some pearl powder for him to calm his nerves."

"We already have some. We gave it to him as soon as we arrived. We'll give him a little more before he goes to sleep tonight." Secretary Chen's wife spoke.

Mother Ye wiped her hands on her apron and said embarrassedly, "Um... Let's all sit down and have something to eat. The food is ready, but there aren't any good dishes. We didn't know you were coming, so we didn't prepare anything special..."

"No need, no need. We're here to express our gratitude, not to have a meal. No family has an abundance of food. How could I bring my whole family over for a meal? You eat, you eat..."

As soon as Secretary Chen entered, he saw a large pot of shredded sweet potato porridge on the clay stove. They were still building houses, so they didn't want to waste white rice. How could he let his whole family sit down and eat?

"It’s fine. We have enough rice at home. We'll cook another pot later..."

"No need. We'll eat at home. We've already cooked the food. We wanted to come in the morning, but we saw that you were either building houses or going out to sea. There was no one at home, so we waited until mealtime to come."

Otherwise, who would visit during mealtime? It would obviously seem like they were just trying to get a free meal. Who doesn't value their own food? They didn't even have enough to eat at home.

At this time, many guests who came to visit wouldn't stay for a meal. Either they brought their own provisions or didn't stay at all.

Secretary Chen thought for a moment and felt it necessary to remind them, "Oh, and there's something I need to let you know. Lin Jishang from the village went to the commune this afternoon and said that his relative wanted to buy your homestead. I stopped it, but you should be careful."

"What? There's so much vacant land in the village. Why did they set their sights on our land?" Father Ye was surprised.

Mother Ye suddenly realized, "No wonder I saw Lin Jishang and a few people wandering around our land this morning."

"The whole village has been talking about your new house having good feng shui, that's why your family has been having such great success..."

"What?!"

Everyone was astonished. Just because of this baseless feng shui?

Ye Yaodong was speechless. It was just something he casually mentioned...

If that land had good feng shui, how did he end up being poor in his past life? It was all about fate, right?

"How is that possible? Just because of some unfounded rumors, someone wants to buy our land?"

The Ye family found it hard to believe.

Mother Ye added, "I also saw an old man among them this morning, muttering something. So, he was calculating feng shui?"

"Your family has really been in the limelight recently."

"Which relative of Lin Jishang's is it? Where are they from?" Ye Yaodong asked.

Lin Jishang’s family was rich in his previous life. It was said that they had houses all over the city and provincial capital. They never mentioned wanting to buy their homestead. It seemed like a butterfly effect...

"I'm not sure about that. He didn't say. He even wanted me to prove whether the land had a title or not. I told him that I had already given you the land title certificate and the village committee had accepted the registration. I asked him to find another piece of land."

"That's good. We've already laid the foundation stones and started building the house. How can we sell it to him?" Father Ye's brows furrowed. The construction of the house had begun, and now this unexpected obstacle had appeared.

"I don't know if he's given up or not, or who this relative is. It's only been a few days since it happened in our village, but it spread so quickly. Anyway, just be cautious. You've paid the money, and the title has been issued. That land is already yours. No one can forcibly take it away."

"Alright, thank you for letting us know."

Secretary Chen quickly added, "Then you should have your meal. We won't disturb you any longer."

"Stay and have a drink. We have some rice wine at home..."

"No, no, we need to go home for dinner..."

(end of this chapter)

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