Soon, Feng Ye returned home.

The main room was filled with people, including the village chief and secretary of Dongtou Village, as well as four middle-aged men and two young men, all dressed in formal attire.

The six men all had scrutinizing eyes, glancing outside every now and then, looking very impatient.

There was another unkempt, gray-haired old man who calmly drank his tea, showing no sign of being in a hurry.

Xiao Chunxiu stood by with a smile on her face, while Ye Qingling and Du Guilan were nowhere to be seen.

As for Feng Jiaqing and Feng Xuan, they were not at home; they had gone out to sea to fish again a day earlier with the Harvest.

As soon as Feng Ye entered the courtyard, he attracted everyone's attention.

The village chief immediately stood up and pointed to Feng Ye, who was walking inside, introducing him to the guests: "This is Feng Ye, the young man who brought back the Mazu statue from the seabed."

As he spoke, he waved to Feng Ye, signaling him to come in quickly.

"I'm finally back."

"You're back so late, I was just about to leave."

"I've been waiting all day, it's getting impatient..."

Each of them spoke with obvious dissatisfaction in their tone.

The secretary smiled apologetically and said, "Fishermen's return time from sea is unpredictable; they often work from dawn till dusk. Please forgive them, leaders."

The village chief also chimed in, saying, "Ah Ye didn't know anyone would be coming today, and the leaders' arrival was quite sudden. If they had given him advance notice and told him not to go out to sea today, we wouldn't have had to wait so long..."

The old man with gray hair chuckled and said, "It's alright, that's just how fishermen live, we can understand it. It's good that he's back, at least we didn't wait in vain."

Feng Ye took a deep breath, walked in, nodded to everyone, and then went straight to the village chief and secretary.

Those who came back with him to join in the fun, as well as some neighbors who had heard the news, all stood at the door, craning their necks to look into the house.

"Secretary Xiao, Village Chief Luo, what brings you here?"

Feng Ye smiled and asked the question knowingly.

At the same time, they turned their attention to those unfamiliar faces.

Village Chief Luo patted him on the shoulder and said, "Ah Ye, you're finally back. They are leaders from the county cultural relics bureau, as well as people from the cultural relics bureau of Yanshan County next door and the Yanshan Tianhou Temple."

Then he whispered, "They all came because of the Mazu statue you brought back a few days ago."

Feng Ye's heart tightened. Just as he had expected, these people were indeed after the statue.

He took a breath, trying to make his tone sound calm: "Distinguished leaders, what brings you here?"

A middle-aged man in a suit stepped forward, extended his hand, and said, "Hello, Comrade Feng Ye. I am Lu Weimin, the deputy director of the Yanshan County Cultural Relics Bureau and the chairman of the Yanshan Tianhou Palace Council. I am here to discuss with you the matter concerning the Mazu statue."

Feng Ye shook hands with him and nodded, saying, "Director Lu, hello."

Lu Weimin asked, "Do you know the origin of that Mazu statue?"

Feng Ye nodded: "I've heard about it."

"That's good." Lu Weimin breathed a sigh of relief. "Now that Comrade Feng Ye is aware of this, do you agree to return it to the Tianhou Palace in Yanshan?"

"You shouldn't be asking me that; you should be asking the Mazu Temple Council on our island."

Feng Ye pushed two, five, six.

“I’ve already asked, and they said it requires your consent.”

A surge of anger rose within Lu Weimin.

"It's no use even if I agree. Why don't you ask them if they agree?"

Feng Ye declined again, raising his hand and pointing to the crowd outside the door.

"We disagree!"

"Yes, we strongly disagree!"

"Mazu is also the guardian deity of our Baishi Island. How could she be entrusted to your Yanshan County for worship?"

"Hmph, don't think that just because your Yanshan Tianhou Palace is big, you can take advantage of others. Our Baishi Island may be small, but it has its own temper!"

...

The crowd outside immediately erupted in uproar, expressing their dissatisfaction and anger in a cacophony of voices.

“Comrade Feng Ye, you don’t need to use them as a shield. These three statues were originally enshrined in our Tianhou Temple in Yanshan. They were just stolen by the Japanese back then, so it is only natural to return them now.”

Lu Weimin's face was somewhat gloomy, and he suppressed his anger and said coldly.

"Then go find the Japanese devils, why are you coming to me?"

Feng Ye was also somewhat angry.

If you can talk to him nicely, he might be able to negotiate a compromise with them.

But the other party's attitude was clearly one of forceful plunder, how could he tolerate that?

His words immediately aroused the indignation of the villagers outside the door, who shouted, "That's right, go find the Japanese devils, what are you doing on our Baishi Island?"

At the same time, he also drew angry glares from two middle-aged men and a young man.

The other two, along with the elderly man with gray hair, adopted a detached, spectator-like attitude, as if it were none of their business.

Lu Weimin's face darkened further. He hadn't expected this young man to be so disrespectful to him, and he was barely able to contain his rage.

Since he took this position, everyone has treated him with utmost respect; he has never suffered such humiliation before.

But he also knew that forcing the issue at this time would only backfire.

I've already said the wrong thing once. If I say it wrong again, there will be no room for error.

So he took a deep breath and tried to make his tone sound calmer: "Comrade Feng Ye, I understand the status of Mazu in your hearts."

"But as an important place of Mazu belief, Yanshan Tianhou Palace has always been working hard to inherit and promote Mazu culture."

"Now that we have the opportunity to bring these three statues back to their hometown, we feel that this is not only a respect for history, but also a better way to pass on the Mazu belief."

Feng Ye frowned. He knew what the other person said was true, but it had nothing to do with him.

However, the other party's tone softened, so he couldn't refuse forcefully anymore. He said in a deep voice, "Director Lu, I understand what you mean and I can understand it, but this is really not something I can decide."

"Comrade Feng Ye, you should know that these three statues are not ordinary statues, but cultural relics with high historical and cultural value. They can only be better enshrined and protected at the Tianhou Palace under the Yanshan County Cultural Relics Bureau."

“You can receive the same good worship and protection at our Mazu Temple on Baishi Island, without having to go through all the trouble of going to your Tianhou Palace on Yanshan Mountain.”

Next, the two engaged in another struggle.

Lu Weimin finally lost his patience: "Feng Ye, cultural relics belong to the country, not to individuals."

"Director Lu, you don't need to label me. There are countless cultural relics in the world; do we expect them all to be nationalized? For example, the statues in the ancestral temple?"

Feng Ye gave a cold laugh.

"you……"