"Hey, I'm here! Uncle, what brings you here?"
"The door isn't locked, just push it open and come in."
The visitor was none other than Village Chief Fu, who hadn't shown his face for several days.
Upon hearing what Elder Fu said, Village Chief Fu's men pushed hard, and the courtyard gate opened.
"Hey, cleaning up fish and shrimp?"
"Yes, Uncle, what brings you here?"
Fu Laoda washed his hands in the cleaner water next to him and moved the bamboo chair over.
You should know that Village Chief Fu is usually very busy; I haven't seen him fishing recently.
Village Chief Fu stared at him for a long time without saying a word, his serious expression leaving Boss Fu somewhat bewildered.
"Uncle, are you having some trouble?"
"Just tell me if you have any difficulties. If there's anything I, Boss Fu, can do to help, I definitely will!"
Upon hearing Fu Laoda's words, Village Chief Fu sighed inwardly, realizing he hadn't misjudged the boy, but felt he had let him down.
He sighed deeply, "Oh, I don't even know how to explain this to you. Yesterday, your aunt and A-Jian went to her parents' house to deliver holiday gifts, and my brother-in-law somehow found out that my boat was empty and rented out, and he insisted that I use it for him..."
Having said all that, Boss Fu would be a fool if he still didn't understand, and his expression turned grim.
Fu Wan, who had just come out of the house, heard the commotion, got dressed, and got up with her two children.
"Village Chief, why are you at my house so early?"
As Fu Wan braided the two little girls' hair, she smiled and broke the somewhat awkward silence.
When Village Chief Fu saw that Boss Fu was frowning and silent, he was also very embarrassed. Even his smile to Fu Wan looked like a cry.
Looking at Village Chief Fu's full head of white hair, Boss Fu sighed inwardly.
It wasn't that he didn't want to return the boat, it was just that at this crucial moment, his own boat also ran into trouble.
"Father, the village chief had no choice. We just need to rest for a few days anyway, so let's just forget about the previous lease!"
She was able to be so magnanimous because after her rebirth, Village Chief Fu helped her a lot.
Her household registration was able to be reinstated in Fujia Village, and she was even granted another plot of land for homesteading, all thanks to Village Chief Fu not blocking her. If it weren't for Village Chief Fu persuading the villagers, the villagers would have already thrown a huge uproar if Old Master Fu hadn't built two buildings at once.
When Fu Laoda heard his daughter say that, he immediately thought of the building that was already more than half completed.
He went inside and took out the key to the ship, which was locked in the cabins and at the diesel engine room.
"Uncle, the key is here. I brought back the fishing nets from the boat last night. The boat is quite clean. Go take a look when you get back."
Village Chief Fu took the key and nodded repeatedly. Then, as if remembering something, he took out the plastic bag containing his tobacco from his pocket.
There was another bag underneath the plastic bag, which looked like the same bag we used to use to store candy at home.
He counted out fifteen yuan and gave it to Boss Fu, saying, "Dog Boy, I'll return the rent to you. I was wrong to do this, and I have no face to accept this money."
Boss Fu refused to accept it and quickly pushed it back.
"Uncle, forget about the money. I've known your character all these years. If I give you money, aren't you looking down on me?"
Fu Laoda insisted on not going, so Fu Wan tied up the two children's hair and urged them to brush their teeth.
Fu Ling's clever eyes darted around, not quite understanding why the adults were passing the money back and forth.
"Village Chief, you should take the money back. After all, we've been using the boat for a while now."
With the addition of another boat recently, after deducting the cost of the diesel engine, boat maintenance, and taxes, Fu Wan estimated that she should have earned at least one or two thousand.
Compared to the profit, she felt too embarrassed to accept the dozen or so yuan in rent refunded by the village chief.
Seeing that they insisted on not accepting the money, Village Chief Fu had no choice but to take it back.
"Alright, alright, I'll remember this favor."
Fu Wan smiled and said, "Don't take any of this sentimentality to heart, Village Chief."
"We are very grateful to you for helping us with the construction of our house."
"A close neighbor is better than a distant relative," this saying is absolutely true. Village Chief Fu nodded and was about to go back when he unexpectedly saw the mole crickets and shrimp that Boss Fu had mentioned earlier that he was going to clean up.
"Wow, these shrimp are really big! They look plump and meaty! Gouwa, you can't possibly eat all of these, sell some to me!"
He really liked this, but his wife searched the whole beach and couldn't find it.
I don't know where Boss Fu got his hands on such a big basket.
Instead of talking about buying or not buying, Fu Wan went to the kitchen to get a bowl, but after thinking for a moment, she changed it to the plastic bag that Ye Xiaocui had previously put away to store cookies.
She grabbed several handfuls of mole crickets and shrimp and put them in the bag, then went to the side and got a few fairy clams, and grabbed two more handfuls of mantis shrimp, filling the bag to the brim.
"Village Chief, please take these back and eat them!"
"Wow, why did you pack such a big bag for me?"
When Village Chief Fu saw so much, he felt embarrassed, but he couldn't bear to leave any of it behind. So he simply left two yuan without saying a word and fled with the things.
"Ah Wan, keep those two yuan!"
Fu Wan picked up the two yuan. "I'll keep it with my mother so she can buy groceries easily."
"Okay, you've thought of everything."
Just as Boss Fu finished his sigh, Fu Ming came out rubbing his eyes.
"Why are you all up so early? Isn't today a holiday?"
Boss Fu was already in a bad mood, and seeing Fu Ming's bewildered look made him even angrier.
"The sun's already high in the sky, hurry up and brush your teeth and get to work!"
"Didn't you brag last night that you were going to cook your signature dish today?"
"Okay, okay, it's coming!"
Fu Ming wasn't annoyed by his father's words. He whistled happily, scooped up a ladle of water, and squatted under the eaves to brush his teeth.
"Awan, the village chief isn't renting that boat anymore. What are your thoughts?"
Seeing how readily Fu Wan had agreed, Boss Fu guessed that his daughter had other ideas.
"Dad, how about we buy a new boat?"
"Renting a boat is not a long-term solution. We rented a boat before because we didn't have much money. If we were to buy a boat, we would have to be frugal and might even have to borrow money."
"But things are different now; we can afford a ship."
Yes, Boss Fu started to calculate in his mind. Not to mention how much money Fu Wan made from selling ambergris in the capital, he himself had some money left over from selling fish, in addition to the money he had spent on building the house.
"Okay, then let's go to the shipyard tomorrow."
"But it takes time for shipyards to buy ships. If we buy now, we don't know if we can get them after the New Year?"
These days, ships are all custom-made; you can't buy one today and have it delivered tomorrow. Fu Wan, however, wasn't in a hurry and instead tried to persuade Boss Fu.
"Dad, let's prepare for both possibilities. First, you find someone to repair our tin boat."
We'll use the smaller boat for the rest of the year, then order a bigger one from the shipyard. Ye Lin and his crew can use the smaller tin can or rent it out, while we'll use the bigger one. I estimate we can break even in a year at most.”
After a moment of contemplation, Boss Fu said, "That's the only way."
Although he bought the boat secondhand, it was still his first boat, so he had an emotional attachment to it.
Fu Ming, who was listening from the side, was completely confused and the more he listened, the more something seemed off.
He didn't even care that there was toothpaste foam in his mouth; he shouted as the foam flew everywhere.
"What?! Our family is buying a boat?!"
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