When I returned, it was almost noon.
Only Ye Qingling was sitting in the living room watching TV with her daughter in her arms. Everyone else had left, and Feng Xinan was not home either; no one knew where she had gone to play.
Seeing Feng Ye return, she smiled and asked, "Why are you back so soon?"
"I didn't linger in town. I waited at the intersection for a little while, and the car came. I put them on the car and came straight back. What about my sister? Did she go back too?"
"Yes, you just left, and she and her brother-in-law left with the child too."
"Oh, I see. The house is much quieter now."
Feng Ye sat next to Ye Qingling, looking at his daughter's adorable appearance, and gently touched her little face.
He's been back for a few days now, and the little guy is much closer to him now; he no longer cries whenever he's held.
"With so many kids, of course it's noisy."
Ye Qingling continued with a smile, "But it's good that they're lively. Look at how funny they are in front of the camera. By the way, I wonder how the photos will turn out."
"Everything else should be fine, but I don't know how the two family photos will turn out."
Feng Ye was also unsure of himself. Both Feng Xuan and Ye Chenliang were new to using a camera and their skills weren't very good.
He has at least filmed it a few times himself, so he has some experience.
He then added, "But it's okay. If the photos don't turn out well, I'll bring the camera with me when I go back with you after the New Year."
Ye Qingling nodded: "That works too."
After chatting for a while, Feng Ye changed the subject: "By the way, I've already talked to my older brother and A-Can. If the weather is good these next few days, we'd like to take the Ziqi ship out to sea and come back around the New Year. Brother Xiao Guowen will also be going back."
Ye Qingling looked at him with a grin: "The new ship is back, are you itching to get back? Can't you wait any longer?"
"Haha, a bit. Let's see if we can catch some good catches, so we don't have to buy them. We should eat well during the New Year, after all."
"Then your plans may fall through. The weather forecast last night said it would rain in the next couple of days."
"It's going to rain? No way!"
Feng Ye frowned and turned to look outside.
The sky was azure, the sun was shining brightly, and there was no sign that it was going to rain.
"That's what the weather forecast says anyway. As for whether the weather will actually change, I don't know."
"Weather forecasts are often inaccurate, so let's prepare in advance. If it really rains, we can cancel the trip."
Ye Qingling advised, "The situation is unclear for the next couple of days, so let's not go out yet and see how it goes in a couple of days."
"Okay, I'll check the weather forecast again tonight to see if there are any changes."
However, before evening, the weather changed.
Although it didn't rain, a strong wind picked up.
The wind howled, the leaves rustled, and the window frames trembled slightly.
Anyone with a little common sense knows that this is a sign that rain is coming.
Sure enough, when I woke up the next day, it was drizzling. I didn't know when it had started.
Moreover, the rain was exceptionally long, lasting intermittently for seven or eight days, and only stopping close to the Lunar New Year.
Their plans to go to sea were naturally ruined.
Although such light rain doesn't actually affect the work and there's no strong wind, it's still the dead of winter, freezing cold, unlike in the middle of summer when you can work in the rain.
Feng Ye could only stay at home and become a stay-at-home dad.
He did make two trips to the county, once to deliver film for developing and also to visit Fang Yi to inquire about the cargo ship, but the result was very disappointing.
Fang Yi told him that the cargo ship was not a smuggling vessel, but a legitimate transport ship with complete documentation. He also found the original owner and it would be returned to him after the case was closed.
The other trip was to pick up photos, and I also bought a lot of New Year's goods.
With the Lunar New Year approaching, we need to prepare some New Year's goods for the boatmen, since they have all worked hard.
And the year-end bonus also needs to be paid out.
After discussing with Feng Xuan and A Can, it was decided to give each of the first five boatmen 500 yuan, and the eight boatmen recruited later would each receive 200 yuan.
Since the duration of voyages varies, it's impossible to treat everyone the same; there must be differences.
...
Chinese New Year is actually quite boring; there's nothing to do from morning till night.
All the work that needed to be done before the New Year was already done. What was left was to eat, drink, have fun, visit villagers to exchange New Year's greetings, say auspicious words, drink a cup of tea or wine, eat some snacks, and then play cards while eating melon seeds.
The whole village, and even the whole island, is like this.
Whether male or female, everyone was immersed in the festive atmosphere, playing cards or mahjong.
Feng Ye had gotten used to this way of celebrating the New Year.
On the first day of the Lunar New Year, he also joined the card game and played with a few friends.
Sometimes they play cards, sometimes they play mahjong. A few people sit together, laughing and chatting.
However, unlike some people who become addicted, they play in moderation, with little to no winning or losing, purely for entertainment.
On the second day of the Lunar New Year, we went to my father-in-law's house to pay our respects. It was the same thing: eating, drinking, and playing cards.
When Feng Xuan returned on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, he came over.
He wasn't there to play cards; he was there to complain.
"Ah Ye, you've finally found some peace and quiet, you've gone to your father-in-law's house."
I was so busy at home, with a constant stream of people coming to see you. But since you weren't there, they all ended up at my house.
People came to give gifts, to offer New Year's greetings, and people they knew and didn't know.
Just entertaining them was exhausting enough, and I had to keep a smile on my face. Thankfully, almost no one stayed for dinner, otherwise I would have been bankrupted.
Is it really that outrageous?
Feng Ye smiled, somewhat disbelieving.
"I'm not exaggerating. More than a dozen groups of people have come in the past two days, ranging from two or three to seven or eight at a time. My house has almost become a market."
Moreover, sometimes one group of people hasn't even left before the next group arrives, making it really difficult to keep up.
I didn't even have time to accompany your sister-in-law back to her parents' home, so I had to let her take the child and go back by herself.
"It's just that you left early the day before yesterday. If you had left half an hour later, you probably would have been stuck at home too."
Feng Xuan shook his head helplessly and continued, "Tell me, is the New Year a time for rest or suffering?"
Upon hearing this, Feng Ye immediately understood who the people who had come were.
Moreover, those people had actually visited his house twice last year.
One time was when Ye Qingling was in postpartum confinement, and they brought eggs over; the other time was when their child turned one month old, and they came to celebrate the baby's one-month birthday.
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