"Second brother, someone in our team asked me today if my family has some secret to finding so much seafood while beachcombing."
Ye Cheng's expression hardened. It seemed that his ten thousand yuan today had indeed attracted some attention, and people were even asking about Ye Guowei.
"Brother, what do you say then?"
"What can I say? If my family had a secret recipe, would I need to do all this work?"
Ye Guowei spoke casually, but Ye Cheng listened with deep concern.
As soon as Ye Guowei finished speaking, Xiao Hu put down his chopsticks and said with a serious expression, "Brother, my parents are also asking me if you have some kind of secret."
“I said no, but they didn’t believe me. They said the whole village was talking about it, saying that I found something, which is why I’m so good at beachcombing.”
Ye Cheng chuckled, "Why don't they say I can summon seafood?"
He meant it as a joke, but Xiao Hu exclaimed in surprise, "Brother, that's what they say! They say you have a secret recipe: light an incense stick and you can attract seafood, just like that soul-summoning incense."
Ye Cheng opened his mouth wide, and the tripe in his hand fell into the pot with a plop, splashing the red soup into the clear soup.
"Second Uncle, you brought the chili peppers over here," Dou Dou said, clearly dissatisfied.
Jiang Yunxiang realized they were about to get down to business, so she quickly said a few words to coax Dou Dou and put another piece of beef on his plate to shut him up.
Ye Cheng had to admire the villagers' imagination for coming up with the idea of using incense to summon souls.
Damn it, I'm not a Taoist priest, I don't have any soul-summoning incense that can summon seafood, why don't I summon some gold and jewels instead?
"That's all nonsense. Xiao Hu is with me every day. What do we do besides light cigarettes?"
"Brother, I know, but others don't. We made ten thousand yuan today, and everyone's green with envy. They all want to know how we did it." Xiao Hu took a swig of beer.
Ye Cheng frowned slightly and said in a deep voice, "When I entered the city today, Li Yong followed behind me. I wasn't sure why he was following me before, but now it seems that he was following me to see if I went to buy the incense to summon the soul, right?"
"Huh? Li Yong followed you?" Ye Guowei exclaimed in surprise.
"Yeah, but I saw through him and shook him off."
Ye Guowei looked a little worried. He was an honest and upright man who didn't like this kind of scheming. "Second brother, if it doesn't work out, why don't you come work for the docks with me? You can work and get paid, and there won't be so much trouble."
Jiang Yunxiang rolled her eyes at him. "What's so good about working at the docks? You're too old to do it anymore. Second Uncle, I think you could set up a stall and do some small business. Anyway, you have some capital now."
"Hmm, bro, how about we set up a stall? With your silver tongue, you'll definitely be fine. I heard you can make a lot of money in the city." Xiao Hu also seemed eager to try setting up a stall.
Ye Cheng pursed his lips. Set up a stall?
Those were some of the most notorious rip-off industries in later generations.
Moreover, while setting up a stall in the city may seem glamorous and some people do make money, the boom is over.
In the early 1990s, as the economy improved, many people went to wholesale markets to buy goods and then set up stalls everywhere to make money.
After earning his first pot of gold, he opened a shop and then started producing his own goods.
The most typical example is the clothing business; many business owners who earn tens of millions a year started their fortunes during that time.
But now it's 2002, the age of the internet boom. Setting up a stall now would be suicide.
Moreover, in the past, no one cared about street vendors, but now there are urban management officers. The city needs to maintain its image and has to be planned.
If you don't know the rules, you'll be fined so badly you won't even have your underwear left.
"I'll forget about setting up a stall. I'll still go beachcombing as usual. They said it's fine, but it's all good."
They have their own system, and these villagers can't tell the difference, so what are they afraid of?
"Sigh—" Ye Guowei sighed deeply, "Even with money, there are still worries."
Ye Cheng looked at his good older brother speechlessly, "Brother, this is nothing. Besides, I gave them a warning about the storm last time, which saved a lot of people. I also lent Duan Yong's family 3,000 yuan. Everyone saw it."
Ye Guowei remained silent this time, and Xiao Hu also fell silent.
That seems to be the logic.
But Jiang Yunxiang took over the conversation. She was a little embarrassed and glanced at Ye Cheng several times without saying anything.
"Sister-in-law, just say what you want to say, I don't care." Ye Cheng knew that Jiang Yunxiang's words were not kind.
Jiang Yunxiang pursed her lips awkwardly, "Um, Second Uncle, I just heard it from the gossip of the old ladies in the village, it may not be true."
"It's okay, it's settled."
"They're talking about that storm," Jiang Yunxiang said in a low voice.
"Storm? Am I wrong about this?" Ye Cheng was a little angry. He genuinely saved people, and there was something to be said about that.
Seeing that Ye Cheng was angry, Jiang Yunxiang stopped, unsure whether she should continue.
"Sister-in-law, keep talking, don't mind me. I just want to hear what they can say about me for doing a good deed." Ye Cheng poured himself a full glass and downed it in one gulp.
"They said the storm wasn't very big to begin with. If you hadn't reminded them, they might not have encountered it at all, and Duan Yong's family's boat wouldn't have sunk," Jiang Yunxiang said softly.
"Damn it! That's utter nonsense! My brother saved them, and they're heartless!" Xiao Hu exploded, fuming.
He had been following this matter closely. Initially, Ye Cheng wanted to call Ye Guowei back, but later he decided to inform everyone since they were all from the same village.
She meant well, but now she's blaming him.
Hearing Jiang Yunxiang say this, Ye Cheng calmed down considerably; that's just how people are.
If the village scoundrels become successful, they may feel suspicious and jealous, but once you become powerful enough, all they will have left to do is look up to you.
Ye Cheng lowered his head and pondered for a while, "These words were probably said by Chen Jinhai, and Li Yong was probably also instigated by him."
Upon hearing that it was Chen Jinhai again, Xiao Hu didn't care whether Ye Cheng's guess was right or not, and started cursing, "That old dog, he doesn't do anything good, he only does these filthy things."
"Uncle Xiaohu, you swore. Mommy said you can't swear." DouDou's childish voice scolded Xiaohu first.
"Oh, oh, Uncle, I will definitely correct it next time."
Ye Guowei took a sip of wine in frustration, glanced at Ye Cheng, and was about to speak again.
Ye Cheng quickly stopped him, "Brother, don't say anything. Let's eat and drink as usual. Don't worry, everything will be fine."
"Come on, let's eat."
"Oh, right, brother and sister-in-law, I bought two water heaters in town today. One for you and one for me. Once they're installed, we can take hot showers."
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