Back To the Small Fishing Village In 1982

Ye Yaodong stood in the corner of the room with his head pounding. He had no cigarettes to smoke, so he could only hold a piece of straw in his mouth. He watched as his uncles and father, along with his two older brothers, argued heatedly, their faces turning red and their necks stiffening, while the table banged loudly.

He couldn’t even figure it out. Wasn’t he hired to be a boatman on a big ship, and he went to pee on the deck on a whim, but a wave hit him, and he fell into the sea and died?

Why did he wake up this morning and find himself back in ‘82?

Damn... Amazing!

Even now, he still hasn't come to his senses. Not even the fact that his father caught a net full of large yellow croakers can surprise him. It's really too big a surprise to be reborn at 25 years old!

He’s already 65 years old, and yet he has crossed over 40 years and returned to his youth at the age of 25.

Really...really.. really awesome~

He actually came back!

It's just too bad that after he died, the shipowner would have to pay hundreds of thousands in compensation, which would benefit the two cheap boys at home.

I wonder if they'll cry or laugh when they receive the news…

“Old Third, don't forget that the boat was left by our father, and it was only given to you for your use because our mother chose to live with you in her old age. We brothers all have a share in it, so even if you sell the big yellow croaker, the money should be divided among us.”

"That's right, Old Third. You caught a net full of big yellow croakers, and now you think you're all tough, huh? Dad left the boat, and we all have a share in it. You can't ignore the brotherhood between us and keep it all to yourself."

Eldest Uncle Ye and Second Uncle Ye were shouting at the top of their lungs, each taking a turn, which made Father Ye very angry and he glared at them.

"Nonsense! It's true that the boat was left by dad, but back then the ship was almost scrap and the machine was broken. It was you guys who didn't want it and demanded cash instead, so you threw the broken boat at me! You even said that the broken boat and its three thousand nails could still sell for a lot of money. Our mother chose to live with me, so let me have this advantage."

"I'm the youngest, and I couldn't argue with you guys, so I took a big loss. So what? Seeing that I have repaired the boat little by little in the past two years, are you greedy again? The ship didn't even have a door when I got it, and I've spent my entire fortune on it. Now that it's starting to turn a profit, you guys are knocking on my door for a share of the money. What face do you have?”

Second Uncle Ye frowned and said, “Third brother, you did take an advantage when we divided Dad's inheritance. This boat is, after all, Dad's legacy. We thought of Mom and wanted to leave the boat to you, so that Mom could have something to hold on to. Otherwise, wouldn't it be better if we sold the boat and split the money?”

“That seems like a good idea, but do you know how much a broken-down boat is worth? The wooden planks are worthless, and the iron is only worth a few cents per jin. Just throw it at me, and you'll have one less thing to split in the inheritance!"

"Eldest uncle, second uncle, when my grandpa passed away, everyone was there, and we had already agreed to divide the inheritance. You guys took the money, and my father took the broken-down boat. That's what you guys decided. My dad saw my grandma crying and didn't want to sell the boat. That's why he didn't suggest selling it and splitting the money. That's how we got the short end of the stick."

The one who spoke was Ye Yaopeng, Ye Yaodong's eldest brother, but as soon as he spoke, he was scolded by his uncle.

"Us adults are talking. Why are you, a youngster, interrupting?"

"Why can't I talk about my family's money? We split up our family a long time ago, and when it comes to the money earned from selling fish, both my uncles can come knocking on my door asking for a share, but I can't speak up?"

"This is an issue for the elders, you don't have a say in it!"

Ye Yaodong stood in the corner, listening with a headache. He frowned, and spat out the straw in his mouth. He walked up to his eldest uncle and rested his elbow on his shoulder. His uncle was short and just the right height for him.

He said with a bit of an attitude, "Uncle, that's too much. This is our family. How can my older brother not have the right to speak!"

"The big yellow croakers were caught by my dad's fishing net. Have you and my second uncle ever gone out to sea together? Where did you get the face to come to our house and demand a share of the money? Do you have such a big face?"

"Let's go, go outside and talk. Call out all the villagers and have the village chief come and judge. Let's see if we have to split the money with you!"

"If everyone says that our family should share and not take it all for ourselves, my father is a fair person and would not have any objections!"

Ye Yaodong directly hooked his uncle's neck and walked out of the house. Only his father cared about face and brotherhood, and didn't want to tear their relationship apart. He could actually keep arguing with them for so long.

He was kicked out a long time ago. What kind of person were those people? Shameless and without any principles!

But no matter what, they were still his uncles. Even if he was frustrated with them, he couldn't just beat them up. He could only argue with them verbally and take the discussion outside.

Eldest Uncle Ye was short, only about 160 cm, while Ye Yaodong was 180 cm tall. Ye Yaodong hooked his uncle's neck under his armpit. His uncle couldn't break free and could only stagger along as he was pulled outside.

"Let go of me! How could you be so shameless to choke my neck like this? I'm your eldest uncle!"

"What 'eldest uncle'? Anyone trying to extort money from my family is my enemy. Let's go outside and talk!"

He remembers vividly that when he was young; he was a nobody in the village, always idle and hanging out with friends, never doing anything productive. Fighting was a common occurrence, but he settled down after getting married.

This kind of disrespectful behavior towards elders and speaking rudely is considered normal, and no one thinks it's inappropriate.

However, he is still his uncle, and has decades more life experience. His behavior was still not admirable.

Yaodong released his grip and changed to pulling, dragging his eldest uncle to the front door.

Ye Yaopeng breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, his third brother took action. He didn't know what happened, but his younger brother had been in a daze all morning, not saying a word, and staying silent until now. In the past, he would have lost his temper long ago and wouldn't have let his uncles talk for so long.

"Neighbors, neighbors, come quickly...ugh..."

Second Uncle Ye quickly covered Ye Yaodong's mouth and forced a smile, saying, “Yaodong, your uncle and I just came to discuss with your dad. After all, everyone's struggling, and it's normal for brothers to help each other out...'"

"Yeah, we just came to talk to your dad about something. It's not right to discuss our family matters outside. Let me go, we'll go inside and talk."

Eldest Uncle Ye himself knew that he was at fault. If this was said in front of the villagers, they would lose face. After all, they had been separated for two years.

Ye Yaodong pushed away his second uncle’s hand that was covering his mouth and said, "What do you want to say inside the house? Early in the morning, I've been hearing you two banging on the table and arguing. Making me have a headache. Let's talk outside and let everyone hear your arguments. Neighbors...ugh ugh...'"

"Old Third, can't you manage your son?" Second Uncle Ye glared at Father Ye.

"Hmph... now you know the family's dirty laundry shouldn’t be aired in public. Come out and let the villagers judge for themselves. Otherwise, those who are unaware might think that I have taken a big advantage."

At this time, the neighbors also gathered around upon hearing the noise, curiously looking at the brothers of the Ye family.

"What happened? Weren't you happy yesterday after selling over 200 jin of large yellow croakers?"

"What's going on? Did Yaodong get into a fight again?"

“What did Yaodong do this time?"

"Even though they're married and have kids, why are they still so immature?"

Ye Yaodong is speechless, it seems that his image as a good-for-nothing is deeply ingrained in people's minds, as soon as something happens, the blame is always directed at him!

He raised his eyebrows and said in an insinuating tone, “I didn't cause trouble this time. Don't blame me. Someone shameless was the one…”

"Ah...it's nothing, it's nothing. It's a good thing to catch a lot of big yellow croakers. We were just curious about how you caught them, so we came over to ask and chat. Yaodong said it's too hot inside the house, so he asked us to come out and chat in the cool air..." Eldest Uncle Ye interrupted his words and smiled politely at the neighbors.

Second Uncle Ye also forced a smile and said, “Hehe, we've said what we needed to say. Our mother is also not at home and is working in the fields. Let's go back, big brother."

"Mmm, let's go back first, go back first."

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1. Larimichthys crocea, commonly called the large yellow croaker, yellow croaker or croceine croaker, is a species of saltwater fish in the family Sciaenidae, native to the marginal seas of East Asia

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Author’s note:

New book, please be patient with any shortcomings, and go easy on me! Please bookmark, please read the latest chapters, thank you very much! 

(end of this chapter)