Chapter 1: Shameless Visit

Ye Yaodong stood in the corner of the room with a headache, a piece of straw in his mouth in place of a cigarette, watching his uncles argue heatedly with his father and two older brothers, their faces red with anger, hands slamming on the table!

He couldn’t understand it—wasn’t he supposed to have been hired as a deckhand on a large ship, where, in a moment of whim, he went to the deck to relieve himself, only to be swept overboard by a wave and drowned?

How was it that he woke up this morning and found himself back in 1982?

Damn… It was unbelievable!

He still hadn’t fully processed it. Even his father’s catch of a huge net of yellow croakers failed to excite him—the fact that he’d returned to being 25 years old was astonishing enough!

He was 65! Yet he’d somehow leaped back 40 years, becoming young again at 25.

It was… truly… amazing.

A fresh start!

Though he did feel a bit regretful—after his death, the ship’s owner must have compensated his family handsomely, benefiting his two sons. He wondered if they would have been laughing or crying when they received the news…

“Third Brother, don’t forget, that boat belonged to our father. It’s only because our mother chose to live with you that it’s in your possession. We brothers all have a share, and any money you make from selling those yellow croakers needs to be divided among us.”

“Exactly, Third Brother. Just because you caught a big haul doesn’t mean you can ignore the fact that the boat belongs to all of us. You can’t abandon family ties and hog it all.”

The two uncles, Old Uncle Ye and Second Uncle Ye, shouted back and forth, their voices loud, while Father Ye glared angrily.

“Rubbish! Yes, the boat was left by Father, but it was practically a wreck at that time, and the engine was broken. You both wanted cash instead and threw the rundown boat at me, saying it still had some value for scrap! Since Mother lived with me, I got this ‘favor’ as well.”

“I was the youngest and couldn’t argue, so I suffered in silence. Now, seeing that I’ve spent years slowly repairing the boat and finally made some good money, you’re all envious and want a cut? Not happening. I poured all my savings into this boat; just because I made a good start, you all want to come here and ask for money. Where’s your shame?”

Second Uncle Ye frowned and said, “Third Brother, you got the better deal when we split up Father’s assets. This boat is a part of his legacy. We left it with you because Mother stayed with you, so it could serve as a reminder of him. Otherwise, wouldn’t it have been better to sell the boat and split the money among us?”

“That’s easy for you to say, but how much would it have fetched as scrap? The planks were worthless, and iron was only worth a few cents a pound. By throwing it to me, you saved yourself from splitting the inheritance!”

The speaker was Ye Yaodong’s eldest brother, Ye Yaopeng. But no sooner had he spoken than Old Uncle Ye reprimanded him.

“We’re elders; what are you, a junior, doing in this conversation?”

“It’s our family’s money; why can’t I speak? We split up a long time ago. If my family earns from selling fish, and you two uncles come here to demand a share, why can’t I have a say?”

“This is an issue for the elders, not for you to comment on!”

Ye Yaodong, who was standing in the corner and already had a headache, frowned, spat out the straw in his mouth, walked over, and placed his elbow on his uncle’s shoulder. Since his uncle was short, it fit perfectly.

With a smirk, he said, “Uncle, now that’s too much. This is our home—why can’t my big brother have a say here?”

“My father caught those yellow croakers. Did either of you go out to sea with him? On what grounds are you demanding a share? Just because you think you’re entitled?”

“Come on, let’s go outside and have a public discussion. Let’s call the villagers and the village head to judge whether you deserve a share of this money or not!”

“If everyone thinks my family has to share and can’t keep it all, my father is a reasonable man and won’t have a single objection!”

Ye Yaodong hooked his arm around his uncle’s neck and began dragging him outside. His father, always concerned with appearances and preserving brotherly ties, had let the argument drag on without escalating things. If it had been up to him, he’d have kicked them out ages ago. What shameless people!

But still, these were his uncles. As much of a rogue as he was, he couldn’t beat them up. He could only take them outside and argue.

Old Uncle Ye was short, barely over 160 cm, while Ye Yaodong stood at 180 cm. With his uncle’s neck locked under his arm, Old Uncle Ye struggled but couldn’t free himself, staggering as he was pulled outside.

“Let go of me! Is this any way to treat your uncle?” he protested.

“Uncle, my foot! Anyone coming to swindle my family is my enemy. Let’s take this outside!”

He remembered well that, in his youth, he’d been a rascal in the village, idle, hanging around with shady friends, always getting into fights. Only after getting married had he settled down somewhat. So dragging an elder and being disrespectful didn’t feel that out of place; if anything, it felt quite normal to him.

Still, he wasn’t completely shameless, given his years of experience. Feeling a bit self-conscious about the rough treatment, he let go of his uncle’s neck and instead pulled him by the arm to the doorway.

Ye Yaopeng breathed a sigh of relief—finally, the third brother was stepping in. He’d been oddly quiet all morning, unlike his usual hot-tempered self, which would never have tolerated their uncles’ complaints for so long.

“Villagers! Come, everyone—mmmph…” Second Uncle Ye quickly covered Ye Yaodong’s mouth, forcing a strained smile. “Yaodong, your uncle and I are just here to have a family discussion with your father. Everyone’s having a hard time, and it’s normal for brothers to support each other…”

“Yes, yes, we’re only here to talk things over with your father. There’s no need to air family matters in front of the whole village. Let’s go back inside and talk,” added Old Uncle Ye, aware that if the villagers overheard, they’d be thoroughly embarrassed, especially since the family had split two years ago.

Ye Yaodong pushed his uncle’s hand off his mouth. “What’s there to talk about inside? I’ve been listening to you arguing all morning, and my head’s about to explode. Let’s settle this here and let the whole village judge whether you’re in the right. Villagers—mmmph…”

“Third Brother, are you going to control your son or not?” Second Uncle Ye glared at Father Ye.

“Hmph… So now you care about keeping family matters private? Letting the villagers judge would be just fine, so everyone knows the truth. Otherwise, people will think I’ve taken some unfair advantage.”

At this point, the neighbors began gathering around, curiously watching the Ye family brothers.

“What’s going on? Weren’t you all celebrating yesterday after catching over 200 jin of yellow croakers?”

“What’s happening here? Has Yaodong been fighting again?”

“What’s Yaodong done now?”

“Already married with kids, yet still acting so irresponsibly…”

Ye Yaodong felt speechless. Apparently, his troublemaker reputation was deeply ingrained—whatever happened, everyone’s first suspicion was him!

Raising an eyebrow with a smirk, he replied, “I didn’t cause trouble this time! Don’t put it on me. It’s someone else being shameless…”

“Ah, nothing, nothing,” Old Uncle Ye cut him off quickly, chuckling as he answered the neighbors, “Catching the yellow croakers was a happy event! We were just curious about how they were caught, so we came over to ask, that’s all. Yaodong insisted it was too hot inside and dragged us out here to cool off…”

Second Uncle Ye forced a smile as well. “Haha, yes, yes. We’ve talked it over. Mother’s out working in the field, so, Big Brother, we’ll just head back now.”

“Yes, let’s go,” agreed Old Uncle Ye.