Homecoming

Niuniu was off to the side. When she saw her mother crying, the little girl started crying too. Many neighbors heard the commotion and came over to look. Only after Brother-in-law explained did they all leave.

Seeing the situation, Ye Yuan had no idea what to do. He could only blame himself for not explaining things clearly. But with his sister so emotionally unstable, he doubted anything he said would help. His sister was still crying nearby, while Niuniu clung to her mother. Anyone who did not know better would have thought something terrible had happened.

Ye Yuan pulled Brother-in-law outside the supermarket and said helplessly, "It's also my fault for not making things clear. I really do have a plan to come back and build a future here. I don't want to work for someone else my whole life. Can you understand that?"

Brother-in-law let out a deep sigh. "Of course I understand. Who wants to work for someone else? But what can you do if you come back to our county? You studied marine science. Are you planning to become a fisherman?"

Ye Yuan said nothing. He knew there was no point in saying anything now. He could only ask Brother-in-law to comfort his sister first while he headed home. He would come back in a few days.

Ye Yuan stood before the pier. Since Ye Family Village was a small fishing village with only a little over fifty households, there was only one ferry to the village each day. He had originally wanted to stay longer at his sister's home, but she had started crying, and he felt too awkward to remain there.

He sat by the pier, gazing at the sea as he pondered his concerns.

For Ye Yuan, even swimming back to the village would not have been a big deal. But that still would not explain how he had gotten home without a boat.

It was no wonder the government wanted to relocate the fishing villages on the islands. Transportation really was inconvenient.

"Ye Yuan, what are you doing here?" He turned toward the voice.

A sturdy man of about twenty-five or twenty-six stood on a sampan not far from him. He was around six feet tall, bare-chested, wearing dark green military trousers, with a T-shirt hanging from his waist.

Ye Yuan recognized him at once. He was Ye Zhuang, the only young man from Ye Family Village who had remained in the village rather than going out to work.

Speaking of Ye Zhuang, he was a pitiful man as well.

Ye Zhuang was one year older than Ye Yuan. When Ye Yuan was in sixth grade and Ye Zhuang had just started middle school, Ye Zhuang's grandfather, father, and mother went out to sea together and never returned. His grandmother could not bear the blow and passed away only days later.

The village chief had originally planned to send Ye Zhuang to his uncle's home fifty kilometers away. But his uncle's family said, "Ye Zhuang's surname is Ye. He isn't family, and we don't have money to raise an outsider."

In the end, with no other choice, he was adopted by an elderly villager who had no children. But the old man was in poor health and could not take proper care of Ye Zhuang, so Ye Zhuang grew up eating meals from every household in the village. A few years later, the old man also passed away due to illness.

Ye Zhuang was already eighteen that year. All the old man left him was the sampan before him.

Over the past few years, the young people had all gone elsewhere to work. Ye Zhuang was strong, and quite a few young people had invited him along. But Ye Zhuang had never agreed. As he put it, "If all the young people leave, what will happen to the old people in the village? I, Ye Zhuang, grew up eating meals from every household in Ye Family Village. I'll support all the elderly people in this village in their old age."

Ye Yuan deeply admired this loyal and righteous man.

"Da Zhuang, I'm waiting for a boat home," Ye Yuan said with a smile as he greeted Ye Zhuang.

Da Zhuang rowed his sampan toward Ye Yuan and said, "Get on. Why wait for a ferry? I came to sell fish, and now that I'm done, I'm just about to head back."

With a leap, Ye Yuan jumped onto the sampan.

Ye Yuan noticed that ever since cultivating the Water Control Art, his body had undergone subtle changes. He was much more agile than before, and he had also become much stronger.

Da Zhuang's sampan had an engine. After sailing for an hour, they could see the island where Ye Family Village was located in the distance.

Blue skies, white clouds, sandy beaches... the scene before them was a beautiful painting, like a place untouched by the outside world.

Before long, the sampan docked at the island's simple pier. After thanking Da Zhuang, Ye Yuan picked up his luggage and headed toward his home.

Ye Yuan's home was very close to the pier. It was the first house after entering the village. Back when Ye Yuan had been admitted to university and became the village's first college student, he had been the pride of the village. But who could have imagined that after graduation, he would be no different from anyone else who had gone out to work?

From afar, he saw the few dilapidated stone rooms that made up his home. His mother was arranging clam meat in the yard. Drying clam meat was a common feature of fishing villages. Every household made dried clam meat to sell, and it brought in a decent income.

Before Ye Yuan could say anything, a yellow village dog beneath a tree in the yard rushed over. It ran circles around him, its tail wagging like a palm-leaf fan.

When his mother saw Ye Yuan, she had not expected her son to return so quickly. Smiling broadly, she said, "Xiao Yuan, why didn't you call before coming back? I could've had your father pick you up. You must be tired, right? Hurry inside. You haven't eaten at this hour, have you? Mom will make your favorite seafood noodles right away."

Ye Yuan held out his hand, and Big Yellow dog eagerly stuck out his tongue and licked it, as though Ye Yuan's hand were some delicious food.

Ye Yuan then patted Big Yellow dog on the head. "Big Yellow, go play somewhere else."

At that moment, Ye Yuan's father also came out of the house. He was delighted to see Ye Yuan. He had not seen his son in more than four months.

The family entered the house, and Ye Yuan's mother was about to make him a meal.

Ye Yuan grabbed his mother. "I'm not hungry. I already ate in the county. Dad, Mom, tell me about the relocation first." As he spoke, he casually picked up the kettle, poured two cups of water for his parents, and poured one for himself. Then he sat down and listened as they explained the relocation.

After hearing his father's account, Ye Yuan roughly understood the reason for the relocation. It was mainly as he had expected. Besides Ye Family Village, several nearby villages were in similar circumstances.

Every month, the government had to mobilize a large amount of manpower to deliver daily necessities to these small islands.

Because the islands were far from the mainland, supplies could only be transported by boat, and the local government's finances were tight as well. So they planned to relocate the fishing villages on these islands to the mainland. The land had already been designated, and the new fishing village was currently under construction. It was expected to be completed in two months.

Taking the villagers' various concerns into account, the government had offered three solutions.

The first was for villagers to move into the new fishing village built by the government. Every household would receive a house built to a uniform standard, roughly the same size as their current homes.

The second was to exchange their property for an apartment in the county seat. Based on Ye Yuan's family's circumstances, they could exchange it for a three-bedroom apartment of a little over one hundred square meters.

The third, and simplest, option was to measure the area and provide cash compensation at 1,500 yuan per square meter.

Ye Yuan's home could probably receive around 350,000 yuan.

"What are you thinking? Which one do you want?" Ye Yuan looked at his father, casually took a cigarette from his pocket, handed it over, and lit it for him.

After taking a drag from the cigarette his son had handed him, his father said, "Your mother and I think our family should choose the third option. Use the money to buy you a home on Blue Island. It won't be enough to pay in full, but it should cover the down payment. You can use your salary to pay the mortgage. If it isn't enough, we'll send you a little extra every month."

"I asked around. There are several families in your uncle's village who moved into the county seat, and their homes are sitting empty. They're a little old, but cheap. Your father and I can go live near your uncle's village," his mother added from the side.