Chapter 56: Leading by Example

“Clumsy, you don’t even know how to drink slowly…”

Ye Dongping shot his son a dissatisfied glare, but his attention was quickly grabbed by Feng Kuang’s words, so he didn’t pay attention to these little actions.

After scolding Ye Tian a few times, Ye Dongping turned his gaze to Feng Kuang and said, “Feng Zi, what are you planning to do? I said, no matter what, we can’t use violence to solve problems…”

Ye Dongping had lived in the countryside for over ten years and knew that country folks were quick to fight at the slightest disagreement. Moreover, the Feng family was a large clan in the countryside. They might just be unable to bear this humiliation and were preparing to call people for a fight.

“Uncle Ye, I didn’t say I was going to fight them.”

Feng Kuang also knew he had gotten carried away earlier. He secretly glanced at Ye Tian and, seeing that Ye Tian didn’t look upset, he spoke up, “Uncle Ye, I asked Ye Tian earlier. He said that before we left, the Old Immortal did a divination for us. The Divinatory Symbol said something about turning misfortune into blessing and that noble help would come…”

This was what the two had agreed upon on the way back. Ye Tian knew his father didn’t want him involved in adult matters, and his father had a strong aversion to Feng Shui and Physiognomy. That’s why they came up with this explanation.

“Noble help? Feng Zi, who do we know in this small County Town?”

Hearing it was another one of Ye Tian’s statements, a bitter smile appeared on Ye Dongping’s face. He waved his hand dismissively and said, “It’s late, everyone should go to sleep. Feng Zi, tomorrow I’ll go collect scrap with you. I refuse to believe we can’t hold on?”

Making this decision was very difficult for Ye Dongping. He had never imagined that one day he would be pulling a Handcart through streets and alleys to collect scrap.

But the situation forced it. Relying on Feng Kuang alone to go out collecting scrap could only, at most, cover the expenses of the Recycling Station, let alone talk about any development.

So, Ye Dongping put aside his pride and prepared to truly integrate into this trade. Now that Ye Tian’s school enrollment procedures were all handled, unless absolutely necessary, Ye Dongping didn’t want to go to Shanghai to live under someone else’s roof.

“Dad, Brother Fengzi can handle it alone. You’ve never done this before, so maybe you shouldn’t go?”

Hearing his dad was going out to collect scrap, Ye Tian immediately felt uneasy. He had a hard time imagining his father pulling a Handcart and shouting to collect junk.

“Yeah, Uncle Ye, you just hold the fort here. This isn’t the kind of work you should do.”

Feng Kuang also tried to persuade him from the side. He was from a farming family background. As long as he could earn money, he didn’t mind being laughed at. But Ye Dongping was an educated man with thin skin. What if someone mocked him a few times and it made him really upset?

“What kind of talk is that? Feng Zi, you can do it, but I can’t? Is my face more valuable than yours?”

After hearing Feng Kuang’s words, Ye Dongping raised his voice. He had already drunk quite a bit, and with the alcohol hitting him, he was somewhat losing his composure.

Seeing Ye Dongping seemed drunk, Feng Kuang said helplessly, “Alright, alright, Uncle Ye. Tomorrow we’ll go together, go together, how about that?”

“That’s more like it. Sleep, wake up early tomorrow…” Ye Dongping swayed back to his room to sleep, leaving Ye Tian and Feng Kuang sitting there looking at each other.

Ye Tian knew his dad was always a man of his word. Even if it was drunken talk, he would definitely go collect scrap tomorrow. He then said to Feng Kuang, “Brother Fengzi, look after my dad tomorrow. Oh, and don’t go to the East City. Don’t go there for this period of time.”

“I know, Uncle Ye, ah…”

Feng Kuang shook his head and sighed. He simply didn’t believe someone as scholarly as Ye Dongping could go collect scrap. He was afraid that after being shouted at a few times with “Collecting junk, over here,” Ye Dongping wouldn’t be able to take it.

…

Sure enough, just as Ye Tian predicted, the next day before dawn, Ye Dongping had already made congee early. After eating a little something, he and Feng Kuang each pulled a Handcart and went out.

Ye Tian wasn’t worried either. His father’s Glabella/Yintang was bright, so he wasn’t afraid of anything happening. However, with both Ye Dongping and Feng Kuang out, he had to stay obediently at the Recycling Station.

“Brother Fengzi, where’s my dad?”

Around five or six in the evening, when Ye Tian saw Feng Kuang pulling a cartload of old schoolbags into the yard, he hurriedly went up to meet him. But looking behind him, he didn’t see his father’s figure.

“We went separate ways. Uncle Ye isn’t back yet?”

Feng Kuang was taken aback when he heard this. In the morning, Ye Dongping insisted on separating to collect scrap, saying it would cover more area. So Feng Kuang let him take the Xicheng area, while he went farther to the south part of the city.

Logically, since the Recycling Station was in Xicheng, Ye Dongping should have returned earlier than him. Thinking this, Feng Kuang started to feel anxious. He parked the Handcart in the yard and said, “Ye Tian, I’ll go look for Uncle Ye.”

“Brother Fengzi, no need, my dad should be fine…”

Ye Tian grabbed Feng Kuang’s arm and asked, “What about the things I asked you to buy?”

To be honest, Ye Tian didn’t harbor much hatred for the Dai family before. But seeing his dad forced to collect junk, he felt a surge of resentment too. He couldn’t wait to ruin Dai Rongcheng’s Feng Shui and resolve this matter as soon as possible.

Ye Tian was only ten years old this year. A child’s worldview was very simple. His own family were the good guys, of course. Setting up the Feng Shui Arrangement earlier could also let the people around him suffer less.

“Ahem, I almost forgot if you hadn’t mentioned it. I bought the things. I was afraid it wouldn’t be enough, so I bought a few extra…”

Hearing Ye Tian’s words, Feng Kuang forgot about going out to find Ye Dongping for the moment. He rummaged out a plastic bag from the front of the Handcart and handed it to Ye Tian. “Take a look, is the size right?”

“Okay, Brother Fengzi. Find an excuse tonight, and we’ll go out again.”

Ye Tian opened the plastic bag and glanced inside. There were over a dozen round mirrors the size of a baby’s palm. These things were very common. Back when he went to school, Ye Tian often played with such mirrors, using the sun’s reflection to shine light on female classmates.

“Got it. Hey, I think Uncle Ye is back. Put the stuff away properly…”

As they were talking, there was a sound from the courtyard gate. Feng Kuang quickly snatched the bag from Ye Tian’s hand and stuffed it back onto the Handcart.

“Dad, why are you back so late?”

“Uncle Ye, this… where did you collect all this from? So many books?”

Ye Tian and Feng Kuang both went up to meet him, but their questions were different. Ye Tian was concerned about his dad, while Feng Kuang was stunned by the Handcart full of old books.

“Don’t ask about that now. Xiao Tian, go pour me a cup of water. Feng Zi, come… lend a hand. I’m exhausted.” Ye Dongping waved his hand, sweat streaming down his face.

Generally, if there wasn’t much on the cart, people would push the Handcart. But Ye Dongping had the straps on both sides of the handlebar around his shoulders and pulled the Handcart in, which showed how heavy the load was.