Lin Xiuqing looked at his actions and hurriedly asked, “Where are you taking your son?”
“Nowhere special, just going to help Grandma harvest some corn.”
“Are we bringing it all back, or just picking a little? I’d like to help too!”
Ye Yaodong glanced at the old lady behind him, who was just holding a basket. “We’ll just pick a bit. Didn’t we say yesterday to leave it for ourselves and not sell it? We’ll grab a few and come back. You can continue with what you’re doing.”
Seeing him being unusually diligent, Ye’s mother smilingly added, “Pick a little more today. Don’t peel the husks. In the evening we can boil them with the husks so your father and the others can take them to the sea to have as snacks.”
“Then let’s take a sack to carry it all back. Aim for about twenty cobs.”
“Also, let’s grab a few cucumbers for your father to take to the sea,” Sister Ye suggested.
“Got it.”
Once the old lady had the sack ready, Ye Yaodong picked up his son and walked with her toward the village entrance, which was in the opposite direction of the sea.
The old lady walked slowly, and he adjusted his pace to match hers, casually glancing around.
Along the way, he saw women sitting at their doorsteps weaving nets, and children frolicking about.
Their seven children were also running down from the nearby hill.
His youngest son, spotting everyone, shouted with glee, “Brothers! Sisters!”
“Ah, Dad, what are you doing here? Where are you guys going?”
Ye Chenghu also saw his father and younger brother and called out excitedly, but he wasn’t looking where he was stepping and slipped, landing right by his father’s feet.
But he didn’t cry; he just squeaked a bit and quickly stood up, brushing the dirt off his rear. “Oh, that hurts! Thankfully, it’s just my backside.”
A smirk crossed Ye Yaodong’s face.
Such a tough kid!
The old lady came forward to pat his bottom. “Walk a little slower; watch where you're going. Oh no, you’ve torn a hole! Hurry back and have your mother patch it up.”
“Ah, no need! My mom will scold me! I’ll ask Grandma to patch it! Where are you and Grandma going?”
“To pick corn and cucumbers!”
“Ooh! I want to go too!”
“I want to go!”
“We all want to go!” the other excited children chimed in.
“Don’t you think you should head home and get that hole in your pants fixed?”
“No! I want to pick corn and cucumbers first, and then I’ll get it fixed when I get back.” He dashed toward the village entrance, not caring about the hole in his pants.
The other children followed suit, running ahead joyfully.
“Slow down! Be careful not to fall…” the old lady called out with concern from behind.
It was one to lead and many to follow; Ye Yaodong didn’t mind. “Just ignore them, you be careful not to fall.”
“Dad, hurry up! Brother is running ahead!”
Ye Yaodong gave his youngest son a playful smack on the backside, laughing, “What’s the rush? We’ll catch up soon enough.”
Across the road near the village entrance lay a piece of sloped land, which was once overgrown with weeds, that his grandfather had gradually cleared out during his lifetime.
After his grandfather passed, his father helped the old lady to cultivate it.
She was also restless, making twice-daily trips, afraid that their crops would be stolen.
“Don’t pick them at random; make sure you don’t pick the unripe ones,” Ye Yaodong warned as he saw a few kids starting to pull at the corn.
“Ah, we know how to pick! You have to wait until the corn silk turns black before picking it!” the oldest, Ye Chenghai, replied confidently, already twelve years old.
The children bustled through the corn stalks, getting lost in the rows.
The youngest, Ye Chengyang, struggled to get down, so Ye Yaodong set him down to play.
He took a sack from the old lady's hands for Ye Chenghai to fill with corn.
“Alright, let’s pick twenty cobs first. Each of you can grab three max, don’t pick too much. We can come back tomorrow morning.”
“Can’t we pick a few more?” Ye Chenghai looked at the two cobs in his hands, feeling a bit disappointed.
He could only pick one more.
“Just grab a few to eat today. If we pick them all, your grandma will take them to sell, and then there won't be any left for you to eat.”
“Then let’s stick to picking just a few for today.”
With a good number of hands, they quickly finished harvesting the corn, and the old lady had also filled her basket with cucumbers, some large, some small, perfectly ripe.
Ye Yaodong hoisted a small bag of corn onto his shoulder and took the basket from the old lady. “I’ll carry these; you just take it slow.”
Then he looked at the group of children. “Is everyone out? One, two, three, four, five, six… and one more? Where’s Ye Chenghu?”
“Ye Chenghu!” he called out loudly, looking toward the corn.
“I’m here, Dad!” Ye Chenghu responded from the higher ground, waving the corn he picked.
Ye Yaodong noticed how he had opened his shirt to carry the cobs. “You picked those from up there?”
“What kind of child runs off to pick from someone else's field?” the old lady said quietly as she glanced down the road.
“Ah, isn’t all the corn ours?”
“Only this area belongs to us!”
Ye Chenghu scratched his head, confused. “I thought all the corn on this hill was ours!”
Ye Yaodong set the basket down, laughing as he tossed the cobs from Ye Chenghu into the sack. “It’s alright, as long as no one saw you. When I was your age, I thought this whole mountain was ours too, and I picked whatever I could!”
The old lady cautioned in a low voice, “Next time don’t pick from others. If you get caught, you'll be scolded.”
“Not just that! You might even get chased all over the mountain!”
“Dad, have you ever been chased?”
“From the mountains to the sea, I’ve done all the fun things. Now, let’s go home,” Ye Yaodong said, slinging the corn back onto his shoulder.
“Wait, there’s still Yangyang!” the old lady called, holding him back as he was about to walk away.
“Oh right! Almost forgot about that little rascal!”
He glanced around but didn’t see his youngest son, so he asked the other kids to help look for him while he set down his load.
“These tiny kids manage to run off everywhere! Where could he have gone?”
“Over here, Uncle! Yangyang is sitting on the ground munching on a cucumber!”
Ye Yaodong followed the voice and found his youngest son sitting, head tilted back, holding a cucumber bigger than his face, looking innocently at everyone.
The cucumber was still on the vine, and before it could be picked, he had already bitten through the skin.
Lucky for him, one had grown low enough for him to reach.
“What are you doing hiding here and sneaking snacks?”
“Dad!”
Ye Chengyang lifted the cucumber towards his father, but his little arms weren’t strong enough, and it dropped to the ground.
The vine swung a bit, and the cucumber smacked him on the forehead.
Losing his balance, he fell over, landing on his back…
“Ha ha ha!”
“Bumpkin!”
The kids erupted in laughter, relishing his mishap!
Ye Yaodong couldn’t help but chuckle at his little one on the ground who wasn’t crying, just rolling over and getting back up on all fours.
“You’re all dirty! You and your brother will catch a scolding when we get home.”
(End of Chapter)