“Dad, melon! Melon!” Ye Chengyang called out while hugging his father's thigh.
“Where’s the frog? Just croaking, huh? All you do is eat!” Ye Yaodong looked down at the muddy marks on his leg, a look of disdain on his face.
He also took the half-eaten cucumber away from his son, saying, “You have to wash it before you eat. Otherwise, there might be worms inside.”
After counting the kids one more time and confirming their number matched, he finally headed back home, surrounded by the children.
As soon as they reached the front door, neighbor Aunt Chen looked at him curiously. “Dongzi, you didn’t go out to play today? Did you help your grandma pick corn?”
“Uh-huh!”
She asked knowing full well what happened.
Hadn't she seen it when he left? Her gaze followed him until he was out of sight.
How did he know? It was something he had personally experienced before.
Women in their village were like that, especially when a stranger entered the village; their eyes practically glued onto them.
“Why are you guys back already? It’s not even mealtime yet. Did you smell something delicious and come running back?” Ye Mu smiled while looking at the bunch of kids.
“We went with Third Uncle to pick corn!”
At that moment, Lin Xiuqing also saw her little son, covered in dirt from head to toe, and she quickly stood up. “How did you get so dirty? You’re a mess, with dirt all over your face and hands. Did you roll around in the fields?”
“Ha-ha, Mom, he snuck a bite of cucumber and got hit by it, then got up looking like this!”
“Don’t laugh at him! Turn your backside to your mother so she can see,” Ye Yaodong said as he put down the sack and basket, grabbing his elder son and turning him around.
Ye Chenghu hurriedly tried to cover his backside, saying, “No, Dad...”
Lin Xiuqing frowned deeply. “What did you do? There’s a hole on your backside. What are you playing at all day long, running everywhere? Just look at your knees, your legs—where’s there even a piece of good flesh left?”
As she spoke, she smacked his backside a few times with force.
If it weren’t for his father holding him, he would’ve refused to stand quietly and take the beating.
“It hurts, Mom! I was just being careless! Dad, let go of me.”
“When has your falling not been careless? You jump around all day, and look, your pants are torn here again, and there again. Look at that hole in your pants; it was just mended, and now it’s coming apart again. You’re wasting clothes more than your grandfather does with work.”
Seeing his son’s head hang low, Ye Yaodong finally let go, satisfied.
He wouldn’t be the one to teach the lesson; that was for the kids’ mother to handle.
Fortunately, decades later, both kids turned out to be quite filial.
Well... at least they were to their mother.
He wasn’t going to mention himself...
The old lady, sensing the tension, mediated, “Stop scolding him. It’s normal for kids to run and fall. They grow up fast that way; hurry inside and change those pants. Come out when it’s time to eat melons.”
With the old lady’s pardon, Ye Chenghu rushed indoors like the wind.
Lin Xiuqing, with her dirty little son in tow, headed inside as well.
Both sons were off to change their clothes.
As they walked, she grumbled, “Every day, you don’t know how many pairs you’ll go through. Luckily, your older brother and sister have outgrown clothes they can pass down to you.”
Ye Mu added her complaints, “Always making noise, running around without a trace. There’s never a moment of quiet.”
“If we sat quietly all day long, not running or jumping, then you’d be worried that I’m slow-witted!” Ye Mu was caught off guard by Ye Yaodong's retort and shot him a glare, falling silent.
“Come on, have a piece of melon. We’ll continue working later,” the old lady said as she brought out a big basin of melons to share, even distributing some to the nearby neighbors.
Ye Yaodong took a piece and said, “I’ll go see Second Brother.”
One’s own home needed attention; he couldn’t just disregard everything like in his past life.
He needed to lend a hand and avoid gossip.
After walking a few steps, he overheard the women behind him whispering about him.
“You know, Dongzi seems to be doing better these days? He’s even going to help Ahua now.”
“Come on now, he disappeared as soon as he went out yesterday afternoon, and I have no idea what time he got back. I locked the door, anyway. What time did Dongzi come back, Aqing?”
“Quite early, before 7 PM.”
“A grown man with no sense of responsibility at all…”
Ye Yaodong quickened his pace, feeling wearied by the endless chatter.
It was better to walk a little further away and not hear anything; he was sure he wouldn’t live like before again.
When he reached his homestead, Ye Yaohua had already cleared away most of the weeds, sweat pouring down his face, making him look quite red.
He couldn’t help but reflect; for rural folks, hard work truly brought wealth.
Those who were diligent in their village had lived quite well in the decades to come.
Many had demolished their old houses to build small villas and were living splendid lives.
While he dared not think of more, all he wanted was to live like everyone else, keeping his family safe and sound.
“Ahua!”
He was only two years younger than his second brother, so he never addressed him as Second Brother, just using his name, whereas the eldest would call him correctly.
Ye Yaohua stood up when he heard his name, wiped his brow, and looked over. “Dongzi, what brings you here?”
“Just came to check. Are we starting construction the day after tomorrow? Have you arranged materials and labor?”
“Yes, we ran around yesterday, and everything is set for delivery tomorrow.”
“What a pity the salty sand can’t be used; otherwise, we could have just brought beach sand to build the house and saved a lot of money.”
“Ha-ha, if salty sand could be used for building, we wouldn’t have a chance to use it; it would’ve been taken long ago.”
“How much longer do you have to clear these weeds?”
“Just a little more, then I’ll tidy up and burn the weeds in the open. After that, I’ll carry the ashes back to the vegetable plot.”
Ye Yaodong was taken aback.
They made sure to utilize everything, even the weeds wouldn’t go to waste.
No wonder he was loading them onto the cart.
“Are you going to burn them near the beach? I’ll help you push the cart over, then?”
Ye Yaohua looked at him in surprise.
It was unprecedented for Dongzi to come and talk to him, and even more so to offer help!
“What’s up? I’m going to get a share of the house; if I don’t help out, what if Dad changes his mind? Even if he doesn’t, I can’t handle the scolding from him and Mom.”
“Ha-ha, right, this cart is full. Just help me push it to the clearing by the beach; I’ll burn it once I finish clearing the weeds.”
“Alright.”
Ye Yaodong pushed the cart under the scorching sun all the way to the beach.
Some women sitting at their door weaving nets threw him curious glances, which he pretended not to notice.
When Ye Yaohua finished clearing the weeds and started burning the ash, Ye Yaodong clapped his hands and left.
It would take a while to finish burning, so he didn’t need to keep his brother waiting under the sun.
It was already nearly 10 AM, and the tide was out by more than half; people were already digging on the beach nearby.
He estimated the sand by the dock should be exposed soon, so he needed to head back to grab the hooks and bucket.
(End of Chapter)