After finishing his shower, Ye Yaodong put on a pair of shorts and sat by the window.
"Have you picked the sand out yet? Let me see."
It was rare for him to be so gentle and patient while helping her with the grains of sand.
Lin Xiuqing watched his serious expression, and her usually calm heart stirred with a bit of emotion.
“Ouch~”
“Does it hurt a lot? I'll be gentler…” He said, then he blew gently on the wound before continuing to remove the grains from her palm.
If he didn’t clean it properly, the wound would surely get infected later on.
After a while, he checked again and said, “It should be clean now. Take it easy for the next couple of days. Luckily, there's a typhoon coming, so you don’t have to do much work. Pull your pant legs up; let me see your knee.”
Lin Xiuqing complied and lifted her pant legs, bending her knee forward to show him.
One was quiet while the other focused, and the room was filled with a warm atmosphere.
Suddenly, a loud crash echoed as the door swung open!
“Mom and Dad, it’s time to eat…”
The door slammed against the wall, startling both of them.
Ye Yaodong's hand, which was holding the needle, shook, almost poking her flesh.
Just as he was about to scold them, the little rascal shouted, “Ah! Dad’s being shy! He’s hugging Mom’s feet without any clothes!”
“Damn it, you little brat! Ye Chenghu, what nonsense are you talking about?”
Ye Yaodong was furious as he rushed out and grabbed his oldest son up, but before he could give him a couple of smacks, the old lady stopped him.
“Why hit him? Kids just say whatever they see. What does he understand?”
Sweat… What the old lady said made him…
There were so many people around, and he felt the need to explain, otherwise, they might really think he was being too reckless.
“Aqing fell outside earlier and hurt her knee and hand, so I was helping her take the sand out. This little brat just can’t keep quiet.” He shot a fierce glare at his oldest son before returning to his room to put on some clothes.
Ye Chenghu, feeling a bit wronged, rubbed his bottom. “But I didn’t say anything wrong…”
Lin Xiuqing quickly came out, a bit embarrassed as she glared at her oldest son. “Be quiet and go eat! What’s with all the chatter?”
Pouting, he followed Grandma to the dining table.
The adults in the family, except for Ye Huimei, all had their own experiences and knew very well about such matters between couples.
Whether what Ye Chenghu said was true or not, they all pretended not to know and calmly continued to serve food and dishes.
When Ye Yaodong sat at the table, he noticed a bowl of sliced stir-fried coconut snail meat, setting his appetite ablaze.
He grabbed a piece right away.
Mmm~ It was fresh, flavorful, spicy, and crunchy—a true delicacy!
He also picked up a piece for his wife, and they shared a knowing smile.
However, before they finished their meal, the sky outside turned gray.
Those who didn’t know would think evening had already arrived.
“Turn on the lights! It’s too dark!”
After they finished eating, they couldn’t go outside due to the storm and could only move around in the house.
Everyone heard the howling wind outside, feeling uneasy not knowing how long the typhoon would last.
They had thought it would just be a small typhoon and that it wouldn’t affect them too much, yet they hadn’t expected the typhoon's path to head straight towards them.
Fortunately, there were still vegetables in the backyard, and they had pickled fish and dried fish at home, so even if they couldn’t go out for a few days, they wouldn’t starve.
Ye Yaodong lay on the bed, preparing for a midday nap.
Suddenly, he felt something dripping onto his belly.
Looking up at the mosquito net above, he saw small water droplets forming there.
“Is it leaking?”
The rain outside grew heavier, and the droplets fell faster, plinking away.
He hurriedly got up to grab a basin from the living room to catch the water.
Just as he did, the lights in the living room suddenly went out.
The children, not understanding, cheered joyfully, “Ah! The power’s out— the power’s out!”
“Quiet down!”
Ye Mother fished out the candles she had prepared long ago and lit them, bringing a bit of light into the room.
She tilted the candles to let the wax drip onto the table before placing them to keep them steady.
Typhoons were a common occurrence here, and everyone was used to the power going out with every storm.
Ye Mother lit several candles. “Each of you take one into your room to light; it's too dark.”
Only then did Ye Yaodong speak up. “There’s a leak in the room; the bed’s wet. You all go check and put a basin there, or we won’t be able to sleep tonight.”
“If your bed is leaking and you can’t sleep well, just take the kids and sleep with us.”
He nodded in agreement.
There was a basin on the bed, and it was indeed going to be cramped for the four of them to lie down.
But it wasn’t just one spot leaking; even the table and cabinet in the room made the sound of water plinking down.
Ye Yaodong had no choice but to get up again to grab another basin.
Since none were available, he had to use a soup bowl to catch the water instead.
As for the droplets falling to the ground, he paid them no mind—the ground was already muddy, and it wouldn’t cause any trouble.
That’s how it was in these old houses; every time it rained heavily, it was rare not to have any leaks.
Ye Yaodong lay back down, hands behind his head, listening to the sound of rain drops hitting the basin.
He found it hard to fall asleep.
It was still early afternoon, and staying awake until morning would be quite a challenge.
Reluctantly, he got up to check what everyone was doing in the living room.
Hearing the commotion, he found several kids had run into their mother’s room to play.
Turning to Lin Xiuqing, who was still weaving, he said, “Stop weaving; the light is too dim, it’ll hurt your eyes.”
Ye Dajiao teased, “Yaodong is getting better at being caring; not only is he helping you pick out the sand, but he’s also worried about your eyes while you weave.”
Lin Xiuqing felt a little shy from the teasing. “Hehe~ It’s not too dark; I can still see.”
But it seemed she was ignored.
Ye Yaopeng sat bored by the table, propping his chin with his hands.
After doing hard work, being idle made him feel uncomfortable.
He suggested, “Sitting here is pretty boring; how about we three brothers play some cards? Light a few more candles.”
“Sounds good. Let’s see if second brother wants to join?”
“He’s in the room; I’ll go call him.”
Just as the three of them started the second round, Ye Father, feeling a bit restless, asked to join them.
The room was filled with Ye Yaodong’s frustrated voice, “What the heck, Dad, do you even know how to play? We’re partners; how could you let big brother pass with a 6?”
“I have 3, 3, 4, 6, 7 in hand; if I don’t play a 6, what should I play?”
“Damn it, what a lousy hand. You could’ve at least played a pair so I could take it and go first!”
“How would I know what cards you have?”
Ye Yaodong grumbled angrily, cursing his father as a lousy teammate…
Ye Father, unable to bear it, said, “Enough, enough. I don’t want to partner with you!”
And so, the entire afternoon was filled with Ye Father switching partners, first with the third-born, then the first-born, and finally getting stuck with the second born, who didn’t mind his terrible cards…
But Ye Ersao was getting anxious; partnering with Dad was a recipe for losing money…
In the end, after a long afternoon, of course, it was Ye Yaodong and Ye Laoda who ended up winning.
Ye Yaodong waved the earned cash in his hand, passing it to Lin Xiuqing. “Here, take this; we made money again!”
Lin Xiuqing smiled happily as she accepted.
Ye Father grumbled with reluctance, “Let’s continue after dinner!”
“Continue your head! There’s no time; you should weave more bamboo strips; we don’t have enough for drying fish.” Ye Mother scolded a bit, and Ye Father wisely remained quiet.
(End of Chapter)