As night fell, the wind howled and rain poured down heavily.
The contrast between day and night was like comparing a small witch to a great one.
The bowls and basins inside the house had been emptied several times already, and rainwater kept spilling in through the window, soaking the table by the window.
Lin Xiuqing had specifically laid down a cloth to soak up the water.
The two children were not afraid of the storm outside; instead, they played with the candlelight, sneaking around…
Ye Chenghu carefully dipped his finger into the melted wax beneath the wick and pulled it out, finding a layer of white wax covering his fingertip.
He kept dipping his fingers, one by one, until all ten of them were coated before breaking off the wax again to repeat the process…
Ye Chengyang, on the other hand, had found a toothpick from somewhere and was fiddling with the wick, stirring the candle oil…
The flickering candlelight caught their parents' attention at last, realizing their two little troublemakers were up to mischief.
Each child received a swat on their bottoms; they jumped around on the bed and howled for a bit before finally settling down to sleep.
Ye Yaodong leaned against the bed’s edge, eyes closed in a half-hearted attempt to rest.
There was no place for him to lie down, and sleep evaded him, especially with the racket outside.
His elder and second brother were also dealing with leaks in their rooms, and with three kids each, they had all been sent to the old lady’s place, as well as to their parents' room.
That night, everyone had no choice but to squeeze together, just trying to get through till morning.
"Both of them are asleep now. Let me lie down for a bit," Lin Xiuqing said.
"It’s fine. You sleep. I can’t rest, and I’ll catch up on sleep tomorrow. I’ll go pour out the water," Ye Yaodong replied.
Worried that his movements might disturb them, he emptied the bowls and went to the main room, spotting a couple of long benches.
He pieced two of them together and lay down, closing his eyes for a short while.
It wasn’t until the latter part of the night that the wind and rain began to weaken.
Ye Yaodong had also wrapped himself with a long sleeve shirt to use as a blanket.
He could not sleep soundly on the bench; any little noise would jolt him awake.
When he felt a movement, he murmured, “What woke you up?”
“I had to take Yangyang to urinate, and seeing you weren’t around, I came to check,” Lin Xiuqing replied.
“The typhoon should have passed by now. It’s almost dawn; you should go back to sleep for a while longer,” he suggested.
“You should go back to sleep too!”
“No need. You go and keep the kids company. If they wake up and don’t see you, they’ll cry,” he said.
Lin Xiuqing gave him a deep look before heading back inside.
This was the first time during a typhoon that he didn’t sleep like a dead pig, allowing the three of them to sleep instead.
In previous years, she had to spend the night pretending to doze off by the head of the bed.
As dawn broke, Ye Yaodong sat up.
At that moment, the old lady entered with an umbrella, unlocking the back door to come in from her small room in the backyard.
“Dongzi, did you sleep on the bench last night? Oh, dear, how did you manage to sleep like that? Look at your face and neck; you have so many mosquito bites. Quickly, rub some saliva on them,” she said.
He scratched at them carelessly and replied, “It’s fine; they won’t itch soon. The ground is wet, so be careful when you come and go. Hold onto the wall.”
“I know, I know. Do you want to go lie down in my room for a bit? Ahai is still sleeping...”
“No need. I’m going out to see how big the waves are at the beach.”
Outside, it was still drizzling.
He put on the raincoat that hung on the door and stepped outside.
As he walked along the road, he noticed many villagers in raincoats wandering around.
Everyone came out to see if the typhoon had passed, greeting one another and discussing how strong the wind was and how heavy the rain had been the previous night.
“Why are you up so early, Dongzi?” someone asked.
“Can’t sleep, so I came out to take a look,” he replied.
“Let’s go to the beach together. Everyone is heading that way...”
He nodded with indifference and kept walking.
It was just a neighbor he wasn’t very familiar with.
As he walked, he observed the damage in the village.
A few small trees were toppled, many rooftops were missing tiles, scattered by the wind.
Straw was blown about, and debris littered the ground along with puddles everywhere, making the scene quite chaotic.
By the time he reached the shore, the day grew a bit brighter, and many villagers were already gathered by the water's edge.
He could see the rolling waves crashing relentlessly, murky waters reaching heights never seen before.
Villagers around him were discussing how the typhoon had passed.
Once the sea calmed down, they would be able to head out fishing again.
Ye Yaodong’s father arrived shortly after him; the sky kept brightening, and more people gathered.
Ye Yaopeng and Ye Yaohua, too, had come out.
The villagers were most concerned about when the waves would recede.
Everyone stood at the shore, reluctant to leave, until the sun began to rise over the horizon.
The village loudspeaker broadcasted that the typhoon had made landfall in Zhejiang Province, which finally eased everyone’s worries, and they slowly began to head back for breakfast.
Ye Laoda asked while eating, “Dad, every single house leaked badly yesterday. Shouldn’t we take advantage of the free time today to check the roofs for any missing tiles and do some repairs?”
“Yeah, we should. I think a lot got blown off or misaligned last night, which is why it leaked so much inside. There are still some tiles in the backyard; let’s finish breakfast and then I’ll climb up to take a look,” he replied.
“Then can we start working on the house tomorrow?” Ye Yaodong asked.
“Maybe the day after tomorrow. It's all still damp now, and the mountains are muddy, plus the creek’s water level has risen, making it inconvenient to gather pebbles. Let’s wait a day before getting back to work,” he said.
“When can we go out to sea?” the brothers asked in turn.
“Not tonight. The pier is still too rough, and the outer sea is likely affected as well. We’ll see how the tides are tomorrow, it should bring in more fish after the typhoon,” he explained.
Having seen Ye Yaodong’s catch from yesterday, Ye Yaohua was eager to go to the beach today since they had free time. “Since we’re doing nothing, when the tide starts to go out, let’s go down to the beach and see if we can pick up anything good,” he suggested.
Ye Mu also seemed interested, “We can all go together then, and gather some seafood for cooking.”
“We want to go to the beach too!” the children chimed in.
“Right! We want to play at the beach…”
“No, it’s not just for playing. You all are so silly! We’re going to gather seafood!” Ye Chenghai looked at his younger siblings disapprovingly.
“Yes, yes! We’re going to gather seafood!” they echoed excitedly.
“There’s no room for you all! Hurry up and finish your breakfast. The tide hasn’t gone out yet, and the waves are still fierce. None of you are allowed to go to the beach. If the waves pull you in, there’s no one who can save you,” Ye Mu said seriously to her grandchildren. “Do you all understand?”
“Yes!” they replied in unison.
Growing up, what they heard most often was not to go to the beach alone and not to swim without adult supervision, so the warning was very much ingrained in their minds.
However, much to their disappointment, even after the typhoon had passed, the tides did not quickly recede that day; the water level only dropped slightly.
The hope of gathering seafood was dashed, but the children were not too upset.
They could still play elsewhere.
The adults, on the other hand, felt the greatest disappointment.
The sun shone brightly all day, and it was only by noon the next day that the tide gradually receded.
The Ye family was immediately filled with enthusiasm and set off to the beach together.
(End of Chapter)