When Ye Yaodong returned from the sea the next day, he heard that the two families had already started the funeral.
He shook his head. Things in the world are unpredictable and no one can predict them.
He deliberately kept two big bass and two big blue crabs, as well as some crabs, mantis shrimps and sword lobsters to take back. Today's harvest was pretty good.
Lin Xiuqing smiled and asked, "Why did you keep so much?"
"It's a rare trip back home, so I'll take a little more. I caught it myself anyway. I'm going to take a shower, and then we'll go to the entrance of the village and wait for a passing car, so we can deliver it early while it's still fresh."
"Okay, I've also bought the mooncakes and pig's feet."
Mrs. Ye smiled and said, "It's convenient to have your own boat. You can keep whatever you want. You can keep everything and send it back to your parents' home."
"You make it sound as if we've done you a wrong?" Mother Ye raised her eyelids unhappily and glanced at Ye Ersao.
Mrs. Ye smiled awkwardly and said, "No, that's not what I meant."
Sister Ye smiled and said, "When we sent the Mid-Autumn Festival gifts two days ago, my mother also kept two sea bass, but Aqing kept them for himself."
Lin Xiuqing smiled and said, "You are close to my mother's home, you can get there in a few steps. I live far away from my mother's home, and it is rare for me to go back. The last time I went back was in March when I was picking tea, so I prepared more."
Mother Ye nodded. "Of course you should. When you go back, please say hello to my in-laws for me and ask him to come and have fun when he moves."
"OK."
Ye Yaodong also heard their voices when he was taking a shower. He just wanted to say that women are trouble. It's a good thing that the family has been divided. He doesn't have to listen to gossip about the distribution issue. Each family can just live their own life.
After taking a quick shower, he carried the bucket of seafood, the basket of pig's feet, moon cakes and canned food, as well as the ten kilograms of rice wine that Ye's mother asked them to take before leaving. Lin Xiuqing held one child in her arms and led one by one, and the family of four walked directly to the roadside at the entrance of the village.
If it weren't for the fact that they really couldn't carry it all, Ye's mother originally planned to let them bring a 20-kilogram bag.
Lin Xiuqing's parents' home is in Anhe Township, Jinjia Town. It takes about half an hour to get there by car from their village, and then another half an hour to walk after getting off the bus.
If we all rely on our own two legs to walk, it would be too far.
Lin Xiuqing originally wanted to walk back, and she always walked back, but Ye Yaodong wanted to take a car, so she had no choice but to listen to him.
I am not empty-handed, I can still walk a little bit, but if I carry dozens of kilograms of stuff and two children, I will be exhausted after walking for two or three hours on the mountain road. The children will feel uncomfortable, and I don't need to worry about the 10 cents or 20 cents of fare.
The family of four wandered around for half an hour before getting off the bus at their destination. This was only Jinjia Town. There were currently no special buses to Anhe Township. If they wanted to take a bus, they could only wait for a passing tractor on the roadside.
But whether or not they could get on the bus depended on luck, and the two of them couldn't just sit there and wait. What if there was no tractor going to their village today? Wouldn't that be a waste of time
After getting off the bus, they walked on foot, carrying their belongings and holding their children.
The two little guys are usually naughty, but they are sensible at critical moments and don’t complain or get tired or throw tantrums.
Ye Yaodong was afraid that his eldest son might not be able to bear walking for too long, so he walked and stopped, and carried him for a while from time to time.
It is really difficult to travel far away at this time, and many places can only be reached by walking.
After walking for half an hour with difficulty, they finally reached their village. Everyone they met on the way greeted Lin Xiuqing.
Lin Xiuqing also responded with a smile.
News spread very quickly in the village. Before they even got home, someone they knew had already informed Lin's father and mother, who went out of their way to greet them and met them at the intersection.
Mother Lin held her grandson over with a smile on her face, and Lin Xiuqing finally breathed a sigh of relief. It was too tiring to take the child out. Usually she had to walk on her own, and she didn't feel so tired after walking back and forth that day.
"Adong is here too? Go home and sit down and have a rest. You must be exhausted after walking such a long way. You said you were here, so why did you bring so many things?"
Ye Yaodong smiled and said, "As I should. I haven't been here for a long time."
"Your family is busy. I heard that you went out to sea and built a house some time ago. If you don't have time, you don't have to come. It doesn't matter. They are not other people. They are your own family."
"I must come back for the Mid-Autumn Festival."
Father Lin also smiled happily and helped him get his things. "Come in and sit down and talk. Take a rest."
The neighbors saw them at the door and looked around to see what they were carrying. Some even followed them to their doorsteps.
What's even more rude is that some people actually reached out and lifted the cloth covering the baskets and buckets to take a look inside.
The countryside is just so unsophisticated.
It really is true what the saying goes, as long as you are not embarrassed, others will be embarrassed.
Ye Yaodong really felt embarrassed at this time!
Fortunately, he prepared enough things, so he could meet people and earn some face for his father-in-law.
When Mr. and Mrs. Lin heard the villagers talking about how blessed they were to have such a filial daughter and son-in-law, the smiles on their faces deepened and they were filled with joy.
As soon as they entered the house, Lin's mother immediately went to light a fire and cook snacks for them, while Lin's father and two brothers-in-law chatted with Ye Yaodong.
They asked about the situation of going out to sea, whether the harvest was good, whether the typhoon had any impact on their family, and whether the house was built.
Ye Yaodong briefly talked to them about it and told them that they would be moving on the 20th day of the lunar calendar and invited them to come to the housewarming party.
Father Lin and his two brothers-in-law were relieved to see that he indeed looked less careless and more composed than before. It turned out that it was not their illusion in the past period of time, but he really improved and could talk about going out to sea with full knowledge.
Seeing how happily they were talking, Lin Xiuqing felt relieved.
They didn’t have much to say to each other before. They just asked and answered questions, and then fell silent after the answers. The atmosphere was awkward.
Mother Lin cooked some snacks and brought them up, saying with a smile, "Stop chatting for now, let A-Dong and A-Qing have some snacks first. It's past dinner time, they must be starving."
"Yes, you guys eat first and we'll talk later."
Lin's mother cooked longevity noodles, which she put on top of a lot of dried shrimps, lean meat, pork liver, shiitake mushrooms, black fungus, and two poached eggs. She also added rice wine, which looked particularly fragrant and appetizing.
When guests come to their local home, the snack is longevity noodles cooked with rice wine and two fried eggs, and other ingredients can be added as needed.
"Feed Yangyang for me, and let Chenghu eat by himself. You guys eat your own food. I just happened to buy pork liver and lean meat today. You guys can eat more. If not, there's more in the pot."
"That's enough. That's enough."
The couple was indeed hungry. They had eaten porridge in the morning and had arrived here now. They had spent a lot of time waiting for the bus. It was already past 1 o'clock and they were already starving.
Father Lin said, "Luckily I haven't left the house yet. I wanted to go to the mountain to pick persimmons, but I wasted some time making two bamboo baskets. Then I heard that you guys were here."
"It's better to arrive at the right time than to arrive early." Lin's mother also said with a smile.
Ye Yaodong said as he ate: "Do you want to go to the mountain to pick persimmons? I'll go with you later."
"No, no, there are only two persimmon trees. I can pick them myself. You have walked a long way and must be tired. Just lie down at home and rest for a while."
The son-in-law is a distinguished guest, so Lin's father doesn't feel comfortable ordering him to do any work.
"It doesn't matter. We came here by car, so we just walked a short distance. We have nothing to do anyway."
"Really no need..."
Lin Xiuqing interrupted her father, "It doesn't matter, just let him go. He can't sit still anyway. He likes to do this kind of thing when he goes up the mountains and down the sea all day."
"Ah... hehe... OK, then when you've finished eating, we'll go to the mountain to pick persimmons and bring them back for you to eat. You're going to stay at home for two days, right?"
Father Lin didn't dare to ask just now. In the past, his daughter always came back alone. She would come back in the morning, stay for only a few hours, and rush back in the afternoon. This time, it was rare that the couple came back with the children, so he wanted to keep them for two days.
Lin Xiuqing smiled and said, "Yes, I have some free time during this period. I can stay for two nights before going back. It won't delay the Mid-Autumn Festival."
Only then were Mr. and Mother Lin satisfied.
"We haven't prepared any dishes today. Tomorrow we will celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival in advance. We will call your eldest sister back to join us for the fun. Your younger sister lives in a village on the east road of the town, which is quite far away, so we won't call her."
"OK."
After eating, Ye Yaodong took his eldest son, followed by his father-in-law, his two brothers-in-law who had nothing to do, and two boys from his brothers-in-law who were not yet old enough to go to school, and a large group of people went up the mountain in a mighty manner.
Father Lin also told everyone that his son-in-law was going to the mountain to help them pick persimmons...
Ye Yaodong could only laugh awkwardly.
Father Lin is a hardworking man. He planted fruit trees on half of the hill and tea trees on the other half. The rows are very neat.
At this time, there are two persimmon trees among the mature fruit trees, and more than a dozen grapefruit trees, but they are still a little short of maturity. The orange trees are bitter oranges, which are the most numerous, but they will not mature until November.
There are also loquat, banana, mulberry, watermelon, peach, bayberry, etc. Some have large quantities, while others only plant two or three trees to satisfy the children at home.
When the fruit is harvested, Lin's father will take time to send the fruits to Baisha Village depending on the situation. Ye Yaodong has eaten a lot of them in the past, but this is his first time on their fruit mountain.
Looking at the neatly arranged rows of fruit trees, he couldn't help but admire the diligence of his father-in-law's family. In this age when everything depends on manpower, the entire hill is actually planted with fruit trees.
Many trees are still full of fruits. The bitter orange trees are laden with fruits, and the pomelo trees are also full of pomeloes, but it is not time to pick them yet.
Father Lin stood at the foot of the mountain and smiled as he pointed out to him what kinds of fruits were planted where.
"Dad, you guys are amazing. You've planted fruit trees on the entire hill."
"We live off the mountains, and you live off the sea. Be diligent so you don't starve to death."
"Yes." He nodded with a smile.
"They don't like to eat persimmons, and I don't plant too many. There are only two trees, but there are a lot of fruits. The whole tree is full of them. I have to climb up to pick them when the time comes."
"It's okay. Leave the high ones to me and my two elder brothers."
“We brought long hooks.”
Father Lin smiled and led them up the mountain.