The father and son each held a turtle in their hands and walked up the mountain happily, one after the other.
The road on the mountain was more uneven than the road at the foot of the mountain. It was a long steep slope going up. Ye Chenghu fell down after walking only a few steps. The turtle in his hand was thrown out and rolled twice.
"Ah, my turtle..."
"What the hell, it's not fallen, it's right here, get up on your own, don't be so hypocritical."
When Ye Chenghu saw the turtle fall, its head retracted, and its four legs facing the sky, he smiled again and quickly climbed up using his hands and feet. Fortunately, it was winter, and although it was not very cold here, children still wore thicker clothes, so it was not painful enough from the fall.
He quickly went forward and picked up his turtle, then carefully blew at it with his mouth and brushed off the dust on its body.
Ye Yaodong almost lost his patience with his silly son. "Hurry up, stop dawdling. You can have fun when we get to the mountain."
"Dad, it's dirty, let's wash it in the water?"
"Don't be nosy, what are you washing?"
His hands were all black and he didn't even ask to wash them. He treated a turtle like a treasure.
Sooner or later it will be put into the pot!
Ye Chenghu ignored his father's objection and climbed down with the turtle in his hand, ready to wash it in the river.
"Damn it, be careful, don't fall into the river and don't let it run away, otherwise I will hang it up and beat you!" Ye Yaodong frowned and watched his actions. It was really annoying to bring a child out. Fortunately, he only brought one.
"No way!"
Ye Yaodong felt worried because he was so small, so he followed him down the river bank. However, just as he walked down, he felt like he stepped on something and it exploded.
He lifted his foot and saw an egg
Pheasant eggs? Wild duck eggs!
"Son, come quickly, here are duck eggs."
Ye Chenghu didn't care about giving the turtle a bath for a moment, and turned back happily, "Ah~ Dad, you crushed one."
"Who knew there were eggs in the grass? I didn't look carefully, and there are two more. Pick them up and put them in your pocket. Go home tonight and ask your mother to stew them for you. I'll wash this turtle for you."
This is to prevent him from accidentally falling into the water. If he goes back, not only will he be beaten, but his father will also be scolded.
Ye Yaodong was holding the turtle and just as he got close to the water surface, he saw a bigger one underneath. His eyes widened instantly.
Although the water was clear, there was mud underneath. The giant turtle was lying in the mud, embedded in it, and it was not very clear. It was only because the water was clear enough that he could barely make out its outline.
"Fuck! It's the turtle that guards the river! Son, come here, there's a turtle as big as a washbasin."
Ye Chenghu was being ordered around by his father and felt he was overwhelmed. He had just picked up two wild duck eggs and put them in his pocket when he heard his father calling again. He quickly covered his pocket and ran over to check.
"Where, where?"
Ye Yaodong picked up a branch and pointed it into the water. Ye Chenghu was so excited that he almost jumped up. "It's so big, Dad. It's bigger than a washbasin. Catch it quickly. Go down and catch it..."
Ye Cheng said this by the lake while pushing his father into the water.
Ye Yaodong's body swayed a few times when he was pushed by him, and he almost fell into the water.
This bastard, I don’t want him anymore when I see him.
He patted the brat on the back of his head and said, "Scratch your head! The river is so cold, and you asked your father to go into the water."
"But that turtle is so big."
"It's good to have a look and learn something new. We can catch the small ones if we want, but the one below is so big, it might be the turtle that guards the river. It's good to have a look."
The one below has a shell on its back that looks almost bigger than a washbasin. Such a big turtle cannot be found in farms nowadays, so it might be a genuine “century-old turtle”.
It is such a big creature, and people nowadays are very superstitious. Some rural people even believe that it can "communicate with spirits". Anyone who dares to catch it will be drowned in spit. It is also said that those who release it will also be blessed.
Ye Chenghu squatted there with a look of regret on his face, "Can't we catch it and take it home to raise it?"
"No, it has grown so big here, it can only stay here to protect the land and water."
After Ye Yaodong finished speaking, he paddled the muddy turtle in his hand in the water, gave it a quick bath, and then picked it up and placed it in front of his eldest son.
"Here, take these two little ones back and play with them."
"But aren't you going to eat them?"
He was speechless for a moment, "Eat one and leave one for you?"
"Oh well!"
Ye Chenghu reluctantly grabbed the little turtle and nodded, then touched the turtle's shell soothingly.
"Let's go, let's go up. We've been hesitating for a long time. We've been walking up the mountain for an hour and still haven't reached our destination. If you tell others about it, they will laugh at you..."
"Isn't it you?"
"You didn't dawdle?"
"You caught the turtle."
"Didn't you see that? You just fell down..."
"You've been squatting there looking at the turtle for quite some time, and you asked me to watch it with you..."
…
The father and son were arguing, one was disgusted, the other talked back, neither would give in. Each of them held a turtle in his hand, and they walked slowly up the mountain while arguing.
There were several pomelo trees planted at the foot of the mountain, all of which still had fruits hanging on them. Ye Chenghu ran up playfully and shook a pomelo, causing it to swing back and forth.
As the pomelo was being swung, it fell down and rolled down the slope. Ye Yaodong held it up with his foot, picked it up and looked at its bottom. It was round and straight. He weighed it in his hand and it felt heavy. It must have a thin skin and a lot of flesh. So he put it under the tree.
"Don't be naughty. Leave this here for now. I'll bring it back to you when we get down the mountain."
"Okay, okay, we'll pick a few more to eat back home later."
"Well, you can eat as much as you want at your grandpa's house. It's free. You can pick more later. Now let's go upstairs." He pointed at the orange tree above. "Do you see those yellow oranges? Our task this afternoon is to pick oranges. Let's go upstairs and look for your two uncles first."
"Okay, are my cousins all up in the mountains? I want to show them my turtle."
"It's a turtle, not a tortoise. Or you can call it a wangba, which is a general term for turtles and tortoises."
"Hahaha, bastard!"
Ye Yaodong glanced at him with disdain and went up the mountain on his own.
"Wait for me, Dad~"
"Ah? Who's here?" A male voice came from the mountain.
"Ah, it's me, uncle. I'm Ye Chenghu. My father and I are here to pick oranges."
"Ah? Adong is here?"
"Cousin, cousin..."
Sparse sounds came from the woods above, and soon a figure ran down from above.
It’s my brother-in-law.
Then, a large group of children followed him, running and calling for their cousin...
Ye Chenghu also ran up excitedly, holding his little turtle high up to show his cousins. A group of children chattered excitedly around the turtle and discussed it excitedly...
Ye Yaodong also handed the one in his hand to them to play with, and reminded them not to be bitten by the turtle. If they wanted to catch it, they must scratch the two concave spots under the turtle's abdomen.
"Wow, my uncle is so awesome..."
"so big… "
"Where did you catch him?"
…
"How many children didn't go to school today?"
Lin Xianghui trotted forward and said, "Isn't it that the family is too busy? My father broke his leg again, and my mother has to take care of him and cook. There is not enough manpower, so I asked them to take a day off and help pick oranges in the mountains. When did you come? Why didn't you sit at home for a while? Why did you run up the mountain?"
"I sat there for a while, talked with my father, and had some snacks. I had nothing better to do, so I decided to come up and help pick oranges. I heard that the price of oranges is very good recently."
Lin Xianghui's dark face was full of smiles. "Not bad. I heard that it is 5 cents more than last year, so I thought about picking it in the next two days, fearing that it would drop in value if I was late."
"That's great. There's still 5 cents left. That's rare. I came at the right time. I can help you pick the fruits for two days."
The two walked up the mountain while talking.
"Haha~ I heard that the cannery is here to collect the oranges this year and make them into canned oranges, so the price is 5 cents higher than in previous years. Those in the village who don't grow oranges are slapping their thighs in regret and are thinking about buying orange trees in the spring so that they can harvest them in two or three years."
"Then you are lucky, you just caught a good price. If more people plant it next year, the price may drop."
"Yes, but it's hard to say."
"How's the grapefruit harvest going? I see some fruits still hanging down there."
"The grapefruits are okay, too. The ones at the bottom are late-ripening. Dad originally planned to pick the ones at the bottom and send them to you in a few days after picking the oranges. It just so happens that you're here, so you can take them back to eat after you leave."
"That's great. It's better to arrive at the right time than to arrive early."
I heard pregnant women should eat more fruits, so I brought some grapefruits back for his wife to eat slowly. But forget about oranges? I heard that eating too many oranges will turn your skin yellow! It will also cause internal heat! And it will cause toothache!
Ye Yaodong walked up the mountain, said hello to his two sisters-in-law and brother-in-law, took out a sack and shook it, then found a tree that had not had any fruit picked yet and started picking the fruit.
"Adong, that tree is a bitter orange, don't pick it yet, pick the oranges first, the oranges are valuable, you can wait two days to pick the bitter oranges."
Ye Yaodong took a closer look and found that the top of the tree was a little pointy and the skin was a little green. It was a bitter orange. It was eaten cold and he could pick some to take back in a couple of days!
He walked around again and started picking them after identifying them as oranges.
These orange trees have only been planted for two or three years. The trees are not big and are short, making them easy to pick. You don’t have to climb around, which is much easier than persimmon trees.
As he picked the oranges, he peeled one and ate it. In an instant, his eyes narrowed into slits and his facial features wrinkled. It tasted a bit sour and not delicious. It was not as sweet as the oranges that would come decades later.
But the silly son below was eating with gusto and kept saying it was delicious!
Still yelling about feeding the turtle...
"Don't be naughty, don't play with them to death, hurry up and work, don't be lazy, play after you get back."
The children immediately fell silent, and reluctantly played for a while longer, until their mother called them to continue working.
"Cousin, you have to keep an eye on them and don't let them crawl away."
Ye Chenghu sat on the ground with a bunch of oranges beside him and nodded happily, "Don't worry, I'll make a circle with the oranges to ensure that they won't run away."
Only then did the children go back to work with peace of mind.