Ye Chenghu sat on the ground and played for a while before he felt a little bored. Everyone was picking oranges, but he was the only one sitting there eating.
It will feel sour if you eat too much, and your teeth can't stand it, and he can't sit still.
He used oranges to raise the two circles a level higher and surrounded the two turtles. Then he climbed up the hillside again and joined his father.
"Dad, I want to pick some too."
"Have you had enough? You've eaten your teeth so much that they're all softened. The short one next to it is perfect for you to pick. Go ahead!"
Ye Chenghu touched his cheeks and felt them a little sore and weak, so he didn't dare to eat anymore.
The children were not stable to begin with, so after a while they turned around to look at their two turtles, and after making sure they were still inside the oranges, they ran back to continue picking.
He went back and forth several times without feeling bothered, and only stopped working honestly after being scolded a few times.
Ye Yaodong and his team asked a tractor to deliver the goods directly today, which was faster. It was only nine o'clock when they arrived. After having snacks and catching turtles on the way, they spent some time, so it was already past ten o'clock when they got to the mountain.
He had not been picking for two hours when he heard Lin's mother calling him downstairs to eat.
Turning my head, I saw that she was carrying two bamboo baskets on a shoulder pole, with two buckets and two soup bowls in the baskets. One bucket was filled with bowls, one bucket was filled with rice, and the soup bowls were filled with vegetables.
Hearing that it was time for dinner, the children dropped their work and rushed down, crying. However, Ye Chenghu discovered that his two turtles were missing and burst into tears instantly.
"I clearly surrounded it with oranges, so why did they crawl away?"
Ye Yaodong also saw that the orange castle he built had collapsed. He looked around but couldn't find it.
"Why are you crying? You can definitely find it around here."
We all started looking together, and finally found one in the grass far away. Another one had fallen down a small slope, lying there with its four legs up in the air, its limbs waving wildly.
"Fuck, he ran quite far."
Ye Yaodong carried both of them into the bamboo basket that Lin's mother brought her food in. "Put them in there so they won't run away. I'll ask your grandmother to take them back later."
"Leave one here. I will keep a close eye on him and make sure he doesn't run away."
"It's up to you. If you run away and die, I'll beat you."
Ye Chenghu pouted. He just wanted to scare him all day long! It's not like he hasn't been beaten before.
"Eat quickly. You've been busy all morning and you must be hungry."
Ye Yaodong felt it was okay, as he had just had snack at around nine o'clock. He only filled half a bowl of rice and sat on the floor. There were three dishes for lunch, a bowl of potato and pickled vegetable soup, a bowl of dried fish he brought, and a bowl of scrambled eggs with leeks.
A group of children reached out for the fried eggs with leeks and filled their bowls so full that they burst the surface. They only started eating after being scolded a few times.
They quickly ate their food, and after finishing, they excitedly ran to the corner to play with the turtle.
As they ate and chatted, most of the conversation revolved around Ye Yaodong, asking him about his trip to the sea and what he had gained...
After chatting for a while, everyone got back to work after finishing their meal.
For the whole afternoon, everyone was picking oranges on the mountain. There were also people picking oranges on the neighboring hill.
The weather was good today during the day. The sun came out after nine o'clock, but there was a little wind. It was quite comfortable to bask in the sun and pick oranges on the mountain.
But in the afternoon, the sun had already disappeared into the clouds, and the wind became stronger, making it a bit chilly.
When the picking time was around 4 o'clock, the elder brother-in-law asked him and the younger brother-in-law to help tie up the oranges into bags and carry them to the cart at the foot of the mountain. He would deliver the oranges to the commune, and the buyers would go to the commune to collect them around this time.
Others continue picking, and the rest can be picked and sold tomorrow.
But the children were no longer in the mood to pick the fruits. They all hid away secretly to play with turtles. The adults also turned a blind eye. They did not expect them to do the whole job from beginning to end. Any help they could give was appreciated.
It wasn't until it got a little dark that my brother-in-law told us to call it a day.
The children cheered and rushed down the mountain.
Ye Yaodong saw that there was still a small piece of fruit on the top of the mountain and estimated that it would take another day or two to pick all of them.
The cart had been pushed away by my brother-in-law, and the remaining bags of oranges were just enough for the four adults to carry one bag each.
Several children were jumping and skipping in the front. They fell, rolled over, and then got up and continued to run. No matter how the adults behind them told them to be careful and walk slowly, they turned a deaf ear to them.
"Ye Chenghu, remember to bring the grapefruits you just picked." Ye Yaodong shouted at him.
Ye Chenghu slammed on the brakes instantly, stepped back, and picked up the pomelo that he had just dropped. But then he realized he couldn't hold it anymore as he was still holding the turtle in one hand.
He licked his face again and asked his cousin Lin Guangyuan to help him get it, and then rushed forward laughing again.
The youngest one, however, had the loudest voice and even shouted that he would take them to the river to see the giant turtle...
Ye Yaodong, carrying the oranges at the back, had to jog to catch up. However, before he had taken a few steps, he heard another cry in front of him.
"555... My egg... My egg is gone, broken all over the floor... 555..."
Ye Yaodong felt a throbbing pain in his head when he heard this. He ran over and saw Ye Chenghu squatting on the ground, tears streaming down his face. One hand was still trying to fish out the broken egg liquid from the broken eggshell.
"Who can you blame for your carelessness? It's already broken. Hurry up and get up. There's still one in your pocket. Don't break it again. If you break it, you won't have anything to eat tonight."
He wiped away his tears in grievance and said, "I was careless. It fell out of my pocket by itself."
"If you don't run, how can it fall? Walk carefully. If you drop the turtle into the water, go back and take off your pants to beat it."
"Dad, shall we go to the river to look for wild duck eggs later?"
"How can we have time? Can't you see we are carrying oranges? Let's go home first. It's getting dark. Let's go home and eat."
I don’t know where they get so much energy. After picking oranges all day, they are still full of energy and want to play.
Mrs. Lin Da and Mrs. Lin Er also scolded the children and told them not to make trouble and go home to eat quickly. Only then did they look at the river and walk back reluctantly.
Then a few of them whispered to each other that they would come back tomorrow to look for wild duck eggs, and happily shared their experiences of looking for wild duck eggs by the river in the past...
When they passed the section of the river where the big turtle appeared, Ye Chenghu had a good memory. He stopped and pointed it out to them, saying that it was right at the bottom of the river.
Just when they were excitedly preparing to climb down, they were scolded by the adults again. They gave up regretfully and could only jog back.
When Lin Xiangyang approached the river, he also took a curious look and asked Ye Yaodong, "Did you really see that big turtle?"
"Well, I saw two little turtles when I passed by this afternoon. When I came down to catch them, I happened to see another one as big as a wash basin underneath."
"There has always been a rumor in the village that there is a big turtle in this river that protects us. This rumor has been going on for many years. I also heard that someone caught it before and released it back, but I haven't heard of it in recent years."
"That should be it! With a size like that, it should be a hundred years old."
Ye Yaodong was sure that it was undoubtedly a river turtle. It was rare to see one that big in the wild. The old man would be more likely to believe it, as to whether it was a spirit or not.
"Maybe. The small one can be caught, but the big one cannot be touched."
"I know."
Didn’t you see that he had nothing in his hands
A group of people trotted home one after another. Lin's mother had already cooked a large table of delicious food and was waiting for them to come back and eat.
Ye Chenghu took out the wild duck eggs from his pocket and handed them to Lin's mother with a wronged look on his face. "Grandma, can you help me stew the eggs?"
"What about the other one?"
At noon on the mountain, he took out two of them and showed them off as if they were treasures. She wanted to give them back to him, but he refused and said he wanted to put them in his pocket.
"It fell out of my pocket and broke into pieces when I was going down the mountain."
"Since you are so careless, I will save this to make boiled eggs for you tomorrow morning. We have dinner ready, so let's eat first."
"All right."
The Lin family had no fewer children than the Ye family. The two brothers had three and four children respectively. As soon as the table was filled with children,
They had separated a long time ago, and only ate together during busy farming seasons.
Eating together with many people is also lively. The noisy sounds at the table are all from the children. One of them complains that his arms are not long enough to reach the food, while another one complains that others have taken too much and he wants to take some too...
The roof of the house would be blown off during a meal, and only after the children had eaten their fill and left the table could the adults in the house eat their meal in peace and quiet.
Ye Yaodong had a few days of peace and quiet after the family split up. Now, the whole family was having dinner together again. He felt like his head was about to collapse and it was throbbing all the time. He only breathed a sigh of relief after everyone left the table.
So many children, it’s really scary!
Some of the older generation had seven, eight, or even more than ten children. For example, his mother had many brothers and sisters, and with the addition of cousins, they all gathered together during the Chinese New Year... It was horrible...
He shook his head quickly, luckily he only had three at most!
Quickly drink a sip of soup to calm your nerves.
His mother-in-law stewed sea bass with rice wine. Everyone knows that sea bass is good for wounds, so no one touched the bowl of sea bass soup on the table, only the children ate a little.
Everyone only eats the hot and sour soup cooked with dragon head fish. When the weather is cold, the sour and spicy soup is especially appetizing and warming.
Except for the vegetables, everything else on the table was brought by him. Lin's mother also steamed a large plate of starfish.
He had eaten enough at home in recent days and didn't want to eat anymore, but he still peeled one for his wife. Just now he saw her feeding her youngest son.
When you come to your mother-in-law's house, you have to behave yourself.
He broke the starfish in half from the middle into petals, took a petal and broke it in half again, revealing the starfish flesh. He then put it in her bowl and told her to eat it directly with the soy sauce.
Eating too much of this starfish will cause diarrhea, so he only peeled one and didn't peel any more.
When Lin's mother saw this, she started nagging again, asking why he sent so many over.
How to finish eating...
Don't bring anything here next time...