"Dad, melon! Melon!" Ye Chengyang hugged his father's thigh and shouted.
"Where are you, frog? You're still croaking, and you only know how to eat!" Ye Yaodong looked at the muddy marks on his legs with disdain, and took off the cucumber he had gnawed, "Take it home and wash it before eating, otherwise there will be bugs in it."
He counted the heads again and only when the number matched did he return, surrounded by the children.
As soon as he reached the door of his house, his neighbor Aunt Chen looked at him curiously, "Dongzi, didn't you go out to play today? And you helped your grandma pick corn?"
"Um!"
You asked knowingly, didn't you see him when you left? My eyes followed his back from the door until he could no longer see me.
Don't ask him how he knows this. He has seen it with his own experience. Most country women are like this. It's even more exaggerated when they see strangers entering the village. Their eyes are basically glued to the strangers.
"Why are you guys back? It's not even time for dinner yet. Did you follow me back because of the smell?" Mother Ye smiled as she looked at the group of children.
"We went to pick corn with Uncle San!"
Lin Xiuqing also saw her little son, who was covered in dirt. She quickly stood up and asked, "Why are you so dirty? You are covered in dirt, all over your face and hands. Did you roll around in the ground?"
"Haha, mom, he was trying to eat a melon and got hit by it, and then when he got up he became like this!"
"Don't laugh at him. Turn your butt around and show your mother." Ye Yaodong put down the sack and basket, picked up his eldest son and turned him around.
Ye Chenghu hurriedly covered his butt in a panic, "No, Dad..."
Lin Xiuqing frowned, "What did you do? How come there is a hole on your butt? What were you doing? You were running around all day long. Look at your knees and legs. There is no good meat left."
As she said this, she spanked him hard on the butt a few times.
He was only held by his father and couldn't break free, otherwise he wouldn't have just stood there and taken the beating.
"It hurts, Mom. I didn't do it accidentally! Dad, please let me go."
"When have you ever fallen down accidentally? You've been jumping around all day, and your pants have holes here and there. Look at the hole above your knee. I just patched it up and it's frayed again. Your pants are more worn out than your grandfather's pants from work."
Seeing the child lower his head after being scolded, Ye Yaodong let go of his hand with satisfaction. The child was naughty and needed to be punished, but he didn't know how to teach children, so he could only let the child's mother teach him.
Fortunately, decades later, both children are very filial, well... only to their mother... He won't mention it...
The old lady tried to smooth things over, "Don't scold him. It's normal for a child to fall down when he's running and jumping. Falling down will help him grow faster. Go inside and change your pants. Come out and eat melons."
After receiving the old lady's amnesty, Ye Chenghu ran into the house like a gust of wind. Lin Xiuqing also walked in holding her little son who was covered in dirt. Both sons needed to change their clothes.
She kept muttering as she walked, "I don't know how many clothes I need to change every day. Fortunately, you have many brothers and sisters. Their clothes that are too short can be given to you."
Ye's mother also grumbled a few words, "Noisy all day long, running away all the time, there is no quiet time."
"If I just sit quietly all day without running or jumping, you'll start to worry if I'm a fool!"
Ye's mother was choked by Ye Yaodong's words. She glared at him and had nothing to say.
"Come, have a piece of melon, and we'll continue later." The old lady cut a large basin of melon and shared it with the neighbors.
Ye Yaodong took a piece of melon and said, "I'll go check on my second brother."
It's your own house, so you can't just ignore it like you did in your previous life. You have to go and check it out and lend a hand to avoid being criticized.
He had only taken a few steps when he heard the women behind him gossiping about him.
"Dongzi seems to have made progress these past two days. He even goes fishing and helps Ah Hua."
"Forget it. He disappeared yesterday afternoon. I don't know what time he came back last night. Anyway, I locked the door. Ah Qing, what time did Dongzi come back yesterday?"
"It's quite early. I came back around 7 o'clock."
"You are such a grown-up, but you have no sense of responsibility..."
Ye Yaodong quickened his pace. His ears were callused from hearing the sounds. He walked further away and pretended he didn't hear anything. At any rate, he knew he would never be the same as before.
When he arrived at the homestead, Ye Yaohua had already weeded most of the weeds. He was sweating profusely and his cheeks were red.
He couldn't help but sigh. For the country people, hard work really makes you rich. The hardworking people in their village lived a rich life in the following decades. They all demolished their old houses and built small villas. Their lives were so wonderful.
He didn't dare to think about anything else. He just wanted to live the same life as everyone else and have his family healthy and safe.
"Ahua!"
He is only two years older than his second brother, so he never calls him second brother, but only calls him by his name. However, his eldest brother would call him by that name.
When Ye Yaohua heard someone calling him, he stood up, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and looked over, "Dongzi, why are you here?"
"Come and take a look if you have time. Will construction start the day after tomorrow? Have the materials and labor been ordered?"
"Okay, I ran around with Dad all day yesterday, and I've ordered everything and it will be delivered tomorrow."
"It's a pity that saltwater sand cannot be used, otherwise we could just transport sand from the beach to build the house, which would save a lot of money."
"Haha, if saltwater sand could be used to build a house, it wouldn't be our turn to use it because it would have been shoveled away long ago."
"How long will you continue to weed this grass?"
"It will be almost done in a little while. Then we can clean up the weeds and burn them in the open space. After burning, we can transport the ashes back and spread them on the vegetable field."
Ye Yaodong: “…”
They made such thorough use of the resources that they even left the weeds alone. No wonder they put the weeds on the cart.
"Want to burn it on the beach? Can I help you push it over there?"
Ye Yaohua looked at him in surprise. Not only did he come to talk to him for the first time, but he even asked for help
"What's wrong? I want a share of this house too. What if Dad changes his mind if I don't help out? Even if he doesn't change his mind, I can't stand him and Mom scolding me."
"Haha, yes, this cart is full too. Please help me push it to the open space on the beach shore. I will burn it later. Wait until I finish weeding all the grass first."
"Um."
Ye Yaodong pushed the cart all the way to the beach under the scorching sun. Some women who were weaving nets at the door frequently cast surprised glances at him, but he pretended not to see them all.
When Ye Yaohua finished weeding and burning the wood ash, he clapped his hands and left first. It would take a while to finish burning, so he asked his second brother to wait here, and he would not stay with him under the sun.
It's almost 10 o'clock now, the tide has receded, and people can be seen paddling on the beach in front of us.
He guessed that the beach on the other side of the pier would soon be exposed, so he went back to get the hook and bucket.