Ye Yaodong poured all the plums that were pocketed in his clothes into the sack containing bamboo shoots. The tiny plums rolled directly to the bottom of the sack through the gaps between the bamboo shoots.
He shook his coat again, put it on, and then hurried to look for the two brats.
This time he was not satisfied with the people on the hill shouting, and just went back along the same route.
He had seen them go in through a small path before, and when they reached the place where they separated, he also followed that path in.
After walking about five or six meters, he saw the loquat tree, but did not see the two boys, so he could only move forward.
After walking past three loquat trees and turning inside, he saw two boys, one catching the fruits below and the other picking them above.
There was already a small pile of loquats on the ground where the clothes were spread out.
"Cousin, there, there... there are so many over there, so yellow... give me more..."
"Keep your voice down..."
"No one, what does it matter..."
“Ahem~”
Just then, Ye Yaodong coughed twice.
"ah!!!"
Lin Guangyuan was so frightened by the noise that he almost fell down. Fortunately, he was just panicked for a moment and still held on to the branch tightly with his hands, so he did not fall from the tree.
When Ye Chenghu heard the noise, he ran away without even looking back...
Leaving his good cousin behind...
A guilty conscience
"Fuck you, little uncle, you're freaking me out. You walked without making any sound and even coughed on purpose. Damn you, Ye Chenghu, get back here!"
Ye Yaodong also shouted with a frown on his face: "Why are you running? Come back here!"
"ah?"
Ye Chenghu had already run a long way away, but he stopped and turned around, "Fuck, Dad, you're scaring me to death..."
After finding out that it was one of his own, Ye Chenghu ran back.
"Damn you Ye Chenghu, you run faster than a rabbit, you want to keep me here as a scapegoat!"
Ye Chenghu touched the back of his head and said awkwardly: "I'm afraid of being caught. Hey, who told you to react so slowly?"
"Damn, it looks like you've been up the mountain a lot! Just run away..."
"It's all my dad's fault! He scares people on purpose."
"Where did they learn these swear words? They say fuck, fuck, and mahjong all the time, more fluently than me." Ye Yaodong frowned and looked at the two of them.
Just because he always says this catchphrase doesn't mean that the two children will listen to it and treat it as a catchphrase.
Ye Chenghu said innocently: "I only said 'fuck', I learned it from you, Dad."
"Uncle-in-law, don't change the subject! You tried to scare us on purpose, but this test also shows that Ye Chenghu is too unreliable, damn..."
"You're the one who changed the subject. Okay, that's enough. Stop picking. I'll take you to pick wild peaches..."
"Who is there?"
Oh shit!
The three of them were really shocked this time, and Ye Chenghu ran away as usual...
Lin Guangyuan also quickly jumped down from the tree and ran after him...
Seeing that both of them reacted so quickly, Ye Yaodong didn't want the loquats on the ground anymore. He cursed inwardly, quickly wrapped up the clothes on the ground, picked them up and ran after them...
The people behind me kept shouting, "Who is stealing the flowers? If caught, they will be beaten to death..."
"Don't run... I see you..."
"Stop, you bastard, whose family is this bastard..."
The two bastards ran faster and faster, running across the mountain as if it were flat ground, jumping here and there. Ye Yaodong was almost thrown off by them, feeling a little useless...
"Run slower, wait for me..."
"No, uncle, hurry up! It will be embarrassing if you get caught..."
It was really embarrassing to be caught. He was already such a grown-up, and hearing the scolding from far behind him, he could only continue to follow them everywhere.
In a short while, Ye Yaodong was already covered in sweat. He stopped to catch his breath only when he realized there was no movement behind him.
"Okay, no need to run, no one is chasing me. You two almost killed me, and my reputation will be ruined by you!"
The two also stopped, one in front and one behind.
"You're not dead yet, so how can you be famous for your whole life?"
Ye Yaodong knocked on Lin Guangyuan's head and said, "You can't spit out ivory from a dog's mouth. If you don't speak, no one will think you are dumb."
“Hehe~”
"Dad, you even brought loquats with you!"
"What else? I spent so much time picking fruits, but if I don't take any with me, wouldn't it be a waste? They all ran away faster than rabbits, leaving nothing behind..."
"Isn't this because you're afraid of getting caught?"
"Let's go back first. Your grandfather is still chopping trees. I don't know if he has finished chopping them."
"Do you want to pick wild peaches?" Lin Guangyuan was still thinking about it.
"Isn't this enough for you?"
"They are different. Loquat is loquat, plum is plum, peach is peach!"
"Are you worried that you won't have anything to eat when you go home in a few days? Let's go..."
Ye Yaodong identified the direction and led the two of them onto the main road.
When they were about to pass the intersection with the loquat tree, the three of them started running at the same time, and they could still hear faint cursing in their ears.
"Luckily I wasn't caught!"
"Let's see if you dare to do it again next time?"
"It was you who asked us to steal them. If we get caught, I will betray you!" Lin Guangyuan said with a wicked smile.
Ye Yaodong raised his hand and wanted to give him a slap, but he quickly turned his body to avoid it, and then he shouted, "Someone stole the loquats..."
He shouted and pulled Ye Chenghu, then ran away quickly...
"Fuck you, Lin Guangyuan, if I catch you, I'll beat your ass..."
Ye Yaodong chased after him in a rage.
Ye Chenghu also ran and cursed, no longer calling him cousin, "Lin Guangyuan, you are too cruel, aren't you?"
…
The three of them ran back to Ye's father one after another, and they were so tired that they sat on the ground, gasping for breath.
Father Ye had just cut down the tree and was tying up the last bundle of branches. He looked at the three of them in confusion, "Why are you running like this?"
"We were almost caught when we were picking loquats, but luckily we ran fast."
Father Ye shook his head helplessly, "Don't do this kind of thing next time, or you'll be scolded to death behind your back."
"Dad asked us to go."
Ye Yaodong stood up and glanced at them sideways, then walked to the sack, opened the package in his hand, and slowly poured the loquats into it.
Father Ye also carried two bundles of firewood on his back and said, "Okay, it's almost time for dinner. Let's go back first and come back to chop some more in the afternoon."
The two boys had no objection. After working all morning and running a long way, the bowl of porridge they had in the morning had long been digested. They didn't even urinate, as it was all converted into sweat. Both of them were sweating profusely, and their faces were red.
Ye Yaodong first carried a sack of bamboo shoots and fruits, and would come up a few more times to carry the remaining branches and trees later.
The two boys, empty-handed, had already gone down the mountain and disappeared.
When we got to the foot of the mountain, we saw them waiting by the roadside. "Dad, hurry up, let's take the fruit home first, shall we?"
“You only know how to eat!”
Father Ye also said, "Carry it back first, and send the other two back at the same time, and then push a cart over."
"good."
The two boys were jumping and jumping excitedly in front.
Before they even reached the door of their house, they were already running and shouting from more than ten meters away: "We are back~ We pulled up a lot of bamboo shoots~"
Ye Chenghai and his friends had also returned from school and were eating in the house. When he heard the shouting outside, he immediately ran out with his bowl of rice.
"You guys also pulled up bamboo shoots? My father and second uncle went to the mountain early in the morning and brought back nothing but branches!"
"Ye Chenghai! Bring me the food back..."
"Oh~ Here it comes~"
While responding, he stretched his head to take a look into the sack. When he saw the plums and loquats, his eyes lit up.
"Oh, wow, there are loquat plums..."
"Ye Chenghai!"
Mrs. Ye, who was eating in the room, was furious. Her son was born just to make her angry!
"Here it comes~" Ye Chenghai responded, and then quickly said, "Leave some for me..."
After saying the crucial words, he took the bowl of rice back to the house and started eating quickly, while his mother scolded him.
"Ye Chenghai, why are you so thick-skinned?"
Ye Chenghai turned a deaf ear to him and ran to the next room after finishing his meal. The other children also put down their bowls quickly, wiped their mouths and ran after him.
…
When Ye Yaodong and his father came back pushing a cart of firewood, they saw a group of child laborers working hard to peel bamboo shoots at the door.
"So diligent?"
"Because you can only eat loquats and plums after peeling them! Grandma said..." Everyone said at once.
“Do a good job!”
Ye Chenghai was eager to go, "Uncle San, are you still going this afternoon?"
"Go ahead. Do you want to take half a day off and go up the mountain with me to chop firewood? It's fun. We're also going to pick wild peaches in the afternoon..." Ye Yaodong said in a deliberately seductive voice.
Ye's mother had just finished washing the dishes and came out of the house when she heard this. She said angrily: "Why don't you go wash your hands and eat? You are still tempting them here. You don't teach them good things all day long, and you encourage them every day..."
"Hey~ I have to go to school!"
"That's a pity..."
The old lady smiled and hit him on the back with a bamboo shoot. "If you say that again, he won't go to school in the afternoon and will be beaten again. Go eat quickly."
Ye Yaodong walked into the house with a grin on his face, but he heard Lin Guangyuan behind him taking over and starting to seduce him.
"What a shame! We picked plums and loquats in the morning, it was so much fun..."
"We also have to pick bamboo shoots. There are so many bamboo shoots that we can’t pick them all. We have to go again in the afternoon..." Ye Chenghu added.
"Really?"
All the children looked at them with envy...
Ye Yaodong had been busy all morning and was very hungry, so he ate with big mouthfuls. The squid that he had braised last night had been soaked overnight and was particularly flavorful.
Squid should be braised before eating, it is much more delicious than stir-frying or blanching.
After he finished eating, he picked up the hard bone on its body and also picked up the hard bones on Ye's father's desk.
The only white bone in the squid's body is buoyant and can be used as a toy.
The bone is light and rough, like a miniature sailboard model. If you make a small hole in the bone and insert a small triangular sail, it will become a small boat that they can put in the water to play.
There are few toys these days, so children can play with anything.