Everyone in the family saw the farce from beginning to end. Ye Yaopeng and Ye Yaohua would be lying if they said they were not envious. Even their younger sister Ye Huimei was envious.
Although the old lady was very kind to them younger generations, she was not as kind to Ye Yaodong as she was to him. He was the only one in the old lady's heart and eyes.
They have four brothers and sisters, and more than a dozen cousins. I heard that he was the only one who was delivered by his grandmother herself, and he was almost born on the beach.
Then as soon as he was born, he smiled at her when she held him in her arms, and she immediately caught her eye and loved him from childhood to adulthood.
As soon as he entered the room, Ye's father was still furious, smoking his hookah and glaring at him!
To be honest, he still didn't understand what he said wrongly. His parents were furious!
manner
Or is it the accumulated frustration over time
He thought about it and thought, these are the only two possible ones, otherwise why would his parents be so angry
"Where are the melons? I told you to leave one for Dongzi, did you do it?"
As soon as the old lady sat down, she saw a group of children each holding a piece of melon and munching on it. She asked hurriedly, fearing that Ye Yaodong would not get any.
Ye Yaodong's younger sister Ye Huimei said as she ate: "I've left it on the stove, third brother, take it yourself."
Everyone cut it up and shared it, except him, who was alone!
Moreover, no one was surprised, even the children had no objection. Uncle San was special!
Ye Yaodong looked at the green-skinned cucumbers on the stove. They were oval in shape, only slightly longer than an adult's palm. He had just seen a few that were very long and big, like mallets. They were probably cut up and eaten, leaving only the smallest ones for him.
This was his favorite melon. Many people planted it at that time and it was very cheap. However, few people planted this variety in later generations. All they planted were white-skinned round melons. He hasn't eaten it for many years.
He walked towards the earthen stove. The cucumbers had been washed and there were still water droplets on them.
Looking at the chopping board and knife on the stove, which were still covered with juice and seeds, he put the melon on there and cut it into large pieces. He picked up a dish and walked towards his grandma.
"Grandma, you eat one too!"
The old lady smiled and waved her hands, "I have no teeth, I can't bite it, you eat it, why did you cut it..."
Although he really wanted to eat them, he couldn't enjoy them all by himself. There were only a few of them and there were many people in his family.
Seeing that the old lady really had no teeth to chew on, he gave another piece to each of his two children and took another piece for his wife.
This behavior made Lin Xiuqing look sideways again.
Judging from the past, shouldn't he have just picked it up and started eating it? Why did he cut it up and share it with everyone
After Lin Xiuqing took it, he took one piece for himself and put the rest on the plate on the table for everyone to help themselves.
"Third brother, have you changed your gender?"
"Eating can't stop you from talking?"
Ye Huimei pursed her lips and dared not say another word.
Ye Yaodong looked at the old lady again and said with a smile, "Now there is a kind of removable dentures. You can wear them when you eat, and you can chew meat and other things. After eating, you can wash them and use them again next time. When I go to the city, I will go to the hospital to ask and get you a pair of dentures. Then you can eat meat and everything else!"
"Oh, don't waste that money. I'm almost half buried in the ground. I just need some rice porridge and fermented bean curd. Besides, I have to be a vegetarian for half of the month..."
"You can eat meat on days when you are not fasting, that's it!"
"I'm this old, why should I eat meat? Fish is not more delicious than meat. We who live by the sea can just eat fish." The old lady's face was full of smiles, and she was actually very happy and pleased in her heart!
"Fish has its own advantages, and meat has its own advantages. We should eat both."
Everyone in the room watched their interaction and thought that the third brother still had some conscience towards the old lady, and that it was worth it that the old lady loved him so much.
At this time, Ye's mother came in after peeling the corn husks. Sister Ye came to greet her and said, "Mom, let me cook it."
"It's okay, I'll come, you go look after the kids."
The old lady looked at Ye's father and said, "I see the corn silks are all black, it's almost ripe, come with me to pick the corn cobs in a couple of days, otherwise they will be left in the field for too long and become too old to eat."
Father Ye held the hookah and glared, "How can I have time? The boat has just been repaired. While the newcomers are busy, I have to take the eldest and second sons out to sea a few more times to see if I can catch more big fish! The third son is idle all day, you can ask him to take a few younger ones, and he will pick them up after breaking them."
"It's a wonder he can carry it. He's nowhere to be seen all day long. I'll take the children and go with mother to break it." Mother Ye grabbed a handful of straw, lit a fire with a match, and threw it into the stove, then took over the conversation.
When he heard that the third child couldn't carry the load, Ye's father thought of the time a few years ago when the brigade arranged for him to carry millet, but he ended up carrying it into a ditch. He was so angry!
"What's the use? You're such a grown man, but you can't even lift corn and millet, and you can't even carry it into the ditch. It's so funny..."
Ye Yaodong: “…”
It was such an old story, but his father could still remember it so clearly, although... although he was indeed a bit useless when he was young...
However, after his rebirth, he has decided to turn over a new leaf and be a good person...
Lin Xiuqing felt that he was her man after all, and it was not good for him to be despised by his own father in front of so many people, so she quickly changed the subject and saved Ye Yaodong.
"Mom, it's the first day of the new year in two days. The tide has been receding very low recently. Don't we have to go fishing?"
"It's okay. There are so many children here. Let the third child take them to pick corn cobs. Tell me when they are done and I will go pick them."
Ye Yaodong didn't say a word, but everything was arranged for him. In fact, he wanted to say that he could do it...
But he swallowed it back. He couldn't show it in a hurry, otherwise it would be too abnormal. He would just pick it up again when the time came.
Because their family was poor and could not afford to build a house, they had never separated the family and always ate and drank together as a whole family.
It's just that each family keeps the money they earn from doing odd jobs and making fishing nets for themselves. Also, because they live by the sea and the seaside is rich in resources, they rely on the produce of the land and the sea for food and drink, and they don't need to spend any money, so there are no major conflicts in their family.
All his father's earnings were used to repair boats. After all, it was what his grandfather left behind. Repairing a boat was definitely more cost-effective than building or buying one.
Who among those living by the sea doesn’t wish to have a boat of their own so they can go out to sea to fish and improve their family’s life
Ye's father also wanted it, so he has been making money to repair the boat in the past two years.
Now that the boat has been repaired and can go out to sea, he must of course be more diligent and take the two boys at home out to sea to fish. Anyway, the third child is hopeless, and when the family conditions improve, he will be able to help him out.
Seeing that everyone in the family was busy, even the third child was assigned to work, the old lady said quickly, "There's no rush to pick corn. It doesn't matter if you pick it a few days later. It's just right to pick a basket every day to satisfy everyone's cravings. If you pick it all at once, it won't be fresh anymore."
Mother Ye didn't even turn her head, she just stared at the fire in the stove, "Don't worry, it's not worth much anyway, so don't set up a stall to sell it. Break off a little every day and eat it. If it's too old, save it for seeds. When there's no more, we'll turn the land for you."