When they got off the bus and arrived at the village, it was still daylight. The village was filled with smoke and the sound of birds. It was time for dinner.
It’s summer now, but it doesn’t get dark that fast, and every household eats dinner late.
When they entered the village carrying their loads on their shoulders, men and women eating on the roadside, anyone they knew, came to greet them.
Ye Yaodong has now become a celebrity in the village. One thing after another has left a deep impression on the villagers. This time he has made a lot of money again, and it is spreading like wildfire in the village that he used to be a second-rate person, but now he has become a complete success.
It was not until he reached the door of his home that he breathed a sigh of relief. He put down the load he was carrying and rubbed his face, which had become somewhat stiff from smiling.
"Why are everyone so enthusiastic today? In the past, they would just glance at me and talk about me behind my back, but now everyone is smiling and saying hello to me."
"It's because there's been a rumor these days that you've made a lot of money."
"As expected, people still need to have more money. Once they have more money, everyone's attitude will be different."
Lin Xiuqing looked at his smug expression and rolled her eyes at him. "Don't be so proud. Keep a low profile, okay? Hurry up and take the things in. I have to clean up and put them away later. I also have to cook. I'm almost dislocated holding this little meat dumpling all the way."
"Isn't there anyone here? I can just cook some noodles and eat them later... Sniff~ What smells so good? Chicken soup?"
Ye Yaodong glanced at her and asked, "Do we have a chicken stew at home?"
"How should I know? Didn't I follow you back to your parents' home for the whole day? Maybe my elder brother and second brother killed chickens in advance? We can stew the chickens and ducks that my parents have killed tonight to nourish you. When you came back, I was thinking of stewing a hen for the Mid-Autumn Festival..."
The old lady in the house also heard the noise outside and hurried out, wiping her hands on her apron a few times, and said happily: "You are back, come in and rest for a while, I stewed a hen and waited for you to come back. Each of you can have a bowl of soup first to fill your stomach, and then use the remaining chicken soup to make another bowl of vermicelli."
It turned out that the fragrance really came from his house.
"When was it stewed? Was it stewed in the afternoon?"
"Yes, as soon as you left the house, I went to catch a chicken and killed it. I simmered it on low heat for three hours and then left it on the stove. I only scooped out a small bowl of soup and a small chicken drumstick for Yangyang to eat. I'll serve it to you. You sit down and rest for a while."
"We can do it ourselves..."
Lin Xiuqing smiled and said, "I was planning to stew a hen tomorrow, but I didn't expect the old lady to be one step ahead."
The old lady said cheerfully, "We are on the same page. Dongzi has had a very hard time on this trip. He has become darker and more haggard. He needs to take some rest."
"My mother's family brought a chicken and a duck, both of which have been slaughtered. We will stew them tonight and have them for tomorrow's meal. Otherwise, it will be too hot now and they will not be fresh if we stew them tomorrow."
"Okay, okay, my in-laws are so thoughtful..."
"Where are the two children?"
"They went out to play. They have already eaten at the old house. This little hen is not that big. You two can just eat it. Anyway, there will be chicken soup and duck soup tomorrow."
"Um."
"Oh, by the way, Huimei went into labor this morning. Your mother and two sisters-in-law went there, but they haven't come back yet. This is her first baby, so she probably won't give birth until tonight."
"Ah!" Ye Yaodong stood up in shock.
"Sit down, sit down. Eat your food first. What has it got to do with you when she gives birth? Just go over and help your mother and your two sisters-in-law."
Lin Xiuqing was surprised and said, "This child was born at the right time. It's just in time for eating mooncakes on August 15th. Then we can celebrate the birthday and the festival together."
"That means we will miss a festival. I heard that women love festivals the most..."
"Where did you hear that?"
The old lady said, "It would be best if the baby was born tonight. A baby born on the 15th is not easy to take care of. But tomorrow is a good day."
"Superstition, can you give birth to a child at any time you want? You can give birth at any time you want? It's not a caesarean section."
"What do you know, as a grown man?"
"Let's go over and take a look after we finish eating," Ye Yaodong said to Lin Xiuqing, "We'll sort out the things after we get back."
"good."
The couple had just drunk a bowl of chicken soup and then walked straight to A Guang's house. Nowadays, most women in the countryside give birth at home, and Ye Huimei is no exception.
As soon as they reached the door, they saw Ah Guang, like an ant on a hot pan, anxious and sweating, stretching his neck to look into the house. He could not see anything and could only vaguely hear the sound of pain coming from the house.
"How long has it been?"
"I've been here since I went in this morning. Why does this woman take so long to give birth? No wonder people always mock her for giving birth indoors."
Ye Yaodong looked at Lin Xiuqing, "How long did it take you to give birth to your first child?"
Lin Xiuqing rolled her eyes and said unhappily, "It's been almost a day and a night since you gave birth, and you got to hold your son as soon as you came back. It was so cool, there's no need to worry."
"Uh... then it's probably night time for Emi too."
"You just came back from your mother's house, right? Go back and rest first. You still have a baby to take care of and feed at home. Huimei probably won't give birth so soon. I'll go and tell you the good news when she's born."
"Let's stand for a while..."
It was not until dark that the only sounds in the house were those of people enduring pain, but no sounds of good news, that the couple went back.
The children in their family are still young, and one is still hungry, so Lin Xiuqing really can't stay here for too long.
After saying hello to A Guang, they went back first.
As soon as the old lady saw them come back, she immediately asked if the baby was born.
"Not yet. I don't know when the baby will be born. We saw that it was getting dark, and we were afraid that the child at home would look for us at night, so we returned home first."
"That will probably be at night. Anyway, your mother is here. It's okay. I'll make you a bowl of noodles."
The couple really were like spinning tops today, they never stopped. After eating a quick meal, they tidied up things, and then gave the child a bath. They were busy all the time.
It was not until the next morning that they heard from their neighbor Ye Ersao that Ye Huimei had given birth to a daughter at around 3 a.m. the previous night. The timing was perfect.
"Today is a good day, it's a perfect time for the reunion festival."
Ye Yaodong also smiled and said: "My daughter is fine. We can have a second one without taking any risks."
The old lady thought so too. "Nowadays, we can only have one child, which is too few. Fortunately, the first one is a girl, so we can have another one, so the two children can have a companion. I'm just worried that the in-laws will be unhappy. After all, they only have one son, so they must be counting on Huimei to give birth to a boy."
"What can we do about it? Who can control whether a boy or a girl is born? Daughters are also good. They are filial, sensible and obedient. Now no one wants daughters. If there are fewer girls in the future, men will not be able to find wives."
Lin Xiuqing smiled and said, "Your daughter is only five months old, and you already know that she will be filial, sensible and obedient?"
"Of course, my daughter, is there any need to question this?"
The old lady smiled and shook her head, ignoring his boasting. She looked at Lin Xiuqing and said, "Send the clothes over later. Old clothes are better for children because the fabric is soft..."
"Yes, but you have to prepare two new ones so they are presentable. I sent the old one over a month ago."
"Hey~ Our daughter and A Guang's daughter are only five months apart in age, so they will be the same age, and they will have company in the future, and we can play together."
"You just thought of it?"
"Wash and dry all the clothes your daughter can't wear and send them to him."
"You don't even need to tell me that. I've already packed it up, washed it, and sent it over a long time ago."
"Tell my parents later and ask them to come to our house to have dinner and celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival. We already have chicken, duck, fish and meat. I'll go out and take a look and add two more dishes."
"good."
Ye Yaodong sat at the door holding his daughter, watching Lin Xiuqing go out, thinking that time had passed so quickly and it was Mid-Autumn Festival again.
When he was reborn last year, his daughter was still unknown and was just a little tadpole. Now she can be held in his arms and played with.
This year's Mid-Autumn Festival is different from last year.
With my own new home and a child, I now have basically all the necessary items at home. I also have two more shops, some savings, and some things that cannot be seen in the light of day.
This year is truly a prosperous year.
He kissed his daughter's face and said, "Is it you who brought me good luck? Ever since your mother had you in her belly, I, your father, have been lucky."
Ye Xiaoxi giggled when he kissed her, as if she was itchy and her saliva was hanging down.
Ye Yaodong wiped her mouth with a handkerchief, then folded it and put it in his pocket. "Why are you drooling so much? I see the saliva on your chest is never dry all day long. Do you want to eat something?"
Ye Xiaoxi could only scream "ah ah", and the more she screamed, the more her saliva flowed, but he never got tired of wiping it off.
"You, Dongzi, the chickens at home have laid eggs," the old lady happily took out an egg from the chicken coop in the yard, "I saw a hen clucking yesterday, and I was thinking of building a chicken coop with straw for it to lay eggs today, but I didn't expect it has already laid eggs."
Ye Yaodong's eyes lit up, "The first egg? This is a good supplement. I'll have Ah Qing stew it this afternoon, just right for Xiaojiu as a complementary food."
"Okay, okay, this egg is small, just right for her to eat. The other hens will also start laying eggs soon. Pick them up and give half to Huimei to eat during her confinement."
"The same goes for duck eggs, right? They've been raised for about four months, so it's time for them to lay eggs. When the time comes, pick up the first eggs and use the rest to pickle salted duck eggs."
Thinking of the juicy sea duck eggs, he could finish a big bowl of porridge.
The old lady smiled kindly, "Okay, okay, I'll pickle them all for you. The salted duck eggs I pickle are all oily."
"Dad, I'm going to drive the ducks." When Ye Chenghu heard them talking about ducks, he put down the spinning top in his hand and said enthusiastically.
"Go ahead, but don't go in the water. Play on the shore for a while and come back. The sun will be very hot soon."
"Got it. I'll try my luck at the beach when the tide goes out."
Today is the fifteenth.
Ye Yaodong looked at the sea, it was calm. If nothing unexpected happened, he would have to go out to sea to make money after the holiday. After all, he is a fisherman, so he has to make money actively in good weather.