Fortunately, his last name is simple. The two characters "Ye San" only have a few strokes and are much easier to write than the three characters "Ye Yaodong".
"Are you okay, Dad? I'm fine here."
"I'm almost done here, just let it air dry."
Ye Yaodong put all the brushes back into their corresponding buckets, looked at the watch on his wrist, and after working for a while, it was already past 12 o'clock, and he and his father were working at the same time.
"what time is it?"
"It's past midnight, so leaving it out to dry for more than two hours should be enough. It won't be a big deal if the color fades a little."
"Well, pack your things and push them back on the cart first. When the tide comes in, I'll come out with you and drive to town with you. Then you two can have some company."
It's such a big matter. Ye's father couldn't feel at ease if he was left alone. He had to keep an eye on the whole process.
One person's plan is short, two people's plan is long.
Ye Yaodong had no objection either.
Seeing his father already there organizing tools, he began to circle around the fishing boat again, as if he could not see enough of it and was really curious about it.
After walking around in circles, he finally said, "Dad, there seems to be a lot of white paint left. Let's use it to paint the cabin. The cabin is on top anyway, and it won't be soaked in water if it's not dry yet. The makeover should be more thorough. Another coat of paint here will make it even more unrecognizable."
"That's fine. Let's clean the cabin before the tide comes in."
Ye Yaodong touched the area that was painted first and found that it was dry. He climbed onto the boat from there and asked his father to hand him the paint bucket.
"Then you brush here first, I'll push the cart back and come over later."
"Okay, let's take the bike out."
Father Ye frowned, "It's only a short distance, why do I have to ride a bike? My feet are not that precious, why do I have to ride a bike for such a short distance? I'm not going anywhere on the beach... I'm not afraid of being corroded by the sea water..."
"Oh, no... I asked you to push the bike over and then carry it onto the boat."
He was a little lazy, but he wouldn't ride a bicycle on the beach. It's not easy to ride on the beach because it's all sandy.
"When I finish painting, the tide will be high soon. We can sail directly to town. Do we really have to walk back?"
"It's late at night, and we're already exhausted. We haven't slept for a whole day and night, you know? We're not made of iron. I'm almost dead tired. My eyelids have been fighting for a long time. I'm just holding on with one breath."
"Once the ship docks at the town's pier, we'll move the bikes onto the road. It'll be easier to ride back. It'll probably be daybreak by then."
Father Ye now understood why he wanted a bicycle.
"It's okay to take a walk. The town is not far from the village. The beach is covered with seawater when I ride this bike. I don't feel bad at all..."
"Why should I feel bad about it? At most I can rinse it with fresh water and wipe it again when I ride it back. Didn't I buy the bike to ride it? Do I have to treat it like a treasure? I have to use it when I need to use it. Otherwise, why did I buy it?"
Ye's father just said a few words with concern, and said nothing more. He pushed the cart and left.
Ye Yaodong shook his head, picked up the brush and started painting again, humming a song.
It's true, with just a little paint, the whole cabin looks much better. Although there are some bumps when you look closely, you don't have to worry about it at this time. As long as the words can be covered up, these details are not important.
Anyway, the color combination looks nice from a distance, and it looks quite new from a distance, that's all.
He was very careful, not even leaving out the corners, and even painted over the rusty hinges and such. He didn't miss any detail. He had the time anyway, so he might as well do some free time.
After pushing the cart into the yard, Ye's father went back into the house to push the bicycle, but when he stepped on the bicycle's foot brake, he woke up Lin Xiuqing who was sleeping.
She thought it was Ye Yaodong who came back, so she got up, put on her coat and went out, but she saw it was Ye's father pushing a bicycle out.
"father?"
"Well, you haven't slept yet?"
"Where are you pushing your bike to so late? Where's Adong? Why hasn't he come back yet?"
"Well, he's still busy. We haven't finished yet. There's still work to do. Come back later and let him talk to you."
Lin Xiuqing's frown was so tight that it could pinch a fly to death. It was already past 12 o'clock. What could he be busy with that he hadn't finished it yet? And he still had to ride his bike outside
They haven't slept for almost a day and a night. What's so important
"What are you doing, Dad?"
"You'll know when he comes back and tells you. I'm busy right now. I have to help him. I'm leaving first."
Lin Xiuqing followed Ye's father out and stood at the door, watching him hurriedly pushing his bicycle towards the beach. She felt even more puzzled. What was he doing pushing his bicycle towards the beach so late at night
She racked her brains but couldn't figure it out. If they needed to transport things, they would use a cart. Why push a bicycle
What are they going to do now
Or what is Adong doing again
The actions of the father and son today looked particularly strange.
The more she thought about it, the more confused she became. The more she thought about it, the weirder it seemed. She felt like her brain was not enough.
But it seems to be very important, right? Otherwise, they wouldn't be busy outside until now. And, from the looks of it, they don't plan to go out to sea at night.
I don’t know what you are busy with
Lin Xiuqing shook his head and didn't think about it any more. Anyway, his father was there and watching over him, so he felt more at ease.
She locked the gate again and closed the house. Anyway, they would knock on the door when they came back after finishing their work.
But she didn't expect that it would be dawn when the father and son returned.
As people get older, they sleep less. The old lady gets up early in the morning to cook porridge, and then goes on to water the vegetable garden.
The chickens and ducks at home have been in brooding for some time, hatching the chicks and ducklings, and they don't need to be fed.
Just as she finished watering the vegetable garden, she heard someone knocking on the gate.
"Who is it? It's so early in the morning, and you're knocking on the door when it's just light... What's so urgent? Can't you wait until it's bright before coming? It's so early in the morning, and you're knocking on the door when I'm still asleep..."
The old lady muttered to herself as she walked to the door and tried to open it, only to be met with eyes wide open.
"Dongzi? Why are you outside? You didn't come back last night? Where did you go? Why didn't you come back last night? Heyyou, why did you come back only now?"
The old lady asked a series of questions and was extremely surprised. She walked forward and pulled him over to take a closer look. His eyes were full of fatigue and dark circles, and there were even red bloodshot eyes from staying up all night.
"You didn't sleep all night, running around outside? What did you do?"
He waved his hand, "It's okay, I was busy with something important, and now I'm done."
"Come in first, come in first, we'll talk later."
Ye Yaodong nodded and pushed the bicycle into the yard. "Let Ah wash it later and dry it before pushing it back into the house."
"Okay, okay, go in and rest first. You didn't sleep last night, did you? Your eyes are red."
"Yeah, it's okay, don't worry."
"Don't be in a hurry. You look so tired. I was wondering why I woke up this morning and saw baskets of shelled fish on the carts in the yard. Did you two bring them back last night? You don't have to stay up late. It's so tiring. This stuff is not valuable. There are plenty of them everywhere. It's not worth your hard work."
The old lady was so heartbroken that she kept talking beside him.
"Don't stay up late like this anymore. Your body is your own. What if you damage it? Don't rely on your youth. When you get old, you will know how hard it is..."
Ye Yaodong parked his bike and rubbed his temples, looking at the old lady helplessly, "Okay, I get it, I have something important to do, you old lady don't understand."
"Then go back to your room and sleep. We can talk about anything after you wake up."
"I'll go to bed later."
He still has work to do.
The opera will begin this afternoon and the troupe will arrive in the morning, so he has to move the chairs in his house over in advance to reserve seats.
The house was full of the elderly, the weak, women and children. His father and he had been busy all night. If he lay down to sleep, he would not wake up until at least noon.
While he is still awake, reserve a seat for them first, otherwise there will be no good seats left when they move the stools over after dawn.
It's so rare to have a big opera in the village, and it lasts for five days. It's so rare. Several of us in my family have never seen the world, so we need a good seat to have a better experience.
He went in and out and took the barnacle clams off the cart.
Because his father was in a hurry at night, he pushed the things to the yard and ran out again without even asking to unload them first.
"Why are you moving these things again? I told you to wait until daybreak to start working, there will still be time." The old lady hurried forward to stop him.
"No, I just want to empty the cart and move a few more stools from my home over to reserve seats in advance."
"It's okay, it's okay. It's daybreak now. Just ask your mother or A-Qing to move two stools over. Go to sleep first. Don't work on it. Don't work on it. It's too heavy. Wait until you get enough sleep before unloading it."
The old lady held his hand tightly, not letting him move anymore, and pulled him into the house.
Ye Yaodong had no choice but to follow.
The stools at home are all made of wood, and solid wood is quite heavy. If I move a few more, they will get stuck under my armpits and be difficult to carry.
"Forget it, I'll just take two first. The two kids probably can't sit still, and they don't need to run around. Just move two so you and Qing have a good place to sit and watch in the afternoon... Um... I'll move a chair, one for the chair and one for the stool..."
This time, Ye Yaodong broke free from the old lady's hand, and without waiting for her response, he grabbed the stool and chair in the room and walked out.
"Hey, kid, why are you still thinking about this? I told you not to rush and just ask your mom to bring two tickets later. But you won't listen. You haven't slept for a whole day and night..."
"It doesn't matter for a while. I'll go to bed when I get back."
They had been looking forward to watching this show for many days. How could he lie down in peace if he didn't make proper arrangements for them
At this time, the old man who looks after the temple is probably up too. If you move over early and grab a good spot, he can also come back to sleep early.