Back To the Small Fishing Village In 1982

  Chapterr 13 Who Provides for the Elderly

Lunch was still shredded sweet potato porridge!

With a large number of family members, it's difficult to afford rice every day. Even for a simple porridge, it requires a generous amount of shredded sweet potatoes to make it filling.

As for why it's not sweet potato rice, it's because shredded sweet potatoes are easier to preserve. Drying them into strips allows them to be stored for several months. When cooked together with rice, it requires less rice to be used. Moreover, it has a pleasant and slightly sweet taste when eaten.

Of course, the sweet and pleasant sensation is how Ye Yaodong feels. The whole family has grown tired of eating shredded sweet potato porridge, so they no longer perceive it as sweet. Their main concern is to have enough food to fill their stomachs.

Also, because they haven't divided the family, there are many people in the household, so the portions of the dishes are plentiful. The vegetables are grown in their own backyard, and the seafood was caught in a net yesterday afternoon and kept for today's meal.

A pile of small fish is not worth much, so they were all killed and dried into fish jerky yesterday. Only a few slightly larger ones were braised and kept for today's meal. The Three-Eyed Crab isn’t accepted in the port either. Eating too much of these crabs can cause allergies and make your whole body itchy. No one would buy them, but it's also not possible to throw them back into the sea. There are too many of them for their family to consume, and if they are kept for too long, they will start to smell bad. Yesterday, they distributed some to relatives, friends, and neighbors.

Adults can eat two or three of them without any issues, but it's better for the elderly and children to avoid eating them.

They also kept more than ten mud crabs separately, which can be eaten by the children.

There is also a bowl of small sword shrimps and a bowl of sea melon seeds dug in the morning. They will be mixed together, boiled in hot water, and then seasoned with a little chili. It's delicious and economical.

And there's the family-favorite dish, fried oysters!

He also enjoys it. This is something he worked hard for, prying open the spats from the rocky walls. It's also known as "shucking oysters" in local terms.

As soon as he sat down, he didn't even take a bite of rice before reaching for the fried oysters. If he didn't grab them now, they would be gone. He couldn't let the fruits of his labor go to waste. Those oysters were like replenishing ammunition, a precious treat.

"Aww~ Third Uncle, can you please take a smaller piece and leave some for me~"

"Haven't you had enough? I see you constantly reaching for this plate of fried oysters with your chopsticks." Ye Yaodong took a piece for himself and also made sure to put a piece in his wife's bowl.

She hasn't even sat down to eat yet, and there are barely any decent dishes left for her.

Lin Xiuqing watched his rare gesture, her gaze softened, but she didn't have the heart to eat either. She took the piece of fried oyster and passed it to her eldest son, feeding him instead.

Opening oysters is not easy; it takes a lot of effort to crack open a bowl of them. It's not something that's available every day. They have it for lunch and dinner today, but there's no guarantee they'll have it tomorrow.

"You haven't eaten any less either, Uncle!"

Ye Yaodong gave his eldest nephew, Ye Chenghai, a disdainful look. "The oysters I dug, I can't even eat them now!"

"Stop talking and eat your meal," Mother Ye banged on the plate, and they all fell silent.

Today's meal was unusually abundant, and nobody felt like talking. Everyone buried their heads and ate with great enthusiasm.

In the past, they usually had only one or two bowls of seafood with a few vegetarian dishes. But today, we have crabs, shrimp, fish, and a variety of shellfish dishes!

After all, they have a boat now, and they earned a lot of money yesterday. It's only right to have a more abundant meal today.

Father Ye looked at everyone gathered and said, "I just went to the commune to apply for land to build houses. We've already discussed it there, and they agreed to allocate a plot of land at the intersection near the beach. There's a vacant lot there, which cannot be used for farming, so it's perfect for building houses."

Their village is located by the sea, and there is not much farmland available. The allocated land is situated at the intersection between their village and the neighboring Dongqiao Village.

The two villages are very close to each other, with Dongqiao Village being slightly smaller, consisting of just over 100 households. Unlike their village, Dongqiao Village is not located by the sea but along the roadside. Therefore, during low tide, the residents of Dongqiao Village would go to Baisha Village to gather seafood.

The villagers of Baisha Village are also very familiar with the villagers of Dongqiao Village, and intermarriage between the two villages is quite common. In fact, Ye Yaodong's grandmother is originally from Dongqiao Village.

After listening to Father Ye, Ye Yaodong showed no reaction and continued eating his meal. It was because in his previous life, he had also bought this piece of land, and the houses of the three brothers were built side by side.

Until his death, he continued to live there.

His lack of response doesn't mean that others feel the same way. Almost everyone is excited because they are close to having their own homes.

Second Sister-in-law Ye exclaimed excitedly, “That piece of land is great! It's close to the beach, just go straight and you're there!"

"Are we building three houses, Dad?" Eldest Sister-in-law Ye frowned, showing some concern instead.

In theory, two houses should be enough, with one son living with their parents to take care of them in their old age.

However, who wouldn't want to live in a new house and have their own little life? Even Eldest Sister-in-law Ye had her own selfish thoughts. If they only built two houses, it was certain that the old house would be left for the eldest son's family.

Ye Yaopeng, on the other hand, looked at his wife with a puzzled expression. "Why do we need three houses? Two houses are enough, right?"

Men's perspectives tend to be more straightforward, and besides, Ye Yaopeng, being the eldest, felt that it was only natural for their parents to live with him and take care of them in their old age. After all, it wouldn't make sense for them to live with the unpredictable and unreliable youngest son, right?

Ye Yaodong looked at the reactions of his two sisters-in-law and sarcastically pursed his lips. His two brothers were both decent people, but their wives each had their own selfishness, lacking the generosity of his own wife.

In his past life, he left after finishing his meal and didn't come back in the afternoon. He had no idea about the direction of the situation. It was only when he returned in the evening that he heard that they were going to build three houses, with each of the three brothers getting one.

Now he can take a look at the situation!

Upon hearing Ye Yaopeng's words, Eldest Sister-in-law Ye hesitated to discuss how to divide the two houses. If they started talking about who would stay to take care of the elderly, things could get heated between them!

Ye Yaohua, on the other hand, was a simple-minded person and said with a smile, "Mom and Dad, whoever you plan to live with, we will stay and take care of you... Ouch~ Why are you pinching me?"

Second Sister-in-law Ye glared at him and said, "Just because you're not saying anything doesn't mean nobody sees you. The house hasn't even been built yet, and you're already eager to split up?"

Though her words sound nice, everyone present is as clear as a mirror. How can they not understand that she's unwilling to live in the old house with her in-laws?

Father Ye looked at the calculations going on in his daughters-in-law's minds and decided not to beat around the bush. He directly asked, "Which one of you intends to stay and take care of us in our old age?"

"Dad, it's up to you to decide who you want to live with. As the eldest son, it's logical for you and Mom to stay with us." 

"Yeah, Dad, if you and Mom want to stay with us for your old age, that's fine," nodded Ye Yaohua.

Second Sister-in-law Ye forced a smile, her expression not looking too good. "Dad and Mom are just in their fifties. Why would they need to think about old age now?"

Eldest Sister-in-law Ye quickly chimed in, "Yes, that's right. Mom and Dad are still very strong and capable. They can work for at least another ten or twenty years. It's too early to talk about retirement."

"So none of you are willing, is that it?" Father Yes' face darkened.

"Where, how come..."

Before the two sisters-in-law could retort, Ye Yaodong nonchalantly raised one leg and said, "Dad, if both sisters-in-law are unwilling, my wife and I are willing. How about we stay here with you, Mom, and Grandma?"

At this moment, Lin Xiuqing also stood up for her husband, nodding sincerely and saying, "Dad, Mom, come and live with us!"

The old lady happily agreed, "Great, Yaodong, let's live together."

"Forget it, living with him, will he support me or will I support him?"

(end of this chapter)

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