Back To the Small Fishing Village In 1982

   Chapter 25 Extending a Helping Hand.

"Dad, melon! Melon!" Ye Chengyang called out, clinging to his father's leg.

"And what about you, little frog? All you do is croak and eat!" Ye Yaodong looked disdainfully at the muddy prints on his leg from where he had been clinging. He also picked off the half-eaten zucchini from him and said, "Take it back and wash it before you eat. Otherwise, there might be bugs."

He counted the number of heads again and confirmed that it matched. Only then did he return with the children surrounding him.

Just as he arrived at the doorstep, his neighbor, Aunt Chen, looked at him curiously and said, "Yaodong, you didn't go out to play today? Did you also help your grandma pick corn?"

"Um!"

Asking knowingly, didn't she see when he went out? Her gaze even followed him from the doorstep, trailing behind his silhouette until he disappeared from sight.

Don't ask him how he knows, he has personally experienced it. Women from the countryside are generally like that. When they see a stranger entering the village, their reactions are even more exaggerated. Their gaze tends to stick to the stranger.

"Why did all of you come back too? It's not dinner time yet. Did you come back because you smelled something?" Mother Ye smiled as she looked at the group of children.

"We went with Third Uncle to pick corn!"

Lin Xiuqing, at this moment, also noticed her dirty and messy-looking youngest son. She quickly got up and said, "How did you get so dirty? You're covered in dirt, both on your face and hands. Did you roll around on the ground?"

"Haha, Mom, he got hit and fell while sneaking a bite of zucchini, and then he got up like this!"

"Don't laugh at him. Turn your backside around and let your mother take a look." Ye Yaodong put down the sack and basket, then grabbed his eldest son and turned him around.

Ye Chenghu hurriedly covered his buttocks, "No, Dad..."

Lin Xiuqing tightened her brows and said, "What have you done again? How did you get a hole in your backside? What were you playing? You're running around all day long. Look at your knees, your legs. There's not a single good spot left."

As she spoke, she forcefully slapped his butt a few times.

He was held tightly by his father and couldn't break free; otherwise, he wouldn't have stood there obediently taking the beating.

"It hurts, Mom! It was an accident! Dad, let go of me!"

"Every time you fall, it's always an accident, isn't it? You're jumping around all day long, tearing a hole here in your pants, another hole there. Look at the holes on your pants, even after I just patched them up, they're already fraying. Your pants are in worse condition than your grandfather's work pants."

Seeing the child being scolded with his head lowered, Ye Yaodong finally released his grip, satisfied. He wasn't good at disciplining naughty and mischievous children; he could only rely on the child's mother to do the teaching.

Fortunately, several decades later, both children turned out to be filial, well-behaved. Hmm... they were only filial to their mother... he didn't want to mention himself...

The old lady intervened, trying to diffuse the situation. "Stop scolding him. It's normal for children to run, jump, and occasionally fall. Falling helps them grow faster. Quickly go inside and change your pants, then come out and join us for some zucchini."

With the grandmother's pardon, Ye Chenghu rushed into the house like a gust of wind, while Lin Xiuqing led her dirty youngest son inside. Both sons needed to change their clothes.

As she walked, she muttered, "Day by day, I don't even know how many outfits you need to change. Thankfully, you have older siblings. If their clothes become too short, you can wear them."

Mother Ye also grumbled a few words, "Always noisy, running around without a trace. There's never a quiet moment."

"If they sat quietly all day without running or jumping around, you would worry that they'd become foolish!"

Mother Ye was taken aback by Ye Yaodong's comment and gave him a stern glare. She had nothing more to say.

"Come, have a slice of zucchini, and we can continue later," said the old lady as she brought out a large bowl of zucchini and started to distribute it, even sharing it with the neighbors nearby.

Ye Yaodong took a piece of zucchini and said, "I'll go to see my second brother."

One's own house couldn't be left unattended like in the previous life. It was necessary to go and lend a hand, so as to avoid gossip from others.

Just as he had walked a few steps away, he could hear the women behind him whispering and gossiping about him.

"Seems like Yaodong has made progress in the past couple of days, huh? He's even going to the seaside and helping out the old lady.”

"Forget it, he disappeared yesterday afternoon and didn't come back until who knows what time last night. I locked the door anyway. Ah Qing, what time did Yaodong come back yesterday?"

"He came back quite early, around 7 o'clock."

"He's grown up so much, yet he doesn't have any sense of responsibility..."

Ye Yaodong quickened his pace, his ears growing calloused from listening. He walked further, pretending not to hear, knowing that as long as he himself knew he wouldn't be like before, it would be fine.

When he arrived at the house site, Ye Yaohua had already cleared away most of the weeds. His whole body was drenched in sweat, and his cheeks were flushed.

He couldn't help but marvel at how hard work truly led to prosperity for rural folks. The diligent people in their village had lived a comfortable life in the following decades. Each of them had demolished their old houses and built small villas. Life couldn't be more beautiful for them.

He didn't dare to think about anything else. As long as he could live a life similar to everyone else, with his family healthy and safe, that would be enough for him.

"Ah Hua!"

He and his second brother were only two years apart in age, so he never referred to him as "second brother." He simply called him by his name. However, he did call his eldest brother "big brother."

Upon hearing someone calling him, Ye Yaohua straightened up and wiped the sweat off his forehead. He looked over and asked, "Yaodong, why are you here?"

"Just came to see how things are. Are we starting the construction the day after tomorrow? Have you already arranged the materials and labor?"

"Alright, I ran around with Dad all day yesterday, and everything has been arranged. It will be delivered tomorrow.”

"It's a pity that the beach sand can't be used; otherwise, we could have directly transported the sand from the beach to build the house, which would have saved us a lot of money.”

"Hehe, if beach sand could be used to build houses, we wouldn't even have a chance to use it. It would have been scooped up long ago.”

"How much longer do you have to weed the grass?" 

"Just a little while longer, and then I'll tidy up. I'll take these to the open space and burn them. After they're burned, I'll bring back the ashes and spread them in the vegetable garden.”

Ye Yaodong: "..."

Making thorough use of everything, not even letting the weeds go to waste. No wonder he’s loading them onto the cart.

"Are you planning to burn them by the beach? Shall I help you push the cart over there?" 

Ye Yaohua looked at him in surprise. It was rare enough that he came over to talk to him, but now he was even offering to help voluntarily?

"What's the matter? I also want a share of this house, so if I don't help with the work, what if Dad changes his mind? Even if he doesn't, I can't bear the scolding from him and Mom.”

"Heh, alright. This cart is already full. So, help me push it to the open space by the beach. I'll come to burn them later. I’ll continue weeding the grass first.”

"Um."

Ye Yaodong pushed the cart under the scorching sun, making his way towards the beach. As he passed by some women sitting at the doorway, weaving nets, they glanced at him with surprise. However, he ignored their curious gazes and continued walking as if he hadn't noticed.

Once Ye Yaohua finished clearing the grass and started burning them to obtain ash, Ye Yaodong clapped his hands and left. It would take a while for the burning process to complete, so he instructed his brother to wait there while he himself didn't want to stay under the scorching sun any longer.

It's almost 10 o'clock now, and the tide has receded by a large extent. At this moment, people can be seen digging on the beach ahead.

It seems that the beach near the pier is about to be exposed. He needs to go back and get a shovel and a bucket.

(end of this chapter)

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Z's corner:

Hey guys! Hope you enjoyed this chapter. I think I'm going to have to re-think the current schedule because I'm thinking of getting a job, hm... welp, just a heads up. Don't know when, though.