Back To the Small Fishing Village In 1982

Chapter 31 Sweet Potato Vermicelli

When Lin Xiuqing came back and heard the commotion at the back door, she quickly came out. Her man was so unreliable, and she was genuinely worried.

As soon as she came out through the back door, she saw his disheveled appearance. Afraid that he might get angry and end up hitting the eldest nephew, she quickly spoke up, "Let me wash our son. You go wash yourself."

"You finally came back! I was about to be driven crazy!" Ye Yaodong stood up in frustration and directly took off his shirt to use it to dry his dripping wet hair.

Seeing that he wasn't getting angry or losing his temper, Lin Xiuqing felt relieved.

"Mom is already cooking noodles. Once you finish washing, you can go out and eat.”

"Got it, I'll wash my hair first. The rest of you, hurry up and finish washing, then clear out and leave a basin empty for me.”

The children giggled and playfully pushed each other as they entered the house, leaving only the youngest one, Ye Chengyang, sitting in the basin. As he became anxious, he immediately stood up.

"Brother~Brother~"

"You little copycat, always following the older siblings. Hurry up and wash so you can go in too.”

Ye Yaodong didn't need hot water either. He simply filled a bucket with well water and poured it into the basin. He stripped down to his shorts and splashed the water all over his body.

After spending two days at the beach, his face and neck were noticeably darker compared to his body. However, when compared to his older brothers, he still appeared relatively fair-skinned.

His two sons were also fair-skinned; they just got tanned as they grew older. In fact, his family members were not unattractive in terms of appearance, but they tended to be on the shorter side...

This is also a common flaw of most southerners!

Actually, it's because of the poor family conditions and lack of nutrition. He managed to reach a height of 1.8 meters largely due to the extra care from his grandmother. From childhood to adulthood, he never missed out on eating eggs. Whenever they slaughtered a chicken at home, there was always a chicken leg reserved just for him.

Back in the old days, when there were sheep herding in the brigade, his grandmother would secretly squeeze a bowl of sheep's milk for him. She would boil it with tea leaves and give it to him to drink. His older brothers, cousins, and siblings were all grown up by that time, so they could only watch him enjoy it. His younger sister, who was still breastfeeding, would occasionally get a taste as well.

As a result, he also underwent a genetic mutation and grew up to be the tallest among his family members. Among his friends, he was also the tallest.

These days, in their rural area, it's not common to find many people with a height of 1.8 meters or above.

After a while, apart from sweating a bit, he didn't get dirty. He didn't bother with using soap, just rinsed off casually, then went inside to grab a towel and wipe himself dry. He took off his shorts and went to the cupboard to find his clothes and pants.

To his surprise, when he opened the wardrobe, he suddenly remembered that he only had one set of summer clothes for changing, and he realized that he must have left them hanging outside without bringing them in.

"Squeak~"

The door was suddenly pushed open, and he panicked, quickly running to the side of the bed to grab a bedsheet and wrap it around his lower body. "I thought it was someone else. Why didn't you knock before coming in?"

“Daddy ~ shy shy ~ shy face ~"

"Get out! You're standing here with your bare bottom, and you have the audacity to make fun of me!"

Lin Xiuqing glanced at the shorts thrown on the chair and said, "Why should I knock on the door when I'm entering my own room? You’re not embarrassed to stand there all naked without even wearing pants."

"I was just about to look for them, and then you came in. You said there were only two sets, and they're all outside drying. What do you expect me to wear? Besides, you've seen it all before, so there's nothing for me to be embarrassed about," Ye Yaodong said with a mischievous grin as he leaned in next to her, winking.

"Don't play around. There are only two sets of clothes, but there are 4 pairs of shorts, not in the wardrobe, but in the drawer," she said, pushing him away with annoyance. She placed the child on the bed and went to the drawer to fetch a pair of shorts for him, throwing them into his arms. "Hurry up and put them on. I'll go outside and get you some new clothes and pants."

"Your ears are all red. Do you think I don't see? We've been married for several years, what's there to be shy about?"

"You shameless..." Lin Xiuqing turned her head and glared at him, then closed the door.

He happily walked to the side of the bed with the shorts in his hand, ready to change, but noticed that his youngest son was leaning on the railing of the bed, watching him.

"What are you looking at? When you grow up, you'll have the same assets as your old man."

After saying that, he lifted the mosquito net and swung the bed sheet directly onto Ye Chengyang, completely covering him.

"Ahaha~ Daddy~"

"Bang~"

The sound of his head hitting the bed board was followed by loud crying, and Ye Yaodong quickly put on his shorts and leaned over, extending his head to look, "You silly fool!”

At this moment, Lin Xiuqing also came in holding clothes and asked, "Why is he crying again?"

She hurried over and saw that her youngest son was completely wrapped in the bedsheets, struggling and kicking, unable to free himself while calling for his mother. She cast an annoyed glance at Ye Yaodong.

"Already this old and you’re still bullying him? Mom finished cooking the noodles already. Hurry up, get dressed, and come out to eat.”

Ye Yaodong touched his nose. He had only thrown it casually, just playing around with his youngest son.

Listening to her comforting the child, he quickly put on his clothes. His stomach was rumbling with hunger.

For lunch, they had sweet potato vermicelli. They ground their own sweet potatoes into a paste, which was then made into sweet potato starch and stored. When they wanted to eat it, they would scoop a couple of bowls, add water and stir it evenly. They would then take a small amount and swirl it in a pan, similar to making pancakes. After both sides were cooked, they would take it out and cut it into strips, repeating the process several times.

They also added some side dishes, and they made a soup with the sand clams they dug yesterday. It was incredibly delicious.

Yaodong, on his own, devoured a large bowl of it. This dish only required sweet potatoes and labor, and they could make it at home without spending money. They grew a lot of sweet potatoes every year and made plenty of sweet potato starch, so they could have it whenever they wanted.

When he finished eating, Mother Ye was still making vermicelli. There were a lot of people in the house, so it couldn't be helped.

"I'm leaving, you don't need to cook my dinner tonight."

"No peace and quiet even for a moment. Just eat and then leave without a care. Acting like a child, haven't you grown up yet?"

"I've been busy doing work for most of the day, haven't I? And there's nothing urgent now, right? I promise I'll come back early tonight. Mom, please don't lock the door.”

After he finished speaking, he was about to slip away but was stopped by Mother Ye. "Wait, when we came back, we noticed that the wind was picking up, and the waves were getting a bit rough. Your father and the others will probably be back soon. Don't wander around aimlessly. Help them unload at the dock in another hour.”

Mother Ye also noticed that he had been a bit more diligent these past few days, which is why she thought of asking him to help out.

"Where's Ah Hua?" He was looking forward to finishing the household chores so that he could go and spend time with his friends.

"The old lady said he had lunch and went to work in the fields after sprinkling plant ash in the vegetable garden. He shouldn't be back so soon. Not everyone has as much free time as you do, you know?"

"Ah, stop scolding me, stop scolding me. Didn't I work hard with you all day today? In another hour, I'll definitely go to the dock and wait to help unload the goods.”

"Remember, if you don't go, don't bother coming back tonight.”

"Don't worry, I’ll remember."

Even if he didn't come back, he had plenty of places to sleep. But he was definitely going to help. Yesterday, they caught a lot of big yellow croakers with the fishing net. Who knew what they would be able to catch today?

It's been too long, and there weren't any special goods, so he couldn't recall the specifics.

If possible, he also wanted to have his own boat, relying on the mountains and the sea for food.

(end of this chapter)