Back To the Small Fishing Village In 1982

 Chapter 36 Achieving Little Success and Having More Failures

After confirming the boat was rented, Ye Yaodong felt relieved and leisurely headed home. However, halfway there, he suddenly remembered that construction on his house was starting the next day. He immediately changed direction and headed towards the homestead.

Today, it was his second brother and father's turn to go out to sea, while his eldest brother stayed at home. Early in the morning, after finishing breakfast, he mentioned that he would go up the mountain to pick yellow soil. It's unclear how many loads he ended up carrying, but when thinking about it, he did feel a bit ashamed...

There is indeed a reason why some people's lives are getting better and better. Hard work leads to prosperity. However, today, on the first day of the lunar new year, it was rare to have a significant low tide. They had already rented the boat, so it could only mean that his eldest brother would have to work a little harder.

With this in mind, he couldn't remain leisurely anymore and quickened his pace.

When he arrived at the homestead, there was already a pile of yellow soil about half a person's height. However, he didn't see his eldest brother's figure. There was only a large pot of tea placed under the shade of a tree, indicating that his brother had probably gone to carry soil again. He leaned against the tree, thinking that he would join in and lend a hand for a while.

After being reborn, his mentality had already been set straight.

He only had to wait for a few minutes when he saw his eldest brother pushing a gray two-wheeled cart coming towards him.

“Big brother!"

Ye Yaopeng looked up and smiled, "What are you doing here?"

"Just came to have a look. Construction starts tomorrow. Why are you working with the yellow soil so early?"

He wiped the sweat off his forehead and took a big gulp of tea before saying, “I didn't go out to sea today, and there's nothing urgent to do at home. I thought I'd gather more yellow soil in advance since we'll need it anyway. It's not exactly starting work early if we prepare the homestead now and work on it tomorrow."

"Since we'll be hiring people to work anyway, it's better to just do some of the easier tasks.”

"This is already considered the lighter work. Once construction starts tomorrow, the laborers will have to dig pits, chisel stones up in the mountains, and carry them down for the master to level. Compared to that, carrying yellow soil is considered the easier task."

Ye Yaodong furrowed his brow and nodded, "Alright, I'll go with you to the mountain and lend you a hand."

Ye Yaopeng looked at him unexpectedly, "You want to help?"

"Don't you want me to help?"

Feeling frustrated, he wanted to contribute and help with some tasks, but everyone seemed surprised by his offer.

"Hehe, okay. Then later, come with me to the mountain and help me swing the hoe. Today, we can push a few more carts.” It's rare for the youngest to voluntarily offer to help, so how could he refuse.

"I'll work for a while, but I'll go back at 10 o'clock. I have something to do in the afternoon."

Ye Yaopeng's smile turned awkward for a moment. It turned out that he had misunderstood. The youngest just came to have a look around. It was already 8 o'clock, so he wasn't really planning to work seriously. How could he have a change of heart so quickly?

But the fact that he came to take a look and offered to help with some small tasks showed that he cared about the house construction. It was better than his previous days of being absent. In the evening, his wife mentioned that he had been helping with gathering seafood, which was a sign of progress.

"Alright, then come and help me. Starting from tomorrow, when construction on the house begins, you shouldn't be running around anymore. It'll be father's and my turn to go out to sea tomorrow, leaving only you and Second Brother at home. Mom and the others will have to cook for the workers, and they'll definitely be busy."

"I know."

Ye Yaodong was unaware of his eldest brother's thoughts, and even if he knew, he wouldn't pay much attention to it. This was the intended outcome after all—his transformation shouldn't be too drastic or sudden.

After Ye Yaopeng emptied the yellow soil from the cart, Ye Yaodong took the handle of the cart voluntarily and said, "I'll push it, you lead the way."

“Good."

Although the gravel road was not easy to push on, the empty cart made it relatively easy. In the past few years, when everyone was building houses, they would carry loads of yellow soil and stones on their shoulders, one by one, down the mountain.

These materials don't require money, only manpower to pick them up from the mountain.

At that time, building houses didn't involve using cement. Instead, people mixed the local yellow clay with sand from the mountains, and then plastered it onto the stacked stones to dry. Bricks were not used extensively because everyone believed that using stones was cost-effective and resulted in sturdy houses.

For multi-story buildings, bricks were typically used for the second floor. This was because stones were heavy and difficult to stack at greater heights. Using bricks was more convenient and saved effort in construction.

In fact, when comparing the two, there isn't much difference in terms of cost. Although bricks need to be purchased, stones also require expenses for labor to transport and carve them. The wages for skilled workers are also higher.

Although it was still morning, the sun was scorching hot. After walking for a while, Ye Yaodong was already sweating profusely.

As soon as Ye Yaopeng reached the destination, he picked up a hoe and said, "Since I brought two bamboo scoops, I'll do the hoeing. Once they're full, you can dump them into the gray cart."

“Good!"

With two bamboo scoops, one filled, Ye Yaodong would lift and empty it while Ye Yaopeng continued to fill the other one. The two of them worked in coordination, and indeed, their speed was faster than when one person was working alone.

In no time, one gray cart was filled up.

"I'll push it back, and you can dig some more yellow soil to have it ready. That way, we won't waste time moving back and forth. One person can handle pushing this cart."

"Okay, let's take turns. I'll push the next round," nodded Ye Yaopeng.

"Um."

Letting him do the pushing, he didn't really mind. After all, he would be done in one or two hours and could go back. It wasn't like he had to push many rounds. However, what he didn't expect was that he actually tipped over the cart…

He had only pushed it for a short distance when a stone at the corner tripped the wheel. As a result, he couldn't maintain his balance, and the cart overturned...

Seeing the situation, Ye Yaopeng walked over and looked at him with a wry expression on his face. He patted his shoulder and said, "It's okay, let's load it back up. This road isn't good to begin with, but if we push it a few more times, it won't overturn again."

Ye Yaodong was a bit frustrated. He hadn't pushed this cart before anyway, he could only console himself in this way.

"Fortunately, it was you who saw it. If Dad had seen it, he would have scolded me for being incompetent."

"If you were more diligent in helping with the work, father wouldn't scold you. Let's first put the soil back in place."

He sighed and thought to himself, realizing that even if he worked diligently like his older brothers, he would still face criticism and scolding if things didn't go perfectly.

After loading it again, Ye Yaopeng didn't let him push it to prevent another overturn. "Let me handle the pushing. You go and collect more yellow soil.”

"Fine."

Achieving little success and having more failures, he was still better at fishing!

After helping on the mountain for a while, he looked at the time and figured it was about time to go, so he decided to head back first.

After wielding the hoe for so long, his stomach had long been growling with hunger. He quickly returned home to grab a bite and prepare his tools for fishing.

Lin Xiuqing saw him coming back all sweaty and red-faced and curiously asked, "Didn't you go to borrow a boat? Why do you look like you've been working? You look like you've been fished out of the water."

"I actually went to work. When I left Ah Guang's place, I realized it was still early, so I went to help my eldest brother."

Everyone looked at him in surprise. He had actually volunteered to help transport yellow soil?

Is it real or fake?

Seeing everyone's skeptical expressions, Ye Yaodong rolled his eyes and said, "Don't I have a share of the houses? If I don't help with some work, won't my father break my legs?"

That’s true!

Only these few days Father Ye went out to sea. Otherwise, the house would be filled with the sound of Father Ye scolding Ye Yaodong every day.

(end of this chapter)