Chapter 23: Big Green Fly

Early the next morning, Ye Yaodong woke up when he felt movement beside him. His eyes couldn’t fully open, so he squinted, one eye barely open, and saw Lin Xiuqing dressing the two children.

“What time is it? Why are the two of them up so early?”

“Six o’clock!”

As soon as Ye Chenghu finished dressing, he clambered over curiously. “Dad, why are you up so early today?”

“Is that a problem? Early to bed, early to rise, makes you healthy!”

“But usually you sleep until the sun’s high in the sky.”

Ye Yaodong shot a glance at his eldest son, choosing not to respond, and closed his eyes again. It was too early, and he planned to doze off a bit more.

“Hehe~ Grandma says Dad is a big lazybones!”

His younger son chimed in excitedly, “Big lazybones! Big lazybones!”

He opened his eyes to glare at the two boys—so ungrateful! Even after he’d left them some compensation money after he passed in his previous life!

“Stop making noise so early in the morning. Go play outside!”

“Bleh, bleh, bleh!” His older son made a face, then darted out of the room. The younger one was desperate to follow, yelling, “Brother, brother!”

“What’s the rush?” Lin Xiuqing set his pants on properly before placing him on the floor. “Be careful, don’t run and trip.”

As she spoke, she gathered up the dishes from last night, along with the wet bedding, and followed them out.

“My shorts from last night are on the stool in the corner, and my shirt’s out in the backyard.”

“Got it.”

Once the door was closed, peace returned to the room, but Ye Yaodong no longer felt like sleeping. He lay there with his hands behind his head, resting his eyes. He didn’t want to get up too early and surprise everyone.

But soon enough, he heard his second sister-in-law talking loudly in the main room, as if she wanted to make sure he heard every word.

“Mother, the house construction starts in a few days. Ah Hua and the eldest brother will be taking turns going out to sea with Father, leaving only one person at home. Since Yaodong isn’t going out to sea, he should help with the heavy lifting. Otherwise, hiring another person means paying extra.”

“When he wakes up, I’ll talk to him about it!”

“All three brothers will each get a room. If he’s not going out to sea, he should at least lend a hand. Once the family’s split up, he’ll be the head of his own household; he needs to show some responsibility.”

His eldest sister-in-law chimed in, “Exactly. No one expects him to work that hard, but he should at least help a little…”

…

His eldest sister-in-law’s voice wasn’t as loud as his second sister-in-law’s, so he couldn’t hear her clearly, but he got the gist of it.

Ye Yaodong frowned. His eldest sister-in-law was decent and kind-hearted, but the second sister-in-law was always nitpicking, talkative, petty, and calculative. Thankfully, his wife wasn’t like that.

Given her lazy husband, people tended to sympathize with Lin Xiuqing. Even his mother showed her a bit of favoritism. Whenever Lin Xiuqing went back to her family’s house, his mother would quietly give her some money to buy fish to take along.

His sisters-in-law didn’t receive that same treatment, as his older brothers were both diligent men.

Thinking back, apart from visiting his in-laws on the second day of the Lunar New Year, he hadn’t accompanied his wife home in the past half-year.

While he might be a bit of a mess, his father-in-law had initially treated him fairly well, perhaps out of pity for his daughter.

Over time, though, he’d been ignored—probably cursed behind his back, too.

When the Mid-Autumn Festival comes, he could at least accompany his wife to her family’s house and bring some festival gifts.

Lying in bed for a while, Ye Yaodong eventually got up when he felt the sunlight getting too bright. Figuring it was about time, he opened the door and stepped outside.

To his surprise, his grandmother exclaimed, “Why are you up so early, Dongzi? Not sleeping in a bit longer?”

“It’s not early at all,” his second sister-in-law chimed in from the doorway. “Father and eldest brother went out to sea around one, and Ah Hua was up at six to clear weeds at the construction site. Even the kids have eaten and gone off to play. Is there anyone in the house as comfortable as him, sleeping in till now?”

Ye Yaodong pretended not to hear, casually scratching his ear. He’d gotten used to comments like these in his previous life.

“Just woke up naturally. Have you had breakfast, Grandma?”

“Yes, yes. Go brush your teeth and wash up by the back door.”

“Alright.”

After brushing his teeth, he felt an urge to pee. He turned, took a few steps, and then noticed the backyard outhouse—a makeshift toilet covered with bricks and straw, with an old, broken wooden plank for a door. He remembered it was just a big bucket inside… full of whatever people put in it.

Then he heard the unmistakable buzz of big green flies swarming around.

His raised leg froze mid-step. He veered toward the vegetable garden instead, figuring he’d “water” it there instead.

Yesterday morning, he’d relieved himself by the sea, and in the afternoon, he’d used the bushes at Ah Guang’s house. He hadn’t even thought about the house toilet.

He shook off the thought. Soon enough, he’d need breakfast—best not to dwell on it. Realizing he had another reason to live a good life, he decided he wouldn’t just buy a bed, he’d work hard to build a decent bathroom too.

Afterward, he headed back inside. The table was already set with porridge and two small dried fish. To his delight, it wasn’t just pickled veggies this time; instead, there was dried fish, which immediately improved his appetite.

“Grandma, is this fish from yesterday?”

His grandmother grinned toothlessly. “Yes! They’re too small to sell, so your father brought back several dozen pounds the day before yesterday. We dried them yesterday, and I steamed a bowl this morning. I saved two for you—go ahead, eat up!”

These little dried whiting fish were only about the length of his middle finger without the head. Too small for braising, they were perfect for drying—ideal for coastal folks as a tasty side dish.

“Mmm, smells great!”

“If you like them, we’ll steam more at lunch. When your father returns in the evening, there’ll surely be more, and we’ll dry them again tomorrow.”

“Do you need help picking corn today? I can head to the fields and grab some for you.”

His grandmother waved her hand, “No, no, don’t worry about it. I’ll take the younger kids out later and pick a basketful.”

“I have time, nothing else to do. The tide won’t be low until about half an hour to an hour later than yesterday, so I don’t need to go to the shore so early. I’ll pick some corn after breakfast.”

“Not going out to play today?”

“Too hot for that. I’m meeting some friends to scour the shore when the tide’s out.”

“Alright then, go ahead and pick some corn for me.”

After quickly finishing his porridge, Ye Yaodong reached for the rag when his grandmother went to clear the table, brushing the fishbones into a bowl and taking it to the back.

His grandmother’s face lit up with a wide smile. “Leave it there, and I’ll have your wife wash them later.”

“Sure, let’s go.”

He noticed his younger son, Ye Chengyang, sitting at the door playing with a seashell. He picked him up effortlessly. “Want to go play?”

“Yes, yes!” Ye Chengyang excitedly wrapped his arms around his neck.

Being the youngest, he often got left behind at home when his siblings dashed off after breakfast, leaving him to hang around his mother.