Chapter 24: Picking Corn

Lin Xiuqing quickly asked, “Where are you taking our son?”

“Not far, just helping Grandma pick some corn.”

“Are you bringing back a lot or just a few? Should I come along to help?”

Ye Yaodong looked back at his grandmother, who was only carrying a basket. “Just a few. We already said yesterday that we’ll keep the corn for ourselves—no need to sell it. We’ll pick a few and be right back. You keep doing what you’re doing.”

Mother Ye, seeing his rare willingness to help, said warmly, “Bring back a bit more today. Don’t strip the husks; we can boil them with the husks later in the evening, and your father and the others can take them as snacks for their time at sea.”

“Then we’ll take a sack and bring back about 20,” he replied.

“And grab a few extra cucumbers too, so they can have them as snacks on the boat,” his eldest sister-in-law suggested.

“Got it.”

After grabbing a sack, Ye Yaodong held his youngest son and followed his grandmother toward the village entrance, which was in the opposite direction of the shore.

Walking slowly to match her pace, he looked around, taking in the village scene. Women sat weaving nets at their doorways, and children ran and jumped about. Just then, his seven kids were racing down a dirt slope nearby, and the youngest in his arms, spotting his siblings, cheered, “Brother! Sister!”

“Dad, what are you doing here? Where are you going?” Ye Chenghu, the oldest, called out, catching sight of his father and little brother. Distracted, he stumbled and slid down the slope, landing right at his father’s feet.

But he didn’t cry—just groaned, brushed himself off, and stood up, patting his backside. “Ouch, lucky it was just my bottom.”

Ye Yaodong’s mouth twitched. Tough kid.

His grandmother gave his bottom a reassuring pat. “Be careful and look where you’re going. Oh dear, there’s a hole now! Go back and ask your mom to patch it up.”

“Aw, but Mom will scold me! I want Grandma to fix it. Dad, where are you and Great-Grandma going?”

“To pick corn and cucumbers.”

“Ooh, I want to go too!”

“Me too!”

“We’re all coming!” The other kids chimed in, eager and excited.

“Aren’t you worried about that hole showing your bottom?”

“Nah, I’ll go home for that later!” And with that, he dashed toward the village entrance, totally unbothered, not even trying to cover the hole in his pants.

The rest of them shouted gleefully and raced after him.

“Take it easy, don’t hurt yourselves!” Grandma called out, concerned.

“It’s fine; whether it’s one kid or a whole bunch, I’ll handle them. Just watch your own steps, Grandma,” Ye Yaodong said.

“Dad, hurry up, hurry up! They’re already running ahead!”

Ye Yaodong lightly patted his younger son’s backside. “In a hurry, are we? We’ll catch up soon enough.”

Across from the village entrance lay a small plot of land, about a third of an acre. Once just an overgrown slope, it had been cleared little by little by his grandfather. After he passed, his father continued to help Grandma tend it, but she was always busy herself, stopping by twice a day to check on it, worried about anything being stolen.

“Don’t just pick anything; make sure they’re ripe,” he cautioned, seeing his children already grabbing at the corn.

“Oh, we know what we’re doing, Dad! We can tell by the black husks at the end of the corn—means it’s ready to pick!” replied Ye Chenghai, the eldest, who was already twelve.

The children disappeared into the cornfield, hidden by the tall stalks. The youngest, Ye Chengyang, squirmed to get down, so Ye Yaodong set him down and let him play around. Taking the sack from his grandmother, he handed it to Ye Chenghai to fill.

“That’s enough, just pick 20. Each of you can grab three, that’s all. Don’t pick too many; we’ll come back tomorrow morning.”

“Aww, just three?” Ye Chenghai looked at the two ears of corn in his hands with a bit of disappointment, realizing he could only pick one more.

“Just a few for today. If we pick them all, your great-grandmother will sell them, and there won’t be any left for you.”

“Alright then, I’d rather pick a few each day,” he replied, agreeing to pace himself.

With so many helping hands, they quickly gathered the corn. Grandma’s basket was also filled with cucumbers, some small as a fist, others large like clubs, all perfectly ripe.

Ye Yaodong slung the small sack of corn over his shoulder and took the basket from his grandmother. “I’ll carry everything. You take it slow.”

He looked over the kids and counted, “Everyone out of the field? One, two, three, four, five, six… Where’s the seventh? Who’s missing? Where’s Ye Chenghu?”

“I’m here, Dad!” Ye Chenghu shouted from the slope above, holding up an ear of corn and carefully making his way down.

Ye Yaodong chuckled at the sight of his son using his shirt to hold more corn. “You got that from up there?”

“You silly boy, that’s someone else’s field!” Grandma glanced around nervously and lowered her voice.

“Huh? Isn’t all this corn ours?” Ye Chenghu scratched his head, confused.

“Only this part is ours!”

He scratched his head sheepishly. “I thought all the corn around here was ours!”

With a grin, Ye Yaodong put down the basket and tossed the extra corn into the sack. “It’s fine, no one saw. When I was your age, I thought the whole hill was ours and picked whatever I wanted!”

Grandma whispered, “You shouldn’t take from others’ fields. If you get caught, you’ll get an earful.”

“More than that, you’d be chased down the mountain!”

“Dad, you got chased before?”

“Every hill and every beach—you name it, I’ve been chased there. Alright, let’s head home.” With the corn back on his shoulder, Ye Yaodong was ready to leave.

“Wait, what about Yangyang!” Grandma called out, stopping him just in time.

“Oh, right! Nearly forgot the little guy!”

Scanning the area, he still didn’t see his youngest. He asked the other kids to search nearby, and set down the corn to look himself.

“These little ones, barely knee-high, and they already know how to wander off. Where could he be hiding?”

“Over here, Uncle! Yangyang’s sitting on the ground eating a cucumber!” a voice shouted.

Ye Yaodong followed the sound and found his youngest sitting on the ground, clutching a cucumber almost as big as his face, staring up at everyone with innocent eyes.

The cucumber was still attached to the vine, and he had gnawed right into the skin. Somehow, he’d found the one cucumber hanging low enough to reach.

“You little rascal, sneaking off to snack by yourself, huh?”

“Dad!” Ye Chengyang tried to hand the cucumber to his father, but his tiny arms couldn’t manage the weight, and as he lifted it, it slipped and swung back, hitting him on the forehead. Losing his balance, he toppled backward, landing flat on his back.

“Hahaha!”

“Ha! What a dummy!”

His siblings burst into laughter, thoroughly enjoying the mishap.

Ye Yaodong could only shake his head, half-amused and half-exasperated, as his youngest, covered in dirt, scrambled to his feet without a tear.

“Look at you, filthy from head to toe. When we get home, you and your brother are both in for a scolding.”