Chapter 5: Green-Skinned Melon

The whole family witnessed the recent drama from beginning to end. Ye Yaopeng and Ye Yaohua couldn’t help but feel envious, and even their younger sister, Ye Huimei, was quite jealous.

Although the old lady was kind to all her grandchildren, her favoritism toward Ye Yaodong was clear. He was the only one she had personally delivered, nearly being born on the beach, and had captured her heart from the moment he smiled at her as a newborn. She had cherished him deeply ever since.

Once inside, Father Ye was still fuming, puffing on his water pipe and glaring at him. To be honest, Ye Yaodong still didn’t understand what he had said wrong to anger his parents so much. Was it his attitude? Or was it the accumulated frustration of seeing him not live up to their expectations? He pondered over it and concluded it could only be one of those reasons. Otherwise, what else could have made them so angry?

“Where is the melon? Did you save one for Dongzi like I asked?” The old lady sat down and saw all the children munching on pieces of melon. Worried that Ye Yaodong hadn’t gotten any, she quickly asked.

Ye Yaodong’s little sister, Ye Huimei, replied while eating, “We did. It’s on the stove. Third Brother can get it himself.”

While everyone else had their melons cut and shared, his was left whole, just for him. No one found this strange, not even the children, since it was a known fact that Third Uncle was special.

Ye Yaodong looked at the green-skinned melon on the stove. It was oval, slightly longer than an adult’s palm. He noticed some of the larger, club-sized melons had been cut and shared, leaving him the smallest one.

This melon was his favorite. It was cheap and commonly grown, though in the future, it would be rare to find as people shifted to white-skinned, round sweet melons. He hadn’t eaten one in years.

He walked over to the earthen stove. The melon had already been washed, with water droplets still clinging to it. Seeing the cutting board and knife on the stove, with leftover juices and seeds, he cut the melon into large pieces and placed them on a plate, then brought it to his grandmother.

“Grandma, have a piece!”

The old lady smiled, waving her hand. “I have no teeth left, can’t bite it. You eat it. Why did you cut it…”

Although he really wanted to eat it, he wasn’t selfish. There weren’t many melons, and the family was large. Seeing that his grandmother indeed couldn’t bite it, he handed a piece to each of his two children and gave one to his wife.

This behavior made Lin Xiuqing glance at him again. Normally, he would have just started eating without sharing. What made him change now, cutting and sharing the melon with everyone?

After Lin Xiuqing took her piece, he grabbed one for himself, leaving the rest on the table for others to help themselves.

“Third Brother, have you turned over a new leaf?”

“Can’t you stop talking while eating?”

Ye Huimei pouted and kept quiet.

Ye Yaodong then looked at his grandmother, smiling. “There are now dentures that you can wear while eating, so you can chew meat and other things. After eating, you take them out and clean them. I’ll ask about them next time I go to the city, and get you a pair. That way, you can eat meat and whatever you like!”

“Oh no, don’t waste money on me. I’m already halfway to my grave. Rice porridge and fermented bean curd are fine for me, and I eat vegetarian half the month anyway…”

“You can eat meat on the days you’re not vegetarian. It’s settled!”

“At my age, why eat meat? Isn’t fish tastier? We live by the sea, so fish is good enough for us.” The old lady’s face bloomed with a smile, though she felt quite pleased and touched inside.

“Fish is good, and so is meat. We should have both.”

Everyone watched their interaction, thinking that at least Third Brother still had some conscience, making the old lady’s doting worthwhile.

At that moment, Mother Ye finished peeling the corn and came in. The eldest sister-in-law stepped forward, “Mother, let me cook.”

“It’s okay, I’ll do it. You take care of the kids.”

The old lady looked at Father Ye, “I noticed the corn silk is turning black, meaning it’s almost ripe. In a few days, you and I should go pick the corn, or else it’ll get too old and won’t taste good.”

Father Ye glared at her while puffing on his water pipe, “I have no time. The boat just got repaired. I need to take the boys out fishing as much as possible while we have new help, and try to catch some big hauls. Let the third one take some kids and pick the corn. After they pick it, I’ll bring it back.”

“He can’t even carry it! Always nowhere to be seen. I’ll take the kids and go with you,” Mother Ye interjected while stoking the fire with straw.

Father Ye, remembering the time a few years back when the brigade had him carry the harvest and he had dropped it into a ditch, fumed, “What good is he? A grown man who can’t even carry corn without dropping it into a ditch. Such a disgrace…”

Ye Yaodong sighed internally. His father still remembered that embarrassing incident from years ago, even though… even though he had indeed been a bit of a failure back then.

However, he had resolved to turn over a new leaf after his rebirth…

Lin Xiuqing, feeling it wasn’t good for her husband to be berated in front of everyone, quickly changed the topic to save him.

“Mother, the first day of the month is coming up, and the tide has been receding a lot lately. Don’t we need to go gather seafood?”

“No rush. We have a lot of kids here. Let Third Brother take them to pick the corn. Once it’s picked, let me know, and I’ll carry it back.”

Ye Yaodong didn’t say a word as they assigned him tasks. He wanted to say he could do it… but he held back, not wanting to appear too eager to change. He’d prove himself when he brought the corn back.

Because of their poverty, they hadn’t been able to build separate houses and still lived together as a big family. Each branch of the family earned their own money through odd jobs and fishing net repairs, keeping it to themselves. Living by the sea provided abundant resources, so there weren’t many conflicts over money, and their father spent his earnings repairing the boat left by their grandfather. Repairing a boat was cheaper than building or buying one.

Every coastal person dreamed of having their own boat to sail out to sea and improve their family’s living conditions.

Father Ye shared this dream, so he had spent the past couple of years earning money to repair the boat. Now that it was seaworthy, he planned to take his sons out fishing more frequently, hoping to catch big hauls. He considered the third son beyond hope but thought he could help him out when the family’s situation improved.

Seeing the whole family busy and even the third son assigned a task, the old lady quickly said, “There’s no rush to pick the corn. A few days later won’t hurt. We can pick a basketful each day to keep everyone satisfied, rather than picking it all at once and having it go stale.”

Mother Ye, without turning her head, focused on the fire, “If you’re not in a hurry, that’s fine. Corn isn’t worth much anyway. We can just pick a bit each day to eat. If it gets too old, we’ll save it for seeds. When we have time, we’ll help you till the field again.”

End of Chapter 5