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Chapter 17: Who Doesn’t Have a Few Rowdy Friends
When he woke up again, it was the sound of the door creaking open that roused him. That wooden door always let out a groan when pushed.
The only people who would come into his room were his grandmother, his mother, or his wife. Leaf Yao-Dong kept his eyes closed, thinking to drift back into sleep; spring brings drowsiness, autumn lethargy, winter laziness, and summer is for sleeping.
He heard light footsteps approach, and soon the bed creaked as someone climbed onto it. Opening his eyes, he saw his youngest son, asleep in his wife’s arms.
“Sleeping?”
“Yes.”
Lin Xiu-Qing carefully laid their son beside him, then slowly withdrew her arm from under him, glancing at Yao-Dong with a bit of hesitation. “Since you’re not going out, could you watch him? Make sure he doesn’t fall off the bed.”
“Alright.”
Pleased he didn’t object, Lin Xiu-Qing let out a small sigh of relief. “If he wakes up, just call me, and I’ll come get him.”
“Aren’t you going to lie down too?”
“No, I’m not tired.”
After adjusting the floral blanket over their son, she climbed down from the foot of the bed and left quietly.
“Where’s Cheng-Hu?”
After lunch, his older son hadn’t been anywhere to be seen; who knew where he’d gone in the heat of the day?
Lin Xiu-Qing draped down the mosquito net and answered, “Not sure. He and the others must be out somewhere getting into trouble. They’ll come back when they’re hungry. I’ll leave you to rest now.”
Once she’d gently closed the door, Yao-Dong’s son promptly kicked the blanket off, so he put it back on. Ten minutes later, the boy kicked it off again. Yao-Dong replaced it, only for his son to kick it off yet again.
Soon, the boy’s little legs kicked out and smacked him right in the face, startling him fully awake. Leaf Yao-Dong glared at his son, who continued to snooze peacefully. Was this child trying to keep him from sleeping?
Finally, he gave up and went out to the door to look around. Just as he opened it, he heard his wife’s displeased voice talking to someone. Both his sisters-in-law were chiming in, too.
“He’s sleeping; go bother someone else. Stop calling him out every day.”
Lin Xiu-Qing had had enough of his buddies always trying to pull him away from home, leaving her husband out of the house constantly. Just when he was home for once, here they were looking for him again.
“That’s right; you all have wives and kids of your own. Don’t you feel you should spend time helping at home?”
One of the guys replied with a laugh, “I would, but they don’t know how to cook, or have kids, or do anything! How could I settle down with them? My parents would kill me!”
Hearing the voice, he recognized it as A-Zheng.
“So, you admit you’re pretty useless, huh?” said his second sister-in-law bluntly.
“Ah, come on, Sis! When it counts, we’re totally dependable and loyal!”
She rolled her eyes. Dependable or not, nothing compared to earning a living; at least she’d married the second son.
“You guys should just head back; A-Dong isn’t going out today,” Lin Xiu-Qing said, obviously annoyed.
“I’m right here, I’m here.” Leaf Yao-Dong quickly spoke up. If he didn’t come out now, his wife would chase his friends off entirely.
Who can go through life without a few friends? Sure, he’d maybe been a lousy son, husband, and dad, but as a friend? He was top-notch, and his buddies were good-hearted and loyal, if not exactly successful. After all, like attracts like.
He intended to live responsibly, but that didn’t mean he’d cut ties with his friends.
“Where were you, A-Dong? You didn’t come out today. We came by this morning but couldn’t find you. We asked your dad, but he nearly threw us out!”
“I went to the shore to dig up some oysters and clams. Where’s everyone else, just you two?”
“Nothing fun about that! We’ve been doing it since we were kids, got bored of it ages ago. Let’s go—A-Guang caught a cobra this morning, we’ve already prepared it, just waiting to cook it when you join us.”
This was Lin Jian-Yao, nicknamed “Little Little.” He’d always complained about the name, insisting it didn’t suit him. The one who spoke before was A-Zheng, Li Xiao-Zheng. Both had come to find him.
Yao-Dong’s eyes brightened with excitement, memories of younger days flashing through his mind. “Where’d you catch it? How big? We should grab a chicken too, make dragon-phoenix soup!”
“Up in the hills, of course. Couldn’t find you this morning, so we didn’t go to town. We figured we’d check if any watermelons were ripe on the slope, and we spotted the cobra. So tonight, we’ve got a feast!”
“Not that big—after we cut the head off, it’s about 1.3 kilos.”
“It’s big enough! That plus a chicken is perfect for a pot of dragon-phoenix soup for us all.” Yao-Dong was already craving it; it had been years since he’d last had cobra.
“Let’s go, let’s go. We’ll need another chicken for the soup. I’ll head home to catch one!” A-Zheng hooked his arms around Yao-Dong and Xiao-Xiao, steering them towards his place.
“Aren’t you afraid your mom will wallop you?”
“Hey, I paid for those eggs last year with my own stash and told her they’d be mine when they hatched. I feed them, so what’s the big deal?”
“I also dug up a basket of clams and some sand mussels this morning. I’ll bring some along—we could stir-fry a couple of bowls.”
“Then hurry up!”
The three laughed and joked without a care as they got ready to go. When Yao-Dong finally stepped out, they were all arm in arm, about to leave.
He paused and turned to Lin Xiu-Qing, whose face was a bit frosty. “Uh… Ah-Qing, I’m heading out with my friends for a bit. Don’t wait for me for dinner. I’ll come back early, promise. And the kid’s still napping—just, you know, keep an eye on him.”
Feeling slightly guilty, he hesitated. He’d agreed to watch their son, but now he was heading out as soon as his friends called. It felt like a letdown.
But these were friends he’d known for decades—like A-Zheng and Xiao-Xiao, who would soon be heading off to work far away, only coming back every few years. Now that he was back, he wanted to spend time with them.
Lin Xiu-Qing, visibly upset, turned without a word to check on their son.
Just this morning, he’d seemed a bit more reliable, actually focused on clamming. But now, as soon as his friends showed up, he was back to his old ways. She reminded herself there was no point in being angry; years of this had worn her patience thin.
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ShangWiz[Translator]
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