Chapter 25: Lending a Hand

“Dad, the cucumber! The cucumber!” Ye Chengyang clung to his father’s leg, excitedly pointing.

“And where’s that frog of yours? All you do is eat!” Ye Yaodong looked disdainfully at the mud stains on his leg where his son had been rubbing against him. He plucked the half-eaten cucumber from Chengyang’s hands. “You can’t eat this until it’s washed; there might be bugs inside.”

After counting heads again to ensure everyone was accounted for, he finally returned home amidst the swarm of children.

As soon as they reached the entrance, Aunt Chen from next door looked at him curiously. “Dongzi, you didn’t go out to play today? Helping your grandma pick corn, huh?”

“Yep!”

She was clearly asking just for the sake of it, as she had seen them leave. Her gaze had followed him from the door until he was out of sight. He could tell; he had experienced it himself. Country women were like that, especially when they saw a stranger in the village—they’d practically glue their eyes to them.

“Why are you all back so soon? It’s not even mealtime yet; did you come back because you smelled the food?” Ye Mu smiled at the group of children.

“We went to pick corn with our uncle!”

At that moment, Lin Xiuqing spotted her dirt-covered youngest son, who looked like a little dirtball. She hurried over, concern etched on her face. “What happened to you? You’re covered in dirt! Did you roll around in the field?”

“Ha ha! Mom, he got hit by a cucumber while sneaking a bite and fell over!” one of the kids chimed in.

“Don’t laugh at him. Show your mother your backside,” Ye Yaodong instructed as he set down the sack and basket and turned his eldest son around.

Ye Chenghu scrambled to cover his bottom. “No, Dad…”

Lin Xiuqing frowned. “What did you do this time? How did you manage to tear your pants again? You’re running around all day! Just look at your knees and your legs—there’s barely a good piece of skin left!”

As she spoke, she gave him a few firm swats on the behind.

He could hardly escape with his father holding him tightly; otherwise, he wouldn’t just stand there to take it.

“Ow, Mom! It was an accident! Dad, let me go.”

“How many times have you fallen and called it an accident? You’re always jumping around. Your pants have holes in them everywhere. Look, just above your knee—the hole you just patched is fraying again. You waste more pants than your grandfather does working!”

Seeing the child’s head droop under the reprimand, Ye Yaodong finally let go, satisfied. He couldn’t teach them how to be good; that was his wife’s job.

Fortunately, decades later, both children turned out to be quite obedient—well, mostly to their mother… but he wouldn’t mention that.

Grandma stepped in to mediate, “Stop scolding him. It’s normal for kids to run and tumble; it helps them grow fast. Now hurry inside and change your pants; come out for some cucumber afterward.”

With Grandma’s pardon, Ye Chenghu dashed inside like a gust of wind, while Lin Xiuqing led her dirty little son in as well; both boys needed a change of clothes.

As they walked, she grumbled, “Every day, you all need to change clothes so often. Luckily, you have older brothers and sisters; you can wear their hand-me-downs when yours get too short.”

Ye Mu added her two cents, “They’re always making noise and running everywhere; it’s like there’s never a quiet moment.”

“If you sat still all day without running or jumping, wouldn’t you be worried something was wrong with them?” Ye Yaodong retorted, smirking.

Ye Mu shot him a glare but couldn’t find a rebuttal.

“Come on, have a piece of cucumber. You can get back to work afterward.” Grandma brought out a large bowl of cut cucumbers to share, even offering some to the neighbors nearby.

Ye Yaodong grabbed a piece and said, “I’m going to check on my second brother.”

He couldn’t ignore his own house like he did in his past life; he needed to lend a hand and make sure nothing was amiss.

Just a few steps out, he could hear the women behind him murmuring.

“Dongzi has really grown up these past few days, huh? He even goes to help Ahua now.”

“Don’t be silly; he vanished yesterday afternoon and didn’t come back until who knows what time last night. I locked the door, so I didn’t let him in until I knew he was back. Ah Qing, what time did Dongzi come back last night?”

“Pretty early, around 7 o’clock.”

“Such a grown man, and he has no sense of responsibility…”

Ye Yaodong quickened his pace, tuning out their words. He preferred to walk a little further away and pretend he hadn’t heard them. At least he knew he wouldn’t repeat the same mistakes as before.

By the time he reached his homestead, Ye Yaohua had already cleared away most of the weeds, sweat pouring down his face and his cheeks flushed red.

He couldn’t help but marvel; for the people in the countryside, hard work truly led to prosperity. Those who worked diligently in their village enjoyed many prosperous years ahead, each of them tearing down old houses to build small villas, living the good life.

He dared not think of anything beyond that; he only wanted to live a life like everyone else, with his family healthy and safe.

“Ahua!”

He and his second brother were only two years apart, so he never called him ‘second brother’—just his name, while their eldest brother did call him that.

Hearing someone call him, Ye Yaohua straightened up, wiping the sweat from his forehead as he looked over. “Dongzi, what are you doing here?”

“Just came to see how you’re doing. Are you starting work the day after tomorrow? Have you arranged the materials and labor?”

“All set. We spent yesterday running around with Dad, and everything is scheduled for delivery tomorrow.”

“It’s a shame we can’t use saltwater sand; if we could just transport the beach sand over, it would save quite a bit.”

“Haha, if saltwater sand could build houses, it wouldn’t be available for us—it would have been scooped up long ago.”

“How much longer do you need to clear these weeds?”

“Just a bit more; I’ll clean them up and then burn the weeds in the empty lot when I’m done.”

Ye Yaodong was impressed. They made use of everything, even the weeds—no wonder they piled the weeds onto the cart.

“Are you going to burn them near the beach? Let me help you push it over.”

Ye Yaohua looked at him in surprise. Not only had Dongzi come to talk to him, but he was also volunteering to help?

“What’s up? I need to share in this house, too. If I don’t help out a bit, what if Dad changes his mind? Even if he doesn’t, I can’t withstand the scolding from him and Mom.”

“Haha, right. The cart is full, so just help me push it to the empty spot by the beach, and I’ll burn it later after I finish clearing.”

“Okay.”

Ye Yaodong pushed the cart under the scorching sun all the way to the beach. Some women sitting by their doors weaving nets threw him curious glances, but he ignored them completely.

By the time Ye Yaohua finished clearing the weeds and started burning them, Ye Yaodong clapped his hands and left. It would take a while to burn, and he figured his brother could manage on his own while he escaped the sun.

It was nearly 10 o’clock now, and the tide had receded quite a bit. He could already see people digging on the beach.

Estimating that the beach near the dock should be exposed soon, he planned to head back to grab his hook and bucket.