Chapter 25: Lend a hand

“Dad, melon! Melon!” Ye Chengyang hugged his father’s thigh and shouted.

“Where are you, the frog? You’re still croaking, and you only know how to eat!” Ye Yaodong looked at the mud marks on his leg that he had rubbed with disdain, and took off the melon that he had gnawed, “Take it home and wash it before eating, otherwise there will be bugs in it.”

He counted the number of people again, and only then did he go back surrounded by the children after the number matched.

As soon as he reached the door of his house, the neighbor Aunt Chen looked at him curiously, “Dongzi, didn’t you go out to play today? And you helped your grandma pick corn?”

“Yeah!”

You asked knowingly, didn’t you see him when he went out? Her eyes followed his back from the door of the house until he could no longer see him.

Don’t ask him how he knows, he has seen it with his own experience, their country women are basically like this, and it’s even more exaggerated when they see strangers entering the village, their eyes are basically glued to strangers.

“Why are you guys back? It’s not time for dinner yet. You followed me back because of the smell?” Ye’s mother smiled at the group of children.

“We went to pick corn with Uncle San!”

Lin Xiuqing also saw her little son, who was covered in dirt. She stood up quickly, “Why are you so dirty? You are covered in dirt, all over your face and hands. Did you roll around in the field?”

“Haha, mom, he stole a melon and got hit by it. Then he got up and became like this!”

“Don’t laugh at him. Turn your butt over and show it to your mom.” Ye Yaodong put down the sack and basket, picked up his eldest son and turned around.

Ye Chenghu hurriedly covered his butt in a panic, “No, Dad…”

Lin Xiuqing frowned, “What did you do again? Why is there a hole in your butt? What are you playing? You run around all day long. Look at your knees and legs. Where is the good meat?”

As she said that, she also hit his butt hard a few times.

That’s why he couldn’t break free from his father’s grip, otherwise he wouldn’t stand there and take the beating.

“It hurts, mom, I was careless! Dad, let me go.”

“When did you fall down accidentally? You jump all day long, and your pants have holes here and there. Look at the holes above your knees. They were just mended and then worn out. Your pants are more worn out than your grandfather’s work.”

Seeing that the child was scolded so hard that his head was lowered, Ye Yaodong let go of his hand with satisfaction. The child was naughty and needed to be punished, but he didn’t know how to teach the child, so he could only let the child’s mother teach him.

Fortunately, decades later, both children were very filial, well… only filial to their mother… he didn’t mention it…

The old lady tried to smooth things over, “Don’t scold him, it’s normal for children to fall down when running and jumping, falling down will help them grow faster, go into the house and change your pants, come out and eat melons.”

With the old lady’s pardon, Ye Chenghu ran into the house like a gust of wind, and Lin Xiuqing also walked in with her little son covered in dirt, both sons had to change clothes.

She kept muttering as she walked, “I don’t know how many clothes I have to change every day, fortunately you have many brothers and sisters, their short clothes can be worn by you.”

Ye’s mother also muttered a few words, “Noisy all day long, running away, there is no quiet time.”

“If he sits quietly all day long, not running or jumping, you will worry if he is a fool!”

Ye’s mother was choked by Ye Yaodong’s words, glared at him, and had nothing to say.

“Come on, have a piece of melon, and then we’ll continue.” The old lady cut a large basin of melon and shared it with the neighbors.

Ye Yaodong took a piece of melon and said, “I’ll go to my second brother’s place to have a look.”

He couldn’t just ignore his own house like he did in his previous life. He had to go and give a hand to avoid being criticized.

He had just walked a few steps away when he heard the women behind him muttering about him.

“Dongzi has improved in the past two days? He still goes to the sea to fish and helps Ah Hua.”

“Forget it, he ran away yesterday afternoon and I don’t know what time he came back last night. Anyway, I locked the door. Ah Qing, what time did Dongzi come back yesterday?”

“Pretty early, back at 7 o’clock.”

“He’s so old, but he has no sense of responsibility…”

Ye Yaodong quickened his pace, his ears were callused, and he walked a little further away, pretending that he didn’t hear anything. Anyway, he knew that he would never be like before.

When he arrived at the homestead, Ye Yaohua had already weeded most of the weeds. He was sweating profusely and his cheeks were red.

He couldn’t help but sigh that for the country people, hard work really makes you rich. The hardworking people in their village lived a rich life in the following decades. Everyone demolished their old houses and built small villas. Their lives were so beautiful.

He didn’t dare to think about anything else. As long as he lived like everyone else and his family was healthy and safe, it would be fine.

“Ahua!”

He was only two years older than his second brother, so he never called his second brother, but only called him by his name. His eldest brother would call him by his name.

Ye Yaohua straightened up when he heard someone calling him, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and looked over, “Dongzi, why are you here?”

“I came to see you if I have nothing to do. Will the construction start the day after tomorrow? Have you ordered the materials and labor?”

“Okay, I ran around with my dad all day yesterday, and everything has been ordered and delivered tomorrow.”

“It’s a pity that saltwater sand can’t be used, otherwise the sand from the beach can be directly transported here to build a house, which can save a lot of money.”

“Hehe, if saltwater sand can be used to build a house, it wouldn’t be our turn to use it, because it would have been shoveled away long ago.”

“How long will you continue to hoe this grass?”

“It’s about the same as working for a while. When the time comes, I’ll tidy it up and take these weeds to the open space to burn them. After burning, I’ll transport the ashes back to spread on the vegetable field.”

Ye Yaodong: “…”

He really made full use of it, not even letting go of the weeds. No wonder he put all the weeds on the cart.

“Burn it on the beach? Let me help you push it over?”

Ye Yaohua looked at him in surprise. Not only did he come to talk to him for the first time, but he also took the initiative to ask for help?

“What’s wrong? I want a share of this house too. If I don’t help with the work, what if Dad changes his mind? Even if he doesn’t change his mind, I can’t stand his and Mom’s scolding.”

“Haha, yes, this cart is full, so you can help me push it to the open space on the beach shore. I’ll burn it later. Wait until I finish weeding all these grasses.”

“Okay.”

Ye Yaodong pushed the cart all the way to the beach shore under the sun. Some women sitting at the door weaving nets frequently cast surprised glances at him, but he pretended not to see them all.

When Ye Yaohua finished weeding and burning the ash, he clapped his hands and left first. It would take a while to finish burning, so he asked his second brother to wait here, and he would not accompany him under the sun.

It was almost 10 o’clock now, and the tide had receded for the most part. At this moment, people were seen digging on the beach in front of him.

It was estimated that the beach on the pier should be exposed soon, so he had to go back to get the hook and bucket.

(End)