Chapter 51: Getting Dentures for the Old Lady

To get to the county from their village, they had to wait by the roadside for a bus. There was a passing bus from the town to the county, which could be flagged down for 1.5 cents per person, but it wasn’t always easy to catch.

“Grandma, you don’t get motion sickness, right?”

“No, no, I don’t get sick. I never get sick anywhere!”

“That’s good.”

They waited by the roadside for over an hour before a bus finally came. After paying and getting their tickets, they found their seats.

The road from the village to the county was a mountain path. At this time, there were no highways, just dirt and rocky roads that kicked up dust everywhere. The view out the window was all dust, and Ye Yaodong was so hot he didn’t even dare to open the window.

The road wound through the mountains, and the passengers in the bus swayed left and right. He had to hold on tightly to the armrest of the seat. It took almost an hour of winding through the mountains before they finally reached a main road.

In the future, there would be highways, and it would only take 15 minutes to get from their village to the county, but transportation wasn’t as developed yet.

Thankfully, the old lady didn’t get motion sickness and was still in good health, or Ye Yaodong wouldn’t have dared to take her out at her age.

Throughout the journey, he could hear people in the back of the bus vomiting.

After reaching the main road, it took another 10 minutes to reach the bus station. He held the old lady back as she tried to stand, saying, “Don’t rush, let the others get off first.”

The old lady smiled contentedly. “Okay, okay…”

The old lady was slow-moving, and they didn’t want to get shoved by others. Since they weren’t in a hurry, they preferred to be the last to get off.

The county wasn’t as big as it would be in the future, and the surrounding villages weren’t part of the county yet. However, it was still a county, and the bus station was quite a distance from the county hospital.

Outside the bus station, there were rickshaws trying to get business. Since the old lady was elderly, Ye Yaodong was worried she would get tired from walking, so he decided to hail a rickshaw.

“Ah, we still have to take this rickshaw? Let’s walk, save some money, no need to waste it. I can still walk…”

“It’s fine, I’ll help you up. We’re not short on a few pennies. If you get too tired, your father will beat me when we get back.”

Throughout the journey, the old lady kept lamenting, “Why bother with all this effort, spending so much unnecessary money? I’m so old now, how many more days can I eat? You work so hard to earn money, just keep it for yourself. I’m just an old bone now…”

It’s because I won’t live much longer that I want to take care of you properly…

“Are you thirsty? Should we stop for a drink before we continue?”

The old lady laughed and helplessly slapped him. “I’m talking to you, and you’re not serious. I know you’re being filial, but really, I don’t have much time left…”

“Ah, stop talking like that. We’ll be at the hospital soon. It won’t cost much.”

She had no choice but to let him do as he pleased, but she felt a deep sense of warmth. She knew her grandson truly cared for her.

By the time they left the hospital, it was already noon, and the old lady’s dentures had been fitted.

With that concern off his mind, Ye Yaodong felt in a good mood. “Did you remember what the doctor said? When eating, wear them, and after eating, take them out and clean them. They fit well, right?”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. But these dentures are such a hassle. When I still had teeth, I only brushed once a day. Now with dentures, I have to take them out every meal and brush them. I told you not to get me these, but you insisted…”

“Well, now you can eat anything. You can even bite into corn. You like peanuts, right? When the peanuts from the little plot you planted in August are ready, you’ll have teeth to bite into them!”

The old lady laughed so much that her teeth were hidden from view. She was happy to be able to eat her favorite foods again, but then she asked, “Be honest with me, how much did those dentures cost? You even made eyes at the doctor to keep him from telling me. I still have a bit of pocket money left, so I’ll just consider these dentures my own purchase…”

“It wasn’t much, really. It’s already noon—are you hungry? How about we get some noodles?” Ye Yaodong quickly tried to change the subject.

“Noodles? No more spending recklessly! Everything outside is so expensive. Let’s just go home and eat. It’s only an hour away, and I’m not hungry. Let’s go home.”

“Okay, we’ll head back now.”

At this time, the county town looked shabby. It wasn’t as bustling as their town, and there wasn’t much to do or see. Ye Yaodong didn’t feel comfortable taking the old lady around, and seeing him spend money would only make her feel more distressed.

He waved his hand and, as usual, hailed a rickshaw to the bus station.

The old lady knew it was useless to argue. Ye Yaodong wouldn’t let her walk that far, so she kept quiet this time, though her water bottle was nearly empty.

The ride back was just as winding, through the same mountain road. Though the old lady hadn’t walked much that day, sitting on the bus all day had still made her tired.

When they finally arrived home, the old lady let out a sigh of relief. “Home sweet home. It’s so much better here in the village.”

“Hold on a second. We’re near the cornfield, I’ll go pick a few ears of corn from the field across the road. I’ll cook them for you to eat.”

“Alright, alright…”

The old lady waited while he picked and husked the corn. He also grabbed two cucumbers from the melon patch and returned to her with his arms full. “Here, now you’ve got something to snack on.”

“Oh, okay, okay… we’re home now…”

By the time they got back, it was past mealtime. Ye Yaodong’s mother hadn’t known when they’d return and hadn’t kept dinner for them. Ye Yaodong didn’t really know how to cook on a mud stove, so the old lady took charge and made a pot of noodle dumpling soup instead.

It had been many years since he had eaten something like this. After his wife passed, no one had cooked for him like this. The old lady even added a few clams, oysters, and dried shrimp to make the soup especially flavorful. Ye Yaodong was really hungry, and he ate everything, even drinking the soup clean.

Watching the old lady enjoy her meal, with the clams she could now chew, he smiled. “Are the dentures comfortable?”

“Comfortable! Comfortable!” The old lady grinned. “Now I can eat anything.”

“You don’t think I wasted money on them, do you?”

“I won’t be able to eat much longer…”

“Ah, stop saying that. Eat, eat. After you’re done, just rest at home. You’ve already been on the bus all morning, don’t wander around too much. I’ll go check on the house.”

“Alright, alright… I’ll just stay home and chant my prayers. I haven’t chanted today, so I’ll do it now. Buddha, bless me… Mazu, bless me…”

These words were a common phrase the old lady always said.

Once Ye Yaodong stepped out, the old lady stopped chanting and, instead, showed off her dentures. She went outside and smiled at everyone she met, showing off her teeth. Her eyes squinted into slits as she grinned, telling people that Ye Yaodong had taken her to the county hospital for the dentures.

She also pretended to complain that she was already half in the grave and wouldn’t live much longer, so the foolish child insisted on buying her dentures, wasting money…

But when she heard others praise Ye Yaodong for being filial and lucky to have such a grandson, she smiled contentedly.

By the afternoon, almost every elderly person in the village knew about it.

When dinnertime came, even the middle-aged people in the village had heard about it. The third son of the Ye family, the one building a house, was apparently quite filial.