Chapter 6: Building a House

Grandma always had a special attachment to the things she grew herself. If people didn’t follow her advice, she could nag about it for days. She had a soft spot for the third son, which was why she would say things like this.

She wanted to harvest all the corn to sell and save some money while she was still alive, hoping to leave something for her grandchildren after she passed.

After knocking out the burnt tobacco from his water pipe, Father Ye looked around the room full of his children and grandchildren. He wanted to share the discussion he had with Mother Ye last night, but someone beat him to it.

“Grandma, not long after you left this morning, Uncle and Second Uncle came over demanding a share of the money!”

The one complaining was Ye Huimei, the tattletale of the family.

The family had just earned a significant sum of money, and it was shameless for Uncle and Second Uncle to come asking for a share. They wouldn’t say it outside, but they had to let Grandma know!

The kids in the house started chiming in, “Yeah, Grandma, Great Uncle and Second Great Uncle were really fierce.”

“They even banged the table and glared!”

“They yelled at Dad and told him to keep his mouth shut!”

Their chatter was enough to give anyone a headache. Ye Yaodong waved them off, “Shoo, shoo, what business do you have here? Go outside and play, don’t be in the way!”

“Bleh bleh bleh~”

The kids stuck out their tongues, made faces, and ran outside to play, finishing their melon slices. They didn’t want to stay inside listening to adult conversations.

Before leaving, they reminded Mother Ye, “Grandma, call us when the corn is ready!”

Grandma didn’t lift an eyelid during all this. She knew that a sudden influx of money would make anyone envious.

She responded calmly, “Ignore them. Each family should mind its own business and not envy others.”

Father Ye acknowledged with a grunt and didn’t say more. He hadn’t planned to tell Grandma about this to avoid upsetting her. The money was in his hands, and no one could take it.

He scanned the room, looking at his sons and daughters-in-law, and spoke seriously, “Last night, your mother and I discussed it. Now that we have money, we plan to build houses for you brothers and split the family, so each of you can live your own lives.”

The current house was an old one left by the old man. Because the older brothers married first, the old man built each of them a house after marriage, letting them move out to live on their own.

Father Ye, being the youngest and last to marry, stayed in the old house with his parents. The old man figured that after he and his wife passed away, the house would be empty, so he didn’t build another house for Father Ye. Instead, he built a small ten-square-meter room next to the vegetable garden and a stove for himself and his wife to retire.

The house had four rooms, but after years of patching, it was very old. Even though it was slightly larger, both older brothers had no objections because they had their houses.

Now, with a growing number of children and grandchildren, the house was too cramped.

Each brother’s family squeezed into one room. Ye Huimei shared a room with Father Ye and Mother Ye, adding a small bed. The eldest and second sons’ families each had five people sharing one old-style canopy bed. It was terribly crowded.

At mealtimes, they had to use a large round table. The women often stood to eat, not out of discrimination but because there wasn’t enough space. The children were fed first, then the women sat down to eat.

Father Ye and Mother Ye had long thought about splitting the family to let each son have his own household. However, they hadn’t had the money to build new houses. Splitting the family while still living together with one kitchen would be no different from not splitting at all.

Catching a big yellow croaker and earning a significant amount of money was now an opportunity to build houses and split the family. Without this, the sudden wealth would make everyone uneasy.

As expected, the first and second daughters-in-law’s eyes lit up at the mention of splitting the family.

Ye Yaodong was a bit stunned but then remembered. In his past life, his father also decided to build houses after catching a big yellow croaker. But back then, Ye Yaodong was busy messing around with friends and didn’t care or help.

He had been regretting not crossing back in time to catch the big yellow croaker himself. He hadn’t thought about the house-building and family-splitting that followed until now when his father mentioned it.

Eldest Brother Ye was briefly surprised but said nothing. It was natural for a big tree to branch out.

Second Brother Ye, however, was somewhat bewildered. “Dad, why split the family all of a sudden?”

Before he could finish, his wife nudged him with her elbow. He paused, glanced at his wife, and said no more.

Ye Yaodong rolled his eyes. Among his siblings, his second brother was the most honest, and his second sister-in-law the most scheming. They complemented each other well!

The one who looked down on him the most was his second sister-in-law!

It was only thanks to their parents allowing everyone to keep the money they earned from side jobs and fishing nets while daily meals depended on the land and sea that the family managed to stay harmonious for so long. Otherwise, it could have been chaotic.

Why? Well, mainly because he was the drag on the family…

Father Ye glanced at the second son, then slowly began packing tobacco into his pipe. He said, “If we have money and don’t split the family, do you want to keep living cramped together? It’s time each had their own space.”

No one dared to speak, fearing they might ruin the plan!

Ye Yaodong, sitting with his legs crossed, saw everyone’s eager but silent faces. Feeling fearless, he said, “Sure, Dad, we’re all married. It’s time to split the family. Building new houses will give us more space.”

“I’m afraid you’ll starve to death!” Father Ye glared at him.

“Ah? No way, no way. After splitting the family, I’ll definitely work hard!”

“How will you work hard?”

“Uh… I’ll just follow my big brother and second brother’s example.”

“I don’t believe you!”

Ye Yaodong: “…”

He was serious, but no one believed him…

Grandma gently patted Ye Yaodong and said, “It’s good to split the family. Distance brings fondness. We should have done it earlier.”

Mother Ye, sitting by the stove, joined in, “The money from the yellow croaker will go to building houses. Any shortfall will be covered by the money from future fishing trips. It’s all for you. We planned to talk about this after breakfast but got delayed.”

She then told Father Ye, “Go to the commune later and settle the land purchase so we can start building soon.”

Father Ye agreed, then looked at his sons and daughters-in-law. “This money is for building houses. Future earnings from fishing will also go towards this until the houses are done. After that, we’ll split the family. Any objections?”

Eldest Brother Ye shook his head. “Dad, you and Mom decide. We have no objections.”

Second Brother Ye echoed, “Dad, do as you see fit. We have no objections either.”

Their wives had been whispering in their ears at night. They had no objections to living independently.

Ye Huimei, not yet married, would follow her parents. Splitting the family didn’t concern her, so she just watched.

Using the money to build houses and split the family was thus temporarily settled.

Father Ye took a few more puffs from his water pipe and then went out.

End of Chapter 6