Chapter 1606: Overjoyed

The two brothers feared that trying to steal a chicken would only result in losing a pot of rice; after working hard for over a month, they would end up with unfinished homework and their wages deducted, which would be the death of them.

After eating at noon that day, they returned and immediately began writing furiously, then fought through the night with lamps lit.

The entire dormitory watched the two brothers seriously doing their homework as soon as they returned at noon, feeling as though the sun had risen from the west.

When they asked Ye Chenghu to play cards, Ye Chenghu remained unmoved.

No matter how loud the other four were playing cards in the dormitory at noon, the two of them would at most tilt their heads to glance once, then plug their ears, hearing nothing from outside.

Upon hearing this, Ye Yaodong was also very satisfied; work-study must look like work-study; one cannot focus solely on earning money and neglect homework.

Unlike other workers who went straight to work after meals, they still had a noon rest period, and work ended at 5:30 in the afternoon.

After asking the two brothers, he also intended to ask his mother.

His mother had long been unable to stay and wanted to go home; if it weren't too far and she didn't know how to get back, she would have run away long ago.

She had mentioned it to him before, but Ye Yaodong directly said the children were all here, so many of them; if she left, who would look after them? He wouldn't let her go.

In this more than one month at this place, Ye's mother was nearly driven mad; no one to chat about family matters with, no gossip, only the repeated sound of "Boss's Wife."

But hearing that "Boss's Wife" over and over was no longer enough to sustain her perseverance.

She was too bored; besides the processing factory, there was nowhere to go; in such a huge city, there was still nowhere for her to wander compared to her village.

She had visited Shanghai once and was satisfied; she had bought enough and didn't want to run around in such scorching heat again.

Out on the street, she couldn't even speak Mandarin clearly, and she was unfamiliar with the roads.

Day after day in the factory, she could sit at the door and sigh eight hundred times.

Now that Ye Ye Xiaoxi finally wanted to go back, Ye Yaodong also planned to be merciful and let his mother return; otherwise, missing this trip, the next one would probably have to wait until before school started for her to return with the other two boys.

That would be the death of her.

As soon as Ye Yaodong walked to his father's dormitory door, he saw his mother spreading a mat on the corridor, slumping onto it, sighing intermittently.

In her hands, she was also picking beans intermittently, looking utterly listless.

Since Ah Guang returned, his mother could only move back from Ye Ye Huimei's place to his father's dormitory; otherwise, she couldn't occupy a whole room by herself.

Last month, another batch of retired soldiers arrived, and housing was no longer so spacious.

"Why are you acting like you're dying?"

Ye's mother didn't even bother to lift her eyelids, said nothing, and ignored him.

"Ye Xiaojiu said she wants to go back..."

"What? Really?"

Ye's mother immediately came alive, her eyes sparking with light; she dropped the beans and stood up excitedly.

"Really? Is that little rascal willing to go back?"

She happily slapped her thigh, "Finally willing to go back, that's great; I'll go back with her."

"That damn girl; every day I ask if she wants to go back, she tells me no, shaking her head while saying it; I suspect she's just being stubborn and deliberately torturing me."

"Why the sudden change of heart? Yesterday I asked her if she wanted to go back, and she still shook her head and said no."

"Oh my goodness, I must hurry and pack..."

Ye's mother heard the wind and took it for rain; she was so excited she immediately wanted to pack her luggage, wishing she could spread wings and fly back right now.

"What's the rush? I'll notify you again before departure; these two days are typhoon days; we can't leave for a few more days."

"Then I'll pack early too."

Ye's mother, full of energy, hurried into the room to pack her luggage in advance.

With such happy and efficient energy, where was the look of someone slumped on the ground half-dead just moments ago? She was practically reborn.

Ye Yaodong leaned against the doorframe, watching her scurry back and forth in the room like a flea, excited.

"Anyone hearing this would think I abused you; just now you were half-dead, but the moment you heard about going home, you came alive."

"Aren't you abusing me? I wanted to go back last month; you wouldn't let me go; isn't that abuse?"

"Who was it that eagerly followed up, saying she'd help me watch the children? Where have you ever seen children not going back while the caretaker quits halfway?"

"Staying here for a month is killing me; it's unbearably hot, there's nowhere to go, no one understands what I say, not even one person to talk to; isn't this killing me? Next time you ask me to come, I won't come."

"Tsk, you came last winter overjoyed, and when you went home, you bragged about returning with a full load; in the whole village, you were the most impressive."

"How can that be the same? Last year I stayed only a little over a week and left, and we were all in Shanghai; how fun, how much to explore. Now it's unbearably hot, nowhere to go, staying so long; it's killing me; it's not even as good as my little plot of land in the village. I'd rather farm every day in the village than lie around here bored out of my mind."

While Ye's mother spoke these complaining words, her face was full of joy; finally able to go home, even her complaints were spoken happily.

"You're enjoying blessings and don't even know how to enjoy them."

"Give this blessing to your father to enjoy; I don't want it. A wild boar can't eat fine bran; I'll just go back to my village, back to Bai Sha Village."

Ye Yaodong chuckled, "Chenghu and Yangyang both don't want to go back; maybe you shouldn't go back either!"

Ye's mother: "!!!"

The sky fell.

The clothes she was holding almost dropped to the ground.

"... Just take Ye Ye Xiaoxi back with you; you stay here to look after those two, and return just before school starts; stay another half month."

"Stay another half month?" Ye's mother's voice rose, "No way! Those two are so big already; what more do they need looking after? Let them go straight to the cafeteria."

"Ye Ye Huimei and the other two still need your care."

"Without me, she can manage; there's also Ah Guang. I can't; I must go back; I can't stay here; staying here will ruin me; my bones will rust."

"Then tell my father."

"He's just waiting for me to go back quickly."

After speaking, Ye's mother ran to him again, worried, glaring at him, "I'm going back!"

"Fine, fine, go back, go back."

"When are we leaving?"

"About three or four days, maybe four or five. Wait for my notice."

"Are you sure?"

Ye Yaodong sighed helplessly, "I'm sure."

"That's good then."

Ye's mother, relieved and overjoyed, went off to pack her luggage again.

In the evening, Ye Ye Huimei watched her mother's high spirits with curiosity; it had been a long time since she'd seen her mother so cheerful.

Lately, she'd only seen her mother sighing and looking as if she had no will to live; tonight was a rare change.

"Mother, did you find money?"

"I'm happier than if I'd found money. I'm going back. Your brother promised to take me home."

"Why suddenly decide to take you back?"

Ye's mother nodded toward Ye Ye Xiaoxi, who was sitting on the ground playing with Pei Yu, "This girl said she wants to go back. Your brother offered to take her, so I asked him to take me along."

"No wonder you look like you've come back to life."

"Finally, I can go back. Whoever wants to stay here can stay; I'm not staying. I'm returning to the village to leave your father alone for as long as he likes. I wonder how my vegetable plot behind the house is doing. After your two sisters-in-law pulled the vegetables, I don't know if they replanted anything for me..."

Ye's mother chattered on endlessly about her fields and the chickens and ducks she raised.

Just three or four more days of endurance, and she could go home!

After learning a typhoon was coming, Ye Ye Xiaoxi had been eagerly waiting for the big wind. She'd even prepared candles, but for several days in a row, the sun had been blazing, with only a slight breeze at most.

Then her father came and told her the typhoon had passed, ordered her to pack her luggage, and said they'd leave early tomorrow morning to take her home.

She looked out the window in disbelief at the bright, sunny sky.

"You're lying. If the typhoon never came, how could it have passed?"

"It did come. Didn't we have beautiful sunset clouds last night? That's a sign of a typhoon day."

"But there was no wind or rain."

"A typhoon day doesn't always bring wind and rain. Sometimes it doesn't head our way, so the weather doesn't change, but the waves still churn."

Ye Ye Xiaoxi, half-skeptical, pouted, "Then I'll pack. We'll go home tomorrow. I bought a lot of things; I want to take them home."

"Let your aunt pack them for you."

"My little sister wants to come with me too..."

"Ask your aunt, not me. I certainly have no objection."

Ye Ye Xiaoxi looked at Ye Ye Huimei, "Auntie, little sister..."

Ye Yaodong took the opportunity to slip away. If he didn't leave now, what would happen when she turned around and started making trouble with him? Anyway, Pei Yu was Ye Ye Huimei's child, so let Ye Ye Huimei reason with her.

And he also had to arrange the cargo transport for early tomorrow morning. After the several fresh-fish boats returned in the afternoon, both sides would keep him busy.

Who knew how Ye Ye Huimei persuaded the two children? By the next morning, both were looking at each other with teary eyes, holding hands reluctantly as they followed to the tractor.

Seeing there was still plenty of time, Ye Yaodong let them say their goodbyes while he first counted the workers and checked off the list.

But Ye Ye Xiaoxi suddenly changed her mind again, "Dad, I don't want to go home anymore."

"Huh?" Ye Yaodong and Ye's mother both glared at her.

She fidgeted awkwardly, "Can I go home with my brothers instead?"

Ye Yaodong poked her forehead with the other end of his pen, "We agreed. Don't change your mind on me. I've already called to notify your mother. If I wasn't supposed to take you back, would I have bothered making the trip? Everything is arranged. Don't cause trouble for me."

Ye's mother also gave her a pat, "No changing your mind."

"Then why won't my brothers go home with me?"

"They're working as child laborers to earn their tuition and toy money. Unlike you, who only wants to play. Have you ever seen them play? Every day, just like the workers, they go to the factory at the appointed time. Do you want to be like them, working during the day and doing homework at night? They haven't even bought their toys and stationery yet; they still have to earn the money themselves. You've already bought a whole pile. Give those back to me?"

Ye Ye Xiaoxi fell silent.

"Get in the truck. If you keep changing your mind, I'll beat you later."

She pouted, feeling aggrieved, as she was lifted onto the tractor. Sitting on the straw with her schoolbag in her arms, she waved to Pei Yu, whose eyes were filled with tears.

Seeing everyone was on board, Ye's mother finally breathed a sigh of relief, fearing the girl would throw another tantrum and refuse to go, which would ruin everything for her.

"Be good. A bunch of little friends are waiting for you at home. You'll have to tell them all about it when you get back."

"Don't you miss your mother? She hasn't seen you in over a month; she misses you terribly."

"And have you done your homework? If you go back early, you'll still have time to finish it. Once your homework is done, you'll see your two brothers cramming at the last minute..."

"When winter break comes in the second half of the year, we'll come again. By then, we can even take little Yu and the others home for the New Year..."

Fearing she'd change her mind again, Ye's mother quickly began brainwashing her.

After all the workers were on board, Ye Yaodong started the truck and drove toward the dock.

During this period, he had been recruiting people intermittently and arranged many tasks. He held numerous internal meetings, and many processes and systems were further refined. The operation could run smoothly with or without him.

Delivering goods no longer required Ye's father, so he had much more leisure. He only needed to sit in the office, stamp documents, sign papers, and answer phones.

A whole group of people reported the day's order status to him. He accepted it all with joy, able to hear people constantly calling him "General Manager Ye" every day. He could even happily eat an extra bowl of rice.

With Ye Yaodong present, he handled almost everything in the factory. Whenever there was an issue, people went to him. Ye's father, essentially idle, could only wander around, supervising the expansion work.

A vegetable plot had even been carved out in the factory's corner. Recently, it was full of cucumbers and eggplants, and the luffa vines had almost climbed over the wall.

Their family had been eating these vegetables lately. As for fish and shrimp, needless to say, they cost nothing.

Seeing the melons, fruits, and vegetables in the corner also made Ye's mother miss her own private plot back home even more.

The little work here wasn't enough for Ye's father to do. Ye's mother wanted to work but had nothing to do, making her even more bored.

Once on the boat, Ye's mother felt the sea breeze smelled like home, though in truth, it was all the same scent.

The workers were excited too; most of them hadn't gone home yet this year.

"Check everything, prepare to depart."

PS: I'm a bit stuck on the writing; there will be another update tonight.

(End of this chapter)