Chapter 1635: The Big Show

After returning to his room, Ye Yaodong continued to lie down. Having been rushing about for so many days, he was truly exhausted. He basked in the sun for a while and felt drowsy.

The miscellaneous people outside couldn't affect his mood at all, because he truly didn't take that person seriously. He didn't give it a second thought and fell asleep the moment he lay down.

The women outside continued their discussion. Just as imperial censors would report upon hearing rumors, women would gossip upon hearing news; they criticized the person inside and out, from head to toe.

When it was time for the New Year's Eve dinner, Ye Fu finally spoke up: "Your eldest uncle just came over and said that Ahong didn't mean it. He had just been waiting for you for many days and, seeing you finally back, he just wanted to have a chat with you."

Ye Mu gave Ye Fu a fierce glare.

Receiving the look, Ye Fu's voice grew weaker.

"He wants to know if you could take him along when you go to Zhoushan after the New Year, so he can go take a look with you... and then find something to do for himself..."

"I'd sooner believe a ghost," Ye Mu said bluntly.

Lin Xiuqing said: "If he wants to go, he can go himself. If he goes with you, doesn't he have to rely on you to settle him in? If he can't find work, wouldn't you have to be responsible for him? And then he'd just be relying on you for everything?"

"I think his claim about going to find work is fake; going to see what kind of money I'm making and how I'm making it is the real motive." Ye Yaodong felt this was the case; a visit certainly wouldn't just be a casual look.

Ye Mu agreed, "Exactly, he definitely doesn't have good intentions. He must want to see what kind of money you're making. Don't give him the chance to cause trouble."

The old lady sighed, "Sigh, how did he become like this? He doesn't learn anything good, only how to be bad."

The other three pricked up their ears, looking at this one and then that one, listening carefully.

Ye Yaodong ate on his own, "Don't worry about him; I won't pay him any mind. He's been back for so long and hasn't even looked for a job. He just wanders around here and there. If things don't go his way, he beats his wife. He shows no signs of turning over a new leaf; who would even think highly of him?"

Ye Mu quickly agreed, "Exactly, he's far worse than Afan. At least when Afan came out, people came to collect debts, and he apologized politely, saying he would pay back everything he handled, and then he went out to find work in a down-to-earth manner. That's what turning over a new leaf looks like. Look at him, he's been idling about for several months."

Lin Xiuqing nodded while eating, "That's right, that's what turning over a new leaf looks like."

"Don't worry about him. Anyway, the family has increased its manpower, and there are dozens of dogs. If we encounter someone with ill intentions, the dogs could bite them to death, so we don't have to fear anyone causing trouble."

The benefit of raising many dogs was now apparent. An outsider might be able to poison one, but could they poison dozens, or a whole pack?

Could they avoid one or two, but still avoid a whole pack?

The old lady said in a low voice: "Surely he wouldn't be that bad, right? You haven't gotten in his way, and isn't he still hoping to rely on you..."

Ye Mu raised her voice, "That's hard to say. You can know a person's face but not their heart. Look at how he hasn't done a single thing in the past half-year; you can tell he has high standards but low abilities. He looks down on small money but can't earn big money. Without much skill but wanting to earn big money, wouldn't he have to resort to crooked thoughts?"

The old lady lowered her eyelids, not daring to speak.

Ye Fu felt pained that his old mother was being retorted, so he glared sideways at Ye Mu.

"It's none of your business, yet you start lecturing. Didn't Dongzi already say? Now the family has people and dogs, no need to worry too much."

"If something really happens, then there will be regrets."

"What could happen? At most, he only cheated people out of money before. Dongzi's money is all in the bank. Could he really do something that harms people? He wouldn't be afraid of being executed?"

"That's hard to say. If you push someone into a corner, they can do anything. Who knows if he's met some unsavory characters inside? Even if he doesn't commit murder for money, if he's jealous and can't stand seeing Dongzi do well, causing other kinds of destruction would be enough to give us a headache."

"You're getting further and further off track. You always think of people as so bad. You're just biased; because the sisters-in-law don't get along, you vent your anger on the next generation."

Ye Mu snorted, "You're right, I am venting my anger, and I am narrow-minded. If someone has ever wronged me, I can remember it for a lifetime."

"Alright, it's the New Year, don't bring up outsiders and hurt our own family's feelings. Eat, eat, eat, let's have a happy New Year."

Ye Mu glared at him, but she did shut her mouth.

Don't affect everyone's mood during the New Year. Such good food, and as they talked, it didn't even taste good anymore; what a waste.

"Come, eat, eat, eat more..."

With no more gossip to listen to, Ye Chenghu put down his chopsticks, "I'm full."

"I'm full too..."

"Then I'm full too."

The three of them put down their chopsticks one after another and wanted to run outside.

They ate their New Year's Eve dinner quite early, usually around four o'clock before the sun went down, and would heat it up to continue eating at night or before bed.

When the New Year's Eve dinner was being cooked, they would sneak into the room to steal a few bites from time to time, so how could they be hungry?

At this moment, hearing the sound of firecrackers outside, the three of them couldn't wait to go out and play. It was only the topic at the dinner table that had attracted them, making them want to listen a bit longer, which is why they sat honestly.

Lin Xiuqing called out, "All of you, stop right there. You haven't eaten a few bites and you're already running off. Your bowls are all still clean; what did you eat?"

Ye Chenghu remained honestly silent; every time, he was the one who acted as the representative to speak, and then he was the first to be criticized.

He wasn't going to be the one to stick his neck out now.

The other two didn't make a sound, so he didn't either. Hold it in!

Ye Chengyang was used to hiding behind others and habitually didn't make a sound, but he looked at Ye Chenghu strangely. Why wasn't Big Brother talking today?

Ye Xiaoxi also stood there waiting, waiting for them to speak up. As a result, after a long time, why were Big Brother and Second Brother not talking?

She turned her head and looked at Ye Chengyang, who was looking at his nose and heart. Puzzled, she took another step forward and looked at Ye Chenghu on the far side.

Strange, why were they silent?

Lin Xiuqing looked at the three strange children, her brows furrowing, "What are you looking at? Why don't you come over and eat?"

Ye Xiaoxi felt that this sentence was directed at her, so she quickly turned her head to look at her mother. Sure enough, her mother was looking at her.

"I'm so full."

"What did you eat? There's only one shrimp shell on the table, and you're full?"

"I was eating the whole time you were cooking."

"Come and eat more, otherwise you'll have to eat the leftovers tomorrow."

Ye Xiaoxi turned her head to look at her two silent brothers, "Brothers are older than me, and their stomachs are bigger than mine, they can hold more than me. Tell them to eat more."

Ye Yaodong beckoned to her, "Come over and eat a little more. Eat more now, and there will be less left tomorrow. Don't you guys dislike eating leftovers?"

She moved her feet reluctantly, "Didn't you say I was too fat? I'll eat a little less."

"You'll run and jump when you go out later, make some noise, and no matter how much you eat, it'll be burned off."

Not to mention, her little face had thinned out a whole circle and wasn't as round anymore. With her clothes on, it was hard to tell if she had lost weight.

After Ye Yaodong finished speaking, he looked at the other two boys, "Are you two mutes today?"

The two looked at each other and returned to the table.

Ye Yaodong asked curiously, "Why are you so honest today? Did you not get your lucky money?"

Lin Xiuqing said with a smile, "They already got it."

"Sit down honestly and eat a little more. After you finish, I'll give you another portion of lucky money."

The two brothers, whose faces had been like stone, were instantly delighted. They quickly sat back at the table and picked up their chopsticks to eat actively.

Their father and mother had always given them one portion; they didn't expect that this year, after taking their mother's, there would actually be another one from their father.

Too surprising.

"Don't give them so much. I've already given them some, why do you have to give another? Even if you give it to them, they'll just spend it. Now the money in their piggy bank can't even stay put; they spend all day digging in and out with a wire."

"I'll give them coins later so they can't dig it out."

"That's hard to say. They won't honestly save it inside."

"If they don't save it, they don't save it. It's the New Year, let them buy whatever they want."

If they don't want to eat or spend now, and work hard to save a large sum, fine, ten years later it will be devalued...

What they save probably won't even be enough for the two brothers to go out for a drink or sing karaoke.

It's better to enjoy it in time now; spending a few cents or a dollar can make them happy for a whole day.

When they grow up and go out to play, it might not even be real happiness.

Ye Xiaoxi was also extremely happy. She could actually get a double portion this year, so she felt she could try to eat a little more.

"I want to eat crab!"

She was small and couldn't reach, so she pointed at the crab and shouted.

Ye Chengyang's eyes lit up, and he also went to pick up a crab, not eating any other dishes.

Eating crab takes time and doesn't have much meat; a perfect choice.

It could let them sit and kill time while getting full; eating crab wouldn't make them bloated.

Ye Chenghu saw the two of them taking crabs and immediately reacted, following suit to take a crab to peel.

"So clever, even knowing to take crabs." Ye Mu laughed heartily.

"Hehe, crab is delicious, I like eating crab the most."

"It's good to peel and eat them all; if you leave them until tomorrow, you children won't be able to eat them."

"Why?"

"Because children have weak stomachs, and eating overnight crab is easy to get diarrhea. Eat up quickly."

Just as the family was happily eating their New Year's Eve dinner, someone came from outside and shouted: "Ye Laosan, Ye Laosan, a fight broke out at Ahong's house... you guys hurry over and take a look... it's the New Year..."

The whole table of people looked at each other. Ye Fu stood up and hurried outside, shouting at the person outside as he walked.

"What's wrong? Why did a fight break out? Is he beating his wife again?"

"No, it's the father and sons fighting. The three sons are pinning Ahong down and beating him; his head is broken, and his face is scratched."

"Ah? Sons beating their father, the world has turned upside down..."

"Don't talk about it, it seems he beat his wife, and the sons stood up for their mother. You guys hurry over and take a look, they're family after all."

"Causing trouble during the New Year, not even letting people eat their New Year's Eve dinner in peace," Ye Mu also stood up, cursing, "You guys eat yours, I'm going to take a look too."

After the old couple went out, the two neighboring families heard the commotion and ran out to ask, then followed them together.

Ye Yaodong sat there, unmoved as a mountain, continuing to eat his New Year's Eve dinner.

Beating his wife and then getting beaten by his sons—he really didn't want to watch this show; there was no novelty.

He could guess it: maybe he was unhappy in the afternoon, went home and took it out on his wife, and then the sons came home, discovered it, had a quarrel, and beat their father up.

The three children heard about the fight and were itching to go watch the fun. They couldn't sit still, their butts were like they were greased, and they kept looking outside, pricking up their ears to hear if anyone else was talking.

Lin Xiuqing reminded them, "Don't stretch your necks outside, eat your food."

Ye Chenghu finally couldn't help but speak up, "Mom, aren't you guys going to take a look? Surely a lot of people have gone to watch the fun."

"Children shouldn't be so curious. You want to watch the fun of adults too."

"Of course I do, the fun of you adults is much more exciting than us children's."

Ye Yaodong said: "You know that too?"

"Of course, no one watches when we children fight, but when you adults fight, the whole village runs over."

Ye Chengyang added: "Running over with bowls in their hands."

Lin Xiuqing couldn't help but chuckle, "Little devils."

Ye Yaodong praised him, "Well said, you see things very clearly."

"Dad, you're really not going? Isn't that your eldest cousin?"

"Not going, I'm exhausted. I've been rushing about outside, and today I finally came back to eat a meal in peace at home. I don't want to go anywhere."

"I'm full, I'll go take a look first, and come back to tell you guys?"

"How can a boy be so gossipy?"

"Alright."

Lin Xiuqing stood up, "I'm full, I'll go take a look, you guys eat slowly at home."

After speaking, she hurried outside without even clearing the bowls and chopsticks.

As soon as she left, the dogs at the door followed her.

Ye Chenghu shouted, "Great, Mom won't let us go, but she runs off herself."

Ye Yaodong was speechless looking at her back. One was more gossipy than the other; there wasn't one who wasn't gossipy.

"Go, go, if you want to watch the fun, go. Come back and continue eating later."

Bang, bang, bang—the sound of three chairs being moved.

The three of them scrambled to run outside.

"Slow down, running after eating until full will give you a stomachache."

"Got it..."

They heard it, but their running speed didn't slow down at all.

They had already been delayed for so long; what if they went late and missed it?

Ye Yaodong drank his little wine and ate his meal quietly. Only the grandmother and grandson were left at home to watch the house. The dogs under the table had all followed the three of them, and the doorway was quiet.

The old lady sighed, "I don't know what the situation is, how he managed to live his life like this."

"Don't worry blindly. Children and grandchildren have their own fortunes. You won't be able to see him when he's old anyway. Just take care of yourself and live happily for a few more years."

"The palm is flesh, and the back of the hand is also flesh. How can I not worry?"

"How are you going to worry? You're at your age, can you worry? It's a struggle for you just to walk to his house."

The old lady was silent.

"Eat your meal. If you really want to worry, call the eldest uncle over later and scold him, tell him to teach his son well. What kind of skill is beating his wife? The grandson is also grown up, can he just watch his own mother get beaten for no reason?"

This idea was good, and the old lady felt a bit more spirited.

"You're right. Later, have your father call your eldest uncle and aunt over and scold them. I don't know how they taught their son. People are back, and they don't even know how to persuade him to live a good life and stop causing trouble."

"Hmm, just in time for New Year's Eve, we can scold and beat him."

The old lady nodded repeatedly, even using her cane to poke the ground fiercely.

"Right, it's not good to cause trouble during the New Year, so while it's still today, call him over later."

"Eat quickly, the food will be cold in a while."

"How can I still eat?"

"If you can't eat, then go wait at the door. When my father and the others come back, tell my father to go call the person for you."

The old lady obediently went to wait at the door.

At this moment, the sun had just set. Although it was a bit cold, the house faced south, naturally blocking the north wind. It wasn't bad since the wind couldn't blow in.

Ye Yaodong didn't want to listen to her sighing while eating, so letting her wait at the door was just right. Anyway, she couldn't eat.

Not long after, noisy sounds came from outside, and the voices grew closer and louder.

Until Ye Mu's loud voice and the old lady's voice calling for Ye Fu were heard.

"What?"

"Go call your eldest brother over."

"Call him over for what? Don't look for trouble, why bother with him? Don't worry about this."

"I told you to go call him, so go call him. Why do you have so much to say?"

Ye Yaodong got up and walked out, "She wants to call the eldest uncle over to have a good talk, tell him to manage his son, and urge them to live a good life."

"It's so much trouble to ask you to call someone, huh? Can't I order you around anymore?"

The old lady raised her cane and wanted to hit Ye Fu, and Ye Fu quickly stepped back.

"Got it, I'll go call him for you right now. You have so much trouble, if he could live a good life, would he be beating people like this?"

Ye Fu left this sentence and went to call the person for her.

Lin Xiuqing said: "I heard from everyone that after he went back from here this afternoon, he was unhappy and beat his wife who was cooking the New Year's Eve dinner."

"I heard that hot water was boiling in the pot for soup, and the sister-in-law was beaten and accidentally touched the pot. The back of her hand was scalded with a large patch of blood blisters. It wasn't treated with cold water in time, and she was beaten again. It looks exceptionally serious now."

"Fortunately, it's winter and she's wearing a cotton-padded jacket, so only the back of her hand was injured. If it were summer, the skin on her whole arm would be ruined."

"Then the two daughters were at home helping and were beaten too. The mother and three daughters were locked at home in a miserable state."

Ye Mu cursed from the side, "Truly not a human. Her hand is about to be ruined, and he didn't treat the wound but continued beating her, and didn't even spare the daughters. No wonder the sons beat him up when they came back."

Lin Xiuqing added: "When the sons came back, the mother and daughters were huddled in a corner, and he was still there cursing, saying it was all that disaster of a sister-in-law who caused him to end up like this today."

The old lady's anger flared up as she listened, her cane poking the ground, "What a sin, how did this child become like this?"

Ye Mu pursed her lips, "Still a child... he's almost old enough to be a grandfather."

Ye Yaodong cursed, "Truly not a thing. It would have been better not to let him out. To be released early for good behavior, what a disaster."

Ye Mu agreed, "Exactly, it would have been better to keep him locked inside."

"Was he beaten until he was covered in blood?" Ye Yaodong looked at Lin Xiuqing.

She nodded, "The eldest son hit his forehead with a stool. At the time, the neighbors couldn't pull them apart. A large wound was opened, and blood covered his face. Only then did they calm down, and the neighbors hurried to call the village doctor."

"When we went, he was already being bandaged, and he was still pointing at his sons and cursing them as unfilial."

"The sister-in-law's wound was also simply treated, but it looked so scary, the back of her hand was bright red, and I saw her just crying."

Ye Mu said: "When I went, I saw blood splattered all over the floor and walls, and I was scared to death, thinking someone had died. They are all ruthless people."

"What kind of sin is this? Sigh, can they still live a peaceful life in the future?" The old lady sighed, worried sick.

"Don't even talk about the future, they can't even have a good New Year."

Ye Yaodong asked again: "Then you all came back, what about over there?"

"What else can be done? Everyone has to eat their New Year's Eve dinner. Because of them, most of the village, old and young, ran over to watch the fun, some even carrying their rice bowls."

"When we left, the medicine had already been applied. The village cadres also persuaded them not to cause any more trouble. A good New Year is ruined, can the coming year be smooth?"

"Who knows if they can listen. Anyway, Ahong was taken by his mother to the old couple's place, while the sons and daughters are guarding their mother at home."

They were discussing at the door, and the surrounding neighbors were also gossiping. The big show for this year's New Year had arrived again.

Ye Yaodong said: "I heard it was the same a few months ago, he was beaten until he shat himself and sent to the hospital. How long has it been since then?"

Lin Xiuqing said: "The scar healed and he forgot the pain. He actually beat his wife again, and his daughter too. He only bullies his own family when his sons aren't home."

"Those two girls are also pitiful, their faces were swollen from slaps, and they said their bodies were also bruised from punches and kicks. Fortunately, they were wearing many clothes in winter."

The old lady said with heartache, "Why didn't they know to run out and call for help?"

Lin Xiuqing explained, "They were beaten as soon as they entered the door. They said the door was locked, not letting them go out to call for help, and others couldn't get in. The sons also had to kick the door open, which is why they were so angry."

Ye Chenghu also said indignantly, "Too damn deserved."

Ye Xiaoxi also clenched her fists and followed, "The sisters should have picked up a stool or broom and hit back."

Ye Yaodong patted her head, "Hmm, you be braver in the future. If anyone dares to hit you, you hit back. As long as you aren't hitting people for no reason, Dad will cover for you."

Ye Xiaoxi nodded, "If anyone dares to bully me, I'll call my brothers to beat him up."

"Are you hungry from running back and forth? Do you want to eat a little more?"

"No, I'm so full. Dad, the lucky money you promised..."

Ye Xiaoxi spread her hands, waiting for him to fulfill it.

Ye Yaodong saw his father leading his eldest uncle over in the distance. He dug into his pocket, took out 30 yuan, and gave it to the three of them, 10 yuan each, sending them out to play.

The three were pleasantly surprised—actually 10 yuan each!

Their mother had only given them 5 yuan each!

Dad was too generous!!!

With the rise in prices, lucky money had also gone up. It used to be one or two yuan, but now it had to be 5 or 10 yuan.

"Why did you give so much? 5 yuan each would have been plenty, why give 10?"

"It's fine, they won't bear to spend the large bills. If they want to spend, they'll only go to the piggy bank to dig out change."

"You know them that well?"

"Nonsense, if you had a 100-yuan bill and a pile of change, would you spend the 100 or the change?"

"I'm just afraid they'll spend it recklessly."

Lin Xiuqing said, watching Ye Fu lead the person to them, and asked again: "Why did the old lady call the eldest uncle over? Can this matter be solved by just saying a few words?"

"Just to let the old lady vent her anger." ===== CHAPTER 1636 =====