Chapter 1659: Doghouse

Although Ye Yaodong's father lived with him in his old age and leaned toward him, his bias was reasoned and justified, not mere favoritism.

Whatever belongs to whom goes to whom; whatever is due to whom belongs to whom.

If someone has something important to attend to, he pays his share too.

He considered himself fair, not favoring anyone in particular, perhaps just helping Ye Yaodong with a bit more work, but he also took more from Dongzi in return.

It was more work, more pay for labor, not free labor, so it didn't count as extra help.

"You should bury it back in its original spot, right? Right inside the doghouse?"

"Yes, I saw a pit dug out, and I buried it back in."

"Mm, I know. You two go play, get ready to depart in three days. I'll also contact a fishing boat."

"Alright~"

The two brothers, overjoyed, ran out excitedly, planning to tell their little friends too.

Their luggage had been packed eagerly even before their vacation started; there was no need to prepare or pack in advance. If told to leave now, they could just grab their schoolbags and head out.

Ye Yaodong's father, eager to dig for gold at night, dared not sleep deeply; he only closed his eyes to rest, keeping his mind on Ye Yaodong's mother beside him, watching whether she had fallen asleep and if she was soundly asleep.

Only after it had been late and quiet for a very long time, with no sound anywhere nearby except the waves, did he quietly climb up, glance at his watch by the moonlight outside the window—past eleven—and feel it was about time.

In these times, there were still hardly any entertainment activities; everyone basically slept by eight or nine at night.

He quietly opened the door, deliberately lifting it up first to avoid a creak, then slowly opened the narrow passage just wide enough for one person, squeezed out quietly, and gently closed the door behind him.

People, indeed, cannot have secrets; once they do, they feel like thieves, always conscience-stricken.

Better to hurry and return the gold, so he wouldn't keep feeling guilty.

Seeing the spatula on the table, Ye Yaodong's father took it along too; using both hands would be awkward for digging, and after over half a year, the soil had long since hardened.

A hoe would be overkill; a spatula was just right.

He tiptoed outside, opening the main gate the same way: twisting the lock, lifting the door up before opening it, leaving it slightly ajar so he could easily slip back in later.

The dogs in the yard sensed movement, immediately stood alert, and perked up their ears.

"Shh~ Don't bark."

Five or six dogs in the yard all stared at Ye Yaodong's father; two wolf dogs trotted forward, sniffed around his feet, then circled him.

"Don't bark, it's Grandpa."

The dogs indeed didn't bark, only circling around him.

Ye Yaodong's father felt relieved, quickened his steps, and headed for the doghouse.

Because of his movement, the dogs had all crawled out of the doghouse and were wandering around the yard, making it convenient for him to slip into the doghouse and dig.

Several dogs watched him with his rear end sticking out and his head thrust into the doghouse, circling around his backside.

However, they seemed to sense something again, all turned their heads toward the main gate, then trotted toward the entrance.

Ye Yaodong's mother poked her head out through the slightly ajar door to look at the yard, frowned, then placed her index finger to her lips with a "shh," signaling the dogs to be quiet.

Ye Yaodong's father had no idea his getting up had disturbed the person beside him.

Ye Yaodong's mother had originally thought he was getting up to use the toilet, which was normal; waking up at night needing to urinate happened often, especially since he had drunk a little wine before bed.

But lying there thinking, the more she thought, the more something felt off; seeing him move so quietly, she got the distinct impression he was acting like a thief.

Normally, getting up at night to urinate wasn't done so quietly; whatever noise happened, happened. Why did today feel so sneaky?

She lay there a while, heard no sound, and decided to get up and check.

Who would have thought she'd find the main gate open? Her alarm bells rang loudly, and she rushed to the door to take a look.

In the yard, there really was a furtive figure, crouched in the doghole, rear end sticking out toward the outside.

The dogs didn't bark either, just circling around him.

Ye Yaodong's mother frowned, grabbed a broom nearby, crept up behind Ye Yaodong's father, and asked, "What are you doing?"

"Ah!!!"

Not from pain, but from fright!

Ye Yaodong's father had just dug it out and was overjoyed when he was instantly so terrified he nearly lost his soul; he jerked upright, his head bumping the doghouse again, letting out another scream.

"Ah!!!"

Hearing the familiar cry, Ye Yaodong's mother scolded, "You don't sleep in your bed at midnight, you crawl into the doghouse, what thief are you?"

Ye Yaodong's father's screams instantly woke everyone around; clap, clap, clap, lights in every room flickered on one by one.

In the dead of night, even the slightest sound gets amplified; they had already heard neighbors getting up and opening doors.

Ye Yaodong's mother hit him with the broom, "What are you screaming about in the middle of the night?"

Ye Yaodong's father cautiously lowered his head, backed out of the doghouse, and patted his chest.

"People scaring people can kill! It's over, don't wake everyone up."

"Not sleeping in the middle of the night, you crawl into the doghouse; did you drink too much horse urine at night?" Ye Yaodong's mother said while hitting him with the broom, "I told you not to drink, drink less, you complained I was nagging, and now look, you're up in the middle of the night crawling into the doghouse."

"What's wrong, Mom?"

Lin Lin Xiuqing, wearing pajamas, ran out in a panic, only to see Ye Yaodong's mother hitting Ye Yaodong's father with a broom, leaving her momentarily confused about the situation.

The old lady was a bit hard of hearing; without her hearing aid while sleeping, unless the noise was loud, it wouldn't wake her.

However, the shouting and scolding between the old couple had gotten loud enough, so she got up to see what was happening.

"What's going on? What are you two making a fuss about in the middle of the night? Don't let anyone else sleep?"

Ye Ye Dasao, Ye Ye Ersao, and surrounding neighbors, all in pajamas, stood on tiptoes at their doorways to look; some had already run out, asking as they ran.

"What's wrong? What happened? What's this about crawling into a doghouse?"

"Is it a thief? What happened? Do you need help?"

Ye Yaodong's mother quickly said, "Nothing, nothing, everyone go back to sleep. The old man drank too much, couldn't find the toilet at midnight, so I got up to look for him."

She still gave Ye Yaodong's father some face, not mentioning that he had crawled into the doghole in the middle of the night.

As for whether it will spread tomorrow, that is none of her business!

"Nothing's wrong? If nothing's wrong, then let's go back to sleep."

"You scared us half to death; as long as no thieves were called, that's fine..."

"Ah, truly sorry; everyone, go back to sleep."

Once everyone had dispersed, Ye's mother put her hands on her hips and lowered her voice to scold.

"What were you doing sneaking into the dog kennel in the middle of the night?"

Just now, seeing someone lying in the dog kennel, she had wondered if it was him, thinking he was drunk; later she thought that didn't fit, since when he got up he looked sneaky, not like someone drunk; now she saw he was quite sober.

Ye's father covered the back of his head, hissing in pain, "Nothing, I was drunk."

"I don't believe a word of that; if you were drunk, could you move so lightly? When you get up at night, you make all sorts of clattering noises; you never care whether you wake others."

Two small heads poking out of the upstairs window were also whispering quietly.

"We're done for; we'll get scolded and beaten again!"

"So miserable!"

"Our dad always does things that get him scolded!"

"Seems so!"

Lin Lin Xiuqing heard the commotion upstairs, looked up, and softly scolded, "What are you looking at? What is it to you? Go back to sleep right now and shut that window."

The two small heads quickly pulled back in and shut the window.

Ye's mother put the broom in the corner and wanted to take a look at the dog kennel.

Sneaking into there in the middle of the night; one look and it was clear nothing good was going on.

Ye's father, fearing discovery, quickly blocked in front of her. "I already told you I was drunk and did something foolish; it's fine now, I'm sober; go back to sleep. My head is swollen with a big lump; go help me apply some tea oil..."

Ye's mother glared at him, waved her hand to push him aside; the more he blocked, the more she wanted to see what was going on, what on earth was the matter in the middle of the night.

Ye's father saw her bending over to peer into the dog kennel and thought, "This time I'm done for; I'll get scolded again in a moment."

Just now, he had dug it out, but after Ye's mother hit him with the broom, he was startled, flung it away, and didn't know which corner of the dog kennel it landed in.

Seeing Ye's mother bending over and peering into the entrance of the dog kennel, the wolf dog stuck its head inside, then stuck its head back out and dropped a gold ingot at Ye's mother's feet.

Ye's mother's eyes went straight!

Lin Lin Xiuqing's eyes went straight too!

The old lady's eyes widened round!

Isn't this Dongzi's gold ingot?

Ye's father, before Ye's mother could reach out, quickly picked it up!

"Let's go inside and talk; I'll explain to you inside."

Ye's mother glared at the back of his head, as if she could glare a hole through it.

Lin Lin Xiuqing quickly realized this was something Dongzi had played with for his father a few years ago; she had been told about it.

As soon as Ye's father entered the room, he handed the gold ingot to Lin Lin Xiuqing and said quietly, "Look what this has come to; there was nothing wrong at all, and now it almost got known by everyone."

"Where did you get this gold ingot?"

After a string of mumbled scolding, Ye's mother asked again, "You're quite good at hiding, aren't you? You even hid it in the dog kennel! You *****, where did you get it?"

"Where else could I get it? Dongzi gave it to me to play with, to satisfy my craving."

"Good, so you were guarding it from me, wouldn't let me know, and hid it here and there!"

"You should see what kind of thing this is; how can I let you know everything? With your big mouth, who knows if you'd go around shouting it?"

Ye's mother got angry. "Don't I know what can be said and what can't? Where exactly did this thing come from? You hid it so tightly, it can't be known by others; you wouldn't even let me know, and you were sneaking around hiding it everywhere."

It seemed he had to speak now; he had been discovered.

"I'm telling you, don't spread it, or who knows, it might all be confiscated."

Ye's mother's anger cooled a bit, and her tone softened. "Where did it come from?"

"Dongzi fished it up from the sea a few years ago, so he gave me one to play with. This thing can't be spoken of; otherwise, by the rules, things fished up from the sea should normally be turned in."

"Crazy; only a fool would turn it in."

"Exactly, so it can't be known by others; we can only keep it ourselves."

"You've been hiding it for several years? You're quite good at hiding; I didn't know a thing. Just how many other things are you hiding from me?"

Ye's father quickly waved his hands. "No more, no more; just this one thing. Tonight I was actually planning to dig it out and give it to Aqing to keep; otherwise, it's useless to me."

He couldn't take it out anyway; it was better than those gold necklaces and gold rings, which he could wear out, and he already had those.

This gold ingot in his hand was of no use to him anymore; he had already satisfied his craving to hold it and touch it.

It seemed he was not destined for gold in this life; every time he got hold of it, it was either discovered or turned in. Sigh.

Ye's mother patted him a few times. "Sneaking around in the middle of the night just to dig this thing out? And you couldn't bear to let me know!"

"What good would it do for you to know?"

"Then why not let me know?"

"Since I was already hiding it from you, I just thought I'd hide it all the way through; that way, you wouldn't know and scold me again."

"You didn't let me know, but now I still found out, didn't I?"

Ye's father didn't want to explain anymore; since he hadn't told her at the beginning, of course he would say as little as possible now.

Ye's mother continued to press: "You've been hiding it for several years; why suddenly think to dig it out?"

"Isn't it because we're going to build a new house? I definitely had to change where I hid it; hiding it in the dog kennel, I was worried the dogs would dig it up. I thought about it and decided to dig it out before leaving and give it back to Aqing to keep."

"I was just saying you were sneaking around in the middle of the night; you definitely weren't doing anything good. I hurriedly got up to take a look, and I caught you."

Ye's father said in a bad mood, "If I didn't dig in the middle of the night, could I dig in the dog kennel in broad daylight? Now look, my reputation is ruined; tomorrow the whole village will be saying I crawled into a dog kennel."

"You deserve it!"

"Why not take some tea oil and rub it on?"

Ye's mother snorted coldly.

Lin Lin Xiuqing hurried to fetch the tea oil first and helped rub it on.

Holding the gold ingot under the light, Ye's mother said, "How much did Dongzi scoop up? Here's one for you. Are you a dog or a rat? All you got to gnaw on are tooth marks."

"You got a gold ingot; wouldn't you take a couple of bites to check if it's real?" Ye's father replied, dodging the main point.

Ye's mother snorted in disdain.

The old lady listened for a long while before saying, "Making a fuss in the dead of night; you've woken up all the neighbors. Alright, if there's nothing else, go to sleep. A-Qing, put it away quickly so no one sees it."

Lin Lin Xiuqing responded, "Mm, I know. Everyone go to sleep. Fortunately, Mother didn't say anything else afterwards, only that Father was drunk and couldn't find the toilet in the middle of the night."

Ye's father asked, "I moved so quietly; how did you find out?"

Ye's mother said irritably, "If you had made normal noises, I might not have woken up. But you were sneaking around like a thief, so careful, which actually woke me up. I felt something was wrong."

"You're still the clever one."

"Do you think everyone is as stupid as you?"

"Couldn't you just pretend not to know? Making such a huge commotion."

"Didn't you make this? Fortunately, I recognized it was you; otherwise, instead of grabbing a broom, I would have grabbed a knife and killed the little thief!"

Ye's father glared at her and went straight back to his room.

He should have known to ask his two grandsons to dig it up; since they knew where it was buried, he wouldn't have had to wake his bed partner.

The two brothers were also cunning; they actually managed to rebury it for him without anyone finding out. He had miscalculated.

Ye's mother followed behind, muttering curses under her breath, and went back to her room.

The old lady chanted "Amitabha" a few times and went back to her room.

It was only because her ears weren't working well now; otherwise, how could Ye's father have buried things in the courtyard without being discovered?

Lin Lin Xiuqing checked the courtyard first, then locked the main gate, turned off the lights, went back to her room, hid the gold ingot safely, and only then got into bed.

Despite all the commotion at home, Ye Ye Xiaoxi slept soundly, unaffected.

However, when she got up the next day, she also heard that Ye's father had gotten drunk the previous night and crawled into the dog kennel.

She was extremely curious and asked Lin Lin Xiuqing, "Is it the same as when I was little, sleeping in the dog kennel in the middle of the night?"

"You know you slept in the dog kennel in the middle of the night?"

"Yes, Father said so."

"Grandpa is such a big person; it's so embarrassing. I feel so embarrassed!"

"Just eat your food and stop nagging."

"Eh! I know. Grandpa must have gone to the dog kennel to dig up the gold ingot, so he was discovered lying in the dog kennel at night!"

Lin Lin Xiuqing looked at her in surprise. "How did you know?"

Didn't she sleep very soundly last night? How did she know about the gold ingot?

"Because yesterday during the day..." She covered her mouth. "Grandpa told me not to say."

"Still can't say? It's already dug up and given to me. Even if you don't say it, I know."

"Is that so?" Ye Ye Xiaoxi hesitated about whether to keep the secret, but after thinking it over, she told everything that happened yesterday morning in detail.

Lin Lin Xiuqing finally understood why they had taken the gold out and given it back to him yesterday; it was probably because there was truly nowhere else to hide it.

Ye's father went to help at the new house early in the morning. By noon, he couldn't hold back anymore. "I'll make a phone call to see if there's a boat that can leave early tomorrow."

Ye's mother rolled her eyes at him and said nothing.

The three siblings were extremely excited.

"Then we leave tomorrow?"

"Great, we can take a boat to find Father tomorrow."

"Then hurry up and make the call."

After urging him, the three siblings whispered to each other.

"Grandpa must have heard the villagers talking about him sleeping in the dog kennel!"

"I think so too!"

"Father said I slept in the dog kennel when I was little; it's so embarrassing!"

"I think you're quite proud of it; you've been telling others all morning!"

"Ah? Where did I do that?"

"Shh, shh, he's looking over. Don't talk... or we won't let you come along! We'll leave you at home!"

"Let's go outside to talk..."

Outside, everyone was also joking and laughing. Especially in the workshop, the older ladies asked Ye's mother if Ye's father really slept in the dog kennel last night.

She casually replied that yes, fortunately she noticed something was wrong and followed him out; otherwise, she didn't know when he would have realized to go back to the room.

Since everyone heard it last night anyway, it was better to admit it directly; otherwise, there would really be no way to explain it.

By lunchtime, Ye Chenghu couldn't wait to ask Ye's father.

"Grandpa, is there a boat leaving tomorrow?"

"No. Just wait honestly for two days."

"Alright."

Ye Ye Xiaoxi comforted Ye's father. "It's nothing, no need to worry. I slept in the dog kennel when I was little too; I don't care about it. Don't be sad; two days will pass very quickly."

Ye's father looked at her speechlessly. "Just eat your food honestly; what does it have to do with you?"

"I'm concerned about you!"

"Grandpa, what does it feel like to sleep in a dog kennel? I've forgotten; I have no impression at all."

Lin Lin Xiuqing saw Ye's father so angry he was nearly jumping with rage, so she quickly told Ye Ye Xiaoxi to shut up.

"Food can't even shut your mouth? What's so important to ask about so clearly? Ask any more and I won't take you."

She stuck out her tongue, then quickly lowered her head to eat her own meal.

Ye's father, heartbroken, glared at Ye's mother again; if not for her, he wouldn't have been teased by the whole village today, nor forced to smile and politely claim he had drunk too much.

Two days later, when the ship finally docked to pick them up, Ye's father took the three children aboard without waiting.

This was the first time he was eager to leave immediately; before, he had wished to stay home a few days longer, ideally retiring there and never leaving.

Ye Ye Xiaoxi bounced and jumped on the deck, overjoyed, swaying back and forth with her small schoolbag on her back.

"Let's go find Dad!"

"Stop bouncing and be quiet on the ship. We'll stay in the cabin; the deck is full of cargo."

Ye's father also instructed Ye Chenghu to keep an eye on Ye Ye Chengyang, so the two brothers could look after each other.

Ye Ye Xiaoxi was the youngest, so he had to watch her closely; at that moment, he couldn't help but sigh that it was more convenient to have their own boat, and sailing their own ship felt more comfortable.

Ye Yaodong received the notice that his father was departing and arriving, calculated the timing, and sent people ahead to wait at the dock to pick them up.

After Ye Ye Xiaoxi arrived, she saw Pei Yu and the twins waiting for her at the factory gate, and she was overjoyed.

"Sister, cousin, I missed you so much. Did you miss me?"

"Yes, that's great, you're here again..."

"Sister, let me tell you, my grandpa slept in the doghouse a few days ago too, hahaha. He's such an old man, yet he sleeps in the doghouse just like me... it's so funny..."

Ye's father: "..."

Pei Yu looked at her with sparkling eyes, then glanced secretly at Ye's father, utterly shocked. "Really? Grandpa is so old; why did he go sleep in the doghouse too?"

"Yes, it's so funny, hahaha..."

Ye Yaodong's head was full of question marks. "Dad?"

Ye's father looked helpless. "I should have known not to bring this girl along."

"What happened?"

Ye Chenghu couldn't wait to tell his father, "... I saw it from upstairs. Grandpa was lying on his stomach with his butt sticking out in the doghouse, then Grandma hit his butt with a broom..."

"Stop, stop, aren't you tired? Get back to the dorms right now."

He grinned, slung his schoolbag over his shoulder, and ran off.

Ye Ye Chengyang excitedly circled Ye Yaodong. "Dad, when do I start work? Do I start tomorrow?"

"Up to you. If you're starting work, go report to the finance department."

"Then I'll go find cousin Lin Lin Dongxue right now and tell her I start work tomorrow."

Ye Ye Chengyang also ran toward the finance office like a flying arrow.

Ye Ye Xiaoxi was still laughing with Pei Yu, bent over with laughter.