Chapter 17: Who doesn't have a few fox friends and dog buddies?

When he woke up again, it was because of the sound of the door opening. That wooden door creaked the moment it was pushed.

Besides his grandmother and his mother, the only other person who would enter his room was his wife. Ye Yaodong kept his eyes closed without opening them, intending to doze off for a while longer. Spring brings sleepiness, autumn brings fatigue, winter brings weakness, and summer is just right for a nap.

A light sound of footsteps approached, and then something climbed onto the bed from his feet. The frame bed immediately let out a creaking sound. He opened his eyes to see his youngest son being held in his wife's arms, fast asleep.

"Asleep?"

"Mm."

Lin Xiuqing carefully and gently placed the child next to him, then slowly pulled her arm out from behind his head. She glanced at him and said with some hesitation, "Since you aren't going out anyway, can you watch the child for a moment? Don't let him fall off the bed."

"Mm, okay."

It was rare for him to be so agreeable without saying no. Lin Xiuqing let out a sigh of relief. "If he wakes up, just call me, and I'll come over to hold him."

"Aren't you going to sleep for a while too?"

"No, I'm not tired."

Watching her take a green bedsheet printed with red peonies to cover their youngest son, she then climbed down from the foot of the bed with light steps. Ye Yaodong didn't pay her any mind.

If she wanted to work and earn money, he couldn't stop her from doing so.

"Where is Ye Chenghu?"

He hadn't seen his eldest son since they finished eating. Under such a scorching sun, he had no idea where the boy had run off to play.

Lin Xiuqing lowered the mosquito net and said, "I don't know. Who knows where the seven of them are running around? They'll naturally come back when it's time to eat later. I'm heading out now."

The door was gently pulled shut. The son beside him kicked off the quilt with a stretch of his legs. Ye Yaodong reached out and covered him up again. Not even ten minutes later, he kicked it off again. Cover him up again!

Before long, he kicked it off again!

He even gave a kick, and his body slid to one side!

Forget it, he wouldn't bother with him. This brat had never given him a good look after growing up!

He closed his eyes again with a clear conscience, preparing to doze off for a while longer. But just as he was about to fall asleep, a pig's trotter kicked him directly in the face, instantly chasing away all his sleepiness.

Ye Yaodong glared at his son, who was still sleeping sweetly. So, he wasn't going to let him sleep, was he?

In the time it took him to glare, the brat had changed his posture again, flipped over, and was sleeping there with his butt stuck up!

How was he supposed to sleep like this? What if he let out a fart in his sleep? That would be the end of it!

Ye Yaodong lost all desire to sleep. He sat straight up, intending to go to the doorway to take a look.

As soon as he opened the bedroom door, he heard his wife speaking to someone with a very poor attitude. His two sisters-in-law were also chiming in.

"He's sleeping. You guys go find someone else to play with. Don't come calling for him all day long."

Lin Xiuqing was annoyed by these people calling her husband out all day, causing him to never be home. It was rare that he hadn't gone out today, yet this group of fox friends and dog buddies had actually come knocking. It was truly infuriating.

"That's right. You all have wives and children now, yet you don't look after your homes or help with any work, just running around playing all day."

"Why don't you guys just live together? Why bother getting married?"

A male voice said with a laugh, "I'd like to, but they can't cook or give birth to children. They're useless. If we lived together, my parents would beat me to death."

Judging by the voice, was that Azheng?

"So you know you're all useless?" Ye's second sister-in-law said bluntly.

"Haha, sister-in-law, don't say things like that. When there's real trouble, we're very diligent and loyal!"

Ye's second sister-in-law rolled her eyes. Being loyal or not wasn't as important as being able to earn money. It was a good thing she was married to the second brother.

"You guys go back. Adong isn't going out today," Lin Xiuqing said impatiently.

"I'm here, I'm right here!" Ye Yaodong hurriedly spoke up. If he didn't come out now, he was going to be chased away by his wife.

Living in this world, how could one not have a few friends to talk to? Although he was a bit of a failure as a son, a husband, and a father, he was quite successful as a friend. This group of friends was also very loyal, it was just that none of them had much to show for themselves.

Birds of a feather flock together, after all!

Although he intended to turn over a new leaf, there was no need to cut off ties with his friends.

"Dongzi, why didn't you come out today? Where did you go this morning? We came to your house and didn't see you. We asked your father and almost got chased out!"

"I went to the seaside to catch oysters and pick snails. Why are there only two of you?"

"What's fun about that? We were forced to do that work when we were kids; we're sick of it. Let's go. A-Guang caught a cobra this morning. We've already processed it, just waiting for you to come over so we can put it in the pot."

The one speaking now was Lin Jianyao. They all called him by his nickname, Little Whistle, which often made him protest. He would shamelessly claim he was big and ask to compare while peeing, but then say only his wife could look!

The one who spoke before was Azheng, Li Xiaozheng. The two of them had come to the door together to find him.

Ye Yaodong was a bit excited. Memories of his youth appeared right before his eyes. "Where did you catch it? How many jin? Shouldn't we kill a chicken and stew a Dragon-Phoenix Soup?"

"Where else? Caught it at the back mountain. We couldn't find you this morning, so we didn't go to town. We thought we'd go to the hillside to see if the watermelons were ripe. Who would have thought we'd see a cobra? So, we've got a big dish for tonight!"

"It's just not big enough. After cutting off the head, it was only one jin and three liang."

"That's big enough. It's over a jin. Killing a chicken is just right. A pot of Dragon-Phoenix Soup is enough for us to eat!" As he spoke, he also felt a bit greedy. He hadn't eaten cobra in many years.

"Let's go, let's go, hurry up. If we want to cook Dragon-Phoenix Soup, we still need to go kill a chicken. I'll go home and catch one!" Azheng excitedly hooked his arms around Ye Yaodong and Hearing Xiao Xiao's shoulders and headed toward his home.

"Aren't you afraid your mother will beat you?"

"That was from last year when I used my private money to buy eggs and asked her to help hatch them. It was already agreed that whatever hatched would be mine. I'm the one who feeds them usually, so what's wrong with catching one?"

"I also dug a basket of sea clams this morning, and there are several basins of sand clams. I'll go pack some up; we can stir-fry two bowls."

"Then hurry up!"

The three of them were talking excitedly as if no one else was around. By the time Ye Yaodong came out of the room, they were already walking with their arms around each other's shoulders.

Ye Yaodong pulled them back and said to Lin Xiuqing, who was still cold-faced, "Uh... that... A-Qing, I'm going out with my friends for a bit. Don't wait for me for dinner; I'll be back early tonight. Also, the child is still sleeping, remember to keep an eye on him!"

As he spoke, he felt a bit guilty. He had just agreed to help watch the child, and now he was leaving the moment his friends called. He felt like he had broken his promise.

But they were all his old friends of several decades. Like Azheng and Hearing Xiao Xiao, they would all go out to work in other places in a couple of years and wouldn't come back for several years at a time, along with the others.

Having just been reborn, he also wanted to take a good look at this group of friends.

Lin Xiuqing was a bit angry. Without even looking at him, she turned and headed into the room to see how the child was sleeping.

He had seemed a bit more reliable this morning, even knowing how to seriously pan for seafood, but the moment his friends showed up, he was back to his old self. She told herself there was nothing to be angry about; over these years, she had long since been worn down by him to the point of having no temper left.