Chapter 249: Good Third Brother (Monthly Ticket Bonus Chapter 6)

He borrowed a look at the newspaper at the commune office, and after only a brief moment of surprise, he returned to normal.

"So there really was an earthquake the night before last, and two of them at that. The legend about earthquake fish is true…" Chen Shuji, who was beside him, had also just finished reading the paper.

"Yes, luckily our area wasn't affected. A 5.7 magnitude quake struck the surface of the Taiwan Strait and triggered a tsunami. A 4.1 magnitude one also happened at the same time in southern Taiwan. Good thing it was daytime."

"No telling when the tsunami will calm down. Wait until the waves are gone before you go out. I've heard you went out taking risks during a typhoon."

"Haha… only went once, not going again, hehe… life is more important."

Chen Shuji nodded and said with a smile, "When did you learn to read? I thought you couldn't understand it."

"I attended a literacy class for about a month and picked up some characters. With a mix of guessing, I can sort of make out half of it."

"It is convenient to know some characters. I still have some old newspapers here. Want to take them back?"

"Sure," that would be just right for learning about past events. "Chen Shuji, could you also help me subscribe to a newspaper?"

"Sure, I'll have the postman deliver it straight to your house."

"Thanks a lot."

Ye Yaodong walked out of the commune office with a huge stack of newspapers in his hands and headed straight home.

He bumped into his eldest nephew at the front door and got teased by the kid.

"Third Uncle, why are you carrying so many newspapers? Going to burn them for fire?"

"Can't it be for reading?"

"Holy crap… that's impossible… if you can read the paper, I could score a hundred on a test."

"Pass your own exam first before you laugh at me. Maybe you don't even know as many characters as I do."

"How could that be? Stop joking. Even if I fail every day, I'm still better than you."

"So you really do fail your exams," Ye Yaodong snickered and patted his head. "Ye Ye Dasao, Brother Brother Ahai says he's never passed an exam and redraws his own scores every day."

"Holy crap… Third Uncle, you set me up!"

Ye Ye Chenghai's eyes went wide with terror and he immediately jumped away from him, though his eyes couldn't help sneaking a glance toward the door.

Before he could see anyone, he first heard his mother roaring Ye Ye Chenghai's name…

The voice arrived before the person.

Ye Ye Chenghai shivered and looked around for a place to hide.

Before he could decide, he saw his mother charging out of the house with a whip in her hand, crack-crack-crack: "I was wondering why you suddenly scored 82 the day before yesterday. Your father kept praising you for finally doing well and even gave you a reward of five mao. Turns out you drew it yourself. Your skin is itching, isn't it? Today, 'Lin Bei' will flay the skin right off you…"

Ye Ye Dasao chased and cursed in a fury, "Don't you run! When I catch you, I'll pull your pants down and beat you till the welts come in stripes…"

Ye Ye Chenghai dodged and explained, "Mom, I'm innocent! Third Uncle is talking nonsense, don't listen to him. I'm innocent! He's getting back at me for laughing at him…"

"Your whole test paper is covered in red X marks, and you still say you're innocent? That's why I wondered how you suddenly scored 82… I'll beat you to death…"

"Ahhhh… that hurts… Third Uncle, you're so ruthless…"

"Run, run! If you run, don't come back for lunch!"

"Oww… hiss oww… Third Uncle… I hate you…"

Hmph hmph… Ye Yaodong patted his hands with the newspapers, watching his eldest nephew still being chased around jumping and dodging, a deep smile in his eyes.

Can't handle him? Piece of work!

He walked into the house unhurriedly with the newspapers, but Lin Lin Xiuqing glanced at him with a smile. "Brother Brother Ahai has been royally set up by you."

"Who told him to laugh at me? Can't even pass an exam, yet so cocky, still has the nerve to mock me. He deserves a beating."

"Why did you bring so many newspapers back?"

"To read past current events and news, and pick up a few more characters along the way."

"If you'd studied this hard back in school, you could probably be taking the college entrance exam by now."

Ye Yaodong rolled his eyes. "Even you're going to laugh at me?"

"No, isn't that just stating the facts?"

"Come on, teach me some characters, Miss Elementary School Graduate."

Lin Lin Xiuqing glared at him—this guy did it on purpose. "Don't bother me while I cook lunch. Go watch the kids."

Ye Yaodong glanced at the two boys squatting there flipping Wang Ba over and poking at Wang Ba's belly nonstop, then ignored them and sat down at the table to flip through the papers.

Whenever he saw a character he didn't recognize, he drew a little circle around it with a pencil, planning to ask his wife later.

Lin Lin Xiuqing had just finished tending the fire and turned around to see him reading the paper and twirling his pen, looking so unusually studious that she nearly froze—she really had never seen him look so focused!

Truly a rare sight…

Thinking he was just putting on an act, she deliberately walked over to sneak a peek, only to see the paper covered in little circles—and her waist was wrapped in his arm.

"What character is this…"

Lin Lin Xiuqing lowered her head, saw he really seemed to be earnestly asking, and quickly softened her voice to tell him.

The husband learning and the wife teaching made a perfect pair; they nearly forgot to cook lunch, and only came back to their senses when their two sons cried that they were hungry.

"Dad, are you really going to take the college entrance exam?"

"Damn, don't talk nonsense. Your dad only knows a few random characters. Don't go telling people, or they'll laugh at me…"

This kid had no filter—if he went out blabbering, he'd really be laughed to death and lose every bit of face.

"Oh, but Mom said you're going to take the college entrance exam."

"She was joking with your dad. Go play with your Wang Ba. If you go around spreading nonsense, I'll stew it."

"Pfft～"

More and more, he found his eldest son annoying!

By evening the wind and waves had eased a little, but hardly anyone went out to sea at night.

After waiting another day, the sky remained clear, and people gradually began going out to set fish traps and cast nets.

Ye Yaodong also went to pick up the longline hooks and gill nets he'd had repaired. These scattered little chores, he always hired the village's elderly and women to do—it gave them a bit of extra income and saved him trouble as well.

He went to find A-Cai again and pre-ordered about a hundred jin of small miscellaneous fish and shrimp. Once everything was prepared, he went to find his father to tell him about going out to sea at night, but instead his mother eagerly said she wanted to go too!

"It just so happens tomorrow's the fifteenth, there's a big tide. I'll go with you all. You can drop me off on a deserted island, I'll go gather some sea produce, and you can pick me up on the way back."

Ye Yaodong frowned in disapproval: "No way, isn't it unsafe for you to stay on a deserted island alone?"

"Then I'll call your aunts to come along."

"Holy crap, Mom, you think this is a market trip?"

"Didn't you say it's unsafe? With more people I'll have company too. Anyway, we're just gathering some cheap sea produce, let your aunts take some back too. The area around the pier has been ravaged by starfish for so long there aren't any shellfish anymore. Want to catch some oysters, dig up some clams — there's nothing. Perfect to gather more and take back to eat slowly. Just find an island with higher, safer terrain, drop us off, and it won't affect you casting your nets."

"Let's wait until spring starts. It's so cold, and you want to go to an island to get blown by the wind…"

"We're about to not be able to keep the pot boiling at home, nothing to eat, and you're still worried about the cold? Cold what? Perfect to prepare more in advance, take advantage of the good weather to sun-dry some New Year goods early. During the big cold days we won't need to go out to sea, and taking a few extra days off during the first month isn't scary since we won't run out of food. Otherwise where would we get stuff then? Just eat vegetables?"

His mother had thought it all through so well — what could he say? This was his mother!

It just so happened that the small island where they'd discovered the oarfish last time seemed to have fairly high terrain. When the tide receded all the way on the fifteenth, the exposed portion should be even larger, and there should be a small stretch of beach revealed. The waves couldn't reach the rocks, so as long as they were careful, it should be fine.

He reluctantly agreed. "Fine then, but don't call too many people. If something happens, we can't take the responsibility."

"Don't worry, I'll only call your First Aunt, Second Aunt, and Third Aunt. I won't call anyone else for now. We'll be careful — we're not young girls who don't know any better."

"Only two, otherwise there are too many people, it's hard to cast the nets, not enough space."

"Just drop us off on the deserted island, it won't affect you casting your nets."

"That won't do either!"

"Alright then, just your First Aunt and Second Aunt! Next time I'll call your Third Aunt."

Middle-aged women are really hard to deal with, especially your own mother — what a hassle.

But he also couldn't just take his brothers and not bring his mother.

What a headache. Thank goodness his grandparents didn't have many children — just two older aunts, and his father's three brothers.

His mother's side of the family was much bigger…

"Fine then, just you few. Let me say this in advance — if you call anyone else, then none of us are going."

He had to give his mother a heads-up in advance, otherwise she'd drag along every single aunt on both sides of the family.

"Ah, don't worry, I know. Too many people means less for each of us to dig up."

Ye Ye Huimei watched from the side with an envious look. "Third Brother, can I go too?"

"What are you joining in for? You're about to get married, stay home and behave. Going out to sea isn't a joke."

Mother Ye glared at her too. "What's it got to do with you? Just stay home. If you're free, go to your Third Sister-in-law's side and help her watch the kids, help make some clothes and quilts. Don't stay home acting like a hands-off boss — people will think it's your Third Sister-in-law who's getting married."

"It's precisely because I'm about to get married that I want to go. Otherwise once I'm married, won't I be just like Third Sister-in-law — either giving birth or raising kids? When would I ever get a chance to gather sea produce? Third Brother… just take me with you…"

"No way. Haven't you already gone once? Why go again? Addicted to playing around?"

"Who says you can't go again just because you've gone before? Just take me one more time?" Ye Ye Huimei tugged pitifully at his sleeve. "Third Brother, I know you're the best, please…"

"Go, go, go, don't be in the way…"

Ye Ye Huimei glared at him, then turned to tug at their father's sleeve. "Daddy~ just let Third Brother take me. Don't let fertile water flow to outsiders' fields. If there's any treasure, we can just pick it up ourselves."

"Ah, this…" Father Ye's hand holding the water pipe paused. "How could there be treasure for you to pick up every day?"

"Even without treasure, I still want to go play. People who live by the sea haven't even been out to sea a few times — how can they be called people of the sea? I'm about to get married. Daddy~ just let me keep Mom company, it's perfect~ Daddy~ just let me go, alright? Daddy~"

She kept tugging at his hem and swinging it around, calling out "Daddy" in a soft, cutesy voice. Which old father could resist that? He couldn't even draw on his pipe anymore.

"Um, Dongzi, then take your little sister along? Just let her go play. That oarfish island from last time looked pretty safe — the terrain looked high, and that stretch of rocks wasn't steep or tall."

"Third Brother~"

Ye Yaodong glared at Ye Ye Huimei, watched her ingratiatingly smile at him, and could only nod helplessly.

"Fine then, keep Mom company, but don't bring the aunts."

"Ah, not calling your aunts anymore?"

"Why call so many? Going to the sea to hold a market?"

"Th… then alright."