Chapter 51: Dentures for the old woman

To get from their village to the county town, they had to wait for a bus by the road. They could flag down a passing bus from the town to the county, which cost 15 cents per person, but the buses weren't easy to wait for.

"Grandma, you don't get motion sickness, do you?"

"No, no, I don't get motion sickness anywhere I go!"

"That's good."

After waiting by the road for over an hour, they finally saw a bus coming. After paying and buying tickets, they sat in their seats.

The road from the village to the county town was a mountain road. There were no highways back then, and the mountain road, full of dirt and stones, kicked up dust that filled the sky. Looking out the window, everything was dusty, and Ye Yaodong was so hot he didn't even dare to open the window.

The mountain road had eighteen bends, and people in the bus were swaying left and right. He could only grip the handle on the side of the seat tightly. It took nearly an hour of winding and turning before they reached the main road.

In later generations, there would be highways, and it would only take 15 minutes from their village to the county town, but transportation wasn't developed yet.

Fortunately, the old woman didn't get motion sickness and was quite healthy; otherwise, he wouldn't have dared to bring her out at such an old age.

Along the way, he kept hearing someone vomiting in the back row of the bus.

After reaching the main road, it took another ten minutes to reach the station. He held down the old woman who was about to stand up. "No rush, let the others get off first."

The old woman's eyes squinted with a smile. "Good, good..."

The old woman moved slowly, and he didn't want her to be squeezed by others. They weren't in a hurry, so they preferred to be the last ones off.

The county town now wasn't as big as in later generations, and the surrounding villages hadn't been incorporated into the town, but it was still a county, not small, and there was a long way from the station to the county hospital.

The station entrance was full of rickshaws looking for business. The old woman was old after all, and he was afraid she would be tired if she walked too long, so he simply flagged one down.

"Ah, we have to take this vehicle too? Let's just walk ourselves, save some money, don't spend money on nothing. I can walk..."

"It's fine, I'll help you up. We aren't short of this dime or two. If you get exhausted, Father will beat me to death when we get back."

Along the way, the old woman felt terrible, nagging, "Why go through all this trouble, spending all this money for nothing? I'm already this old, how many more days can I eat? It's not easy for you to earn money, just keep it for yourself. I'm just a pile of old bones..."

It's precisely because you can't eat for many more years that I want to be filial to you...

"Are you thirsty? Do you want a drink of water before you keep talking?"

The old woman slapped him, unable to laugh or cry. "I'm talking to you, and you're still not serious. I know you're filial, but Grandma really can't live many more years..."

"Oh, stop saying unlucky things. We'll be at the hospital soon; it won't cost much."

She had no choice but to let him be, but in her heart, she felt very satisfied, thinking her little grandson hadn't been loved in vain.

By the time they came out of the hospital, it was already noon, and the old woman's removable dentures were ready.

Ye Yaodong had finished the matter weighing on his mind and was in a good mood. "You remember what the doctor told you just now, right? Wear them when you eat daily, and take them out to brush them after you're done. They're easy to wear, right?"

"I know, I know, I can do it. But these dentures are too troublesome. When I had teeth before, I only brushed once a day. These dentures have to be taken out and brushed at every meal. I told you not to get them for me, but you insisted..."

"Mm, now you can eat anything. You can even bite corn. You like eating peanuts; when the small patch of peanuts you planted matures in August, you'll have your own teeth to bite them!"

The old woman smiled until her teeth were invisible; being able to eat what she liked was still something to be happy about, but, "Tell me honestly, how much did these dentures cost? When I asked the doctor, you actually winked at him not to tell me. I still have some private savings; let this count as me getting them myself..."

"No need, they really didn't cost much. It's noon already, are you hungry? Do you want to go eat some noodles?" He quickly changed the subject.

"Eat what noodles? You can't waste money anymore. Things outside are so expensive. Let's go home to eat; it only takes an hour to get home. I'm not hungry, let's go home quickly."

"Alright, let's go back now."

The county town at this time looked dilapidated everywhere, not as prosperous as their town, and there was nothing good to browse. It wasn't convenient for him to walk around with the old woman, and if he let her watch him spend money, she would feel heartache again.

He waved his hand and flagged down a rickshaw to the station as usual.

The old woman knew it was useless to talk; Dongzi wouldn't let her walk such a long way. This time she shut her mouth to avoid getting thirsty, as the water in the bamboo tube was almost gone.

Going back was another eighteen bends of the mountain road. The old woman hadn't walked much all day, but sitting in the vehicle and shaking constantly, her butt hadn't moved an inch, which was also tiring.

When her feet touched the ground, the old woman let out a sigh of relief. "Home at last, our village is still the best."

"Wait a moment, we're right by the roadside. I'll go to the field opposite and break off a few ears of corn. We'll boil them later, and you can chew on them."

"Good, good, good..."

The old woman waited for him on the spot, watching him peel them as he picked them, pulling open his shirt hem and holding them in his arms. He even went to the melon patch next to it to pick two cucumbers, holding a full armful before running over to say, "You can chew on these cucumbers too."

"Hey, hey... good... let's go home..."

It was already past mealtime, and Ye Mu didn't know when they would be back, so she hadn't saved them any food. Ye Yaodong didn't really know how to use the earthen stove, so the old woman had to step in and cook some noodle dough soup for them to eat.

He hadn't eaten this stuff for many years. After his wife was gone, no one had cooked it for him. The old woman had specially added a few razor clams, oysters, and sun-dried shrimp, making the soup broth exceptionally delicious. He was indeed hungry and ate it all up, not even leaving any soup.

Watching the old woman also eating happily, and being able to bite the razor clams, he smiled and said, "The dentures are easy to use, right?"

"Easy to use! Easy to use!" the old woman said happily. "Now I can eat anything."

"You don't think I wasted money, right?"

"I can't live many more years..."

"Oh, why are you saying that again? Eat quickly. After you're done, rest at home. You've been tired all morning from the bus ride, so don't walk around. I'll go check on the house."

"Hey, good... I'll just stay home and chant scriptures. I haven't chanted today yet. Bodhisattva bless... Mazu bless..."

Mm... these few words were the old woman's catchphrase...

As soon as Ye Yaodong went out, the old woman stopped chanting scriptures and wore her dentures to stroll at the door, showing off. Whenever she met someone, she would reveal her teeth to the neighbors, smiling until her eyes became a line, saying Dongzi took her to the city hospital to get them for her.

She would also pretend to complain, saying she already had half a foot in the coffin and couldn't live many more years, but this silly child insisted on getting her dentures, wasting money...

Only when she heard people praising Ye Yaodong for being filial and her for being blessed did she reveal a satisfied smile.

After wandering around the village for the whole afternoon, almost all the old men and women in the village knew about it...

And then, when mealtime arrived, the middle-aged people in the village also knew that the third son of the Ye family, who was building a house, turned out to be quite filial... ===== CHAPTER 52 =====