Chapter 530: Fatherly Love Was Hit

Ye Ye Dasao and Ye Ye Ersao readily agreed to take on the work; although their family had already split nearly 3,000 yuan from harvesting jellyfish, that sum barely covered the shop's costs, so they could not neglect the daily chores or the money they ought to earn.

With so many mouths to feed and no fields of their own, while vegetables were free, grain cost money; sitting idle and moving only their fingers to weave nets could still help subsidize the household.

"Adong, when will the shop in the city pay us? Shouldn't we go check how the construction is going?"

"Yes, we've spent so much on something we can't see or touch; shouldn't someone go take a look?"

Ye Yaodong raised an eyebrow. "You can go see; ask Big Brother and Second Brother to take you when they have time. It's your own shop, so you must take a look. As for when the payment comes, it's written in the contract; check it carefully. It's after New Year's Day, and not long after that comes the big New Year festival. We still have a little over a month until New Year's Day."

The two exchanged a glance and frowned again.

Ye Ye Dasao looked reluctant. "This money hasn't even warmed up yet, and we have to give it away; such a huge sum... we can't even see the shop. If I'd known, I wouldn't have bought it... at least then I could see the money..."

"You could have chosen not to buy. We calculated and calculated, thought and thought; Ah Hua insisted on buying, so we gritted our teeth..."

"Sigh—didn't I see you all wanting to buy?"

They had already bought it; what was the point of saying this? It would only affect those around them and bring negative emotions.

Ye Yaodong had heard her complain a few times but said nothing; he simply left. Since the matter was settled, let them vent to each other; he didn't want to hear any of it.

"Hey, Adong, bring the fishing net thread over now; finish weaving yours first."

"Okay."

He walked into the courtyard without looking back, then carried the thread over with a shoulder pole and left it at the door for them to take; payment was by labor, three mao per net, and a fast worker could weave five or six nets from morning till night.

Last year, because he hadn't set any stationary nets, having only set two as a casual trial, this year he planned to set more; whether one or two or many, they were all set, so he would do it properly.

Recently, trawling had been quite poor; perhaps the fish schools hadn't passed through their area and had swum to the deep sea. Several large boats in the village planned to switch solely to longline fishing, and even the small boats were following suit, making longlines, since everyone had to make a living.

Longline fishing was relatively easier and saved on fuel; one could set the lines today and retrieve them tomorrow.

Unlike trawling, which kept them spinning at sea from dawn till dusk, with little catch lately, the effort and income were out of proportion.

He also planned to set longlines and stationary nets next, then check the ground cages every two or three days; this would be easier, requiring no midnight voyages, only heading out when the tide arrived.

The old lady sat by the door, holding an old sweater Ah Qing had just given her; wearing her reading glasses, she was using scissors to cut open the seams, intending to unravel the old sweater.

Ye Yaodong sat over to help her find the thread end at one side, untie the first round of knots, and then let her roll the thread.

"I can see clearly with my glasses on; go on with your work."

"It's fine; I'm idle anyway."

Saying this, he took the sweater again to help pull the thread, stretching it long to make it easier for the old lady to roll.

Seeing him help with the work, the old lady smiled kindly; what the elderly needed most was not money, but companionship.

Lin Lin Xiuqing, halfway through cooking the fish, saw the grandmother and grandson sitting at the door, one unraveling thread and the other rolling it, chatting away in perfect harmony; she had originally wanted to call Ye Yaodong to check if the children had woken up, but immediately swallowed the words.

She decided to first ladle out the bass soup from the pot, then go inside to check herself.

But just then, a thud suddenly came from inside the room, followed by a piercing wail that seemed to pierce the roof, startling the three people busy with their tasks.

"Aiyo..."

"Eh??"

The couple simultaneously stood up and ran toward the doorway; a little meatball was lying on the ground, crying his heart out, which broke their hearts.

Lin Lin Xiuqing stepped forward first, scooping up the child; seeing her crying with a runny nose and tears streaming, lips pouting and eyes shut tight, she immediately cooed "oh oh oh" to soothe her while patting her back.

Ye Yaodong also hurried over, touching the child and saying with aching heart, "Check where she fell; her forehead looks bruised? Aiyo... this cement floor is too hard; it must hurt. Put her on the bed and check if she hurt anywhere else? I'll go get the tea oil."

The old lady also reached the doorway and quickly said, "I'll get it, I'll get it."

The couple circled the child with aching hearts; Ye Yaodong couldn't help but chide Lin Lin Xiuqing, "The child was sleeping; you didn't even go inside to check a few more times..."

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Lin Lin Xiuqing immediately glared at him. "Where did I not go inside to check? I went in to look every little while. After you finished your tasks, did you go in to check? How dare you blame me."

"I was busy too; I just came back from the town..."

"I was just cooking over there..."

The old lady quickly interrupted the couple's argument. "Enough, enough, stop arguing. She's already fallen; what's the point of saying this? Just pay more attention next time. Hurry and apply some tea oil first; check if she hurt anywhere else. Children grow fast from falls; how many children don't fall? As long as nothing is badly hurt, that's fine."

Lin Lin Xiuqing, still angry and ignoring him, took the tea oil, first applied it to the child's forehead, then unbuttoned her clothes to check her body; finding only a slight redness on her hand, she finally felt relieved.

Ye Ye Xiaoxi's lips were pouting too, with tears hanging at the corners of her eyes, sobbing and continuing to cry, looking utterly aggrieved.

"Daddy, hold me, daddy, hold me; don't cry, don't cry; it's okay, it's okay, it doesn't hurt anymore; hoo-hoo and it won't hurt..."

Ye Yaodong quickly picked up the child to soothe her, but the child refused him, constantly lunging toward Lin Lin Xiuqing, so he had to let go.

Lin Lin Xiuqing took the child, shot him a glare, and said, "Go ladle out the fish soup from the pot, and stir-fry two eggs for dinner."

"Oh."

"I'll go, I'll go; I'll stir-fry the eggs." The old lady quickly took over the task and walked outside.

While the child sobbed there, Ye Yaodong touched her head with aching heart. "I'll go find a few sticks or bamboo strips and nail them along the bed's edge; the bed frame only has this one side without a railing. I'll enclose it, so next time she won't fall out while sleeping."

Lin Lin Xiuqing glanced at him, said nothing, and simply held the child, pacing back and forth to soothe her.

Seeing the child still had tears at the corners of her eyes and was lying on her shoulder, Ye Yaodong quickly wiped her tears, then truly went outside to find wooden sticks; he acted immediately.

After finding them, he used an axe to chop and split them, then borrowed a tool for shaving wood, instantly transforming into a carpenter in minutes; this was the power of fatherly love.

After finishing dinner, he continued hammering and nailing; hearing the two children's curiosity, and with no adults answering their questions, they hurriedly finished eating and ran out.

Ye Ye Chengyang squatted nearby, propping his chin, watching curiously. "Dad, why are you shaving sticks?"

Before Ye Yaodong could speak, Ye Chenghu suddenly jumped up, covered his bottom with both hands, and backed away several steps. "Ah! Dad, you're not shaving sticks to beat us, are you?"

At these words, Ye Ye Chengyang panicked too, immediately backing away several steps. "Ah, are we going to be beaten again?"

"It's been several hours already; Dad holds a grudge... and he's specially shaving wooden sticks! Too terrifying..."

Ye Yaodong turned to look at the two fools; he absolutely refused to admit these two dim-witted boys were his own; they must have played with the neighbors' kids and gone stupid.

"Your words reminded me; I'll shave an extra one later to keep as a spare, so I don't have to use a whip when it's inconvenient. Next time you're disobedient or not well-behaved, I'll beat you with a stick this thick; one strike will surely break your leg."

The two brothers trembled with fear and quickly shuffled toward the courtyard gate.

Ye Yaodong couldn't be bothered to deal with them and went on with his own work, but from the other side of the courtyard wall he could hear two little idiots badmouthing him.

"My dad is so scary—he actually shaved down several pieces of wood that thick, and said whoever misbehaves gets their legs broken. So scary."

"Really? How thick?"

"Really really thick, and super long too." Ye Ye Chengyang chimed in to back him up. "Your legs would definitely snap."

"Are you guys adopted or something?"

"You're the one who's adopted."

"You were picked out of the latrine!"

"You were picked out of the toilet…"

……

Ye Yaodong's forehead creased with black lines. Just because a wall blocked their view, did they think it blocked the sound too?

"Have you all finished your homework?"

Instantly, the other side went silent.

He looked at what was nearly finished in his hands and pressed on. It was almost dark anyway, and close enough was good enough—he wasn't a professional carpenter, his standards weren't high, as long as he reached up there and didn't get scratched by splinters, that was fine.

After shaving down five wooden sticks and finding them all fairly smooth to the touch, he finally felt reassured enough to carry them inside and bang away on the four-poster bed.

It was a beat-up bed he'd slept on for years anyway, he didn't care.

Fearing the railing was too high for a person to step over easily, he simply left an opening at the foot of the bed for getting on and off.

Though it looked a bit ugly, at least it was enclosed now, and he wouldn't have to worry about the kid rolling off in his sleep. Feeling rather pleased with himself, he hurried out to call Lin Lin Xiuqing in to take a look.

The moment Lin Lin Xiuqing stepped inside, her brows knit tight. What a mess of nails—what on earth was this?

"This is what you spent the whole afternoon on?"

"Yep! That's right. It's a bit ugly, but it doesn't matter—enclosing it like this means no more falling out."

Lin Lin Xiuqing looked at his utterly self-satisfied expression and felt a little reluctant to discourage him, but she really had to get it off her chest.

"This mess of yours—I'd be better off taking some thicker fishing-net twine and weaving a new net to hang around the bed. When we don't need it, we just take it down. If she's napping during the day and I'm not in the room, I hang it up, tie it tight, and tie a little bell at the top so any movement gives a warning. Wouldn't that be better?"

Ye Yaodong froze solid on the spot.

He had poured his passion into it for hours on end, and now she was telling him he'd done it all for nothing?

"Why the hell didn't you say so earlier?!"

"I slaved away all afternoon, and now you're telling me you could've just woven a net?"

In an instant, his heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys all ached…

All that blood, sweat, and tears—wasted. All those hours, for nothing.

Lin Lin Xiuqing shot him a look and said peevishly, "I didn't think of it at the time either! How would I know that when you said you wanted to enclose the bed with wood, you meant this? It's hideous—it's even hard to climb into bed now."

"Didn't I leave an opening? How is it hard to climb into bed?"