Chapter 531: A Wayward Shot

"It's just hard to get onto the bed."

"Damn it, how else are you supposed to get on the bed? You think it's inconvenient for Laozi to carry you onto the bed?"

Ye Yaodong was so angry he almost jumped. He'd been working on this for so long, and it turned out she had a better method all along, yet she hadn't said so earlier—only after he'd already finished everything.

Lin Lin Xiuqing's face flushed red with embarrassment from his shouting. She stamped her foot too. "Keep your voice down! Saying things like that and yelling so loud—afraid other people won't hear? Not embarrassed? The old lady is right outside, and there's still someone next door. You never keep your mouth shut, blurting out whatever pops into your head, not worried someone will overhear and laugh at us."

"Damn, you know what embarrassment is, so why didn't you say so earlier?"

"I didn't think of it earlier either."

Ye Yaodong said angrily, "Damn it, forget it. It's all nailed up already, so let's just leave it like this."

"There's still a gap left here. If the little girl crawls around, she'll still be able to crawl over here…"

"Otherwise, nail it all shut and you won't be able to climb up to sleep? You were just saying it's hard to get on the bed—why are you being so troublesome?"

"I'm just giving you my opinion? It's inconvenient to get on the bed, and the child might still roll over here…"

Ye Yaodong simply gave her a shove toward that gap, making her fall back onto the bed, then threw himself on top, straddling her. "How is it hard to get on the bed? This works just fine! And it's convenient for getting things done too."

Lin Lin Xiuqing, embarrassed and angry, smacked at him. "Get off! You were already loud enough just now—that was embarrassing enough. If you climb on top again and someone sees…"

"I'm in my own room—who's going to see?"

Unable to push him off, Lin Lin Xiuqing could only change the subject. "Go carry your precious daughter back to the room. The child's still young—don't carry her out once it's dark. Go bring her back now."

"Hmph! I'll spare you for now."

The old lady had originally been holding the child and sitting at the door playing, but later carried her back to her own room. Ye Yaodong looked around and didn't see her, so he went to knock on the old lady's door.

The old lady opened the door and said with a smile, "How about the child sleeps with me tonight? I sleep alone, the bed is quite spacious, the child can roll around however she wants without worry. An old woman like me sleeps less anyway, and getting up at night to change a diaper won't make me sleepy. You young people need more sleep—you need to rest well at night to have energy during the day…"

"No need, no need. She needs to nurse several times at night. Sleeping with us is fine—it's inconvenient for you." Ye Yaodong spoke as he walked into the room.

"It's still early now, let her stay here with me and play a while longer…"

"No need, I've already nailed up the sticks."

Ye Ye Xiaoxi could already sit up, but she still preferred to play lying on her stomach or on her back. Right now she was lying on her stomach on the bed, holding the red ball of thread the old lady had half-wound the night before, its surface already covered in her wet drool.

Ye Yaodong didn't mind. He just reached out and wiped her chin, then picked her up, smiling as he said, "You're greedy enough, licking everything."

"All little kids are like this. She's probably hungry. How about I go make her some longevity noodle soup later? Once she eats, she probably won't need to nurse at night. Just like me…"

"No need, no need. She just finished eating. You go on to sleep."

Ye Yaodong carried the child and walked straight out.

He felt a bit embarrassed. The old lady kept insisting the child sleep with her—he couldn't shake the feeling that she must have heard his earlier roaring inside the room and was trying to make space for the couple to "fight"…

Embarrassing…

As soon as he entered the room, he said, "The old lady keeps wanting to keep the child, keeps saying the child should sleep with her."

He shouldn't be the only one embarrassed—he had to share.

"Why does she want the child to sleep with her?"

"What do you think?"

Lin Lin Xiuqing's eyes went wide. She clenched her little fists and pounded his back several times. "See? It must be because you were talking nonsense earlier and she heard it. Her ears are sharp as anything. I'm so mad. It's not like we're the only ones in the house, and you just spout off all day long… So embarrassing…"

Ye Yaodong dodged while holding the child. The child thought it was a game and let out a string of giggles.

"What's there to be embarrassed about? It's perfectly normal for a husband and wife to, uh, get things done."

"You keep talking!"

"Then I won't say anything…"

Ye Yaodong put the child on the bed, placing her near the edge. But then he saw her kick one of the wooden sticks with her foot, tilt her whole body, kick again, and bounce herself backward a little bit.

Instantly she was waving her arms and legs, letting out a silvery bell-like laugh of pure delight, kicking wildly yet unable to reach the wooden sticks surrounding her.

Watching her kick and wave her arms and legs in such a happy little dance, Ye Yaodong felt deeply satisfied. His daughter really got it—his hard work hadn't been for nothing.

"See that? My daughter loves the railing I made."

Lin Lin Xiuqing rolled her eyes, too lazy to look at his smug grin. "Ugly as sin."

"Ugly or not, only we see it. We didn't invite anyone to look. What's it matter in our own home? In a year or two I'll get you a Simmons mattress—soft as anything and easy to get onto."

"Bah! Just stop talking nonsense. Always going on about getting on the bed, getting on the bed… Hurry out and call the two boys back. They have school tomorrow and they're still running around outside."

"It's only just gotten dark. A bit later, okay? Even if we call them back they'll just keep making noise. Better to let them make noise next door—let them tire themselves out, then bring them back to sleep."

"You really know how to scheme."

"I'm planning to go beachcombing tomorrow, pick up some shellfish to dry in the sun. Want to come along?"

Lin Lin Xiuqing was a little tempted, but thinking of the children at home, she felt she couldn't get away. Her eldest son was at school, and the two little ones still needed her care.

Ye Yaodong knew what she was hesitating about and quickly said, "Li Li Laoer can stay home and play with his top, or we can take him to my dad's. Little Nine can lie on the bed. The old lady's watching—steamed an egg or some longevity noodle soup when she's hungry, that'll fill her up. We'll only be gone half a day."

"So are we going tomorrow morning?"

"The tide will still be coming in around six tomorrow morning. We can head out then."

Lin Lin Xiuqing was still wavering, feeling it wouldn't be right to just abandon the children and go off on her own to have fun—it weighed on her conscience.

From her perspective, beachcombing wasn't much different from going out to play.

"Forget it, you go alone, or call your friend Aguang—get someone to go with you? Aguang's free anyway, just sitting at home. Leaving the kids at home, I won't feel easy."

"What's there to worry about? With so many adults around, we can't watch two kids? There are grown-ups at home—it's not like there aren't. And we're not gone for long."

"Then tomorrow… tomorrow then!"

"I wanted to take advantage of these two free days to bring you along, and you're still hesitating. Ye Ye Huimei was dying to go before, and I didn't even want to take her. She had to beg me, begged for ages before I softened. And with you, I still have to coax you into going?"

"How can that be the same? She was still a Miss back then, free to play however she wanted. I'm already a married woman."

"Heh, a 26-year-old married woman."

Something about the way he said it struck her as odd. Lin Lin Xiuqing felt it was a bit strange, but she didn't ask. All married women are 'married women'—nothing wrong with that.

Ye Yaodong saw the suspicious look in her eyes and grinned, reaching out to pinch her soft, springy bottom. "Wash your feet and get into bed."

"What time is it?"

"It's dark out, and it's cool outside. If you're not getting into bed to sleep, are you going to sit on the chair and wait for the time to pass?"

Lin Lin Xiuqing glared at him. "Go call the children back first, lock the courtyard gate and the doors and windows, then I'll knit a bit more."

"Knit what? It hurts the eyes late at night."

"It's getting cold fast. I need to knit several pieces, so I want to finish them early."

"What's the rush? Didn't we get through winters in previous years without new sweaters? Just wear the torn clothes; what does a child care? They're always rolling and crawling on the ground, snot running everywhere."

"Just give them new clothes for the New Year. Otherwise, if you knit them now and they wear them, you'll have to buy new ones for the New Year again. Don't you feel bad about that?"

He wears torn clothes anyway, so the two children can just wear whatever.

Lin Lin Xiuqing thought what he said made sense too. They had made cotton-padded jackets for them last year; if she knits new sweaters now, won't she have to buy more for the New Year?

Thinking this, she suddenly wasn't in a hurry anymore.

Putting down the sweater she was holding, she started taking off her clothes, taking off her pants, wearing only a small tank top and shorts.

Women back then didn't wear bras or underwear; they just wore a small tank top and very loose shorts.

After undressing, she lay down on the gap left by the side of the bed, her feet still dangling on the ground, and said, "Come on, hurry up."

"Huh?"

Ye Yaodong looked at her lying flat on the bed with her hands spread out and was momentarily confused.

"Hurry up! Didn't you want me to come?"

Ye Yaodong: "..."

Did she take his pinching-the-buttocks action as a hint? Taking off and lying down so proactively...

"I didn't say I wanted to do it. I was just casually itching to touch and pinch. Since you want it, then I'm coming."

Lin Lin Xiuqing instantly sat up, her eyes wide open, watching him quickly strip completely naked from head to toe, even starting to take off his shorts.

"Wait... wait..."

"Wait for what? Aren't you in a hurry? I'm ready; I'll satisfy you right away..."

Lin Lin Xiuqing then realized she had made a huge mistake. Her face instantly turned red up to her ears. Seeing him lean over, she directly pushed his abdomen with her hand.

"I didn't want it. I thought you wanted it..."

She sat there, and that proud, spirited thing pointed straight at her face, even touching her cheek, making her face redder.

"Move away a bit..."

"No need to be shy. We're an old married couple. Just say what you need directly. I won't laugh at you. Who knows who better than the other two?" Ye Yaodong teased her further with a wicked smile.

"No..." She felt she had no words to defend herself. Looking at the thing right in front of her, she couldn't even speak clearly. She quickly shifted her buttocks backward and pulled her feet onto the bed.

Ye Yaodong grabbed her foot and leaned over. "Don't hide. What are you hiding from? You've seen it before. Come on..."

Lin Lin Xiuqing found it both funny and annoying. With the situation at hand, she couldn't say no; she had planned to do it for him anyway.

"The light isn't off yet. The children aren't asleep."

"If they aren't asleep, isn't it because you took off and lay down first, calling me to come up?"

"Don't say that," Lin Lin Xiuqing angrily kicked him with her foot. "Turn off the light first..."

"Turn off what light? You've seen it before. We've tried it plenty during the day..."

"Go turn off the light!"

"What a bother. When you took the initiative to lie down just now, you didn't say anything about turning it off..."