Chapter 5: Green-Flowered Skin Melon

The whole family had witnessed the entire farce from start to finish; for Ye Yaopeng and Ye Yaohua to claim they weren't envious would be a lie, and even their younger sister, Ye Huimei, was fiercely envious.

Although the old lady was very kind to all the younger generation, she could not compare her treatment of them to how she treated Ye Yaodong; in her heart and eyes, there was only him.

Among their four siblings and over a dozen cousins, it was said that only he was delivered personally by Grandma, who nearly missed the timing as he was almost born right on the beach.

Then, the moment he was born, held in her arms, he smiled at her, immediately winning her favor, and she had doted on him ever since childhood.

As soon as he entered the room, Ye Fu's anger had not subsided; he glared at him while puffing on his water pipe!

To be honest, even now he still didn't understand exactly which words he had said wrong to make both his father and mother explode!

His attitude?

Or perhaps the accumulated frustration of iron failing to become steel?

He thought it over in his mind; it must be just these two reasons, otherwise why would his parents be so angry?

"Where are the melons? I told you all to save one for Dongzi; did you save one?"

As soon as the old lady sat down, she saw a group of children each gnawing on a piece of melon and immediately asked, fearing that Ye Yaodong hadn't gotten any to eat.

Ye Yaodong's younger sister, Ye Huimei, said while eating, "We saved one; it's on the stove counter. Third Brother can get it himself."

Everyone else had theirs cut and shared, but only he received a whole one alone!

Moreover, everyone found this completely normal; even the children had no objections, for Third Uncle was special!

Ye Yaodong looked at the green-flowered skin melon on the stove counter; it was oval-shaped, only slightly longer than an adult's palm. He had just seen several that were very long and large, like wooden clubs, which had presumably been cut up and shared, leaving only the smallest one for him.

This was his favorite melon; at this time, many people grew it, and it was very cheap, but in later generations, few people cultivated this variety, with white-skinned round sweet melons becoming the norm, and he hadn't eaten one in many years.

He walked over to the earthen stove; the melon had already been washed clean, with water droplets still clinging to its surface.

Seeing the cutting board and kitchen knife on the stove counter, still stained with juice and seeds, he also placed the melon on it, cut it into large chunks, casually used a vegetable plate to hold them, and walked toward his grandma.

"Grandma, you have one too!"

The old lady smiled and waved her hand, "I have no teeth left and can't bite through it; you eat, you eat. Why did you even cut it..."

Although he really did want to eat it, he wasn't the type to enjoy it alone; there weren't many to begin with, and the household had so many mouths to feed.

Seeing that the old lady indeed had no teeth to gnaw with, he handed a piece to each of his two children and then took another piece for his wife.

This behavior made Lin Xiuqing glance at him sideways again.

Judging by the past, shouldn't he have just picked it up and gnawed on it directly? Why did he cut it to share with everyone?

After Lin Xiuqing took her piece, he finally took one for himself, then placed the remaining plate on the table for everyone to help themselves.

"Third Brother, have you changed your nature?"

"Can't eating shut your mouth?"

Ye Huimei pursed her lips and dared not make another sound.

Ye Yaodong looked at the old lady again and said with a smile, "Nowadays there are removable dentures; you wear them when eating, and you can bite meat and anything else, then take them off to wash after eating, and they can be used again next time. Whenever I go to the city, I'll ask at the hospital to get a pair fitted for you, Grandma, so you can eat meat and anything you want!"

"Aiya, don't waste that money; I'm half a foot in the grave already. Porridge with fermented bean curd is enough for me, and besides, I eat vegetarian food for half of every month..."

"You can eat meat on the days you aren't vegetarian; it's settled then!"

"At my age, what meat is there to eat? Isn't fish tastier than meat? We seaside people should just eat fish." The old lady's face bloomed with laughter; in her heart, she was actually very happy and gratified!

"Fish has its benefits, and meat has its benefits; we should eat both."

Everyone in the room watched their interaction, thinking that the third son still had some conscience toward the old lady, and her deep doting on him was not in vain.

Just then, Ye Mu finished shucking the corn husks and came in; Ye Dasao went up to meet her, saying, "Mother, let me cook it."

"It's fine, I'll do it; you go watch the children."

The old lady looked at Ye Fu and said, "I notice the corn silks have turned black; they're nearly ripe. In two days, you come with me to pick the corn cobs, lest we leave them in the field too long and they become too old and taste bad."

Ye Fu glared with his water pipe in hand, "Where would I find the time? The boat has just been repaired; while the new crew is energetic, I must take the eldest and second sons out to sea a few more times to see if we can catch another big haul! The third son idles around all day; let him take a few of the younger ones instead; they can pick the corn and carry it back."

"It would be a miracle if he could carry anything; he's nowhere to be seen from morning till night. I'll take the children and accompany Mother to pick the corn," Ye Mu said, grabbing a handful of straw, lighting it with a match, tossing it into the stove chamber, and taking over the conversation.

Upon mentioning that the third son couldn't carry loads, Ye Fu recalled how, a few years ago, the brigade had arranged for him to carry grain, only for him to drop it into a ditch, infuriating him half to death!

"What use is he? A grown man who can't even carry grain or corn, and even drops it into a ditch, making people laugh themselves to death..."

Ye Yaodong: "..."

These were ancient, rotten matters from long ago, yet his father remembered them so vividly; although... although he truly had been somewhat useless in his youth...

But, now that he had been reborn, he had already resolved to turn over a new leaf and be a good person...

Lin Xiuqing felt that since he was her husband after all, being disparaged by his own father in front of so many people was rather unpleasant, so she quickly changed the subject to rescue Ye Yaodong.

"Mother, the first day of the lunar month is in two days; the tide has been receding very low lately; aren't we supposed to go scavenging the sea?"

"It's fine, it won't delay anything; with such a large group of children here, let the third son take them to pick the corn cobs. Once they're picked, just tell me, and I'll go carry them back."

Ye Yaodong hadn't said a single word, yet the tasks had already been arranged for him perfectly; actually, he wanted to say that he was capable...

But he swallowed the words back; he couldn't be too eager to show off, lest it seem too abnormal; he would just carry the corn back when the time came.

Because their family was poor and couldn't afford to build separate houses, they had never divided the household, so the entire extended family ate and drank together.

However, the money earned by each branch from doing odd jobs or making fishing nets was kept by themselves; also, relying on the sea for sustenance, with the seaside being rich in resources, their food and drink came from the land's produce and sea scavenging, requiring little spending, so their family didn't have any major conflicts.

As for what his father earned, it all went toward repairing the boat; after all, it was left behind by his grandfather, and repairing one boat was far more cost-effective than building or buying a new one.

For seaside people, who doesn't long to own a boat, to set sail and fish, thereby improving the family's livelihood?

Ye Fu longed for this too, which was why he had been earning money for the past two years to repair this boat.

Now that the boat was repaired and ready to go to sea, he naturally had to work harder to take the two boys in the family out fishing; anyway, the third son was beyond help, but once the family's conditions improved, he could lift him up then.

Seeing that the whole family was busy and even the third son had been assigned work, the old lady quickly said, "Picking corn isn't urgent; a few days later won't matter. It's better to pick one basket a day to satisfy everyone's cravings; if we pick it all at once, it won't stay fresh."

Ye Mu didn't even turn her head, keeping her eyes fixed on the fire in the stove chamber, "As long as you aren't in a hurry, it's fine; anyway, it's not worth much money, so don't set up a stall to sell it. Just pick a little each day to eat; if any get too old, save them for seeds, and when we have time, we'll go plow the field for you again."