Back To the Small Fishing Village In 1982 - Chapter 18

Chapter 18: Catching a Chicken

The women weaving nets around them couldn’t help but shake their heads. These boys were idle all day long, like children who never grew up, only knowing how to play around. Now they even wanted to kill a chicken from home?

What wastrels – if it were their household, they’d beat them to death. However, they’d seen their antics for years and had grown used to it!

At least they weren’t causing trouble for other families – that was perhaps their only merit.

Ye Yaodong rubbed his nose awkwardly, seeing his wife’s angry expression made him feel quite guilty.

Xiao-xiao grinned and said, “Dong-zi’s learned to care about his wife’s feelings? Don’t worry, just sweet-talk her when you get back tonight.”

“Yeah, just coax her when you get back. Come on, hurry up, we still need to kill the chicken. It’s already past two, and we need to stew it for hours. We’ll starve if it gets too late.”

Pulled along by the two of them, Ye Yaodong figured it was too late to turn back now. He’d make it up to her tonight, and tomorrow he’d go gather seafood with them again, show his good side and try to win back her heart.

Having made up his mind, he set aside his worries and happily went along with them.

Their Baisha Village wasn’t particularly large or small. A-Zheng’s house was closer to Dongqiao Village, with fields behind his back door.

Though he’d spoken confidently about catching a chicken, when it came to actually doing it, he felt nervous too. Afraid his mother might see them from the front door where she was weaving nets, he deliberately led them on a detour, planning to cross through the fields behind and climb over the fence.

Who knew his mother would be sitting at the back door weaving nets today!

And she spotted the three of them on the path with just one glance…

“What are you lot up to now?”

A-Zheng smiled sheepishly, poking his fingers together as he stepped forward, “Mom, I want to discuss something with you, see if it’s okay…”

“No!”

The three of them: “…”

She’d refused before he’d even explained!

A-Zheng’s mother lifted her eyelids, scratched her head with the shuttle and needle, and after scratching the itch, resumed weaving while saying, “Nothing good ever comes when you three get together. Don’t bother asking, I won’t agree!”

“Mom, Dad’s been saying his limbs feel weak lately…”

“What, you want to buy him a blue crab for nourishment?”

Coastal people usually ate blue crabs when they needed to strengthen their limbs.

“Not exactly…”

Ye Yaodong stood to the side, finding it somewhat amusing. He’d been so confident at his house earlier, but now facing his mother, he’d turned timid. How many years had it been since he’d seen A-Zheng like this?

A-Zheng figured he might as well be straightforward since he’d be in trouble either way: “A-Guang caught a cobra this morning, and I thought I’d kill a chicken to make a soup with it, then bring a bowl back for you and Dad. Dad’s been complaining about feeling weak lately, right?”

His mother raised an eyebrow. She’d been about to scold him, but hearing the latter part, she held back. At least he showed some filial piety, thinking of his father.

Seeing his mother hadn’t immediately scolded him, A-Zheng pressed on: “Mom, look, I bought the eggs with my own money to hatch these chickens, and I usually feed them more. See, giving me one chicken doesn’t really cost you anything, right?”

“You think I’m stupid? You still eat my food, wear my clothes, live in my house, and you have the nerve to say you raised the chickens?”

“Hehe, you raised them, you raised them. So you’re not against me catching one?”

A-Zheng’s mother glared, about to scold him, but he had already excitedly called Ye Yaodong and Xiao-xiao to catch chickens.

Not opposing and not scolding meant agreement, right?

“Get out, get out! Catch one and get out. Only catch a rooster.” After four daughters, she had only this one son – how could she not dote on him?

“Which one should we catch?”

“That one! That fat rooster over there! Xiao-xiao, you go first!” Ye Yaodong pointed to a magnificent rooster strutting in the corner, directing them to go ahead.

There was chicken droppings everywhere, and he didn’t want to step in it.

After a brief “cock-a-doodle-doo,” came a “Damn, missed it!”

“Over there, over there… Dong-zi…”

“I’ll get it… I’ll get it…”

The three ran all over the yard, chickens flying everywhere, but after all the chaos, they still hadn’t caught one.

“Damn, how can it fly so well? You guys go that way, I’ll go this way, let’s surround it!”

Ye Yaodong quickly stopped them, “Wait, wait, A-Zheng, go get some rice bran. We’ll stand in the corner, it’s easier to catch them when they’re eating.”

“Got it~”

A-Zheng’s mother watched painfully. These rascals! Good thing she’d moved the fishing nets inside quickly, or it would have been a complete mess.

They scattered some rice bran, but the chickens remained wary, circling around and not daring to approach.

After a while, feeling there was no danger, they finally came forward to peck.

“Now, Dong-zi, you go.”

Since they insisted, Ye Yaodong crept forward quietly, aimed at his target, and pounced.

“Got it!”

His face lit up with joy as he gripped both wings tightly. “Bring some straw rope, I’ll tie it up, or it might fly away again.”

“Here, tie it as we walk, we’ll take it to A-Guang’s house to kill it.”

The big rooster was full of energy, still struggling even after being tied, craning its neck and crowing.

Ye Yaodong handed over the tied chicken, then noticed his shoes were covered in chicken droppings. He grabbed some straw to wipe them clean, then ground his feet hard against the ground several times to clean the soles before happily following them to A-Guang’s house.

A-Guang’s mother had passed away, and his father was out at sea on a big boat, gone for several months at a time. With no one to arrange things at home and no girl willing to marry him, he remained single, living only with his two sisters. That’s why they always chose to gather at A-Guang’s house.

Everyone was already there playing cards, just waiting for the three of them to start cooking.

“Damn, A-Guang, don’t you know your own name? You dare to play cards in the afternoon?”

“Hahaha, Pei Guang, Pei Guang Guang!” Ye Yaodong also thought of how A-Guang’s name brought him bad luck, slapping his thigh and laughing heartily. He hadn’t seen A-Guang for many years either.

In his previous life, after A-Guang’s father saved enough money to buy a boat, they’d moved the whole family to Zhoushan to work in the shrimp business and rarely came back.

A-Guang looked at them with disdain, “I haven’t lost today, okay?”

“Then who lost? Who won? Whoever won the most should go to the dock and buy some seafood. A-Zheng brought a chicken from home, we’ll make dragon-phoenix soup tonight, let’s make it a feast!”

A-Guang waved the money in his hand, proudly saying: “I won against three people, first time ever! I’ll go to the dock and see what they have now, you guys kill the chicken first!”

They often played cards, gambling a little. Being friends, they’d use the winnings to buy food for everyone to eat, drink, and brag together.

Though they weren’t very successful in life, they all got along well. Ye Yaodong was particularly excited and volunteered: “You guys keep playing, I’ll kill the chicken and prepare it.”

“Alright then, it’s yours. I’ll play cards for a while, call me when it’s ready and I’ll cook it!” Xiao-xiao gratefully handed over the chicken and joined the others at the table.