Back To the Small Fishing Village In 1982 - Chapter 30

Chapter 30: Playing Babysitter for Once

As the men walked back, the women on the beach were still digging, and the children were still playing, not feeling hungry at all. They were all covered in sand and sweat from head to toe, yet laughing with such joy.

The Ye family children had dug a large hole and placed the youngest, Ye Chengyang, inside, burying him until only his shoulders were exposed.

If Ye Yaodong had arrived any later, probably only Ye Chengyang’s head would have remained above ground.

He frowned, “You little rascals sure know how to play dangerously, don’t you? Do you know how dangerous this is? What if someone accidentally trips and falls right on top of your little brother, or steps on him? That would be terrible! Dig him out right now!”

“Oh~ Okay, Third Uncle, we’ll get Yangyang out right away.”

“Ah, this is normal! Didn’t we all play like this when we were kids? It’s fun,” Ah Zheng smiled and crouched down to look at Ye Chengyang, “Is it fun?”

“It’s fun!”

“You little fool!” he said irritably, then called out to his wife, “Ah Qing, look how foolish your son is.”

Lin Xiuqing turned to look, only then noticing her youngest son was buried. She frowned and hurried over, ignoring her aching back and legs.

“What mischief is this? How could you bury Yangyang? What if his chest gets too tight and he can’t breathe? Quick, dig him out. You’re all so naughty, playing with everything.”

Seeing the children’s flushed faces, dirty as little mud monkeys, Ye Yaodong shook his head, “Come home with me now, you’ve played long enough, look how sunburned you all are! You’re all filthy, come back and wash up quickly.”

“Ah, we have to go home now? Are our mothers going back too?”

“You come back with me first to bathe, don’t get in the way here, you’ve played long enough.”

Lin Xiuqing was glad he volunteered to take the children back first – having so many kids around was driving her crazy. “Be good, go back to wash up and eat first, we’ll be back soon too.”

“Alright then.”

Once Ye Chenghai, the eldest, agreed, the other children had no objections. It was past 1 PM, and everyone was actually quite hungry.

Ye Yaodong had Xiao Xiao take the octopuses and handed his bucket to Ah Zheng, “Keep it at your place, I’ll go directly to Ah Guang’s house in the evening.”

“Just pour it into my bucket, take yours back home so you don’t forget it.”

“That works too.”

The others walked ahead first, and after his youngest son was dug out, he picked up the little fool, “Let’s go, time to head home.”

Lin Xiuqing saw his bucket being emptied but didn’t say anything. After all, he’d handed over the big catches – the tiger grouper and snow clams – which had brought in quite a bit of income today, so it didn’t matter if they took the other seafood.

“Third Uncle, what made you come beachcombing today? Our mothers all said it was like the sun rising from the west.” Ye Chenghai walked beside Ye Yaodong, asking questions like a little adult.

Ye Yaodong glanced down at him sideways and casually replied, “Ran out of food to go with drinks, and no money in my pocket, so I had to collect some free seafood to go with my drinks, right?”

“I knew it! How could Third Uncle have really changed?” Ye Chenghai had a knowing look that made him seem quite punchable.

His hand itched to flick his eldest nephew’s forehead, “What do you know? You’re just a little kid. Have you done your summer homework?”

“Ah, it’s only been a few days since vacation started, what’s the rush? We still have several months. I hate it most when people ask about my homework and grades.” As he spoke, he turned his head away and walked a few steps faster, no longer walking next to his uncle.

Ye Yaodong rolled his eyes – not a single one in their family was good at studying!

The college entrance exam had been reinstated for several years now, but their village hadn’t produced a single university student yet. In Baisha Village, his generation – those born in the 50s and 60s – were doing well if they could recognize some characters.

“Walk properly, no chasing and hitting each other. Fall on this dirt road and your knees will bleed right away. And you lot, what are you catching in the grass? Hurry back home…”

He hollered and scolded all the way, herding them like ducks before finally getting these mischievous troublemakers home, his throat hoarse from shouting.

Taking care of children was no easy task, especially a group of them – he’d shouted himself hoarse.

As soon as they entered the house, he grabbed the water jug and gulped heavily, but these stinking kids were either pulling at his clothes or his arms.

“Third Uncle, are you done drinking?”

“Third Uncle, hurry up!”

“Third Uncle, don’t drink so much, leave some for us, we’re thirsty too.”

“Dad, I want to drink too…”

“Cough cough cough~ Here, here!” Their pulling made him choke on his water, these little brats!

The old lady watched them with a smile from the side, “Once you’re done drinking, go take a shower at the back door. I’ve already heated two buckets of water, and there’s another big pot on the stove. Dong-zi, take the hot water to the back door later, pump two buckets of well water to mix with it for their bath.”

“Got it, you sit and rest, don’t busy yourself walking around anymore.” Ye Yaodong helped the old lady sit down at a table nearby.

“Ah, I just heated some water, didn’t do much. Your mother said she’d cook sweet potato noodles for lunch when she went to the dock, so I haven’t even cooked rice.”

“Oh, well you sit then, I’ll take them to bathe at the back door.”

He wasn’t too dirty himself, just sweaty, a quick rinse would do later, but the children were quite dirty, covered in sand from head to toe, and he’d have to help them wash!

The three nieces took water to wash in their room, while the five boys stood stark naked in the backyard. The older ones could wash themselves, but the youngest two were his sons and needed his help.

“Stop, stop, stop, Dad, it got in my eyes! Do you even know how to do this?”

“You’re lucky I’m washing your hair at all, just rinse it quick, come here!”

“Mom always puts a stool by the washbasin and lets me lie on her lap to wash my hair. Sigh~ go away, I’ll do it myself, you wash Yangyang.” Ye Chenghu dodged aside disapprovingly, planning to rinse himself.

“If you want to wash yourself, then wash yourself. I play babysitter for you and you don’t even appreciate it, I don’t even want to serve you.”

Looking at his tiny youngest son waiting on the side, he felt unsure about washing again, “Never mind, let your mom wash your hair when she gets back. You sit in the basin, I’ll wash your body.”

“Hee hee~ Haha~ It tickles~ It tickles~ Dad~”

The sweet childish voice made Ye Yaodong’s lips curl up – he’d never noticed how cute his youngest son was when he was little.

“Neck is done, have to wash under the arms too, quick!”

“No~ It tickles~”

“You little rascal, you splashed water all over me!”

Ye Chengyang slapped the water in the basin, feeling he’d discovered a fun game, and kept slapping the water surface with both hands, splashing Ye Yaodong’s face.

His eldest nephew, who had finished washing himself, picked up his remaining basin of water and dumped it on his second nephew, but ended up soaking Ye Yaodong’s head instead.

He wiped his face and turned around helplessly, saying, “Ye Chenghai, you did that on purpose, didn’t you?”

“Huh? Haha~ No! It’s Third Uncle’s fault for crouching there!”