sbdcsierra Chapter 1879 Before Parting
Chapter 1879 Before Parting
Chapter 1879 Before Parting
The lively wedding lasted all day, with the banquet ending in the evening. However, the newlyweds' room remained noisy as young people played pranks on them.
The noise could be clearly heard from upstairs to downstairs, and the helpers at the door were all smiling as they tidied up the messy table.
The sea breeze brought the coolness of the night, dispelling the lingering aroma of food and drink from the courtyard.
The pair of huge red candles in the main room were still burning quietly, illuminating the red silk and the "囍" character that filled the room...
"Oh dear, I've been so busy I forgot! These red candles should be taken to the bridal chamber and kept by the bedside to burn all night..."
Sister-in-law Ye slapped her thigh and hurriedly went back inside to take the dragon and phoenix candles upstairs.
The next day, after returning to his parents' home, Ye Chengjiang's major life event was finally complete. His family was done with the festivities, and they began packing their bags, preparing to leave in a few days.
In the following days, there was another person eating at the dinner table.
Sister-in-law Ye warmly served food to Huixin.
"Eat more, don't be shy, we're all family. You'll be leaving home in a few days, and then you won't be able to eat home-cooked meals anymore. Eat more now..."
Mother Ye smiled and chimed in, "Yes, don't be shy, we're all family now. Feel free to stand up and grab whatever you want to eat..."
"Oh, good... it can be clamped..."
Lin Xiuqing could tell that she was a little embarrassed and at a loss with this enthusiasm, so she said on her behalf, "There's no need to serve her food. Let her eat by herself. Now that we're at home, there's no need to be so polite. In a few days, everyone will be fighting over the food."
Sister-in-law Ye chuckled, "Yes, yes, you'll get used to it. Pack your luggage these next couple of days, and you'll be going with A-Jiang in a couple of days. As for things like the color TV and washing machine, there's no need to bring them."
"No, we won't bring those big items. We'll leave them at home for you, Mom. We'll be coming back for the New Year anyway."
"Okay, okay, I won't use your washing machine. It won't get things clean. I'll just hand wash them."
Ye's father changed the subject, asking Ye Yaodong, "Have you prepared everything? What about the boat? Has it been checked and packed?"
"Everything's ready. Just fill up the tank when we set off in a couple of days."
The old lady sighed, "You're all leaving so soon. The house was so lively just now, and now it feels so quiet and empty."
“What do you mean it’s deserted? We’re still here, aren’t we? I’m not going out with Dongzi this year. I’ll just stay home and enjoy my retirement, and keep you company while I’m at it,” said Ye’s father.
The old woman glanced at him, then looked at the other children, "Are you taking all the little ones with you?"
"Whoever's child it is, of course they go with that person. Otherwise, how could you raise them? Could you handle that?"
"What can't we feed if we keep them? Will we let them go hungry?"
"That depends on their willingness. What would they do at home if they didn't stay with their parents?"
The old lady waved her hand and stopped talking.
But the meaning is roughly: everyone go, everyone go.
No one else said anything or paid much attention. No one would stay at home with an old lady who was halfway to her death, when they were at the prime of their lives and should be working hard.
With Ye's father by her side to take care of the elderly, that's enough. Raising a son is for old age security, and the old lady was originally the responsibility of Ye's father and his two brothers.
In addition, although their children have all passed away, Uncle Ye and Uncle Ye's family still has grandchildren and great-grandchildren, but the old lady just doesn't recognize them.
With so many descendants, she's old and senile, and she hasn't raised them all by her side. How could she possibly remember everyone? She might even forget those who were close to her in a couple of days.
Nowadays, most senile people forget who is called and what is called.
But if you tell her which grandson it is, she will remember it. But if you tell her the name of a great-grandson, she definitely won't know. But if you tell her who's son or who's grandson, she will know.
Ye Yaodong said, "I'll wait two months and then come back to see you."
"Okay, come back when you're free. If you're not free, don't come back. Making money is the priority. I'll be fine at home."
Father Ye interjected, "Who was it that was so reluctant to let you go, asking again and again, and now that they've said they're coming back to see you, and you're saying no need, then tell them not to come back."
The old lady turned to look for her cane, but couldn't find it; the cane was leaning against a pillar next to her.
With no suitable weapon at hand, she could only glare at him, "Did I talk to you? If you don't speak, no one will think you're mute."
Ye Yaodong changed the subject to rescue his father, "I'm coming back in two months to sign a contract with Ahai. I'll give him a piece of land in the city for rent, and I'll also buy Dad a car. We'll see if the timing works out. It would be best if we could pick them up together."
The family knew a little about Ahai renting land with him, but they didn't know that he was going to buy Ye's father a car.
Ye's mother looked on in astonishment and put down her chopsticks. "You want to buy your father a car? What kind of car? He's so old. What kind of car can he drive? Where can he go? The village is so small. You can walk from one end of the village to the other in just a few steps, and you can even walk from the village to the town. If you buy him a car, when will he drive it? Are you going to give him a BJ to drive?"
"I originally wanted to give him that car from Zhou City. He was already familiar with driving it, but it would be troublesome to transport it back. Buying a new one would mean transporting it back to the village. It would be better to just buy a new one and transport it directly to the village for him, saving the trouble of having to transfer two cars back and forth."
"No, I mean, what would he need a car for? Where could he drive it? In our small town, two legs are enough, a bicycle is fine, not to mention there's a tractor."
Mr. Ye explained guiltily, "Dongzi said that none of those can keep out the wind and rain, but a car can. In case of any emergency, having a car will be more convenient."
Ye Yaodong chimed in, "Yes, in case something happens, like going to the county town or the city on a rainy day, having a car would be better."
"That's right. If the villagers need a car for anything, I can drive and pick them up, just like people in the city take taxis. I can earn a lot of money that way."
Ye's mother said irritably, "No wonder I heard everyone saying the other day that they would have to bother you if they needed to go out for anything. I was wondering what they wanted you to do, but I was too busy to think about it. The car hasn't even arrived yet, and you've already spread the word?"
"It was just something that came up in the middle of a conversation with everyone, and I mentioned it briefly."
When Mr. Ye spoke, he seemed a little unsure of himself. Indeed, he shouldn't have spoken so confidently before he had even received the car.
Ye Yaodong smoothed things over, saying, "It's alright, everyone will find out sooner or later anyway, so there's no need to worry about the embarrassment if it falls through. It would be best to get things done once and for all when I come back in two months."
"Aren't you going to sea after the New Year?" Ye's mother asked.
“I can come back even if I go out to sea. Anyway, we have a car at home, so it will be convenient for you. My dad can drive too. If he can take on some jobs to earn some money for his retirement, that would be fine. He's not that old.”
“You have money, so buy him whatever you want. Now your dad will have both face and status, with a car parked in front of his house. He'll be the most respected person in the village.”
Mr. Ye smiled and said, "Haven't I always had face?"
"Look how pleased you are with yourself."
After saying this, Mother Ye only reminded them not to forget anything and to check it a couple more times while there was still time.
Lin Xiuqing had been in charge of arranging the luggage, while the two children were responsible for packing their own personal belongings.
Lin Xiuqing didn't know how much stuff they had hidden. They didn't live with her; they stayed at Ye's mother's place, and they had to pack their own things.
She only comes over to check on things after she's finished tidying up at home, and helps organize things, in case something is forgotten. Otherwise, she might complain about forgetting this or that, and we'll have to mail it, which would be a hassle.
"Is there anything else that hasn't been packed away? Toys? Homework?"
Ye Xiaoxi said in a slightly guilty voice, "Everything is packed."
Ye Chenghu complained, "Mom, I haven't seen her do any homework with Yangyang in all these days."
"Did you do it? How dare you say that to me?"
Ye Chenghu spread his hands, looking smug. "Sorry, you seem to have forgotten, I don't have any winter break homework!"
Ye Chengyang calmly replied, "How do you know I didn't do it if you didn't see it?"
Ye Chenghu pointed at Ye Xiaoxi and tapped her with his index finger, "That means you didn't do it."
"How do you know I didn't do it? Your eyes aren't on the back of my head." Ye Xiaoxi tried to slap his finger away, but he pulled it back first.
"If you had done your homework, you wouldn't have been speaking in that tone just now. You would have been speaking loudly, confidently, and with a smug look on your face, saying that you had finished all your homework."
Ye Xiaoxi glared at him with her small eyes, "What's it to you if I do my winter vacation homework? I'll finish it when I get back. Who does homework during the New Year?"
Lin Xiuqing tidied her bed, checked her things, and then turned around and said something to her.
"You didn't do your homework and you still think you're right?"
"That's true. Workers get a break during the Lunar New Year, and students get a holiday too."
"That's just making excuses. It's precisely because you're a student that you have winter break homework. Go back and finish it right away, or I won't register you. Don't cry then."
"I'll make it up when I get back."
“You’re always running around outside, or playing games and watching TV at home. When I’m busy, I don’t have time to take care of you. Don’t you know how to be more self-disciplined? You’re all grown up, and you’re still lecturing people every day.”
"I'm very self-disciplined. I play outside and I play at home, which is a reasonable balance. I've also planned my homework, which I'll do when I get back to Shanghai. When we're celebrating the New Year at home, we should have a good time and enjoy the festive atmosphere. When I get back, I'll do my homework properly. This is a reasonable balance between work and rest."
"Fallacy."
Ye Chenghu crossed his arms and looked at her with a leisurely air. "Hey, I never realized you were so good at arguing."
"Didn't you notice that your second brother asked you a question in a very serious tone, subtly avoiding answering it?"
Ye Chenghu then looked at Ye Chengyang.
Ye Chengyang calmly turned his head and said, "I'll go back to my room and check if anything is missing."
"Well, they're all as cunning as sieves, they don't even answer properly, and they're all full of traps."
Ye Chenghu followed behind him, wanting to see if his good younger brother had done his homework.
You know, during high school, he was both happy and miserable during winter and summer vacations. The amount of homework during winter and summer vacations increased year by year throughout his three years of high school.
Lin Xiuqing tidied up her belongings, taking out all sorts of odds and ends from the burlap sack.
Why do you have so many things?
“There are some things from home that I want to bring up... the slippers you sewed for me, the crocheted hat, I want to bring them all, and my old dolls too.”
"This piece of junk is faded and looks scary. You still want to take it to Shanghai? Just keep it in the closet at home. You can sleep in it under the covers every night without having nightmares."
"How could that be? What's scary about it? It's clearly cute."
"cute?"
Lin Xiuqing glanced disdainfully at the doll lying on the bed. Its face and the back of its hands were scribbled with pen marks, and there was blue ink from the ballpoint pen smeared everywhere. Its red dress was faded and dirty, and the dirt couldn't be washed off.
Ye Xiaoxi stuffed the tattered items she had just taken out back into the sack. "I want them all. Just keep them in my room, and you're not allowed to throw them away."
"Whatever, I'll have your dad carry you later."
"Yeah, I asked my dad to get it, not you."
Lin Xiuqing said irritably, "Then you keep it safe. I'll go check it with your second brother."
"Go ahead, go ahead. You can also check your second brother's homework. I bet he hasn't done his homework either. He plays games all day and has female classmates coming to his door every day. How could he have time to do his homework? You're all lying to him and only telling me. Your eldest brother is stupid too."
Lin Xiuqing poked her forehead. "You're so clever, you know everything."
She turned her head away haughtily and started packing her things again.
After the three siblings packed their things, Ye Yaodong helped them take them back to their hometown first, as leaving them with their mother would make them easily mixed up with other people's things.
They keep their own belongings so that they can have a designated place when they're loaded onto the ship and won't get mixed up with other people's.
They had everything arranged the day before their departure, and were just waiting for the appointed time to leave.
By the way, a farewell dinner was also arranged at home. It was actually similar to a regular meal, but the meaning was different, since it was the last meal at home after the New Year.
Everyone was happy, and Ye's parents were also happy. Their lives were thriving, all because they were going out to make big money.
Even towards the end of the meal, she still felt a bit sad, and the old lady started secretly wiping away tears.
No one knew how to comfort them, so they just pretended not to see it.
Ye Yaodong sat next to the old lady and teased her with a smile, "If I'm at sea, I'll still write back and have Ajiang or Chenghe read it to you."
With tears welling up in her eyes, the old lady chuckled and said, "That's fine. If you're at sea and don't have time to call back, just have them read the letter to you."
Ye Chengjiang patted his chest and assured him, "Leave it to me. Even my grandpa wouldn't bother reading the letter to you several times. I'm fine. If you want me to read it 10 times, I'll read it to you."
Ye's father said irritably, "Who's impatient? I'm not impatient at all. If you ask me to read, I'll read it to her as usual. There's no way I won't read it."
"You have the nerve to say that? I asked you to read it a couple more times and you complained. I just hate looking at you."
"Ugh, there's nothing you can do about it. You're counting on me to take care of you in your old age."
Everyone looked at them with smiles.
(End of this chapter)