sbdcsierra Chapter 1802 Reunion Dinner
Chapter 1802 Reunion Dinner
Chapter 1802 Reunion Dinner
Everyone returned from the play at 4:30. The women were just starting to cook, while the men were either playing cards or bragging.
Among the small groups of two or three people surrounding him, the largest group was around Ye's father.
When Ye's father took out the mobile phone, the card players couldn't continue playing and all curiously gathered around, wanting to see what it was all about.
Most people have never seen what a mobile phone looks like in their lives; they've only seen it on TV.
"...This is the big brother mobile phone! Wow, this is amazing, it's so imposing..."
"Dongzi is really something else, he's the only one who deserves to use a mobile phone..."
"This mobile phone is really big and impressive. You can tell at a glance that only big bosses can afford it."
"Tsk tsk tsk, what an eye-opener! I never thought I'd get to touch a mobile phone like this in my life..."
Father Ye held up his mobile phone and slapped away the outstretched hands one by one. "Don't touch it. If you break it, I won't be able to explain it to Dongzi. I'll feel bad asking you to pay for it, but I'll also feel bad if I don't ask you to pay for it."
"Haha, everyone just take a look and touch it. We definitely won't break it if you hold it in your hand."
"Could you try making a phone call?"
Mr. Ye put the extended antenna back in, carefully wiped the mobile phone with his sleeve, and replied, "We can't make calls. It's across provinces. We can't activate roaming in this poor, remote place."
What is roaming?
Father Ye hid the mobile phone behind his back, put his hands behind his back, straightened his back and said: "Roaming means taking the phone to another province. You need to activate the function to make calls in other provinces. That's called roaming. We can't activate it in our small place. You can only do it in the provincial capital."
"That's such a waste. This thing costs tens of thousands of yuan. You buy it and then can't even use it when you get home."
"That's not quite true. Can't we use it in Zhoushan? We can answer calls anytime, anywhere, isn't that much more convenient? Dongzi is a big boss, he takes a lot of calls."
"Yes, Boss Dongzi has a bunch of phones at all times. He can answer calls anytime, anywhere, whether in Zhoushan or Mo. It's already very good. We're just a small village, so it's normal that we can't use these kinds of mobile phones."
"You can't blame the phone for not being able to make calls, it's so expensive. You can only blame our village for being too small, it's the middle of nowhere."
"Yes, that's because our village is too small. Fortunately, our village has produced some outstanding talents."
"Wow, I heard these past few days that Lixiang can speak English and communicate with foreigners. She's amazing."
“I also heard from the women in my family that she went to Guangzhou and learned a lot from foreigners. She came back looking much more sophisticated and even bought a bunch of clothes from foreigners.”
"Is Guangzhou a good place to raise people? You can speak foreign languages after just one trip there?"
Don't say men don't love gossip; men do love to talk about it, they just don't do it in front of women.
Even when Ye's father was out in public, he still wouldn't expose Ye's mother. He smiled and said, "I don't know if she can speak foreign languages. She didn't speak them in front of me, but all she ever talked about was how many orders she helped Dongzi get. When Dongzi was exhibiting, she helped him out, and I heard she even attracted quite a few foreign customers."
"Wow, that's amazing! They can speak English now. They'll probably be able to go abroad for exchanges in the future."
"How could that be? She only knows a few words, just for fun. She learned them from the salespeople at Dongzi's factory. It's good enough that an old woman like her knows a few words."
Fearing that his wife wouldn't know anything and would embarrass herself, Mr. Ye quickly offered a few words of humility on her behalf.
"Knowing a few words is already good; it's much better than not knowing a single word at all."
"It's so-so, haha, anyway, I'm just learning a few phrases for fun."
"Whether it's useful or not, just knowing how to do it is already amazing."
"That is……"
"Ah Dong is back. Why doesn't he come out for a walk? I feel like I haven't seen him much this year."
"You're at sea every day, how could you possibly see him? He just got home and is lying down waiting for dinner, exhausted. He'll probably need a good nap after he eats."
"We need to get some rest. We were exhausted when we got back, and it took us two days to recover..."
A group of middle-aged and elderly people were chatting and boasting when their wives started yelling for dinner, at which point they dispersed and went home.
Father Ye took the mobile phone, breathed on it a few times, and wiped it with his sleeve to remove all the handprints. It was clean before he took it home, satisfied.
"It's time to eat. What are these kids doing? They're all huddled together. I didn't see them going out to play."
Ye's mother said irritably, "What else can he do? Play games, of course. He comes back from watching the show and immediately starts playing games. He won't even budge when I call him for dinner."
Ye Yaodong yelled at them, "Get over here and eat! If you keep playing games, I'll smash your game consoles."
"I'm here. I came right after this game." Ye Chengjiang said, kicking everyone else and urging them to go eat first.
Everyone reluctantly turned back to look at the TV screen as they walked towards the dining table.
Ye Chenghe leaned closer to Ye Yaodong and asked, "Third Uncle, when are you going to the city? Can I ask you to buy me a game console? I'll pay for it myself."
"You're buying this so you and your wife can play with it?"
"Yes, I'll buy it and keep it at home to play with. After the New Year, I'll unpack it and bring it to our home in Zhoushan. Or, if my wife wants to play with it, we can leave it at home for her to play with; she'll be bored during her postpartum period and can play games."
"can."
Incidentally, Ye Chenghe is an adult anyway.
Ye's mother glared at him, annoyed. "Who plays games during postpartum confinement? You have to lie down during postpartum confinement."
"So, playing games while lying down is okay, right?"
“I’ll hit you on the head. When you’re in postpartum confinement, you should lie down and rest. Who’s going to sit there yelling and cursing like you do?”
"That's because they played terribly, they kept feeding."
Chen Xiuni, with her pregnant belly, smiled and said, "It's fine to buy one to keep at home for me to pass the time. I can play with Jingjing and the others. You can buy another one to take with you."
"Okay, then Uncle, please bring me two consoles, and buy one of each of these three games, two sets."
"okay."
"After we finish eating, I'll give the money to my third aunt first."
Ye Yaodong's smile vanished. "You asked me to help you buy it, but you gave the money to your third aunt. What kind of nonsense is this?"
"Huh? Shouldn't it be like that?"
Everyone else in the family was laughing.
"I bought it for you, I spent the money, shouldn't you give me the money back?"
“If I give you the money, won’t you hand it over to your third aunt? Don’t you think you’ll hand it over? I thought your third aunt controlled the family’s finances.”
Lin Xiuqing smiled and said, "You're absolutely right, just give me the money."
Holding the game console controller, Ye Chengjiang shouted to them, "Uncle, get me one too, I'll give the money to Auntie later."
"You two really know how to please people. I pay here, and she collects the money there."
Ye Chenghe: "Anyway, we've given it to you, and you'll just give it to your third aunt in the same way. We've saved you the trouble of going through the middle."
"Even food can't shut you up; you're just eating my food."
"Eat, eat, eat... Oh wait, Ye Chengjiang, what gives you the right to sit at that table?"
Ye Chengjiang had just stepped off the sofa and approached the children's table when he heard Ye Chenghe shout.
Without batting an eye, he shamelessly replied, "I'm not married, I'm still a child, of course I'll sit at the children's table."
"Ha ha ha ha……"
"Have some shame! You're so old, yet you still call yourself a child."
"Isn't the rule in our village that unmarried people are all children? Then I'm naturally still a child, and I can still get a share of lucky money during the Lunar New Year."
"shameless."
Ye Chengjiang said smugly, "No need to envy, no need to be jealous, you'll never have that chance in this lifetime."
Mother Ye changed the subject, asking her sister-in-law, "When is Ah Hai coming back? Tomorrow is the 28th, and Dongzi came back today. Why hasn't he returned from the provincial capital yet?"
"He just called today and said he'll be back tomorrow. It's almost the end of the year, and the factory is quite busy. Even as the boss, he has to work until the very end. He only finished reconciling the accounts and is resting today."
"Everyone's working so hard, even during the Lunar New Year holiday, they're all working until the very last day..."
Ye's father said, "Why are you talking about this? This is a good thing. It means you're making money. Others want to make money but have nowhere to do so. The fact that Ahai is busy until this late means he can make money."
Ye Yaodong also said, "Those in public institutions have to work until New Year's Eve before they get a holiday. They don't get paid much, but they don't get to work a single day less. Ah Hai is doing well because he started his own business. He makes more money and can decide when to take a holiday. At most, he's a little tired in the early stages of being a boss. Being tired means he's busy, and being busy means he can make money. The worst thing is to be idle and not have anything to do."
"Dongzi is absolutely right. Being busy is a good thing. If we're not busy during the New Year, then we're doomed."
Ye's mother glared at Ye's father, "You jinx! Saying such unlucky things during the New Year! Bah! Good things come true, bad things don't!"
Sister-in-law Ye said with a smile, "When Ah Hai comes back, our family will be complete."
The old lady said happily, "Then there will be another little baby running around in the house, it will be even more lively. Ah Hai's children should all be able to walk by now, right?"
Sister-in-law Ye's smile deepened, "Yes, she said two months ago that she was walking quite steadily."
Sister-in-law Ye looked on with envy, "You're so lucky, you're about to have three grandsons, while I don't even have a glimmer of hope."
As she said this, she glanced at Ye Chengjiang at the other table with a look of disappointment and frustration.
"People younger than him already have two kids, and he's still just eating and eating. All he does is eat. He never goes out for a walk or looks for a girlfriend. Don't buy him a game console. If you do, he'll never need to go out. His wife will just fall from the sky."
Ye Chengjiang was happily munching on chicken feet when he heard his mother's words. The chicken feet no longer tasted good. He pouted, rolled his eyes to the sky, and continued munching.
"It's my money, it's none of your business."
"Why can't I care? I squeezed you out of my belly and raised you with my own hands and feet."
"Stop nagging, I'll conjure up a daughter-in-law for you next year."
“You said this last year.”
"I just didn't want my girlfriend last year, so I'll find someone better this year."
The hard-of-hearing twin asked, "Huh? Why don't you want her dad?"
"No, brother, what I mean is: Why her dad? Cousin Ajiang, why do you need her dad when you're dating someone?"
"You two should go get your ears cleaned after you finish eating. Your hearing is worse than an old lady's."
The twin brother picked at his own ear, then reached out and picked at his older brother's ear, and blew on it after he finished.
"I'm not hard of hearing."
Ye Ersao said irritably, "Then you can wait for a wife to fall from the sky for you tomorrow."
Ye Xiaoxi chuckled and said, "Today, the opera singer said that a Lin Daiyu fell from the sky, and Brother Jiang should hurry up and pick her up to be his wife. Perfect timing."
"You guys talk so much, you don't eat, do you? Then give me all these chicken legs."
Twin brother: "No, mine..."
Twin brother: "Mine..."
The twin brother said, "I'm the youngest, give it to me."
Ye Xiaoxi also joined the scramble, saying, "I'm the youngest in my family too!"
Ye Chengjiang: "With your size, how can you be so shameless!"
Ye Xiaoxi said matter-of-factly, "How dare you? Eating chicken legs is an honor! You're so big, the tallest in the family besides my dad, and you still have the nerve to sit at the same table as us kids."
"Alright then, I'll just eat the chicken feet, okay? You guys can share the chicken legs."
"That's more like it. Here's a chicken head for you!"
"Then I really thank you."
The children at the table were chatting animatedly, and the house has been this lively every day for the past few days.
It's Chinese New Year, and everyone has come back. Ye's mother told them not to cook and to come to the new house to eat.
Normally it's quiet and deserted with just a few people, but during the Chinese New Year, the whole family comes back, making it lively and fun. It's also nice to have a big new house.
As they get older, they enjoy seeing their homes bustling with activity, full of people, and teeming with children; it makes the home feel prosperous.
With the daughters-in-law taking turns to lend a hand, it wasn't difficult to set up both tables.
Looking at Chen Xiuni's large belly, Ye's mother asked with some concern, "After the New Year, you won't be going upstairs, will you?"
Chen Xiuni touched her belly and said, "If we don't go up there, we'll stay at home. During the day, we'll let the baby come to play with you, and then we'll take the baby back at night. No one in our village will say anything, and no outsiders will know."
"Then we villagers can rest assured."
In recent years, the village has become more united. Those who have gone out have banded together, and those who have stayed behind have banded together even more, for fear of being bullied. The sense of collective honor and cohesion is on a completely different level compared to before. After all, everyone is banding together to make money and helping each other.
"So you can bring the child here to play during the day and let them stay with you, and then take them back to sleep with me at night."
"When is this one in your belly going to be born? You'd better start raising more chickens."
"Three more months, it'll be over soon."
"Then we need to prepare everything that needs to be prepared."
When the topic came up again, Ye Ersao couldn't help but glare at Ye Chengjiang. This useless brat, he's been looking for a wife for so many years and still hasn't found one.
Other people have two children and three grandchildren, while she can only watch with envy and help take care of other people's children.
Ye Chengjiang is used to it. These past few days at home, every day his mother scolds him, glares at him, and urges him to find a wife. He's not used to it at all.
Indirectly angered by her good-for-nothing son, Sister-in-law Ye just wanted to quickly change the subject and calm herself down.
She smiled and asked Ye Chenghu, "Chenghu, you're taking the college entrance exam next year, right? It won't be more than a few months until school starts. Are you confident?"
Ye Chenghu suddenly felt that the food in his bowl didn't taste good anymore. He chuckled and said apologetically, "It's still half a year, we'll talk about it then."
"I never expected that someone who didn't seem to be a good reader before would be the one who reads the most books now."
Ashamed...
Ye Chenghu was speechless and could only manage an awkward laugh.
Are you confident you'll pass the exam?
"hehe……"
"Don't just grin like an idiot. Are you confident? You're smiling so happily, you must be able to pass the exam. If you do, I'll have your dad throw a feast."
"Oh, no, Auntie, I didn't say I could pass the exam. There's still more than half a year to go. We'll only know after the exam."
"I won't say much now, we need to fill out our college applications first, and then take the exams. What schools are you planning to apply to? Which ones are you going to apply to?"
"I'll fill in Shanghai-based universities. I'll select a few junior colleges to fill in later."
"A junior college is fine too, it's still a university, and it's impressive. No one in our family has ever gone to university before, you'll be the first one, you'll set a good example."
Ye Chenghu's expression became even more awkward, and he could only smile.
The Chinese New Year trilogy: students ask about their studies, working people ask about their jobs and salaries, and older people ask about their partners—no one can escape it.
At least no one has watched all three parts of the series now.
Lin Xiuqing replied, "Whether he passes the exam or not is up to fate. Anyway, the family isn't short of food."
She then asked Ye Chenghu, "What did you say to the person you introduced to Ajiang? Don't let it affect his studies."
Ye Ersao looked at Ye Chenghu with shining eyes, "Ah, Chenghu introduced someone to Ajiang, is it your classmate? Your classmate is a senior in high school, right? Can she really be interested in Second Brother?"
Ye Chenghu explained, "It's not about introducing potential partners, it's about introducing pen pals, making friends. We're in our final year of high school, and dating isn't allowed. Our studies are very demanding, and we have to study late into the night every day."
"Besides, Brother Jiang is a great guy. He's tall, handsome, and rich, and not much older than us, so we can chat a lot."
"It's senior year of high school, and everyone is under a lot of pressure. I can only relieve stress by playing basketball. I don't know about girls, but writing letters and having pen pals is a good thing."
Ye Chengjiang was overjoyed. He had been scolded for the past few days since he returned, and finally someone spoke up for him.
Tears welled up in my eyes; these are true brothers.
“Brother Jiang, after we finish the college entrance exam, you can meet up. I’ll invite a few classmates, and we can all hang out and make some friends.”
"Sure, sure, bro."
Ye Yaopeng's dark face broke into a smile. "Chenghu looks like he's grown up and matured a lot."
"Hehe, you flatter me. People always grow."
Lin Xiuqing said, "Stop praising him. If you keep praising him, he'll get all cocky."
"Hurry up and eat, don't just keep talking and the food will get cold."
After finishing her sentence, Ye's mother said to Ye Huimei, "The day after tomorrow is New Year's Eve, so don't cook. The whole family can come over to my place for a meal. It'll be more lively with so many people."
Ye Huimei glanced at A Guang, who agreed, "Great! This will save us the trouble. If you need any help, just let me know, Mother."
"There's no need for help. Your dad's here; he'll be there for you if anything happens. And your sisters-in-law will help too. You just do your thing and wait for your meal."
Ye Huimei said happily, "Great! It's so nice to be back. The whole family comes over for meals every day. I haven't even cooked at home."
After a few drinks, Mr. Ye's face turned red. Looking at his children and grandchildren in the room, he couldn't stop smiling.
“We have plenty of food at home, so eat here. It’s more lively. Otherwise, it would be so lonely for just your family to celebrate the New Year. It’s much more lively here, since we’re all family and it’s convenient to be close by.”
"Yes, Father."
"How's your younger brother doing in school? I heard he managed to squeeze into first grade this year."
Ye Huimei was stunned for a moment before realizing that they were talking about A-Guang's little brother.
"I'm not really sure. I've been staying in Shanghai all along, and I haven't had any contact with them."
Pei Yu interjected, "I know. My uncle got 66 in Chinese and 99 in math. His mother whipped him, saying why he didn't do better in Chinese. He made his mother turn it over to look at it, and then he got whipped again."
Ye Yaodong couldn't help but laugh; this was another genius.
The people at the other tables were also chuckling.
Ye's mother said with a smile, "His math scores are quite good, how come his Chinese score is so bad?"
Pei Yu shook her head. "I don't know."
Said that Cao Cao Cao Cao arrived.
A little boy outside kept looking around, then whispered, "Twins, twins, come out and play..."
The twins immediately put down their chopsticks and ran towards the door, calling out as they ran, "Uncle..."
"Uncle, have you eaten?"
Pei Feng patted their shoulders in a pretentious manner, "Have you eaten? I've come to see you."
"Not yet, we're almost finished eating. Uncle, would you like to come in?"
"Hurry up and come in. While we're eating, no one's playing the game consoles. You should play for a bit, otherwise none of us will be able to play after they finish eating."
Pei Feng quickly took off his shoes and ran in, then followed the twins to sit on the sofa. The twins eagerly handed him the controllers to play with.
He patted his pockets, grabbed a handful of candy for each of them, and took out a can of oranges from his pocket.
"I stole these from home, and I'm giving them to you to eat."
"We have that too."
The two of them also ran to the kitchen and each took a jar, placing them on the living room table.
Seeing this, Pei Feng stuffed what he had taken back into his pocket, saying, "Then I'll keep it for myself."
"Aren't you afraid of getting beaten up for stealing?"
"It's okay, let's eat first and talk about it later!"
After returning from vacation, Pei Feng would occasionally be brought back by the twins to play. They were used to it and didn't pay much attention. They would glance at him and then continue eating and chatting.
Ye Huimei also called the twins back to continue eating.
"You can play after you finish eating, and you're not allowed to eat canned food if you haven't finished your meal."
"Oh."
"Uncle, you go play first. We'll go out and play after we finish eating. We can't compete with them here."
"Okay."
After dinner, the women cleared the table, the men started playing cards, and the children watched TV games. The lively atmosphere in the house continued until bedtime.
Downstairs, a group of kids of all ages were playing games, and they were fighting over the game controllers in a chaotic frenzy. They were practically fighting over it, and all the kids were crammed onto the sofa, one on top of the other, like a human pyramid, and nothing the adults said could stop them.
Distributing the prizes by time is unfair; even if it's just one minute over, you still have to call.
They only stopped playing when Ye's mother confiscated the game console after telling them to go to sleep.
Ye Yaodong went straight upstairs after finishing his meal. He was exhausted and had barely managed to stay awake until after the meal. All he wanted to do was take a shower and get some sleep.
Once the door was closed, the noise from the living room on the first floor subsided. He was exhausted, and the noise didn't bother him to fall asleep quickly.
(End of this chapter)