Ye Yaodong woke up right on time at two in the morning, feeling wonderfully refreshed, without the slightest fatigue from lack of sleep.
Lin Xiuqing woke up too and was about to get out of bed.
"Don't get up," Ye Yaodong said quietly. "I'll just boil an egg."
"How will that fill you up? You'll be out all day."
"I asked Dad to bring the coal stove from the Old House. I'll take a few sheets of rice noodles and some dried seafood, then cut a cabbage from the backyard and cook on the boat. That way, we can have something hot in this freezing weather."
"Oh, right, we can bring the coal stove from the Old House onto the boat. But you can't eat noodles all day. I'm awake anyway..."
"It's fine. Go back to sleep. A day or two now and then isn't the same as eating them every day."
Cooking on a coal stove aboard the boat would save her some trouble too. She wouldn't have to get up with him in the middle of the night to make his meals. In another couple of months, her belly would be bigger and it would be even harder. It solved several problems at once.
Seeing him insist, Lin Xiuqing lay back down. She was sleepy in this cold weather anyway.
Ye Yaodong took a basket, put four sheets of dried rice noodles inside, and grabbed a handful of dried oysters. Then he went to the backyard, cut a large Chinese cabbage, and peeled off a few leaves to wash and put in the basket. He could fish the other ingredients out of the sea.
He packed bowls and chopsticks and a little seasoning, then washed a bucket and filled it with fresh water. Once everything was ready, he