Sweet Potato Vermicelli

When Lin Xiuqing came back and heard the commotion at the back door, she hurried out. Her husband was so unreliable that she really couldn't help worrying.

As soon as she stepped out the back door, she saw what a mess he was in. Afraid he might get angry and hit their eldest nephew, she quickly said, "I'll wash our son. Go wash yourself."

"You're finally back! They're about to drive me nuts!" Ye Yaodong stood up in frustration, pulled off his shirt, and used it to wipe his still-dripping hair.

Seeing that he hadn't lost his temper, Lin Xiuqing felt a little relieved.

"Mother's already cooking noodles. You can eat as soon as you've finished washing."

"Got it. I'll wash my hair first. Those of you who've finished, hurry up and scram. Leave me a washbasin."

Laughing and shoving one another, the children went into the house with their bare bottoms showing. Only the youngest, Ye Chengyang, was still sitting in a basin. He immediately stood up in a panic.

"Big brother~ Big brother~"

"You little tagalong. It's always 'big brother, big brother.' Hurry up and finish washing, and you can go inside too."

Ye Yaodong didn't bother with hot water. He drew a bucket of well water, poured it into the basin, stripped down to his shorts, and rinsed himself one dipperful at a time.

After two days in the sun by the sea, his face and neck were noticeably several shades darker than his body. Compared with his two older brothers, though, he was still very fair.

His two sons were fair-skinned too; they only got tanned as they grew older. Nobody in his family was bad-looking, really. They were just short...

That was a sore point for most southerners!

Actually, it was because the family was poor and lacked proper nutrition. He owed his height of 180 centimeters largely to Grandma's favoritism. He'd never gone without eggs growing up, and whenever the family killed a chicken, one drumstick was always his.

The production brigade used to raise sheep, too. When he was little, Grandma would secretly bring home a bowl of sheep's milk and boil it with tea leaves for him to drink. His brothers and cousins were already older by then and could only watch enviously. His little sister was still breastfeeding, though she occasionally got a taste.

And so he'd somehow become the family's genetic outlier, growing taller than everyone else. He was the tallest among his friends, too.

In those days, someone 180 centimeters tall was a rare sight in their countryside.

After working for most of the day, he wasn't particularly dirty apart from being a little sweaty, so he didn't use soap. He simply rinsed himself off, went inside to dry himself with a towel, then took off his shorts and went to the wardrobe to find some clothes.

Only when he opened it did he remember that he had just one spare set of summer clothes. They were probably still hanging outside.

Creak~

The door suddenly swung open. Startled, he hurried over to the bed and wrapped a sheet around his lower half. "Oh, it's you. Why didn't you knock?"

"Dad~ Shame on you~ Shame, shame~"

"Scram. Your own bottom's still bare, and you've got the nerve to laugh at me!"

Lin Xiuqing glanced at the shorts he'd tossed onto the stool. "Why would I knock to enter my own room? Standing there stark naked without even putting on your shorts-aren't you embarrassed?"

"I was just looking for them when you came in. Didn't you say I only had two sets? They're both hanging outside. What am I supposed to wear? Besides, it's not like you haven't seen it before. What have I got to be embarrassed about?" Ye Yaodong sidled up to her with a mischievous grin, waggling his eyebrows.

"Stop being a smart mouth. You only have two shirts, but you've got four pairs of shorts. They're in the drawer, not the wardrobe." She pushed him away in exasperation, set their child on the bed, then took a pair of shorts from the drawer and tossed them into his arms. "Hurry up and put them on. I'll go outside and get your clothes."

"Your ears are red. Think I didn't notice? We've been married for years. What are you so shy about?"

"Shameless..." Lin Xiuqing turned and glared at him before closing the door.

Chuckling, he took his shorts around to the side of the canopy bed. Just as he was about to put them on, he saw his younger son leaning over the bed's side panel, watching him.

"What are you looking at? When you grow up, you'll have what your old man has too."

With that, he lifted the mosquito net and tossed the sheet he'd wrapped around himself straight onto Ye Chengyang's head, covering him completely.

"Ahahaha~ Dad~"

Thump~

His head knocked against the bed panel, immediately followed by loud wailing. Ye Yaodong hurriedly pulled on his shorts and craned his head over. "You little fool!"

Just then, Lin Xiuqing came in carrying his clothes. "Why's he crying again?"

She hurried over and saw their younger son completely tangled in the sheet, kicking and tugging as he called for his mother, unable to get out. She shot Ye Yaodong an annoyed look.

"How old are you, still picking on him? Mother's finished cooking the noodles. Get dressed and go eat."

Ye Yaodong rubbed his nose. He'd only tossed the sheet casually, just playing around with his younger son.

Listening to her soothe the child, he hurriedly dressed. He was starving.

Lunch was sweet potato vermicelli. They ground their homegrown sweet potatoes into a slurry, then processed it into sweet potato starch for storage. Whenever they wanted some, they scooped out two bowls of starch and mixed it evenly with water, then poured a little into the wok and swirled it around like a pancake. Once both sides were cooked, they took it out and cut it into strips, repeating the process over and over.

Cooked into noodle soup with a few other ingredients and the sand clams they'd dug up yesterday, it was wonderfully delicious.

Ye Yaodong ate an enormous bowl all by himself. All it took to make this stuff at home was sweet potatoes and labor, without spending any money. His family planted plenty of sweet potatoes every year and made lots of sweet potato starch, so they could have it whenever they wanted.

When he finished eating, Mother Ye was still making vermicelli sheets. With so many mouths in the family, there was no helping it.

"I'm heading out. Don't cook dinner for me."

"You haven't stayed put for even a moment. You've barely finished eating, and you're already getting up to leave. Still think you're a child who hasn't grown up?"

"Didn't I work for most of the day today? There's nothing else to do now, is there? I'll definitely come home early tonight. Mother, don't lock the door."

He was about to slip away when Mother Ye stopped him. "Wait. On our way back, we saw the wind picking up, and the waves were getting pretty big. Your father and the others will probably be back soon. Don't go wandering off. Head to the dock in another hour and help sort the catch."

It was only because he'd been a little more hardworking these past two days that Mother Ye thought to send him out to help.

"Where's Ah Hua?" He'd been hoping that once the work at home was done, he could go spend some time with his friends.

"The old lady said he ate noodles at noon, spread wood ash over the vegetable patch out back, then went to work in the fields. He probably won't be back that soon. Do you think everyone's like you, lazing around all day?"

"All right, stop scolding me, stop scolding me. Didn't I work hard alongside you today? In another hour, I'll definitely go wait at the dock and help sort the catch."

"Remember. If you don't go, don't bother coming home tonight."

"Don't worry. I'll remember."

Even if he didn't come home, he had plenty of places to sleep. But he would definitely go help. They'd hauled in a netful of large yellow croakers yesterday; who knew what they might catch today?

It had been so long that unless there was something unusual in the catch, he couldn't remember.

If possible, he wanted a boat of his own, too. Those living by the mountains lived off the mountains; those living by the sea lived off the sea.