An Old Lady's Love

At his father's question, Ye Yaodong shot him a sidelong glance and said flippantly, bouncing his leg, "Just because you don't know doesn't mean I don't. You think all that time I spend out and about is for nothing?"

Father Ye had meant to ask him a few serious questions, but those words set him off. "You spend all day loafing around outside, and you're proud of it? You're a married man, yet you're never home. Lazy as can be, never lifting a finger-who do you expect to support you? I ought to beat you to death, you good-for-nothing wastrel..."

The more he spoke, the angrier he got. He pulled off a shoe, gripped it in his hand, and advanced on his son.

Selling the large yellow croaker for next to nothing had already left Father Ye feeling sour. Now he had the perfect chance to vent!

"Hey, hey, hey... How did you turn on me so fast? Weren't we just having a perfectly good conversation? What did I even say? Dad... Dad... Let's talk this out..."

In the summer heat, the stench from that canvas shoe hit Ye Yaodong full in the face, making his expression change dramatically. Having smelly feet himself didn't mean he could stomach someone else's!

He scrambled to his feet to dodge. "Dad, what are you doing? At least get a stick! What's with the shoe?"

"If you've got the guts, stop dodging! All you ever do is make me angry. Even my grandchildren behave better than you. You could be living a perfectly good life, but instead you spend every day messing around with that crowd. How did I ever father a good-for-nothing like you?"

One chased while the other dodged. The main room was small to begin with, and with so many people crowded inside, Ye Yaodong darted straight behind his mother.

"Mom, look! Dad's already acting like a drunken lunatic first thing in the morning. What did I even say? Don't let him drink today..."

To his surprise, Mother Ye angrily turned around and swatted him a few times too. "Your father's right! You're never home. You don't even know what happens in this family. You spend all day fooling around and doing nothing. Let's see how you support your wife and children in the future..."

With both parents attacking, Ye Yaodong couldn't hold them off. He hurriedly lifted a nearby wooden stool as a shield. "Stop hitting me! Stop! Who beats their son first thing in the morning? Can't we talk things through? There are so many people here..."

Couldn't they spare him a little dignity?

He had his pride too!

Thank goodness he'd sent the younger kids outside. Otherwise, how embarrassing would this be?

In truth, everyone in the room was already used to it. Ye Yaodong getting scolded and beaten was an everyday occurrence. He had simply returned from forty years in the future so suddenly that he wasn't quite used to his parents' scolding and blows.

He held up the stool and fended them off for a while in the main room, only to discover that his mother had picked up a broom-the kind made of bamboo strips. He hastily set down the stool and ran outside.

If he didn't leave now, when would he? Better lie low for a bit and come back once his parents had cooled down.

Who knew he would collide with several of his nieces and nephews the moment he ran out? Caught off guard, the children landed flat on their bottoms. Even his grandma got caught up in it, losing her balance and sitting down hard.

Now he panicked a little and hurried to help his grandma up.

"Grandma, are you all right? Where did you hurt yourself? Does it hurt?"

He might have been a bit of a scoundrel, but he still had a conscience. The old lady doted on him most of all, and seeing her fall, he forgot all about dodging.

Father Ye and Mother Ye came chasing out and saw it too. They held back even less, bringing the shoe sole and broom handle down on his backside and thighs as they scolded him.

"You good-for-nothing! Can't you watch where you're going? I'll break those legs of yours! Let's see you run then!" A few smacks with the shoe sole weren't enough to appease Father Ye. He snatched the broom from Mother Ye and struck him hard several times.

Mother Ye's strength was no match for Father Ye's. After all, she still felt tenderly toward her son and hadn't put much force into her blows.

Father Ye was different. He was genuinely furious. One blow to the leg hurt so much that Ye Yaodong let out a muffled grunt.

The old lady couldn't bear to see her precious grandson being beaten. She hurriedly shielded him behind her. "What are you doing? What are you doing? Going to hit me, are you? What is the world coming to? Oh dear! My own son's going to beat his mother! Did you swallow gunpowder this morning?"

Father Ye looked at the old lady with a headache brewing. He hadn't even touched her. "Mom, how would I dare hit you? I'm trying to beat this little brat. He's utterly useless, all he does is make people angry, and he even knocked you down..."

"Dongzi only did it by accident. I haven't blamed him, so what gives you the right to hit him? Put that broom away and get inside! Aren't you ashamed?"

Despite being eighty, the old lady looked hale and hearty. Her hearing and eyesight were perfectly good, and her voice was full of vigor when she scolded someone!

Father Ye was a dutiful son. With the old lady back, he knew he wouldn't get to beat his son today either. He shot Ye Yaodong a fierce glare, tossed the broom into the corner by the doorway, and went inside.

"Don't be scared. Grandma's here. Did he hurt you anywhere? Let me see."

As she spoke, the old lady reached to lift his trouser leg. He stopped her, held her arm, and grinned. "I'm fine. Did you hurt yourself when you fell just now? Does anything feel wrong?"

"No, no. I'm perfectly fine..."

"Mom, Dongzi's twenty-five. He's not a child anymore. He's already the father of two children. You can't keep spoiling him like this. He never tries to do better, never does any work. He's so useless..."

"What's so bad about him? Isn't he respectful to his elders? Just how successful do you need him to be? We're country folk. As long as our children are safe and healthy, that's enough. Besides, Dongzi's never stolen or done anything underhanded. How has he disgraced you?"

Ye Yaodong felt thoroughly embarrassed. In the old lady's mouth, even not stealing or doing anything underhanded had become one of his virtues!

The old lady really set the bar low for him...

After all these years and dozens of repetitions, Mother Ye was exhausted too. In the old lady's eyes, her third son could do no wrong!

She really had spoiled him rotten!

The eldest and second sons were so hardworking. It was infuriating. Mother Ye shot her third son a vicious glare and said no more.

After all these years, nothing they said ever did any good anyway.

The children gathered up the corn and green-striped melons scattered on the ground and put them back in the bamboo basket.

Seeing that the old lady hadn't hurt herself and could still shield her grandson, Mother Ye took the basket, pulled out all the corn to husk it, and left the green-striped melons inside.

"Take this in and ask your mothers to wash them and cut them up for you."

"Save one for your third uncle! Don't eat them all!" the old lady called, afraid her great-grandchildren would finish all the sweet melons without leaving any for her precious grandson.

His grandma's love filled Ye Yaodong's heart to the brim, leaving him overcome with emotion.

He hadn't felt this in decades. It felt so good.

Everyone thought he was no good in one way or another. Even his parents found fault with him every day. Only his grandma had always doted on him most. Whenever she had something to eat, she remembered to save some for him. A jumble of emotions welled up in his heart.

"Let me help you inside. At your age, why are you still working the land? What if you fall?"

The old lady's face crinkled into a smile. "I'm not going to fall that easily. I'm perfectly fine and can still work. Even when I can't, I can order your father to hoe and water for me."

Ye Yaodong smiled.