Green-Skinned Striped Melon

Everyone in the family had watched the whole farce from beginning to end. Ye Yaopeng and Ye Yaohua would have been lying if they said they were not jealous. Even their youngest sister, Ye Huimei, was terribly envious.

Although the old lady treated all the younger generation well, none of them could compare with Ye Yaodong. He was the apple of her eye.

There were four siblings in their family and more than a dozen cousins, but apparently he was the only one Grandma had delivered herself. They had barely made it in time-he had almost been born right on the beach.

Then, the moment he was born and she held him in her arms, he smiled at her. He won her heart on the spot, and she had doted on him ever since.

Once they entered the house, Father Ye was still seething. He smoked his water pipe and glared at him!

To be honest, even now Ye Yaodong still could not figure out what he had said wrong to make both his parents blow up!

Was it my attitude?

Or had their frustration with me been building up over the years?

He thought it over. It could only be those two things. What else would his parents be angry about?

"Where's the Snake Gourd? I told you to save one for Dongzi. Did you?"

As soon as the old lady sat down, she saw a crowd of children each munching on a piece of Snake Gourd. She hurriedly asked, afraid Ye Yaodong had not gotten any.

Ye Yaodong's youngest sister, Ye Huimei, said between bites, "We saved one. It's on the stove. Help yourself, Third Brother."

Everyone else had shared sliced melons. Only he got a whole one to himself!

And everyone took it for granted. Even the children had no objections. Third Uncle was special!

Ye Yaodong looked at the green-skinned striped melon on the stove. It was oval, only a little longer than an adult's hand. He had seen several much bigger, longer ones earlier, shaped like clubs. Those had probably been cut up and shared, leaving the smallest one for him.

This was his favorite kind of melon. Plenty of people grew it back then, and it was dirt cheap. In later years, hardly anyone grew this variety anymore; it had been replaced by round, white-skinned sweet melons. He had not eaten one in years.

He walked over to the earthen stove. The Snake Gourd had already been washed, and droplets of water still clung to it.

Seeing the cutting board and kitchen knife on the stove, still smeared with juice and seeds, he set the Snake Gourd on the board and cut it into large chunks. He grabbed a plate, piled them onto it, and walked over to his grandma.

"Grandma, have a piece!"

The old lady smiled and waved him off. "I've got no teeth left. I can't bite into it. You eat it, you eat it. Why did you cut it up...?"

Although he really did want to eat it, he was not about to keep it all to himself. There had only been a few melons to begin with, and there were so many people in the family.

Seeing that the old lady really had no teeth to chew with, he gave each of his two children another piece, then took one for his wife.

That made Lin Xiuqing give him another surprised look.

Normally, wouldn't he have just picked it up and started eating? Why had he cut it up to share with everyone?

Only after Lin Xiuqing took hers did he pick up a piece for himself. He set the plate on the table so everyone could help themselves to the rest.

"Third Brother, have you turned over a new leaf?"

"Can't even food keep your mouth shut?"

Ye Huimei pouted and did not dare say another word.

Ye Yaodong turned back to the old lady and said with a smile, "They have removable dentures now. You put them in when you eat, and you can chew meat and all sorts of things. Afterward, you take them out and wash them, then use them again next time. Whenever I go into town, I'll ask at the hospital and get you fitted for a set, Grandma. Then you'll be able to eat meat-anything you want!"

"Oh, don't waste that money. I've already got one foot in the grave. Some congee with fermented bean curd is good enough for me. Besides, I eat vegetarian for half the month..."

"You can eat meat on the days you're not eating vegetarian. That settles it!"

"At my age, what do I need meat for? Isn't fish tastier anyway? We coastal folk can just eat fish." The old lady's wrinkled face blossomed into a smile. Deep down, she was delighted and touched!

"Fish has its good points, and meat has its good points. We should eat both."

Everyone in the house watched their exchange and thought that the third son did have some consideration for the old lady after all. At least all her affection had not been wasted on him.

Mother Ye came in just then, having finished husking the corn. Ye Eldest Sister-in-Law went up to her. "Mom, let me cook it."

"It's all right, I'll do it. Go look after the children."

The old lady looked at Father Ye. "I noticed the corn silk has all turned black. It's nearly ripe. Come pick the ears with me in a couple of days. We shouldn't leave them in the field too long. They won't taste good once they're too old."

Father Ye glared, water pipe in hand. "Where would I find the time? The boat's just been repaired. While the new hands are bringing us good luck, I need to take the eldest and second boys out to sea a few more times and see if we can land another big catch! The third boy loafs around all day. Have him take a few of the little ones. Once they're done picking, he can carry it back on a shoulder pole."

"As if he could carry it. And you can never find him all day anyway. I'll take the children and go with Mom," Mother Ye said, picking up a handful of straw. She lit it with a match and tossed it into the firebox as she joined the conversation.

The mention of the third boy being unable to carry anything reminded Father Ye of the time a few years earlier when the production brigade had assigned him to carry grain. He had ended up dumping it into a ditch. It had nearly driven his father mad!

"What use is he? A grown man who can't even carry grain or corn on a shoulder pole, and somehow manages to tip it into a ditch. Made us a laughingstock..."

Ye Yaodong: "..."

That was ancient history, yet Dad still remembered it so clearly. Though... though I really had been pretty useless when I was young...

But now that I'd been reborn, I'd already decided to turn over a new leaf and live properly...

Lin Xiuqing felt that he was her husband, after all, and it was rather embarrassing for his own father to criticize him in front of so many people. She hurriedly changed the subject to rescue Ye Yaodong.

"Mom, it'll be the first day of the lunar month in a couple of days. The tide's been going way out lately. Aren't we supposed to go gathering seafood on the shore?"

"It's fine. That won't interfere. We've got this whole bunch of children here. Let the third boy take them to pick the corn. Once they're done, they can tell me, and I'll go carry it back."

Ye Yaodong had not said a single word, yet everything had already been arranged for him. He actually wanted to say that he could manage it...

But he swallowed the words. He could not be too eager to prove himself, or he would seem too out of character. He could simply carry it back when the time came.

Their family was too poor to afford another house, so they had never split into separate households. The whole extended family still ate and lived together.

Each branch of the family kept whatever money it earned from odd jobs and making fishing nets. And since they lived off the sea, with its abundant resources, their food came from the fields and from gathering seafood along the shore. They hardly needed to spend anything, so there were no major conflicts in the family.

As for his father, all his earnings had gone toward repairing the boat. It had been left by his grandfather, after all, and repairing a boat was cheaper than building or buying one.

What coastal family did not dream of owning a boat, setting sail to fish, and improving their lives?

Father Ye wanted that too, which was why he had spent the past two years earning money to restore this boat.

Now that it was repaired and seaworthy, of course he wanted to work harder and take his two sons out fishing. The third boy was a lost cause anyway. Once the family was better off, they could give him a helping hand.

Seeing that the whole family was busy, with even the third boy assigned a job, the old lady hurriedly said, "There's no rush to pick the corn. A few more days won't hurt. We can bring back a basket each day for everyone to enjoy. If we pick it all at once, it won't stay fresh."

Mother Ye did not even turn her head, keeping her eyes on the fire in the stove. "As long as you're not in a hurry. It's not worth much anyway, so don't bother setting up a stall to sell it. We can pick a little each day to eat. If it gets too old, leave it for seed. When we have time, we'll turn the soil over for you."