It was still light when they got out of the vehicle and reached the village. Cooking smoke curled up everywhere; it was dinnertime.
It was midsummer now, so darkness came late, and every household ate late too.
As they entered the village with their shoulder poles, the men and women eating by the roadside with bowls in their hands all greeted them if they knew them.
Ye Yaodong could now be considered a village celebrity. One thing after another had left a deep impression on the villagers, and now he had made a fortune again. Word had spread like wildfire through the village: the former layabout was really making something of himself now.
Only when he reached his own door did he finally breathe a sigh of relief. He set down his load and rubbed his face, which had grown stiff from smiling.
"Why was everyone so friendly today? Before, they'd just glance at me a few times and gossip behind my back. Now they're all smiling and saying hello?"
"Because word's been spreading these past two days about how much money you made."
"Sure enough, a man needs money. Once you have more of it, everyone treats you differently."
Seeing his rather smug expression, Lin Xiuqing rolled her eyes. "Stop savoring it and getting full of yourself. Keep a low profile, understand? Hurry up and carry everything inside. We still have to unpack and put things away, and I have to cook. Carrying this little lump of flesh the whole way nearly pulled my arms out of their sockets."
"There's nobody else around, is there? We can just cook some noodles later... Sniff, sniff. What smells so good? Chicken soup?"
Ye Yaodong glanced at her. "Did we stew a chicken?"
"How would I know? Haven't I been with you