Lin Xiuqing was putting her younger son to work, having him stretch both arms straight out in front of him. She untwisted a long, twisted hank of yarn in the opposite direction and slipped it over his arms.
Then she took hold of both his arms and had him spread them farther apart, pulling the yarn taut.
"There, stay just like that and be good while you help. You'll get a reward later."
Ye Chengyang said happily, "Mom, is the reward an apple? I saw them!"
Lin Xiuqing smiled. "You have sharp eyes. I put them in a basket and covered them with a cloth, and you still spotted them. Be good and help, and I'll divide the apples up for you after dinner."
"Yay, yay! Give some to my brother and sister too!"
"You're quite generous, knowing how to share. Better than your stingy eldest brother, always guarding his food."
The Old Lady smiled beside them too. "Yangyang is such a good boy. He cares about his brother and sister."
Won over completely by their coaxing, Ye Chengyang smiled until his eyes narrowed and obediently stood there serving as a yarn holder.
Lin Xiuqing found an end in the hank on his arms, held the four fingers of her left hand together, and wound the yarn around them repeatedly. Once she had a small bundle, she slipped it off her fingers and began winding across it.
Slowly, she wound the yarn into a small ball, then kept turning it and winding more around it.
Watching the yarn stretched between his arms rapidly wind into his mother's hands, Ye Chengyang followed its pull, turning one way and then the other to help it unwind. He found it rather fun.
"Mom, what are you making it into a ball for?"
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