Ye Yaodong sat there chatting with him until half past four, when the children came home from school. Only then did he get up to leave.
Only after watching him leave through the gate did Ye Yaodong prop up his feet and lean back in his chair. "Finally gone. He sat there chatting for ages. Who knows what he came for?"
"Wasn't he here to bring us pears?" Lin Xiuqing looked up from cleaning the fish.
"We haven't been in touch for ages. There's no way he came just to bring pears. He sat chatting for so long without bringing up anything else. He must want to reconnect. I just don't know what he wants after that."
"He picked his timing well, too. He didn't come those first few days after you got back, when you were riding high. He waited a month."
The Old Lady smiled. "You've been friends since childhood. What can't you get past? If he wants to be friendly, just deal with him as you see fit. As long as he's not a bad person, that's fine. If he has difficulties, help if you can. If it's beyond your means, then leave it."
"Yeah, that's what I was thinking."
"Mom, can I have a pear? Can I have a pear?" Ye Chenghu stood with his feet spread wide, alternately lifting and swinging them, his body swaying along with his head. He looked terribly excited.
He had spotted the basket of pears on the ground the moment he came home and had been hovering nearby, eyes shining, unwilling to leave. Only now did he finally speak up.
"Ask your dad to peel one for you two brothers to share."
"Hooray! Pears!"
"There are apples, too. Mom bought red apples when she came back this afternoon. They're really