With something to look forward to, the two children ate faster than anyone. They wolfed down their food, then stood nearby waiting, their eyes fixed eagerly on their father.
Ye Yaodong felt those two burning gazes on him and could hardly eat in peace.
"You two go wait outside. Find some wire first. There should be a little in the yard. If there isn't enough, go ask your grandpa at the old house for some."
"Okay!"
Ye Chenghu ran straight outside in excitement, and Ye Chengyang hurried after him on his short little legs.
Still eating, Lin Xiuqing urged him through a mouthful of food, "Hurry up and eat, or they'll come running back in to pester you again. I don't know who they take after..."
"My mother! Who else?"
She couldn't help laughing.
Ye Yaodong finished the last few mouthfuls in his bowl before heading outside. Neither child was in the yard; they had disappeared somewhere.
He searched around but only found a small coil of copper wire.
Just then, the two boys came running back from somewhere, bringing a discarded metal bucket and a little roll of sheet iron.
"Dad, Grandpa gave me this bucket. He said it's rusty and leaks, so it's no use. You can just use the wide iron hoop around the bottom instead of making another circle."
Ye Yaodong took the discarded bucket from him, lifted it, and turned it around to inspect it. "How am I supposed to get this off? He made it sound so easy. Couldn't he have found a hoop off an old wooden bucket?"
"You don't know how to do this either?"
Ye Chenghu was nearly beside himself with worry. Why couldn't his dad do anything?
Ye Yaodong gave him a flat look. "You know how, then?"
"No. If