Though they had promised to drink only a little, once they got started, they had a hard time stopping.
Seeing his mother's face gradually darken, Wei Donglai slipped away as soon as he had eaten his fill.
By the time he left the house, it was already dark outside.
Wei Donglai headed toward the house by moonlight. As he neared the door, he suddenly saw a figure skulking around by the corner of the wall next door.
"Who are you looking for?"
At Wei Donglai's voice, the person turned and ran.
Wei Donglai was briefly taken aback. This guy can't be up to any good.
He immediately took off after him, shouting as he ran.
"Stop right there!"
The figure ahead saw Wei Donglai chasing him and ran even faster, ducking into an alley before long.
Wei Donglai chased him through the alley, but by the time he reached the other side, the figure was gone.
He searched the surrounding area again, but found nothing and could only give up the search.
When he returned, he saw Xu Qingqing standing by her door.
"Donglai, I just heard you shouting. Did something happen?"
Wei Donglai shook his head. "I just saw someone acting sneaky by the corner of your wall. I called out to him, and he turned and ran, so I chased him, but he got away."
Hearing this, Xu Qingqing seemed to understand something and even gave Wei Donglai a pointed glance.
Her expression puzzled him. "Sister Qing, do you know something?"
Xu Qingqing shook her head, looking somewhat unconcerned.
Wei Donglai grew worried.
She was a woman raising two children. If she really ran into some villain, the consequences would be unthinkable.
So he warned her, "Sister Qing, you can't let your guard down. If that person is some kind of criminal, you have to be careful. You'd better lock your door at night for the next few days, and especially make sure you don't sleep too deeply. If anything happens, just shout in my direction..."
As Wei Donglai spoke, he noticed Xu Qingqing's attention seemed to be wandering. He couldn't help waving a hand in front of her face.
"Huh?"
Wei Donglai's waving finally brought Xu Qingqing back to her senses.
"Sister Qing, what were you thinking about? Did you hear what I said?"
"I heard you. You told me not to let my guard down."
"What else?"
"And... and..."
Seeing Xu Qingqing stammer and fail to answer, Wei Donglai knew he might as well have been talking to thin air.
Somewhat helplessly, he stressed the point again. "Sister Qing, you really can't take this lightly. That person could very well be a robber..."
"No, he wouldn't be. He was probably just..."
Xu Qingqing stopped halfway through, seemingly finding the rest hard to say.
Wei Donglai pressed her. "Just what?"
"Oh, come on, you know."
Wei Donglai was confused. "What do I know? Just tell me!"
Xu Qingqing seemed flustered by his persistent questions. She stamped her foot, embarrassed and indignant.
"He... he just wanted to harass me!"
Watching Xu Qingqing hurry back into the courtyard and disappear from sight, Wei Donglai finally understood.
She meant that the guy was just some street loafer who wanted to harass her.
Did that fit?
It did, actually. The man had turned tail and run as soon as Wei Donglai called out to ask who he was. He certainly didn't seem like the kind of bold robber who would break into someone's home.
But what was so hard to say about that? And why was she so embarrassed and indignant?
Wei Donglai suddenly slapped his forehead. Only then did he remember that he seemed to have done the same thing to her before.
Now he finally knew why she'd looked at him that way. How could she not be embarrassed and indignant when someone with a record like his brought it up in front of her?
Now that was awkward.
And to think he'd just gone on at length about how she should do this and that to stay safe. His cover had been blown to hell long ago.
Wei Donglai had no intention of explaining himself to her now, either. The main thing was that he really had done something that rotten before, so any explanation would ring hollow.
He spent the night without sleep.
Early the next morning, Wei Donglai went to meet Wei Guoqing with dark circles under his eyes.
As soon as Wei Donglai arrived at the house, he saw that Wei Guoqing's face was dark. Even when he called out to him, Wei Guoqing barely paid him any attention.
Wei Donglai was quite put out. What had he done to provoke him so early in the morning?
Only after the two of them left the house did Wei Guoqing speak.
"Why didn't you try to stop me from drinking so much last night?"
Wei Donglai was at a loss for words. "I tried to stop you plenty of times. You were the one who insisted on drinking, all right? And not only did you insist on drinking, you dragged all three of us brothers into it too."
"Is that so?"
"Of course. If you don't believe me, go back and ask sister-in-law whether I tried to stop you."
After answering, Wei Donglai had a rough idea of what was going on.
"Dad, did you drink too much last night and get chewed out by Mom?"
"That's grown-up business. Kids shouldn't pry."
That told Wei Donglai all he needed to know. No wonder his face had been black as thunder all morning. So that was the root of it.
Seeing Wei Donglai snickering beside him, Wei Guoqing angrily smacked him.
Wei Donglai clutched his head and immediately behaved himself.
The two then headed over to Carpenter Zhou's place together.
Carpenter Zhou's real name was Zhou Huaimin. He didn't live in Moon Bay Village, but in neighboring River Source Village.
River Source Village was known throughout the surrounding countryside as a village of carpenters.
Carpenters weren't exactly everywhere in the village, but there were at least three or four households.
Zhou Huaimin was the best of the bunch. From building houses to making tables, chairs, and stools, there was nothing he couldn't do.
Making wooden boats was another of his specialties.
Not only did he use sturdy materials, but his craftsmanship was also superb. He was said to build wooden boats without using a single nail, relying entirely on mortise-and-tenon joints.
When Wei Guoqing had been in the fishing brigade, he had often dealt with the carpenter and had great confidence in his craftsmanship.
So when he heard that Wei Donglai wanted a custom-made wooden boat, Zhou Huaimin was the first person he thought of, and it was for his craftsmanship that he went to him.
Clearly, this wasn't Wei Guoqing's first visit to River Source Village.
After they entered the village, Wei Guoqing first had Wei Donglai buy some liquor and candy, then led him to Carpenter Zhou's home, knowing the way well.
The courtyard gate was unlocked, and Wei Guoqing went in first.
"Anyone home?"
Footsteps sounded, and a woman in her fifties came out of the house. Her face lit up with delight when she saw Wei Guoqing.
"Guoqing, what wind blew you here?"
The woman was Zhou Huaimin's wife, Xu Lianyun. Wei Guoqing had eaten plenty of meals she'd cooked in the past.
Wei Guoqing was also delighted to see an old acquaintance.
He pointed to Wei Donglai beside him. "Sister-in-law, my third son here is getting ready to head out to sea and wants a small wooden boat made, so I came to ask Brother Zhou for help."
"This is your third son? He's grown so big? He used to be a skinny little boy, dark as a lump of coal. I never thought he'd grow into such a strapping, handsome young man."
"Sister-in-law, he's grown taller, but he hasn't grown any sense. Yue'e and I have had no end of worries over this boy."
Wei Donglai couldn't help pursing his lips. There really was a reason his dad and mom had become family.
With mouths like theirs, they were definitely carved from the same mold, though his dad's wasn't as powerful as his mom's.
Xu Lianyun laughed heartily. "Isn't that what being a parent is-worrying about your children? It's not just your third son. My two are just the same."