In this era, families still gathered together for meals, and in the village, it was rare to find a family that had split. If they did, wouldn’t they be ridiculed behind their backs?
Ye Qiu thought that the idea of splitting up was not bad. Although the original owner was a vampire, he could still distinguish whose blood he could drink and whose he could not. He did not take advantage of Ye Xia’s family; if they were to separate, that would be better, saving him from needing to compensate Ye Laoda later for something he hadn’t been reimbursed for before.
Upon hearing that Ye Xia wanted to send his son to school, Ye Laoda felt a twinge of envy when he thought of his own daughter, Xiao Hua, who was the same age. He knew that even if he asked, Ye Mu wouldn’t agree to let Xiao Hua go to school.
Ye Xia and his wife understood that today wasn’t the day for separation and reluctantly left.
Ye Mu angrily ushered Ye Fu and Ye Laoda into the room. Seeing that Ye Qiu had already woken up, she smiled. “Our Second is awake! Are you thirsty or hungry? Mother will ask your sister-in-law to cook a bowl of noodles for you. You insisted on going out to work, and now look, you’ve exhausted yourself to the point of heatstroke!”
“Hmph! He still has much to learn about farming!”
“Second brother, you finally woke up! I’ll have your sister-in-law make you a meal right away!”
Ye Qiu looked at the few people who truly cared for the original owner and helplessly said, “If I eat another bowl of noodles, won’t there be nothing left for the family? I’m not hungry now; we can eat together tonight.”
Ye Mu snorted, “This is all the second’s fault! It’s just an egg, and look at how he acted. He took an egg from his own home, and Ye Laoda had no objection, but he had all the complaints. I bet that Zhou Caiyan has been stirring things up behind his back.”
“Mom, how could I have any objections towards the Second? If all the eggs were left for the Second, it would be fine.”
Ye Qiu, snuggling up to Ye Mu, said, “Thank you, Mother! You always stand up for me. Now that I’m older and sensible, I want to help share the burden at home. Don’t worry; when I become successful, I will definitely honour both you and my big brother and build you a new house.”
“I will buy you some of that snow lotion from the city, I heard it makes your skin fair and tender if you apply it daily, and buy you pretty clothes to wear.”
“And for Dad, let him enjoy a little drink and some snacks daily.”
“And Xiao Hua, she should start school soon too. Let’s send her to school as well!”
These words made Ye Mu smile. Ye Laoda, like a mute, couldn’t utter a word throughout the day. Ye Xia only thought of himself, but Ye Qiu was the one who won her heart, “I knew our Qiu Qiu is the most filial!”
“Second, don’t worry, I’ll handle all your work from now on!” Ye Laoda said, his eyes glistening with tears.
Just then, Ye Da Sao entered with a bowl of noodles she had made for Ye Qiu, followed by Xiao Hua, who confusedly handed the bowl to Ye Qiu.
Standing aside, Ye Da Sao held Xiao Hua’s hand in silence. Though she didn’t believe Ye Qiu would actually be that nice to them, they only had one daughter, and if Ye Qiu was half as good as he claimed, it would be sufficient.
Although Ye Qiu didn’t want everyone to treat him specially, he still ate the noodles cleanly under their watchful eyes. He secretly apologized to Xiao Hua, who was watching with drooling eyes, saying that once he made some money, he would buy her delicious food.
The atmosphere was very harmonious.
Once Ye Qiu finished the noodles, he couldn’t wait to step outside to see if he could find anything that could improve their living conditions. Ye Mu thought he was just bored lying in bed and allowed him to take the prepared sweet soup, reminding him not to engage in any strenuous activities, and didn’t think much of it.
In the kitchen washing dishes, Ye Da Sao couldn’t help but speak, “Do you think what the Second said is true? He hasn’t even given Xiao Hua half an egg?”
“The Second only eats eggs because he was weak as a child, and didn’t he say he would send Xiao Hua to school once he made money?” Ye Laoda, oblivious to his wife’s implication, advised her.
Ye Da Sao wanted to spit blood… She couldn’t just say she didn’t believe a word of Ye Qiu’s flowery promises.
Ye Qiu followed the small path from the family home, unknowingly arriving at the youth station.
Among the crowd, a young male intellectual caught his eye, his almond-shaped eyes were slightly chubby, and his fair skin stood out among the sunburned others. The plain blue youth uniform looked particularly elegant on him.
When Ye Qiu saw this male intellectual, he noticed that the young man also saw him.
“Ye Qiu! Why did you take so long? I’ve been waiting for you!”
The youth ran excitedly towards Ye Qiu, who felt his heart race at that moment.
It was Ji Chen!
Ye Qiu handed the sweet soup in his hand to Ji Chen and patted him on the back, saying, “Ji Chen, you made it!”
“You… I heard you were heatstroke because of work. How are you now?” Ji Chen asked, shyly drinking water while expressing concern.
Although it was the original owner who suffered the embarrassment, the body was now his. Ye Qiu felt his face turn red upon hearing this. “Ahem, it was just that I hadn’t worked for a long time and didn’t react in time. It won’t happen again!”
“By the way, I came to tell you, recently some thugs in town have been robbing young intellectuals, especially ones like you. If you want to go to town to get something, remember to call me to go with you!” Since he was meeting Ji Chen, he might as well give a warning.
Ji Chen showed a fearful expression upon hearing Ye Qiu’s words and nodded seriously.
“Gulp…”
Ye Qiu couldn’t help but laugh at Ji Chen’s embarrassed expression as he covered his stomach. Before Ji Chen could get embarrassed and want to hit someone, she grabbed him and ran up a nearby hill.
Ji Chen watched Ye Qiu effortlessly climb a tree, as if performing magic, pulling out five bird eggs.
“Don’t be mad! Here, please have some bird eggs.”
Ye Qiu handed the five eggs to Ji Chen to take back to the intellectual station. He repeatedly reminded Ji Chen to call him if he went to town.
Holding the bird eggs that Ye Qiu had given him, Ji Chen listened to Ye Qiu’s words, feeling happily surprised. He thought to himself that Ye Qiu was indeed different from those kids in the village who spoke nonsense; he was so thoughtful!
“Wow, Ji Chen, you’re so lucky! You even managed to find bird eggs!”
“Yeah! Where did you find those? I’ll try next time!”
Several young intellectuals looked at the bird eggs with shining eyes. With the grain distribution day approaching, rations at the youth station were running low, so they could only make do. Ji Chen generously offered to share one bird egg to make an extra meal for everyone.