Time-Travel: The Tragic Cannon Fodder Female Supporting Character Makes a Comeback
CHAPTER 58: The 1960s Marriage Swap: Marrying a Cook (12)
After hearing the news, Hao Wenfang was furious. She smacked her second son twice hard.
“You brat! Why didn’t you tell me before you signed up?”
Ye Xiuli had never laid a hand on the kids before, but seeing his wife so worked up, he walked over and kicked him twice right on the backside.
Ye Bai covered his butt and scrambled toward the door, only to be grabbed back by his older brother, who gave him two solid smacks on the head.
“Look how you’ve upset Mom and Dad! Where do you think you’re running off to? Can’t you just talk things through properly?”
Ye Bai looked like he was about to cry. Standing in the middle of the room, he kept glancing at his little sister, silently begging for help.
It wasn’t like they had ever objected to him joining the army before. Now that he finally got a chance, instead of celebrating, he got a full family beating. He felt completely wronged.
Ye Su shot him a helpless look, then calmly explained why everyone was angry.
“Second brother, you’re part of this family. We’re your closest people. At the very least, you should have told us first. Just deciding on your own is called acting first and reporting later. That’s not very respectful.”
Ye Bai hesitated, then could only mutter dryly, “I… I was afraid the spot would be gone again, so I just filled it out. I really didn’t mean it.”
“Gone my foot! They offered it to you and it was going to disappear? I think you just don’t want me nagging you anymore and you’re itching to run away from this house!”
After saying that, Hao Wenfang went back to her room with red eyes.
Ye Xiuli quickly followed after her to calm her down.
Ye Qingsong and Tian Daniu hurried to persuade him. “Second brother, this is all your fault. Go apologize to Mom.”
Ye Bai scratched his head and could only chase after her.
Unfortunately, Hao Wenfang shut the door and completely ignored him.
He slumped down on the steps in the courtyard, looking miserable.
“Mom, I was wrong, okay? Your son is just a bit of an idiot. I got carried away in the moment, didn’t think it through properly. Besides, the officials still need to review it. It’s not even confirmed yet…”
“And if I really do get in, I promise I won’t embarrass the family. I’ll work hard. At least I’ll try to become a squad leader first, then push for platoon leader. A company commander or even higher is not impossible…”
Inside the room, Hao Wenfang heard him going off on his little fantasy and snapped, “Get lost!”
Ye Bai perked up instantly when he heard a response and leaned against the door with a grin.
“Mom, people say scolding means you care. I know you’re just worried about me. I’m careful with my life, I won’t get hurt. In the army you can send letters and even visit. I’ll save every bit of my salary and bring it back to take care of you.”
Inside the room, Hao Wenfang’s nose stung, and tears started falling.
There were also soldiers from nearby villages. In earlier years, some had died in service, others came back missing arms or legs.
She was genuinely worried about this silly son of hers. With how carefree and clueless he was, how could anyone feel at ease letting him go out there?
Ye Xiuli gently patted his wife’s shoulder and said softly, “He’s grown now. He’s got his own thoughts and dreams. He’s been talking about joining the army since he was a kid. Maybe this is just how things are meant to be. He just happened to catch that fugitive and ended up with this chance. Let him go.”
Even though Hao Wenfang was still crying, she took his words in.
She wiped her tears and finally opened the door to go out.
This was the first time Ye Bai had ever seen his mother cry until her eyes were swollen. Guilt and panic hit him hard as he awkwardly called out, “Mom.”
Hao Wenfang kept a serious face and said firmly, “Listen here. If you pass the selection, I won’t stop you. But if you don’t, then drop this idea completely. No more messing around with it.”
Ye Bai’s eyes lit up instantly. He nodded hard right away. “Okay, Mom! I’ll listen to you!”
He had already done his homework. His background, education, age, everything met the requirements, and he was physically healthy. Last year when he secretly went for a checkup in the county hospital, all his results were normal.
So there was no way he wouldn’t make it in.
Then Hao Wenfang added, “Now that that’s settled, there’s still your marriage to talk about. You’re already twenty-one this year.”
Ye Bai froze for a moment. “Mom, I’m going into the army. Why would I get married? Wouldn’t that just delay the girl?”
Hao Wenfang shot him a glare. “What, so you’re going to the army and stay single forever? If there’s no suitable girl here, then pay attention over there too. Maybe you’ll meet someone. Don’t go around acting all clueless every day.”
Ye Bai choked a little on his words.
He still didn’t even know where he’d be assigned yet. Most units were all men anyway. Unless he ended up somewhere with a base camp, maybe there’d be logistics or medical staff, and only then would there be women around. Where was he supposed to even find a girlfriend?
Since his mother didn’t understand all that, he didn’t bother explaining. He just nodded. “Alright, I got it.”
And just like that, the matter was dropped.
……
The weather was getting colder by the day, and the soybeans in the fields were ready for harvest.
The year before last, the entire village had almost no harvest at all. Even last year and the year before that, the yields were poor, so everyone was really hoping this year would finally bring a decent crop.
This year’s weather was different. The soybean plants had already started turning yellow, and the stems and pods were drying out into a dark brown.
Some of the more experienced villagers urged everyone to hurry and bring in the harvest over the next few days, just in case the weather suddenly turned.
The Ye family also went out to the fields. As soon as the sky started to lighten, they were already heading out with sickles, ropes, and all their tools.
Tian Daniu was born in the countryside, so even though she was well treated at home, she had done plenty of farm work before. She wrapped a headscarf around herself, put on gloves, and handled cutting the beans cleanly and efficiently.
The family worried the younger girl might not know how to do it, so they had her learn how to bundle the stalks.
After her body improved, Ye Su found the work wasn’t too tiring. Under her cloth gloves, she even wore a leather pair from her space.
Once she got the hang of tying bundles, she became very quick at it. Later on, she even switched with her sister-in-law, going over to cut the soybeans instead.
All six of them worked together in sync. They cut the soybeans, took them to the threshing ground to beat out the beans, bagged them, sealed them up, and brought everything back home to store.
It took about four or five days in total, and during that time, Duan Ziyu even took a day off to come help out.
After the autumn harvest was done, the whole family was completely wiped out. Everyone had sore backs, aching waists, and stiff limbs to some degree.
Ye Su wasn’t feeling great either, so she quietly took a recovery pill. In less than ten minutes, her body was completely fine again.
That night, she cooked dinner and slipped another recovery pill into the rice porridge.
She also cracked seven or eight eggs and poured them into the porridge, stirring it until soft, fluffy egg ribbons floated on top.
On the side, she made cornmeal pancakes, adding a bit of sugar to bring out the flavor. They came out fragrant, sweet, and comforting.
Everyone was starving after the hard work. With Ye Su cooking in generous portions, they all ate their fill.
After a night’s sleep, everyone woke up feeling refreshed. The soreness and fatigue from the previous day were gone, and they actually felt quite energetic.
They all said it must have been thanks to the egg porridge from the night before. Ye Su had been generous with the eggs, and it helped everyone recover their strength.
The day after the harvest, news about Ye Bai’s enlistment approval finally came.
Early that morning, a call from the township officials reached the village.
They told Ye Bai to report to the county town the next day for a military physical examination.
The Ye family did not expect things to move this fast.
As for Ye Bai, he grinned and said, “Perfect timing. The harvest is done anyway. If not, with me missing as a laborer, you all would’ve had to suffer a few more days.”
Seeing this troublemaker start talking nonsense again, Hao Wenfang let out a helpless sigh. For once, she didn’t scold him.
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