Words like imposing and handsome are not enough to describe Brother Ye’s presence; the moment he appeared, it felt like a powerful aura surrounded him, drawing everyone’s attention.
Xia Dabao said with a smile, “This is my dad. People of his generation call him Brother Ye. You can just call him Uncle Ye. My dad is a really good person.”
Tian Xiaobei also forgot to leave and called out, “Uncle Ye, hello.”
It was only then that Brother Ye walked toward Tian Xiaobei, stood in front of him and smiled slightly, “You must be the Xiaobei from Aunt Er’s family. I’ve heard about you. Axian told me you even helped Xiao Hei give birth. It’s rare for us to have guests at home, so how about staying for dinner tonight? Fengfeng, go and let Zhao Er Auntie know that we’re keeping Xiaobei here for dinner tonight so they don’t wait.”
“Sure thing, I’ll go right away,” Nan Feng turned around and left the yard, while Axian began to pull Tian Xiaobei along, “Brother Xiaobei, e on, let’s go inside and chat.”
Brother Ye also said, “e inside. It’s getting late, no need to stand in the yard too long.”
This family was so hospitable that Tian Xiaobei didn’t know how to refuse and was quickly pulled into the house and even sat down at the dining table.
It wasn’t long before Nan Feng returned too, his face beaming with a smile as he entered, “Xiaobei, rest assured and have dinner with us. Aunt Nan Feng has already informed your aunt. She told me to tell you to eat without reservation, don’t be shy, and have plenty.”
Tian Xiaobei hadn’t expected that a simple task of delivering a book would end up with him being invited to stay for dinner, but they all seemed sincerely enthusiastic.
The food was already served, and Nan Feng and Brother Ye kept urging him to eat more. Nan Feng kept adding fish and meat to his bowl until there was a small mountain of food. He was initially reserved, but the aroma of the food soon won him over. Since he was truly hungry, he started eating eagerly not long after.
Xia Dabao was quite happy to see Tian Xiaobei enjoying his meal.
Each time Tian Xiaobei’s bowl was nearly empty, Nan Feng would fill it up again with food, but Nan Feng didn’t only serve Xiaobei; she took care of everyone at the table. Brother Ye was the same and treated his family with special gentleness, “Fengfeng, eat more. You’ve been exhausted by the Lychee Forest work lately.”
Nan Feng was equally gentle, “You should eat more too, it’s not just me who’s tired.”
“But now that we’ve finally finished the busy work, we can relax for a while.”
“Yes, indeed, but farm work never truly ends. We’ve finished with the Lychee Forest, and now we need to prepare for the new vegetable field. I’ve already spoken to the village chief. He said land wouldn’t be an issue, and he could find some for us soon.”
“That’s great!” Brother Ye also said, clearly satisfied.
“Dad, Mom, when will the lychees be ripe?” Axian asked. “Are there still bugs on the lychee trees? How many lychees do we have this year?”
With a smile, Nan Feng patiently answered Axian’s questions, “The lychees are starting to get a bit of red at the top. In about half a month, they should be ready to pick. I estimate that each lychee tree has about two hundred catties of lychees, and we have more than eighty trees. Axian, calculate it, how many catties in total?”
Axian, who had just started learning to read and do addition, struggled and couldn’t figure it out, so he turned to Xia Dabao for help.
Xia Dabao mercilessly retorted, “That’s what you get for not studying regularly. I won’t tell you.”
Axian then looked at Tian Xiaobei, who chuckled, “Two times eighty is one sixty, so more than one thousand six hundred catties.”
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