“Nice to meet you, Ling. By the way, you don’t need to call me Mr. Dongfang. Just call me either Dongfang or Brother Ming.” Dongfang Ming spoke to Ye Ling amiably after he sat down.
The unargumentative Ye Ling nodded. “Alright, Brother Ming. You should sit.” He then spoke to Liu Duo, “Duo Er, I’ll go wash some fruit and bring it here.”
He could tell Dongfang Ming was older than him, so he chose to call him Brother Ming, since it would be more appropriate.
“Ling, you just sit down and rest. I’ll go instead” Liu Duo pulled him and made him sit down. She then turned around and went upstairs to get the fruit to wash.
He had been busy ever since he woke up early in the morning, and he hadn’t rested at all yet.
Ye Ling, who was sitting on the stool, didn’t know what he should talk about with Dongfang Ming. His personality had always been shy and reserved, so he just kept looking at Little Huzi, who Liu Duo had left in the cradle.
Dongfang Ming fanned himself with his folding fan and looked at Ye Ling. He then also looked at Little Huzi, who was in the rocking chair. “Ling, is this baby always at your house?”
He saw Little Huzi’s clothes and diapers hanging on the rope in the corner of the yard nearby.
“Yes. Brother Li is running a small business with us. That’s why Aunt Li and Little Lian are always at our house making tomato sauce. Most of the time it is Liu Duo who takes care of Little Huzi.”
Ye Ling looked at Little Huzi and smiled warmly.
Dongfang Ming smiled when he heard him. That explained it.
Liu Duo quickly returned with the fruit. When she was heading to the well to wash them, Ye Ling immediately ran over to help.
Liu Duo smiled, “Ling, didn’t I ask you to sit and rest? You are so diligent. I feel embarrassed that I don’t give you a salary.”
“Duo Er, Ling and us brothers are all your free workers forever. You don’t need to give us money.” Ye Ling had a slight smile on his fair, handsome face. There was just a tiny bit of blushing from feeling embarrassed.
Pff. Liu Duo laughed aloud.
Since when did Ye Ling also know how to joke? It was even exactly the same as what that hooligan Ye Liu had said.
Ye Ling looked at her with a puzzled look on his face when he saw her suddenly laugh. Was what he said very funny?
Dongfang Ming fanned himself and looked at Ye Ling and Liu Duo who were washing the fruit beside the well nearby. He felt their relationship was probably very good. At that moment, he quite wanted to see Ye Yang and Ye Mo, since they hadn’t shown themselves yet.
Liu Duo grabbed a few pieces of fruit and went into the kitchen. Ye Ling took the rest and placed them beside Dongfang Ming.
“Aunt Li, Sister Lian, come and eat this fruit. If you guys are tired, just rest. There’s no need to rush. If you guys can’t handle the workload, we will hire some temporary workers.” Liu Duo said with a smile on her face.
Aunt Li took the fruit and smiled, “It’s fine. We don’t need you to remind us when it is time to goof off, silly girl. We will stop working when it is time. As the saying goes, when it is time to be lazy, one should goof off!”
Liu Duo and Little Lian both laughed when they heard her. This was the first time they realized Aunt Li actually had a humorous side to her.
Ye Ling put the plate of fruit on the table and said, “Brother Ming, eat some fruit.”
He then said to the coachman, “Sir, you should also eat some.”
He took a piece of fruit and gave it to the coachman straight away.
“Ling, you are probably the youngest brother in the family, right? Is that Liu fella, from yesterday, your older brother?” Dongfang Ming took a piece of fruit and played with it in his hands.
Although he knew Ye Liu was also one of Liu Duo’s husbands, he didn’t know his seniority in the family, and Liu Duo hadn’t mentioned it. He had also forgotten to ask about it himself.
Ye Ling sat on the stool and had a smile on his handsome face. “Yeah, I am the youngest in the family. The one you met yesterday is my second brother. My oldest, second oldest, and third oldest brothers are not at home right now. They’re busy outside.”
If they had been there, they all would have gone to see him and get to know him. After all, he was Liu Duo’s business partner.