Time flies by, and its pace cannot be stopped.

In March, the weather is still a bit cool, but it gets much warmer when the leaves sprout green buds and the ducks go into the water.

As the saying goes, "Ducks are the first to know when the river warms in spring." The poet wasn't lying. Seeing ducks going into the water means that farming is about to begin on the island, and fishing is not a common activity at this time.

Later generations made explicit provisions regarding which regions and seasons were designated as fishing moratoriums.

At this time, the old fishermen on the island also have their own timetable, and they have their own set of standards for when they cannot fish. During the spring spawning season, they absolutely cannot go to sea to fish.

"Grandma, these are shepherd's purse I just picked from the mountain."

"The shepherd's purse is so big, and we haven't eaten it yet this year!"

"Grandma, if you want to eat it, I'll go dig it up. But you absolutely mustn't go up the mountain yourself. You'll just keep bumping into things and tripping. It's not worth it."

Bao dumped all the shepherd's purse from her basket onto the ground, creating a mountain of it. Bao Ni kept putting it into the basket, pressing it down as she went; the basket was quite full!

"That's quite a lot. Don't carry so much next time. Don't take your strength for granted. What if all sorts of health problems come knocking when you get my age?"

"Okay, Grandma, I'll be more careful next time. Let's hurry up and pick out these vegetables."

Bonnie had already brought over a small stool and sat down. She hadn't been careful while digging, and some grass stalks and dry leaves had been brought in. Now she had to pick them out, making it twice the work!

"Auntie, Auntie, let me help you choose too."

"Great! Da Bao is so capable, Auntie will have to reward you handsomely!"

"Auntie, can I choose my own prize?"

"Oh dear, you little rascal, trying to bargain with your auntie."

"Auntie, is it okay?"

Da Bao started to act cute and charming. He wanted to eat candy, but his mother wouldn't let him, so he thought of asking his aunt for some.

"Let me guess, does Da Bao want some candy again? Open your mouth so Auntie can see if all your little teeth have been eaten away by worms?"

Da Bao quickly covered his mouth with both hands, afraid that his aunt would see the black holes in his teeth.

Da Bao's little hands, which he had just used to pick vegetables, were covered in dirt, and he smeared it all over his face, making him look like a little kitten.

This blatant attempt to conceal something obvious reveals his cavities, meaning he'll definitely miss out on the candy.

When Da Bao realized what had happened, he was extremely frustrated. His shoulders slumped, and his hands went down, leaving only a small mud stain on his face.

"Ha ha……"

The heartless aunt rubbed salt into Da Bao's wound, her laughter carrying for miles!

"Grandma, Auntie is bullying me."

While playing with Da Bao, Bonnie didn't forget to pick vegetables, and she had already picked quite a few.

"Alright, Da Bao, we'll forgive your aunt since she dug up some shepherd's purse. Tonight, Grandma will make shepherd's purse and egg dumplings for you."

Grandma watched the amusing aunt and niece and tried to mediate between them.

"Oh, time to eat dumplings! Time to eat dumplings!"

Upon hearing that they were going to eat dumplings, Da Bao forgot his aunt's teasing and also forgot about eating candy.

In this day and age, eating dumplings is like celebrating the Chinese New Year!

Nowadays, dumplings aren't made with pure white flour; they're made with a mixture of white flour and cornmeal.

It took Bonnie and her grandmother more than an hour to sort through all of this shepherd's purse.

"Grandma, you prepare the filling, and I'll take it back and wrap it myself. Gu Ye will be back a little late tonight."

Gu Ye mentioned this morning that they would be going on a sea cruise today. Although they wouldn't be going to the open sea, they wouldn't be coming back too early tonight.

“Okay, I’ve accumulated quite a few eggs these past few days. Adding a little dried shrimp will make it taste very fresh.”

"Grandma, put out a few more eggs. I'll bring you some when I come back sometime. My chicks have all started laying eggs too, one a day, and we've accumulated quite a few."

Bonnie's chickens are really hardworking; it's no wonder Bonnie digs up earthworms to feed them every day.

"Okay, put in a few more. We have plenty of eggs at home, you can keep the ones you have for yourself."

Bonnie didn't continue talking about eggs with her grandmother. How many people were in the family and how many chickens did they have? How many eggs could they collect? She and Gu Ye had five chickens.

Grandma blanched the shepherd's purse in hot water, then rinsed it in cold water. Bonnie squeezed the rinsed shepherd's purse to remove excess water, then chopped it with a knife.

Grandma had already made the scrambled eggs; the golden-yellow egg pieces looked very appetizing.

Bonnie carried the dumpling filling her grandmother had prepared and prepared to go home.

"Bonnie, are we going back already?"

The neighbor next door saw Bonnie carrying a basin out of her parents' house and greeted her warmly.

Now, everyone on the island envies the Lin family for raising such a good daughter; even Wang Daya, who doesn't get along with Lin's mother, is extremely envious.

After the New Year, who wouldn't be envious of the several large packages the Lin family received?

The Lin family's daughters and sons were all dressed in old military uniforms, which aroused envy among the young men and women on the island.

The islanders often lament, "If you have a daughter like Lin Baoni, you wouldn't trade her for ten sons."

"I have to go back now. I dug up some shepherd's purse on the mountain today, and Grandma helped me prepare the filling. I need to hurry back to make dumplings. The wild vegetables at the foot of the mountain are all sprouting, so we can go dig them up."

"Okay, Bonnie. The girls can go dig some up after school tonight. My legs aren't strong enough to walk that far."

Bonnie rode her bicycle home, carrying a basin in one hand and holding the handlebars in the other. As she rode to her doorstep, she attracted the stares of the women in the residential compound.

Bonnie praised herself inwardly, "This skill, this level of expertise."

"This wife of Battalion Commander Gu is amazing! She can ride so fast while holding the handlebars with one hand!"

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!