Erniu quickly responded, "Let's have instant noodles for dinner. We don't want seafood, and instant noodles are delicious."

Sanwa nodded his little head and said, "I agree."

"Eating instant noodles for dinner again?" Ning Tang said, "No, I'll eat it next time."

Big Baby tilted his head. "Next time, when is next time?"

"Next time is next time." Ning Tang said.

Erniu said, "Next time we'll have it tonight."

"Yeah." The eldest and third children nodded in agreement.

Ning Tang saw that he couldn't get around it, so he had to say, "Next time, wait for your dad to come back."

The eldest child asked, "When will Dad be back? Why do we have to wait for him to come back before we can eat instant noodles?"

Ning Tang was overwhelmed by his barrage of questions, so she answered them one by one. "Captain Shen will be back on August 27th. Today is August 14th, so there are still thirteen days until Captain Shen's return, which is almost two weeks."

The eldest child nodded. "Then why do we have to wait for Dad to come back before we can eat instant noodles?"

Ning Tang spread his hands and said, "Because the landlord has no surplus food, this month's living expenses are only enough for us to eat until he comes back. Instant noodles are too expensive. It's okay to have meat occasionally, but if we want to eat more, we have to wait for your father to get his salary and subsidies back."

Although Chen Lie had a high salary, he had to support three children. Da Wa and their biological mother was frail and sickly, and was a sickly person. The medicine she took over the years had consumed most of Chen Lie's salary. Later, when she passed away, the funeral expenses were quite a bit.

So Chen Lie actually didn't have much savings, which was why he offered a hundred yuan less in betrothal gifts than Su Junyan when he proposed marriage.

Da Wa blinked and asked Ning Tang, "Are instant noodles expensive?"

He didn't know how to count, and couldn't understand how expensive Ning Tang meant.

Ning Tang explained to him, "A packet of instant noodles costs 80 cents, and we ate three packets in one meal, which is 2.4 yuan. You usually buy a pound of prawns for 2 cents, and swordfish is only 5 cents a pound. In other words, one meal of instant noodles is enough for us to eat more than 20 meals."

The eldest, second and third daughters were confused by Ning Tang's words "80 cents, three bags, two dollars and forty cents, two cents", but they understood the last sentence.

Big Baby opened his mouth wide in surprise, "I didn't know instant noodles were so expensive! One meal is equivalent to more than 20 meals for us."

"Yes, so we have to wait for your dad to come back before we can have another meal of instant noodles." Ning Tang comforted the three children, "It's okay, it's only two weeks, it will pass quickly. Your dad will also receive a subsidy when he returns from his sea voyage. When the salary and subsidy arrive, I'll make you one of my specialties, fried instant noodles."

Sanwa swallowed hard and asked, "Stepmother, what are fried instant noodles?"

Erniu said to him, "Stupid, you just fried the instant noodles twice."

Ning Tang praised her generously, "Erniu is clever. She boiled the instant noodles, drained the water, and then added seasoning and stir-fried them. It tastes even better than boiled instant noodles."

Erniu was suddenly praised by Ning Tang, and a blush appeared on her face. She was afraid that Ning Tang would see it, so she quickly turned her face away.

Ning Tang not only thought of fried instant noodles, but also fried instant noodles with seafood. After all, the seafood on Hailang Island is so abundant and cheap. If he buys some more fresh oysters, shrimps, and squids and stir-fries them with instant noodles, it will definitely taste amazing.

Although there was fried instant noodles waiting for them, the three little ones were still disappointed that they couldn't have instant noodles in the evening.

Da Wa sighed, "Oh, I have to eat the steamed seafood that my stepmother made tonight."

Ning Tang: "Is the steamed seafood I made not delicious? What do you think?"

"How dare I?" Big Boy said, "Do you have any objections? I'm afraid you won't make fried instant noodles for us anymore."

Ning Tang snorted, "That's good to know. Don't worry, I won't make steamed seafood tonight."

Erniu's eyes lit up, "Aren't you eating seafood tonight?"

Ning Tang choked and said, "Let's still eat seafood, but I promise that the seafood we eat tonight will be better than the ones I usually cook for you."

Erniu said regretfully, "Okay."

Obviously, she didn't take Ning Tang's words to heart. Seafood is seafood, no matter whether it is steamed or braised. It's not like Chen Lie hasn't cooked it for them before.

Children who grow up on the island eat seafood for three meals a day, and they have no interest in eating seafood.

Ning Tang was not bragging. She was inspired by instant noodles. She was actually tired of eating steamed seafood every day. No matter how delicious it was, she couldn't eat it every meal.

She thought of the garlic oysters and garlic vermicelli scallops sold at the barbecue stall. They were easy to make, tasted great, and most importantly, she could make them!

So in the afternoon, Ning Tang went to the vegetable market to buy abalone, oysters and scallops, and also went to the supply and marketing cooperative to spend ten cents to buy vermicelli.

After returning, Ning Tang took out the stove used for heating, lit a fire, laid out the wire mesh, and put three oysters on the wire mesh to test the water.

The oysters were roasted over the charcoal fire and soon began to sizzle, and the tender oyster meat began to bubbling with water.

Seeing this, Ning Tang quickly took out the finely chopped garlic mixed with sesame oil that he had prepared long ago, and spread it carefully and evenly on the surface of the oysters with a spoon.

Soon, the aroma of the grilled oysters and the rich scent of garlic filled the whole room.

The eldest boy was so greedy that he wanted to grab the oysters with his hands and eat them.

Ning Tang quickly slapped his hand and said, "Don't try to kill yourself! I'll burn your hand into a pig's trotter soon."

Big Boy curled his lips and said, "It's just pig's trotters." Or? He stared at the grilled oysters without giving up.

Ning Tang checked the heat. The oyster meat changed from its initial tender white color to the egg white color of a cooked egg, and the minced garlic also turned golden yellow. It seemed that it was cooked and ready to be eaten.

Ning Tang put on the work gloves the army had given to Chen Lie. Through the white gauze gloves, he pinched the shell of the oyster and blew on it. When it was almost cool, he handed it to Da Wa, Er Niu, and San Wa, "Try it and see if it tastes good."

The three children held the oyster shells with their two little hands, put their mouths close to the shells, and with a slurp, they ate the whole plump oyster with garlic paste into their mouths.

The oysters are extremely tender, smooth and delicious, accompanied by the aroma of garlic, which makes the three children unable to help but savor this delicious taste.

After finishing the oyster meat, the eldest child ate up all the juice and remaining minced garlic from the shells. Finally, he smacked his lips and said regretfully, "Stepmother, why didn't you make such delicious oysters earlier?"

"Exactly?" Erniu agreed. "We've been eating boiled oysters for a few days."

Ning Tang was embarrassed, "Isn't this it? I didn't remember it..."

She quickly changed the subject and asked Da Wa and Er Niu, "Can you two eat spicy food?"

She didn't ask Sanwa, a three-year-old boy. Even if Sanwa wanted to eat spicy food, Ningtang would not let him eat it.

Da Wa and Er Niu nodded and said, "Yes, it's edible."

"Okay then." Ning Tang said.

She put four more oysters on the stove. While the oysters were baking, she added a little chili she had bought to the garlic paste, and then repeated the previous steps, spreading the garlic chili sauce on the oysters.

The tender and plump oyster meat is garnished with white minced garlic and red chili peppers, which makes it look more appetizing.

Soon, three spicy grilled oysters and one garlic grilled oyster were ready.

Ning Tang shared the grilled oysters with the three children and ate one himself. The garlic and spicy flavors combined with the tender oysters tasted simply amazing.

"Wow, so spicy, so delicious." Da Wa and Er Niu stuck out their tongues while eating, as if they couldn't stand the spiciness.

Ning Tang was worried that they would only eat oysters and not rice, so he said, "Take a couple of bites of white rice with them. It will taste more fragrant and help to relieve the spiciness. Then I'll make you roasted garlic vermicelli scallops and garlic abalone."

The eldest child took two mouthfuls of rice and urged, "Okay, stepmother, please bake it quickly."

Erniu volunteered to help feed Sanwa, "I'll feed Sanwa, stepmother, you focus on baking."

"Okay." Ning Tang rolled up his sleeves and showed off his skills.

She put the scallops and the cut abalone on the stove, then placed some vermicelli on the scallops. When the abalone and vermicelli were half cooked, she spread the garlic chili sauce on them.

Soon, the house was filled with the familiar aroma of charcoal barbecue.

The eldest child stared at her grilling, a little confused, "Why can I add minced garlic directly to grilled oysters, but I have to wait a while before adding minced garlic to grilled scallops and grilled abalone?"

"Because oysters cook faster, scallops and abalone take longer to cook," Ning Tang said. "Actually, you can just add garlic chili sauce when grilling scallops and abalone. It's the same. It's just my personal preference. I like to wait a while before applying garlic chili sauce."

The eldest child nodded and then shook his head, sighing, "Stepmother, you know so much, and you still say you can't cook."

Erniu: "My stepmother lied to me. She deliberately told Dad that she couldn't cook so that he could only cook one meal a day."

Ning Tang held his forehead with his hand. "I only know some theoretical knowledge. I really can't cook. Roasting oysters is simple, but I can't cook stir-fry. Take braised spareribs for example. When to blanch them, how to marinate them, and what seasonings to add? I don't know anything. I can only try to make it, but I just want to ask if you dare to eat it."

Erniu still didn't believe it, "But stepmother, the instant noodles and grilled oysters you made are delicious."

"Instant noodles, that's a talent. Just think I was born knowing how to cook." Ning Tang grumbled. After all, she had eaten plenty of them before. "Grilled oysters are so simple. Just wash them, add garlic chili sauce, and test the heat. Done."

Da Wa said, "I understand, stepmother, you know how to cook some dishes and some dishes you can't."

"Anyway, I can't cook most of the home-cooked dishes, so I'm a master at making some 'unconventional' things." Ning Tang said jokingly.

When she was in college, Ning's mother tried to teach her how to cook once. It was a very simple scrambled eggs. When the eggs were put into the frying pan, the sizzling sound scared her so much that she almost ran out of the kitchen. Later, she had to put on gloves to barely complete the scrambled eggs.

Later, Ning's mother tried to teach Ning Tang how to cook more complicated dishes, but unfortunately, she either didn't use enough seasoning or added too many seasonings, and in the end she cooked a pot of colorful stew.

So much so that Ning's mother complained that Ning Tang's cooking didn't seem like cooking, but more like making a ritual!

From then on, Ning Tang rarely went into the kitchen.

There is no one to cook at home, so when we are hungry we just order instant noodles and snacks. Now I am showing off my grilled oyster skills to the eldest kids. Is it because I often barbecue with friends on the rooftop that I have kept up the skills?

Thinking of rooftop barbecue, Ning Tang remembered the rooftop of the Shen family's two-story building. She asked Da Wa, "Can I go up to the rooftop at home?" The last time she wanted to go in, the door was locked.

She hasn't had a barbecue for a long time and her hands are itching to do it. There are so many cheap seafood on Hailang Island. What if she could get a big lobster or something and have an open-air barbecue on the rooftop? It would be so beautiful!

"No." The eldest child shook his head. "Dad said the railing on the rooftop is too low, and he's often not at home. He's worried that if we run up there to play, we might fall and get crushed. That would be terrible."

"So that's how it is." Ning Tang nodded to show his understanding.

As we were talking, the garlic-baked abalone and the garlic vermicelli-baked scallops were ready.

Da Wa hesitated between the two. After thinking it over, he decided to try the grilled scallops with garlic vermicelli first. After all, they were both charcoal-grilled seafood, and the grilled scallops had vermicelli in them. He wanted to taste the vermicelli.

Big Boy put the grilled scallops with garlic vermicelli into his mouth. The scallop meat had been grilled for a long time, and the garlic chili sauce on top had already absorbed the flavor. He took a bite and the soft and juicy scallops, the chewy vermicelli, and the garlic aroma and spiciness of the garlic chili sauce blended together.

The eldest child almost cried, "Woo woo, it's so delicious."

Erniu stopped talking and just focused on eating, taking a bite of scallops and a mouthful of rice, eating very happily.

The first thing Sanwa ate was the grilled abalone with garlic. The abalone was cut into small pieces and was also very tasty. Because Sanwa was small and his teeth were not as good as his brothers and sisters, he had to chew the garlic abalone in his mouth for many times before he could swallow it, but this added a unique chewiness to the abalone.

Ning Tang saw that he had difficulty chewing and couldn't help but grill two more oysters for him, telling him to eat more tender and delicious oysters and scallops, and less abalone that was too hard on his teeth.

It was Ning Tang’s first time using this charcoal stove to roast food. He was not very skilled at first, but later he became more proficient and roasted more and more food. Da Wa and the others could not eat enough of it.

Ning Tang grilled some oysters, scallops, and abalone, put them on plates, put them in a basket, and asked Da Wa to deliver them to Mrs. Luo and Ning Xue who lived next door.

Unfortunately, I haven't seen Zeng Xinlan since the last time I went to the sea, and I don't know where she lives, otherwise I could send her something.

Although Ning Xue's character is not very good and she has no good intentions, but no matter what, Ning Tang and the three children in the family have eaten a lot of food made by Ning Xue, and out of apparent kinship, it is necessary to give her a portion of grilled oysters.

The eldest boy had almost finished eating, and after receiving the task, he ran to Ning Xue's house with his little legs.

Ning Tang glanced at his running back and said, "If you spill it, I won't make grilled oysters for you next time."

Upon hearing this, Da Wa paused, slowed down his pace, carefully protected the basket with both hands, and walked towards Ning Xue's house at a speed several times slower than before.

When they arrived at Ning Xue's house, Da Wa called a few times outside the door and Ning Xue came out.

Da Wa recited a string of dishes like a name, "Aunt, these are the grilled oysters with garlic, scallops with vermicelli in garlic, and abalone in garlic that my stepmother made. They're for you."

The aroma of charcoal grilling is already strong, not to mention that it is cooked with minced garlic. The two houses are close to each other, so it is like Ning Tang is grilling at home and Ning Xue can smell the aroma just by taking a sniff.

Ning Xue was still wondering what the Shen family had cooked that smelled so good when she ran into Da Wa who came to deliver something.

She glanced at the basket but didn't take it. Instead, she asked in surprise, "What did you say? This garlic oyster and scallop dish? Was it made by Ning Tang?"

Even if you don't eat it, just based on the aroma, the taste of this thing can't be bad, right?

Ning Xue clearly remembered that Ning Tang used to be like this at home. He refused to enter the kitchen and couldn't cook anything.

Ning Xue had heard about Ning Tang making steamed seafood at home every day to "fool" Da Wa and the others when they arrived at Hailang Island, and she even used this as a nightly joke to Su Junyan.

Especially at noon, Da Wa and the other two were clearly hungry and wanted to come to their house for a free meal because Ning Tang didn't cook.

How come in the blink of an eye, Ning Tang can make so many delicious foods?

Ning Xue looked up and down at Da Wa's little face with suspicion. Could it be that he bought it from a restaurant and then passed it off as homemade?

However, thinking that there were no restaurants on the island, Ning Xue imagined that someone else had made it for Ning Tang. Anyway, it was impossible that Ning Tang had made it by himself.

Ning Xue subconsciously didn't think Ning Tang could cook such delicious food.

Da Wa didn't have as many twists and turns in his mind as hers. He just tilted his head and said, "It was made by my stepmother. Oh, aunt, please take it quickly. I still have to go to Sister Luo's house."

After saying that, without waiting for Ning Xue to reply, Da Wa stuffed the basket into her hands, turned around and ran away.

When Ning Tang had filled his stomach to about 70% full, Da Wa came back.

He was holding a basket in his hand. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and panted, "Stepmother, they've all been sent out."

"Well done." Ning Tang praised. "What did Sister Luo say to my cousin?"

Da Wa thought about it for a moment and acted out Ning Xue's reaction perfectly. "I went to my aunt's house and wanted to give her the grilled oysters. My aunt didn't take them. She just said, 'What are you talking about? These garlic oysters and scallops, are they made by Ning Tang?'"

Da Wa continued, "I was tired of her dawdling, so I shoved the basket into her hands and went to Sister Luo's house."

Ning Tang's mouth twitched. She knew that Ning Xue disliked her, but there was no need to show it so obviously, right?

Forget it, as long as she's not guilty morally, that's all. As for what Ning Xue thinks...

What the hell does it have to do with her?

Ning Tang continued, "And then? What did Sister Luo say?"

Da Wa said, "Sister Luo asked me to thank you and gave me a basket of cucumbers and tomatoes she grew. My stepmother will make us candied tomatoes tomorrow."

Ning Tang said, "Sure." She glanced at Da Wa's bulging cheeks and said, "Sister Luo gave you more than just cucumbers and tomatoes, didn't she?"

Da Wa stuck out his tongue and said, "Okay, I can't hide this from you. Sister Luo even gave me some candies."

He opened his palm, revealing the candy in the palm, "This is for Erniu and Sanwa."

Erniu cheered, "Wow, there are candies to eat."

She and Sanwa took the candy from Dawa, peeled off the candy wrapper and put the candy into their mouths.

Milk candy is a luxury for children on the island. They can only eat it once in a while. The eldest child couldn't bear to chew it and held it in his mouth all the way. The second and third children did the same. They held it in their mouths with their cheeks bulging, like two little hamsters.

Ning Tang asked, "Have you said thank you to Sister Luo?"

Da Wa patted his chest and said, "Of course I did. Sister Luo even told me not to be polite."

After eating and cleaning up, Ning Tang watched her three children wash up and go to bed, and she went back to her room to sleep.

When Chen Lie was not around, she had a big bed all to herself, and she didn't know how comfortable she felt.

Ning Tang couldn't help but think, if only Chen Lie didn't come back.

But she dismissed the idea the next second. If Chen Lie didn't come back, she would have to continue taking care of the three children and cooking two meals a day. Please God, Chen Lie should come back soon.

The next day, Ning Tang kept his promise and made candied tomatoes for the three children, which they loved.

After eating the tomatoes with sugar, the three children were still not satisfied, so one of them ate a piece of cucumber.

Ning Tang looked at them with amusement, "All the vegetables that Sister Luo planted in her yard went into your three stomachs."

The eldest child took a bite of the cucumber, chewed it twice, and swallowed it. "Dad once said that eating is the best way to show respect to food."

"Tell that to the cucumbers and tomatoes you've eaten," Ning Tang said. "It's no use telling me."

The eldest child finished the last bit of cucumber and clapped his hands. "Stepmother, what are we having for dinner? Grilled oysters and scallops with vermicelli and garlic sauce?"

Erniu: "Seafood is cheap. Stepmother, please stop making excuses by saying it's expensive and then not cooking it for us."

"What do you mean again? I only told you once that instant noodles are expensive." Ning Tang said, "It's just grilled oysters and scallops. If you want to eat them, I can make them every day. I'm just afraid you'll get tired of them."

Da Wa shook his head, "Not sick of it." He touched his face and said, "Have I gained weight recently? Er Niu, can you help me take a look?"

Erniu looked at his face carefully and said, "Brother, you think too much. You haven't gained weight."

The eldest child tilted his head. "But this morning, when I got up and put on my clothes, they felt a little tight." He added, "Well, I used to eat the steamed seafood my stepmother made every day. I was lucky enough not to be thin because of starvation. How could I possibly gain weight?"

Ning Tang sneered, "Shen Dawa, you're trying to insult me again. Don't worry, I've gotten my bearings now. I'll make delicious food for you every day and return the three little chubby kids to your dad when he comes back."

Da Wa's eyes lit up, "Stepmother, are you serious? You make delicious food for us every day."

Erniu said, "If I could eat delicious food every day, I would be happy to become a little fat boy."

"That's fake." Ning Tang said, "For the sake of your figures, I'd better not make delicious food for you every day."

"No." Big Baby exclaimed.

Ning Tang pretended to sigh, "It's not that I don't want to do it. You don't know how tiring it is to cook. Not only do I have to cook, but I also have to wash the dishes. Oh, if I get sick from all this work, who will make delicious food for you and who will take care of you in the future?"

Big Boy curled his lips and said, "Don't try these tricks on us. If you don't want to wash the dishes, just say so."

"Is this? You said it, I didn't say it." Ning Tang said with a smile.

The eldest child was speechless. "It's just washing dishes. We washed them for you." He looked at the second and third children. "Do you two have any objections?"

Erniu and Sanwa always followed Da Wa's lead. Besides, there were delicious foods hanging in the air and red dates to be given for washing dishes, so of course they had no objection. They both shook their heads.

Ning Tang rolled his eyes. "But I'm out of red dates. You guys help me wash the dishes. I have to give out twelve red dates a day. You've already eaten most of the few bags I brought with me. I was going to save some for Captain Shen to make soup with when he comes back."

"There are no red dates." A hint of disappointment flashed across Da Wa's eyes. He licked the corner of his mouth, thinking of the delicious grilled oysters he had yesterday. He gritted his teeth and said, "If stepmother could make something as delicious as grilled oysters every day and help you wash the dishes...it's not impossible."

"Then it's a deal." Ning Tang's eyes lit up. "I can't promise you that I can make delicious food every day, but I can make a meal every now and then. And I promise to make delicious food for you in different ways."

The eldest child bared his teeth and said, "I know that you never tell the truth, stepmother. I also want to wash the dishes for you every now and then."

"Haha, it's too late." Ning Tang pinched the eldest child's little face.

In the afternoon, Mrs. Luo came to visit happily, "Xiaoning, come with me."

"What's wrong, sister-in-law?" Ning Tang asked.

Mrs. Luo said happily, "Just come with me. If you're late, you might not be able to catch up."

Ning Tang also became interested. "Sister-in-law, are you going to the beach? Don't worry, I'll bring the bucket."