Chapter 100 The Fear of Giant Objects

Wen Shuwan squatted down and gently broke free from the man's grasp. "Husband, don't be silly. I'll go see how the maids are doing with the tidying up."

As she spoke, Wen Shuwan left the room, her wide skirt swaying back and forth.

A cool evening breeze ruffled her wispy hair as she brought her slender fingers together and touched her slightly flushed cheeks.

She wondered if it was just her imagination, but it seemed that after she stole a kiss from Xie Linyuan that time, he became even more clingy to her.

That's wonderful, she thought.

The happiest feeling is when you are infinitely close to happiness, but when you are close to the very peak of happiness, Wen Shuwan’s subconscious reaction is to run away.

Because I feel so happy, I can't bear it anymore and have to come out to relax.

Just like the wolf cub, when Xie Mianmian put a honey-glazed roasted chicken leg in its bowl, the wolf cub's first reaction was not to wolf it down.

Instead, it jumps and bounces around the chicken leg, raising its forelegs high before excitedly landing and poking the floor. It will then take a big sip, turn around, and run away, celebrating like this for a long time, reluctant to eat it.

Finally, Xie Mianmian thought the wolf cub might not like it, so she gave the honey-glazed chicken leg to the black wolf, which made the wolf cub howl and wail for most of the day.

His beautiful wife left the inner room, leaving Xie Linyuan standing there in a daze. After a long while, he sighed to himself.

He then went to his study, pressed a hidden mechanism on the bookshelf, and with a "click," a drawer opened, revealing a scroll lying quietly inside.

Xie Linyuan slowly unfurled the scroll, revealing a dignified and elegant woman with a closed-mouth smile unlike that of ordinary women.

The woman in the painting reveals her upper row of white teeth, smiling confidently and brightly, her small canine teeth looking extremely cute.

With just a few strokes, the artist vividly depicted the woman's charm, clearly showing that the painter had observed her closely, as if she were a precious memory.

This is what Wen Shuwan looked like when Xie Linyuan first met her.

What should I do? We're not even separated yet, but I'm already starting to miss him.

His gaze lingered on his wife in the painting. The last time they had been separated for so long was when his wife came home to visit her family at the beginning of the year.

Soon, Xie Linyuan put the painting back and strode away. He planned to see what his wife was doing; even if they didn't speak, just being together would make him happy.

The next day, the three women of the Xie family boarded a carriage and headed to the dock.

Although they traveled on a smooth official road, the occasional rolling of the cart wheels over pebbles of varying sizes still bounced Xie Mianmian and the others around.

We walked and stopped frequently, and it took us about three hours.

Xie Mianmian looked miserable and dizzy. "When will we get there? My butt feels like it's going to split in two." No, her butt does feel like it's split in two.

"Almost there, Mianmian, have a sweetie, have an orange." Wen Shuwan held an orange segment to the child's lips.

Looking at the few white strands on top, Xie Mianmian said, "I don't want to eat white shreds."

Xie Mingyi leaned against the carriage, her eyes tightly closed. "The pith of the orange peel can relieve phlegm and stop coughing, and promote blood circulation. After eating it, you can drink less bitter tea."

Hearing this, Xie Mianmian no longer resisted. She took the orange segment with her little hand and bit off most of it, revealing the distinct, plump, and juicy orange segments inside.

Before long, the carriage stopped, and the group finally arrived at their destination—the seaside pier.

As soon as I stepped off the carriage, I was greeted by a cool breeze with a high moisture content, a faint salty smell, and a hint of fishiness.

Looking towards the dock, Xie Mianmian saw a long stone embankment stretching out to the vast sea, where boats of all sizes were moored.

The other boats swayed gently with the waves, but what caught Xie Mianmian's eye the most was a huge creature that was steadily resting on the sea.

Xie Mianmian opened her mouth slightly, tilted her round little head up, and looked at the huge ship in surprise.

The boat is as long as a street, made of sturdy and beautiful wooden planks joined together with mortise and tenon joints, fitting together so tightly that not a drop of water can seep in.

The ship was huge; standing next to it, you could feel a terrifying sense of colossal power that blotted out the sky.

The ship had sails at the front, middle and rear, but they were now lowered. The salty sea breeze kept blowing, and the sails billowed slightly in a rounded arc.

Upon hearing the news, Xie's father rushed over from the large ship. His usually stern face softened when he saw his subordinates.

"Father!" Xie Mianmian shouted, swallowing a mouthful of sea air in surprise.

"You've come all this way, why did you come?"

Xie Mianmian tugged at her father's sleeve, "This is the first time I've ever seen a living, large ship."

For a child, five years is a long time.

Father Xie instructed the servants to take the luggage and led them toward the large ship. "There are many rooms on the ship. We can stay there. There are many people, and it's safer."

"Great!" Xie Mianmian was very excited. Ever since that boat trip among the flowers, when she heard the story of that foreign man, the child had been fascinated by the mysterious sea.

I wonder if Xie Mianmian will catch a glimpse of that stunning mermaid when she steps onto the deck in the pitch-black night.

Xie Mingyi and Wen Shuwan went up to Xie's father and told him about the delayed arrival of the disaster relief grain.

Father Xie nodded solemnly and said a few words to one of his subordinates, instructing him to investigate the matter thoroughly.

Mr. Xie led them to a room in the cabin. It was a small but clean room with two beds. The three of them would stay there that night.

"You all get ready first, and when the tide goes out, I'll take you for a walk on the beach."

"Let's go now!" Xie Mianmian shook her father's sleeves from side to side.

Xie Mingyi sneered and smacked Xie Mianmian's bottom. The child let out a howl and shut up.

Xie Mingyi now has her own methods for dealing with children.

Half an hour later, the tide began to recede, and Xie's father, carrying some things, led Xie Mianmian and the others outside.

At this moment, a subordinate came over and whispered a few words to Xie's father.

Mr. Xie frowned and said, "It's clearly recorded in the ledger that the Xu family's merchant ship arrived at the dock the day before yesterday, but it hasn't unloaded its cargo yet. I don't know what happened."

Wen Shuwan clutched her handkerchief. "I'm afraid this is bad. I'm worried that the Xu family might do something bad to frame our Xie family."

Father Xie comforted everyone, saying, "Don't be afraid. I have an informant in the Xu family. He should be at the beach right now. Let's go."

"Father, what are you carrying all that for?"

With a smile, Xie's father gave each of the three a small bucket and a small shovel.

He usually watched his subordinates and their families go to the beach alone, but today it was finally his turn.

Upon reaching the sea, the waves licked the exposed mudflats and gradually receded. The gray-blue seawater was like a softly shimmering satin, blending seamlessly with the sky and stretching to the horizon.

Xie Mianmian ran along the beach, carrying a small bucket.

What do you do when you go beachcombing?

Xie's father walked to a rock, pried open a stone, and quickly grabbed the crab underneath. Under the admiring gazes of the three men, he put the clawing crab into Xie Mingyi's small bucket.

He spoke at a rare length, explaining to them in detail how to dig for razor clams, moon shells, and small octopuses while beachcombing, how to catch crabs, and the precautions for digging for oysters.

"When we get back, we'll make seafood porridge."

"Yay!" Xie Mianmian excitedly took off running.

The sea breeze slipped under the child's dress, making it puff up.

Xie Mianmian, a tiny girl, squatted in front of a puddle. She noticed a bulge in the mud and sand. Holding a small shovel, she gently scooped into the bulge and flipped it over.

It was a large seashell covered in mud and sand, with its back to the child and its mouth closed.

Wow, I found a seashell on my first try!

Xie Mianmian looked over happily, but was startled by the sight before her. She fell on her bottom onto the damp mud and sand, and her heart began to pound wildly again.

A bright red tongue protruded from the slightly closed shell opening!