Chapter 6 Visiting the Port

"Ouch..."

Li Zhaodi fell flat on her face, wincing and yelling several times.

She staggered to her feet, not even having time to brush the mud off herself, and limped away.

At this time, the adults from all the families returned home. Hearing the noise, everyone came to the entrance of the Lin family's courtyard to watch the excitement.

It was pitch black, so everyone shone their flashlights on Li Zhaodi's face.

Some who came back late held a bowl, eating while watching the commotion.

"Hey, isn't this Wei Er's wife?"

"What, here to collect debts again?"

An aunt from next door stepped forward and stopped her.

The others gathered around; they were all from the same ancestral hall, and they had been holding back their anger since the day of the funeral.

Now that we've finally caught them, why would we let them go so easily?

As Lin Ziyan followed her out the door, she saw Li Zhaodi surrounded.

"Ayan, what does she want with you?" Aunt Chen, still wearing the apron she wore when buying fish, stepped forward and asked worriedly.

Lin Ziyan hadn't even had a chance to speak.

Li Zhaodi then said loudly, "I'm here to give Ayan some advice."

She's a freshman in college, unable to lift a finger or carry anything heavy. Where is she going to find 1,100 yuan a month?

She might as well marry my Asheng as soon as possible; then the debt can be used as a bride price.

"These days, which girl asks for 1100 yuan as a bride price? I was kind enough, but she took it all for granted and coldly refused. If it weren't for the fact that she's a college student, I..."

Li Zhaodi looked disdainful and wanted to continue speaking, but was interrupted by the aunt who had stopped her earlier.

"Pah! You heartless bastard, you want Ah Yan to marry your good-for-nothing son?"

I knew it! How could Wei Er, that miser, lend out such a large sum of money?

So you've been waiting here, like toads trying to eat swan meat?

The aunt next door spat several times and almost went up to pluck Li Zhaodi's hair, but was stopped by Aunt Huang.

“My son is honest and upright; which girl wouldn’t be eager to marry him?”

Li Zhaodi's temper flared up instantly, and she stepped forward to grab the other person's hair.

You can criticize her, but you can't criticize her son.

How could her precious son be unworthy of a college student?

Aunt Huang pulled the person away, and Li Zhaodi couldn't reach her, so she could only mutter curses incessantly.

"Pah! Your son got the girl from the next village pregnant, and he's refusing to admit it!"

"That girl jumped into the sea today and was rescued, but she was barely clinging to life!" The aunt next door shouted loudly, looking like she was about to rush over and start a fight.

Li Zhaodi's heart skipped a beat. She pushed through the crowd and ran as fast as she could.

After this incident, it will be difficult for her son to marry a daughter from a good family in the future.

"Ayan, don't get the wrong idea. You absolutely cannot marry Wei Sheng!"

Aunt Chen hurriedly said, fearing that Lin Ziyan would agree.

After today's commotion, Wei Er will definitely not let it go easily; he might resort to some underhanded tactics.

"I definitely won't marry him," Lin Ziyan reassured her.

"Let's disperse, lest we disturb Grandma," Aunt Huang said loudly, glancing at Lin Ziyan before turning and leaving with the crowd.

Lin Ziyan glanced at everyone, her eyes misty with tears.

She knew that these neighbors were not really there to watch the show; they were mainly worried that her family would be bullied.

The scattered lights gradually faded away, but Lin Ziyan kept their protection in her heart.

…

Early the next morning,

The morning sun shone on the courtyard, and heat rose from the ground.

Lin Ziyan only stared at a lemon tree in the yard for a while before she became sweaty from the heat.

My second sister ate breakfast, put on her schoolbag, and went to school.

The third sister was taken by her great-grandmother to visit a neighbor's house, seemingly to give her some space on purpose.

"Perfume lemon?" Lin Ziyan murmured to herself, reaching out to pick one.

She smelled it for a while, and then her eyes lit up.

This place is by the sea, and it's currently the hottest time of summer.

A cup of hand-whipped iced lemon tea would be an excellent way to cool down in the summer.

Yesterday, she walked all the way from the village entrance, and every household had lemon trees.

There are also many lemon trees on the back hill.

Lin Ziyan pondered this in her mind, fanned herself a few times with a palm-leaf fan, and finally couldn't sit still any longer.

She needs to go to the port; she can't just stay home and daydream.

Instead of spending so much time thinking about it, it's better to do an on-site investigation.

"Luckily, I still have a 28-inch bicycle at home, otherwise I would have suffered heatstroke and fainted on the way to the port, which is only three or four kilometers long."

Lin Ziyan muttered to herself, quickly went into the room, grabbed a cloth bag, and went out.

She thought to herself that the original owner's father was a bold man; he dared to open a shrimp farm as soon as the restrictions on individual businesses were lifted.

However, these days, the bold get rich, and the timid starve.

This old-fashioned bicycle alone is one of the most valuable in the village.

In this village, only Wei Er's family still has one.

So Wei Sheng would ride his bike around aimlessly, idling away his days.

Lin Ziyan mounted the old-fashioned bicycle, lost her balance, and almost fell over.

Fortunately, she managed to steady the bike in time and rode it to the main road in the village.

The road is now full of potholes and very bumpy; Lin Ziyan almost fell into the ditch several times.

…

After an unknown amount of time, Lin Ziyan finally arrived at the port, relying on her memory.

She locked her bicycle, leaned against the security booth at the entrance, and wiped away her sweat.

She was so hot that she felt dizzy and her head was spinning; even the wind seemed to carry heat.

"Young lady, what are you doing at the port?" an old man asked loudly, sticking his head out of the window.

Lin Ziyan: "Do you sell drinks here?"

"No, no, the place is full of workers moving goods, they don't have any spare money to buy drinks."

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