The tide rises silently, and the people living by the sea are familiar with its natural laws and hold the sea in high esteem. As soon as the tide comes in, they leave early, no matter how much seafood they see.

People living by the sea know that everything they have is a gift from the ocean, so they must not be greedy or attached to it.

Accidents involving beachcombing happen frequently, usually caused by excessive greed leading to forgetting the time.

Xu Dongmei's man returned to the place where the two had agreed to meet, but she didn't come back for a long time. He anxiously searched for her along the coastline, but she was nowhere to be found even after the tide had come in.

Xu Dongmei's husband had a bad feeling at that time, but he still held a glimmer of hope. He ran home barefoot, hoping that Xu Dongmei had already gone home by herself. Unfortunately, he did not get his wish. Then he went to the purchasing point to inquire, but the people there said they had not seen her.

Despite his feet being cut and bleeding from the rocks, Xu Dongmei's husband searched along the mudflats again. However, this time he didn't find the person but instead saw a bucket washed ashore by the sea. That bucket was the one Xu Dongmei used to carry seafood.

Xu Dongmei is gone. Although she was very disliked when she was alive, and even went to Xujia Village to show off a month before she died, especially to Xu Xialian, she made Xu Xialian feel embarrassed a lot. But her sudden death still makes people who are related by blood feel very sad.

Xu Xinning didn't have any impression of Xu Dongmei, so she didn't feel anything about it.

After receiving the notification, Xu Laosan and Chen Jianguo prepared to return to Xujia Village.

Especially Chen Jianguo, since he has decided to repeat his studies in Kyoto for another year, he definitely needs to hurry home and tell his grandparents and father.

The night before Chen Jianguo and Xu Laosan were to return home, Sato Takeru came to find Chen Jianguo in the middle of the night.

He had no choice but to act in the middle of the night, since Chen Jianguo had been avoiding him all along.

When Sato Takeru leaped onto the second floor of the Mu family's house, Mu Jingheng was already standing in the shadows, ready to attack. However, when he saw Sato Takeru enter the room where Xu Laosan and Chen Jianguo were staying, he took a step back. He would not disrupt the plan unless absolutely necessary.

Sato Takeru wanted to take Chen Jianguo away, but Chen Jianguo refused no matter what. Sato Takeru was afraid that if he alerted the Mu family, he might not be able to leave either, so he could only plan to leave first.

He knew that Chen Jianguo and Xu Laosan were going to take the train back to Xujia Village the next day. Sato Ken thought that if there was really no other way, he could take them with him on the train. At worst, he could take them back to China by sea from Qingyuan County.

Mu Jingheng watched as the person left the Mu family and disappeared into the night.

That night, no one in Mu Jingheng's team dared to sleep; everyone was on high alert, keeping a close watch on all of Sato Ken's men.

The vast majority of those people were brought from their own country by Takeru Satoh, while some had developed their careers in China.

Logically, we could close the net now, but the key figure hasn't surfaced yet, and there's also the fear of some slipping through the net, so we can only keep an eye on Sato Takeru and his men for now.

The next day, Chen Jianguo and Xu Laosan got up at the crack of dawn. Their train tickets were for 7:40 a.m.

Xu Xinning prepared a lot of things for the two of them to go back. In addition to what Xu Xinning prepared, Kuang Meizhu also prepared a lot, filling three large bags with things. In addition, Chen Jianguo bought things for his family, making a total of four bags of luggage.

Mu Jingheng bought sleeper tickets for the two of them. After breakfast, Xu Xinning had someone take them to the train station.

The children were reluctant to part with their two uncles, especially Mu Leyu, who clung to Xu Laosan's leg and refused to let go.

Xu Xinning: "Sister, be good. Uncle misses Grandma, Grandpa, and Madam. They will be back in a few days."

With teary eyes, Mu Leyu looked up at Xu Xinning and asked, "A few days is a few days, isn't it?"

Xu Laosan: "Your uncle will be back once you've mastered the information he bought for you."

Mu Leyu: "Really?"

Xu Laosan nodded.

Mu Leyu: "Uncle, you have to keep your word!"

Xu Laosan: "Don't worry, just wait for your uncle to come back and bring you something delicious."

Mu Youli's eyes lit up immediately at the mention of food. He raised his hand and suggested, "Uncle, dried shrimp, dried small fish, and I also want to eat the big piece of meat that Madam makes."

The "big meat" that Mu Youli mentioned is actually the kind of jarred meat that southerners make for easy preservation.

The braised pork in the jar in Jiangnan is different from that in Sichuan and Chongqing.

In Sichuan and Chongqing, the meat is first pickled, then deep-fried, and then fermented in jars.

However, the braised pork in the Jiangnan region is not deep-fried.

First, cut the pork belly into strips. Then, grind the seasoned spices into powder and massage the pork belly with the powdered spices, making sure to coat every nook and cranny. Then, hang it in a cool, shady place to dry. Once the surface is completely dry, put the treated pork belly into a jar, cover it with a lid, and finally pour water around the lid to seal it.

The pork belly, after being marinated, air-dried, and then fermented, has a very unique flavor; it's a combination of the flavors of ham and cured meat.

Meat in a jar is easy to store; it's a storage method people devised when food was scarce.

Not only can pork belly be made into braised pork, but other offal can also be made into braised pork using the same method.

Xu Laosan chuckled and patted Mu Youli's head, saying, "You're such a big eater."

Mu Zhiyu chimed in, "I think pork liver tastes better than pork belly."

Mu Beichen nodded in agreement.

Xu Zehong, acting like a little adult, handed Xu Laosan a thick letter: "Brother, this is a letter I wrote to Grandpa and Grandma, Uncle and Aunt. Please tell them that my brother and I are doing well in Kyoto, and ask them to come and stay in Kyoto for a while when they have time. I will take them out for a good meal."

Old Xu teased him, "You have money?"

Xu Zehong nodded and said seriously, "Yes, I've saved all my allowance and New Year's money."

This surprised Xu Laosan quite a bit; why hadn't his aunt taken his money away?

Xu Laosan remembered that Yang Chunqin used to take away his New Year's money. Every time she took it, she said she would save it for him and return it to him when he grew up, but then she never heard from him again.

It seems like every adult says this to the child, but only the adult who took the money knows where it went.

Why did Xu Laosan suddenly become a little envious of Xu Zehong?

To be honest, Xu Laosan didn't have any money in his pocket until he came to Kyoto.

His sister is much more generous than his mother.

His older sister would always ask him if he had enough money, and his mother would always say, "What money is in your pocket, kid? What if you become a bad person by spending money recklessly?"

So it makes sense that his sister became a wealthy woman while his mother could only ever be an ordinary citizen.