Chapter 104 Brothers Reunite

Before the ship even reached the dock, Ling Huanwu, sitting high up, could see a group of people standing on the dock from a great distance.

At first glance, she spotted the mother-in-law and her triplets standing at the front of the crowd.

With just one glance, Ling Huanwu's eyes reddened.

As if sensing her presence, the women on the dock waved excitedly towards her on the ship.

As soon as the step was put down, Zhou Jiuzhen wrapped his arms around the woman behind him and got off the ship first, ahead of everyone else.

"Mom, you've gotten so dark and thin..."

Zhou Jiuzhen's voice choked with emotion, and he missed his mother a little, but the words he spoke changed as soon as they came out.

Wang Guihua looked at her eldest son with disdain, who was still saying one thing but meaning another. She clicked her tongue twice and turned to look at Ling Huanwu behind him. Her eyes instantly filled with tears. "My daughter, you suddenly disappeared. The whole village was so worried about you."

"What happened to you? Are you injured somewhere? Can't you walk anymore?"

"It's alright, it's alright, your leg will heal slowly..."

The surrounding villagers gathered around to show their concern.

Ling Huanwu felt utterly ashamed sitting on the back of the chair behind Zhou Jiuzhen, and pinched Zhou Jiuzhen's arm hard.

She had asked Zhou Jiuzhen to put her down on the boat, but he refused, saying that he wouldn't get seasick if he carried her like this.

Zhou Jiuzhen didn't feel any pain at all; he just pursed his lips and smiled secretly, carefully squatting down to help her down.

When Ling Huanwu stood once again on this land filled with the salty smell of the sea, her heart finally felt at peace.

She took her mother-in-law's hand, touched the innocent faces of the triplets who were struggling to squeeze into the crowd, and her eyes were already brimming with tears. "I'm alright, folks, I'm not hurt, thank you all for your concern..."

"It's alright, why are you crying, honey? You don't know that we've finished harvesting the last batch of rice and were just waiting for you to come back so we could have another big meal together!"

The production team leader had a kind face and was wiping away tears as he spoke.

The village chief, trying to liven things up, called out to a group of people disembarking from the ship behind them, "Since some educated youth are coming to the island today, let's make the most of this opportunity and cook a big pot of food!"

The surrounding villagers cheered and jumped for joy. Even the group of educated youth who had been hanging their heads and looking down on the boat were infected by the atmosphere. They patted their empty stomachs and started drooling.

Walking behind several educated youths, Song Yaoyao watched this scene with bloodshot eyes, wishing she could find a hole to hide in.

Why is it that when Ling Huanwu returns to the island, the entire village welcomes her, while she slunk back here like a stray dog?

She remained on the ramp, reluctantly disembarking from the ship.

Zhao Jingxiang, walking behind, said with a sullen face and dissatisfaction, "Why are you blocking the way? I get seasick!"

Song Yaoyao then belatedly realized that her fake brother-in-law was still behind her, so she quickly got off the boat.

Zhao Jingxiang disembarked from the boat in a few steps, then leaned against the stone pier on the shore and vomited violently, feeling utterly remorseful.

Originally, as a high-ranking official's family, and as a department store manager, Zhao had no need to go to the countryside.

But his father, who was a commander, insisted that every household must have one person sent to the countryside, and ordered him to go to the countryside for a year of training.

While he was in a state of panic, wondering how to avoid being sent to the countryside, he happened to be at the police station in a coastal city when he saw Song Yaoyao, who was going through the procedures for transferring her custody.

She started shouting and claimed she was innocent, and in the struggle, she revealed a rabbit-shaped jade pendant around her neck.

Zhao Jingxiang immediately recognized the rabbit-shaped jade pendant as an engagement gift from the older generation of the Zhao family to their future daughter-in-law.

He was wearing one around his neck.

The other one was given to his younger brother Zhao Jingzhen's childhood sweetheart.

Now that this jade pendant is on this woman, it immediately makes people think that she is his missing brother's fiancée.

Without much thought, he used his connections to get her out of the village and registered her in the Zhao family's household registration, just so she could take the place of the family member who was sent to the countryside.

Just before the departure date for the rural trip was finalized, someone leaked the news. When his family's Commander Zhao learned that he was sending his adopted sister-in-law to the countryside, he was furious and forced him onto the train to come.

The woman in front of him, named Song Yaoyao, was even more bizarre. She could have stayed in the Zhao family and lived a good life, but she insisted on coming to the island with him, saying she wanted to take care of him.

It's ridiculous. If a young master like him could arrange for a woman to take care of him, what kind of woman wouldn't he have? Why would he need a pregnant woman to take care of him?

It's nothing more than this woman wanting to latch onto his coattails.

When Song Yaoyao handed him a handkerchief to wipe his mouth, he threw it into the sea without hesitation, but his tone remained gentle and calm, "No need, I'm not used to wiping my mouth with this kind of coarse cloth!"

After saying that, the thought of this dirty woman who had gotten him pregnant touched him made him lean against the stone stool and vomit violently again.

Looking at the man's profile, which was full of disgust towards her, Song Yaoyao clenched her fists, her fingertips digging deep into her palms.

She gritted her teeth and secretly vowed that no matter the cost, she would make this aloof young nobleman fall hopelessly in love with her, use him for her purposes, and trample those who had bullied her underfoot!

The crowd dispersed.

Zhou Shuyao pushed through the crowd and saw Song Yaoyao fawning over another man. He immediately flew into a rage, shouting, "Song Yaoyao, you dare to come back!"

With a loud shout, the crowd that had just dispersed immediately turned their attention to Song Yaoyao.

Startled, Song Yaoyao trembled and, ignoring the doctor's advice to remain calm and protect the pregnancy, ran away...

＊

Night fell, and the sky was filled with stars.

A bonfire was lit on the threshing ground, flames billowing up thick smoke and the firewood crackling loudly.

As usual, Ling Huanwu took out an enamel basin of cured meat from her spatial storage, along with some fresh pork knuckles she had bought in the city, to provide an extra meal for the entire village.

At the banquet held at the Ling family's ancestral home, there was a plate of delicious braised pork knuckle.

Now she gets hungry just thinking about it.

Let's do it!

First, put the chopped pig's trotters into a pot and simmer them over low heat for an hour. Then, take the pig's trotters out and put them in another pot. Stir-fry them with rock sugar until they turn red and give them a nice color. Finally, add soy sauce and more than ten kinds of braising spices and braise them.

Instead of the thick, milky pork trotter soup, she picked a large piece of freshly dried seaweed and put it into the pot to make a fragrant seaweed soup.

When the soup was ready, the braising liquid in another pot of braised pig's trotters had also evaporated.

When the reddish-brown, caramelized pig's trotters were placed in a basin, the enticing aroma of the meat made everyone helping out in the drying yard drool.

The aroma of meat carried further and further away on the sea breeze.

Even the newly arrived educated youth hurriedly tidied up their beds and rushed out to the drying ground to eat communal meals.

Zhao Jingxiang, who had been lying motionless on the bed, started to rumble with hunger as soon as he smelled the aroma.

When he came to the countryside, his commander forbade him to take anything. From last night until now, he has been so angry that he hasn't eaten a single bite of food.

But he's always been a picky eater and only eats food prepared by professional chefs. How could he possibly eat this kind of mass-produced food?

He originally wanted to close his eyes and go to sleep, but for some inexplicable reason, he still followed the smell and went to the drying ground.

In the dense crowd, he spotted the woman cooking next to the iron wok at a glance.

I had previously seen Song Yaoyao take her to her home as a guest.

Looking to his left, he saw a tall figure standing next to the woman.

The man was tall, and standing next to the woman made her look even smaller while she was cooking.

Zhao Jingxiang's gaze was fixed on the man's strangely familiar face, and his whole body seemed to be frozen, his hands and feet gradually turning cold.