After a long train journey in hard seats, Lu Fangfang and her child finally arrived at the small coastal county.
Their timing was unfortunate; a strong wind started blowing as soon as they got off the train.
It was getting late, so Zhuang Mingcheng and his men first went to a noodle shop for a good meal, and then went to the county's guesthouse to stay.
After sitting in hard seats for more than four days, the soldiers were exhausted.
He told each soldier to rest first, and then went back to his own room.
"Fangfang, I'm going to contact the armed forces department in the county. You and the child should rest first."
"It's windy outside, be careful."
Lu Fangfang yawned and straightened his clothes.
After several days of train travel, she was exhausted.
After Zhuang Mingcheng left, she helped the two children to sleep, and then she also crawled into bed to sleep.
When she woke up again, it was already the next day.
It was still windy outside, but not as strong as it was yesterday.
"Mingcheng, can we go today?"
"Go, the county's armed forces department has already made arrangements for us. Several brigades under Yunxi Commune happen to have seaweed. Let's go take a look together, and if it's suitable, we can transport it to the county and send it out by truck."
As Zhuang Mingcheng spoke, he picked up his son and began to dress him.
Lu Fangfang washed her face and quickly dressed her daughter.
After having breakfast, they waited a while longer before two large trucks drove up.
An official got out of the car, shook hands with Zhuang Mingcheng, and then Zhuang Mingcheng called out, and everyone got into the large bus.
After a bumpy two-hour journey, a small fishing village came into view.
"Mom, is that...that the ocean?"
Qingqing nestled in her arms, excitedly pointing into the distance.
"Yes, that's the ocean."
Lu Fangfang was also very excited. Having spent several years in Northwest China, she missed the sea very much. It was a pity that it was winter now; it would have been even better in summer.
After the truck stopped, Lu Fangfang led Qingqing and Dandan towards the seaside.
"Fangfang, it's windy, you and the child should be careful."
Zhuang Mingcheng has other things to do and can't go with his wife and children for the time being.
"Don't worry, we'll just stay on the shore and take a look."
Lu Fangfang waved and ran to the beach with the children.
"Whoosh~"
"Whoosh~"
The waves crashed against the shore, and Egg and Green were completely mesmerized.
After a long while, the two little ones murmured:
"The sea is so blue and so vast..."
"Mom, why can't Qingqing see the end?"
Qingqing stared wide-eyed, but she still couldn't see the distant shore.
Lu Fangfang was amused by her daughter. She picked her up and lifted her up, saying, "Now you can see it?"
"No, Mom, it's all water, Qingqing can't see it."
Qingqing's eyes were sore from looking, but she still couldn't see the end.
"That's good, the ocean is huge, it would take several days to get to the other side by boat."
Lu Fangfang, holding her daughter and calling her "Dandan," went down the embankment and walked to the edge of the waves.
Looking around, I saw people still busy in the sea not far away.
In this freezing weather, going into the water would be torture, but she took her two children and walked over out of curiosity.
"Comrade, what are you trying to fish out of?"
The old man in the sea straightened up and looked at her curiously.
Seeing that she was wearing a military uniform and was a respectable person, he said, "I caught some sea cucumbers. Last night, a strong wind blew all the sea cucumbers ashore."
"Sea cucumber?"
Lu Fangfang was taken aback, and then quickly looked into the old man's bucket.
Seeing that the inside was full of pink and tender sea cucumbers, she immediately became excited.
She'd eaten this before; it's delicious stir-fried with chives, but it's quite expensive.
Looking around, she saw sea cucumbers floating on the surface of the sea, and she couldn't wait any longer.
"Egg, go find your father and ask him to find an empty sack and bring it to me."
Egg, with its short legs, turned around and went.
Lu Fangfang took off her shoes, rolled up her trousers, and went barefoot into the sea.
"Hiss~"
The seawater was icy cold, so she didn't dare to delay and quickly scooped up sea cucumbers and threw them onto the shore.
"Qingqing, don't go into the sea. Help Mom pick up sea cucumbers and pile them up so we can put them in the sack later."
"Mom, what is this? Why are we picking it up?"
"It's delicious."
Lu Fangfang's words were concise and to the point.
Qingqing immediately understood. She bent over and picked them up one by one, piling them on the beach.
Sea cucumber noodles are pink and tender, just like intestines, and quite smooth.
After a while, Dandan came running back with a burlap sack in his hand.
The two children immediately picked up the sea cucumbers and stuffed them into a sack.
Lu Fangfang stood in the seawater, becoming more and more excited as she picked things up.
There were so many sea cucumbers floating on the sea that she couldn't pick them all up with both hands.
She finally understood how Xiuxiu felt when she was collecting eggs. Collecting things for free is really addictive, and it made her temporarily forget the cold seawater.
Beside her, an old man wearing rubber boots looked at Lu Fangfang with surprise.
"Comrade, the water is cold, you should get out quickly. If you want sea cucumbers, I'll give you some of the ones I've caught."
"Grandpa, no need, no need, I can catch it myself."
Lu Fangfang shook her head and refused.
She couldn't just take the old man's things for free.
Having finally made it to the beach, she treated it as beachcombing. When it got really cold, she rubbed her hands together vigorously and continued scooping.
Besides sea cucumbers, she also found some conches and shellfish, which she scooped up and threw onto the shore.
After scooping for a while, she spotted a piece of seaweed and quickly picked it up and threw it onto the shore.
In this day and age, seaweed is a rare delicacy. She hasn't had it much in the past few years in Northwest China, so she can't let it go to waste.
After another half a day, Zhuang Mingcheng finally arrived after finishing his business.
Seeing his wife barefoot in the sea, he immediately became anxious, "Fangfang, what are you doing? Come up here, come up here, the water is so cold."
"Hiss~"
Only after he reminded her did Lu Fangfang feel the bone-chilling coldness in her feet again.
She scooped up a few more sea cucumbers, threw them onto the shore, and then quickly walked over.
"Why are you going into the water in this freezing weather?"
Zhuang Mingcheng quickly took out a handkerchief and wiped the seawater off his wife's feet.
"Look, Mingcheng, I've caught so many sea cucumbers and shellfish! They're so delicious. I'll cook them for you when we get back."
Lu Fangfang was still very excited at this moment.
No wonder she loved watching videos of beachcombing so much; it turns out finding good stuff for free is so exciting.
"No matter how delicious it is, you can't go barefoot into the sea, or your feet will freeze."
Zhuang Mingcheng had his wife sit on the beach. He held her feet and placed them directly on his stomach under his military overcoat.
His wife's feet were ice cold. He frowned slightly and then looked at his son and daughter.
"Egg, Qingqing, be careful, don't get too close to the waves."
"Okay, Dad."
"Mom, look! What's this?"
Holding a yellow five-pointed star, Qingqing excitedly ran over with her short legs.
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