Chapter 120

Zhao Fenfang was pretty, but too thin. Even though she was wearing a thick cotton jacket, she still looked skinny and her face was sallow. It must be because she had a hard time living with that family and had been tortured over the years.

But it is just as Chen Shuifen said, her eyes and eyebrows look similar to Zhao Bo. If you look at them separately, you may not think of the two of them as the same. But as soon as Chen Shuifen said that, Zhao Fenfang is Zhao Bo's long-lost daughter.

When I watched it again, I felt that it was indeed true.

"Teacher Lin, Teacher Xu, hello." Zhao Fenfang lowered her head, reached out and touched her black braid, and said, "How about you share this fish among your family members? This fish is so delicious when it's roasted. I've never eaten such delicious fish before..."

The last sentence made people feel even more distressed.

Chen Shuifen asked Zhao Fenfang to sit next to her, and even Xu Yuting took the initiative to talk to her. Xu Yuting was a person with a hard mouth but a soft heart. She was usually good at talking, but she hated to see people suffering.

Chen Shuifen took the fish and said, "Teacher Lin, keep the fish at your home for now, and we'll divide it up later."

Lin Tao reacted, stood up from the kang, and said, "I'll go get a bucket of water and get him some first."

As she spoke, she went to work. After putting the fish into the bucket, the fish became active. Lin Tao took out some snacks and melon seeds to entertain Zhao Fenfang. When she came out of the room, she saw Zhao Fenfang chatting with Chen Shuifen and Xu Yuting. She was smiling and teasing Yueyue.

He said to her, "Teacher Lin, your daughter is so pretty."

Lin Tao smiled, and felt doubtful about the strange feeling that flashed through her mind when she first saw Zhao Fenfang. It was clearly the first time she had seen Zhao Fenfang, and she felt sorry for her plight before she saw her. Why did she feel like that at that time?

I really can't figure it out.

"Sister Fenfang, come and have some snacks." Lin Tao invited her.

Zhao Fenfang thanked him and took a piece of snack to eat. She blushed and said, "I have done too much work since I was young. My hands are full of knots. They are ugly. Unlike Teacher Lin and Xu Yuting, they are scholars and use their hands to write."

Lin Tao said, "Don't say that. I'm from the countryside too. I had to work when I was little, and I had cocoons in my hands."

Lin Tao only has a thin layer of cords on her hands. Generally, people who work hard will have cords to protect their hands. The more work one does, the thicker the cords on their hands. Lin Tao is lucky because she has her father. In fact, when she was a child, she only did some housework within her ability. She was not required to do any heavy physical work, so the cords on her hands are very thin.

In addition, after coming to the island, I only need to cook on a daily basis, so my hands have become smooth and delicate.

In the past, the places on my hands where there were welts felt rough when I touched them, but now when I touch them, I can no longer feel the roughness.

"Yes, sister. Teacher Lin and Teacher Xu are both very nice people. Even though they are educated people, they never look down on others. Otherwise, they would never hang out with an illiterate like me who can barely read a single word. Don't you agree?" Chen Shuifen said.

Zhao Fenfang said that she had just arrived on the island and didn't have many friends. When she saw Chen Shuifen yesterday, she felt very friendly and asked her if she could come and play with them when she had time in the future.

They all felt sympathy for Zhao Fenfang, and since Zhao Fenfang had a good personality, they naturally agreed.

When they chatted, they couldn't help talking about Zhao Fenfang's experience in that family. When Zhao Fenfang talked about the past, she couldn't help wanting to cry. Lin Tao changed the subject and said that it was New Year's Day and they shouldn't talk about the sad things in the past. It was good that the person was back now.

Chen Shuifen said, "Yes, now that you are back, Uncle Zhao can finally sleep well. He has been looking for you for so many years."

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Chen Shuifen was quite concerned about finding a partner for Zhao Fenfang, although she said that she would wait until Zhao Fenfang got fatter and in better health before introducing her to someone.

But when she had free time, she would start to mutter about who was more suitable for Zhao Fenfang.

There are quite a lot of soldiers on the island who are of the same age as Zhao Fenfang and have no partners. You can pick them up in large numbers, but we have to consider whether they have good character and are reserve soldiers who love their wives. After all, Zhao Fenfang has suffered so much, and she must live a better life after getting married, otherwise it would be too pitiful.

"Teacher Lin, what do you think of Deputy Brigade Commander Li's current guard? I think this guy is very handsome and seems to be a good match for Miss Fenfang." Chen Shuifen suddenly talked about this to Lin Tao.

Lin Tao was used to this matter. Chen Shuifen had told her about it several times in the past few days. Sometimes she mentioned the person from the fifth company of the thirteenth regiment, and sometimes she mentioned the person from the third company of the fifteenth regiment. Lin Tao didn't know them at first, but after Chen Shuifen mentioned it, she had an impression of them.

This time, he directly talked about Li Chengxi's new guard Xiao Zheng.

Lin Tao was helpless and said, "Big sister, Xiao Zheng's family just arranged a marriage for him."

"Engaged? That won't work. Let me think about who else..." Chen Shuifen muttered.

On the eighth day of the first lunar month, Lin Manman returned from Xiangcheng. She not only brought bacon to Lin Tao and the others, but also brought back a piece of news, that is, she and Li Mingcheng were engaged.

"I originally wanted to write to tell you, but at that time, there were only a few days before I returned to the island, so I just waited until then to tell you." Lin Manman felt embarrassed when she talked about this, but she smiled again after thinking about it.

There is happiness and satisfaction in the smile.

She has always envied Lin Tao and thought that her sister Tao was so lucky. She married such a good man like her brother-in-law and gave birth to such a lovely daughter like Yueyue. She thought to herself, how great it would be if she could be like this in the future.

And now, it seems that she can really be like Sister Tao.

Hearing this, Lin Tao also laughed: "Really? That's great, Manman, sister wishes you the best. Did Aunt Fang and the others say when you and Mingcheng will get married? Is it the end of this year?"

"Well, my mother said to get engaged first. Since Mingcheng has come to our place, it's a good opportunity to arrange the marriage. If we want to get married, we can wait another year." Lin Manman said.

Lin Tao nodded: "That's good. Mingcheng just joined the army. Although he graduated from the military academy, it will take another year for him to be promoted to company commander. It's not good for you to get married too early. You won't have a place to live. But after you get married, will you be transferred to Hainan?"

At this point, Lin Tao couldn't help but sigh: "Of course I have to go. It's not a good idea for a married couple to live in different places. Alas, I thought that if you were here, we sisters could still be together, but I didn't expect that you would go to Hainan in a year. I can't bear to think about it."

This is the truth. When Li Chengxi told her that Lin Manman could come to the island to work as a pharmacist, Lin Tao was really happy for a while.

The two sisters grew up together. Although they were not born of the same parents, they are as close as sisters. Now that they know Lin Manman is going to Hainan, it is inevitable that they are reluctant to let her go.

"Sister Tao..." Speaking of this, Lin Manman was reluctant.

Lin Tao just spoke out of emotion, and she regretted it right after she finished speaking. This was a good thing, why did she suddenly bring up those things? She quickly smiled and said, "Don't listen to me. This is a happy event for you, just live happily. If I miss you in the future, I will take Yueyue to Hainan to find you. Speaking of which, I have never been to Hainan. I heard from Mingcheng that there are coconuts in Hainan, right? If Yueyue, the little greedy cat, knew that I was going to take her to Hainan, she would definitely be very happy."

Lin Tao's words brought back the depressed mood.

Lin Manman smiled and said, "Well, Mingcheng said Hainanese chicken rice is also delicious. Let's go eat it together then..."

"Okay, let's have dinner at home tonight. I'll make you something delicious." Lin Tao said, "A few days ago, we went to the back mountain to pick bamboo shoots, and we found a lot of mushrooms. I saved some, so we can roast them today."

"Is it pine mushrooms?" Lin Manman asked. Xiangcheng has the most pine mushrooms. "My mother said that there are a lot of pine mushrooms on the mountain this year. She picked a lot and used them to boil two bottles of pine mushroom oil. She asked me to bring it to you."

As he spoke, he took out two bottles filled with fermented pine oil from the small cloth bag on his back. Lin Tao opened the lids and took a sniff, the aroma filling her nose.

So Lin Tao made two mushroom dishes today, one was a fresh mixed mushroom soup, and the other was stir-fried pork with fir mushroom oil, which was particularly fragrant.

After the family had dinner together, Lin Manman was tired from taking the train, so she went back to the dormitory early to rest.

When she was going to bed at night, Lin Tao talked about this matter: "I didn't expect Mingcheng to really settle his mother."

What she was most worried about was that Zhang Sufen would not agree to this marriage, and if she found fault with Lin Manman and deliberately made trouble, it would be better for Lin Manman not to be with Li Mingcheng from the beginning. Her Manman was beautiful, kind, and very likable, and she didn't want Manman to suffer this injustice.

But if it could appease Zhang Sufen, Lin Tao still supports this marriage.

"He does have this ability." Li Chengxi said while reading a book.

Lin Tao said: "How did he do that? I can't figure it out."

Li Chengxi said: "He has many ways. Maybe he threatened his mother that he would not get married if she didn't agree. Or maybe he could do something more serious, like ask her to get sterilized?"

"Vacuuming?" Lin Tao's eyes widened. "How is this possible? Would Ming Cheng really do this?"

Li Chengxi said: "I am just guessing, I don't know the details."

Neither of them knew what happened, so they couldn't guess. Lin Tao stopped talking about it and said, "But it's good for Manman to be with Mingcheng. Manman is introverted, and she smiles more when Mingcheng is around. Manman is getting married next year, and if she has another child, I'll have a little nephew."

As soon as she finished speaking, Li Chengxi put the book down and stretched out his slender arms to hug her.

The voice was hoarse: "Let's choose our master."

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During the winter break, Xie Cong went back to his hometown. He was told that his father had received a letter saying that he was ill and not in good condition, and asked him to go back to visit him.

Although his parents’ obstruction caused him to miss Zhong Jing and caused him so much pain for so many years, they were his biological parents after all. His father was ill and they wrote a letter asking him to go back, so Xie Cong still went back to visit him.

After the Chinese New Year, Lin Tao received a telegram from Xie Cong.

The telegram said that his teacher's grandson was coming to the island to be a teacher and would arrive on the tenth day of the first lunar month. He asked Lin Tao to pick him up at the pier. He would be back to the island soon after he had taken care of everything.

Before leaving the island, Xie Cong mentioned this matter to Lin Tao, saying that his mentor had some problems in Beijing and entrusted his grandson to him.

The grandson of my mentor is named Lu Chengze. He is actually quite old. He is 22 years old this year and has just graduated from the Workers, Peasants and Soldiers University. He could have been assigned a good job, but something went wrong at home. The Shengshan Island Movement was not that great, so Xie Cong wanted Lu Chengze to come to the island to teach.

On the sixth day of the Chinese New Year, Lin Tao put on a thick cotton jacket and a scarf, pulling the scarf upwards to cover most of her face.

It was very cold at the pier at this time, and the wind was particularly strong.

Li Chengxi has already reported to the army. If there is no family leave, the army will only give a few days off. In comparison, they are much more relaxed as teachers. The winter and summer vacations are added together, so there is a lot of vacation time.

At first, Yueyue wanted to go with Lintao, but the pier was too cold and Lintao had to pick someone up, so she let Yueyue play with her grandfather at home and bought her some canned food when she came back.

When Yueyue heard that she could eat canned food, she immediately sat down obediently and took the initiative to say, "Mom, then you go quickly."

It seemed as if they were afraid that Lin Tao would go out late and the cans would be sold out.

There is a canning factory on the island. Ever since Chen Shuifen bought Yueyue a can of food last time, she has liked it and always wants to eat canned food. However, Lin Tao rarely buys it for her, only occasionally.

Lin Tao left home on time. After arriving at the dock, she waited for about ten minutes before the boat arrived.

Originally, Lin Tao thought that Xie Cong only told her the name of his mentor's grandson, but did not say what he looked like, nor did he provide a photo. Lin Tao was afraid that she would not be able to recognize him.

But after the boat docked, people started getting off the boat one after another. When Lin Tao saw one of them, a young man who looked to be about 1.9 meters tall and wearing an army green suit, leather boots, carrying two suitcases and an accordion, she was immediately sure that this man was Lu Chengze that Xie Cong mentioned.

Sure enough, he got off the boat and looked around. Before Lin Tao had time to walk over and introduce herself, he heard him call out, "I'm Lu Chengze. Who is Comrade Lin Tao here to pick me up?"

His posture attracted people's attention, and his behavior attracted more attention. Several female soldiers looked over and couldn't help laughing, and couldn't help looking at Lu Chengze.

There was nothing else to say, it was mainly because Lu Chengze had a good appearance, sharp eyebrows and sharp eyes, and was quite good-looking. No wonder these young girls who hadn't found a partner yet couldn't help but whisper about him when they saw him.

Lu Chengze knew they were talking about him, but he didn't feel embarrassed. Instead, he smiled at them and asked, "Comrades, I want to ask you, who is Comrade Lin Tao?"

One of the female soldiers pointed at Lin Tao and said, "You mean Teacher Lin?"

Lin Tao then stepped forward and said to Lu Chengze: "Hello, I am Lin Tao, and you must be the grandson of Mr. Xie, Comrade Lu Chengze, right?"

Lu Chengze glanced at Lin Tao. He had noticed her before, but she just stood there without moving or showing any expression, so he thought she was not there to pick him up.

He extended his hand to Lin Tao and said, "Hello, Teacher Lin."

Looking at the hand extended by Lu Chengze, Lin Tao hesitated for a moment and then reached out her hand. The two shook hands, and Lin Tao quickly withdrew her hand.

For some reason, Lin Tao's first impression of Lu Chengze was not good.

Originally, according to Xie Cong's words, Lin Tao thought that Lu Chengze would be a well-educated and well-mannered person. After all, his grandfather was a professor at Peking University. He was born in a scholarly family and grew up under the influence of this family.

But after meeting Lu Chengze, Lin Tao found that this was completely different from what she had imagined. Why did Lu Chengze look a little sloppy? Could he really be a teacher in their school?

Lin Tao is actually not a person who likes to label others, but from Lu Chengze's luggage to his behavior, Lin Tao doesn't know what to say.

Lin Tao sent Lu Chengze to the dormitory, took him to the army canteen, and then took him to the supply and marketing cooperative. She also bought some canned food for Yueyue and then went back.

When they got home, Yueyue was already waiting there. When she saw Lin Tao coming back with the canned food, she happily got down from the kang immediately, put on her shoes, and ran to the door to greet her.

Lin Changhai followed behind: "Run slower, the ground outside is slippery, don't fall. This kid has been waiting for you to come back, and has been talking about it several times."

"Mom, you're back." Yueyue said happily.

Lin Tao knew that Yueyue wanted to eat canned food, but it was too cold to eat canned food in the middle of winter. Lin Tao patted the bottom of the can with her hands, pried the lid of the can with the back of a knife, and then twisted it. The lid, which was originally very tight, was suddenly twisted open.

Lin Tao poured a small amount of canned food into the bowl, then put the bowl into hot water for a while. After a few minutes, the sugar water in the bowl became warm.

Yueyue first used chopsticks to pick up a piece of pear, took a bite, and ate it deliciously, then drank a mouthful of sugar water. While drinking the sugar water, she made a "eh" sound from her mouth and said to Lin Tao: "Mom, fuck!"

The boy's face was full of satisfaction.

Lin Tao found it funny and put the remaining cans away with lids. She couldn't let Yueyue finish them all at once, otherwise she would refuse to eat later.

This canning factory on the island was just opened two years ago. It used to be a noodle factory, but it seems that the noodle factory's business was not very good, so it was later converted into a canning factory. This is a blessing for the children on the island, who always ask for canned food.

The adults were so coaxed that they had no choice but to pay for it.

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Zhao Fenfang has been getting close to Chen Shuifen these days. She comes to Chen Shuifen's house almost every day to chat with her, and sometimes even helps Chen Shuifen peel beans.

Chen Shuifen and Zhao Fenfang got along well, and the girl was sweet and likable. However, seeing Zhao Fenfang's enthusiasm, she thought she was anxious to find a partner. After all, she was old enough, so it was normal for her to be anxious.

Then he said, "Girl, don't worry about finding a partner. I'm already looking for one for you. I promise to pick a good one for you."

Zhao Fenfang said, "Sister Shuifen, what are you talking about? I'm not in a hurry about this matter. Just take your time. I just think you're friendly, so I want to talk to you more. You won't find me annoying, right? If so... then I'll come here less often in the future..."

Zhao Fenfang pretended to be sad.

"How is that possible!" Chen Shuifen quickly explained, "I'm so happy that you came over, how could I possibly find you annoying?"

"Since Sister Shuifen doesn't dislike me, I feel relieved." Zhao Fenfang smiled and said casually, "Oh, by the way, Sister Shuifen, was there a military officer named Li Chengxi on the island before?"

"You mean Deputy Brigade Commander Li?" Chen Shuifen asked curiously, "Do you know him?"

Zhao Fenfang quickly said, "No, no, how could I possibly know him? I just heard someone mention this officer two days ago, saying that he was particularly powerful, so I just asked casually."

Originally, it would have been better for her not to ask too much about these things, but when she asked her father, Zhao Bo, he knew nothing about these things. How could a fisherman who knew nothing think that by saving a little money and being nice to her over the years, he could make up for all the suffering she had endured?

If they hadn't quarreled and fought, she wouldn't have been sold out by her mother, that bitch. She hated that bitch, but she wouldn't forgive her father so easily.

They said they had been looking for her for years, but what? Why hadn't they found her? If they had found her earlier, she wouldn't have had to suffer so much. They found her later, but it was only because of the clues those people deliberately revealed.

They have raised her for so long, and this time they are finally going to let her be the long line to catch the big fish.

Chen Shuifen smiled and said, "That's right. Deputy Brigade Commander Li became a deputy brigade commander at a young age. He is the youngest and most promising officer on our island. But you can't think about him. If you want to find a partner, I will help you find one because he is already married. His wife is Teacher Lin, whom you have met."

Speaking of Li Chengxi and Lin Tao, Chen Shuifen couldn't help but say a few more words, saying how well-matched they were and how loving they were: "Deputy Brigade Commander Li is the man on our island who loves his wife the most. No one can compare to him."

Zhao Fenfang listened without saying anything, but she felt a little disdainful in her heart.

What do you mean by a man who loves his wife the most? That's because he has never been tempted. She knew about this. Another girl who grew up with her was sent to another place with the mission of seducing and corrupting a certain officer. Didn't the officer say that he had a good relationship with his wife at the beginning? What happened?

Not only did she complete her mission, she also gained a lot of intelligence from the officer.

Her mission here is to capture the corrupt Li Chengxi and extract information from him that is beneficial to them. The ultimate goal is to turn him against the government.