That night, Ning Tang took Sanwa by the hand and gave him detailed instructions on every detail.
Sanwa was already feeling down, and annoyed by her nagging, "Mom, it's not like I won't be back. Didn't Principal Lu tell me I still have holidays during the holidays?"
Ning Tang glared at him. "How can it be the same? We used to see each other every day." He hissed, "Could it be that after you've been gone for so long, you've forgotten what your dad and I look like?"
Sanwa shook his head, "How could that be?"
Chen Lie said, "Take the family photo we took at the photo studio and put it in your dorm. Look at it every day." He added, "Before you leave, take a few more photos and put them at home. We can look at them when we miss you."
Big Baby: "Really? Just put it on the wall, frame it, and it can even eat with us."
The third child nodded as he listened, then suddenly realized something was wrong. He raised his fist to hit the eldest child, "Brother, curse me!"
Ning Tang discussed with Chen Lie, "How much money should we bring him?"
There are many new things in Shanghai, the prices are high, and the expenses are also high. Ning Tang plans to give Sanwa 500 yuan, which will last him for a long time.
Chen Lie said, "No need. The training base is semi-enclosed. He might not be able to leave the base once a month. Even if he has money, he has nowhere to spend it. Besides, the base provides three meals a day. I heard that they are nutritionally balanced. Nutritious meals are much healthier than what he eats at home. They also provide him with clothes. Why would he need the money?"
Ning Tang thought about it and agreed, but he still prepared two hundred yuan for Sanwa and asked him to take it with him in case of emergency.
"What do you think? Should we ask Sanwa to bring some specialties from Hailang Island, like dried fruits and seafood, to Junzi?" Chen Lie said.
Ning Tang: "No need, I'll just send it to my brother when the time comes. Sanwa is going to Shanghai with those leaders. It's not convenient for him to carry so many bags."
It is very convenient to send a package now. All you have to do is go to the post office.
Even if it was Sanwa, Ning Tang didn't plan to let him carry a straw mat, quilt, or enamel pot to take the train. It would be very inconvenient.
These things should have been prepared for him at the training base. If not, he could just buy them when he got to the Shanghai Stock Exchange. Why bother carrying such a burden? It's tiring and thankless.
With the departure of the third child, the family was a little depressed for a while. Fortunately, there were still the eldest child and the second daughter. The eldest child alone made the whole family restless.
It was no secret that Sanwa was chosen by the leaders of the Navy Swimming Team Training Base who came from Shanghai. Especially for the students in Sanwa's class, how could they not know that there was one less person in the class? The more active students went to ask the teacher. The teacher told all the classmates about Sanwa's experience as a little athlete and encouraged everyone to be like Sanwa.
One person tells ten people, ten people tell a hundred people.
The news spread quickly.
Almost half of the military families' compound knew the news, except for one person, Ning Xue.
Ever since the twins happened and they boasted about "your biological mother is not as good as my stepmother", the wives of the military families in the military family compound have all been vaguely repulsed by Ning Xue. They will still say hello when they meet, but they are not close friends.
In the entire military family compound, only Li Yun and Ning Xue are still together.
The Su family and the Shen family live next door to each other, so if there is any movement, they can immediately discover each other.
When Sanwa just "disappeared", Ning Xue didn't notice it yet.
But after a month, in the morning, only the eldest and second daughter went out to school together, and there was no sign of the third child. She felt a little puzzled.
At first, Ning Xue thought Sanwa had returned to Shangang Village.
But another month passed, two months passed... and there was still no sign of Sanwa, so she realized something was wrong.
Is Sanwa dead?
Ning Xue asked Li Yun, "Do you know about the Shen family? Where is Sanwa? Why is he gone? Could he have... done something? But I haven't seen Ning Tang and Chen Lie go to the hospital."
Moreover, if the third child really died, the Shen family would not still be in such a comfortable state now. They must be gloomy.
Li Yun was surprised, "Don't you know?"
"Know what?" Ning Xue was even more surprised than her.
Li Yun gave Ning Xue a meaningful look. "Sometimes, I really don't think you and Ning Tang are cousins. Your family is related to the Shen family."
Ning Xue pursed her lips and said, "Just keep talking about the subject, don't talk about anything else."
Li Yun said, "The leader of the Navy Swimming Team came to our island to select talents. The third child of the Shen family was selected. From now on, he will be a young athlete."
"Ah?" Ning Xue looked incredulous. "Just Shen Sanwa's character? Why would anyone choose him?"
In Ning Xue's eyes, the third child is a naughty and mischievous "bad student" who climbs up the roof of the house every day. His grades are worse than the eldest child's, and there is really no subject that he can show off.
Sometimes when Ning Xue has free time, she would wonder, will the eldest child get into a fight and end up under the fence first, or will the third child fail to go to high school or get into college and become the bottom of society first? Scum.
Li Yun said, "He's a fast swimmer, and the leader of the swimming team is interested in him for that reason." She enviously said, "I wish our Xiaoliu could be chosen by the team. I heard it's a training base with free meals, clothes, and even subsidies."
Ning Xue's mouth was almost twisted with anger. "Impossible, Shen Sanwa is only ten years old, just a little brat. He was selected by the Navy Swimming Team and went to the Navy Swimming Team's training base. What contribution can he make to them? Why should they provide him with three meals a day, give him clothes, not to mention subsidies? It's all bullshit!"
Li Yun was spitted all over her face. She wiped her face and said, "Why would I lie to you? Principal Lu said that the training base saw Sanwa's potential and invested in him. They also encourage parents like us whose children don't do well in school to help them develop in many aspects and not just focus on grades. Maybe he'll be like Sanwa and have talents in other areas."
Liu Xiaoliu's grades were not good either, and Li Yun was thinking about letting him practice running or something, so that he could become the second "third child".
I heard that Sanwa was only among the first batch selected, and more people will be selected in the future. Maybe... maybe her Xiaoliu will be selected?
Li Yun said, "If you don't believe me, wait until Sanwa returns to the island and ask him yourself."
Ning Xue didn't say anything, and it was unclear whether she heard Li Yun's words or not.
As soon as Li Yun left, Ning Xue grabbed Su Guangzong and Su Yaozu and said, "You two should study hard and don't let Sanwa outshine you."
Su Guangzong and Su Yaozu were so tired of hearing her words that their ears became calloused.
Ning Xue used to say, "You guys have to work hard, don't be like the eldest and third kids, who are useless and can't be helped."
Now that Sanwa has become successful, she changed her rhetoric and told Su Guangzong and Su Yaozu not to be outdone by Sanwa.
After Ning Xue finished muttering, she went to the kitchen to cook. Before leaving, she did not forget to remind the twins to finish the homework she assigned to them.
Su Guangzong looked up to the sky and sighed, "When will we be free?"
Su Junyan soothed him, "Wait until you get into university. If you get into a prestigious university, you'll be free."
As for himself, he did not have as good luck as the twins. He could not escape and could only continue to be tortured by Ning Xue.
Ning Xue was cooking in the kitchen, and the more she thought about it, the angrier she became. What if what Li Yun said was true? If the Navy Swimming Team's training base really gave Sanwa such good treatment, wouldn't Sanwa have a bright future?
Is this another kind of "iron rice bowl"?
Ning Xue couldn't eat or sleep well when she thought that Sanwa would be more promising than Su Guangzong and Su Yaozu. In less than a week, she became so thin that her face became sunken and she had two big dark circles under her eyes.
Su Junyan even murmured, wondering if she had become a thief at night.
The next day, Ning Tang took Da Wa and Er Niu to the vegetable market to buy vegetables, and met Ning Xue on the way back.
Ning Tang glanced at her and was ready to nod and leave as usual.
Unexpectedly, Ning Xue saw her, turned around, and rushed straight up, shouting, "Ning Tang!"
"What are you doing?" Ning Tang took a step back and patted his chest. "You scared me. If you have something to say, just say it."
Ning Xue didn't say anything. She first looked Ning Tang up and down, then cast a hesitant look at Da Wa and Er Niu.
After the two children were all gone, Ning Xue looked frightened and said coldly, "Where is your third child?"
Ning Tang breathed a sigh of relief. She had thought Ning Xue was going to challenge her for a one-on-one duel, but she hadn't expected it to be about Sanwa. "Sanwa, you're going to Shanghai."
Ning Xue: "Shanghai?"
"He's a fast swimmer, so he was spotted by the leader of the Navy Swimming Team and brought to the training base to become an athlete," Ning Tang said. "That all happened a few months ago."
Ning Xue couldn't help but believe it after hearing Ning Tang confirm Li Yun's statement.
She sneered, "Your third child is really lucky."
Ning Tang frowned and said, "Are you jealous? Then ask Su Guangzong and Su Yaozu to practice swimming as well. They're faster than Sanwa. I'll get you a recommendation from a leader."
Ning Xue glanced at her sideways. "No need. No matter how well Sanwa swims, what's the big deal? The leaders chose him because he's so young and pitiful. He's a great honor to our family. He's going to be a college student. He's much more promising than your Sanwa."
After saying that, he glanced at Da Wa and Er Niu, not forgetting to bring them along, "He's more promising than you two."
Ning Tang was too lazy to argue with her, "Is there anything else? If not, I'm leaving."
Ning Xue scoffed, "You're such a vicious person! If I remember correctly, your third child was only ten years old, and you forced him to leave his hometown and go all the way to Shanghai to become an athlete. You're capable of such a thing! It's different if they're not your biological child."
She had no idea that the last sentence also cursed herself.
She said, "I'm not as cruel as you. If the leaders want to choose Guangzong and Yaozu, I won't let them go."
She glanced at Da Wa and Er Niu with pity and sighed, "How pitiful! They still don't understand the situation. Your mother doesn't care about you at all. Look at San Wa. His present is your future. Sooner or later, you two will be kicked out by your mother one day."
The more she spoke, the more she felt this was true. "I heard that going to that training base is subsidized by prize money? Tsk tsk, she's just treating you three as money-making tools, as cash cows. Otherwise, why would Sanwa go out to earn money at such a young age?"
As Big Boy heard her words getting more and more outrageous, he clenched his fists and was about to rush up to argue with her.
Ning Tang patted Da Wa's shoulder soothingly, turned around, looked at Ning Xue, and feigned surprise, "How did you know? You're so smart. That's right, I just treat the three of them as money-making tools, as a cash cow. My ultimate goal in this life is to support them, to help them succeed, and to earn money for me to spend in the future. I can spend it however I want, standing or lying down."
Ning Xue hadn't expected Ning Tang to reveal her 'purpose' so openly. She angrily said to Da Wa and Er Niu, "Did you hear that? Her true colors have been revealed. Aren't you two idiots going to wake up?"
Da Wa and Er Niu looked at each other and saw smiles in each other's eyes.
The eldest child stiffened his neck and acted silly, "We are willing to support mom."
Erniu raised her hand and said, "That's right, I want to make a lot of money for Mom to spend."
The eldest child made a forward-moving gesture and said, "I'm going back now to study hard. I'm going to get into a good university and become a college student. I'll make my mother proud."
"You, you guys!" Ning Xue was about to explode with rage. She gritted her teeth and said, "You guys really have been brainwashed by her."
The angrier she got, the happier Ning Tang became. With a beaming smile, he patted the heads of Da Wa and Er Niu, "You're so good. Earn more money in the future and buy Mom a house that's even more beautiful than a two-story house, and a car."
Da Wa and Er Niu responded in unison, saying loudly, "Okay!"
The more Ning Xue looked at Da Wa and Er Niu, the angrier she became. She thought they were just two idiots with square heads. She stamped her feet in anger and said, "You two are really hopeless. You were sold by someone and are still counting their money."
As if she wasn't angry enough, Big Baby shook his head and said, "I'm happy to do it!"
"Bah!" Ning Xue was furious. "What's the point of you being happy? The two of you, plus Sanwa, are three losers. You'll never make any money in your life. Don't you think about it? With your terrible grades, Shen Dawa, you can't even go to school. How can you make any money? Bah! You just talk big!"
"Then you don't have to worry about it." Ning Tang still smiled.
To someone like Fu Ningxue, the calmer and more unmoved you are, the angrier she will be, and the more angry she will be.
When Ning Tang got home and just finished cooking, he heard the ding of a car bell coming from the door.
Da Wa and Er Niu went out to receive the letter. Er Niu ran back into the house, holding up the letter and yelling, "Mom, it's from San Wa?"
Ning Tang's eyes lit up, "Really? Let's see what he wrote."
When Shen Lie got off work, he heard that Sanwa had sent a letter. He took a few quick steps and said, "Sanwa has sent a letter."
The eldest child was carrying a large package with great effort, and glanced at Chen Lie with resentment, "Dad, come and help me move the things." He muttered again, "Why did the third child send so many things back?"
Ning Tang washed his hands, dried them with the corner of his clothes, and opened the letter himself. "Let me see what Sanwa wrote."
He glanced through the letter and said with a smile, "Sanwa said he's doing well at the training base. Since he's the youngest, the coaches and others are taking good care of him. They told us not to worry about him."
Pointing to the large package, he said, "He said the training base gave him a subsidy of 25 yuan a month. He didn't spend a penny of it and saved it all. This is what he bought for us? It's a Shanghai specialty."
The eldest child buried himself in the package and took out something every now and then. "What is this? Let me see. Pear syrup candy, Gaoqiao pancakes, Gu embroidered handkerchiefs... The third child bought so many things. Why are they so heavy?"
Chen Lie picked up a can of pear paste candy. The can was white and contained small yellow cubes. He ate one and chewed it, making a crisp sound. "Hmm, not bad, delicious. This stuff will moisten my throat, right? I'll take two cans to Lao Zhao later. He's a political commissar and has to attend meetings with his subordinates every day. It's sore on his throat, so this is perfect for him."
Erniu tried on the black leather shoes that Sanwa bought for her. There were several small flowers made of beads on the shoes. They were delicate and beautiful, extremely beautiful.
Ning Tang saw the three of them still looking at the things Sanwa had sent, and urged them, "Eat first, then look after dinner."
Shen Lie nodded, "What are you eating today?"
"Let's have fish hotpot." Ning Tang said.
It is the season when fish is plump. Cook a pot of thick soup with sheep bones, add fresh and tender fish fillets, and dip them in special seasonings. It is so delicious that it will make your tongue fall off.
The eldest child picked up a piece of fish and asked, "Mom, what kind of fish is this?"
"Crispy Anhui fish, does it taste different from ordinary fish? It tastes crispy and especially chewy." Ning Tang said.
Big Baby took another bite and said, "Really? Eh."
Erniu didn't like eating fish. She always felt that fish had a fishy smell. Even if Ning Tang described the crispy Anhui fish as delicious, she didn't want to pick up her chopsticks. She frowned and said, "I don't want to eat fish."
Chen Lie said, "Hey, you're still picky." He threatened her, "I'm going to send you to that training base where Sanwa is staying. Don't even mention not eating fish. You'll want to eat everything you see."
Erniu tilted her head, "Why?"
"Because the food at the training base is not good." Thinking of this, Chen Lie wanted to laugh. "Oh, right, Sanwa also said in the letter that Principal Lu lied to him and he wants to come back and settle the score with Principal Lu."
Big Baby asked, "Why is it not good?"
He was originally very excited about Sanwa being able to go to the training base, because he heard that the cultural requirements at the training base were not like those at the schools on the island. They only needed to learn some basic cultural knowledge, and the main focus was on sports.
This is simply heaven for Big Baby.
He even thought about whether he should learn from Sanwa and swim more, so as to get selected by the training base next year.
Ning Tang said, "It's not that the food at the training base is bad, it's just that it doesn't suit his taste."
What athletes eat? Nutritious meals, low in oil, salt, high in protein and vitamins, pursuing balanced nutrition. Sanwa likes spicy food and strong flavors, so he would be at a loss if he went there.
Chen Lie said, "According to Sanwa, the nutritious meals at the training base don't have any oil or salt. They taste just like your mom's steamed seafood. They just blanch it in water. No matter if it's seafood, meat, or vegetables, they're all cooked the same way. He said his mouth is so bland it's bland."
Under the table, Ning Tang stepped on Chen Lie's foot and squinted his eyes, "Do you have any objections? Then I won't cook from now on. You can come back from the army and cook at noon."
Chen Lie smiled apologetically, "I was just kidding, I was just kidding, you cooked lunch after all, the food you cooked was so delicious, I loved it."
Erniu thought about eating that kind of tasteless food for three meals a day. She shuddered for a moment and honestly picked up her chopsticks to pick up the crispy Anhui fish fillet. "Dad, now that you mention it, I suddenly think the crispy Anhui fish is delicious. I must eat more."
After dinner, Ning Tang took a look at Chen Lie's hair. "Is your hair longer?"
Chen Lie touched his temples, "Has it grown? Why didn't I notice it?"
Erniu also took a look and said, "Dad, your hair has really grown longer." She gestured, "It was this long before, and now it's that long."
Chen Lie was confused by her, "What's this and that? If it gets too long, just ask your mom to cut it for me."
Ever since Ning Tang revealed her skill, she has been the one cutting the hair of everyone in the family, from top to bottom.
"Go get a basin of water and bring the scissors." Ning Tang instructed Da Wa.
She asked Chen Lie to sit on a stool, took out two pieces of newspaper as a haircut cape, and quickly gave Chen Lie a short flat head.
Chen Lie looked at himself in the mirror and touched his short flat head, feeling it was a little prickly. "Why does it look the same whether I cut it or not?"
"Because they all have short haircuts." Ning Tang said, "What's the difference?"
It's not that I don't want to help him cut a different hairstyle. In the army, people are not allowed to have hair other than a short flat head unless you want to be set as a role model.
"Not only does it look the same without a haircut," Chen Lie complained, "I even think your haircut is ugly. It doesn't look lively at all. Has your technique deteriorated?"
"You're the one who's regressed." Ning Tang said, hands on his hips, "Have you ever heard of a saying?"
Chen Lie asked, "What?"
Ning Tang smiled and said, "If a man feels refreshed after getting a haircut, it means he's getting older. Think about it, isn't that the truth?"
Shen Lie pondered it for a moment, and thought, this is indeed the truth.
Ning Tang patted his shoulder and said, "So, if you think it's ugly, it means you're still young."
Chen Lie nodded. He also felt that he was in his prime. However, he pointed to the corner of his body that had been cut off. "How do you explain this?"
"Uh." Ning Tang choked. "Who told you to keep talking to me? I was distracted and ruined the cut. Oh, it's okay. You have your hat on, so just put it up. Who would notice?"
Shen Lie muttered, "Even if I have a hat, I can't wear it every day."
Ning Tang asked Da Wa and Er Niu, "Do you two want to get a haircut?"
The eldest child scratched his hair, looked at it in the mirror, and realized it was getting longer. "I want to cut it."
Ning Tang helped him cut his hair. "It's still the same hairstyle as before, right?"
The eldest boy nodded his head frantically.
Erniu didn't want to cut her hair? She wanted to keep her hair long and tie it into a braid, so Ning Tang helped her trim the ends of her hair and then trim her bangs.
That day, Ning Tang took out the books on the bookshelf and cleaned them up, then picked out a few and prepared to give them to Zhou Caiwei.
Zhou Caiwei had been trying for several years but still couldn't get pregnant. Perhaps her fate had finally arrived, and two months ago, she finally got pregnant.
Wu Dahui is almost 40 years old this year and had never expected to have children. Unexpectedly, Zhou Caiwei gave him a big surprise out of the blue, and he was overjoyed.
At home, Zhou Caiwei was treated like the empress dowager and was almost worshipped as a deity.
When Wu Dahui's biological mother Miao Xiaofeng heard the news that Zhou Caiwei was pregnant, she ignored everything and immediately took a train from the countryside to Hailang Island, saying that she must take good care of Zhou Caiwei.
Because it was his first child and a late one, Wu Dahui loved her very much and asked Zhou Caiwei to put her school work aside for the time being and wait until she had taken care of the baby before returning to work.
When a teacher has to stand on the podium all day long, Zhou Caiwei teaches lower grades. Children in lower grades like to run around. If they accidentally bump into Zhou Caiwei's stomach, that would not be fun.
Although Zhou Caiwei's pregnancy symptoms were not obvious yet, she couldn't eat and felt like vomiting when she smelled any fishy smell. The eldest child complained that she was only suitable for the "nutritional meals" at the base of the third child, which were tasteless. Maybe she would still be able to eat them.
After all these things, Zhou Caiwei reported to the school and planned to make sure the baby was in a stable condition first and deal with other things later.
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