When Shen Lie discussed cooking with Ning Tang yesterday, he did not avoid the three children, and all three children heard it. Before Shen Lie left in the morning, he took the two older children, Da Wa and Er Niu, to give some instructions, so the three of them knew that Ning Tang would prepare lunch today.

But even though we knew this, it was already 11 o'clock in the morning and Ning Tang still hadn't gotten up to cook, and the stomachs of the eldest, second, and third children were growling with hunger.

Ning Tang was teased by Da Wa for a moment, turned around, and looked at the three of them helplessly, "If I weren't your stepmother, I would definitely beat you up."

Whose naughty child is this?

But there was no way. She and Shen Lie had agreed yesterday that she would cook lunch.

Since he had agreed, Ning Tang was not one to go back on his word, so he got up, packed his things and prepared to go to the vegetable market.

Ning Tang took the banknote left by Shen Lie and looked at the sunlight outside. It was still shining as usual. She sighed, took out a straw hat from the house and put it on her head. After taking protective measures, she set out.

The eldest child watched her leave and waved, "Stepmother, please come back soon. Erniu and I can still handle it, but Sanwa is so hungry."

Ning Tang snorted in agreement.

She walked a few steps and suddenly remembered that Shen Lie had told her yesterday that if she wanted to buy vegetables, she had to go to the vegetable market in the west of Hailang Island, but she didn't know the directions and didn't know the way.

I had no choice but to go back to Shen's house and take Da Wa with me. "I don't know the way. You take me there."

The eldest child touched his rumbling stomach, sighed like a little adult, and walked in front, "Follow me."

The two of them walked for about half an hour and finally arrived at the vegetable market.

The vegetable market on Hailang Island is actually a piece of land about the size of a football field. There are many fishermen and vegetable vendors wearing hats, gloves and sleeves squatting in front of vegetable baskets and shouting as they sell vegetables.

Ning Tang didn't rush to buy the vegetables, but took a look at them first.

It was noon and the morning market was over. There were only a few people buying vegetables, but there were still a dozen or so people scattered around.

Ning Tang noticed that several people only paid for seafood without even paying for tickets.

She asked Da Wa, "Don't you need a ticket to buy fish here?"

Da Wa had rarely been to the market, let alone bought vegetables. He shook his head and said truthfully, "I don't know."

It seemed that asking him would not give any answer, so Ning Tang simply walked up to a fisherman who was setting up a stall and asked him, "How much is your swimming crab per pound? Do you need a ticket?"

The fisherman laughed and said, "The swimming crabs are eight cents a pound, no ticket required."

"How much?" Ning Tang was stunned, thinking she had heard wrongly.

Swimming crabs are only 8 cents per pound? What's the difference between this and free?

The fisherman patiently repeated, "Eight cents a pound, no ticket required."

He looked at Ning Tang for a few times. Seeing that she was a stranger, spoke with a northern accent, and was pretty, he explained a few more words, "Our place is different from the inland. Inland seafood is expensive and requires tickets. Our Hailang Island is close to the sea. The seafood we catch every day can circle half of the island. In addition to supplying the majority to the troops, the higher-ups allow us to sell the rest ourselves, which can be considered as a supplement to the family income and economic development."

Another vegetable vendor came over and said, "Don't talk about swimming crabs. It's the same with other seafood. There are plenty of small seafood in the sea, and we don't even want to eat them. It's just that June is not the season for swimming crabs, so there are not many caught, so we only sell them for eight cents a pound. By August, September, and October, no one wants them even at five cents a pound."

In the market, chicken, duck, beef, mutton, agricultural products and vegetables are expensive and require tickets. However, seafood is cheap and does not even require a ticket, as if it were free. No wonder most of the dishes Shen Lie cooked yesterday were seafood.

Ning Tang slapped his thigh, he really came to the right place!

She looked at the swimming crabs in the fish basket. They were quite large and still alive and kicking. She took out 40 cents and said, "Give me five pounds!"

After buying swimming crabs, Ningtang also bought prawns at two cents a pound and mackerel at five cents a pound. He was so happy shopping that he didn't want to leave.

Seeing that Ning Tang seemed to be buying up all the food in the market, Da Wa quickly stopped her and said, "Stepmother, you bought enough. It's enough for us to eat."

Ning Tang then withdrew his hand with a lingering feeling.

After returning home, Ningtang steamed all the seafood.

These seafoods are easy to steam. Even for Ningtang, a kitchen novice, after figuring out how to use the Shen family's firewood stove, she was able to prepare three dishes in less than half an hour.

There were three dishes: steamed swimming crab, boiled shrimp, and steamed mackerel. Because Ningtang bought a lot of food, the amount looked very impressive when it was served on the table.

The three children were all very hungry. They were born and raised on the island, so they didn't need to be taught how to eat seafood.

The eldest boy stretched out his little hand and grabbed a swimming crab, and cut it open in no time.

Erniu stared at the mackerel. Mackerel had few bones and a lot of meat. Ningtang had removed the fish bones and was not worried at all that Erniu would get the fish bone stuck in her throat.

Sanwa was young and greedy, so he grabbed a prawn and stuffed it into his mouth without even peeling the shell. He took a few bites of the prawn head and didn't get to eat the meat, but his bib was covered with saliva.

Ning Tang couldn't bear to see this, so he took the prawn from his little hand, peeled off the shell, and handed the red and white shrimp meat back to him.

Although Sanwa is young, he has good teeth and the shrimps are tender. He grabbed the shrimp and ate one in three bites.

There was no need to worry about the eldest and the second daughter. Ning Tang just kept an eye on the third daughter. When he finished eating the shrimp, he would peel another one for him. Then, from time to time, he would feed him a mouthful of mackerel with the bones removed and shredded crab meat.

Erniu kept talking, and her eyes were not idle either. She saw how Ningtang took care of Sanwa, "Stepmother, you still have a conscience."

Ning Tang's forehead throbbed, and he really wanted to beat up this unlucky child, "Thank you for the compliment."

Da Wa spoke incoherently with crab meat in his mouth, "Why praise her? This is what she should do. Don't forget who slept until 11 o'clock in the morning."

Ning Tang was indeed at fault for this. She promised Shen Lie to go buy groceries at 10 o'clock, but she didn't get up until 11 o'clock. It took her one and a half hours to buy groceries and cook, and she didn't have dinner until one o'clock. "It's my fault, okay?"

The eldest boy nodded and said that this was pretty good.

Ning Tang sighed as he collected crab and shrimp shells, "Do I have to go buy groceries at 10 o'clock from now on? This is killing me."

The eldest child said, "How about you go buy groceries at ten o'clock? It takes an hour to buy groceries and an hour to cook. Then we can have dinner at twelve o'clock, which is just right."

Ning Tang stared at Da Wa and Er Niu for a while, which made them both feel scared.

Erniu rubbed the hair on her hands and said, "Look at what we are doing."

Ning Tang looked up to the sky and sighed, "I wonder when you two will grow up and be able to buy groceries and cook for me."

The only ones who responded to her were the funny faces from Da Wa and Er Niu.

After dinner, Ning Tang obediently rolled up his sleeves to wash the dishes.

At noon, she and her three children had lunch together. They didn't use many bowls and chopsticks, and the food was mostly seafood, not oily, so the bowls and chopsticks were easy to wash.

It was not yet three o'clock when we finished washing the dishes, and the three children were starting to feel sleepy after eating.

Erniu took out a cool mat from behind the door and spread it on the floor of the living room. The three children covered themselves with a cool quilt and took a nap on the floor.

Seeing the three children sleeping soundly, Ning Tang also felt sleepy. She lay on the rocking chair in front of the window and fell into a dream.

Shen Lie saw this scene when he returned home.

Ning Tang was lying on the rocking chair, while Da Wa, Er Niu and San Wa were sleeping on the cool mat. Da Wa dreamed about something and frowned and punched. Er Niu rubbed her nose, and San Wa turned over with his calves resting on Da Wa.

"You're back." Ning Tang woke up when he heard footsteps.

Shen Lie was afraid of waking up the three children, so he lowered his voice and said, "Yeah."

Ning Tang glanced at the clock on the wall. It was only half past four. "You came back early today."

Shen Lie was worried about Ning Tang and the three children at home, so he hurried to the market and then hurried back home. He arrived home at 4:30. He coughed and said, "The training ended early today."

Ning Tang didn't know whether he believed it or not, so he changed the subject, "Come and cook when you get back."

They had steamed and boiled seafood for lunch. Although it tasted fresh, it didn't leave much of a taste in their mouths. So as soon as Shen Lie came back, Ning Tang urged him to cook.

Shen Lie entered the kitchen and did not see a wooden basin full of dishes like yesterday. Then he looked at the cupboard and saw that the dishes were all washed clean. He curled his lips in satisfaction.

The three children were awakened by the smell of food.

The eldest child woke up the earliest. When he opened his eyes, he saw Shen Lie busy in the kitchen. His eyes lit up, "Dad!"

"Yes." Shen Lie responded and handed him a bowl. "Take it to fill your stomach."

The eldest child took the bowl and saw that it was a bowl of pig fat residue sprinkled with sugar. He was immediately happy and asked, "Is it New Year's Day today?"

"It's not Chinese New Year, but it's better than Chinese New Year." Shen Lie said, "To celebrate your stepmother coming to our house, I'll make a few more dishes today."

So that's how it is. The eldest kid pouted, showing dissatisfaction on his little face.

Shen Lie glanced at his face and asked, "Why, you don't like your stepmother?"

Not really. The eldest boy stuffed pork lard into his mouth, hoping that by occupying his mouth he wouldn't have to speak.

Seeing him like this, Shen Lie became interested.

He looked at the living room. Ning Tang was collecting the sleeping mats that the three children had slept on, and was not paying attention to this place. He pulled the eldest child to him and asked him quietly, "What do you think of the stepmother?"

Da Wa swallowed the pig fat residue and said, "It's OK."

Shen Lie asked, "What did you four have for lunch today?"

The eldest boy counted on his fingers, "Steamed swimming crab, steamed mackerel, steamed prawns."

Shen Lie raised his eyebrows. Even though they were all steamed, they were quite rich and these were all relatively expensive seafood in the market.

Ningtang was the only adult and three children at home. He thought Ningtang would just cook a simple meal, but unexpectedly she cooked three dishes, and from what the eldest child said, the portions were quite large.

Shen Lie: "Then you said it's okay, isn't that good for you?"

Da Wa recalled how Ning Tang almost bought up all the food in the market, "Well, she is quite generous, but——"

Shen Lie pinched his little face and said, "I knew you were going to say but."

The eldest child puffed up his cheeks and said, "But, Dad, you told her to go buy groceries at 10 o'clock. She slept until 11 o'clock in the morning. Including buying groceries and cooking, we didn't have dinner until 1 o'clock."

Shen Lie nodded, "Have you told your stepmother?"

Da Wa paused and said, "Yes."

Shen Lie: "Then what did your stepmother say to you?"

The eldest child thought for a while and said, "Stepmother promised us that she will go shopping for groceries at ten o'clock tomorrow and prepare meals for us at twelve o'clock."

Shen Lie clapped his hands and said, "It's over now."

He rubbed Da Wa's head, "Shen Da Wa, what did I teach you? Look at people's strengths, help them with their difficulties, and remember their good points. Look at people's advantages, don't just remember their shortcomings. You said your stepmother got up late and delayed cooking for you. What about you three? Did you help her cook? If you gave her a hand, wouldn't you have to wait until one o'clock? You can have dinner at twelve o'clock."