Erniu answered, "Let's have instant noodles for dinner. Don't eat seafood. Instant noodles are delicious."

Sanwa nodded his head and said, "I agree."

"Eating instant noodles for dinner?" Ning Tang said, "No, I'll eat it next time."

The eldest child tilted his head, "Next? Time, when? Next? Time?"

"Next time is next time." Ning Tang said.

Erniu said, "Next time we'll have it at night."

"Yeah." The eldest and third child nodded in agreement.

Ning Tang saw that he couldn't get around it, so he had to say, "Next time, wait for your dad to come back."

The eldest child asked, "When will Dad come back? Why do we have to wait for him to come back before we can eat instant noodles?"

Ning Tang was troubled by his series of questions, so he answered them one by one, "Captain Shen will be back on August 27th. Today is August 14th, so there are still 13 days until Captain Shen returns, which is about two weeks."

The eldest child nodded, "Then why do we have to wait for Dad to come back before we can eat instant noodles?"

Ning Tang spread his hands and said, "Because the landlord has no more food, this month's living expenses are only enough for us to eat. When he comes back, instant noodles are too expensive. It's okay to eat them occasionally, but if you want to eat more, you have to wait for your father to get his salary and subsidies back."

Although Shen Lie had a high salary, he had to raise three children. Da Wa and his children's mother was frail and sickly, and was a sickly person. She spent most of Shen Lie's salary on medicine over the years. Later, when she passed away, the funeral expenses were quite a lot.

So Shen Lie actually didn't have much savings, which was why he offered a hundred yuan less in betrothal gift money than Su Junyan when he proposed marriage.

Da Wa blinked and asked Ning Tang, "Are instant noodles expensive?"

He didn't know how to count and couldn't understand how expensive Ning Tang said it was.

Ning Tang explained to him, "A pack of instant noodles costs 80 cents, and we ate three packs in one meal, which is 2.4 yuan. The prawns you usually eat cost 2 cents per pound, and mackerel costs only 5 cents per pound. In other words, one meal of instant noodles is enough for us to eat more than 20 meals."

The eldest, second and third children were confused by Ningtang's words "80 cents, three packs, two yuan and forty cents, two cents", but they understood the last sentence.

The eldest child opened his mouth in surprise, "So instant noodles are so expensive. One bowl costs us more than 20 bowls."

"Yes, so we have to wait for your dad to come back before we can have another bowl of instant noodles." Ning Tang comforted the three children, "It's okay, it's only two weeks, it will be over quickly. Your dad will get a subsidy when he comes back from his voyage this time. When the salary and subsidy arrive, I will make you one of my specialties, fried instant noodles."

Sanwa swallowed his saliva and said, "Mom, what is fried instant noodles?"

Erniu said to him, "Stupid, just fry the instant noodles twice."

Ning Tang was generous in praising her, "Erniu is smart. She boiled the instant noodles, drained the water, and then added seasonings and stir-fried them. It tastes better than boiling instant noodles."

Erniu was suddenly praised by Ningtang and a blush appeared on her face. She was afraid that Ningtang would see it, so she quickly turned her face away.

Ningtang not only thought of fried instant noodles, but also thought of fried instant noodles with seafood. After all, the seafood in Hailang Island is so abundant and cheap. When the time comes, buy some more fresh oysters, shrimps, and squids and stir-fry them with instant noodles. The taste will definitely be amazing.

Even though there was fried instant noodles waiting for them, the three little ones were still disappointed that they couldn't have them for dinner.

The eldest child sighed, "Oh, I have to eat the steamed seafood made by my mom again tonight."

Ning Tang: "Is the steamed seafood I made not tasty? What do you think?"

"How dare I?" said Big Boy, "Do you have any opinions? I'm afraid you won't make fried instant noodles for us."

Ning Tang snorted, "That's good to know. Don't worry, I won't make steamed seafood tonight."

Erniu's eyes sparkled. "Don't you want to eat seafood tonight?"

Ning Tang choked and said, "Let's still eat seafood, but I promise that the seafood we eat tonight will taste better than what I usually cook for you."

Erniu said regretfully, "Okay."

Obviously, she didn't take Ning Tang's words to heart. Seafood is seafood, no matter whether it is steamed or braised. It's not like Shen Lie had never cooked for them before.

Children who grow up on the island eat seafood three times a day. They lose interest when it comes to eating seafood.

Ning Tang was not bragging. She was inspired by instant noodles and she was actually tired of eating steamed seafood every day. No matter how delicious it was, she couldn't eat it every day.

She thought of the garlic oysters and garlic vermicelli scallops sold at the barbecue stalls. They were easy to make, tasted good, and most importantly, she could make them.

So in the afternoon, Ningtang went to the market to buy abalone, oysters and scallops, and also went to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy vermicelli for a dime.

After returning, Ningtang took out the stove used for heating, lit the fire, laid out the wire mesh, and placed three oysters on the wire mesh to test the water.

The oysters were roasted over charcoal and soon began to sizzle, and the tender oyster meat began to bubble out water.

Seeing this, Ning Tang quickly took out the finely chopped garlic mixed with sesame oil that he had prepared long ago, and used a spoon to carefully and evenly spread it on the surface of the oysters.

Soon, the aroma of the grilled oysters, along with the rich aroma of garlic, filled the entire room.

The eldest boy was so hungry that he wanted to eat the oysters with his hands.

Ning Tang patted his hand quickly, "Don't try to save your life! I'll burn your hand into a pig's hoof later."

The eldest boy curled his lips and said, "It's pig's trotters." Or? He stared at the grilled oysters without giving up.

Ningtang checked the cooking temperature. The oyster meat changed from its initial tender white color to the white color of a cooked egg, and the minced garlic also turned golden yellow. It looked like it was cooked and ready to be eaten.

Ning Tang put on the labor protection gloves that the army had given to Shen Lie, and pinched the shell of the oyster through the white gauze gloves, blowing on it. When it was cool enough, he passed it to the eldest, second and third children, "Try it and see if it tastes good."

The three children held the oyster shells with their two little hands, put their mouths to the edge of the shells, and with a slurp, they swallowed the whole plump oyster with garlic paste into their mouths.

The oysters were extremely tender, smooth and delicious, and accompanied by the aroma of minced garlic. The three children couldn't help but savor the delicious taste.

After finishing the oyster meat, the eldest child ate up all the juice and remaining minced garlic from the oyster shells. He smacked his lips and said regretfully, "Mom, why didn't you make such delicious oysters earlier?"

"That's right?" Erniu agreed, "We've been eating boiled oysters for a few days."

Ning Tang was embarrassed, "Isn't this it? I didn't remember it..."

She quickly changed the subject and asked Da Wa and Er Niu, "Can you two eat spicy food?"

She didn't ask about Sanwa, a three-year-old boy, and she wouldn't give him spicy Ningtang even if he wanted to.

The eldest and second daughter nodded, "Yes, we can eat it."

"That's fine." Ning Tang said.

She put four more oysters on the stove, and while they were roasting, she added a little chili she had bought to the garlic sauce, then repeated the previous steps, spreading the garlic chili sauce on the oysters.

The tender and plump oyster meat is garnished with white minced garlic and red chili, which makes it look more appetizing.

Soon, three spicy grilled oysters and one garlic grilled oyster were ready.

Ningtang shared the grilled oysters with her three children and ate one herself. The garlic and spicy flavors paired with the tender oysters were simply delicious.

"Wow, so spicy and delicious." The eldest and second daughter stuck out their tongues while eating, as if they couldn't stand the spiciness.

Ning Tang was afraid that they would only eat oysters without rice, so she said, "Take a couple of bites of white rice to go with it. It will taste better and help relieve the spiciness. I'll then give you grilled garlic vermicelli scallops and garlic abalone."

The eldest child took two mouthfuls of rice and urged, "Okay, stepmother, please bake it quickly."

Erniu volunteered to help feed Sanwa, "I'll feed Sanwa, and you just focus on baking, mom."

"Okay." Ning Tang rolled up his sleeves and showed off his skills.

She put the scallops and the cut abalone on the stove, then placed some vermicelli on the scallops. When the abalone and vermicelli were half cooked, she added the garlic chili sauce.

Soon, the house was filled with the familiar aroma of charcoal barbecue.

The eldest child was staring at her grilling, a little confused, "Why can we add minced garlic directly to grilled oysters, but we have to wait a while before adding minced garlic to grilled scallops and grilled abalone?"

"Because oysters cook faster, scallops and abalone cook slower." Ning Tang said, "Actually, you can just add the garlic chili sauce when grilling scallops and abalone, it's the same. This is just my personal preference. I like to wait a while before applying the garlic chili sauce on them when grilling these two."

The eldest child nodded and shook his head, and said with emotion, "Stepmother, you know so much, and you still say you can't cook."

Erniu: "My stepmother lied to me. She deliberately told my father that she couldn't cook so that she could only cook one meal a day."

Ning Tang held his head, "I only know some theoretical things, I really can't cook. Grilling oysters is simple, but I can't cook. Take braised spareribs for example, when to blanch them, how to marinate them, what seasonings to add, I don't know anything. I can do it reluctantly, but I just want to ask if you dare to eat it."

Erniu still didn't believe it, "But mom, the instant noodles and grilled oysters you made are delicious."

"Instant noodles, that's a talent, just think I was born knowing how to cook." Ning Tang complained in her heart. After all, she had eaten a lot of them before. "Roasting oysters is so simple. Just wash the oysters, add garlic and chili sauce, and check the heat. It's ready."

The eldest child said, "I understand. Stepmother, you know that there are some dishes you can cook and some you can't."

"Anyway, I can't cook most of the home cooking, so I'm a master at making some 'unorthodox' things." Ning Tang said jokingly.

When she was in college, Ning's mother tried to teach her how to cook once. It was a very simple scrambled eggs. When the eggs were put into the pan, the sizzling sound of frying scared her so much that she almost ran out of the kitchen. Later, she had to put on gloves to barely complete the scrambled eggs.

Later, Ning's mother tried to teach Ning Tang to cook more complicated dishes, but unfortunately, she either didn't put enough seasoning or added too much seasoning at random, and in the end she cooked a pot of colorful stew.

So much so that Ning's mother complained that Ning Tang's cooking didn't seem like cooking, it looked more like cooking!

From then on, Ningtang seldom went into the kitchen.

There is no one to cook at home, so when we are hungry we just order takeout noodles and snacks. Now I am showing my unique skill of grilling oysters to my eldest children. Is it because I often grill with friends on the rooftop that I have learned it?

Thinking of rooftop barbecue, Ning Tang remembered the rooftop on the second floor of the Shen family's small building. She asked Da Wa, "Can I go up to the rooftop at home?" The last time she wanted to go in, the door was locked.

It has been a long time since she had a barbecue and her hands are itching. There are so many cheap seafood on Hailang Island. What if she could get a big lobster or something and have an open-air barbecue on the rooftop? It would be so wonderful!

"No." The eldest child shook his head. "Dad said the guardrail on the roof is too low. He's not at home often, so he's afraid we might run up there to play and fall down and get crushed."

"So that's how it is." Ning Tang nodded to show his understanding.

As we were talking, the garlic-baked abalone and the garlic vermicelli-baked scallops were ready.

Da Wa hesitated between the two. After thinking it over, he decided to try the grilled scallops with garlic vermicelli first. After all, they were both charcoal-grilled seafood, but the grilled scallops had vermicelli added to it. He wanted to taste the vermicelli.

Big Boy put the grilled scallops with garlic vermicelli into his mouth. The scallop meat had been grilled for a long time, and the garlic chili sauce on top had already absorbed the flavor. At first bite, the soft and juicy scallops, the chewy vermicelli, and the garlicky and spicy flavor of the garlic chili sauce blended together.

The eldest child almost cried, "Wow, it's so delicious."

Erniu didn't say a word. She just focused on eating, taking a bite of scallops and a mouthful of rice, and eating very happily.

The first dish Sanwa ate was the grilled abalone with garlic. The abalone was cut into small pieces and was also very tasty. Because Sanwa was small and his teeth were not as good as his older brothers and sisters, he had to chew the garlic abalone for a long time before he could swallow it, but this added a unique chewiness to the dish.

Ning Tang saw that he had a hard time chewing, so he couldn't help but grill two more oysters for him, so that he could eat more tender and delicious oysters and scallops, and less abalone which was too hard on his teeth.

It was the first time Ningtang used this charcoal stove to grill food, and he was not very experienced at first. But as he practiced, he became more and more proficient, and he grilled more and more food, until Da Wa and the others couldn’t eat enough.

Ning Tang roasted some oysters, scallops, and abalone, put them on plates, put them in a basket, and asked Da Wa to deliver them to Mrs. Luo and Ning Xue who lived next door.

It's a pity that I haven't seen Zeng Xinlan since the last time I went to the sea, and I don't know where her family lives, otherwise I could send her something.

Even though Ning Xue wasn't a very nice person and didn't have good intentions, no matter what, Ning Tang and the three children in the family had eaten a lot of Ning Xue's cooking, and given their apparent kinship, it was necessary to give her a portion of grilled oysters.

The eldest boy had almost finished eating, and after receiving his mission, he ran to Ning Xue's house as fast as his legs could carry him.

Ning Tang glanced at his running back and said, "If you spill it, I won't make grilled oysters for you next time."

Hearing this, the eldest boy paused, slowed down his pace, carefully protected the basket with both hands, and walked towards Ning Xue's house at a speed several times slower than before.

When they arrived at Ning Xue's house, Da Wa called a few times outside the door and Ning Xue came out.

The eldest child read out a series of dishes like a name of a dish, "Aunt, this is the grilled oysters with garlic sauce, scallops with vermicelli in garlic sauce, and abalone in garlic sauce made by my stepmother. This is for you."

The aroma of charcoal grilling is already strong, not to mention that it is added with minced garlic. The two families are close to each other, which is equivalent to Ningtang grilling at home and Ningxue can smell the aroma just by taking a sniff.

Ning Xue was still wondering what the Shen family had made that smelled so good when she ran into Da Wa coming to deliver something.

She glanced at the basket but didn't take it. Instead, she asked in surprise, "What did you say? This garlic oyster and scallop dish was made by Ningtang?"

Even if you don't eat it, just based on the aroma, the taste of this thing can't be bad? How could it be so?

Ning Xue clearly remembered that Ning Tang used to be like this: He would never go into the kitchen at home and he couldn't cook any dishes.

After arriving at Hailang Island, Ning Xue had heard about Ning Tang making steamed seafood at home every day to "fool" Da Wa and the others, and she even used this as a joke to Su Junyan at night.

Especially at noon, Da Wa and the other two were hungry and wanted to come to their house for a meal because Ning Tang didn't cook.

How come in the blink of an eye, Ningtang can make so many delicious dishes?

Ning Xue looked up and down at Da Wa's little face suspiciously. Could it be that he bought it from the hotel and then passed it off as homemade?

However, thinking that there were no hotels on the island, Ning Xue came up with another idea that someone else might have done it for Ning Tang. Anyway, it was impossible that Ning Tang had done it himself.

Deep down, Ning Xue didn't think Ning Tang could cook such delicious meals.

Da Wa didn't have as many thoughts in his mind as she did. Hearing this, he just tilted his head and said, "It was made by my stepmother. Oh, aunt, please take it quickly. I still have to go to Sister Luo's house."

After saying this, without waiting for Ning Xue to reply, Da Wa stuffed the basket into her hands, turned around and ran away.

When Ningtang had filled his stomach about 70% full, Da Wa came back.

He was holding a basket in his hand, wiping the sweat from his forehead, and panting, "Mom, I've sent them all out."

"Well done." Ning Tang praised, "What did Sister Luo say to my cousin?"

Da Wa thought about it for a moment and acted out Ning Xue's reaction vividly, "I went to my aunt's house and wanted to give her the grilled oysters, but my aunt didn't take them. She just said, 'What did you say? This garlic oyster and scallop dish, was made by Ning Tang?'"

The eldest boy continued, "I was annoyed by her dithering, so I stuffed the basket into her hands and went to Sister Luo's house."

Ning Tang's mouth twitched. She knew that Ning Xue disliked her, but there was no need to show it so obviously, right?

Forget it, as long as she is not guilty morally, it's fine. As for what Ning Xue thinks...

What the hell does it have to do with her?

Ning Tang continued, "Then? What did Sister Luo say?"

The eldest child said, "Mrs. Luo asked me to thank you and gave me a basket of cucumbers and tomatoes she grew. My mother will make us some candied tomatoes tomorrow."

Ning Tang said, "Sure." She glanced at Da Wa's bulging cheeks and said, "Sister Luo gave you more than just cucumbers and tomatoes, didn't she?"

The eldest child stuck out his tongue and said, "Well, I can't hide this from you. Sister Luo even gave me some candies."

He spread out his palm, revealing the candy in the palm, "This is for Erniu and Sanwa."

Erniu shouted happily, "Wow, there are candies to eat."

She and Sanwa took the candy from Dawa's hand, peeled off the candy wrapper and put the candy into their mouths.

Toffees were a luxury for the children on the island and they could only eat them once in a while. The eldest child couldn't bear to chew them and just held them in his mouth all the way. The second and third girls did the same, holding them in their mouths with their cheeks bulging like two little hamsters.

Ning Tang asked, "Have you said thank you to Sister Luo?"

Da Wa patted his chest and said, "Of course I did. Sister Luo told me not to be polite."

After eating and cleaning up, Ning Tang watched the three children wash up and go to bed, and she went back to her room and fell asleep.

When Shen Lie was not around, she had the big bed all to herself, and she didn't know how comfortable she was.

Ning Tang couldn't help but think, what if Shen Lie didn't come back?

But she dismissed the idea the next second. If Shen Lie didn't come back, she would have to continue taking care of the three children and cooking two meals a day. Please God, Shen Lie should come back soon.

The next day, Ning Tang kept her promise and made candied tomatoes for the three children, which they loved.

After eating the tomatoes with sugar, the three children were still not satisfied, so one of them ate a piece of cucumber.

Ning Tang looked at them with amusement, "All the vegetables that Sister Luo planted in her yard went into your stomachs."

The eldest child took a bite of the cucumber, chewed it twice, and swallowed it. "Dad once said that eating is the best way to show respect to food."

"Go tell that to the cucumbers and tomatoes you ate," Ning Tang said. "It's no use telling me."

The eldest child ate the last bit of cucumber and clapped his hands, "Stepmother, what are we having for dinner? Grilled oysters and scallops with vermicelli and garlic sauce?"

Erniu: "Seafood is cheap, mom, don't make excuses and say it's expensive and then stop making it for us."

"What do you mean again? I only said once that instant noodles are expensive." Ning Tang, "Isn't it just grilled oysters and scallops? If you want to eat them, I can make them every day. I'm just afraid you'll get tired of them."

The eldest child shook his head, "Not annoying." He touched his face, "Have I gained weight recently? Second girl, can you help me check it out?"

Erniu looked at his face carefully and said, "Brother, you think too much. You haven't gained weight."

The eldest child tilted his head, "But this morning when I got up and put on my clothes, I felt a little tight." He added, "That's right, I ate the steamed seafood made by my mother every day before, so it was good enough that I was not hungry and thin, how could I gain weight?"

Ning Tang sneered, "Shen Da Wa, you are trying to hurt me again. Don't worry, I have learned my lesson now. I will make delicious food for you every day and return the three little fat boys to your father when he comes back."

The eldest child's eyes lit up, "Stepmother, are you serious? You make delicious food for us every day."

Erniu said, "If I could eat delicious food every day, I would be happy to become a little fat boy."

"It's fake." Ning Tang said, "For the sake of your figures, I should stop making delicious food for you every day."

"Don't." Big Boy exclaimed.

Ning Tang pretended to sigh, "It's not that I don't want to do it. You don't know how tiring it is to cook. Not only do I have to cook, but I also have to wash the dishes. Sigh, if I get sick from all the hard work, who will cook for you and take care of you in the future?"

The eldest child pouted and said, "Don't play these tricks on us. If you don't want to wash the dishes, just say so."

"Is this so? You said it, I didn't say it." Ning Tang said with a smile.

The eldest child was speechless. "It's just washing dishes. We washed them for you." He looked at the second and third children. "Do you two have any opinions?"

Erniu and Sanwa always followed the lead of Da Wa. Besides, there were delicious food hanging in the air and dates to be given for washing dishes, so of course they had no objection and both shook their heads.

Ning Tang rolled his eyes, "But I'm out of dates. You guys help me wash the dishes. I have to give out twelve dates a day. You guys have already eaten most of the bags I brought with me. I was going to leave some for Captain Shen to make soup with when he comes back."

"There are no red dates." A trace of disappointment flashed across Da Wa's eyes. He licked the corner of his mouth, thinking of the delicious grilled oysters he had yesterday, and gritted his teeth and said, "If you can make delicious food like grilled oysters every day, I can help you wash the dishes... It's not impossible."

"Then it's settled." Ning Tang's eyes lit up. "I can't promise you that I can make delicious food every day, but I can still make a meal every now and then, and I promise to make delicious food for you in different ways."

The eldest child bared his teeth, "I know that you, mom, never tell the truth. I also want to wash the dishes for you every now and then."

"Haha, it's too late." Ning Tang pinched the eldest child's little face.

In the afternoon, Mrs. Luo came to visit us happily, "Xiaoning, come with me."

"What's wrong, sister-in-law?" Ning Tang asked.

Mrs. Luo said happily, "Just come with me. If you're late, you might not be able to catch up."

Ning Tang also became interested, "Sister-in-law, are you going to the sea? Don't worry, wait for me to bring the bucket."