October 1st, National Day.

It was rare for Shen Lie to rest at home. Ning Tang found it rare and asked him, "How many days do you have for the National Day holiday? Seven days?"

Shen Lie said, "How can that be possible? Just let it go for three days."

The eldest boy pointed to the number seven with his fingers, "We have seven days off, be jealous."

Shen Lie: "I'm jealous. You've only been in school for a short time, and you're already on holiday again."

Ning Tang said, "I remember you said last time that you would take us to the sea during the holidays. Do you remember, Captain Shen?"

Shen Lie choked, "I haven't forgotten, it's just a trip to the sea, let's go there this afternoon."

In the afternoon, a few dark clouds floated over the sky and blocked the sun. It was not very sunny and was a perfect opportunity to go to the beach.

Shen Lie led Ning Tang and the other three children out, carrying a bucket and a shovel. As they walked, he said, "I fulfilled my promise. You can't say I don't keep my word."

The eldest child nodded excitedly, "As long as Dad takes us to the sea, you will be the most trusted person in the world."

Shen Lie was amused. "That's fine. Today I will be the person whose words count the most in the world. It's just a matter of chasing the sea. Look how excited you are."

Ning Tang rolled up his sleeves and said, "Today I'm going to show you my skills. Let's see who can pick up more seafood."

Shen Lie sneered, "You always think about competing with me. I won't compete with you."

"It's you who don't dare to compete. You've lost to me several times." Ning Tang said.

Shen Lie shook his head. "You are trying to provoke me. I won't fall for it."

As I was talking, I suddenly heard a familiar voice in my ear, "Where are you guys going?"

Shen Lie looked up and saw that the person who called them was none other than Su Junyan.

He? Hasn't seen Su Junyan for a while. One of them is the regiment commander, training every day, and the other is the section chief of the logistics department, in charge of logistics. They don't have much in common.

Su Junyan looked at the five members of the Shen family, each carrying a bucket, with their trouser legs rolled up high. He wondered what they were going to do, and could not help but ask a question.

Shen Lie replied, "The weather is good today, I'm taking them to the sea."

"Going to the sea? Do you mean going to the beach to pick up seafood?" Su Junyan frowned and said, "You can buy a lot of that stuff at the market for just a few cents. Why bother going through all that trouble? You'll come back covered in sand, tired and dirty."

This guy really kills the fun.

Shen Lie curled his lips and said, "These things are worthless. I just picked them up for fun. I want to play with my children."

"Play?" Su Junyan said, "I heard from Xiaoxue that you two just take your children out to play every day. Erniu and Sanwa are still young, but Dawa is in school. Be careful not to teach them bad things, or they will get zero points in the exam."

The eldest boy was not convinced and said with his hands on his hips, "You got zero points."

"Hey, kid, how can you talk like that?" Su Junyan looked at Shen Lie, "You don't want to do anything about it?"

"Who cares? I think the kid is right." Shen Lie snorted.

Su Junyan was indignant. He looked up and saw Shen Lie, a tall and strong man with an unhappy look on his face. He was immediately frightened.

He ran away, not forgetting to say before leaving, "If you guys are so used to your children, you'll have a prodigal son sooner or later."

"Tsk." Ning Tang sneered and patted Da Wa's head. "Shen Da Wa, don't try to save face by making steamed buns. Let him take care of it in the future. Our Da Wa has a promising future and is not a spendthrift."

Da Wa clenched his fist, "Dada is not a spendthrift."

Shen Lie asked, "Why would he come and scold us for no reason?"

Ning Tang thought for a moment, "I guess it's because of the electric fan. My parents sent it to me, but my second uncle and second aunt didn't send it to Ning Xue. She felt uncomfortable and might have asked Su Junyan to buy it for her. Su Junyan didn't agree, so the couple quarreled."

That's exactly what happened. Ning Tang was right.

The last time Ning Xue went back, she mentioned to Su Junyan that it was hot on the island, and asked him to buy an electric fan and put it at home to keep the air cool.

How could Su Junyan be willing to spend the money, so he asked Ning Xue why Ning Wei Dang and Zhou Yin didn't send it to her.

This touched Ning Xue's heart, and the two of them were in a cold war for two days. However, because they were newlyweds, their relationship was pretty good. After a little disagreement, they made up.

Su Junyan returned home and started throwing things around.

Ning Xue was stunned, "What's wrong? Who offended you?"

Su Junyan snorted, "Who else could it be? Your cousin and her husband. After all, I am their husband. I advised them with good intentions not to overindulge the child, but they rebuked me and even ordered the child to scold me. Tell me, does this make sense?"

He muttered, "Shen Lie wasn't this bad before. How come he became a different person after getting married?"

Ning Xue poured him a glass of water, "My cousin has always been stubborn. Shen Lie, I think she has influenced her badly. Just ignore them. My cousin doesn't listen to me, let alone you."

"That's right. The child belongs to them anyway. Whether they teach him well or not is none of our business." Su Junyan glanced at Su Guangzong and Su Yaozu who were writing big characters on the table and smiled with satisfaction.

On this side, Shen Lie and Ning Tang brought their three children to the beach.

Ning Tang looked at the endless sea and couldn't help but sigh that this beautiful scenery would still be so pleasing to the eye even if he came ten or a hundred times.

Shen Lie let Sanwa sit on his shoulders and said, "Tell me, what kind of seafood should we pick?"

Ning Tang said, "Sister Luo is not here this time, so I don't know what seafood to pick. Just pick whatever you think is good. As long as it's edible, it's fine."

Erniu squatted on the beach and exclaimed, "Wow, there are crabs here."

"Where, where, let me see." Ning Tang looked in the direction of her finger. Oh, there really were crabs, but they were only the size of a thumb. Compared with them, the swimming crabs sold in the vegetable market were simply the ancestors of crabs.

Shen Lie was amused, "Erniu, take this thing back, is it enough to fill your teeth?"

Erniu shook her braid and said, "If you don't want to eat it, we'll take it home and raise it."

She grabbed a small crab and placed it in her palm, presenting it to Shen Lie. "Look, how cute it is...ah!" Before she could finish her words, she was pinched by the small crab. She pouted and said, "The crab pinched me."

Shen Lie asked, "Where is it? Let me see."

Erniu stretched out her hand to him. Look, there was not even a mark on her white and tender palm.

"It's okay. These little crabs were born not long ago, and the clamps are so small. It won't hurt." Ning Tang said.

Erniu puffed up her cheeks and said, "I changed my mind. I don't want to keep it anymore. I want to catch it and eat it."

Ning Tang was happy, "That's fine, catch more, especially the big ones, and I'll make fried crabs for you when we get back."

"What are fried crabs?" asked the eldest boy, tilting his head.

Ning Tang demonstrated to him, "It's just rolling the crab in flour paste, and then frying it in a pan. It tastes crispy and crunchy."

The three children were all very excited. The eldest child clenched his fist and said, "I promise to catch a bucket full of crabs for you."

"Go ahead, but be careful not to get your hands caught by the crab claws. It won't hurt, but it will be uncomfortable." Ning Tang said.

She taught the three children how to catch crabs. "Little crabs are very agile. You three should focus on one and then surround it to catch it. When catching it, pinch the crab's abdomen with your index finger and thumb from behind. No matter how it swings its claws, it won't be able to bite you."

The three children were all smart. After listening to Ning Tang's words, they applied what they had learned to other situations. In less than a short while, they had caught half a bucket.

Seeing that they had already gotten the hang of it, Ning Tang let Shen Lie watch and went back to the black reef where she and Mrs. Luo had been last time.

Carrying a bucket and pliers, she walked back and forth on the black rocks, observing carefully, and she really found something good.

Oysters of various sizes with lime-gray shells are densely packed on the black rocks, very eye-catching.

Ning Tang was overjoyed. She picked up a pair of pliers and started sweeping the oysters on the rocks. Oysters were much easier to catch than the abalone last time. Soon she had picked up a big bucket.

She returned to the beach with the bucket, and Shen Lie asked her, "What did you pick up?"

Ning Tang Xian Bao said, "We picked a lot of oysters. Let's go back and make grilled oysters with garlic."

Shen Lie stretched out his hand and said, "Let me show you what I picked up."

Ning Tang looked over and saw an octopus lying on Shen Lie's hand, twisting its tentacles. She was surprised and asked, "Where did this come from?"

Shen Lie said, "It seems to have washed up from the sea. Anyway, I saw it on the beach as soon as I turned around."

Ning Tang: "Let me think, what should I do with octopus? How about a quick dish? Fried octopus with sauce."

Shen Lie was amused. "You sound very reasonable. Can you do it?"

"No." Ning Tang said, "Don't we still have you?"

She put the bucket full of oysters on the beach and asked the eldest child, "How are you three catching crabs?"

Big Boy gestured around with his hands and said, "I caught a lot. Look if you don't believe me." He showed the buckets to Ning Tang. All three small buckets were full.

Shen Lie glanced at the horizon. The orange sunset seemed to cover the sea with a layer of orange gauze. "Time? It's getting late. Let's go back."

The family of five was heading home. The eldest, second daughter and third daughter, each carrying a small bucket full of food, walked in front with a proud and confident look.

Shen Lie was happy, "Look how happy they are."

When he got home, Shen Lie cleared out a water tank, poured all the crabs caught by the three children into the tank, and asked Ning Tang, "How do you make those fried crabs you mentioned?"

"Wash the crabs clean while I prepare the flour paste," Ning Tang said. "Bring them here after you're done."

Shen Lie did as he was told. The three children helped him. The three children, one big and three small, quickly washed the crabs.

Ning Tang also prepared the flour paste. She handed the bowl to Shen Lie and said, "Pour oil into the pan. When the pan is hot, coat the crabs with the flour paste and fry them in the pan. That's it."

Shen Lie grumbled as he fried crabs, "It's only the beginning of the month, and I've already used up all the oil at home for you."

"It's a holiday, so it's okay to spend a little bit." Ning Tang said, "Look, the three little ones are all hungry."

Shen Lie glanced at the kitchen door and saw the three children, the eldest, the second, and the third, lying on the door frame, looking inside.

Shen Lie picked up a crab with chopsticks, rolled it in the flour paste, and put it into the oil pan. There was a "sizzling" sound, and countless bubbles suddenly came out of the oil pan. The aroma of fried food instantly filled the entire kitchen.

The eldest child sniffed and said, "Wow, it smells so good."

Soon, Shen Lie fried a plate of small crabs and called to Da Wa, "Bring it to the living room."

The eldest boy trotted over, took the plate and ran to the living room, stuffing the fried crabs into his mouth as he ran.

Ning Tang was amused, "Shen Dawa, are you cheating?"

The eldest child held the crab between his cheeks and said, "No, no."

Ning Tang sneered, "Don't say I didn't remind you. There will be grilled oysters with garlic and fried octopus with soy sauce later. If you fill your stomach with only fried crabs, you won't be able to eat anything else later."

Da Wa quickly swallowed the fried crab and promised, "I won't eat it anymore."

Shen Lie cleaned the octopus, cut it into small pieces, added green and red peppers and black bean sauce and stir-fried it in a pan.

While he was making the fried octopus, Ning Tang brought out the stove that he had used to make grilled oysters with garlic, lit the charcoal fire, and placed five cleaned oysters on the wire mesh.

After about half an hour of hard work, a plate of fried octopus with sauce and a dish of grilled oysters with garlic were ready.

Shen Lie brought the fried octopus to the table, glanced at the plate of deep-fried crabs, and snorted, "Tell me, who ate it secretly?"

The three kids looked at each other and said in unison, "We didn't eat anything secretly."

Ning Tang said, "Don't lie to your dad. You guys are good at stealing. The tip is flat. Next time you steal, remember to take it from the side. If you just take it from the top, he will find it at a glance. Your dad is not blind."

The eldest child curled his lips and said, "How can you be so smart? You have seen all this."

Ning Tang: "Captain Shen and I have lived many more years than the three of you. Is it possible that we are not smarter than you? When you live to our age, there will be a slight chance that you can deceive us?"

Shen Lie picked up a garlic roasted oyster, the aroma of roasted garlic kept wafting into his nose, "Comrade Xiaoning, is this edible? This is the first time I've seen it cooked this way."

"Charcoal grilling like this is much more delicious than the normal way. It makes the food more flavorful and brings out the aroma of garlic. If you don't believe me, try it." Ning Tang said.

Shen Lie swallowed his saliva and put the grilled oysters with garlic into his mouth. The smooth and plump oysters accompanied by the taste of garlic were so fragrant that it made people swallow their tongue.

Shen Lie couldn't help but give a thumbs up, "This is delicious, I'll make it this way from now on."

The Shen family was enjoying the food, but the Su family had no appetite.

Grilled oysters with garlic, stir-fried octopus with sauce, and deep-fried crabs all have strong flavors. The two families are very close, and the aroma keeps wafting from Su's family to ours.

Su Junyan took a look at the tasteless boiled cabbage and stir-fried eggplant on the table, slammed his chopsticks on the table, and couldn't help muttering, "What did Shen Lie and his family cook today? It smells so good."

He glanced at Ning Xue who was eating across from him, "I didn't expect your cousin to be such a good cook. I remember never seeing her cook when I went to Shangang Village for a blind date. It turns out she's a hidden talent."

Su Guangzong asked, "Mom, is the food cooked by my cousin delicious?"

Su Yaozu curled his lips, "How is that possible? If my cousin's cooking is so good, why did the eldest, second, and third children come to our house for a meal last time?"

Ning Xue wiped the rice grains from the corner of Su Yaozu's mouth lovingly and looked at Su Junyan, "My cousin doesn't know how to cook. The aroma of food you smelled must be the cooking of Captain Shen."

"Shen Lie?" Su Junyan asked in surprise, "What kind of person is he? How can a grown man cook?"

Ning Xue paused, "In the Shen family, Ning Tang has always been in charge of the lunch and Captain Shen has been in charge of the dinner."

"That's impossible. Shen Lie is an active-duty soldier and Ning Tang doesn't go to work. Why should Shen Lie cook?" Su Junyan said.

Ning Xue, "Really? I saw Captain Shen washing vegetables in the yard several times."

"That's just washing vegetables, not helping with cooking. There is still a big difference." Su Junyan said.

"If you don't believe me, go ask Captain Shen later." Ning Xue glanced at him dimly, "It would be nice if someone could help me cook."

Su Junyan touched his nose and said, "I don't have the cooking skills..." He put a spoonful of boiled cabbage into Ning Xue's bowl and said with a smile, "You cook delicious food. My children and I love your cooking."

Ning Xue complained in her heart, Ning Tang’s cooking was bad, but didn’t Shen Lie and the three kids of the Shen family eat all of it?

She sighed, "It seems that I am still not as lucky as Ning Tang. I don't have to cook at home, and I have someone to take care of me when I get married."

On October 29th, Ningtang got up very early.

The eldest child was very puzzled, "Stepmother, aren't you going to sleep in today?"

"You make it sound like I sleep in every day." Ning Tang said, "I have something to do today, so I have to go out for a while."

Erniu said with an "oh" and asked, "What are you going to do, stepmother?"

Ning Tang said, "Go help your sister Luo harvest the vegetables. The fruits and vegetables in her yard are ripe."

Sanwa tilted his head and asked, "Why should we help Sister Luo to harvest vegetables?"

Ning Tang patted his little butt and said, "Because we are neighbors, Sister Luo has helped our family a lot. The clothes you are wearing were sewn by Sister Luo."

Sanwa nodded and said, "Then Sanwa will go too, to help sister-in-law pick the vegetables."

"You are so good." Ning Tang praised them generously and asked Da Wa and Er Niu, "Are you two going?"

The eldest and second daughter responded in unison, "We'll go too."

Ning Tang brought her three children to Luo's house, "Sister-in-law, we are here."

Mrs. Luo was busy in the yard. She brushed the dirt off her hands and said, "Okay, why are Da Wa, Er Niu, and San Wa here too?"

Erniu said in a crisp voice, "Sister-in-law, we will come with stepmother to help you harvest the vegetables."

"Hey, Erniu is awesome." Sister Luo said with a smile, "Then help me harvest the white radishes in the vegetable garden, and I'll make you sweet and sour radishes."

Mrs. Luo's vegetable garden is not big. It is just a few plots of land in front of the two-story building. But she knows how to make use of the space. She has planted a lot of fruits and vegetables in this small place. Ning Tang can see at least seven or eight kinds of vegetables at a glance.

Da Wa squatted in front of the vegetable patch, looking at the radish threads, "This must be the white radish that Sister Luo mentioned."

"You are stupid. The radish stalk is half exposed. You can tell it at a glance." Erniu said.

The eldest boy reached out and grabbed the carrot rope and pulled it hard, "Watch me." The next second, he fell down with a cry, still holding a handful of carrot rope in his hand.

Ning Tang was amused. "You will definitely not be able to pull it out like this. The three of you should work together to clear the soil around the radish, exposing half of the radish, and then pull it out together. This is the way to pull out the radish."

The three eldest children did as they were told, and soon they turned into three little cats, with dirt all over their faces and bodies. But the effect was obvious, and the basket was half full.

Ning Tang saw the three children happily picking radishes, so he let them be responsible for picking radishes. He walked over to Luo's wife and asked her, "Sister-in-law, besides radishes, do you have any other vegetables to pick?"

Mrs. Luo was about to answer when she suddenly heard footsteps in the yard.

Zeng Xinlan hurriedly ran into the yard and anxiously grabbed Luo's sleeve, "Sister-in-law, do you have any money? Lend me some."

Ning Tang was stunned. "What's wrong, Xinlan? Why are you running so fast?"

Zeng Xinlan nodded at her, with a worried look on her face, "Xiaoning, you are here too, it's just right, if sister-in-law doesn't have enough money, I would like to ask you to lend me some."

Mrs. Luo took a handkerchief from her pocket and said, "Wipe your sweat first. Don't be anxious. If you have anything to say, tell me slowly. Is there something wrong with Dahu?"

Zeng Xinlan took the handkerchief and clenched it in her palm. "No, it was my father-in-law. He said he had gout and was lying in bed in so much pain that he couldn't get up. He asked me to get some money and go to a big hospital."

Mrs. Luo said, "So that's the case, but Captain Qi just got his salary not long ago, and you guys send money back every month, so it should be enough for us."

Zeng Xinlan bit her lower lip tightly. "When No. 8 Lao Qi received his salary and allowance, we had already sent 40 yuan back, but we didn't expect that my father-in-law would suddenly get sick. They had already spent most of the 40 yuan, and it was not enough for his treatment. We need... another 200 yuan."

"Two hundred yuan?" Ning Tang blurted out, "That's several months' salary."

Zeng Xinlan sighed, "There's no way. My father-in-law's gout is very serious this time. My mother-in-law said that two hundred yuan is just the minimum. To cure it completely, it will cost at least five hundred yuan."

"I understand." Mrs. Luo patted Zeng Xinlan's hand, "I'll go back to the house and get it for you."

Zeng Xinlan said repeatedly, "Hey, thank you, sister-in-law."

Ning Tang frowned and said, "Wait a minute, sister-in-law, don't rush to take the money."

She looked at Zeng Xinlan, "Xinlan, let's not rush to take the money for the time being. Tell me what happened. I really don't believe it. How can gout be cured and cost hundreds of dollars? Isn't this ridiculous?"

After Ning Tang's words, Luo's wife also sensed something was wrong and stopped, "Are you sure your mother-in-law said gout can be cured? I had a relative who also had gout. I don't know how many hospitals and doctors he went to, but he couldn't be cured."

Zeng Xinlan was stunned. "My mother-in-law said so."

"That's not right." Mrs. Luo said, "My relative once told me that for elderly people like them, if they get gout, a chronic disease, it's basically impossible to cure it, and they can only live with it for the rest of their lives."

Ning Tang continued, "Xinlan, think about it carefully. Two hundred yuan, a visit to the health center on our island costs fifty cents, and a visit to the hospital in the city only costs two yuan. What kind of hospital and what kind of miracle doctor did your parents-in-law find? Can they guarantee that they can cure your father-in-law's gout, which is so painful that he has to lie in bed and can't move, with just two hundred yuan?"

After hearing what Ning Tang and Luo's wife said, Zeng Xinlan also felt that something was wrong. She looked around and said hesitantly, "Could it be that my father-in-law and mother-in-law were deceived?"

Ning Tang raised her eyebrows, "Xinlan, tell me the whole story in detail."

Zeng Xinlan said slowly, "Lao Qi's salary is about fifty yuan. Every month when he gets paid, we will send forty yuan back to his hometown. This month is no exception. On the 8th, we got his salary and allowance and sent them back immediately. On the 12th, I received a letter from my mother-in-law saying that my brother-in-law is getting married soon and asked us to go back for the wedding."

Mrs. Luo said, "Drinking at a wedding, isn't that a good thing?"

Zeng Xinlan smiled bitterly and said, "I originally thought so, so I happily agreed with Lao Qi, but I didn't expect that the sister-in-law my mother-in-law said she wanted to come in was a girl from the city. Her parents were both working. The conditions are good, and she is pampered, so the bride price requires three turns and forty-eight legs. My mother-in-law said that we know the conditions of the family and cannot afford this gift, so we, husband and wife, need to help. "

"Three turns and one sound, forty-eight legs." Zeng Xinlan snorted, "It will cost at least several hundred yuan to set it up. Even if we tear it down, Lao Qi and I can't afford it."