San Wa frowned, "So he's a bad guy."

"Yes, and they are bad guys. We should ignore them in the future." Da Wa thought for a while and said, "It would be better if Dad would not give them money."

Shen Lie wrote two reply letters to Ning Tang, one of which was to Ning Weiguo and Sun Aiju.

The other one was to Da Wa's mother's uncle and aunt, Liang Dong and Bai Xiaofen. The letter scolded them both. And they still wanted money? That was wishful thinking. Let them stay away from them.

After writing the letter, Shen Lie put it on the cabinet, ready to take it out to mail it tomorrow, when he heard Da Wa say, "Don't worry, your dad is not a fool, I won't give them money anymore."

In the past, the three children were still young, but now they have grown up and are sensible. Shen Lie no longer needs to worry about them coming to make trouble and scaring the three children.

Ning Tang hadn't read the letter written by Ning Weiguo and Sun Aiju carefully yet, so she asked Shen Lie, "By the way, why did Dad and Mom suddenly say they were coming to the island?"

In the past, they would send a letter back every few months, urging them repeatedly and inviting them, but the old couple never said they wanted to come over, and they always put it off.

Unexpectedly, this time, even without them urging them, the old couple took the initiative to say they wanted to come over.

Shen Lie shook his head. "I don't know. It wasn't mentioned in the letter. Dad and Mom just asked us how we were doing, and whether the eldest, second, and third children had grown taller. Then they said they would come to the island at the end of July."

"Come and enjoy the coconut breeze and the sea, it's nice." Ning Tang said.

Shen Lie seemed to have thought of something, "By the way, the letter mentioned that Dad resigned from the position of village chief."

"Resigned?" Ning Tang raised his eyebrows.

The biggest reason why Ning Weiguo and Sun Aiju like Da Wa and the other three so much but have not come to the island for a long time is because Ning Weiguo is the village chief. There are many things to do in the village and they have to go to him for everything.

Sometimes the chickens of the widow in the east disappeared, sometimes one person started fighting with another, or it was time for spring planting and autumn harvest. There was no free time throughout the year, so there was no time to come to the island to see them.

"Well, Dad took the initiative to resign." Shen Lie said, "He just mentioned this sentence, and that was it."

Ning Tang thought about it for a while, but couldn't figure it out, so he put it out of his mind.

Anyway, the old couple will be here at the end of the month, so if you have any questions, just ask them.

On the morning of July 30th, Shen Lie and Ning Tang took Da Wa, Er Niu and San Wa to the port to pick up Ning Weiguo and Sun Aiju.

The old couple stepped into the boat and stumbled.

Ning Tang was amused, "Dad, Mom, are you seasick?"

This was the first time for the old couple to take a boat ride, and they were indeed a little seasick.

Sun Aiju said stubbornly, "No way, I'm shaking."

Ning Tang rubbed some Fengyoujing on them, and the old couple finally recovered from the smell of the Fengyoujing.

The eldest, second, and third kids all said in unison, "Grandma! Grandpa!"

"Hey!" Sun Aiju and Ning Weiguo laughed happily.

Ning Weiguo looked at the eldest and third child and compared them, "Hey, have you two grown taller?"

The three-year-old tilted his head and smiled, "You are almost a head taller than the last time I saw grandma."

The eldest child said, "Yes, I have grown taller, Grandma. I can even ride a bicycle now."

"Oh wow, he can even ride a bicycle now." Ning Weiguo praised, "Big Boy is really amazing."

When Ning Weiguo praised him, the eldest boy’s tail could fly up to the sky.

The third child puffed up his cheeks and shouted, "Grandma, when I grow taller and am as tall as my big brother, I will be able to ride a bicycle."

Ning Weiguo smiled brightly and praised, "Great, great, the third child is also amazing."

Only then did the third child smile with satisfaction.

Erniu threw herself into Sun Aiju's arms and said in a crisp voice, "Grandma, I miss you so much."

Sun Aiju laughed so hard that the wrinkles at the corners of her eyes burst open. "Hey, I miss Erniu so much too."

She touched Erniu's head and saw that the braid on her head was crooked. She glared at Ning Tang and said, "You didn't braid Erniu's hair properly again. A girl goes out with a messy hair every day, and you don't mind it."

Ning Tang chuckled twice, "Aren't you here, mom? Once you come, you can braid Erniu's hair into a nice braid."

"You only know how to assign tasks for me." Sun Aiju retorted, then patted Erniu's head and comforted her, "It's okay, grandma will braid your hair for you."

Erniu smiled and said, "Thank you, grandma." She blinked her eyes and said, "Grandma, I can sing now."

"Oh, our Erniu is really amazing." Sun Aiju hugged Erniu, "Then how about singing it for grandma when we get home?"

"Okay." Erniu responded loudly.

The eldest boy stretched his head to look behind the old couple and said, "Isn't my uncle here?" He was referring to Ningde.

Ning Weiguo shook his head, "No."

Ningde wanted to come. Firstly, he hadn't seen Ningtang and Dawa (the three of them) for a long time and he missed them very much. Secondly, he also wanted to see Ningxue, after all, she was his biological sister. However, Ning Weidang and Zhou Yin would not let him. They said that they were reluctant to let Ningde go through the trouble of traveling, taking a seven-day train and a boat ride, and that he would have to go back after only a few days.

So they refused to let him come, but arranged a blind date for Ningde, saying that after he got married, he would bring his wife to see Ningxue.

As the group walked home, Sun Aiju fanned herself with her hands every two steps, "It's so hot here." She even wanted to take off her clothes.

"It's quite hot." Ning Tang said, "Luckily, Mom and Dad sent me the electric fan, otherwise it would be unbearable in the summer."

Ning Weiguo looked at the coconut trees on the roadside and said, "What kind of tree is this? There are so many of them on the roadside."

"It's the coconut tree. Look at the round fruit on it. That's the coconut. The coconut strips I sent back before are made by drying the white coconut meat inside the coconut and then cutting it into strips." Ning Tang said.

Ning Weiguo nodded and said, "That thing is delicious." It was crispy when he took a bite, with a fresh scent of coconut meat.

After hearing what Ning Weiguo said, Sun Aiju also looked at the coconut trees on the roadside.

There are mainly pine trees, locust trees and fir trees in Shangang Village, and they are all very tall.

Most of the trees on Hailang Island are coconut palms and fruit trees.

The leaves of the coconut tree are like green feathers, and round coconuts grow densely among the leaves. These coconuts are green when they are not ripe, and the skin turns yellow when they are ripe.

Shen Lie said, "Dad, Mom, you must be thirsty. There's coconut water to drink when you get home."

Sun Aiju asked, "Coconuts? Did you climb the tree and pick them?"

Ning Tang was amused: "No, someone else organized people to climb up and pick the coconuts." She pointed to the coconut trees on the roadside and said, "A coconut tree can produce more than a hundred coconuts a year. After picking them, every household can get a lot. There is a shortage of everything here, except coconuts, fruits and seafood."

As we were talking, we arrived home.

Ning Weiguo opened his mouth in surprise and asked, "Is this the house you live in?"

He was considered a relatively knowledgeable person in the village, but he had never seen a white two-story building like this one. It was just like the Western-style houses where foreigners lived, extremely beautiful and spacious. Compared with this two-story building, the tiled houses that everyone in Shangang Village envied were simply not worth mentioning.

"Yes." Ning Tang said, "This was allocated to Shen Lie by the army, and the ownership still belongs to the army."

Shen Lie went to the yard to get a coconut and said, "Dad, Mom, do you want something sweeter or saltier?"

The green tender coconut is not very ripe and has a bitter taste, but the coconut meat is very tender. The yellow coconut is fully ripe and has a sweet taste. If you drink too much, it tastes like alcohol. The coconut meat is older than the tender coconut and has a crispy texture.

Sun Aiju said, "A little sweeter?"

Ning Weiguo said, "Then I should be more cautious."

Shen Lie opened two coconuts and gave them to Ning Weiguo and Sun Aiju. They both took a sip and said in surprise, "It tastes quite good."

The coconut water was very sweet and thirst-quenching, and it relieved the thirst of the old couple very well.

Ning Tang and Shen Lie went to the kitchen to cook, while Da Wa, Er Niu and San Wa took Ning Weiguo and Sun Aiju around.

Sun Aiju looked around. The living room was clean and tidy. In one corner there was an oscillating electric fan, blowing cool air. In the other corner there was a dark green washing machine, which looked very fashionable. Under the eaves there was also a string of shell wind chimes hanging, which made clear and pleasant sounds when the wind blew.

Ning Weiguo saw the bookshelf and was surprised, "You bought so many books?"

The eldest child chuckled and said, "My second child, my third child, and I all like reading, so mom and dad bought us a lot of books."

Ning Weiguo smiled and nodded, "Reading more books is a good thing."

The biggest regret in his life is that he didn't go to school for many years and didn't read any books. He can only read more books and learn more knowledge at an early age, which makes him very relieved.

The eldest, second and third daughters took the old couple to visit their room on the second floor. The whole look gave the old couple a very warm feeling.

After touring the room, Ning Tang and Shen Lie finished cooking.

The welcoming banquet was a seafood feast, including steamed lobster, crab with ginger and scallions, blanched prawns, steamed grouper, stir-fried eggplant with beans, and seaweed fish ball soup.

There are five dishes and one soup. Most of the seafood is steamed because it is freshly caught and especially fresh. Steaming can retain the original flavor of the seafood. It only needs to be dipped in a little bit of the special seafood dipping sauce made with chili pepper, citrus fruit, soy sauce, vinegar and other seasonings to be especially delicious.

The steamed lobster was as long as an arm. Ning Tang peeled the lobster meat for Ning Weiguo and Sun Aiju and put it in their bowls. "Try this lobster meat. There are very few of these things for sale because they are difficult to catch. It was a stroke of luck that we were able to buy them today."

Sun Aiju took a bite and found the lobster meat tender and chewy. "Is this shrimp?" It tasted much fresher than any shrimp she had eaten before.

"Yes." Ning Tang said, "But lobsters are much bigger than shrimps."

Although Ningtang often sends seafood back, what is sent back is all dried goods, and the taste is still inferior to fresh seafood.

The old couple was very satisfied with the seafood dinner and almost finished it all.

Sun Aiju and Ning Tang chatted casually, "Last time in the village, didn't you teach those two gossipy women Wang Guizhi and Zhao Chunhua a lesson? After you left, they both held a grudge against you and spread rumors everywhere, saying that you married into a barren place and you would come back crying sooner or later."

Wang Guizhi and Zhao Chunhua were ignorant and thought that Hailang Island was just a remote island with no grass growing on it. If Ning Tang got married there, she would have to live in a thatched hut and drink rainwater. In short, it was as miserable as it could be.

Sun Aiju slapped her thigh and said, "We should really let them come and take a look."

Ning Tang said jokingly, "I'm afraid that if they come, they will cry and make a fuss and won't want to go back."

Yes, there is a two-story building that is more beautiful than the tiled houses in Shangang Village. You can also eat fresh seafood every day for free and at a cheap price. You can feel the coconut breeze and the sea, drink coconut water, and eat pancakes. It is just like a vacation.

After dinner, Ning Weiguo and Sun Aiju went to the guest room to rest.

After running around for so many days, the old couple are tired.

The next day, at nine o'clock in the morning.

When Ning Weiguo and Sun Aiju opened their eyes, they saw Da Wa and the other two standing at the head of the bed.

The eldest and third child shouted, "Grandma, I'll take you to see the sea."

Ning Weiguo smiled and said, "Grandma has seen a lot of them."

He had seen it when he was on the boat. The beautiful sea view was much more magnificent than the small river in Shangang Village, and he was reluctant to leave.

The eldest child came forward and pulled Ning Weiguo to his side, saying coquettishly, "Then grandma will accompany us to the beach. I will take you to catch razor clams and small crabs."

"Okay, okay." Ning Weiguo responded with a smile in his eyes.

The third child said, "Grandma, we can go swimming. I can swim very fast. I'll show you how fast I swim."

Ning Weiguo stood up and said with a smile, "Wait, after I finish washing up, we'll go to the beach to swim, catch clams, and crabs."

"Great." The eldest and third child jumped up happily.

Erniu puffed up her cheeks and said to Sun Aiju coquettishly, "Grandma, you are a bed-sitter."

Sun Aiju smiled and said, "Grandma, I'll braid your hair right now. How about we braid your hair like a centipede today?"

"Okay." Erniu's face suddenly turned from cloudy to sunny.

Shen Lie was cooking in the kitchen when he saw the three little kids dragging Ning Weiguo and Sun Aiju downstairs. He frowned and said, "Why don't you let grandma and grandpa sleep a little longer?"

Ning Weiguo said in a low voice, "Don't blame them, it's all our fault for getting up late." He smiled and teased the little one, "Grandma is a big lazy bug, right?"

"Hahaha." The three little ones burst into laughter.

Sun Aiju took a red hairband and braided Erniu's hair. Then she saw Ningtang sitting on a recliner in the yard. "Come here and learn from her so that you can braid Erniu's hair in the future."

As soon as her mother arrived, she began to order her around. Ning Tang sighed, "I'm coming right now."

Sun Aiju straightened Erniu's hair and said, "Look, our Erniu's hair is so nice, so black."

As he spoke, he separated a strand of Erniu's hair on the left side, and then divided it into three strands, adding a strand of hair each time he braided it. After a while, a beautiful centipede braid was ready, which made Erniu's little face even more adorable.

Erniu looked at herself in the mirror, left and right, and was very happy.

After lunch and a nap, in the evening, Ning Weiguo and Shen Lie took the eldest, second and third kids to the beach to play, carrying small buckets and shovels.

The sea at dusk is another kind of beautiful scenery, just like the sea that the old couple saw when they came.

Ning Weiguo looked at the majestic and sparkling sea. For some reason, the depression in his heart quietly disappeared a lot.

The eldest child went up to Ning Weiguo and held his hand, "Grandma, let's go catch crabs."

Ning Weiguo smiled and said, "How about catching a big crab and bringing it back to make crab porridge?"

The eldest child said in a crisp voice, "Okay."

Ning Tang and Sun Aiju did not go to the beach but stayed at home.

Ning Tang cut the fruit and placed it on the small round table in the yard. He and Sun Aiju lay on a recliner, one on each side.

Sun Aiju picked up a piece of orange and said, "You are living a really comfortable life." She enjoyed the fruit.

Ning Tang also ate a piece of pineapple soaked in salt water. "That's it." She looked at Sun Aiju. "Tell me, Mom, why did you and Dad suddenly say that you wanted to come to the island to see us? Did something happen at home?"

Sun Aiju paused and asked, "Did you see it?"

Ning Tang pointed at his own eyes and said, "I'm not blind."

After the old couple came, they didn't talk much most of the time except when they were smiling at the eldest child.

Ning Weiguo often hid in the yard and smoked his own rolled cigarettes, one after another.

Sun Aiju sighed, "This matter has to start from the time when your father resigned as the village chief. He has grown older in the past two years and feels a little "incapable", so he discussed with the villagers and decided to step down and promote a capable young man to take over his position."

Ning Tang nodded, "Isn't this good?"

She had long wanted to stop wanting Ning Weiguo to continue doing this job. Although he was the village chief and the head of the whole village, he was actually just like a village nanny, with so many things to worry about, including all the trivial matters. If an egg was lost in someone's home today, she would look for him; if someone stole a widow tomorrow, she would look for him. If he handled it well, no one would praise him, but if he handled it poorly, he would be in trouble.

It's a thankless task.

Sun Aiju also thought it was good, but Ning Weiguo was not worried about this. He had wanted to resign as village chief for a long time. What worried him was that "after your father resigned as village chief, your second uncle threatened to split the family."

"He's asking for a split?" Ning Tang's brows were knitted. "It's good enough that my dad doesn't ask for a split. With the kind of person he is, how can he still have the nerve to do that?"

The situation of the Ning family was rather complicated. Logically, when the two brothers Ning Weiguo and Ning Weidang grew up and got married, they should have separated. However, Ning Tang's grandparents passed away early and left a will, asking Ning Weiguo, the eldest brother, to take good care of Ning Weidang, the younger brother.

Ning Weiguo was very promising at a young age and could earn full work points. He was the first person that was thought of when there was work to be done in the village. However, Ning Weidang was a half-baked member who could not be helped. The young man in his teens and almost 20 years old was like a child picking wheat ears, earning only one or two work points a day.

Later he married a wife, Zhou Yin, who was also a lover of food and a lazy person.

Ning Weiguo thought that if the family split up, the couple would starve to death if they went out, and besides, they were the only two brothers left in their branch, so they should support each other, so he never mentioned the matter and often subsidized Ning Weidang.

He didn't even mention it, let alone the Ning Wei party couple. For so many years, they have been shamelessly living under the protection of Ning Weiguo.

With Ning Weiguo, their brother who was the village chief, taking care of them, Ning Weidang and Zhou Yin were able to get some easy jobs with high work points, such as feeding pigs and cutting pig grass. They also ate together at home. Ning Weiguo mostly paid for the food, and Ning Jun often sent money and things back. A considerable portion of it must have gone into the mouths of Ning Weidang and Zhou Yin, which meant that Ning Weiguo was supporting the two of them.

That is why Ning Tang said that Ning Wei, a party like that, still had the nerve to make trouble for separation, but it would be good if Ning Wei, the country, did not make trouble.

Ning Tang asked: "What's the reason?"

"Your second uncle said that the two brothers are both older, and the children at home have grown up, so it would not look good if the family did not split up, so he asked the elders to organize the division of the family." Sun Aiju said.

"Why didn't he say this when he was young?" So he has become more powerful now, right?

Now that the family is divided, all the stuff in the house has to be divided in half, or at least 30% to 70%.

If we split up, would you rather stay together as a couple? You can earn a lot.

Ning Tang said, "I'm your father, I agreed immediately." As for such a ruthless couple, she would kick them out without any delay, even if they were given some money, so as not to have to stand in front of her and feel upset.

Sun Aiju thought the same way. She was annoyed with Zhou Yin. When Ningtang was still at home, Zhou Yin, the second aunt, always made fun of Ningtang and criticized her for what she thought was not her nose or eyes. Whenever she got the chance, she would say something bad about Ningtang.

It was as if by suppressing Ning Tang, Ning Xue would become superior.

Half of Ning Tang's reputation of being a glutton but lazy was spread by this good aunt.

Ning Tang thought for a moment and said, "Second Uncle probably thinks that if Dad stops being the village chief, there won't be much benefit for him and Second Aunt. Plus, Ning Xue and De Zi are both grown up. Ning Xue married a military officer, and De Zi is also getting married. They don't have much to ask of Dad, and they want to be the masters of the family themselves, so they proposed to separate the family."

In the past, Ning was the head of the country, and as soon as he gave him a look, Ning as the party dared not say a word.

Now that Ning Weiguo is no longer the village chief, he wants to take charge.

Sun Aiju sighed, "But your father can't get over this. He feels that his brother, whom he personally raised and who usually seems to be quite honest, suddenly wants to separate from the family, and moreover, he has been gone for most of his life, and he didn't mention it earlier or later, but he brought it up as soon as he stopped being the village chief. It seems a bit hard to get over it, and he is being too picky."

That’s why I came to Hailang Island to relax.

At half past six, Shen Lie and Ning Weiguo planned to take their three children back home.

On the way back, I happened to meet Su Guangzong and Su Yaozu.

When the twins saw Ning Weiguo, they were a little surprised. They looked at each other and turned around and ran away without calling for help.

Ning Weiguo put down his raised hand awkwardly and asked Shen Lie: "Are these two children Guangzong and Yaozu? Am I remembering correctly?"

Shen Lie was also embarrassed, and tried to make amends for the twins, "They are probably shy."

When they got home, Ning Tang asked, "How was your harvest today?"

The eldest child happily shook the bucket and said, "We caught a lot of small crabs."

Ning Weiguo smiled and shook his head, "I thought I could catch a big crab that's about the size of my palm, but there were only small crabs on the beach that were about the size of my thumb, not even big enough to fill my teeth, so I decided not to make crab porridge."

Shen Lie said, "For big crabs, such as swimming crabs, fishermen have to go to the sea with fishing boats and cast nets to catch them. There are only these newly born small transparent crabs on the beach. Or when the tide rises in the middle of the night, there are also larger crabs that will crawl from the sea to the beach. But compared with the crabs caught from the sea, they are still a little smaller."

Sun Aiju took the bucket from Da Wa and looked down. The crabs in the bucket were waving their claws and blowing bubbles. "It's okay. We don't need to make crab porridge. They're just as delicious if we fry them."

For several days, Shen Lie, Ning Tang and their three children took the old couple to the beach and the back mountain, played all over Hailang Island, and tried all the seasonal fruits and specialties of Hailang Island.

Seeing Ning Weiguo and Sun Aiju smiling more and more, Ning Tang finally breathed a sigh of relief.

August 13th, morning.

At the port of Hailang Island, a man and a woman got off the boat. The man was very tall and thin, while the woman was short and fat, with a small bag on her hand. They looked very mismatched, like a skinny bamboo pole and a round winter melon walking together.

Liang Dong frowned as he walked, "Did we go to the wrong island? I remember Hailang Island wasn't like this before."