"It shouldn't be. Didn't you hear the boatman say that this is Hailang Island?" Bai Xiaofen looked around. "But this place has indeed changed a lot compared to before."
Hailang Island in the past was not like it is now. Coconut trees and fruit trees were only planted on a large scale in recent years.
Looking at the coconuts on the coconut trees, the yellow mangoes on the mango trees, and the green and yellow oranges on the orange trees, Bai Xiaofen felt greedy and couldn't help saying, "Let's pick some of these fruits and take them with us when we go back."
Liang Dong said in a low voice, "Of course you can, but don't forget why we are here. Don't lose the big picture because of the small one."
Bai Xiaofen pouted indifferently, "It's just asking for money. If we can ask for it the first time, we can ask for it the second time." She asked, "Do you think Shen Lie will agree if we ask for 500 yuan this time? He scolded us both in the letter."
"This? You just don't understand. If Shen Lie didn't care about our family's relatives, he wouldn't even reply to our letters and would scold us. How can we continue our relationship? No matter what, we are his children's uncles and aunts, or even grandparents. We are related by blood, and it is impossible for him to deny us, unless he wants his children to be stabbed in the back." Liang Dong said.
He smiled slyly, "Do you know why I want 500 yuan instead of 200 yuan like last time?"
Bai Xiaofen shook her head, "I don't know."
"Stupid." Liang Dong glanced at her. "Shen Lie is a battalion commander. He must have made a lot of money in the past few years, but he has to raise three children. Five hundred yuan is definitely not something he can afford. I asked for five hundred yuan just to give him some room to bargain."
"I asked for 500 yuan, and he would definitely say he didn't have it, and that he could only give me 200 yuan like the last funeral. I said no, it must be 500 yuan, and then he would say he would compromise and give me 300 yuan, and he couldn't give me more than that." Liang Dong chuckled twice, "This way I can get 300 yuan for free, which is 100 yuan more than last time."
"Boss, you are so smart." Bai Xiaofen gave Liang Dong a thumbs up and said flatteringly, "With you here, our family will prosper."
"What's the point of prosperity?" Liang Dong sighed, "If it weren't for our Ruijie's failure, why would we have given up this? Two old faces come to ask for money."
Bai Xiaofen doesn't think so. "Ruijie is a late bloomer. Sooner or later, we will have the chance to enjoy happiness together."
Liang Dong's expectations for his only son were no less than Bai Xiaofen's. He hummed and said, "The son of the fat lady in our yard is in night school. I heard that after graduation, he can get a high school diploma and work in the factory directly. Working in an office is much easier than being a porter. When we get paid, we will send Ruijie to night school."
Bai Xiaofen nodded repeatedly, "I'll listen to you and let Ruijie go to night school. Our Ruijie is the material for being a high school student and working in an office."
The couple has already begun to imagine the wonderful life after getting the money.
After walking for a while, the two found something wrong.
Bai Xiaofen asked, "Boss, have we seen this coconut tree before?"
A barely perceptible embarrassment flashed across Liang Dong's face. "Nonsense, don't all coconut trees look the same?"
Bai Xiaofen nodded, "You are right."
After walking for about another hour, we returned to the same place.
Bai Xiaofen wondered, "No, I have really seen this coconut tree. Look, other coconut trees grow vertically, but this one is curved, just like, just like..." She didn't have much knowledge, and after a long time she finally came up with an adjective, "Just like the handle of an enamel pot."
After Bai Xiaofen's reminder, Liang Dong also realized that something was wrong and frowned, "How should I know? Didn't you lead the way?"
Bai Xiaofen was dumbfounded: "I thought you were the one who led the way."
It turned out that neither of the couple knew the way, so they just walked around aimlessly.
Liang Dong chuckled, "I thought you knew the way. Didn't we go here together last time?"
"Yes, I've been here before, but I forgot about it. It's been a few years." Bai Xiaofen said awkwardly, "Besides, the roads here are all the same, and the coconut trees are the same. Except for the bent one just now, I didn't notice any difference in the others, so I took the wrong path."
"Forget it." Liang Dong said, "We are not without mouths. Why don't we just ask someone for directions?"
The couple squatted on the roadside for a while under the scorching sun before they saw a little soldier in a blue and white navy uniform.
Liang Dong smiled and said, "Comrade, may I ask if there is a battalion commander named Shen Lie on your island? Where does he live?"
"Shen Lie? Battalion Commander?" The young soldier frowned, "We don't have a battalion commander named Shen Lie here, but a regiment commander named Shen Lie."
"Team leader?!" Bai Xiaofen covered her mouth in surprise and exchanged glances with Liang Dong. Both saw surprise in each other's eyes. "Shen Lie has been promoted to team leader?"
Liang Dong's eyes flashed with greed. He approached Bai Xiaofen and whispered, "Let's ask for more this time. Three hundred is not enough. We need at least four hundred. No, five hundred!"
The young warrior frowned and looked Liang Dong and Bai Xiaofen up and down. Liang Dong was tall and thin, with a mustache, while Bai Xiaofen was fat, with thin lips and a pair of triangular eyes. They looked difficult to get along with.
Moreover, he always felt that these two people were a bit creepy and didn't seem like good people.
Thinking of the official document issued by the army to alert the spies on the other side, the young soldier's face suddenly turned pale. He put his hands on his chest and took a defensive posture. "What are your names, where are you from, and what do you want to see Captain Shen? Or Captain Shen? What do you want?"
Bai Xiaofen smiled awkwardly and said, "Little comrade, we are going to see Captain Shen you mentioned. We have something very important to tell you." She nudged Liang Dong with her elbow and said, "Boss, what do you think?"
"Yes, yes." Liang Dong said repeatedly, "We are Shen Lie's relatives."
"Relatives?" The young soldier became even more suspicious. "Are you relatives of Captain Shen's family?" He muttered, "If you are a relative, how come you don't know that he is the captain? You thought he was the battalion commander? You are not pretending to be him."
"Little comrade, you misunderstood. We are really Shen Lie's relatives." Bai Xiaofen said anxiously, "We, we are the grandparents of his child."
Liang Dong stepped forward and added, "They are his father-in-law and mother-in-law."
"Father-in-law and mother-in-law?" The young soldier was stunned and asked curiously, "You said you are Captain Shen's father-in-law and mother-in-law?"
However, Captain Shen's father-in-law and mother-in-law came at the end of July. Captain Shen, his wife and their three children took the old couple around the island every day.
The young warrior had seen the old couple several times, and they definitely did not have the same face or similar body shape as the two people in front of him.
He was now almost certain that Liang Dong and Bai Xiaofen were two liars. They must have heard from somewhere that Captain Shen's father-in-law and mother-in-law were coming to the island to visit relatives, so they wanted to take advantage of the time difference and come here to deceive people.
So he stepped forward and said, "Captain Shen's father-in-law and mother-in-law are staying at Captain Shen's house now. Are you two liars going to leave? If not, I will call someone to arrest you."
Bai Xiaofen was anxious, "We are really not liars, we are Shen Lie's father-in-law and mother-in-law, they are liars, young comrade, you should understand clearly, you are the ones who have been deceived."
Seeing that she didn't look like she was pretending, the young warrior hesitated and said, "You said you are Captain Shen's father-in-law and mother-in-law. What evidence do you have?"
Liang Dong and Bai Xiaofen were dumbfounded. They hadn't been in touch for several years, so how could there be any evidence?
Bai Xiaofen suddenly had an idea. "Oh, right, I have a letter. It's from Shen Lie."
As she spoke, she took out the small shoulder bag she carried with her, preparing to show the little warrior the letter in which Shen Lie scolded them both, to prove that they really knew Shen Lie.
Liang Dong quickly stopped her and whispered, "You are so silly! If we show him the letter, will he still let us find Shen Lie?"
After thinking about it, Bai Xiaofen withdrew her hand awkwardly, "Then, comrade, how do we prove that we know Shen Lie?"
The little warrior scratched his head and thought of an idea, "Well, you two can tell me what the names of Captain Shen's three children are."
As soon as he finished speaking, the young warrior gave himself a thumbs up. This was a good idea. The two 'liars' in front of him definitely didn't know about it, so now he could expose them.
As expected, Liang Dong and Bai Xiaofen were stunned and winked at each other.
Liang Dong asked, "Do you remember your name?"
Bai Xiaofen said, "How could I remember? I even forgot what they looked like."
She scratched her head and thought for a long time before finally remembering it. She clapped her hands and said, "Oh, I remember their nicknames. Their nicknames are... Big Baby, Second Baby, and Third Baby!"
The nickname was easy to remember. Bai Xiaofen thought about it for a while and then she remembered it.
When she first heard that Shen Lie gave his three children these nicknames, she complained that Shen Lie was casual and uncultured.
The eldest and the third child are facing each other. These two naughty boys are running wild on the island every day. I wonder how many people they have.
The young warrior frowned and said, "Captain Shen, the second child in your family is a girl."
Liang Dong also had an idea, "Call...Call Erniu!"
He remembered that Shen Lie and Liang Ying had three children, two sons and a concubine, named Da Wa, Er Niu and San Wa respectively!
Hey, that's right.
Now the little warrior is not sure. Could it be that the 'father-in-law and mother-in-law' who are now at Captain Shen's house are liars?
But if you think about it carefully, it doesn't make sense. If it was fake, Captain Shen's lover would definitely not be able to recognize it.
The young warrior had been assigned to Hailang Island for less than a year and had no idea that Shen Lie had a deceased wife.
Looking at how close Da Wa, Er Niu, San Wa are to Ning Tang, they don't seem to be his biological children.
This completely confused the little warrior. He gritted his teeth and stamped his feet, "You two, follow me."
Whether it is true or not, just let Captain Shen find out.
The young warrior took Liang Dong and Bai Xiaofen to the military compound and explained the situation to the guard at the gate, who then let the young warrior take them in.
Shen Family
Sun Aiju was listening to Erniu singing to her.
Erniu said in a crisp voice, "Grandma, let me sing you a new song I learned, "A Small Town Story."
Sun Aiju said with a smile, "Okay, if you sing well, grandma will knit you a small flower hat."
"What is a little flower hat?" Erniu asked, tilting her head.
"It's a woolen hat with small flowers sewn on it. I'll knit you a woolen hat with yellow yarn and sew a small pink flower on it, okay?" Sun Aiju said, nodding to herself, "It will definitely look good on our second daughter."
Erniu jumped up with joy, "I want a little flower hat, I want a little flower hat."
Sun Aiju smiled and said, "Then sing the song "A Small Town Story" that you just learned to me, and I will knit you a small flower hat."
Erniu cleared her throat and began to sing. Her clear childish voice was like a lark, "This small town has many stories, full of joy and——"
The word "乐" (joy) had not even been sung when it was interrupted by a sudden visitor.
The Shen family does not close the door during the day, so the little warrior led Liang Dong and Bai Xiaofen directly into the house. When he saw Erniu, he asked, "Erniu, is Captain Shen home?"
Before Erniu could reply, Bai Xiaofen, who was standing behind the little warrior, covered her mouth in shock and said, "Is this Erniu?!"
Is this still the Erniu in her impression?
Bai Xiaofen narrowed her eyes slightly, her gaze like a knife, scanning Erniu's body inch by inch.
She was not completely without impression of the three children of the Shen family.
Even if she couldn't remember it at first, the journey was enough for her to recall many memories.
The 'Erniu' in her memory was still a short, skinny little girl. Whenever someone looked at her, she would shrink behind Da Wa vigilantly like a wounded beast, revealing only a pair of big black eyes hidden in her withered yellow hair.
The second girl in front of her, although her skin was not very white, had a healthy rosy complexion, chubby cheeks, and her dark and smooth hair was tied into a beautiful little braid that she couldn't name. She was also wearing a beautiful little skirt. Except for the pair of big dark eyes that were exactly the same as in her memory, they were almost two different people.
Now Erniu, in Shanghai dialect, is very smart.
Liang Dong just glanced at Erniu and then focused his attention on the home appliances that filled the room.
——After all, she is just a girl.
He greedily glanced at the oscillating electric fan in the corner and the stylish dark green washing machine.
He has very sharp eyes and can even spot a women's bicycle parked in the yard.
Liang Dong secretly sighed in his heart, this thing is not cheap, the price is almost the same as that of a 28-inch bicycle.
The 28-inch bicycle is the dream of many workers.
Looking again, the radio worth tens or even hundreds of dollars was just casually placed on the table, without any fear that it would be taken away by passers-by.
Liang Dong's pupils shrank slightly. It seems that Shen Lie has made a lot of money in the past few years and is living a very comfortable life!
Erniu looked at the "strangers" who had "broken into" their home in surprise, and tilted her head to ask the little warrior, "Uncle Lin, who are they?"
The young warrior didn't know how to explain it either, and touched the back of his head awkwardly, "He, they said they were Captain Shen's father-in-law and mother-in-law." He quickly glanced at Sun Aiju and added, "They said they were real father-in-law and mother-in-law."
Da Hu ran downstairs and said, "What's real or fake? Are you telling the story of the real and fake Monkey King? I want to listen."
At the beginning of June, Ning Tang went to the Xinhua Bookstore in Jiang City and bought a few storybooks. Big Boy pestered Ning Tang and Shen Lie every day to ask them to tell him stories. After they finished, he went to recite the stories to his group of friends. As a result, his group of friends gathered around Big Boy every day just to listen to stories.
Da Hu came to see Dawa today, also to listen to stories.
Liang Dong saw Dahu running down from the upstairs, and judging from his height, he was older than Erniu. He thought that this must be Da Wa, and quickly winked at Bai Xiaofen.
Bai Xiaofen immediately understood, forced a friendly smile on her face, and walked forward and said, "Big boy, long time no see, I missed grandma so much."
She wanted to go up and hug Dahu, but Dahu turned around and quickly dodged her, asking vigilantly, "Who are you?" Could you be a human trafficker?
Bai Xiaofen grumbled and pointed at herself, "Who am I? I'm your grandma." Then she pointed at Liang Dong, "This is your grandpa. Remember, you loved us when you were little?"
Liang Dong came up and answered with a smile, "Yes, when you were little, you pestered me every day to hold you and buy you candies."
Da Hu was confused, "You are my grandparents? But my grandparents are in Xiaofeng Village." He raised his eyebrows and said, "Also, I'm not Da Wa, my name is Da Hu."
What's that Da Wa and Da Hu? Bai Xiaofen frowned. Did he change his name again?
She stepped forward and tried to pull Da Hu, "Okay, okay, you call me Da Hu, we are your grandparents, remember, I am your real grandma." She pointed at Liang Dong and said, "This is your real grandpa."
"Tsk." A chuckle suddenly came from the door.
Liang Dong and Bai Xiaofen turned around in surprise and saw a chubby little boy standing at the door. The laughter came from him.
Bai Xiaofen glared at him and said, "Whose child are you from? Why are you so rude? We are talking to adults, why are you laughing?"
Da Wa's smile did not reach his eyes. "I am laughing at you for not being able to tell the difference between me and Da Hu. Actually, I am Da Wa, my dear grandpa and grandma." He emphasized the last six words.
"Are you the eldest child?" Liang Dong asked in surprise.
He was startled and looked at Da Wa's features carefully. The more he looked, the more familiar he felt. He repeated again, "You are Da Wa!" This time it was an affirmative sentence.
Bai Xiaofen was also startled and pointed at Dahu and asked, "Then who are you?"
Da Hu curled his lips and said, "I've told you several times, I'm Da Hu."
He put his arm around Da Wa's shoulders and chuckled, "Da Wa's good buddy."
The eldest boy grabbed his shoulders with his backhand, and the two of them punched each other with their little fists, laughing at the same time.
Ning Tang patted the two children who were blocking the door and said, "Alright, go play on the side and stop blocking the way at the door."
The eldest child puffed up his cheeks and said, "I know, Mom."
"Mom?" Bai Xiaofen pointed her index finger at Ning Tang, her fingertips trembling slightly, "You call this woman mom?"
Da Wa is weird. If he doesn’t call Ning Tang “Mom”, then what does he call her?
Shen Lie stepped in later and saw Liang Dong and Bai Xiaofen standing in the room. He was so shocked that his face dropped.
Liang Dong and Bai Xiaofen didn’t know Ning Tang, but they knew Shen Lie!
Liang Dong pulled a chair, sat down, and crossed his legs. "Shen Lie, explain to us why Da Wa calls this woman "Mom."
Erniu was unhappy, "Speak with more respect, don't keep calling this woman this woman."
Liang Dong glared at Erniu and said, "What does a little girl like you have to do with this? Go and play somewhere else."
Everyone in the Liang family favors boys over girls and looks down on girls. They treat their biological son Liang Ruijie as a treasure, while the adopted daughter of eldest brother Liang Dong, Liang Ying, who is also the biological mother of Da Wa and the other two, is treated as a nanny and maid.
Influenced by her surroundings, Liang Ying also looked down on girls and treated Erniu very harshly.
Liang Dong's ferocious look scared Erniu. In her vague memory, there was once a woman like this, who would yell at her or ignore her at any time.
She subconsciously hid behind Ning Tang. Ning Tang patted Erniu soothingly and glared at Liang Dong, "If you glare at me again, I'll dig your eyeballs out."
Liang Dong was dumbfounded. How could there be such a woman? "You are a person with no manners."
Upon hearing this, Sun Aiju immediately stood up and rolled up her sleeves, "Say it again if you dare."
Ning Tang curled her lips, "Only when dealing with people do you need to be well-mannered." She glanced up and down at Liang Dong and Bai Xiaofen, "With dogs, you don't need to be well-mannered."
Bai Xiaofen looked at Shen Lie suddenly, "Shen Lie, tell me, are you going to let your second-married wife bring people home to bully your late wife's parents?"
No matter how stupid she and Liang Dong were, they could tell that the young and beautiful woman in front of them was Shen Lie's second wife.
Then I thought of what the little soldier in the navy uniform had said just now, 'Captain Shen's father-in-law and mother-in-law are staying well at Captain Shen's home now.'
The identity of the woman who had just made them want to say it again was about to be revealed.
Shen Lie sat down expressionlessly, "Speak, what do you want me to say? I don't want to say a word to my late wife's parents who can't even tell the difference between the child she left behind."
He really didn't expect that even though he had cursed them so harshly in the letter, Liang Dong and Bai Xiaofen would still have the nerve to come to his door.
——It seems that the scolding was not light enough.
Unconsciously, they had watched a huge commotion, and the little warrior who was leading the way was dumbfounded. It seemed that he had gotten into a big disaster!
He quickly saluted Shen Lie and said, "Captain Shen, I'm leaving first." He then quickly added, "Don't worry, I will never tell anyone about what happened today."
Shen Lie didn't say a word, he just ran away, running faster than a rabbit.
Seeing that she couldn't impress Shen Lie, Bai Xiaofen turned her attention to Da Wa, "Dawa, don't be fooled by that woman. Your grandfather and I are your blood relatives. We are the ones who really treat you well."
Da Wa said with a playful smile, "Hey, what did you call me? I'm not Da Wa, I'm Da Hu."
He winked at Da Hu, who immediately understood and pointed at himself, "I am the eldest child. I am the eldest child."
Seeing the eldest boy's stubborn look, Bai Xiaofen almost fainted.
Ning Weiguo took Sanwa to the supply and marketing cooperative to buy candy. When the old and the young came back, they saw two unfamiliar people in the house.
Sanwa looked up and asked Shen Lie, "Dad, are there any guests at home?"
What guests! They are his grandparents!
Liang Dong suppressed his temper and tried to put on a friendly smile, but he didn't know that his half-smile look would scare the children more easily. He waved at Sanwa and said, "You are Sanwa, right? Sanwa, we are your real grandparents." He thought about it and added, "Your biological mother's father and mother."
Bai Xiaofen hurriedly asked, "You know you have a biological mother, right?" Before Sanwa could reply, she made a decisive statement, "You definitely didn't know. You were still young at the time." Pointing at Ning Tang, she said, "This woman lied to you. She lied to you that she was your biological mother. In fact, she is your stepmother. You are not her biological child."
Sanwa raised his little face and blinked, "I know."
Of course he knew that Ning Tang had never stopped the three of them from knowing about their biological mother.
Every year during the Qingming Festival, Shen Lie and Ning Tang would take the three children to the back mountain to sweep the graves of Shen Lie's parents and Liang Ying.
Even Sanwa can write his biological mother's name 'Liang Ying', and it was Ningtang who taught him how to do it stroke by stroke.