Liang Dong was surprised, "You knew? You knew? And you still acknowledged the thief as your mother?"

What does it mean to take a thief as your mother? Although he didn't understand the meaning of this idiom, the word "thief" made Sanwa frown and pulled Ning Weiguo's hand, "Grandma, I don't like them."

Liang Dong was so angry that his nose twisted. He pointed at Ning Weiguo and said, "You call him grandma? Then what am I?"

People in the north usually call them grandma and grandma, while people in the south call them grandpa and grandma.

Strictly speaking, Liang Dong, the uncle who adopted Sanwa's biological mother, is nominally his grandfather, or grandmother.

"You are a stranger." Sanwa said crisply. He tilted his head and looked at Liang Dong's face carefully, making sure he had never seen him before. "Yes, a stranger."

Liang Dong was almost angry to death. The eldest and third kids were very stubborn, and the second girl was just a girl, so he didn't want to bother with her.

The original plan to play the emotional card and ask Shen Lie to give them some money for the sake of the three children seems to have failed.

Bai Xiaofen took a deep breath and looked at Shen Lie, "Are you really going to sever ties with us and let the eldest, second, and third children recognize this woman as their mother and the two old ones as their grandparents?"

Shen Lie said expressionlessly, "Then you think too highly of me. I can't influence the decision of the three kids. I have to ask them whether they recognize you or not."

Upon hearing this, Bai Xiaofen forced a smile and looked at the three little ones, "Big Boy, Second Girl, Third Boy, I am your grandmother. We are related by blood, and blood is thicker than water."

Seeing that the three kids were still indifferent, Liang Dong rolled his eyes. Since he couldn't elevate himself, he would put others down. He pointed at Ning Weiguo and Sun Aiju and said, "They have no blood relationship with you at all, so how can they really love you? They are being nice to you now, but it's all fake, just sugar-coated bullets. We are your real relatives."

Ning Tang clenched his fists tightly, really wanting to kick these two shameless people out.

If possible, she really didn't want her eldest son and the other three to face these two hateful and hypocritical relatives at such a young age.

Tear off their hypocritical mask of family affection and you will see a face of shameless greed underneath.

She took a deep breath, suppressing her anger, "You said you were the grandparents of Da Wa and his three children. So, may I ask you two, have you ever visited them once in all these years?"

Liang Dong said embarrassedly, "We? We? It's not that we don't have time."

"No time?" Ning Tang said, "Oh, even if you have to work, you must have time during holidays, right? Let me count, how many holidays are there in a year, Spring Festival, Lantern Festival, Tomb-Sweeping Day, May Day Labor Day..."

The eldest child replied, "National Day."

As if competing with the eldest child, Erniu and Sanwa named two festivals in succession, "Mid-Autumn Festival, Dragon Boat Festival."

They? Every time they mentioned a festival, Liang Dong and Bai Xiaofen lowered their heads a little.

"I can't count them all, and this is for a year." Ning Tang said, "It only takes three days to get here from Shanghai by train. I'll count it as seven days for you to go back and forth. Aren't you my grandparents? You can't spare seven days?"

Liang Dong and Bai Xiaofen were unable to utter a word, and a blush flashed across their faces.

Ning Tang said again, "Okay, I assume you guys are busy with work and don't have time. If you really can't spare any time, then you should at least send me a letter, right?"

She took out the letters from Liang Dong and Bai Xiaofen from the cabinet and threw them on the table. "After so many years, they only sent this one letter. The letter didn't ask anything about Da Wa and the other two. Didn't ask if they've grown taller, didn't ask how their grades are, didn't ask if they're eating well, or if they have enough money. The whole letter just asks for money, money, and money."

She sneered, "Is this what they call a grandpa or a grandma, blood is thicker than water?"

Ning Tang suddenly thought of a possibility, "You guys, don't you know what grade the eldest, second, and third children are in now?"

Seeing Liang Dong and Bai Xiaofen looking embarrassed, she was about to curse in her heart, but then she took a deep breath and told herself not to get angry and not to argue with them. "The eldest is in the sixth grade this year and will go to junior high school next year. The second girl is in the fifth grade this year, and the third girl is in the third grade this year. Do you remember that?" The last four words were pronounced with each one more stressed than the last.

Bai Xiaofen muttered indifferently, "What grade you are in has nothing to do with us."

They didn't even know what grade Liang Ying was in elementary school, so how could they possibly remember Da Wa and the others now?

Ning Weiguo was furious. "It's none of your business? You don't even know how old your grandchildren are, or what grade they are in. Are you still human?"

Liang Dong curled his lips, "What does this have to do with you, fake?"

Scolding Ning for being a traitor to the country was definitely a poke in Ning Tang's sore spot. "You said my parents were fakes, then may I ask, what have you two real ones done for Da Wa, Er Niu, and San Wa over the years?"

Liang Dong opened his mouth slightly, his lips moved a few times, but he couldn't utter a word and his mind went blank.

Seeing him like that, Ning Tang smiled and patted the three children, "You go and tell him."

The eldest child said, "Grandma and grandpa give us New Year's money and red envelopes every year, write to us, and send us delicious food."

Even if they couldn't come to Hailang Island, or Ning Tang and Shen Lie couldn't bring the three little ones back to Shangang Village to celebrate the New Year due to troop arrangements, Ning Weiguo and Sun Aiju would always send red envelopes every year.

Erniu said in a crisp voice, "Grandma can braid my hair and weave a small flower hat for me." She blinked her big eyes and looked at Bai Xiaofen, "Fake grandma, can you braid my hair and weave a small flower hat?"

Without waiting for Bai Xiaofen to answer, Erniu shook her head, "You don't know. You don't even know what grade I'm in."

Sun Aiju had been in Hailang Island for less than half a month, but she had already knitted a pair of woolen gloves and two pairs of woolen socks for Da Wa and the other two. Otherwise, it was Ning Tang who insisted, saying that the winter in Hailang Island was not that cold, and she would also prepare cotton shoes and sweaters for the three little ones.

Bai Xiaofen said hesitantly, "Even if I have never braided your hair or knitted a woolen hat for you, I am still your blood aunt."

Anyway, when asked what they had done for the three little ones, they couldn't say a single word. But when it came to blood relationship, they had a lot of tricks up their sleeves.

"Tsk." Shen Lie suddenly laughed. It was a sudden laugh, but it was not abrupt at all. He said coldly, "Just tell me, how much do you want this time?"

Since the relationship had already been torn apart, Liang Dong didn't bother to cover it up. He held up four fingers and said, "Four hundred." He quickly added another finger and said, "No, five hundred."

Shen Lie is now the head of the regiment. His length of service increases year by year, and his salary will only increase. The army benefits are getting better year by year. He is also a navy, and he can receive sea subsidies every time he goes to sea. He must have made a lot of money.

Thinking of this, Liang Dong put down his three middle fingers and said, "Five hundred is not enough, let's have six hundred."

Before Shen Lie could say anything, he said, "Don't say you don't have money." He pointed at the washing machine and electric fan in the corner and said, "You don't have money to buy these electrical appliances?"

Bai Xiaofen quickly replied, "If you don't want to pay, you can use these electrical appliances as collateral."

Ruijie is grown up, and it's time for him to get married and start a family. All the girls in the city have to do some charity work. He should bring back the Shen family's washing machine, electric fan, bicycle and radio, and then he can get married!

Ning Tang was almost laughing out of anger. It's true that a horse doesn't know how long its face is, and a cow doesn't know how curvature its horns are.

They? If they are asked to give money, they give money. If they are asked to pay with electrical appliances, they pay with electrical appliances?

These two have such big faces.

Seeing that Shen Lie didn't speak, Liang Dong stared at him closely and added, "My daughter Liang Ying gave birth to three children for you."

Bai Xiaofen continued, "And they have two sons and one daughter. Listen carefully, two sons, two!"

Ning Tang sneered at this, "You guys also said that Liang Ying gave Shen Lie three children. People who don't know would think that it was you two who gave Shen Lie three children."

Bai Xiaofen glared at her. "You have no right to speak, right? You're just a hen laying eggs."

They talked for a while, and there were no other children around, and no baby crying was heard in the room. Bai Xiaofen roughly guessed that Ning Tang probably didn't have any children, and there were only three children in the family: Da Wa, Er Niu, and San Wa.

It is very likely that Shen Lie will only have these three children in his life.

Thinking of this, Liang Dong and Bai Xiaofen felt more confident in asking for money.

Liang Dong said, "Don't waste your words on her." He looked at Shen Lie and said, "For the sake of the child, you have to give us 700 yuan."

In just a short while, another hundred yuan was added, and the total amount increased from six hundred yuan to seven hundred yuan.

"For the sake of the children?" Shen Lie smiled. "Or maybe for the sake of the eldest and the other two, don't even think about going into the house. If I see you on the street, I'll give you three big slaps in the face."

Shen Lie is a tall and strong man, and his words are very intimidating.

The skinny Liang Dong couldn't help but shudder, but for the sake of money, he still mustered up his courage and said, "I swear, this is the last time we'll come to ask for money. For the sake of the children, give us 700 yuan, and I promise that I will never come to you again."

Seven hundred yuan? He didn't even want to give me seven cents.

"You want money, right?" Ning Tang said.

Bai Xiaofen's eyes lit up, "Yes."

"Why should we give it to you?" Ning Tang said, "Don't say you're doing it for the sake of the children. Da Wa and the others won't even acknowledge you."

Bai Xiaofen opened her mouth to retort, but Ning Tang immediately said, "Have you ever bought a piece of clothing or a bag of snacks for the eldest, second, and third children in these few years? If you want to play the family card, fine, but make up for what you owe them for so many years first."

The Liang family was so poor that they had to start a new business. The money for the train tickets to Hailang Island was all borrowed.

Besides, the purpose of their coming here was to ask for money. It was absolutely not in line with Liang Dong and Bai Xiaofen's style to take a cut of the money before getting it.

Bai Xiaofen turned her head away. Ning Tang was good at talking. She said no and was ready to pry Shen Lie's wall. "Shen Lie, my daughter gave birth to three children for you. Three children. She died because of giving birth to children for you. Two sons and one daughter. You have to pay 300 yuan for each son, and you don't have to pay more for each daughter. Just 100 yuan, a total of 700 yuan. Just tell me whether you will give it or not."

Liang Ying died of illness. In the month since she passed away, she looked haggard, with sunken cheeks and wrists as thin as sticks. Three children gathered around her bed, but she ignored any of them and kept muttering about why Liang Dong and Bai Xiaofen hadn't come to see her yet.

Shen Lie sent her one letter after another, but until Liang Ying closed her eyes, she still hadn't waited for her adoptive father and mother, her biological second uncle, and her second aunt to come.

"Give it to me." Shen Lie had no expression on his face, and suddenly he cursed, "Give it to me!"

When Liang Dong and Bai Xiaofen heard Shen Lie say that, a hint of joy flashed across their eyes, but they were frightened by Shen Lie's sudden swearing, and their faces turned pale.

Shen Lie pointed at the ground and said, "You said it yourself, Liang Ying gave birth to three children for me. If she wants money, okay? Let her come up to me and ask for it. Don't even mention 700 yuan. I'll give her 7,000 yuan."

No matter how capable Liang Dong and Bai Xiaofen are, they cannot bring the dead back to life.

Bai Xiaofen said, "You, you are just making up stories!"

"Hehe, didn't you say that Liang Ying risked her life to give birth to three children for me? Then I should give the 700 yuan to her instead of you," Shen Lie said.

Ning Tang nodded, "I will change the 700 yuan into paper money in a few days and burn it for her." He said to Liang Dong and Bai Xiaofen, "If you want money, you can." He pointed to the ground and said, "Go downstairs and ask Liang Ying for it. It's up to her whether she gives it to you or not."

What do you mean by going down to ask Liang Ying for it? Isn't it just cursing them in disguise? Go to hell!

Liang Dong's face turned pale at first, then quickly turned red. He pointed at Ning Tang, unable to utter a word.

Ning Tang snorted. Not to mention that she didn't respect her elders, just looking at what Liang Dong and Bai Xiaofen had done, they were not worthy of being called elders. It would not be an exaggeration to say that they were two scumbags.

Shen Lie glanced at the sky. It was already noon. His stomach was growling with hunger. He didn't have the energy to continue to linger with these two shameless people. He hurriedly said, "You guys, let's go."

Liang Dong and Bai Xiaofen were about to sit on the ground shamelessly when Shen Lie suddenly stood up and said, "If you don't leave, I'll call for help. I'm the head of the regiment now, and the troops have assigned guards."

Liang Dong and Bai Xiaofen had never seen Shen Lie's bodyguard Xiao Zhao, but that didn't stop them from forming an image of a strong young man in their minds.

Bai Xiaofen said stubbornly, "If you don't give us money, we won't recognize Da Wa and his family, and they won't have grandparents anymore."

Shen Lie smiled, "If you don't want to recognize them, then don't recognize them. Don't even mention that you don't want to recognize them. They don't want to recognize you either." He asked the three little ones, "Do you recognize this grandpa and grandma?"

The three kids looked at each other and said in unison, "No." There wasn't even a rise or fall in their tone.

Sanwa also said, "Without grandparents, we have grandma and grandpa."

Liang Dong and Bai Xiaofen, these two blood relatives, never appeared in the early years of Da Wa and his friends' lives. To the three children, they were strangers.

How should they react to strangers, or strangers who don't like them? No reaction at all.

Even if it was revealed that they were only here to ask for money under the guise of recognizing their relationship, the three little ones remained calm.

Because I don't care, I don't pay attention. Because it doesn't matter, I am indifferent.

Erniu snuggled into Sun Aiju's arms. When she saw Sun Aiju looking at her, she tilted her little face up to smile at her, revealing her white teeth.

God gave her grandparents who disliked her and rejected her, but at the same time, he also gave her grandparents who loved and cared for her.

In fact, God is very fair.

Da Wa and the others? Three, but they are the last trump card of Liang Dong and Bai Xiaofen.

Seeing that the last trump card was "encircled", the two of them were at a loss.

Liang Dong used his last trick, "You guys, aren't you afraid that I will ruin the reputation of Da Wa and the other two outside, saying that they are not filial and don't support the elderly."

Ning Tang almost laughed out loud, "You underestimate us, how much is face worth?"

If she really cared about her reputation, she would have just gone to work and given birth to ten or eight children for Shen Lie.

Ning Tang paused, "If you really dare to do this, I will take the paper money I exchanged for the 700 yuan and burn it at the door of your house. Then the neighbors will ask about it, haha."

Shen Lie added, "Let's say you want it. You can raise a concubine and have three children and earn 700 yuan. Oh, more than 700 yuan. Add the money Liang Ying gave you in the past and the 200 yuan you asked for at the funeral, there must be 1500 yuan. When the time comes, let the neighbors judge whether this 1500 yuan is too much for you."

Liang Dong and Bai Xiaofen turned pale. If Shen Lie and Ning Tang really did this, they would lose face as a couple! Or would they have to stay in the yard?

Liang Dong insisted, "You guys, you guys don't dare."

He bet on Shen Lie and Ning Tang's upbringing. They would not be able to burn paper money at other people's doors.

Ning Tang smiled, "I don't dare. Why shouldn't I dare?" She said, "I forgot to tell you that I don't have a job, and I'm not afraid of you reporting it to my workplace. I have plenty of time to waste with you. Seven hundred yuan can buy a lot of paper money. If I can't burn it all in one day, I can burn it for seven days, fifteen days, or a month. It will eventually be finished."

"The whole building will be filled with white smoke, and someone will definitely ask questions." She slapped her lips, "I'm not very careful with my words, so if I say something unpleasant, don't blame me."

Bai Xiaofen was furious. She never thought that there was someone in the world who was more shameless than her. She was so angry that she was shaking and pointed at Ning Tang without saying a word.

Shen Lie said coldly, "If you don't leave, I will really call for help."

He stood up suddenly, which startled Liang Dong and Bai Xiaofen. They quickly stood up, picked up their bags and left.

Ning Tang stood at the door and watched for a while. When he saw that they were no longer on the path, he went into the house and said, "Finally they left."

Shen Lie glanced out the window and sighed, "They left this time, but they are two shameless people. Maybe they will come again next time."

Ning Tang smiled and said, "Come if you want." She said, "I complained that they walked too fast and I didn't use my broom magic."

What she just said to Liang Dong and Bai Xiaofen was the truth, not a single word was false.

She can really do the thing of burning paper money.

Not to mention that Liang Dong and Bai Xiaofen would come back and ask for money again. Maybe Ning Tang would be one step ahead of them and go to their house in advance to burn paper money.

As for whether it would happen? If someone outsider dared to gossip, she would go to that person's house and ask that person to pay the 700 yuan that Liang Dong and Bai Xiaofen wanted.

Liang Dong and Bai Xiaofen walked for a while, and the more they thought about it, the angrier they became.

Bai Xiaofen said, "Are we going to let them go so easily? That's 700 yuan, and we didn't get a penny." We also wasted the money for the round-trip ticket.

Liang Dong snorted coldly, "No? If you are capable, go ask that couple for money, and go and get Da Wa, Er Niu, and San Wa."

Shen Lie and Ning Tang are both more talkative than the other. Da Wa and the other two are simply too talkative to talk to each other.

He refused to even call them grandpa and grandma. No, Da Wa called them once, but it was in a mocking way when he was admitting his mistake to Da Hu.

Bai Xiaofen curled her lips. She was just talking. When it comes to talking skills, even ten of her could not beat Ning Tang.

Liang Dong said, "Now that it has come to this, we both can't return empty-handed."

Bai Xiaofen was stunned: "What do you mean?"

Liang Dong glanced at her and said, "Have you forgotten that when we first arrived at Hailang Island, didn't you say you wanted to pick some coconuts and fruits to bring back? I think this is a good idea."

Fruits are very expensive in Shanghai. Apples cost 50 cents per pound. Oranges and pears are a little cheaper, at around 20 cents, and they are supplied with fruit coupons.

Normally Liang Dong and Bai Xiaofen were reluctant to buy them. Only during the Chinese New Year and other festivals would Bai Xiaofen buy a bag of the cheapest oranges, but all of them went into Liang Ruijie's stomach. The two of them were reluctant to eat even a single bite.

Hailang Island is different because the climate here is good and fruits grow well. Not to mention apples, oranges and pears, even the rare pineapple honey, mango and lychee are worth the money.

Especially the mango trees, which are everywhere.

When Liang Ying was still alive, she sent a lot of fruits to Liang Dong and Bai Xiaofen.

At that time, the Liang family had no shortage of fruit to eat, nor did they have a shortage of fruit to entertain guests, so everyone who came and went was always well-fed.

The two suddenly remembered Liang Ying's kindness, looked at each other, and saw regret in each other's eyes.

Bai Xiaofen said, "Just wait and see. Shen Lie's hard days are still ahead. He married someone like that? A fierce second-married wife, Da Wa and the others? San You? A stepmother with no morals and no ethics. The Shen family will fall into ruin sooner or later."

Liang Dong nodded, agreed with Bai Xiaofen's opinion, and believed it deeply.

The two chatted for a few words and prepared to start picking coconuts.

Compared with other fruits, coconuts are obviously more rare. After all, there are still fruits for sale in Shanghai, but coconuts are extremely rare in Shanghai because of the underdeveloped transportation industry.

Liang Dong had everything planned out. He would pick a bag of fruit, four or five coconuts, and take them back to sell on the black market, saying that they were some kind of fruit from a mysterious island and that he would be able to fetch a high price.

Thinking of this, a hint of greed flashed across his eyes.

The money from selling fruits and coconuts could not only make up for their heartache of not getting 700 yuan, but at least it could help with the money for the train tickets.

August is the season when coconuts ripen.

Liang Dong and Bai Xiaofen stood under the coconut tree, looking up at the golden coconuts hidden among the green coconut leaves. They were moved but in a dilemma.

Bai Xiaofen asked, "Boss, how do we pick these coconuts?"

Liang Dong glared and said, "You ask me, who should I ask? Like this? You help me keep an eye on it and see if anyone comes. I'll climb up and pick the fruits."

"Will it work?" Bai Xiaofen worriedly. After all, these coconut trees didn't look short, and Liang Dong was thin and weak, so how could he climb a tree?

"Stop talking nonsense and hurry up." Liang Dong said, "If you don't hurry up, someone will come."

After saying that, Liang Dong tied his long skirt into a knot, picked a relatively short coconut tree, and climbed up using his hands and feet, with his butt sticking out, in a very unsightly posture.

Bai Xiaofen nervously peeked under the coconut tree.

It was noon and there were not many people on the road, but she was still afraid that someone would see her and Liang Dong "stealing" coconuts. Wouldn't it be fun to be caught?

What you fear will come true. Just when Bai Xiaofen's heart was stretched to the limit, a voice suddenly came to her ear, "Hey, you guys? What are you doing?"

This sound frightened Bai Xiaofen so much that she almost lost three of her seven souls.

Liang Dong was so frightened that he fell off the coconut tree and landed on his butt on the ground.

The two screamed at the same time, "Comrade! We didn't do it on purpose. Considering that this is our first offense, please let us go!"

Having said this, without even waiting for a response from the fishermen who had called out to them, they ran away.

Nonsense, if you run away too late, you will be arrested and sent to the police station.

These days, theft is punished with extremely severe penalties. In the past, the perpetrators would be paraded through the streets as a warning to the public.

Seeing the two men's backs turning into small black dots in a short while, the fishermen were confused and muttered, "Why are they running so fast?"

He saw that Liang Dong and Bai Xiaofen were strangers and probably didn't know that coconuts on the island could be picked casually. Liang Dong looked clumsy and stopped them just to ask if they needed help.

No one expected these two men to run so fast, causing the enthusiasm of the fishermen to be wasted.