Shang Hong stays at home all day and is unaware of these rumors. If she knew, she would be furious.
"Hong, if your daughter doesn't want to, then so be it. Maybe it's just not meant to be yet."
Xiao Li nodded, "Yes, Father is absolutely right, that's exactly what I think."
The couple couldn't do anything about her, so they could only let her be.
Xiao Li spends all her time in the sea, searching for mysterious treasures.
She often encounters fishing boats that have been sunk for many years, some of which have turned to ashes, but some of them are worth studying.
She collected them silently and handed them over to the state. Gradually, this sea area became more and more mysterious, and even miracles appeared.
"It's really amazing! We got lost that day, and a dolphin led us out of the sea."
"Yes, us too. There was a time when we were out of supplies. Then, out of nowhere, a bunch of food and water appeared. It was amazing."
"Yes, once I vaguely saw a mermaid swimming around in the sea. When it jumped out of the water, I could see its shiny tail."
...
Xiao Li silently walked past her, feeling secretly pleased. But when did she grow a fishtail?
One day, a young man named Du Sheng came to the fishing village. He would stare at the sea all day long, and no one knew what he was studying.
One day, Du Sheng suddenly approached Xiao Li.
"I heard you're an excellent swimmer. Can you take me to the deep sea?"
Xiao Li readily agreed.
Three days later, the two appeared in the deep sea, ten kilometers away from the fishing village.
They were using a kayak brought by Du Sheng. Its disadvantage was that it was a bit small and risky in wind and rain, but its advantage was that it was fast enough.
Do you believe there are mermaids here?
Xiao Li glanced at him in surprise.
"Of course I believe it, so many people saw it."
Du Sheng scoffed, "It's hard for me to believe what you're saying that's insincere."
Xiao Li smiled but didn't say anything.
Du Sheng stopped looking at her and started studying on his own.
Xiao Li watched him conduct many tests on the sea, but she didn't know what their purpose was.
By evening, the two had returned to the fishing village.
The next day, the third day... for seven days in a row, the two of them left early and returned late.
Xiao Li simply stayed quietly by her side, without saying much.
"Thank you for accompanying me on this sea voyage these past few days. This is my way of expressing my gratitude."
Du Sheng took out the reward, which Xiao Li accepted without hesitation, intending to use it to buy some good food for her parents.
Du Sheng stared blankly at Xiao Li's retreating figure.
He found the girl particularly mysterious, and he thought he might find the answer in her.
Du Sheng began to intentionally approach Xiao Li, but after a while he lost interest. Xiao Li was just an ordinary fisherwoman, no different from anyone else.
Three months later, Du Sheng left the island. On the day he left, he reached out his hand to Xiao Li.
"Hello, my name is Du Sheng, and I am a good friend of Zhou Jin, also known as Political Commissar Zhou. He asked me to come and see you. I'm sorry for hiding my identity from you."
He handed a medal he was holding to Xiaoli.
"He asked me to give this to you; this is the medal he applied for for you. He said the country will remember your contributions to the war effort."
Xiao Li immediately became excited. A medal awarded by the state is quite rare.
Upon closer inspection, it was a small, round medal with only the word "award" in the center. It appeared to be made of bronze and was quite heavy.
"Thank him for me, it's what I should do."
Du Sheng hesitated for a moment, which was uncharacteristic of him. "So what is your impression of me? You should have heard Zhou Jin mention me."
Xiao Li suddenly realized that he was the good friend that Political Commissar Zhou had mentioned.
Xiao Li raised the medal, waved to him, and then turned and went home.
Du Sheng grimaced regretfully, but a moment later he put on a smile, boarded the boat, and left the fishing village.
Xiao Li thought Du Sheng had left, but he hadn't actually left.
Three months later, he returned to the fishing village as a tourist.
"I heard you had a crush on a soldier, but later found out he was a spy. Is that true?"
Are you very sad?
Do you still like him?
"Li, why aren't you saying anything?"
Xiao Li turned around speechlessly, really wanting to sew his lips back on.
Unexpectedly, Commissar Zhou's good friend turned out to be a chatterbox.
He's not only a chatterbox, but also incredibly gossipy.
Who hasn't encountered a few jerks?
"I stopped liking it a long time ago, so I'm not sad."
"And could you please stay away from me?"
Du Sheng was speechless for a moment, but he regained his energy after a short while.
"Li, I heard you can find the Black Pearl. Can you take me there?"
"I heard you can hold your breath underwater for more than ten minutes, is that true?"
"How about we go for a spin in the deep sea today?"
Xiao Li was absolutely annoyed by him, but Zhen Yu and Shang Hong were very happy and even let him stay at their house.
What a spirited young man! He treats his daughter so well and doesn't care about her reputation at all.
They now know that it wasn't a rumor at all, but simply their daughter's true self.
This made them even more troubled. They never expected that Du Sheng would come along. They would be lucky not to seize this opportunity.
"Li, Du Sheng said he wants to go out into the deep sea today. Why don't you take him with you?"
With their daughter being so capable, they weren't worried at all about her venturing into the deep sea.
Xiao Li quickly shoveled the rice into her mouth and then mumbled a reply.
"Why are you eating so fast, child? Have another bowl of soup."
Xiao Li took the soup, slurped it down in one go, and then hurried back to her room.
Zhen Yu looked at his daughter, who was in a real predicament, and smiled helplessly. He then turned to Du Sheng and inquired about her well-being.
"Xiao Du, eat more. This is your aunt's specialty, steamed grouper."
Du Sheng ate with gusto, his mouth greasy with oil. He had never tasted such delicious seafood on land before.
"Uncle and Auntie, you should eat too. Don't just focus on me. Auntie's cooking is so good, it's so delicious."
Shang Hong's eyes crinkled with laughter. As the saying goes, a mother-in-law's gaze upon her son-in-law grows ever more satisfied.
After being praised by Du Sheng, Shang Hong was instantly captivated and completely sided with him.
"Li loves dried fruit. Bring her some tomorrow, especially this coconut juice, she likes to drink it too."
"Okay, Auntie, thank you Uncle. Auntie, I will definitely seize this opportunity."
After finishing his meal, Du Sheng helped Shang Hong wash the dishes before returning to his room to rest, which earned him a lot of praise from the two of them.
"Xiao Du is such a rare find. Where can you find such a good boy? My daughter really doesn't know how to cherish him."
"Old Zhen, we must help our daughter keep Xiao Du firmly tied up. We can't let Xiao Du escape."
"You're right."
Early the next morning, Xiao Li was urged by her parents to take some dry food and board the fishing boat with Du Sheng.
Seeing Du Sheng laughing like a fool, Xiao Li couldn't help but laugh too.
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