Chapter 54 Chapter 54 Competition

After Xia Junshan left, Meng Yufei opened the box to see what was inside.

The first box contained clothes and shoes. After flipping through them, I found that they were all Meng Yufei's summer clothes, short-sleeved shirts, shirts, skirts... Each piece was neatly stacked and arranged according to the depth of color.

There were also several pairs of shoes, also for spring and summer, including high heels, flat shoes, leather shoes, sneakers... Each pair was wrapped in newspaper and neatly placed in the box.

In addition, there are small items such as scarves and hats, which are also placed inside.

Then she opened another box, which was filled with Xia Qinqin's things, including clothes and shoes for spring and summer, as well as her toys. Meng Mu had made a new doll for her, and her favorite little schoolbag was also sent over.

At the bottom is a large tin box, which contains White Rabbit milk candy, a large tin box biscuit, and a bag of chocolate.

The remaining box was the heaviest one. Meng Yufei opened it and saw that it was full of books. No wonder it was so heavy.

There were a lot of things, so Meng Yufei started to sort out Xia Qinqin's things first. The closet in the master bedroom couldn't hold the clothes of both of them, so Meng Yufei put Qinqin's clothes in the closet in the small room.

As soon as she took the clothes in her hands, she smelled a light fragrance. It was the jasmine-scented soap produced by the Hai City Soap Factory. Meng's mother washed all the clothes in advance.

Meng Yufei put Xia Qinqin's clothes away one by one, thinking that it was time to prepare for her daughter to sleep in a separate room from them.

The thought of this gave her a headache.

The mother and daughter have been sleeping together all these years. After arriving on the island, Meng Yufei was afraid that her daughter would not be able to adapt to the new environment, so she always slept with her.

Now it seems that Qinqin has gotten used to the new home here, and it's time to sleep in separate rooms. However, Qinqin has never slept alone in her life, so I don't know if I can convince her.

After putting the clothes away, he picked up Xia Qinqin's shoes and put them in the shoe cabinet at the door.

Meng Yufei looked at the shoe cabinet and thought that it was fortunate that they only needed to wear single shoes here. If they added winter cotton shoes, this shoe cabinet would not be able to accommodate the shoes of their family of three.

Just after putting away the shoes, Xia Junshan came back after returning the cart, so Meng Yufei didn't clean up anymore. The two of them closed the door and went to pick up their daughter from school.

Xia Qinqin was particularly happy this afternoon. She said to Fangfang on her right, "Sister Fangfang, Mom and Dad said they would come and pick me up from school."

Then he said to Yang Yongming on his right: "Xiaoming, my parents will come to pick me up from school in a while. Have you seen my dad? He is very tall."

When Xia Qinqin heard Teacher Zhou say that school was over, she immediately trotted to the front and said, "Teacher Zhou, Teacher Zhou! Please help me take down my schoolbag."

Zhou Wenqian smiled and said, "Okay, I'll get it for you." She took down the schoolbag hanging on the wall, put it on Xia Qinqin's shoulders, and asked her, "Why are you in such a hurry to get your schoolbag today?"

Xia Qinqin said to Zhou Wenqian with a smile: "Teacher Zhou, my parents have to come pick me up after get off work today."

"Really?" Zhou Wenqian touched her hair and said with a smile, "Then go quickly."

Xia Qinqin waved at her and said, "Goodbye, Teacher Zhou!" Then she jumped out.

When she arrived at the gate, Xia Qinqin saw her parents at a glance. She smiled widely and rushed over and shouted, "Dad, Mom!"

Seeing his daughter running towards him like a cannonball, Xia Junshan hurriedly stepped forward, bent over and caught her, and said, "Hey, run slower."

Xia Qinqin threw herself into Xia Junshan's arms, smiling and saying, "Dad, you and Mom are here to pick me up."

Xia Junshan stroked his daughter's fluffy hair and said with a smile, "Yes, Mom and Dad promised at noon that we would come to pick you up together. Are you happy?"

"Yeah, I'm happy!" Xia Qinqin nodded vigorously, then turned to Meng Yufei, who was standing beside them and looking at them with a smile, and said, "Mom, I miss you too."

Meng Yufei smiled and said, "Mom misses you too. Grandma sent you some White Rabbit candies and biscuits, as well as chocolate."

"Really?" Xia Qinqin's eyes lit up, and she ran over happily, holding Meng Yufei's hand and said, "Then mom, let's go home quickly."

He then pulled Xia Junshan with one hand and urged him, "Dad, let's go home!"

Xia Junshan said: "Okay, okay, let's go back now."

Meng Yufei said with a smile: "Why are you in such a hurry? Candies and chocolates won't run away. Let's go to the cafeteria to get food first."

Xia Junshan and Xia Qinqin looked at each other and nodded in unison: "Okay."

The family of three walked towards the cafeteria hand in hand.

—————

In the afternoon, Qi Zhuzhu came to the beach and met Han Jianhong who was swimming there. The two swam together for a while and learned how to dive at the same time.

Today is a day for fishing. In the afternoon, many people came to the beach. Among them, some recognized Qi Zhuzhu in the sea.

"Qi girl, why are you swimming so slowly, like a turtle? Aren't you a great diver?" A duck-like voice shouted at them.

Qi Zhuzhu looked over and saw that the person who was talking was a boy of about 16 or 17 years old, who lived behind her house. She glared at him and said, "Zheng Laoba, you have the nerve to criticize me for your dog paddling skills. If you have the guts, come in and compete with me in the water?"

"I won't go. Everyone knows that your Qi family used to be the Pearl Clan. If you have the guts, come ashore and arm wrestle with me. I won't let you beat me with even one hand."

"That's right, that's right. If you have the guts, come on shore and compete." Several boys nearby joined in the fun.

Qi Zhuzhu was so angry that she walked out of the water and said, "Okay, let's compete. Who is afraid of who? I will compete with you in arm wrestling, and you have to compete with me in swimming. The loser will call the other party boss and follow his orders. How about that?"

Zheng Laoba asked: "What if we both end up in a tie?"

"Then let's have someone else compete for us and add another round, how about that?" Qi Zhuzhu rolled her eyes and pointed at Han Jianhong who was following behind her and said, "She has only learned swimming from me for one day. Do you dare to compete with her in swimming? Or pick one of you to compete with her."

Several boys looked at Han Jianhong. None of them had seen her before, so they thought she was probably from the family compound. One of the boys confidently said to Zheng Laoba, "Brother Ba, let me compete with her in swimming. We grew up by the sea, how can we not be better than her?"

Zheng Lao Ba nodded and said, "Okay, let's compete."

He had just watched Han Jianhong's swimming posture and found that he was indeed a novice. The boy who had just talked to him was his cousin, Zheng Shiyi, who was also a good swimmer.

In the first round, Qi Zhuzhu and Zheng Laoba arm wrestled. Qi Zhuzhu lost, and the boys cheered loudly. Zheng Laoba shook his hands and raised his chin and said, "I haven't even tried my best yet. You are too weak."

Qi Zhuzhu rolled her eyes at him and said, "Stop talking nonsense and start swimming." Then she pointed to a protruding reef on the sea and said, "Let's see who can reach that rock first."

The rock was about 300 meters away from them. Zheng Laoba said, "That's too short. How about we swim back and forth? Let's see who reaches the rock first and then comes back. How about they also compare the distance of the round trip?"

Qi Zhuzhu said with a smile: "You think you can't beat me, so you put all your hopes on Eleven. I hope you can use this to consume the energy of my people."

Zheng Laoba raised his eyebrows and smiled: "What do you think? Do you dare to compete?"

Qi Zhuzhu glanced at Han Jianhong and saw her nod, so she said, "Okay, let's compete!"

As a child who grew up by the sea, Zheng Laoba is indeed a good swimmer, but he is still far behind Qi Zhuzhu. When Qi Zhuzhu entered the water, she was like a fish entering the water. She easily took the lead by a body length and swam faster and faster. When she reached the reef and turned around to swim back, Zheng Laoba had just left the reef.

When Zheng Lao Ba came ashore, Qi Zhu Zhu said with a smile: "Zheng Lao Ba, we haven't competed for a while. Why are you swimming so slowly now? My hair is about to dry up!"

Zheng Lao Ba shook off the water drops on his hair and said, "Don't be too happy too soon, the competition isn't over yet."

In the third round, Han Jianhong and Zheng Shiyi competed in swimming. As soon as they entered the water, Zheng Shiyi took the lead with his rich experience, and Han Jianhong followed behind him neither too fast nor too slow.

Zheng Laoba said: "Tsk tsk, Eleven showed some mercy today, we are only ahead by this much."

Qi Zhuzhu said calmly: "The competition has just started, don't speak so early."

Of the two people in the sea, Zheng Shiyi was still one body length ahead. After swimming about a hundred meters, Zheng Shiyi increased his speed in an attempt to get rid of Han Jianhong behind him.

However, after swimming another hundred meters, the distance between the two still did not widen. Zheng Shiyi in front felt a sinking feeling in his heart. This person was not simple.

He gritted his teeth and swam faster towards the reef in front of him. Finally, the distance between them widened a little, and he breathed a sigh of relief in his heart.

Zheng Laoba, who was watching the game on the shore, also breathed a sigh of relief and said with a smile, "Eleven has sped up, and now he won't let you guys go."

After he finished speaking, Qi Zhuzhu next to him stopped talking. He turned around and saw her looking at the two people swimming in the sea seriously, with a look of relief in her eyes.

Zheng Laoba turned his head in confusion and continued to look at the sea, but his eyes widened in surprise. After the two turned around from the reef, Han Jianhong's speed became faster and faster, gradually narrowing the distance between them.

Zheng Shiyi, who was swimming in front, also felt the pressure from behind. He tried his best to speed up, but the distance between them was getting shorter and shorter...

Fifty meters before reaching the shore, Han Jianhong successfully passed Zheng Shiyi and swam to the shore in one breath.

Qi Zhuzhu clapped her hands happily and said, "We won!" She ran to Han Jianhong, gave her a thumbs up, and said with a smile, "Jianhong, you are awesome! We won!"

Han Jianhong smiled at her and said, "I hope I didn't let you down."

Qi Zhuzhu nodded repeatedly and said, "You did a great job. I know you can do it."

She turned her head and shouted at Zheng Lao Ba, "Hey, Zheng Lao Ba, are you convinced?"

Zheng Laoba glared at Zheng Shiyi who had just come ashore and asked in surprise, "Why did you let her go at the beginning?"

Zheng Shiyi said, "My dear, how could I? Don't blame me. I just can't swim better than this sister." Then he turned to Han Jianhong and said, "Sister, have you really just learned to swim? You are so amazing."

Qi Zhuzhu smiled and said, "She is just a beginner. You can tell from her swimming posture."

Zheng Shiyi rubbed his head and said, "Ah... you beat me in terms of talent..."

Qi Zhuzhu glanced at Zheng Laoba and said, "Actually, this is all your brother's fault. If we were just competing to swim to the reef, Jianhong might not be able to beat you. But if we change it to a round trip distance, you can't beat her. Her physical strength and endurance are better than yours."

Zheng Shiyi is only thirteen years old this year, and Han Jianhong is only fifteen years old, but she grew up doing farm work and is quite strong.

"So that's how it is..." Zheng Shiyi said to Zheng Laoba, "Brother Ba, this is all your fault. It has nothing to do with me."

Zheng Lao Ba: "..." He glared at Zheng Shiyi, cleared his throat and said, "Okay, I admit defeat, Qi Zhuzhu, you are my boss this year, we will compete again next year."

This is their habit since childhood. They compete once a year, and the loser has to recognize the other as the boss for the whole year. Children living by the sea compete the most in swimming, but all the children put together cannot beat Qi Zhuzhu.

When they were young, Qi Zhuzhu was always the leader of the group of children. But as they grew older, the boys felt that being suppressed by a girl was too disappointing, so they began to think of ways to compete with others.

Last year, Zheng Laoba proposed to compete in arm wrestling with Qi Zhuzhu and won her, becoming the boss last year. He was very arrogant for a while and Qi Zhuzhu was so angry that she didn't like to go out for the whole year.

However, they won again this year. Qi Zhuzhu put her hands on her hips and said to Zheng Laoba, "I, your boss, have something important to do recently. Go back today and inform your sixth and seventh sisters to come to my house tomorrow morning to see me. I have something to tell them."

Zheng Laoba asked, "What are you women trying to hide from us?"

Qi Zhuzhu said: "Why do you care so much? Just remember to pass on the message when you go back. Remember, I am your boss now."

Zheng Laoba shrugged and said, "Okay, I got it. Humph, I'm not curious about your affairs." Then he took a few boys with him and left.

Qi Zhuzhu looked at their backs, put her hands on her hips and smiled, "Finally I've let out a sigh of relief. You still want to fight me, huh!"

Han Jianhong glanced at the sky and said, "Zhuzhu, I should go home."

Qi Zhuzhu said: "Okay, but remember to come find me tomorrow morning. We are going to do something big."

Han Jianhong nodded and said, "I won't forget it."

…

Qi Zhuzhu picked up some seafood at the beach and then returned home with a bamboo basket. Her family members were no longer surprised by her wet appearance.

Qi Zhenzhen got home from get off work early and was sitting in the yard eating mangoes. She asked her sister, "What did you pick up? Did you go to the sea to collect pearls?"

Qi Zhuzhu lifted the bamboo basket in her hand and said, "Just crabs and clams, no pearls."

Qi Zhenzhen nodded and said, "It's good that you didn't go to the sea. Remember, we don't need to go to the sea to fish for pearls now. Don't even think about going to the sea in the future. It's too dangerous, understand?"

Qi Zhuzhu poured the contents of the bamboo basket into the wooden basin and listened to her sister's words, saying absentmindedly, "Yeah, I got it."

Then he shouted into the house, "Mom, Mom! I picked up some clams. Let's fry them for dinner."

Aunt Wu came out of the house and saw her little daughter was soaking wet. She said hurriedly, "Girl, you went swimming again. Go take a hot bath. The hot water in the pot is ready."

Qi Zhuzhu said nonchalantly: "Why are you in such a hurry? I'm used to it."

Aunt Wu patted her on the shoulder and said, "You are just taking advantage of your youth to mess around. When you get older, you will realize how powerful you are! Why don't you go now?"

Qi Zhuzhu pointed at the basin and said, "Okay, okay, I'll go right away. Remember to roast the clams."

"I know. Go ahead."

Qi Zhuzhu went into the house to take a shower. Aunt Wu turned to her eldest daughter who was sitting at the stone table in the yard eating mangoes and said, "Zhenzhen, isn't tomorrow the weekend? Come with me to my third aunt's house in the city."

Qi Zhenzhen said: "I'm not going."

Aunt Wu said, "You must go. Your Third Aunt told you during the New Year that there is a nice boy for you to meet, but you always say you have something to do. You must go with me tomorrow."

Qi Zhenzhen sighed, "Mom, why do you always want to marry me off? Didn't we agree that my family will take care of me?"

Aunt Wu said angrily, "Don't listen to your uncle and his friends' nonsense. How could a good boy be willing to marry into a wealthy family? Are you going to marry you to a jerk just for the sake of the Qi family's incense?"

Then he walked to his daughter, sat down and continued, "You have a high education, a good job, and you are not bad looking. We don't ask for wealth, but at least we should find someone who is similar to you. It's hard to find such people on our island, but there are more of them in the city. Remember to say good things when you go to your third aunt's house tomorrow. Even if this doesn't work, ask your third aunt to keep an eye out for you next time."

Qi Zhenzhen handed her a mango, but Aunt Wu waved her hands and refused to eat it. "It's time to eat now. If you eat this, you won't be able to eat."

Qi Zhenzhen said: "What will you do if I go to the city?"

Aunt Wu said, "What should we do? Your father and I have hands and feet, and we can't do anything without you at home! Okay, let's put it this way. Let's go to the market tomorrow." After saying that, she stood up, took the wooden basin and went to process the clams.

Qi Zhenzhen looked at her mother's back, opened her mouth, and swallowed her words.

People living by the sea are very good at handling seafood. At dinner time, a plate of fried clams and a plate of steamed crabs were placed on the Qi family’s table.

When Qi Laowu saw the dishes for tonight, he ran to pour a bowl of homemade rice wine. Food was precious these days, and wine was even more precious.

His family had food and could make wine because they were financially well-off. Qi Laowu made furniture for the commune, and at the end of each year he received more work points and more money than ordinary members. Qi Zhenzhen had also worked there for two or three years. The salary at the post office was very good. He had few children and no elderly parents, so naturally life was much better.

Even so, the wine was brewed privately for family members to drink and was never served to outsiders.

Qi Laowu took a sip of rice wine, squinting his eyes in enjoyment as he savored the taste carefully in his mouth.

Qi Zhuzhu picked up a clam and put it in Qi Laowu's bowl, saying with a smile, "Dad, how about this clam? I picked it up at the beach this afternoon."

Qi Laowu glanced at his little daughter's smile, picked up the clam with chopsticks, slowly put it in his mouth, nodded and said, "Mm, very fresh."

Qi Zhuzhu asked, "Dad, did you go to the commune this afternoon to ask the secretary if we can form a women's militia?"

Qi Laowu said: "No."

"Why?" Qi Zhuzhu frowned.

Qi Laowu said: "The secretary said that we have never recruited female militia on our island."

Qi Zhuzhu said: "Then it will be available starting this year."

Qi Laowu took another sip of wine and said, "Don't make trouble. Girls don't play around with swords and guns. Militia soldiers need to be trained with real guns and ammunition. This is not a joke."

Qi Zhuzhu said, "I'm not going there for fun! Shooting is nothing. I'm definitely better than anyone else. You see, I've been better at swimming since I was a kid."

Qi Laowu frowned and said, "It's most important for you to stay at home and study hard to prepare for the high school entrance exam. Don't think about these trivial things all day long." Then he said to his eldest daughter, "Zhenzhen, persuade your sister."

Qi Zhenzhen said, "Dad, since she likes it, let her try it. I heard that there is a women's militia in the neighboring province, and it was even reported in the newspaper last year. Go talk to the secretary tomorrow and let Zhuzhu train with the militia. Anyway, she has been like boys since she was a child, and boys can't compare to her in terms of going to the sea and climbing trees."

Qi Zhuzhu was surprised to hear her sister speak for her, "Sister, you are so easy to talk to today!" She turned to Qi Laowu and said, "Dad, did you hear that? Sister also agreed to let me go. She is the most educated in our family, and what she said makes sense."

Qi Laowu shook his head and said, "Even if you are willing to go, the commune will not recruit you. The militia will be closed for training for several months. What will a little girl like you do?"

Qi Zhuzhu said angrily, "Humph, who said I'm the only one? I'll bring some people with me to talk to the secretary in person tomorrow!"

Qi Laowu said, "Don't mess around."

Qi Zhuzhu snorted and said, "I'm not kidding."

…

When Xia Qinqin returned home, she saw three large boxes in the living room as soon as she entered the house. They almost filled up the empty space. She stared in surprise and said, "Oh, our house is full of boxes!"

Xia Junshan took Xia Qinqin's arm, lifted her from the box, put her on the sofa and said, "The room is messy, you sit here and wait until mom and dad have cleaned up before coming down, okay?"

Xia Qinqin said: "Dad, I can help too."

Xia Junshan smiled and said, "But the box is too big, and there are so many things in it. Qinqin must be tired after a day of school. Is it okay for her to rest here?"

"But I'm not tired at all." Xia Qinqin said seriously, blinking her big eyes.

Meng Yufei took out a tin box of White Rabbit candies from the box, handed it over and said, "Can you help mommy keep an eye on this? I'll put it in the cabinet later."

"Wow, a big white rabbit!" Xia Qinqin's eyes lit up.

Meng Yufei put the box in her arms and said, "Mom is worried that she won't be able to find it when there are too many things. Can you help me keep an eye on it?"

"Yeah, okay, Mom!"

Xia Qinqin held the White Rabbit box and nodded happily. She couldn't help but put her nose close to it to smell it. The tin box was very big, and her small head seemed even bigger when she put it on it.

Xia Junshan saw his daughter sitting obediently on the sofa holding a big box. He looked at Meng Yufei with admiration. His daughter-in-law was always the most capable.

Meng Yufei looked at him with amusement, "Please help me put the clothes into the closet first. The boxes over there are all filled with books. Put them directly into the study later."

The bookcase in the study was just delivered yesterday. Xia Junshan had it custom-made by the commune a few days ago. Like the batch of furniture for the kindergarten, it was also made by Qi Laowu.

Xia Junshan nodded and said, "Okay, I was wondering why this box is so heavy, it turns out it's filled with books. It turns out that the power of knowledge is huge."

Meng Yufei said with a smile: "You are just poor in talking."

Xia Junshan smiled and said, "Just tell the truth."

The couple talked while they were packing their things. Xia Qinqin sat on the sofa holding the tin box. She looked down at the big White Rabbit on it, then looked up at her parents walking around in the living room.

At this moment, the announcer's voice was heard again from the loudspeaker outside.

Meng Yufei stopped and listened carefully. The loudspeaker was announcing a job recruitment information. The supply and marketing cooperative was planning to recruit a clerk.

Meng Yufei said: "You're hiring so quickly, you're really quick."

Xia Junshan said: "This is the style of the army, and this time it involves confidential information, so the sooner the better."

Meng Yufei nodded and said, "It would be better to confirm it as soon as possible, but I don't know who will be chosen this time."

She recalled what Qinqin had said to her before, and heard Wei Shufang say in her heart that she wanted to leave the kindergarten. If it was true, then this was an opportunity for Wei Shufang.

It was also an opportunity for Meng Yufei, an opportunity to verify whether Qinqin could really hear what other people were thinking.