Ling Huanwu's limp disappeared immediately, and she ran up to check on her.
On the previously bare soil, tiny white embryonic roots were growing, standing out conspicuously against the black soil.
Ling Huanwu was both amused and exasperated. She patted Lin Xiaoqin on the shoulder and said, "Why are you so agitated? This is just alkali grass, not a vegetable."
When Lin Xiaoqin saw it was her, she felt a little embarrassed for her country bumpkin appearance, as if she had never seen a seed sprout before.
"I'm just wondering how this alkali grass sprouted so quickly."
Indeed, it normally takes at least seven days for alkali grass to sprout.
However, the soil on the island is alkaline, which accelerates the growth of alkali grass.
However... if Zhou Jiuzhen hadn't used the plastic film to shield these tender shoots from the torrential rain, they probably would have been washed away by the rain long ago.
Ling Huanwu looked at the sprouting buds and felt as if something similar was sprouting from her heart...
*
The next day.
Ling Huanwu woke up very early in the morning, and the first thing she saw when she opened her eyes was Zhou Jiuzhen, who looked hesitant and timid.
His eyes were bruised, and he just sat on the bed with her on his lap, as if he hadn't slept all night.
Ling Huanwu was startled.
She clearly slept in bed last night, so how did it become that she slept on his lap all night?
Even more shockingly, he, who had been full of energy and vigor for the past three days without sleep, became weak and listless after just one night without sleep, as if his energy had been sucked away by a demon.
So what if she tightened her belt last night to prevent him from touching her? And he acts all wronged and devastated?
"Honey, are you really going to the city to stock up on supplies tomorrow? What about the vegetables you're growing in the fields?"
Zhou Jiuzhen tugged at her clothes, looking like a tough, aloof man, but his words carried a sense of life and death.
Ling Huanwu struggled to get up, rubbed her temples and said speechlessly, "It's okay, they'll grow up fine on their own."
"Besides, I've already agreed with Sanya and the others that I'll take them to see a doctor. How disappointed they'll be if I don't go?"
After she finished speaking, she began packing her clothes into her suitcase, preparing to leave.
The mother-in-law, who had just settled into life here, took out a bag of freshly baked flatbreads, stuffed it into Ling Huanwu's hand, and said worriedly, "Daughter-in-law, you will come back, won't you?"
One sentence was like a thunderclap. Zhou Jiuzhen, who was outside, trembled and the hard-boiled egg in his hand fell back into the hot water in the pot with a "plop". The hot water splashed onto his hand, but he did not feel any pain.
Zhou Jiuzhen wrapped up about ten eggs and put them into her box.
Ling Huanwu knew that her mother-in-law was still feeling guilty towards her son for leaving her to live like a widow, and thought that she was going to abandon Zhou Jiuzhen and run away. She glanced at the silent Zhou Jiuzhen and quickly explained with a red face, "Mother, what nonsense are you talking about? Of course I will come back. I still need to buy seeds to grow vegetables. Most importantly, I need to bring back medicine for the children."
"I have so much to do, how could I possibly leave!"
After she finished speaking, it was obvious that Zhou Jiuzhen's tense body relaxed and his furrowed brows loosened considerably.
The mother-in-law also smiled again, took her hand, and the two of them saw her off to the dock.
The path leads directly to the dock on the east side. In the stone house at the very edge of the family compound on the west side, Song Yaoyao had been cooped up for days and had long since gone moldy.
As she braided her hair in front of the mirror, she instructed Zhou Shuyao, who was lying motionless on the bed, "Keep an eye on the sweet potatoes in the pot later, don't let them burn dry."
"I heard that Ling Huanwu is taking a ship to shore today. I want to ask her to bring us some rice and meat."
"You can forget about growing those lousy sweet potatoes. We'll let your older brother raise them. When the child is a year old, we'll go to Hong Kong..."
As Song Yaoyao was speaking, she felt a gust of wind blow past her. When she turned around, Zhou Shuyao was nowhere to be seen on the bed.
*
A few villagers were scattered around the dock, heading to the city.
Because the ship only makes one round trip a month, many villagers, even if they lack supplies, do not want to take the ship to the shore to buy them, either because of their farmland or to earn more work points.
Most of them only leave the island to go to the mainland because their child is seriously ill, or because they have extra money and are really craving rice and meat.
Because there are very few passengers, the ship cannot even break even with only one departure per month.
Zhou Jiuzhen spoke a few words with the captain, and when he ran back, he had a pill in his hand. "This is seasickness medicine. You should take it before you board the ship."
As he spoke, he unscrewed the thermos, held the medicine to her lips, and gestured for her to open her mouth and take it.
Ling Huanwu glanced at her mother-in-law, who was covering her mouth and chuckling to herself, and then looked around at the uncles and aunts who were watching them with smiles. She felt a little embarrassed because these people were watching them without knowing what was going on.
She recalled that night when this rough man didn't even know how to kiss properly; his movements were clumsy, and he only used brute force throughout, making her feel like she was being tortured.
As she opened her mouth to swallow the pill with water, a voice behind her called out "Sister-in-law," startling her so much that she almost choked.
When Zhou Shuyao reached the dock, he was panting heavily, his eyes bloodshot as he stared at Ling Huanwu, his emotions churning within them.
He stood with his back to the light, so Ling Huanwu couldn't see his expression. It took her a long time before she heard his usual sarcastic and biting words.
"Sister-in-law, Yao Yao wants to eat cured meat, and could you also buy some rice and noodles for her? She can't get enough nutrition during her pregnancy..."
"It's already good enough that your older brother and sister-in-law didn't kick you out. You still plan to let your sister-in-law take so much stuff. Does she have three heads and six arms?"
Wang Guihua immediately raised her hand and gave her youngest son a sharp rap on the head, angrily scolding him, "If you're so capable, why don't you two go ashore and buy it yourselves!"
She originally thought that her youngest son would be so angry after being scolded that he would jump up and down and accuse her of favoritism.
To everyone's surprise, the rascal's eyes lit up, and he nodded repeatedly, "Then sister-in-law, I'll go with you to get your things too."
"No need, no need," Ling Huanwu said, waving her hand as if she had seen a ghost, as if facing a formidable enemy. "You should stay home and take care of your wife."
After saying that, she didn't look at him again, and immediately carried Er Ya with one hand and pulled San Ya with the other, stepping onto the ramp and boarding the ship.
The ship's horn resounded across the entire rippling blue sea where the sky and water met.
Lin Xiaoqin followed behind her with her younger brother, constantly turning back to look at Zhou Jiuzhen, who stood tall and motionless on the dock, and muttered in dissatisfaction, "Comrade Xiaozi, your Commander Zhou has been standing there watching you the whole time. You should at least turn around and wave to him!"
After Ling Huanwu settled the two children into their seats on the ship, she walked back to the ship's deck railing and looked down, immediately meeting Zhou Jiuzhen's bright and piercing gaze.
His eyes seemed to hold a lot he wanted to say to her, but he didn't utter a single word the entire way.
These days, the two of them have been together every day. When they suddenly parted, Ling Huanwu felt as if a piece of her heart was missing, leaving her feeling empty and desolate.
As the ship sailed further and further away, Ling Huanwu finally waved to him, implying that she wanted to remind him to eat on time in the army and to brush his teeth before going to bed.
But she noticed that Zhou Jiuzhen remained motionless, like a pine tree, while Zhou Shuyao kept waving goodbye to her, which made her roll her eyes in exasperation.
Returning to her two children, she unfolded the newspaper Zhou Jiuzhen had used to wrap the eggs, preparing to give Er Ya and San Ya each an egg.
The moment she opened the newspaper, her eyes welled up with tears when she saw what was inside the egg.
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