A dozen or so eggs, still warm and neatly arranged, were topped with several large black dollars and a gold ring.
Ling Huanwu picked up the ring and put it on her index finger; it fit perfectly.
With tears welling up in her eyes, she ran back to the stern of the boat and looked at the tiny, serpentine figure in military green on the dock. She opened her mouth as if to shout something, but found that her throat was choked up and she couldn't utter a single syllable.
This foolish man clearly knows she's rich, yet he gives her all his possessions. Isn't he afraid she'll run away?
As dusk settled, the old ship cut through the inky sea, its stern trailing a blue-green phosphorescence, as if sprinkled with fluorescent powder.
Ling Huanwu and Lin Xiaoqin stood at the bow of the boat with their three children, looking at the myriad lights on the shore, their hearts filled with a myriad of emotions.
The five of them found a guesthouse near the pier to stay in and decided to take the children to the hospital for a check-up the next day before slowly going shopping.
Anyway, they can do a lot in a month...
*
On the mudflats near the aquaculture farm outside Shitou Village.
Qin Jinshen, wearing his stinking, custom-made leather shoes, trudged along the sticky mudflats, nearly collapsing. He roared at the guard captain, "If they weren't on this island, I'd scatter your ashes to the wind!"
The captain of the guard shrank back, pointed to the iconic natural rock formation not far away that was too unbearable to look at, and said with great certainty, "It must be here. If it isn't, sir, you can throw my ashes into the sea to feed the fish."
Several aunties worked overtime to burn the remaining oyster shells into ash in the processing room.
Just after burning the last batch, they went outside and encountered two men dressed in tattered clothes who looked like beggars. They both picked up their carrying poles or rakes warily and asked, "Where did you come from? What are you doing sneaking around here in the middle of the night?"
Qin Jinshen's eyes darted around, and he smiled as he pulled a few candies from his pocket and handed them to the aunties.
"Hello, ladies, I'd like to ask if there's a woman here named Ling Huanwu?"
Although the aunties' mouths watered at the sight of the candy, they were very wary and didn't take it, after all, there was a fierce-looking man standing behind Qin Jinshen.
Besides, what good can come from looking for someone in the middle of the night?
"What...what do you want with her? We...we don't know anyone like her!"
"Oh, I'm her childhood sweetheart. My name is Zhao Ergou. I heard from her parents that she came to the island, so I came here specifically to marry her!"
Qin Jin was overjoyed. He knew immediately that his aunts were lying. He tugged at his tattered clothes and, without changing his expression, began to tell the same lie.
The captain of the guard behind him was so shocked that he could have stuffed an egg into his mouth.
Even more shocked were the women, one of whom was so startled that the carrying pole slipped from her hand and hit her face, as if a series of torpedoes had exploded in her ear...
Inside the guesthouse.
Ling Huanwu fed Sanya some medicine that the doctor had prescribed during the day.
She inquired carefully and learned that the children on the island had a monotonous diet and were deficient in zinc, iron, vitamins, and other nutrients, requiring long-term nutritional supplementation.
Medical science is still relatively underdeveloped. Hospital pharmacies only carry iron supplements such as ferrous sulfate, and zinc supplements have not yet been developed.
We can only take it slowly now. We'll find a way to supplement the children's nutrition through diet when we get back, and hopefully we can gradually get rid of their pica problem.
As for Er Ya's paralysis, the doctor said it wasn't congenital. They suggested trying acupuncture and massage, and eating more pig's trotters and pig's tails, which might help her stand up.
As Ling Huanwu was thinking about whether she could raise pigs in her space so that her children could eat pork, her nose itched, and she suddenly sneezed loudly, followed by a severe panic.
She took a deep breath, ignoring the panic in her heart, covered the children with blankets, closed her eyes and forced herself to go to sleep early. After all, her schedule was packed for the next month, and she had to maintain her energy.
The sound of even breathing could be heard in the darkness, but little did they know that the Stone Village on Wantan Island was already in complete chaos.
Zhou Jiuzhen used to sit by the pier and look at the sea after getting off work. When Wang Guihua came to find him, he discussed with his mother the idea of getting Zhou Shuyao and his wife to leave the island.
He always felt that he owed Ling Huanwu this.
Although Wang Guihua wanted the family to be reunited, she knew that her second son's wife had gone too far this time, so she didn't object. She just patiently and earnestly advised Zhou Jiuzhen to sleep with Ling Huanwu as soon as possible.
"Son, I heard from the political commissar today that your marriage application has been approved. You should get married to your wife as soon as possible, so you won't always worry about her running away."
"I didn't!"
Zhou Jiuzhen remained expressionless, his gaze fixed on the sea surface shimmering with a ghostly blue fluorescence, but his tone was filled with bitterness.
His mother didn't know that they had actually slept together.
But now he feels that because he didn't behave well during those three days, his wife is very dissatisfied and plans to leave him.
He didn't know what he had done wrong, and he didn't even have anyone to ask, so he was very frustrated.
Just as he was stammering, trying to ask his mother for advice, an aunt rushed over in a panic and called out to him, "Commander Zhou... Commander Zhou, your... your wife's childhood sweetheart has come looking for her!"
Zhou Jiuzhen's pupils dilated, and his ears rang incessantly.
In the blink of an eye, the news that "Commander Zhou's wife's childhood sweetheart has come knocking on the door" spread like wildfire throughout the entire Stone Village.
In the west of the family compound, Zhou Shuyao returned from work and was squatting at the door, listlessly munching on the sweet potato that Song Yaoyao had steamed for him, when he heard the other women in the compound chatting around the well.
"Have you heard? That Commander Zhou's wife's old flame has come to his door, demanding that he be released right now!"
"What should Commander Zhou do? Such a fine man, how did he end up with such a shameless wife?"
Song Yaoyao joined in, cracking sunflower seeds with gusto, and adding insult to injury, "You guys don't know, my sister used to study in Hong Kong. I heard she even learned some kind of dance, something like ballet. Yes, that kind of dance involves wearing underwear and hugging and kissing men. You know how open-minded men and women are in Hong Kong, so I guess that's where she met her lover."
Several women nodded repeatedly as if they had just realized something.
Song Yaoyao was very satisfied with the reactions of the aunties in the family compound. Then she turned her head and saw Zhou Shuyao, who had been sitting listlessly eating melons, suddenly dash out at the speed of a hundred-meter sprint and disappear from everyone's sight in an instant.
*
The small room was stuffy and damp.
Qin Jinshen looked around the simple, dilapidated tables, chairs, pots, and pans in the room and found it hard to imagine that Ling Huanwu, a city girl, could live so well in such an environment.
Zhou Jiuzhen closed the door, not even letting Wang Guihua in, intending to handle the matter himself.
"Comrade Er Gou, you said you were engaged to Huan Wu and that you were her childhood sweetheart. Do you have any tokens to prove it?"
Qin Jin looked at his own face, which was completely unfamiliar to him, in the mirror on the table. He silently praised the guard captain for being somewhat useful, but he chuckled foolishly and took out a letter that he had prepared in his pocket and handed it to Zhou Jiuzhen.
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