Chapter 27 : Fetching Two Buckets of Seawater Back Home

He wasn’t used to calling her “Mom,” but calling her “Aunt” felt too awkward.  

Most importantly, he didn’t want his brothers to think he was a traitor!  

Even so, Zhou Cheng still shot him a fierce glare. But compared to the delicious egg pancake in front of him, that glare meant nothing!  

At that moment, Zhou Xinxin also woke up.  

She ran over with her fluffy, curly hair all messy, tiptoed to peek into the pan, and smacked her lips hungrily.  

Seeing her like this, Song Shiwei couldn’t help but chuckle. She took a small piece of the egg pancake she had prepared earlier and stuffed it into Zhou Xinxin’s mouth.  

This action immediately made Zhou Lin and Zhou Wei jealous.  

They stared at Song Shiwei eagerly, their eyes practically pleading for a piece too.  

But at this moment, Song Shiwei only had eyes for the little girl in front of her.  

Zhou Xinxin’s cheeks puffed up as she chewed, looking just like a little hamster. She was adorable.  

Smiling, Song Shiwei asked, “Is it good?”  

Zhou Xinxin squinted her eyes happily as she chewed. After swallowing, she nodded with a big smile. “Delicious!”  

Zhou Wei couldn’t help but gulp loudly. “Gulp… Gulp…”  

“I-I want to eat too!”  

Song Shiwei flipped the last egg pancake in the pan, then turned around and said unhappily, “If you want to eat, go wash up first!”  

She wanted to start training them to develop good habits!  

Sure enough, some of the kids actually went off to brush their teeth and wash their faces obediently.  

By the time she finished preparing the table with egg pancakes and cornmeal porridge, the children had returned.  

Looking at the five sets of chopsticks and five bowls of porridge on the table, they all quietly sat down to eat.  

Zhou Cheng had initially been sulking, unwilling to eat anything made by this “bad woman.” But the smell was just too tempting, and his stomach kept rumbling.  

Thinking about what she said earlier that the food was a reward for going fishing with her later he figured it would be a waste not to eat it.  

So, he picked up his chopsticks and started eating in big bites.  

And you know what?  

This pancake was so delicious that all the kids were practically drooling as they ate!  

While Xinxin was eating, Song Shiwei took the opportunity to comb her hair.  

Zhou Tingyue usually left early for work and was always busy with training, so he never had time. Normally, it was her brothers who did her braids.  

Song Shiwei gently touched her soft, silky hair, feeling a warmth in her heart.  

It reminded her of when she was a child, braiding her dolls’ hair.  

Later on, several of her close friends had kids, and every time she saw them, she’d happily braid their children’s hair.  

One of her best friends once complained, “We have a son, but you keep braiding his hair into two pigtails! Now every time he goes out, people mistake him for a girl!”  

Now that she finally had a little girl of her own to care for, she was going to braid her hair properly!  

Luckily, her skills were still fresh, and she quickly completed a beautifully braided hairstyle.  

Zhou Cheng and Zhou Lin couldn’t help but glance at Xinxin a few more times.  

Her hair… actually looked really nice.  

Zhou Xinxin was overjoyed.  

After dinner, she kept looking at herself in the mirror, giggling nonstop.  

It was as if she had just discovered for the first time how beautiful she was!  

Song Shiwei was the last to finish eating. Afterward, she directed the children to help clean up the table.  

Then, she locked the door, grabbed two buckets, and led the children toward the beach!

The military district’s family compound wasn’t far from the beach only about a thousand meters or so but they had to pass through the military checkpoints along the way.  

Qilian Island was located on the eastern coast of the mainland, completely surrounded by the sea. This time, Song Shiwei wanted to explore the shoreline and see what was abundant there. If she happened to meet any local fishermen, she could also ask them about Qilian Island’s marine life.  

For example, what’s the easiest thing to catch when the tide is low?  

However, when she arrived at the beach with the children, she was slightly disappointed there was hardly anyone there.  

Only then did she realize: this was 1989, not 2023!  

The country’s marine fisheries weren’t well-developed yet, especially after a decade of strict economic controls.  

Private individuals weren’t allowed to buy or sell seafood freely, nor could they sell to fishing companies.  

It was likely that only the locals would occasionally catch some fish or shrimp for their own meals, hardly anyone would be fishing regularly.  

At this time of day, it wasn’t low tide, and the beach was empty.  

But when Song Shiwei looked out at the horizon where the sea met the sky, felt the salty sea breeze on her face, and listened to the cries of seagulls overhead…  

She felt truly happy.  

As she walked a little further, small waves splashed against her feet. The soft sand beneath her made her want to kick off her shoes and run freely along the shore.  

Zhou Cheng noticed the peaceful expression on her face and couldn’t help but feel slightly surprised.  

The first woman that there father married had always complained about everything.  

She used to say that Qilian Island was poor, damp, humid, and disgusting.  

But now?  

The woman in front of him showed no signs of disgust.  

Instead, she looked excited, happy, even enthusiastic!  

His opinion of her changed just a little.  

Zhou Xinxin and Zhou Wei were also delighted. They rarely got to come to the beach because their father and older brother wouldn’t let them.  

They always said the beach was dangerous, if anyone accidentally fell into the sea, it would be trouble.  

But now, Zhou Xinxin was joyfully collecting seashells, while Zhou Wei had taken a small shovel and was digging in the sand to build a sandcastle.  

Meanwhile, Song Shiwei carefully observed the terrain around her.  

She could tell that this beach was a great place for digging clams. She also spotted stone crabs hiding under the small rocky reefs.  

These stone crabs were a type of small crab that never grew very big, but if cooked with salt and pepper, they would be delicious.  

Unfortunately, the best way to catch these crabs was to use bait meat, chicken skin, or chicken legs.  

But here? Getting a piece of meat was even harder than catching a stone crab!  

Zhou Cheng and Zhou Lin noticed that she kept walking back and forth along the beach, looking at this and examining that.  

They had no idea what she was so busy with.  

Normally, when they came here with their friends, they’d only pick up a few small fish or shrimp.  

They never caught much, and since Zhou Tingyue didn’t know how to cook, he would simply boil whatever they found and serve it to them.  

Actually, most of the fishermen here ate their catch the same way.  

In this era of limited salt and oil, at least seafood naturally had a salty taste, which helped save on seasonings.  

After looking around for a while, Song Shiwei got a general understanding of things.  

In this area, during this season, shrimp, crabs, and clams were at their fattest.  

Thinking of salt-and-pepper mantis shrimp, her mouth started watering it had been so long since she last ate it.  

Just then, a nearby fisherman passed by.  

She quickly stopped him and asked about the tide schedule.  

The fisherman told her that low tide would start at around 4:00 p.m.  

If she wanted to go foraging, she’d need to come right before the tide went out.  

Hearing this, Song Shiwei felt relieved.  

She turned to Zhou Cheng and Zhou Lin and waved at them.  

“Get two buckets of seawater and bring them home!”  

The two boys froze.  

“What do you need seawater for?”