Chapter 2: The Second Day

During the day, Lin Wei had been groggy and drowsy, but come nighttime, she couldn’t fall asleep. She lay there with her eyes closed, listening to the sound of the waves, and only began to drift off around dawn.

She had no idea how long she’d been asleep—her head still felt foggy—when someone woke her up by tickling her. As soon as she opened her eyes, she saw Mingming pressing two fingers against the tip of her nose.

Turning her head to the side, Lin Wei asked, “What are you two doing?”

Seeing that his mom was awake, Mingming sheepishly pulled his hand back and said, “Dad said it’s time to eat. Mommy, you’re so lazy. No matter how much we called you, you wouldn’t wake up.”

Lin Wei sat up in bed and asked, “So you decided to give Mommy a pig nose?”

The little guy chuckled twice and played dumb.

Amused, Lin Wei reached out and ruffled his hair.

But it was summer now, and Mingming was an energetic kid—always bouncing around and sweating easily. Since washing up on the boat wasn’t exactly convenient, the little guy hadn’t washed his hair last night. His hair felt not only coarse but also a little greasy.

Lin Wei didn’t mind her son being dirty, but she did think the whole family needed a thorough cleaning once they got home.

As she was thinking that, Zong Shao came back with Ruirui after getting food. Seeing her sitting on the bed, he asked, “When did you wake up?”

“Just now,” Lin Wei said with a yawn, then asked in surprise, “You two went out together?”

The last time Zong Shao returned to Shicheng was two years ago. The twins had just turned one and didn’t really recognize people yet. Although Lin Wei often showed them photos, photos couldn’t compare to the real thing. When he first got home this time, the boys were still a bit distant from him.

Mingming, the slightly stronger-willed one, had always been naturally outgoing. Although he was a bit wary of Zong Shao at first, after a few days on the train together, he had already started to admire his dad.

Ruirui, on the other hand, was more reserved and quiet. Even by the time they boarded the ship, he still preferred sticking close to his mom.

Originally, he was supposed to sleep with Lin Wei that night too, but since she wasn’t feeling well, Zong Shao didn’t agree. The little guy threw a bit of a tantrum over it and insisted on sleeping on the farthest side of the bed, making it clear he didn’t want to be anywhere near his dad.

Thinking of his younger son’s temperament, Zong Shao could only sigh and said, “He noticed you haven’t had much of an appetite these past few days, so he insisted on coming with me to get your food.”

Lin Wei had already noticed the lunchbox in Ruirui’s hand, but she hadn’t expected it was breakfast specially gotten for her. Surprised and delighted, she asked, “Ruirui, you got breakfast for Mommy?”

Ruirui nodded shyly and said, “I wanted Mommy to eat more so she can get better soon.”

As soon as Mingming heard that, he quickly added, “I want Mommy to get better soon too!”

Lin Wei knew her mood hadn’t been great these past few days. Sure, part of it was due to seasickness, but most of it came from the anxiety brought on by that dream. She thought she had hidden her feelings well, but apparently both children had noticed.

Holding back the warmth rising in her eyes, she reached out and gently pinched both their cheeks, smiling as she said, “Mommy will get better.”

While the mother and sons were talking, Zong Shao placed the lunchbox on the table beside Lin Wei’s bed and opened the lid. Breakfast was porridge again, accompanied by several types of pickled vegetables, including the pickled cucumber strips Lin Wei had eaten the night before.

Zong Shao had also gotten four flower rolls, and the lunchbox Ruirui was holding had four steamed buns in it.

There were two types of fillings for the buns—pickled mustard greens and vermicelli. The vermicelli ones were a bit spicy, and since the twins couldn’t really handle spicy food, he gave each of them a mustard green bun, then handed a vermicelli one to Lin Wei.

Actually, Lin Wei was still drowsy and dizzy at the moment and didn’t really have much of an appetite. But seeing the expectant look in her son’s eyes, she still reached out and took the bun, eating a couple of bites.

Seeing his mom start eating the bun, Ruirui felt relieved and began gnawing on his own bun with even more effort.

Noticing Ruirui’s reaction, Lin Wei felt her eyes grow warm again. These past few days, she had been telling herself that things hadn’t reached a dead end—but deep down, she couldn’t help but feel panicked.

But now, she wasn’t so afraid anymore. She hadn’t reached a dead end.

With that thought in mind, after finishing the vermicelli bun, Lin Wei also drank half a bowl of porridge along with some pickled cucumber strips.

The twins had good appetites too—each of them ate one bun and one flower roll. They didn’t drink much of the porridge, just about half a bowl each.

After eating his fill, Mingming puffed out his belly mischievously and asked his brother, “Does it look like a big watermelon?”

Ruirui also felt stuffed, though he had a habit of pulling his stomach in. Still, hearing his brother’s question, he looked carefully and shook his head. “Watermelons are green, and you can eat them.”

Fruit wasn’t cheap these days—most families couldn’t afford to buy it casually.

After getting married, Lin Wei took over her mother-in-law’s job and started working at the cotton mill. By the time she joined the military family relocation, her salary had already reached over thirty yuan. Combined with the money Zong Shao sent home every month, it was enough to cover all their living expenses. So, every now and then, she would buy fruit to satisfy their cravings.

Before they set off, watermelons were already in season. Lin Wei had bought them a few times, and the twins really enjoyed eating them.

However, since watermelon is cooling in nature, Lin Wei worried it might upset their stomachs. So she didn’t buy it often, and even when she did, she didn’t let them eat too much. Thinking about it, it had already been half a month since they last had watermelon.

So the moment Mingming mentioned watermelon, Ruirui started craving it. While their dad was off washing dishes, he snuggled up beside Lin Wei and asked, “Mommy, will there be watermelon to eat at the new home?”

Still patting his belly, Mingming overheard and came over too, blinking his big eyes at Lin Wei, his gaze full of hope.

Lin Wei had never been to Yazhou Island before, so she wasn’t sure if there would be watermelons there. After thinking for a moment, she said, “I don’t know if there’s watermelon, but the island should have a lot of delicious fruit.”

“What kinds of delicious fruit?”

“I heard there are bananas, mangoes, coconuts, and things like that,” Lin Wei replied. She also knew about durians, but since they were said to be stinky and she wasn’t sure if they tasted good, she didn’t mention them.

But these three fruits were unfamiliar to the twins. Bananas were slightly more familiar—sometimes the supply co-op would get a shipment in, but they were very expensive. Lin Wei had only eaten them a few times herself, one of which was when she and Zong Shao were first matched for a blind date, and he mentioned it was from her family.

Another time was last fall, but to the twins—who weren’t even four years old yet—something from six months ago already felt like a distant memory. Even if they had eaten bananas back then, they had forgotten what they tasted like, so they began asking questions.

“What are bananas? Are they yummy?”

“What do mangoes look like? Are they yummy?”

“Can you eat coconuts too? Are they yummy?”

Clearly, no matter what fruit Lin Wei mentioned or how it looked, the only thing the twins really cared about was one thing—Is it yummy?

“Bananas are very yummy,” Lin Wei replied. As for mangoes and coconuts, she hadn’t tried them herself, but she had read about them in novels. After thinking it over, she added, “Ripe mangoes are supposed to be very sweet, and coconuts are for drinking—they can also be used to stew chicken. I think they should be pretty good too.”

Mingming, being simple-minded, immediately said, “Then I want to eat bananas and mangoes, and drink coconut, and eat chicken!”

Ruirui was more thoughtful and asked, “Mommy, have you eaten mangoes and coconuts before?”

Lin Wei patted the little one’s hair and said, “Mommy hasn’t eaten them, but maybe we’ll get to try them when we get to the island.”

Although Ruirui hadn’t washed his hair last night, he didn’t move much and hadn’t sweated, so his hair still felt fresh. It was straight and soft, and it felt pleasant as it brushed her fingers, so she gently ruffled it a few more times.

Ruirui was used to his mom touching his head, so he didn’t react much. Instead, he asked, “Mommy, when can we get off the boat?”

When they first boarded, Ruirui was quite excited and would occasionally run out with his brother to see the soldiers. But after two days of sailing, he had become a bit tired and wanted to get off the boat.

Just as Zong Shao finished washing the dishes and returned, he overheard his son’s question and said, “We should be there after lunch.”

Lin Wei was puzzled. “Didn’t you say it would be around two or three in the afternoon yesterday?”

“The wind direction changed this morning. The boat is now going with the wind, so it’s going faster,” Zong Shao explained, then asked, “Would you like to sleep a bit more? When we get there, I’ll wake you up.”

Lin Wei was indeed feeling a bit sleepy, so she didn’t try to stay awake. She nodded and asked the twins, “Are you guys tired? Do you want to sleep with mommy for a while?”

Ruirui was more of a heavy sleeper and immediately said without hesitation, “Yes!”

Mingming, on the other hand, didn’t want to stay in the room. He looked up and asked, “Dad, can I go outside to see the sea?”

Zong Shao agreed and told Lin Wei, “You stay and nap with Ruirui, I’ll take Mingming outside for a walk.”

Lin Wei nodded, shifted a bit to the side, letting Ruirui lie in the space between her and the wall, and covered him with a blanket before closing her eyes to sleep.

…

This nap was still not very peaceful for Lin Wei. She woke up twice in the middle, but she was still drowsy and couldn’t open her eyes fully. She only felt as though someone had come in, stayed for a while, and then left again.

Later, she was woken up by Zong Shao. It was time for lunch.

Mingming and his dad went to get lunch. He wasn’t as shy as his younger brother, so he felt quite proud about it. If someone didn’t know, they’d probably think he was the one who had made the meal.

However, Lin Wei was still very supportive. She first smiled brightly and praised her son, then made an effort to finish half of the lunchbox’s contents.

Half a lunchbox of food might not sound like much, but they were using long, wide, and deep aluminum lunchboxes.

When these lunchboxes are filled, they’re enough to satisfy an adult man like Zong Shao, so Lin Wei had actually eaten quite a bit today, especially compared to the last couple of days when her portion size had almost doubled.

Seeing this difference, Zong Shao fell into deep thought. Perhaps his wife’s small appetite the past few days wasn’t just a stomach issue; it also had a lot to do with the person who served her food.

He… wasn’t as good as the two kids.