Chapter 76

“Grandma…” The old house was close to the Ning family, so Yibao arrived at the old house in no time.

At this moment, everyone in the old house was eagerly awaiting the feast of fish and shrimp.

Today was a happy day for the whole village, and everyone was looking forward to the meal.

“Yibao, you’re here?” The older siblings playing in the courtyard spotted Yibao, and Haicai was especially delighted and approached him. “Yibao, what are you carrying?”

Yibao replied, “Grandma gave us a lot of pickled vegetables. My mother asked me to thank grandma. This is what my mother made, to give to grandma.”

“What kind of food is this?” Haicai asked curiously.

Thinking it was something made by his third aunt, he felt a bit hungry.

After all, his third aunt’s cooking was delicious.

He hadn’t been to her house for dinner in days. It was cold in winter, and he often woke up late, just playing with Yibao and Erbao, not having meals at his third aunt’s house.

Haicai decided that when the weather warmed up, he would continue to go with Yibao and Erbao to gather firewood and dig wild vegetables.

The other older siblings also crowded around, curious to see.

“I don’t know either. My mother made it, so it must be something delicious,” Yibao said.

“Yes, the things made by third aunt are the most delicious,” Haicai agreed.

“Yibao, why did you come?” Lin’s mother was cooking in the kitchen.

When she heard Yibao’s voice, she let Qian Aifen replace her and came out.

Naturally, she heard what Yibao said. “Your mother is too polite. Your father has already brought spinach to exchange. Why bring something else?”

“Mom said to thank grandma for her pickled vegetables,” Yibao was young, and even if he was clever, he couldn’t say so many polite words.

Whatever his mother said, he would do.

He handed over the small basket.

Lin’s mother just said that since her daughter-in-law gave it, she naturally accepted it.

She took the small basket and lifted the cloth on top.

The whole basket was wrapped in a cloth circle to prevent heat from escaping. “These are oysters. Did your mother go to the open sea?”

Lin’s mother remembered how many years ago they also went to the open sea.

It was probably before the liberation.

At that time, ordinary people had very little land to grow food, so they often went to the open sea to find food to change their living conditions.

Later, when the country was liberated, ordinary people had land, and they were too busy working on the land to have time to go to the open sea.

Moreover, everyone was eyeing the open sea, so if too many people went, there would be hardly anything left.

Over time, fewer people went.

She hadn’t expected her daughter-in-law to go to the open sea today.

Lin’s mother referred to it as to Ning Shu because today she saw her son catching fish in the river pond.

“Okay,” Yibao urged, “Grandma, pour out the stuff and give me the basket. I need to go back for dinner.”

“Alright, alright, Grandma will pour it out, just wait a moment,” Lin’s mother took the small basket into the kitchen, then took out a small sieve, and poured the oysters into it.

Qian Aifen and Zhang Qinfang in the kitchen also saw it.

“It’s oysters,” Qian Aifen said somewhat surprised, “They’re not big, but they’re all open.”

Lin’s mother said, “It’s Third Daughter-in-law who asked Yibao to bring them. Steamed open, it’s so convenient to eat.”

She emphasized it was from the Ning Shu. “The oysters from Shijing in the open sea are small, but they’re very flavorful.”

Zhang Qinfang pursed her lips, “Eating too much of this stuff gives you diarrhea.”

Indeed, eating too many raw oysters can cause diarrhea, but that’s with raw oysters.

People with weak stomachs may also get diarrhea from eating raw snails, crabs, and other seafood.

But when cooked, it’s usually fine.

“Is she giving it to you to eat?” Lin’s mother replied bluntly.

Things had already been stirred up, and now things seemed calm, but it was only surface-level.

Since they had decided to split the family, Lin’s mother wouldn’t mince her words when necessary.

Zhang Qinfang stopped talking.

She still didn’t have the courage to argue with her mother-in-law.

Qian Aifen thought Zhang Qinfang was foolish, but she spoke kindly of the Ning family: “Third Brother and Third Sister-in-law always think of their parents.”

“Indeed,” Lin’s mother replied and went out with the empty basket.

On the other side, the Xiaoshan family was a bit far from the Ning family, so Erbao took quite a while to get there. “Xiaoshan, Xiaoshi…” As soon as Erbao entered the Xiaoshan family’s courtyard, he shouted loudly.

“It’s Erbao!” Lin Xiaoshi ran out of the kitchen, “My brother is making a fire. Why are you here, Erbao?”

Erbao shouted, “You and Xiaoshan gave me some small white shrimps. My mother asked me to come thank you. This is what my mother made for you to eat.”

Erbao spoke loudly because he was happy. Sharing food with friends made him happy.

“Ah?” Six-year-old Lin Xiaoshi didn’t know what to do.

At this moment, Lin Xiaoshan came out, “Erbao, you’re too polite.”

He took the basket from Erbao.

He and Xiaoshi giving Aunt Ning the small white shrimps was something their mother knew about.

At the time, Aunt Ning asked Yibao and Erbao to pick small white shrimps, and he overheard it.

Thinking about Aunt Ning’s usual care for them and now knowing she liked eating small white shrimps, he finally found a chance to repay her, so he took his little brother to pick the small white shrimps together.

Afterwards, he also told his mother about it, and his mother said repaying kindness with kindness was right.

Just now in the house, his mother also heard what Erbao said.

His mother said, since they gave the small white shrimps, Aunt Ning returned the favor, and it was acceptable to accept it.

It’s a give-and-take, which keeps good relations between families.

So, he came out to collect the stuff.

“Thank you, Erbao. Help me thank Auntie. I’ll go get the stuff out and then return your basket. Do you want to come in and sit for a while?”

Er Bao’s little head bobbed like a tambourine, “I’m not gonna sit. I want to go back for dinner.”

jHis mother had cooked a lot of delicious food, and if he went back later, his dad might eat it all.

Lin Xiaoshan said, “Okay, wait for me.”

He hurriedly took the basket inside and had Xiaoshi entertain Er Bao outside.

Lin Xiaoshan went into the kitchen, and his mother curiously asked, “What is it?”

Lin Xiaoshan lifted the cloth covering it, “Mom, take a look at this?” He was young and had never eaten oysters.

Besides, his mother had always taught him not to go to the seaside or riverside.

He was very obedient.

“It’s oysters, steamed. Today’s meal just got better,” Lin’s mother said happily. “You can eat them by just opening the shell. Steamed ones are easier to open and tastier. Just don’t eat too much, or you’ll get diarrhea.”

Lin Xiaoshan poured out the oysters and curiously ate one.

Then his eyes lit up, “It’s really delicious, very fresh, and a bit sweet. Mom, where did these come from? From the sea? Can I go dig them?”

His mother replied, “You can’t go. Don’t worry about where they come from. Anyway, children can’t go, it’s too dangerous, do you understand?” His mother was really afraid of her son going.

The tide going out wasn’t dangerous, but she was worried children might not be sensible enough and go during high tide, so she reminded him sternly.

“I understand, Mom. I won’t go,” Lin Xiaoshan said as he took the basket back and returned it to Er Bao.

Er Bao carried the basket, bouncing as he walked.

He really wanted to eat his mother’s cooking. He thought if he had four legs like a cow, he’d definitely walk faster.

“Sailing on a big river, the waves are wide…” Er Bao hummed the song loudly.

After he passed by, nearby households could hear him, and some even came out to listen.

They saw Er Bao and asked with a smile, “Er Bao, what are you so happy about?” He sang so loudly, wasn’t it obvious he was happy?

Today, everyone in his family was happy too.

“I’m going to eat my mom’s cooking. Can’t chat now,” he ran off like a playful calf.

The person watching Er Bao running off found it quite amusing.

Children were full of energy, and even the people nearby were infected by it.

But just at that moment, suddenly, another figure dashed out from the other side and crashed into Er Bao.

Er Bao hadn’t expected someone to crash into him.

He was knocked down while holding the small basket, which flew out of his hands.

He fell to the ground, his palm scraping against the stones, a sharp pain making his eyes red.

But Er Bao didn’t cry.

He stared blankly at the person who crashed into him—it was Zhuang Xiaopang.

Er Bao loudly asked, “Zhuang Xiaopang, what are you doing?”

Zhuang Xiaopang, seeing Er Bao on the ground, pounced on him again. “I’ll beat you! It’s because of you guys that my dad disappeared, my mom cries. I’ll beat you!”

Er Bao wasn’t someone to be bullied.

Seeing Zhuang Xiaopang pounce, he rolled to the side nimbly, then got up from the ground and lunged at Zhuang Xiaopang.

Zhuang Xiaopang was a year older than Er Bao and naturally taller due to his better diet since childhood.

In the past, Zhuang Xiaopang could easily overpower Er Bao just with his weight.

But now, in the past month, because of Zhuang Daming’s disappearance, Xiaopang’s mother cried every day, and Xiaopang was also burdened with worries, so he had lost quite a bit of weight.

At the same time, Er Bao had been recuperating for the past four months since waking up from his coma.

He and Yibao received nutritional supplements, and the nutritional deficiencies they had before were now being rapidly replenished.

So, their physique had improved, albeit not by much, but it was visibly better.

As his physique improved, Er Bao also grew stronger.

Plus, during the past month, Lin Guodong had been taking them for morning exercises every day.

Leaving aside other factors, Er Bao’s physical strength had indeed surpassed that of his peers.

So when Er Bao counterattacked, he immediately reached for Zhuang Xiaopang’s ears, not holding back at all.

A little rascal who threatened his mom and dad was never an honest person.

Zhuang Xiaopang had always been rough.

Naturally, he wouldn’t let Er Bao retaliate freely.

He stretched out his foot and started kicking Er Bao.

“Oh my…” The person who had heard Er Bao singing didn’t expect that in the blink of an eye, the two kids would start fighting.

But he didn’t intervene either; watching two kids fight was quite entertaining.

Today, because of fishing, many families were having dinner later than usual.

Some adults were cooking while children were playing outside.

Naturally, because of the commotion, people came out and saw Er Bao and Zhuang Xiaopang fighting outside.