Chapter 11

Over here, the Cai family was busy cooking, while the Yin family remained unaware of anything going on.

Jiang Wan led her cousin to a quieter spot, knowing that her cousin was quite resistant to interacting with strangers. Her aunt had mentioned before that her cousin didn’t used to be like this. This wouldn’t do—if her psychological issues grew worse, who knew what might happen?

So today, Jiang Wan planned to take advantage of the relaxed atmosphere while foraging by the sea to try and get her cousin to open up. But before she had a chance to bring it up, two “familiar faces” appeared in front of them.

They weren’t exactly close, but they’d exchanged a few words on the mountain the day before.

“Sister Wan, Sister Ning~~”

Little Jinbao greeted them sweetly and had a great memory, calling everyone by the correct names. Jiang Wan smiled and patted his head, casually asking, “Yinzhu, Jinbao, are you two here to forage as well?”

Lian Yinzhu shook her head, looking a bit bashful as she walked. She placed her basket on the ground and took out several small farming tools.

“I… I can’t go out for the next few days, so I thought you two might need some things since you just got here. These little rakes and shovels are perfect for foraging. You can borrow them for a few days.”

Jiang Wan’s heart leaped with joy—this was exactly what they needed.

“Thank you, Yinzhu! Where do you live? We’ll borrow them for three days and bring them back to you.”

Seeing Jiang Wan’s pleased expression, Yinzhu couldn’t help but smile too. She pointed toward the end of the village, giving detailed directions.

“Our house is right over there in the middle, where most of the houses are. There’s a big banana tree outside—easy to spot.”

After delivering the items, Yinzhu left with her little brother. Jiang Wan remembered the location she’d described, then turned excitedly to her cousin, handing her a small shovel.

“Cousin, today’s our lucky day—we finally have decent tools!”

Although digging in the sand wasn’t too difficult, doing it too long could make their hands hurt or even get injured.

“Let’s go try them out!”

Jiang Wan took her cousin to dig up a few clams. With ease, they scooped out the sand to reveal a pile of clams hidden underneath. The little shovel was indeed very useful.

Various shellfish clung to the rocks, including a small type called “soldier’s hat.” Though tiny, they had strong suction. If not pried off quickly, they’d clamp tightly onto the rocks, making it tough to remove them.

Yesterday, Jiang Wan had spotted several of them but had to give up because she didn’t have any tools to pry them off. Today, armed with the little shovel, she wasn’t letting any go.

The soldier’s hat clams were about the size of a bottle cap, somewhat like abalone but rounder and smaller, though no less nutritious. Jiang Wan hoped to bring back more of these than clams for her family.

“Cousin, you work on the soldier’s hats, and I’ll catch crabs. Let’s try to bring back as much as we can today.”

Hearing “crabs,” Yin Ning instantly remembered the half-crab she’d eaten yesterday. The thought of its delicious taste made her even more enthusiastic. Gripping the shovel, she promised, “Alright, I’ll get as many as I can!”

The two cousins stayed close to each other, moving among the rocks. Now free to focus, Jiang Wan quickly and accurately caught crabs, adding a few sea snails to her basket whenever she saw them.

Occasionally, a villager would pass by, giving them a glance but not stopping to chat, leaving the cousins to enjoy the peace and quiet.

After about half an hour, the cousins moved to a different rock formation where Jiang Wan spotted several tide pools.

Tide pools often held fish and shrimp, but she didn’t dare enter because sometimes dangerous eels lurked in them. With her small frame, facing an eel would only end in her getting bitten.

Back when she used to stream her seaside foraging, she had all the gear—rain boots, gloves, tongs to grab eels—so she wasn’t afraid. But now, better safe than sorry. She chose to stick with crab hunting.

Nearby, Yin Ning had already gathered a small pile of soldier’s hats. Even though the shovel handle had rubbed her hand raw, she kept going. She knew her family’s situation and didn’t want to be a burden. Now that there was something she could do, she’d keep at it, no matter the pain.

So focused on finding soldier’s hats, Yin Ning didn’t notice a villager approaching or the small creature moving through the cracks in the rocks toward her foot.

Huh? Her ankle felt a little itchy and cool.

Feeling something amiss, Yin Ning looked down, letting out a scream that sent the shovel flying. What on earth was that creepy thing?

So many legs, so ugly, and it was crawling onto her foot!

“Wanwan! Help!”

Terrified, she couldn’t shake off the creature, and tears sprang to her eyes as she dropped all the soldier’s hats she’d collected. She instinctively turned to run toward her cousin, but her foot slipped on two tentacles of an octopus, and she was about to hit her head on the rocks.

“Cousin!”

Jiang Wan’s heart nearly leapt out of her chest. Dropping her crab, she rushed over.

“Careful!”

A strong arm pulled Yin Ning back just in time.

Yin Ning’s mind went blank; she only wanted to get rid of the monster clinging to her ankle. Clutching the person in front of her, she pressed close, shivering and pleading, “Help! There’s a monster on my foot!”

The girl was crying uncontrollably, like a delicate flower battered by a storm.

Lian Yue felt his whole body tense up, quickly loosening his grip to inspect the “monster” on her foot. When he saw it, he let out a relieved sigh. It was just an octopus.

“Don’t worry, it’s only an octopus.”

He knelt down and started pulling the octopus away from Yin Ning’s ankle.

The octopus had wrapped several of its arms tightly around her, and it was suctioned on firmly. To pull it off, he would need to hold onto the young woman’s leg with one hand, but as a man, it wouldn’t be proper to touch her like that. He didn’t care about his own reputation, but he knew she would. She was too scared to react now, but if she came to her senses and made a fuss, what would he do then?

As he was worrying, Jiang Wan had already rushed over.

“C-cousin! Waaa…” Yin Ning couldn’t hold back her tears and clung to Jiang Wan, trembling uncontrollably.

“Don’t worry, cousin; it’s just an octopus, like a crab or sea snail, just another little sea creature. Don’t be afraid—I’ll help you get it off.” After comforting her cousin, Jiang Wan turned and thanked Lian Yue. Without his quick tug, her cousin might have ended up with a scar on her face today.

“Thank you, big brother, for saving my cousin.”

“It’s nothing,” Lian Yue replied. Seeing villagers starting to look over, he quietly stepped aside and left. Jiang Wan didn’t even get a chance to ask his name, but her cousin was still terrified, so her priority was to get the octopus off.

With years of experience gathering seafood, Jiang Wan knew quite a few tricks. When an octopus has latched on, pressing on its eyes makes it uncomfortable, so it loosens its grip. Swiftly, Jiang Wan removed the octopus, put it in her basket, and covered it with some wild grass. She looked at her cousin’s ankle and noticed two small patches of broken skin from the suction.

“It’s a minor scrape on your foot, but I’m worried it may have frightened you too much,” she said gently. “Cousin, I’ve locked the octopus away. It’s gone now, no need to worry.”

Yin Ning pressed her lips together, her crying gradually subsiding, but she was still trembling, too scared to take a step. The vast, dark rocks now seemed terrifying to her, as if an octopus might crawl out of every crevice. The memory of that cold, slimy feeling sent shivers down her spine.

“Cousin, I’m scared…” She couldn’t let go of Jiang Wan’s hand.

Seeing her cousin was traumatized, Jiang Wan felt pity and, holding her hand tightly, led her to pick up the scattered sea shells they had dropped. They’d been gathering for over an hour, so they couldn’t just leave them behind.

Hand in hand, the two girls carefully picked up the shells and then grabbed their shovel and rake. They decided to find the adults instead of continuing their search.

Today, the adults had been lucky, digging up plenty of clams and even finding two fish. Although one fish had died, both Yin Huaishan and his wife Song Wenhui, who’d known hunger, were glad to have it to cook for lunch.

When the sisters arrived, they overheard a dispute between their cousins.

“Big brother, look at the fish gills—they’ve turned dark red and even a bit pale. This means it’s been dead a long time. Eating dead fish, especially if it’s not fresh, isn’t a good idea.”

Yin Huaishan was reluctant to throw out such a big fish, and Song Wenhui, having endured hunger, supported her husband.

“If you don’t believe me, ask Aunt Niu; but it’s not safe to eat,” Yin Huaixi insisted, leaving the couple no choice but to toss the fish with a heavy heart. But Jiang Wan quickly retrieved it.

“Wanwan?”

“Mother, the fish isn’t fresh enough for us to eat, but it could make good bait.”

It wasn’t fit for humans, but sea creatures loved it. Jiang Wan wasn’t satisfied with only collecting seafood during low tide; she wanted to catch something at high tide, too. Otherwise, when the low tide shifted to nighttime, wouldn’t her family go hungry?

Hearing this, Yin Huaixi smiled, realizing her daughter’s cleverness and glad she hadn’t wasted it.

With the tide not yet rising, the three adults decided to keep gathering. Jiang Wan stayed back to comfort her cousin, covering the basket and leading her to rest in the shade.

Not long after they sat down, Jiang Wan noticed her cousin continuously rubbing her right arm—the spot where the man had grabbed her.

“Cousin, are you hurt? Your arm… were you injured?”

Yin Ning shook her head abruptly, stopping herself from rubbing, but she couldn’t quite control the urge. She bit her lip, clutching her knees tightly.

Jiang Wan placed her small hand over her cousin’s, her voice soft and sweet.

“Cousin, we’re the closest sisters now. If something’s upsetting you, you have to tell me—I’ll be here for you.”

Yin Ning froze, feeling the small hand patting her gently, stirring an ache in her heart.

“It’s okay; you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. But you have to find a way to cheer yourself up, alright? Set aside the bad thoughts, focus on happy ones, and remember the freedom we have now. We may be poor, but we don’t have to follow rigid rules. If you want to speak up, you can speak up; if you want to go out, you can go out. Isn’t it wonderful? When we make some money, we can buy a small fishing boat and sail out to sea ourselves. Doesn’t that sound exciting?”

Her cousin’s words sparked a bit of interest in Yin Ning. She felt as if the heavy weight in her heart had lightened a bit, and she asked, “Cousin, do you know how to row? Can you swim?”

Jiang Wan leaned her head against her cousin’s shoulder with a smile. “No, but we can learn. You’re smart, cousin, and I’m not too bad either. We’ll find a good teacher and learn together.”

“Learn to swim, huh…”

Could she really swim freely in the sea like a fish?

Jiang Wan’s words filled her with longing. A glimmer of tears appeared in Yin Ning’s eyes as she grabbed her little cousin’s hand, leaning close and whispering in her ear, her voice so low only they could hear.

“What?! Um…”

Before Jiang Wan could get upset, Yin Ning quickly covered her mouth. Calming down, Jiang Wan realized this wasn’t the best place to talk, so she obediently sat back down.

What her cousin had whispered to her just moments ago were two things that, for women of this time, were devastating.

Back when their family’s home was raided and they were exiled, Yin Ning had been in her room in the back courtyard, unaware of the commotion out front. It wasn’t until the officers came into the courtyard to seize property that she realized her family was implicated and would be imprisoned. Some of the officials searching the courtyard had behaved very inappropriately, using the excuse of checking for hidden jewelry to touch her face, pull at her clothes, and even grope her legs and backside.

Their words were filthy and vile.

For a young woman, this was a humiliating and intolerable experience, yet Yin Ning had no choice but to endure it. Then, on her first day in prison, her fiancé’s family sent in a letter breaking off the engagement.

It was only natural for people to avoid misfortune, and the Yin family couldn’t blame them. But her cousin had endured three severe blows—her family’s downfall, the physical harassment, and the broken engagement. She had to keep her suffering to herself, hiding it so her family wouldn’t worry, but it was too much to bear. Without someone to talk her through it, she might very well break down emotionally.

“Cousin, I’ve been touched by several men… Does that make me… tainted?” The last word came out in barely a whisper, laced with despair.

Jiang Wan’s heart skipped a beat. She turned and glared at her cousin, snapping, “Don’t talk nonsense! Cousin, you’re being ridiculous!”

“Huh?”

“You were the victim here! Instead of blaming those scoundrels, you’re blaming yourself?”

At the word “scoundrels,” Yin Ning’s eyes widened in disbelief. Her refined little cousin had actually said the word “scoundrel”! Was this really her cousin?

“Wanwan… It’s unseemly to use such language…”

“Oh, come on, cousin, look at our situation now. We’re no longer wealthy young ladies with all those rules to follow. My words may be coarse, but my actions are honest. As long as our hearts are true, that’s what matters.”

Jiang Wan gestured for her cousin to lean in, and the two pressed close together once more.

“Cousin, think of it as if you just brushed up against a dog—don’t let it bother you. We’re far from the capital now, and we’re busy just trying to take care of the basics, so don’t waste energy worrying about anything else. Even if Uncle and Aunt knew, they would feel the same way. Understand?”

Brushed up against a dog?

Yin Ning blinked her large, tear-filled eyes. Somehow, what her cousin said made perfect sense.