Chapter 17: Ye Fan’s Plan

“Deputy Regiment Leader Niu seriously suspected that the political commissar was embarrassed and angry: “Commander, let’s go with this arrangement.”

Without saying another word, Geng Zhiyé wrote “Niu Dayong” on the list: “I’ll let the Chief of Staff know later. I’ll burn this sheet of paper.” After burning it, he checked his watch. “It’s lunch time. I’m heading home. How will you handle it?”

Deputy Regiment Leader Niu encouraged Geng Zhiyé to drive back.

Geng Zhiyé: “Let’s take a three-wheeler. If we use the transport truck, we need to fill out forms.”

“I drive?”

Geng Zhiyé nodded without hesitation.

Niu Dayong put his arm around his shoulder and headed out: “The commander is straightforward. Unlike some people who are always dragging their feet. My wife is even more decisive than him.” He looked back at the political commissar. “Coming with us?”

The political commissar grumbled: “No way!”

“See? Even taking a three-wheeler causes so many problems. No wonder they made him the political commissar. The boss knows exactly what he’s suited for, even across the sea.”

The political commissar rolled his eyes and looked at the burnt scheduling sheet in the ashtray—some people… being sold off, no one is to blame.

Deputy Regiment Leader Niu scratched his itchy ear: “The only bad thing about the island is that in January, there are mosquitoes, and in May, there are still mosquitoes. Damn it, it’s like poking into a mosquito nest.” He jumped into the three-wheeler. “Commander, hold on!”

“I trust your skills,” Geng Zhiyé said, squatting down because the car was dirty.

Geng Zhiyé, the vice regimental leader, chuckled and said, “We’re not boasting, but I can fly a plane, operate a ship, and even drive a tank. If we were in the Marine Corps, I’d be the vice regimental leader too.”

Geng Zhiyé: “Not the regimental leader? When did you, Old Bull, become so lacking in ambition?”

“Well, I’ve got you.” Old Bull, who had once refused to be overshadowed — even when a rookie, still managed to outdo him. There was one time on a mission when Geng Zhiyé only knew three phrases of foreign language but still tried to bluff his way through. Even though Old Bull wasn’t afraid of death, when he learned the truth later, he broke into a cold sweat.

Old Bull parked the car in front of Geng Zhiyé’s house. When Geng Zhiyé got out of the car, Old Bull noticed the shape in his pants pocket. “Another family letter?”

“Yesterday it was from my mother-in-law, today it’s from my family.” Geng Zhiyé took it out to show him. “It’s from my sister.”

Old Bull saw the word “Geng” on the letter and, when he got home, told his wife how open and straightforward the regimental leader was.

In the yard, Ye Fan was washing her hands. Hearing Geng Zhiyé’s words, she asked, “A letter from Xiaoqin? Is everything okay?”

“I haven’t read it yet.” Geng Zhiyé replied as he went into the yard, unwrapping the letter. After reading it, he sighed, and he could almost hear his sister’s gloating laughter from thousands of miles away. “Take a look.” He handed it over with a sigh.

Ye Fan was very curious and read it carefully, word by word.

The letter detailed how Chen Xiaohui, when she first arrived at the supply and sales office, had been noticed by the director and the cashier…

Ye Fan reassured her with a calm face that there was no need to rush, that she should first adjust and get used to things. The tasks assigned to her were simple.

However, Chen Xiaohui misunderstood; she thought that returning meant changing her mindset. She took on everything, stating that she could handle it all.

After Ye Fan left, the director and the cashier believed she had adapted enough.

They handed over all the accounting books to her.

Chen Xiaohui had never worked as an accountant in her past life. This time, she had been out of school for many years. Aside from subjects like Chinese, politics, and history that were casually discussed in daily life, everything else was beyond her. Suddenly facing the dense numbers, she felt dizzy. Some payments were monthly, some bi-monthly, and others were settled quarterly. There were separate accounts for goods intercepted at the agricultural and sideline products purchasing station, in case anyone filed a complaint and there was an inspection from above.

Previously, Chen Xiaohui had told the cashier in front of Ye Fan that the accounting at the supply and marketing cooperative was simple for her. She wanted to save face and didn’t want to ask the cashier for help. She thought that by reminding Geng Zhiqin not to rush into marriage, with a bit of affection involved, she could ask him for guidance.

Geng Zhiqin, however, was unaware of Chen Xiaohui’s changes or the journey she had been through. In her letter, she mentioned that Chen Xiaohui was overestimating herself and trying to appear more capable than she was, and so on. “If it weren’t for my sister-in-law, I wouldn’t have taught her.”

There were also a few remarks like, “My sister-in-law never taught me step by step, but I took the time to teach her. Chen Xiaohui didn’t even appreciate it, and she deserves to be swamped with work.”

Upon reading this, Ye Fan couldn’t help but laugh and cry at the same time. “Did you send the letter?”

Geng Zhìyè shook his head. “I was planning to go out at noon and detour to send the letter, but before noon, I received a letter from Xiaoqin.” He pulled out an envelope from his jacket pocket. “Keep this for kindling. You write an urgent letter to my mother-in-law and send a letter to Xiaoqin.” Seeing the letter in Ye Fan’s hand, he couldn’t help but say, “When I saw that letter yesterday, I also thought she didn’t need to make such a face.”

Ye Fan replied, “Even if my mom has those suspicions, we can’t blame her. Who would’ve thought that Chen Xiaohui’s so-called ‘learning’ would mean she was full of clever tricks?”

Because of this, Ye Fan couldn’t sleep soundly at night—she was worried that Táo Chūnlán and Chen Xiaohui might get into a fight. Chen Xiaohui, lacking common sense, could be rough when handling things, and one wrong move could leave her without a mother when she woke up.

Geng Zhìyè subconsciously had a switch in his mind. At work, any small sound could wake him up, but at home, it felt like returning to a safe harbor. When he woke up in the morning and saw the dark circles under Ye Fan’s eyes, he realized she hadn’t slept well.

“You and Dabao and Erbao play in the yard, I’ll make breakfast.”

Dabao loudly reminded, “Dad, make the big lobster.”

Just as a middle-aged female comrade was about to pass by the corner of the Gěng family’s house and walk through the alley between the Liao and Gěng families, she suddenly stopped and listened carefully. Geng Zhìyè asked, “Did Dad buy it this morning?”

“Yes. Mom is too much of a scaredy-cat to kill it.”

Ye Fan rolled her eyes.

Dabao immediately burst into a giggle.

Geng Zhìyè couldn’t help but remind, “Dabao, your mom’s patience is limited.”

“Dad, I’ll make the fire!” Dabao hurriedly ran to his dad’s side.

Geng Zhìyè picked him up, “Let’s go.”

The female comrade turned and walked back. She stopped at her own doorstep, hesitated for a moment, then headed north. A few dozen meters north, she saw a row of stone-built tile houses and paused again. Determined, she walked toward the small courtyard, which was swept very clean: “Xiaotian, are you home?”

Tian Xiaofeng came out of the garden holding a bunch of amaranth, “Who is it?”

“It’s me, don’t you remember?” The female comrade pointed at herself, “We met a few days ago.”

Tian Xiaofeng had some recollection: “You’re from Gao Yíng—”

“Don’t let anyone hear.” The female comrade quietly interrupted, “Let’s talk inside.”

Tian Xiaofeng was busy preparing a meal and didn’t have time for small talk, “Not convenient, the kids are home. What is it, Liu Saozi?”

“You’re absolutely right.” The woman’s surname was Liu, and her given name was “Qing.” Liu Qing mysteriously shared the latest developments with her: “Ye Fan, the wife of Geng Tuanzhang, still thinks of herself as a young lady.”

Tian Xiaofeng subconsciously looked around, noticing no one was nearby, “Let’s talk in the kitchen.” She grabbed Liu Qing’s hand and eagerly asked, “Did she try to pull rank on you?”

“He’s so good to her?”

“Everyone has their limits.”

Liu Qing thought to herself, “What a coincidence, Battalion Commander Geng said this very same thing—except he was talking about his son.”

“I haven’t seen that child many times, but just by looking at his eyes, I can tell he’s not an easy one, exactly like his mother. He’s definitely a troublemaker.”

Liu Qing looked puzzled: “So what do you mean?”

“Battalion Commander Geng isn’t made of iron. How long can he keep buying groceries and cooking every day? She’s been here for years, and the relationship with the Ye family has cooled. Battalion Commander Geng can’t stand her anymore, and her in-laws never wanted to help out the fake son-in-law. If Battalion Commander Geng doesn’t divorce her, I’ll take her last name!”

Liu Qing asked, “What do you expect the Ye family to help with? Isn’t Battalion Commander Geng’s father an old revolutionary?”

“He retired long ago. I heard it’s been ten years. With his background, he’s a big deal in Yongcheng. Among so many marshals and generals in the capital, who even knows who he is? This island is so far from the headquarters, without any reminders, when the time comes, they’ll just have to transfer him.”

Liu Qing’s expression changed slightly. “Then my family—”

“Your family still has Deputy Battalion Commander Niu. Who can match him when it comes to military achievements? I don’t know what the higher-ups at the headquarters are thinking, but the one who’s bled the most is actually being overshadowed by someone younger by several years.” Tian Xiaofeng shook her head. “These days, it’s really the likes of Xiren everywhere, and Xue Cai is running wild.”

“What does that mean?”

A hint of awkwardness flashed across Tian Xiaofeng’s face. She couldn’t explain it either, but she had heard it while shopping onshore: “Don’t worry about the meaning, just watch and see. Without the Ye family, everyone will show their true colors.”

Liu Qing looked her up and down and asked, “Aren’t you worried about your husband?”

“He’s a driver. When he gets to a new place, he’s still a driver, just like here.” Tian Xiaofeng wanted to be concerned, but her family wasn’t hers to make decisions for. “I’d love for him to transfer out tomorrow. I’m sick of this godforsaken place. I have to go onshore just to buy a box of Xuehua Cream made in Shengcheng.”

Liu Qing replied, “If you can’t get used to it, how could a young lady like her get used to it?”

Tian Xiaofeng scoffed, “She’ll have to get used to it whether she likes it or not. Otherwise, she’ll go back to Shengcheng? That broken family, those kinds of parents—I wouldn’t go back if it were me. Don’t say she’s used to the good life.”

Liu Qing nodded. “I heard they had lobster today.”

“Lobster, huh?” Tian Xiaofeng said. Lobster is rare and expensive. Even during holidays, she wouldn’t dare buy one. “But lobster doesn’t seem right, locals don’t eat it.”

Liu Qing, who was walking at the time, said, “Maybe it was shrimp, I must have misheard.”

“Definitely misheard,” Tian Xiaofeng said. “Even if Colonel Geng’s salary is higher than ours, he wouldn’t let her waste it like that.”

Colonel Geng indeed wouldn’t let Ye Fan waste it, because she didn’t know how to cook. Those two lobsters were bought by Colonel Geng, and though they were more expensive than red shrimp, they weren’t at the point where they couldn’t afford them.

Geng Zhiyé went to the kitchen and first asked his son if he wanted rice or steamed buns.

Dabao: “Mom said lobster goes with vermicelli.”

“Your mom may know how to eat it but doesn’t know how to cook it. Sorry, we don’t have vermicelli. Neither the thick nor the thin ones are available at the market. I’ll steam some rice, and we’ll have tofu braised with lobster. You and your sister can both eat that.”

Dabao shook his head: “I don’t want tofu.”

“Then you can have the shrimp meat. Does the shrimp meat taste good?”

Dabao couldn’t tell the difference between lobsters, crayfish, or red shrimp. He just knew that whatever his mom boiled in water always tasted good. “Dad, light the fire.”

Geng Zhiyé put down the bulging sack, feeling light: “Isn’t there rice straw inside?”

“It’s the leaves Aunt Guihua gave me. She said leaves burn well. Dad, Aunt Guihua is also really nice.”

Geng Zhiyé: “She speaks loudly, like she’s arguing with someone, but actually, she’s a good person.”

Ye Fan came in holding their daughter: “Dabao, do you want me to cook?”

“I’ll cook!” Dabao raised his hand and pointed at his dad, “Learn from Dad. No slacking!”

Ye Fan: “You don’t talk to me, so why should I listen to you?”

“But I don’t want to speak English. We’re not foreigners.”

Ye Fan nodded: “From now on, if we go to the Friendship Store, you’re not allowed to ask me what’s written on the boxes or if something tastes good. Even if you ask, I won’t tell you.”

“You—are being stubborn!”

“Are you going to learn or not?”

Dabao mentally did the math. If he learned English, it would be useful, and if his mom learned to cook, he and his sister would have good food: “If you learn, I’ll learn too.”

Ye Fan put her daughter down, and Dabao patted the little stool beside him for his younger sister to come over.

Geng Zhiyé told Ye Fan to try first while he rinsed the rice.

Ye Fan instinctively stepped back. Geng Zhiyé put the lid on the pot and immediately pulled her back: “What are you hiding for? What could it do to you?”

“But what if I get pinched?” Ye Fan had never touched live lobsters in her life, including crayfish.

Geng Zhiyé: “Listen to me, you won’t get hurt.”

“What about next time?”

Geng Zhiyé turned and saw that Ye Fan’s face had darkened. “Then—”

“Ye Fan is a coward.” Dabao shot his dad a glare, telling him not to go soft, “Ye Fan, don’t make me look down on you!”

Ye Fan felt frustrated. The things she said, even if she only said them once, Geng Dabao would remember them. With that kind of memory, he still dared to think about playing every day. “Don’t try to talk like me.”

Dabao stood up and shouted loudly: “Ye Fan, you’re a coward! Ye Fan, I look down on you! I want everyone to hear!”

As Liu Qing was passing by the back of the Geng house on her way home to cook, she paused. “Such bad manners.”

Liao Miaomiao, who was across the alley, couldn’t help but say, “Dabao is going to get a beating.”

Liao Zhengwei, who had just arrived home, said, “No way. He’s just like his dad—talkative. While others are getting anxious, he’s still in the mood to joke and cough. Dabao doesn’t make serious mistakes, and as long as he keeps calling Ye Fan ‘Ye Fan,’ your Ye Aunt wouldn’t hit him.”

Zhuang Qiuyue agreed, “He looks reckless, but he actually listens well. This morning, when I told Dabao and Erbao to stay at home, they stayed and played quietly. Erbao is only two years old.” She looked at Liao Miaomiao, “You were still asking me to hug you to sleep when you were three or four. Dabao and Erbao each sleep with their own little blanket. I don’t know how they were taught.”

Ye Fan, being a first-time mother, didn’t know how to raise kids, so she just let them be. Even if they were rolling in the mud, Geng Dabao didn’t mind being dirty, and Ye Fan could just pretend she didn’t see it. Without realizing it, she had raised him to have the personality he had now.

Ye Fan stared at her son and said, “The reverse psychology doesn’t work on me.”

“Erbao—”

“I’ll watch the fire, I’ll do it!” Dabao rolled up his sleeves, ready to help.

Ye Fan hurriedly stopped him, “I—I’ll learn, it’s fine! Your little hands aren’t bigger than a lobster, how can you learn to cook? Go chop firewood!”

Dabao sat back down, grinning and watching Ye Fan.

Ye Fan threatened him, “If I get hurt, just wait for rice with soy sauce.”

Geng Zhiyé said, “Hurry up.”

Ye Fan took a deep breath, as if preparing for battle.

Geng Zhiyé, exhausted, put his hands on his hips and asked, “Do you want two shots of Maotai to boost your courage?”

“Who are you looking down on?” Ye Fan grabbed a knife and shot a look at Geng Zhiyé. Geng Zhiyé, not daring to let her do it on her own, decided to step in and guide her through it first.

Ye Fan dissected the first lobster, and only then did Geng Zhiyé step back, teaching her to raise the knife and kill the second one.

With both lobsters arranged in the basin, Ye Fan couldn’t help but say, “Don’t look at them like this, the more you eat, the hungrier you’ll get.”

Geng Zhiyé nodded, “There’s no fat in your stomach. When are you going to find the commune secretary and ask the kitchen team leader to go with you?”

“Buy what?” Ye Fan was preparing scallions and ginger.

Geng Zhiyé: “Two pigs.”

“Two?” Ye Fan was surprised, “With one to two thousand people, can each person get a piece?”

Geng Zhiyé shook his head: “Eat the bones and offal, save the meat for stewing vegetables.”

“Is the military budget that tight?”

Geng Zhiyé: “It’s not that tight, but if we spend the money now, what will we do for extra dishes during Mid-Autumn and New Year’s Eve?”

“What if we cooperate with the commune?”

Geng Zhiyé: “We can’t engage in business.”

Ye Fan knew it wasn’t possible right now, but it would be possible around the 1990s: “Cooperation for mutual benefit?”

“We don’t take advantage of the people…”

“One stitch, one thread!”

Ye Fan: “Let me think about it. By the way, is it far from our house?”

“He lives far from here, about seven or eight miles along the mountain road. The supply and marketing cooperative is about four or five miles away; he usually works there. Occasionally, he’ll visit the vegetable market.”

The agricultural and sideline product market is closer to the Geng family, less than a mile away. Ye Fan was about to say something but turned her head and saw Dabao with a resentful expression, laughing softly: “Let’s cook first.”

Geng Zhiyé taught Ye Fan to first add scallions and ginger to sauté, then add the shrimp heads, shells, and claws, followed by the shrimp meat, and finally add water, simmering the white broth before adding the tofu.

Ye Fan looked at the tofu and asked, “Did you buy the firm tofu?”

Geng Zhiyé nodded: “It absorbs the broth and tastes better.” He noticed the oil in the salt jar was almost used up, “When the oil runs out, we’ll buy fatty pork.”

“We don’t have any meat coupons.”

Geng Zhiyé: “There are purchase limits per household. You should go early.”

“Are we a family of four only allowed half a pound of oil a month?”

Geng Zhiyé: “We’ll buy vegetable oil during the hottest part of summer. Otherwise, you’ll be rendering lard in the house.”

Ye Fan instinctively shook her head. Geng Zhiyé glanced at her helplessly, then pulled the kids up: “Go wash your hands with Daddy.”

Dabao saw there was still firewood under the pot: “Is the rice cooked?”

“The tofu needs to simmer a while. Let your mom watch the fire.” Geng Zhiyé took the children outside, patted the dust off their clothes, and both Dabao and Erbao closed their eyes. Geng Zhiyé couldn’t help but smile at the sight, “Alright. Dabao, Erbao, do you need to go to the toilet?”

Ye Fan smelled the fragrance of the rice and quickly pushed the firewood in before coming out: “I’ll take Erbao.”

Dabao: “Mom, I can go by myself.”

Ye Fan pulled one child with each hand: “Darling, let’s go.”

Dabao waved his hand: “Darling, don’t miss me.”

Geng Zhiyé pretended not to hear, went to the kitchen, and tucked two handfuls of leaves under the pots. When he smelled the crispy rice aroma, he started setting the table.

As he heard the voices of the mother and two children getting closer, Geng Zhiyé began serving the dishes and rice.

Geng Zhiyé broke the crispy rice into small pieces and asked Dabao and Erbao if they wanted some.

Dabao took a small bite, found it hard on his teeth, and decided to eat rice instead. Ye Fan scooped two spoonfuls of shrimp and one spoon of soup and mixed them for Dabao to eat.

“Mom, I can eat tofu too.” Dabao pushed his bowl back.

Ye Fan picked up a piece for him: “Tofu has a lot of water, eat slowly.”

Erbao opened her eyes wide and looked at her dad.

Geng Zhiyé smiled and took her bowl: “One spoon of soup, two spoons of meat, one piece of tofu, just like your brother. Eat slowly.”

Erbao was so happy to receive the same treatment as her brother that she giggled foolishly.

Geng Zhiyé couldn’t help but say, “When you’re as clever as your brother, Dad will be at ease.”

“Why is Dad worried?” Dabao asked.

Geng Zhiyé: “I’m worried that bad people might deceive your sister.”

What if it’s someone like Chen Xiaohui? What should we do?

Dabao sat up straight: “Don’t worry, Dad, I’ll protect my sister.”

Geng Zhiyé saw the shrimp meat on his face and thought, “When you’re ready to protect her, your mom and I will have a long way to go.”

“Let’s eat first.” Geng Zhiyé wiped the food off his face.

After the meal, Ye Fan handed Geng Zhiyé a pair of scissors. Geng Zhiyé, helpless, could only trim half of her hair.

With her head feeling lighter, Ye Fan hummed a lullaby as she went to the study to get paper and a pen, preparing to write two letters to the capital. The content of the letters was similar, first comforting the two recipients, and then explaining that Chen Xiaohui’s actions were due to her timidity.

Geng Zhiyé was more cautious than Ye Fan. He went to the office, changed the envelopes, and addressed them to Ye Fan’s sister-in-law. Li Mingyue, being meticulous, noticed the envelope was addressed to her to pass on to Geng Zhiqin and Tao Chunlan, so she made sure to personally deliver the letter to them.

As it happened, half a month later, during her time off, Li Mingyue took advantage of the opportunity when Chen Xiaohui returned to her room and gave the letter to Tao Chunlan.

Tao Chunlan, feeling conflicted, read it all, then handed it to Li Mingyue. Li Mingyue, surprised, took the letter, wondering why her sister-in-law had given it to her.

Li Mingyue was not an accountant, but she knew how to report expenses and handle the inspection leaders. During lunch, Li Mingyue asked if anything had happened at home while she was away. Tao Chunlan cooperated by saying there was nothing. Li Mingyue casually asked if Chen Xiaohui was having any difficulties at work, offering to help with any ideas, even if she couldn’t provide direct assistance.

Chen Xiaohui, stubborn in her previous life, never learned how to adapt her words to the situation—speaking appropriately to people and differently to others. She had the intention to seek advice from Li Mingyue, but Li Mingyue had looked down on her in the past, so when the words were on her lips, Chen Xiaohui swallowed them back.

Li Mingyue pretended not to notice her hesitation and casually smiled, encouraging her to eat more. In the afternoon, when delivering a letter to Geng Zhiqin, Li Mingyue asked him to help Chen Xiaohui.

Geng Zhiqin rolled his eyes: “She’s 25, not three or five years old.”

Li Mingyue: “Although there are some things I still don’t understand, seeing how steady she’s been these days, she must want to live well. Just help her out, and later I’ll ask your sister-in-law—”

“Sister-in-law is from my family!” Geng Zhiqin interrupted.

Li Mingyue thought to herself that her surname was Ye, but she said, “Next time, when we go to the Friendship Store, you can choose whatever food or supplies you want.”

“That’s more like it.” Geng Zhiqin suddenly remembered something, “Chen Xiaohui asked me if I had any high school textbooks. She knew that your sister-in-law gave them to me, but she—having gone to high school—doesn’t need them and doesn’t like to take advantage.”

“What do you mean?”

Li Mingyue: “Didn’t she say anything else?”

Geng Zhiqin became irritated as he spoke: “She used to say that I was only twenty, probably thinking I was too young and naïve to understand and might get deceived, telling me to wait a few years before finding a partner.” He sighed, “Her tone was more like my mom than my mom herself. One mother is enough, but now there’s another one!”

Li Mingyue took her hand and comforted her: “I think I understand now. You gave her the impression that you weren’t taking her seriously. If she really cared about you, she would have used the textbooks to hold you back. These days, you can’t even advise someone to read the classics.”

Geng Zhiqin glanced at his sister-in-law’s letter: “Maybe. I don’t know how sister-in-law and the kids are doing. From the North to the South, from a landlocked place to an island where they don’t know anyone… I really don’t feel at ease. I want to go see them.”

Li Mingyue: “Fanfan never regrets her decisions. She has no burdens in her heart, and she can adapt quickly wherever she is.”

There was one thing Li Mingyue didn’t realize: Ye Fan was the type to take a detour when one path didn’t work.

Dabao thought his mom was being stubborn, but the real reason was that Ye Fan had never used a traditional stove and had miscalculated. She had only seen dry wells and didn’t expect the wells with water to be so muddy, which made her lose her balance and fall in.

After a few mishaps, Ye Fan realized that the island was completely different from the places she had lived before, almost as if she were a sent-down youth working in the countryside.

Ye Fan often helped Tao Chunlan with farming, but the climate in the North was different from the island in the South. So when Liu Guihua and Zhuang Qiuyue wanted to help her, she immediately smiled and thanked them. While the two were distracted, Ye Fan gave her son a look and pointed toward her bedroom.

Dabao furrowed his brows and looked at his mom, confused. “What do you mean?”

Ye Fan glanced at Zhuang Qiuyue and Liu Guihua, and Dabao ran into the room. Erbao didn’t quite understand, but following her older brother was always the right choice. Even if they made a mistake, Mom would always punish the older brother first.

When Dabao opened the cabinet to grab some candy, Erbao immediately got upset: “No, Mom will hit people!”

“Mom told me to take it.” Dabao grabbed two, then after a thought, grabbed two more.

Erbao stopped his brother: “Mom didn’t say.”

“Then I’ll put it in my pocket. If you ask Mom and she says no candy, should I secretly put it back?”

You won’t turn back until you hit the wall, will you? Erbao gave him a deep look and then ran outside shouting, “Mom!”

“Where’s brother?”

Erbao was stunned.

Dabao came out of the room, pulling his little sister, who sometimes resembled a monkey and other times a pig. “Mom, is this enough?” He spread his little hands.

Four pieces of candy.
Ye Fan gave one to Dabao and one to Erbao. From here on, without her needing to say anything, Dabao already knew what to do. He ran over to Liu Guihua with the two candies in hand. “Auntie, candy.”

Liu Guihua felt quite embarrassed and said, “Give it to Dabao.” Without a second word, Dabao stuffed the candy into her hand and ran over to Zhuang Qiuyue. Zhuang Qiuyue took it and said, “Thank you, Dabao.”

Dabao shook his head: “No need to thank me.” He pulled Erbao and returned to sit quietly under the shade where there was no sun.

When Liu Guihua left Ye Fan’s house, she praised Dabao for being so sensible when he was. Zhuang Qiuyue knew Dabao was sensible and wasn’t surprised by the candy, but she was curious and asked, “Ye Fan can’t use a clay stove or fetch water, so how is she so good at growing vegetables?”

The two of them helped plow and plant the vegetables, but they had never taught Ye Fan. They only reminded her that the island got plenty of rain, so there was no need to water the plants specifically.

Liu Guihua didn’t understand why she was so concerned about this and simply said, “People from the city have to eat vegetables. What’s so strange about knowing how to grow them?”

“But her surname is Ye,” Zhuang Qiuyue responded.

Liu Guihua replied, “Tian Xiaofeng and those women always talk about her being a young lady. Do you think the same? The Ye family was a landlord, and Ye Fan didn’t do anything when she was young. The Ye family was already overthrown. You didn’t mention this to Little Ye, did you?”

Zhuang Qiuyue replied, “Why would I say such gossip? On purpose to upset her?”

Liu Guihua nodded repeatedly, “I also think Tian Xiaofeng hopes we’ll tell Ye Fan. If Ye Fan finds out and gets angry and can’t sleep, she’ll be happy.”

Zhuang Qiuyue didn’t think too much about it and was surprised to hear that an illiterate person could think of this. No wonder she’s from the same family as Deputy Commander Niu, who has a violent temper, and they’ve never had an argument.

That being said, Ye Fan wasn’t speaking carelessly when she told Geng Zhiyé that once she had thought it through, she would talk to the commune secretary.

Ye Fan asked Geng Zhiyé to give ten yuan to the logistics department to fuel the tricycle, as she was learning to ride one.

The tricycle is more stable than a human-powered rickshaw. Ye Fan could drive, so it shouldn’t be too difficult to learn. But the mountain roads are not like the wide streets of the capital, and the difference between three legs and four wheels is clear. Ye Fan started from scratch.

She wasn’t in a hurry about anything, and Ye Fan didn’t make any more mistakes.

After receiving a letter from the capital, Ye Fan had already learned how to catch crabs, fry hairtail fish, and render lard. She even dared to take the tricycle, carrying the two children for a ride. “A ride” was what others said, but since Ye Fan had paid for the fuel, the person who disliked her the most, Tian Xiaofeng, could only complain that Ye Fan treated the army like her own family and didn’t dare to report her.

After reading the letters from her mother and her aunt, there was nothing urgent that needed a reply, so Ye Fan just carried Dabao and Erbao to the tricycle.

At the end of June, both the primary and secondary schools on the island were on vacation. Miaomiao was playing with her younger brother and sister under their house’s eaves when she heard a noise, stood on tiptoe, and saw Ye Fan going out. She asked, “Aunt Ye, going out again?”

Ye Fan used the opportunity to practice driving to familiarize herself with the island’s situation. Except for the army, Ye Fan knew the rules and didn’t get close. She thought the time had come: “Shall we go? If we do, let’s find a clean bag as a cushion, the car interior got dirty from Dabao and Erbao’s feet.”

Dabao wanted to say it wasn’t dirty, but when he looked up and saw the shoe prints, he pretended not to hear his mom’s words: “Mom, are we going to the beach?”

Ye Fan: “You and your sister are too small. One wave and both of you could get swept away. When Dad comes home tonight, we’ll go. I’ll carry Erbao, and Dad can carry you.”

Liao Miaomiao locked the house door and ran over: “Then where are we going?”

“You’ll know soon.” Ye Fan closed the gate of the yard. “Miaomiao, is your mom not home?”

On the island, there are very few job opportunities, aside from teachers and healthcare workers. All the military wives have no jobs. In the morning, Zhuang Qiuyue saw a tricycle in the Geng family’s yard and guessed that Ye Fan was going out again, so she went to work with Liu Guifang.

Miaomiao pointed behind her: “She’s at Deputy Commander Niu’s house. But my mom has the key.”

Ye Fan got into the car: “Then let’s go.”

The weather was hot, and the supply and marketing cooperative had soda. Ye Fan bought five bottles and casually asked if the secretary was around. The secretary wasn’t there, so Ye Fan went to his house. When she arrived at the door of the secretary’s house at Hengshan Commune, Ye Fan opened the soda and gave it to the five kids: “Wait here.”

The car was parked outside the secretary’s house, under a loquat tree. Ye Fan wasn’t worried about them getting heatstroke.

Ye Fan didn’t know where the secretary’s house was and had asked along the way. Liao Miaomiao, therefore, knew who she was looking for and curiously asked, “Aunt Ye, why are you looking for the secretary?”

“I need to talk about something,” Ye Fan replied. She had asked the person in charge of the agricultural and sideline products market where the secretary’s office was, as she needed to speak with him about something.

As expected, the person in charge had mentioned Ye Fan to the secretary. When the secretary saw Ye Fan’s height, appearance, and age, he asked, “Are you Comrade Ye Fan, the wife of Regiment Leader Geng?”

Ye Fan nodded, greeted him, and the secretary invited her to sit down, poured her water, and asked what the matter was.

The secretary got straight to the point, and Ye Fan didn’t try to be vague. She simply said that there was still a lot of unused mountain land on the island, and it was a waste to leave it like that.

The secretary was stunned for a moment, feeling a bit unhappy: “As the secretary, do you think I wouldn’t know that? We’re lazy; we just don’t want to farm.”

Ye Fan paused, then smiled again: “You misunderstood me. I didn’t mean to criticize you.”

“Are you going to teach us?” The secretary still thought that the city girl, just like the educated youth sent to the island, thought that reading a few books and knowing a few words made her more knowledgeable.

Ye Fan immediately wanted to leave, but then she thought about how difficult it was for the army’s cooking team to get supplies off the island, so she stayed. “The island isn’t lacking in people; the fishermen are hardworking. The reason we don’t farm is because there’s no market for it. If you want the villagers to live better, come find me.” After saying that, the secretary stood up, went outside, and drove off, not lingering at all.