Chapter 18: Typhoon

The commune secretary realized that Ye Fan intended to help him connect with the military and chased after her, but the three-wheeler she was on had already become a tiny black dot in the distance.

The secretary pondered the situation: Ye Fan’s husband was Commander Geng, so Commander Geng must have known she was coming. If Commander Geng agreed to let Ye Fan get involved, it must have been to avoid being in a passive position when dealing with the military’s logistics.

The army and the people are one big family!

But Commander Geng was overthinking things.

The next day, the secretary rode his bike to the military base to find Commander Geng.

The night before, when Geng Zhiyé got home, Dabao and Erbao each grabbed one of his hands and insisted on going to see the sea. After dinner, he and Ye Fan took a flashlight and brought the two kids to the beach. Mosquitoes started biting, and the kids couldn’t handle it, so they headed back home. After washing them up and putting them to bed, it was already late, and everyone went to sleep. As a result, Geng Zhiyé had no idea that Ye Fan had gone to see the secretary the day before.

When the secretary mentioned that Ye Fan had come to him, Geng Zhiyé looked genuinely puzzled, not like he was pretending. The secretary then asked, “Wasn’t it you who told Ye Fan to find me?”

Geng Zhiyé shook his head. “I really don’t know.”

“But if you don’t know, how does Comrade Ye plan to help us sell these goods?”

Geng Zhiyé thought to himself, Has Ye Fan lost her mind? What kind of promises is she making now? Then he suddenly remembered his stepmother. Ye Fan had indeed promised to help Geng Zhiqin find a new job, but she hadn’t specified where: “What exactly did Ye Fan say?”

The secretary’s expression shifted slightly, and he stammered, “Well, not exactly… She said to come find her once I had a plan.”

Geng Zhiyé was relieved. “Then go talk to her. Even if we can help distribute some of the fruits and vegetables, we can’t sell them directly to you. How this will be handled, you’ll have to ask Ye Fan. She used to be an accountant for the Capital Supply and Marketing Cooperative—she knows much more about this than I do.”

The secretary made a few sarcastic remarks about Ye Fan, but he didn’t have the nerve to visit her personally.

The military wasn’t short on food supplies; the issue was transportation—it was a bit inconvenient and costly. The secretary wasn’t in a rush, and neither was Ye Fan.

Under the blazing sun, the secretary returned home from the base to find Ye Fan just turning on the electric fan. Dabao and Erbao, drenched in sweat from playing outside, were called over by Ye Fan to sit under the fan. She fetched a basin of lukewarm water and gently wiped them down.

Liao Miaomiao overheard Dabao bragging about how cool their fan was. Frustrated by the heat at home, she brought her younger siblings over to join them.

Ye Fan asked Miaomiao and her siblings if they wanted to wash up. Miaomiao touched her face—it was sticky and uncomfortable now that the sweat had dried—and said she’d go home to grab a towel. Ye Fan handed her one of their towels with a smile and said, “Just make sure to wash it clean after using it.” Miaomiao didn’t hold back anymore.

After hanging the towel to dry on the clothes rack and stepping back inside to enjoy the wonders of modern technology, Liao Miaomiao couldn’t help but ask if the fan was expensive.

Ye Fan replied, “I’m not sure. Probably expensive.”

Liao Miaomiao asked, “Wasn’t it Auntie Ye who bought it?”

Dabao shook his head. “No, it wasn’t. Uncle bought it.”

Ye Fan began to explain.

She explained that her elder brother had sent the fan a few days ago, then turned to Liao Miaomiao and said, “You can come over to do homework here anytime.”

Without a second thought, Miaomiao replied, “I’ve already graduated from elementary school. I don’t have summer homework.”

Ye Fan knew that in three years, anyone aiming for college would wish for 72 hours in a day, dreaming of studying even in their sleep. “You can study something else.”

Dabao blurted out, “Foreign languages.”

Miaomiao, curious, asked, “Dabao knows foreign languages?”

Ye Fan replied, “Dabao can speak a foreign language.”

Miaomiao, who didn’t know a single word of a foreign language, was incredulous. She looked Dabao up and down repeatedly, inspecting him from head to toe. “Aren’t you too young to even be in school?”

The little boy, who had been lying on a bench, immediately sat up. “I do go to school.”

Ye Fan nodded. “He started kindergarten this past spring. In the fall, he’ll attend another year of kindergarten.”

Dabao thought about how the kids at kindergarten were even less well-behaved than his younger sister and asked, “Can I not go to kindergarten anymore?”

Ye Fan said, “Sure, you can. But there aren’t any kids as small as you in first grade. If you go to first grade, Mom’s worried they’ll tease you. You won’t be able to hold back and will end up fighting them. If you get hurt, Mom will feel bad.”

Dabao thought to himself that he wasn’t afraid, but he was so short that even if he used both his hands and feet in a fight, he couldn’t win. “I won’t fight!”

“Then let’s give it a try. If you don’t like it, we’ll go back to kindergarten. As long as you’re willing to go to school, we can work something out.”

Dabao grinned and threw himself into his mother’s arms. “Mom, if you’re like this every day, I’ll like you every day.”

Ye Fan teased him, “How about practicing calligraphy with Mom this evening?”

Dabao immediately scooted to the other end of the bench, putting as much distance as possible between himself and his mom.

Erbao, still too little to hold a pen properly or even form lasting memories, was allowed to do as she pleased. Because of this, she had no resistance to the idea of learning. As soon as her brother moved away, she slid into his spot, settling herself on her mom’s lap.

Liao Miaomiao remarked enviously, “Auntie Ye, you have such a good temper. Not like my mom—she starts scolding before she even finishes three sentences.”

Dabao exclaimed, “My mom has a good temper? You haven’t seen her hit me! Sometimes I think she’s not my mom and that I was picked up from a garbage dump.”

Miaomiao’s younger brother was shocked. “You were picked up from a garbage dump too?”

Dabao almost bit his tongue. The important part wasn’t where he was supposedly picked up!

Miaomiao’s younger brother assumed Dabao’s silence was confirmation. Forgetting his shyness, he scooted closer to Dabao and asked excitedly, “Me too! Which garbage dump were you picked up from?”

Dabao’s expression became even more complicated than an adult’s. He hadn’t expected Miaomiao’s younger brother, four years older than him, to actually believe this nonsense. “Did Aunt Qiu Yue tell you that you were picked up too?”

“How do you know?” Miaomiao’s younger brother was stunned. “Did my mom tell you?”

“How could something like this be talked about everywhere?”

Miaomiao couldn’t take it anymore. “Dabao means he doesn’t think Aunt Ye is his biological mom. And you weren’t picked up from a garbage dump either. We throw out trash all the time—have you ever seen a child in a garbage dump? It’s just rats and cockroaches!”

Her brother shook his head. “You don’t understand. Mom described it so vividly, like it was absolutely real!”

Dabao said, “If you told your mom you wanted a little brother and asked her to pick one up, she’d definitely say there weren’t any. I’ll bet you on it.” He raised the hand he’d just been scratching his foot with. “Wanna bet? Whoever loses has to call the winner ‘Big Brother.’”

Ye Fan laughed so hard she almost choked.

Miaomiao was puzzled by her laughter until she looked across at the taller and shorter boys. Suddenly, it dawned on her. “Dabao, you were born in the Year of the Monkey, right? Big Brother here is four years older than you. Even if you don’t bet, you still have to call him ‘Big Brother.’”

Dabao ignored her and stared intently at the older boy. “I bet you don’t have the guts to take the bet.”

The little rascal dared to look down on him? Unbearable! The older boy said in a deep voice, “Bet!”

Dabao turned to the other side. “Miaomiao-jie, you’ll be the referee.”

“Miaomiao-jie is my sister. Are you sure about this?”

Dabao nodded. “Miaomiao-jie wouldn’t lie. Mom said I could play with Miaomiao-jie.”

Liao Miaomiao was surprised. Did Aunt Ye really trust her this much? If so, she couldn’t let Aunt Ye down.

Ye Fan couldn’t bear to watch anymore. She had said that, but not for Dabao to use in this situation!

This clever little rascal, claiming he didn’t want to learn anything. If she didn’t push him while he was still young, train him into the habit of studying, and let him indulge in playing too much, even Geng Zhiyé wouldn’t be able to handle him in a few years.

Ye Fan spoke up, “Geng Dabao, that’s enough now, alright?”

Dabao quickly complied, halting the conversation. “Mom, I’m thirsty.”

Ye Fan placed Erbao on the chair, went to the kitchen to grab a thermos, and then got six bowls to pour sour plum soup for herself and the five children.

The Liao family’s three siblings didn’t expect the thermos to hold more than just hot water and asked in unison, “What is this?”

Dabao replied, “Sour plum soup. My uncle sent it.”

Ye Fan added, “The ingredients for the sour plum soup were from the herbal shop, picked by my sister-in-law. It’s normally meant to be cooled and drunk. I was worried they might get a stomach ache. Dabao, you two drink slowly.”

Erbao wasn’t thirsty, so after a few sips to taste, she pushed the bowl away. Ye Fan took the opportunity to drink from her daughter’s bowl and poured the remaining half into Miaomiao’s bowl.

The young girl felt embarrassed. “You don’t have to…”

Ye Fan insisted, “Drink it. Once you’re done, go home and get your books and homework. The three of you can study and do your homework while I teach Dabao to write.”

Miaomiao and her siblings didn’t want to study, but feeling too shy to refuse after being offered, they couldn’t say no. The older brother started working on his summer homework.

Miaomiao taught her younger sister first-grade math and Pinyin, but unfortunately, after only three attempts, she got frustrated and complained that her sister was slow.

The little girl wanted to earn Ye Fan’s favor, hoping to come to her house every day to relax and drink sour plum soup. When she saw Ye Fan looking over, she almost cried out of desperation. “Clearly, it’s because you don’t know how to teach!”

Miaomiao, upset, slammed the table. “Two plus four equals six, and you don’t know what three plus three equals? Is it that I can’t teach, or are you just being slow?”

“It’s you who can’t teach!” Her little sister’s face turned red with anger. Two, four, and three are different; it’s normal that she didn’t know, so how could she be slow?

Ye Fan smiled and said, “Little sister, use a pencil to draw two lines in the empty space on your homework, then draw four more. Count how many there are. Erase them, then draw two threes.”

The little sister obediently followed the instructions, and the result was surprising: “Six?”

Miaomiao gave her sister a look of disbelief.

Ye Fan explained, “It’s like this: you can get to my house from the east, or you can get here from the west. If you come from the north and walk through the alley, you can still reach my house. My house is like six.”

The little girl exclaimed, as if struck by a sudden realization, “I understand now! Big sister, look at Aunt Ye, she’s just better at teaching than you.”

Miaomiao was left speechless, unable to respond, “…Aunt Ye is older than me, of course she knows more than I do.”

The little sister chimed in, “You’re older than me too.”

Miaomiao had no reply.

Ye Fan stepped in to ease the tension. “Alright, let’s continue.”

Erbao was getting sleepy, so Ye Fan picked her up and watched Dabao write his Pinyin. Dabao was planning to help his mom by watching his little sister sleep. But when he heard that his little sister, who was two years younger than him, didn’t know what three plus three equals, he felt a sense of accomplishment. Not wanting to be overtaken by his little sister, Dabao sat down and focused for the first time in half an hour.

Children are too active, and you can’t rely on studying every day as a tactic, or Dabao will grow bored of it before even starting school.

With Geng Zhiyé away during the day, Ye Fan had to come up with her own solutions.

The next day, after buying groceries, Ye Fan made porridge on the stove, then carried the two children, who had been playing on the bed, to wash up. The three of them stood in a row back in the living room.

Dabao asked, “Mom, what are we doing?”

“Have you ever heard of ‘using four ounces to move a thousand pounds’?”

Dabao was only four years old. He had heard a lot, but there were many things he hadn’t heard of.

Ye Fan added, “If you learn from mom for two years, even your big brother won’t be able to beat you.”

In terms of learning, Dabao used to not believe his mom, thinking she was intentionally making things hard for him because he was sometimes naughty. But these days, after seeing how useful learning English is, and how his little sister, who is younger than him, is better at Pinyin and math, he was starting to believe it without a doubt.

In the past, Ye Fan had been too weak to chop bricks by hand or break stones with her chest, so she only practiced Tai Chi. She had practiced for over ten years.

Ye Fan had almost never stopped practicing, even when she was pregnant, and she had naturally practiced in front of Dabao and Erbao as well.

Dabao was disappointed: “This? I thought Mom stopped practicing.”

Ye Fan replied, “Recently, there’s been a lot going on, so I can’t calm my mind. Did Grandma ever tell you that Mom used to be in poor health?”

“Dad said it. I remember.” Dabao understood, “I’ll practice with Mom.”

Ye Fan heard the implication: “One year of practice won’t do. It takes two years to start seeing results.”

“Two years, then. Two years is fine.” Dabao said to his little sister, “Erbao, you can watch first. Once I learn, I’ll teach you.”

With Mom and Brother around, Erbao never caused trouble unless she was hungry, sleepy, or sick.

Erbao obediently nodded. When she saw Mom start moving, she tried to imitate her. Ye Fan taught her half of the routine first, then guided Dabao and Erbao hand by hand, without requiring them to practice for any specific length of time or reach a particular level.

Ye Fan’s goal was simply to help Dabao and Erbao calm down and improve their attention.

After about half an hour, Dabao was sweating. Ye Fan wiped both of them down with a warm towel, changed their wet clothes, and told them to go play. Then she brought out the porridge and began cooking.

During the time Ye Fan was getting familiar with the island’s surroundings while riding the tricycle, Geng Zhiyé finished building the bathroom and made several hundred coal balls. Only then did Ye Fan have the time to pick up Tai Chi again and visit the secretary.

Ye Fan kept her word and waited for the secretary to come to her. Geng Zhiyé came back and told her that the secretary went to the military to find him, but Ye Fan remained calm, like she was fishing.

Liao Miaomiao felt bad about going to Ye Fan’s house every day to cool off, so she gave Erbao the abacus she wasn’t using. Erbao loved hearing the beads click, so Ye Fan taught her daughter how to use the abacus.

Liao Miaomiao was surprised: “Aunt Ye, how do you know so much?”

“I have a lot of things I don’t know, too. For example, I didn’t know how to start a fire or fetch water before, and I didn’t know how to cook seafood. Even now, half of the seafood at the market is still unfamiliar to me.”

Liao Miaomiao replied, “Your family is from the north; it would be strange if you didn’t know how to recognize and cook it. No, no, I almost got confused. What I meant was that when you were teaching Erbao how to use the abacus, you didn’t even look at it much.”

Dabao was puzzled: “Miaomiao Jie, my mom is an accountant. Accountants know how to use the abacus!”

Chen Xiaohui wasn’t good at it. She would need to use a piece of scrap paper to double-check after calculating with the abacus. She was too shy to do it at work, so she would calculate it at home every day. Otherwise, she wouldn’t need to rush to her room as soon as she got home, and she wouldn’t have to avoid running into Tao Chunlan.

Miaomiao originally thought she was good at it: “Aunt Ye, can you teach me?”

“It’s all about practice,” Ye Fan said. “If you don’t use it often, even if you’re good at it now, you won’t feel confident after a few years. Dabao, I often talk to you about learning foreign languages because I’m worried that you’ll forget them if you don’t use them for a while.”

“Forget everything.”

Liao Miaomiao thought about asking for the abacus back, but then she realized she wouldn’t have the chance to go to a vocational school or university anyway. In the future, she’d either be sent to the countryside, join the army, or stay home for two years after middle school and get married early.

“Aunt Ye, are you teaching Erbao because you want her to become an accountant?”

Ye Fan shook her head: “If Erbao likes it, she can learn. If she doesn’t want to learn, she can study something else.”

Liao Miaomiao couldn’t help but feel envious.

Ye Fan, seeing this, suddenly became concerned about teaching the child incorrectly: “The main thing is, Erbao is two years old and there’s no rush. Someone your age—no way I’d allow you to slack off and learn only sometimes.”

“But what’s the point of learning it well?”

Ye Fan could hear the underlying meaning in her words, the frustration of not being able to go to college and study what she truly liked. “Opportunities are only for those who are prepared. It’s like me coming here to work—someone else took over my job. That person thought accounting was easy and didn’t learn properly when they had a teacher. It wasn’t until they started the job that they realized how important it was.”

Liao Miaomiao had heard her classmates talk about Ye Fan’s situation. Zhuang Qiuyue had forbidden her from mentioning “Chen Xiaohui” in front of Ye Fan, so she pretended not to know: “So, was she fired?”

Ye Fan replied, “Luckily, I taught Dabao’s aunt. She can ask Dabao’s aunt for help to deal with it. After work, she can learn more. Otherwise, she would have to give up her job.”

“Will what I learned in school be useful?”

Ye Fan nodded: “You won’t need it before you’re twenty, but that doesn’t mean you won’t need it afterward. For example, I can teach Dabao English. His father can teach him Russian.”

Dabao seized the opportunity to say, “Mom, Russian is really hard.”

“Did I force you to learn it?”

Well, no. When his dad mentioned it, Mom asked him to teach Dabao, but didn’t demand that he speak correctly. Dabao, recalling this, covered his little face: “I forgot, Mom, I’m sorry.”

Ye Fan said, “Then let’s make a deal. I want you to study well what I ask you to. If there’s something you want to learn, I’ll teach you properly. If I can’t, I’ll ask Grandma and Uncle to help you find a teacher.”

Dabao just wanted to play. But agreeing to it wasn’t a big deal: “Mom, pinky swear?”

There was no way to make a pinky swear with Little Brother in between. Ye Fan extended her hand, and Dabao stood up, holding her hand for a high-five.

Liao Miaomiao and her siblings envied Dabao because Ye Fan treated him like an adult, which made them want to visit Ye Fan’s house even more. However, not long after, they received a message from the army’s logistics staff that a typhoon was approaching.

That afternoon, Zhuang Qiuyue called her three children to go to Ye Fan’s house to do homework and keep Dabao and Erbao company. She, along with Ye Fan, Liu Guihua, and others, went to gather firewood and leaves.

Liu Guihua, like Ye Fan, had never experienced a typhoon. She asked Zhuang Qiuyue how many days the typhoon would last.

Zhuang Qiuyue didn’t know and asked Ye Fan if she had any idea.

Geng Zhiyé still hadn’t returned.

Ye Fan wasn’t sure, but she had seen it on TV in her past life: “I heard it will rain heavily even if the typhoon doesn’t reach our area.”

Liu Guihua asked, “Is it going to hit our area?”

Zhuang Qiuyue replied, “Old Liao said when he was building my toilet that the roof could get blown off.”

Liu Guihua then asked Ye Fan, “Should we bring the sputum cup inside?”

Ye Fan answered, “Leave it under the eaves during the day, and bring it inside when you need to use it, otherwise it will smell.”

Zhuang Qiuyue agreed with that. The three women filled the stove, and Zhuang Qiuyue went home to wash her face before coming next door to find the children. When she reached Ye Fan’s living room, she suddenly remembered something: “Xiao Ye, do you have any coal balls?”

Ye Fan replied, “I’m worried that with several days of rain, the coal balls will get too wet to burn.”

“Right, the ground is wet. Do you have any wooden boards under the coal balls?”

Ye Fan didn’t have any wooden boards.

Taking advantage of the time before the typhoon arrived, Ye Fan moved the leftover bricks from the toilet construction to the kitchen, laid two layers of bricks, and placed the coal balls on top.

In the evening, Geng Zhiyé returned to find that Ye Fan had bought a large amount of noodles and fine rice flour, enough for the three of them to eat for half a month. He said, “Fan Fan, buy some pickled vegetables as well. With the heavy rain and strong winds, we won’t be able to buy fresh vegetables, and supplies won’t be coming in.”

Ye Fan replied, “No wonder there are two cars parked outside the market—one is full of rice, and the other is filled with rice flour and noodles.”

Geng Zhiyé was aware of this. The commune didn’t have transportation, so the market had requested help from the military, and Commissar Liao had approved it.

“Go check the market. I’ll pack a few clothes and leave,” Geng Zhiyé said. He went into the bedroom and came back out. “Ask if they have any salted duck eggs or anything else that’s not restricted.”

Ye Fan grabbed the shopping basket and said, “Got it.”

Geng Zhiyé checked the things he had packed and inspected all the doors and windows once more. Seeing his parents acting so cautiously, Dabao felt a bit scared and became unusually obedient.

This was the first time Ye Fan had been so close to a typhoon, and because it was unfamiliar, she felt a bit uneasy. She called for Dabao and Erbao to sleep with her.

With Mom by his side, Dabao felt at ease. In the middle of the night, as the typhoon passed, the wind blew so hard it made the doors and windows rattle. Ye Fan woke up, but both Dabao and Erbao stayed still.

Ye Fan held a flashlight and went to the window. The rain was hitting against the window in a sharp, icy way, like hail. Ye Fan kept her eyes open until dawn.

By morning, the rain had lightened, but the wind was still too strong to hold up an umbrella. Dabao and Erbao didn’t dare get close to the living room door. Wherever Ye Fan went, they followed her.

Ye Fan had bought a lot of vegetables the night before, so she used them to cook noodles.

Dabao took a bite of his noodles and looked outside: “Mom, is this the typhoon?”

Ye Fan shook her head: “A typhoon can blow down fences and walls. This isn’t the typhoon. It’s like when I swat at your sister—the wind from my hand passing by you.”

The noodles in Dabao’s mouth fell into his bowl.

Ye Fan continued, “It’s just…”

“You’re thinking what I thought.”

“That’s why Grandma didn’t ask you to come.”

Ye Fan: “She’s just worrying for no reason.”

Dabao nodded: “We’re not going out.” He turned to his sister and said, “Erbao, we’re not going out.”

Erbao listened to her brother: “I’ll play with Brother.”

Neither the Liao family nor the Liu family dared to come out. No one came looking for Dabao or Erbao, so Ye Fan’s house was unusually quiet.

When the sun came out, Zhuang Qiuyue came over with a sewing basket and her three kids. She and Ye Fan both lamented how frightening the wind had been, with Zhuang Qiuyue saying she hadn’t slept well these past few days, but noticed that Ye Fan looked fine and was quite brave.

Ye Fan shook her head: “I just catch up on sleep during the day.”

Zhuang Qiuyue kept worrying about when the rain would stop.

Ye Fan had forgotten to catch up on sleep and said she could go to bed early tonight. Just then, Liu Guifang came over with her children.

The living room became stuffy with so many people, so Ye Fan turned on the fan.

The rain continued for several days, keeping the house cool, and both adults and children forgot that the summer heat had already arrived.

Liu Guifang sighed, “The island has its own advantages. No matter how hot it gets during the day, we can still sleep at night. A few days ago, it rained and the temperature dropped. I didn’t expect it, and just like before, we didn’t cover ourselves with anything, so I woke up in the middle of the night feeling cold. How about you, Xiao Ye?”

“Dabao and Erbao need to cover with towel blankets. They’ve been sleeping with me these past few days, and I can manage sharing the bed with them.”

Liu Guifang noticed she looked fine and said, “I used to worry that you wouldn’t get used to it.”

Ye Fan replied, “I was mentally prepared. Although the typhoon is scary, we get to enjoy fresh seafood every day, so it’s worth it.”

Liu Guifang wholeheartedly agreed, “We used to dig wild vegetables. Now, we can’t even finish all the little fish and shrimp we pick up by the sea. I plan to send some seaweed and dried fish to my hometown before winter. When will you be sending yours? We can go together and see if we can get a better price.”

Zhuang Qiuyue interrupted, “The prices are already set, they won’t be cheaper.”

Dabao ran in from outside.

Ye Fan asked, “Why aren’t you playing anymore?”

Bored inside, the children ran to the yard, but it was too sunny outside and the eaves were too crowded. Dabao thought it wasn’t fun, so he took off his shoes, climbed up onto a chair, and said, “I want to read.” He picked up a children’s book that he had thrown into the corner and sat down next to Ye Fan.

Zhuang Qiuyue looked at Dabao and asked, “Has Dabao grown taller since he first came? His shoes must be too small by now.”

Ye Fan smiled and replied, “I don’t need to do it.”

“Should we buy some?” Liu Guihua asked without thinking.

Dabao turned his head and said, “Grandma made them for us.” He pointed to his little sister, who was lying in Ye Fan’s arms and playing with her fingers. “Grandma made hers with little flowers. Mommy can’t do that.”

Zhuang Qiuyue looked at the little flowers and green leaves on the shoes. “Did your grandmother embroider these?”

Ye Fan nodded. “Both she and my father-in-law are retired. My sister-in-law doesn’t have to worry about her work anymore, so she has time to do it.”

Liu Guihua couldn’t do it and felt quite envious. She couldn’t help but sit closer and admire, “Her hands are really skillful.”

The children from the Liao and Liu families came in and were curious when they saw the flowers on Erbao’s shoes. When they heard that the flowers were embroidered, Liao Miaomiao was stunned. “Are there still people who can embroider these days?”

Ye Fan replied, “Yes, there are. Many embroidery works might look like they’re machine-made, but they’re actually done by hand, because machines can’t do it.”

Liao Miaomiao asked, “What about the foreign machines?”

Ye Fan shook her head.

The children couldn’t help but keep exclaiming in awe.

Geng Zhiyé came into the yard and thought something was wrong. He hurried to the door and saw a room full of people, startled. “I thought something had happened.”

Zhuang Qiuyue was also startled. “Captain Geng?”

“Lao Liao is behind us, we walked here together.”

Ye Fan asked, “Who are you with?”

Liu Guihua replied, “It must be my old cow.”

Deputy Commander Niu often praised Geng Zhiyé to Liu Guihua, saying, “Old Niu doesn’t have a key,” and then asked their children if they wanted to go home.

The two children missed their father and went with her. Zhuang Qiuyue was also worried about Commissar Liao, as the military station was closer to the sea. “It’s almost noon, we need to go home and make lunch.”

Geng Zhiyé walked them to the eaves, and as soon as they were outside the yard, he went back inside. “Fan Fan, everything’s been fine these days?”

Ye Fan replied, “The first day was a bit scary, but it’s much better than I expected.”

Geng Zhiyé nodded. “This side is better; the other side is worse, trees have fallen.”

“Is it also on this island?”

Geng Zhiyé nodded. “Yes. The typhoon is strange, some places have strong winds, others have light rain. This island isn’t small. It’s common for heavy rain at the supply and marketing cooperative while the sun is out here.”

“I bought a lot of vegetables this morning. I haven’t gone out these past few days, and Big Bao’s little face has turned yellow.”

Dabao immediately came down, shuffled his shoes, and pulled his dad to the kitchen. “Dad, the fish seller uncle said they’ll start early.”

Geng Zhiyé glanced over. “Are they all small net seafood?”

Ye Fan entered, holding Erbao. “The fishermen say the typhoon hasn’t passed yet, they don’t dare to go out to sea.”

Geng Zhiyé shook his head. “You don’t understand, even without a typhoon, they don’t dare go too far.”

Ye Fan was puzzled. Just as she was about to ask why, she suddenly remembered the geographical layout of this island—bare on top, and like a foot basin below. “You’re not patrolling by the seaside, are you?”

Geng Zhiyé instinctively replied, “Of course not.” Realizing what he had said, he shook his head. “Is that a problem?”

“How do you know it’s not possible without asking for approval?” Ye Fan said, “The military and the civilians are like one family. But on the other hand, the fishermen have been scaring the fish away from the nearshore every day. After ten, twenty, or thirty years, they still have to go out? By then, how much will be left for us?”

Her words made sense.

For him, there was no loss at all.

In the afternoon, Geng Zhiyé discussed things with the political commissar and the chief of staff, confirming that there were no damages to the military. He reported up that while the typhoon had caused some damage to the fishermen, the military was unharmed, and finally shared his purpose.

Meanwhile, eight miles away, the commune secretary was at a loss, looking at the corner of a house that had collapsed under a fallen tree.

Previously, private trading had been allowed, and the fishermen could take the train to Hangzhou, but now they could only sell to the collection stations onshore. If they brought a hundred pounds of fish, only about twenty or fifty pounds might be left after transport. In the past, fishermen didn’t have to bring the fish back, they’d lower the price, and the fish would sell out quickly in the streets. If they couldn’t sell it all, they’d dry it out and keep it until the end of the year. In this situation, even if their boats were blown away by the typhoon, there was still hope.

The secretary’s son asked what was wrong with his father. The secretary looked at the collapsed house and said it couldn’t be lived in and would need to be rebuilt. But where would the money come from? The secretary sighed. His son couldn’t help but say, “You should have talked to Ye Fan sooner, the money for the repairs is already there.”

“That fast?” The secretary instinctively retorted, realizing what his son meant, and his expression became awkward. “The military doesn’t need to buy seafood. The mess hall has enough from what they gather by the sea.”

His son was frustrated with his father’s stubbornness and desire to save face. “If you don’t go, I will!”

“You go then. Let’s see if they’ll even pay attention to you.” Geng Zhiyé ignored him, so it was no surprise that Ye Fan wouldn’t bother with his son.

The secretary was annoyed with his son, thinking he didn’t understand anything. His son, seeing his father’s attitude, sighed and said, “Fine, I’ll go.” He then rode his bike home.

When he arrived at Ye Fan’s house, the secretary’s son hesitated to go in.

Dabao and Erbao were playing with a flower string under the eaves. Erbao was the first to spot someone coming. “Gege!”

“Uncle, who are you looking for?” Dabao asked loudly.

The secretary’s son instinctively wanted to hide.

Dabao ran down. “Are you looking for my dad? My dad is over there,” he pointed to the southeast.

“Dabao, who are you talking to?” Ye Fan came out of the house with a water bucket in hand.

The secretary’s son had nowhere to hide. He steeled himself and walked in. “I… I’m Su Yuanhang. My dad said he’s the commune secretary, I—”

“Your father sent you?” Ye Fan asked.

Su Yuanhang instinctively shook his head. “He knows. He said he’s temporarily busy. A lot of trees have fallen, and he’s leading people to clear them. He… he sent me. He told me to listen to you.”

Ye Fan thought to herself, With an attitude like that, how could I possibly believe you!

However, it didn’t hurt to talk about it; after all, the initiative was in her hands.

Ye Fan set the water bucket down. “Dabao, come inside.”

Dabao closed the fence gate, moved a stool once inside, and then pulled his sister back to the bedroom.

Ye Fan poured a glass of water for Su Yuanhang and invited him to sit down. “Dabao, can you lend me your pencil and notebook? Only if they’re blank.”

Dabao brought her a brand new notebook. “Mom, you don’t need to return it.”

Ye Fan smiled. “Can you write just one less?”

In front of others, Dabao felt shy, pursing his lips and smiling before running back to his room, closing the door behind him.

Su Yuanhang’s child was about the same age as Dabao, only interested in playing and eating. Seeing how well Dabao behaved, he couldn’t help but ask Ye Fan how old Dabao was.

Ye Fan replied, “He’ll be five by the end of the year.”

“One year younger than my son? You really know how to raise children.” Su Yuanhang unexpectedly found himself more curious about what Ye Fan had to say. “Is there anything I can do?”

Ye Fan shook her head: “The Hengshan Commune has ten brigades?”

Su Yuanhang was shocked. How did she know?

Ye Fan glanced at him but didn’t explain, instead writing down the names of the ten brigades in the notebook. “Those living at the foot of the mountain can grow oranges and yellow peaches, those near the water can raise ducks, those with more mountainous and flat land can raise chickens, and pigs—”

“Wait a moment—” Su Yuanhang couldn’t help but interrupt.

Ye Fan nodded. “I know what you’re going to say. You’ve thought about it, but the canning factory’s purchasing station doesn’t accept it, right? Because they can’t sell it all. When you talk to the canning factory, say the fruit collected here is used for their canned goods, and we can recycle it. The higher-ups don’t allow private transactions. You’ll need your father to apply for a food factory. Salted duck eggs and preserved eggs can be sold under the name of the food factory to places like Shencheng and the capital. I remember there’s a train that runs from Yongcheng to Shencheng, and even to the capital. It can be on the train today and arrive tomorrow. In winter, pork can be transported there too.”

Su Yuanhang: “Do you know people there?”

“I used to work as an accountant at the Capital Supply and Marketing Cooperative, so I know quite a few people. Now my sister-in-law works as a saleswoman at that cooperative. The capital has a fixed supply of eggs, but no oranges. Canned goods are expensive, but most working-class families will splurge on them during the holidays.” Ye Fan added, “But we can’t plant too many. If other communes follow suit and find a way, I have connections, but there’s nothing I can do.”

Su Yuanhang thought for a moment: “What’s in it for you?”

Ye Fan nodded: “One condition—sell it to the army at cost price. The markup can’t exceed fifty percent.”

Su Yuanhang relaxed: “Under the name of the food factory?”

Ye Fan: “A purchasing station would work too.”

Su Yuanhang hesitated.

“Purchasing stations are tricky. A food factory that runs at a loss won’t be scrutinized. The key is that no one can know the real purpose of the commune,” Ye Fan reminded him. “There’s no official rule saying that a food factory can’t sell live chickens, ducks, or pigs, right?”

Su Yuanhang: “What if they don’t allow that?”