Chapter 35 : A New Look

Just as she was about to go out, she pushed the door open  

Bang!  

A pile of something, whether it was cow dung or pig dung, fell from the top of the door, covering her head and face!!  

Thin yellow liquid dripped down her face, soaking her neck and collar in filth!!  

“Ahhhhh!!!”  

She let out a blood-curdling scream!  

As soon as she opened her mouth, the foul liquid seeped in, making her face turn an unnatural shade of green.  

“Urgh!!”  

“Gag!!”  

“Bleeegh!!!”  

She keeled over to the side, retching violently.  

Hearing the commotion, the neighbors came out to see what was happening.  

As soon as they took in the sight before them, they instinctively pinched their noses. Some tried to hold back their laughter, while others, who had long disliked her, couldn’t resist taking a jab.  

“Hey, Xiaoyan, what happened to you? People always say you have dog-shit luck, but did cow dung just bless you instead? Looks like you’re really destined for great fortune!”  

Zhou Xiaoyan was so furious she wanted to explode, but the overwhelming stench kept her from even opening her mouth.  

All she could do was keep spitting, desperately trying to rid herself of the taste.  

If Sun Weidong hadn’t come home at that moment, seen the disaster, and hurriedly fetched water to wash her off, she might have died from sheer disgust!  

Even after scrubbing her hair, taking a long shower, and changing into clean clothes, she was still traumatized she kept sniffing herself, paranoid that the stench was still there.  

Fuming, she stormed to the door, hands on her hips, and bellowed  

“Who the hell is trying to mess with me?! If I find out, I’ll break your legs!!!”  

Bang!  

Before she could even catch her breath, another ball of cow dung flew past her cheek and splattered against the window beside her.  

Terrified, she instantly recoiled, ducking back inside the house.  

She completely lost it.  

“AHHHHHHH!!! Who the hell is this?! If you have the guts, don’t run away! If I find out who did this, I’ll rip your mouth apart!!!”  

But despite her furious screams, she only dared to curse from inside the house she wouldn’t dare step outside.  

Sun Weidong, on the other hand, wasn’t afraid. He pushed the door open and marched out, determined to find the culprit behind this prank.  

But by now, it was dark. How was he supposed to see anything clearly?  

Frustrated, he had no choice but to turn back inside.  

Meanwhile, Zhou Cheng and Zhou Lin, who had been hiding behind a haystack, stifled their laughter with their hands.  

Seeing Sun Weidong re-enter the house and grab a flashlight, Zhou Cheng quickly nudged Zhou Lin.  

“Linzi, let’s go!”  

The two of them quietly slipped away, taking a small side path home under the cover of night.  

Back at home, Song Shiwei had just finished cooking.  

She spotted the two of them sneaking in and immediately pointed at the plates of seafood on the table.  

“Go deliver these to the neighbors!”  

Song Shiwei was the kind of person who hated owing favors. Earlier, she had borrowed quite a few ingredients from the neighbors, and many of the military wives had been kind to her from the day she arrived. She was genuinely grateful.  

Zhou Cheng looked at the three large bowls of steaming seafood on the stove, swallowed a mouthful of saliva, then washed his hands and led Zhou Lin to deliver the dishes door to door.  

Just then, Zhou Tingyue returned from training.  

When he saw the table full of seafood, a flicker of surprise crossed his face.  

“This… you went to the beach?”  

Zhou Wei nodded excitedly. “Yes! Mom took us!”  

Zhou Xinxin eagerly chimed in, “There’s so much seafood at the beach! Mom is amazing! She caught so much!”  

Zhou Tingyue hadn’t expected this at all. He turned to Song Shiwei in surprise.  

“You caught all of this?”  

Song Shiwei nodded.  

“Of course, unless you think they all jumped into our bucket by themselves?”  

Before Zhou Tingyue could respond, Zhou Lin, who had just come back from delivering food, couldn’t help but add with awe  

“Dad, you don’t even know it was basically like they were jumping into our bucket! She… she just sprinkled some salt on the ground, and the clams started jumping out on their own! We just followed behind and picked them up! Even the fishermen were shocked!”  

Although Zhou Lin’s resistance to Song Shiwei wasn’t as strong as before, he still couldn’t bring himself to call her “Mom” and could only refer to her as “She.”  

Zhou Wei nodded in agreement. “Yes! Mom even boiled seawater to make salt, and then she used that salt to catch clams!”  

Listening to the children excitedly recount their day, Zhou Tingyue was genuinely surprised.  

He never expected that the young woman he had married would be so capable and knowledgeable.  

It completely changed the way he looked at her!  

Feeling the intensity of his gaze, Song Shiwei’s face flushed red. Fortunately, he didn’t ask too many questions. Otherwise, it would have been hard for her to explain how a girl from Beijing knew all of these things!  

Today, she had made a big pot of garlic and chili stir-fried seafood, steamed crabs, and a cold jellyfish salad. She even prepared a steamed egg custard for Zhou Xinxin using sea duck eggs!  

For the staple food, she cooked cornmeal porridge and made cornmeal cakes by sticking them to the side of the pot. If she had time tomorrow morning, she could steam a few buns in the ground pot as well.  

She had also gone fishing today and caught three or four tilapia, just enough to make fish soup for the children at noon tomorrow!  

Even though Zhou Tingyue had lived on this island for so long, he had never eaten such delicious seafood.  

The military canteen also served seafood, but it was usually just boiled with salt, onions, and ginger.  

It was rarely stir-fried with different seasonings, and even when it was, it never tasted this good.  

The flavors were incredibly fresh and fragrant, enhanced by the minced garlic and chili.  

He ended up eating six or seven cornmeal cakes in one go before finally stopping.  

Even Zhou Cheng and Zhou Lin each ate three, while Zhou Wei managed one and a half.  

Xinxin devoured a big bowl of egg custard and two whole crabs.  

If Song Shiwei hadn’t stopped her, worried that the crabs were too cold, Zhou Xinxin would have wanted to eat even more!  

In the end, despite having cooked a huge pot of seafood and over a dozen crabs, there was nothing left.  

Rubbing his full stomach, Zhou Tingyue reached for Song Shiwei’s hand.  

“Let’s go for a walk to help digest the food.”  

Song Shiwei glanced at the pile of unwashed dishes and utensils on the table, smiling helplessly.  

“Let me clean up first, then we can go.”  

But Zhou Tingyue quickly grabbed her hand and turned to Zhou Cheng and Zhou Lin, who were still slumped over on their stools from overeating.  

“I’ll leave the rest to you two. Your mother and I are going for a walk!”  

With that, he pulled Song Shiwei outside.  

Zhou Cheng’s expression immediately darkened.  

Zhou Lin glanced at his brother.  

“Big brother, what should we do? Should we chase after them?”  

Zhou Wei and Zhou Xinxin frowned at the idea. After spending time with Song Shiwei, they had grown fond of her. They also wanted their father to spend more time with her and didn’t want their older brothers to interfere.  

Just as Zhou Xinxin was about to speak up  

“Brother…”  

Zhou Cheng sighed.  

“Forget it. Let’s just leave them alone today. Get up and get to work.”  

With that, he stood up and began clearing the table.  

Seeing this, a hint of relief and joy flashed in Zhou Lin’s eyes.  

“Alright!”  

He quickly got up and started cleaning.  

Zhou Wei and Zhou Xinxin exchanged glances and couldn’t help but smile at each other.  

Meanwhile, outside, Song Shiwei hesitated.  

“I should go back and clean up first.”  

But Zhou Tingyue held her hand firmly.  

“No need. Zhou Cheng and Zhou Lin are both teenagers. They can handle it.”