Chapter 72 : Selling Seafood

Wang Chuanling smiled and waved his hand politely. “No need, Xiao Zhang and I already ate at the cafeteria!”  

Seeing that they really didn’t look hungry, Song Shiwei felt relieved and turned around with a smile. “Then wait for me, I’ll be right there!”  

She went back into the house, picked up the two buckets of seafood, put some money in her pocket, and reminded Zhou Wei and Xinxin to behave at home. She had already made plans with Sun Meimei for the two children to have lunch at her place.  

Just as she was giving instructions, Sun Meimei came out after hearing the commotion.  

Seeing the large jeep parked outside and spotting Wang Chuanling and Xiao Zhang standing next to it, she greeted them with a smile.  

“Oh, your family is really thoughtful! Letting Chuanling take you there and having Xiao Zhang accompany you, we can all feel at ease!”  

Then, she waved to Zhou Wei and Xinxin. “Come here, have lunch at Aunt Sun’s house and play with your brother Shitou!”  

Zhou Wei and Xinxin turned to look at Song Shiwei, Zhou Cheng, and the others. There was a bit of reluctance in their eyes, but children have short memories. The moment they saw Shitou pull out a bullet shell he had picked up from the shooting range, their eyes lit up, and they cheered as they followed him into the house.  

Sun Meimei smiled at Song Shiwei and reassured her. “Don’t worry, I’ll take care of the little ones!”  

Song Shiwei had nothing to worry about, so she nodded with a smile. “Alright! Do Sister Jian Qiu, Sister Chunxiang, or the others need me to bring anything back for them from Qing City?”  

Sun Meimei thought for a moment. “Then please bring a pair of cotton gloves for my son, Shitou. It’s getting colder every day, and we can never find them at the service counter. His hands are always freezing, and I can’t keep washing them with snow water! As for Jian Qiu and Chunxiang, I checked with them yesterday. Their kids are grown up now, and the adults can manage without anything extra. Just focus on yourself and the children!”  

Song Shiwei made a mental note and thought that if she had the chance, she would also buy some frostbite cream for Shitou. She wasn’t sure if the other children had suffered from frozen hands before, but she could get a couple of extra tubes to help prevent it.  

She nodded and smiled. “Got it! Don’t worry! We’ll be on our way now!”  

Sun Meimei waved them off. “Alright, safe travels!”  

After they got into the jeep and left the family compound, Wang Chuanling couldn’t help but ask, “What’s in the buckets?”  

Song Shiwei smiled. “I picked up some sea cucumbers and abalone at the beach. I wanted to see if anyone in Qing City would buy them.”  

Zhou Lin pouted and gestured dramatically. “And there’s also a really ugly anglerfish! That thing is terrifying!”  

Xiao Zhang had been given orders by the chief, his job was to escort his sister-in-law and the two children safely to Qing City, where she planned to sell seafood.  

He had assumed they were selling some common fish, crabs, and shrimp, but he hadn’t expected sea cucumbers and abalone!  

And then there was this “anglerfish” that Zhou Lin mentioned he had never even heard of such a thing. Curiosity got the better of him, and he stretched his neck to peek into the bucket at Song Shiwei’s feet.  

The moment he saw it, he was horrified.  

What kind of monster is this? Why is it so hideous? And scary!  

Wang Chuanling had never heard of that fish either. He twisted his neck to look into the bucket just as the fish flapped its fins and suddenly tried to jump out with its mouth wide open!  

Startled, he nearly lost control of the steering wheel.  

Wow, this thing is really something else!  

Would anyone actually want to buy it? Does it even taste good?  

It just looks… well… terrifying!

On the way, Song Shiwei chatted with Wang Chuanling and learned that his wife would be joining him in the army compound in a few days. She had been staying in their hometown, and the couple had been separated for a long time, which wasn’t ideal.  

They had reported this to the higher authorities, and their housing approval was almost finalized. It was said that their new home would be in the row behind Song Shiwei’s.  

Hearing this, Song Shiwei enthusiastically said, “When my sister-in-law arrives, bring her over for dinner at my place. I’ll give her and the kids a proper welcome!”  

Wang Chuanling was also delighted. “That sounds great! I’m afraid I’ll have to trouble you when the time comes! Fengxia is from a small town and isn’t familiar with many things. She’ll need someone to help her out!”  

Song Shiwei patted her chest confidently. “Don’t worry! If she has any questions or needs anything, just send her to me!”  

With that, Wang Chuanling drove them all the way to the dock before heading off to take care of his own business.  

Xiao Zhang went to buy the ferry tickets and then reached for the buckets.  

“Sister-in-law, give them to me. I’ll carry them!”  

At first, Song Shiwei didn’t want to trouble him, but seeing Xiao Zhang’s enthusiasm, she had no choice but to let him take them.  

There were only two ferry departures per day. If they missed this one, they would have to wait until the afternoon. Luckily, they had arrived just in time it was about 7:50 AM, and the first ferry was about to leave.  

For the two children, this was their first time traveling so far, and everything was new and exciting. It was also their first time riding a boat.  

Although the ferry couldn’t compare to modern ships, it was already quite impressive for this era.  

Once they boarded, Zhou Cheng and Zhou Lin became so excited that they ran all over the boat, even heading to the deck to take a look outside.  

When they saw the vast, endless sea stretching before them, they shouted excitedly  

“Ahhhhh!!!!”  

“Ahhhhh!!!!”  

Song Shiwei smiled brightly. This was the pure and innocent joy of childhood, so wonderful!  

At first, she had worried that they might get seasick, but to her surprise, they were still bursting with energy even after they got off the boat.  

Upon arriving in Qing City, Song Shiwei wanted to sell the seafood as soon as possible.  

She took the children and Xiao Zhang straight to a state-owned restaurant.  

She decided to try her luck there first. If they weren’t interested, she would go to the factory gates or staff quarters to see if any workers wanted to trade.  

After all, factory workers usually had cotton coupons and cloth coupons, which she needed more than money.  

When they got close to the restaurant, she asked Xiao Zhang to stay with the children at the intersection while she went in to inquire.  

Carrying the bucket, she entered the cafeteria. It was mostly empty, with only a few people eating. It wasn’t mealtime yet, so that wasn’t surprising.  

This state-owned restaurant wasn’t as large as the ones in Beijing. It had about seven or eight tables. On the left side of the entrance, there were two service windows connected to the kitchen one for placing orders and the other for picking up food.  

There were no waiters. Customers placed their orders, paid, and then waited at the counter for their food to be served.  

Song Shiwei walked straight to the ordering window.  

Inside, a woman stood behind the counter. She wasn’t very old, probably around 27 or 28. When she saw Song Shiwei approach, she lazily lifted her eyelids.  

“What do you want to eat?” she asked indifferently.  

Song Shiwei smiled politely. “Hello, comrade. I’m not here to eat. I just wanted to ask if your kitchen buys seafood?”  

The woman, who had been holding a pen, ready to write up an order, immediately looked displeased. She glanced at Song Shiwei from head to toe, then craned her neck to peer at the bucket in front of her. Rolling her eyes, she snapped impatiently  

“No, no! I thought you were a customer! Get out of here! Who knows where you got that seafood? Our state-owned restaurant doesn’t take random rotten fish and shrimp!”