Chapter 14: Coconut Juice

Lin Wei, who was having a good day, went back and grabbed a knife to open the coconut. She poured half a bowl of coconut juice for each of the two kids, and whatever was left at the bottom of the coconut was hers. She decided to try it herself.

Hmm… Honestly, the coconut juice wasn’t bad. It smelled quite fragrant.

But as for how good it tasted, Lin Wei didn’t think it was all that because it wasn’t sweet enough; the flavor was a bit too mild.

However, the two kids really liked it. Despite having completely different personalities, they shared similar tastes when it came to food. After finishing their half bowls of coconut juice, they still looked longingly at the unopened coconuts.

While Lin Wei was trying to figure out how to eat the coconut meat, she cut a bit off and tasted it. It had a rich fragrance but the sweetness was too faint, and she ended up with a mouthful of foam. She thought it would be a waste to throw the coconut meat away with the shell since it was bought with money.

Before she could figure it out, Lin Wei noticed the brothers’ eager gazes. She quickly put the unopened coconuts aside. “This one’s for your dad.”

Although Zhong Shao had been stationed on the island for many years and might not care much for coconut juice, as a family, if there was something, they should all have it. If not, then none of them should.

“Okay.” Mingming sighed, but the next moment, his gaze shifted to the mango beside him. “Can we eat that?”

Lin Wei had bought the mango mainly to test whether anyone in the family was allergic, so she would know which fruits to buy in the future.

Although the salesperson had mentioned that allergies depended on individual constitution, Lin Wei still worried that one of them might react. So, she decided to wait until Zhong Shao returned before eating it. That way, if anyone had an allergic reaction, they could handle it immediately.

Therefore, Lin Wei’s answer remained the same: “I only bought one mango. We’ll wait for Dad to come back and eat it.”

Mingming, who had been eyeing the mango for a while, showed disappointment upon hearing this. He couldn’t help but ask, “When will Dad be back?”

“Tonight.”

Mingming sighed in relief. “Okay.”

“Although you can’t have mangoes, you can eat lychees first.” Lin Wei said as she took two lychees from the bag and handed them to the kids. “Do you know how to eat them?”

For kids from inland, lychees were a rare treat. The fresh ones weren’t available in the supply stores, but canned lychees would occasionally be stocked during festivals.

However, when it came to eating, people somehow always figured it out without needing instruction. Without much guidance from Lin Wei, Mingming peeled the lychee and revealed the translucent fruit inside. Sweet juice ran down to his hand, and he couldn’t resist sucking it up.

“Sweet!”

Before even tasting the fruit, the little one already looked satisfied, which made Ruirui also peel the lychee skin and bite into the soft fruit.

The next moment, Ruirui widened his eyes and nodded repeatedly. “So good!” He swallowed the remaining fruit.

Seeing the two kids enjoying the fruit, Lin Wei put the coconut shells aside and took a lychee herself.

As for the taste, it was pretty much like the canned lychees she had eaten before, but the fresh ones were naturally sweeter and fresher. Two words: delicious.

After finishing the lychees, the three of them tried rambutan and longan.

Rambutan looked odd on the outside, but the fruit inside was quite similar to lychee and very tasty. As for longan, Lin Wei didn’t like it much—its sour-sweet flavor made her teeth hurt. But the brothers really liked it.

After tasting these fruits, Lin Wei realized that her son was quite the food adventurer!

No matter if the fruit was sour, sweet, or tasteless, they loved it.

But even though they liked it, Lin Wei knew they couldn’t eat without limits. After tasting the fruits, she locked them in a cupboard.

Without more food to eat, the two boys finally remembered their new little friend and told their mother before heading to the back to play with the Xiao Shitou.

Lin Wei stayed at home, cleaning the house inside and out. She tidied up everything that needed it and made a list of items to buy after their household registration was finalized.

These were all small tasks, and although they didn’t feel like they took up much time, by the time she finished, the sun had risen higher. Lin Wei checked the time, decided it was about time, and went into the kitchen to prepare lunch.

The kitchen had most of what was needed: a stove, pots, and knives. There was also still half the oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar that she had borrowed from the Zhou family.

Lin Wei thought about the vegetables she bought today, fried some shredded potatoes, mashed a cucumber, and steamed the white pomfret fish she had bought. Sea fish didn’t last long and would spoil quickly, but steaming it could keep it fresh until the evening.

But Lin Wei didn’t wait for Zhong Shao to come home to cook the fish. There was no need—just leaving half for him would be enough.

When Zhong Shao sat down at the table, he was surprised to see only half a fish left in the dish. “Where did this fish come from?”

Lin Wei explained, “We went to the seafood supply station this morning and got it. Sister Deng gave us the seafood coupons.”

Mingming, sitting beside them, said, “Dad, this fish is really delicious! It’s different from the fish I’ve had before.” He said this while swallowing. He was already eager to eat.

But Mom said the remaining fish was saved for Dad, who worked hard.

So, even though he was hungry, Mingming held back and didn’t touch his chopsticks, though his eyes were still fixed on Dad’s hands. But… hey?

Mingming widened his eyes, “Isn’t this the fish Mom saved for Dad?” Why did he give it to Mom?

But then Mingming saw that not only Mom had fish, but also he and his younger brother. He heard Dad say, “Let’s all eat together.”

Lin Wei smiled at her silly older son and said, “Eat, we need to finish the fish today.”

Mingming asked excitedly, “We can all eat it?”

“Of course.” Lin Wei replied.

“We get to eat fish!” Mingming cheered, stuffing the fish Dad had given him into his mouth. After a few bites, he said, “It’s so good! Mom, can we have fish again tomorrow?”

“Sure.”

Lin Wei looked at Zhong Shao, lowered her voice, and said, “Our household registration still isn’t finalized.”

“It’s fine, I went to take care of the grain relations today. Besides the grain coupons, I also got the meat and seafood coupons back,” Zhong Shao said, pulling out a stack of coupons from his pocket and handing them to Lin Wei.

Lin Wei took the coupons and set her chopsticks down to look at them.

There were mainly grain coupons, mostly for refined grains like rice and flour, along with a bit of coarse grain, sweet potatoes, and cornmeal. Then there were the meat coupons, including pork, chicken, and duck. Pork was the most, with one and a half pounds; chicken and duck were less, not even a pound together. There was also the seafood coupon, since Yanzhou Island was by the sea. The supply of seafood was relatively relaxed, and each person could buy three pounds of seafood per month.

Lin Wei counted the coupons and asked, “Did you convert all the meat into coupons?”

“Not all of it.”

“Well, you’ve got most of it,” Lin Wei said, not easily fooled. “It’s only half of this month, and you’ve already gotten most of it. What are you going to eat for lunch at the camp?”

Zhong Shao didn’t answer her, but asked, “I got all the coupons back. Does that mean I get one less meal of meat every day?”

That definitely wasn’t going to happen. Even though sea fish doesn’t last long, Lin Wei steamed it and would still leave half for him. But…

Zhong Shao asked in return, “Since I can’t avoid it, what’s the difference between eating at home and eating at the camp?” Then he told Lin Wei to put the coupons away and eat. There was no time to waste; the dishes needed to be finished.

Lin Wei had no choice but to put the coupons away. “Alright, we’ll leave it like this for now.”

Zhong Shao nodded and reminded her, “Make sure to return the coupons that Sister Zhou gave us later. It’s not easy for them either.”

Lin Wei nodded, “I know. I was planning to return them as soon as our household registration is finalized.”

Speaking of household registration, Zhong Shao remembered to ask, “How did it go with the registration today?”

“It went well. Sister Liu said she submitted the materials today, and if there are no problems, it should come through in a couple of days,” Lin Wei explained. “Sister Liu is the one helping me with the registration. She’s also a military wife.”

This isn’t surprising. The work around the base is prioritized for military wives. If they really can’t do it or if no one is willing, then they recruit externally.

Zong Shao made a sound and asked, “Who’s her husband?”

“She didn’t say, and I didn’t ask her about that.” Lin Wei shook her head and then remembered something, “Oh, by the way, there’s something else today.”

“What is it?”

“I…”

Just as Lin Wei was about to speak, she heard a shout coming from behind the house, sounding like a mother calling her children to come home for dinner. The voice sounded somewhat familiar.

While thinking about it, Lin Wei saw someone walking out from outside the courtyard wall. It was Comrade Liu Dan, the one who helped her with her household registration.

Because she hadn’t found the person she was looking for, Liu Dan was somewhat irritable. Frowning, she muttered, “Where did that brat run off to?” Then, raising her voice, she scolded, “If you don’t come out, don’t come home for dinner. See if I don’t beat you later!”

After cursing, she turned around to leave, but before she could lift her foot, she saw Lin Wei sitting at the dining table. Her angry expression turned into a smile. “Comrade Lin, you live here?”

Lin Wei smiled and replied, “Yes, I do. Are you looking for your child?”

“Yes, that brat disappeared right after school. I called him to come back for dinner, but he didn’t even respond. It really made me angry!” Liu Dan said. When she saw the two brothers working hard to eat at the dining table, she couldn’t help but sigh, “Your children are so well-behaved!”

“They’re only well-behaved when eating,” Lin Wei laughed and then asked if Liu Dan needed help finding her child.

Liu Dan waved her hand and said, “No need to worry about him. He’ll come back when he’s had enough fun.” As she spoke, she looked at Lin Wei’s newly built kitchen, the new doors and windows, and the repaired walls. She said, “I have to say, your house is really well done. Is that room behind the house a bathroom?”

“Yes.”

“Does the door open inward? Won’t it smell?”

Since it wasn’t a secret, and Liu Dan’s attitude was quite friendly, Lin Wei answered directly. But Liu Dan was shocked: “A ceramic squat toilet? That must have cost quite a bit, right?”

“Yeah, it wasn’t cheap.”

“I was actually thinking that if it was convenient, I’d build a bathroom at home too, but now…” Liu Dan shook her head, unable to bring herself to spend that money.

But unlike Gao Xiulian, who couldn’t bear to spend money to improve her own house but couldn’t stand seeing others spend on theirs, even going into other people’s homes to criticize, Liu Dan simply nodded and said, “Well, it’s good to have one. It’s more comfortable to live in. By the way, did Director Chen look for you today?”

Lin Wei was startled. “You knew she was looking for me?”

“Of course. It’s actually quite a coincidence. You just finished filling out your information with me, and Director Chen went next door. She said the pharmacy was short-staffed and needed to hire someone, with pretty high requirements. No suitable candidates from the registered military wives next door, so she came to ask me. Then I showed her your information.”

Liu Dan winked at Lin Wei. “How’s it going? Did you get the job?”

“It’s almost done.”

“Almost? What does that even mean? Whether it’s done or not is a clear answer!” After saying that, Liu Dan seemed puzzled. “Wait, I thought Director Chen was quite happy with you. After looking at your information, she said she’d talk to you personally. What did you tell her? Why didn’t it work out?”

Lin Wei, who was most vulnerable to enthusiastic people, saw that Liu Dan was genuinely concerned about her, so she explained the situation.

She hadn’t said much before, but once she started explaining, Liu Dan couldn’t help herself: “You’re crazy! That’s a job at the hospital pharmacy. Work from eight in the morning to six in the evening, with a break at noon. You won’t be exposed to the wind or rain, and the hospital cafeteria even provides lunch! Other military wives would be dying for such a job, and it lands right in your lap. You don’t take it? What were you thinking?”

In fact, Lin Wei’s thinking was simple. Although Director Chen said she could bring her children to work, the pharmacy was a semi-enclosed space. She, as an adult, could stay there all day, but what about her two kids?

She could let them go play outside, but she couldn’t leave the pharmacy at will while working. Without her supervision, if the children ran out of the hospital or bumped into someone, she wouldn’t even know.

And since the children weren’t with her, she would inevitably be distracted. Unfortunately, being a pharmacist is one of the most focused jobs, and she had to think carefully about whether to take it.

Liu Dan listened and said, “You’ve got a point. But this job is really rare. I think you should think it through. No matter what, there’s always a way to overcome difficulties.”

Lin Wei nodded. “Mm, I’ll think it through carefully.”

Her serious expression made Liu Dan unable to hold back a smile. “Alright, I just couldn’t resist saying a little more since I ran into you. It’s getting late, I need to find my child and head home for dinner.” After saying that, she raised her voice and called for her son, heading back into the family quarters.

After Liu Dan left, Lin Wei also turned back to the dining table.

Apart from her, there was one more person who turned around, but that person wasn’t outside; they were inside the Zhao family kitchen, which was across the street from the Zong family.