Chapter 26: Luck

After using the new small stools, Lin Wei started assigning homework to the children.

The homework was not much: just write out the rhymes and numbers they learned in class on one side of the paper. The main purpose was to reinforce their memory.

After the homework was assigned, Ruirui and Xiao Shitou didn’t show much reaction. They could both sit still, and writing wasn’t difficult for them.

But Mingming had a big reaction. He thought attending the lesson was already tiring enough, and now he had to write! He immediately tried to negotiate with Lin Wei, saying, “Mom, can I not write?”

Lin Wei didn’t immediately refuse. “Give me a reason, and I’ll consider it.” Before Mingming could speak, she added with a serious expression, “No lying, if you lie, your homework will double, you’ll have to write four sides!”

Mingming immediately closed his mouth and after a while muttered, “Others only have to start writing when they’re six, but I’m only three this year.”

Lin Wei responded, “Yes, others start learning to recognize characters at six, but you can already recognize them at three, how lucky you are.”

Mingming furrowed his small face and asked, “Can I not be this lucky?”

“No, you can’t,” Lin Wei smiled and said.

Mingming sighed heavily and looked out the window. He really wanted to go out and play!

Seeing through Mingming’s intentions, Lin Wei continued, “I haven’t given you much homework. If you work quickly, you can finish in class and still have time to play. But if you work slowly, whether you can go out in the afternoon is uncertain.”

Mingming sighed again, “I know…” Clearly not really paying attention.

As it turned out, Ruirui and Xiao Shitou finished their homework before class was over. Since they hadn’t written much before, their handwriting wasn’t very neat, but it was still legible.

But this was the first day, and Lin Wei didn’t have high expectations. Seeing that they didn’t make any mistakes, she let them go play.

As for Mingming, he received his first detention.

When Lin Wei announced that Mingming had to stay after class, he didn’t think much of it, but as he watched his younger brother and good friend leave hand in hand to play, he suddenly felt so envious that he almost cried.

After watching Mingming stretch his neck to look outside for a while, Lin Wei asked, “Do you want to go out?”

Mingming turned his head back, his eyes red, and said, “Yes!”

Lin Wei pointed to the notebook in front of him, “You only have one side left to write. Once you’re done, you can go join them.”

Mingming of course knew this, but he said, “One side is a lot.”

“How is one side a lot? You already finished one side, didn’t you?”

“But it took so long,” the little guy said with tears in his eyes, looking pitiful.

But Lin Wei didn’t soften, saying, “The reason it took so long is because you weren’t focused. You kept thinking about going out to play, writing a bit and stopping, so your progress was slow. But think about it, did you get what you wanted? Did you get to go play?”

Mingming lowered his head and muttered, “… No.”

“Yes, because you weren’t paying attention and didn’t finish your homework, that’s why you have to stay,” Lin Wei pointed outside, “Look at Ruirui and Xiao Shitou, they focused and finished their homework before class ended, now they can go play. Aren’t you jealous?”

Mingming felt like his heart was being pierced. With a long face, he said, “I’m jealous.”

“Well, since you’re jealous, then write carefully. If you focus now, you could be done in half an hour and go out to play with them for a bit. But if you don’t focus, you’ll be here writing until bedtime. No, if you take longer, you might have to write until tomorrow morning. By then, I’ll be asleep, and so will Ruirui. We won’t wait for you.”

Mingming immediately shouted, “No! I want to sleep too.”

“And then?”

“I’ll do my homework.” After saying this, the little guy buried his head in his work.

Actually, Mingming was still smart, but he had many little schemes and was always looking for ways to slack off and play more. His attention span wasn’t great.

So, after half a month, Ruirui and Xiao Shitou had already memorized the rhymes and numbers, and could recognize numbers from 1 to 100. Mingming, however, was okay at math, but for rhymes, he would forget the previous ones after learning the later ones. He was a typical underachiever.

Sometimes when Lin Wei looked at him, she couldn’t help but wonder how he went from being like this to becoming a replica of Zong Shao.

But even if Mingming would mature later on, Lin Wei felt that some bad habits, like his lack of focus in class, should be corrected as soon as possible.

Children’s education should start early.

…

While Mingming was writing, Lin Wei didn’t just sit idly by. She picked up her notebook and started planning what to teach tomorrow.

Although she was just introducing basic concepts to the children, Lin Wei didn’t intend to teach randomly. The plan was to first teach them rhymes and numbers, then teach family member names and how to write common household items, starting with what the children were familiar with.

Ruirui and Xiao Shitou were serious in class and had almost mastered the rhymes, so according to the plan, they were ready for the next stage of learning.

The problem was, Mingming was still learning carelessly. If they moved on to the next stage, he might not be able to keep up. But if they didn’t move on, staying at this stage wouldn’t work either. Over time, Ruirui and Xiao Shitou would likely find it boring.

There was another approach: teach in phases. In simple terms, Ruirui and Xiao Shitou would move to the next phase, while Mingming would continue reviewing rhymes.

However, separating the children this way could have a bad impact on those who were separated, and although Lin Wei was teaching them how to recognize characters, her identity was still that of a mother. She had to consider the children’s mental health.

After thinking about it, Lin Wei decided not to move on to the next stage for now. She would let Ruirui and Xiao Shitou practice their writing, while Mingming would review the material, with some additional writing practice.

After making this decision, Lin Wei closed her notebook and went to the door, just in time to see Ruirui and Xiao Shitou squatting in the yard, playing marbles.

Marbles were one of the most popular games among children nowadays. It wasn’t just popular in Shicheng, but also on the island, the kids loved it. To put it simply, it wasn’t considered normal for a child to go out without a few marbles in hand.

Compared to the Zong family, the Zhou family led a relatively simple life, not because they lacked money—Zhou Jianhai earned a bit more than Zong Shao—but because of two words: status.

When an ordinary person wears new clothes, they might be criticized for spending money extravagantly. For example, when Lin Wei changed the curtains in the two rooms upstairs, some people behind her back murmured that she didn’t know how to manage money.

But these complaints were usually not said to her face, and even if they were, if the person had a bad temper, they could easily retort.

However, whenever Deng Xiangyun wore anything bright or new, people would gossip, saying she was a capitalist, that she only wore new clothes and ate good food, obviously used to a comfortable life. But Deng Xiangyun didn’t dare argue back. Her background was too humble, so she had to keep a low profile.

Thus, Deng Xiangyun often wore clothes with patches.

But she didn’t skimp on the kids. Xiao Shitou didn’t have the best clothes, but at least his clothes weren’t patched. As for toys, the popular ones in the family compound, Deng Xiangyun made sure to buy them for Xiao Shitou.

However, before Mingming and Ruirui came to the island, Xiao Shitou didn’t have many friends, so even if he had toys, he played alone. But games are more fun with others, and after a while, even with many toys, it started to lose interest.

So Xiao Shitou’s marbles were all new, unlike Mingming and Ruirui’s, which had little nicks and scratches on them.

But Xiao Shitou didn’t mind at all that the marbles his two brothers had weren’t good-looking. Every time, he was the one who took the initiative to suggest playing marbles. And since there were wins and losses, now all three children had a mix of new and old marbles in their hands.

As Lin Wei watched them in a daze, she suddenly heard Mingming’s voice behind her: “Mom! I’m done writing!”

Lin Wei responded and turned to walk over to Mingming. She took the notebook and began checking it.

Hmm…

Although Ruirui and Xiao Shitou didn’t have great handwriting, if she had to pick the worst of the three, it was definitely Mingming.

Especially on the second page — probably because he was in a rush — Mingming’s writing was rather messy.

Mingming hadn’t realized anything and said expectantly, “Mom, I finished my homework. Can I go out to play now?”

“Wait a moment. Here, here, and here…” Lin Wei pointed to a few places. “Erase and rewrite.”

“Why? It took me so long to finish it,” Mingming complained.

Lin Wei pointed at the characters and asked, “Can you even recognize what you wrote here?”

Mingming replied boldly, “Of course I can! I wrote them myself!”

Lin Wei said immediately, “Alright then. If you can recognize them, I’ll let you go. If you can’t, you’ll have to rewrite it. Deal?”

Mingming nodded quickly. Then he saw his mom cover both sides of the notebook, leaving only the character he had to identify exposed.

And sure enough… he couldn’t recognize it.

Seeing him stammer, Lin Wei placed the notebook back on his desk. “Rewrite it.”

So Mingming had to rewrite all the unclear characters just as Lin Wei instructed, and that took nearly another twenty minutes.

Lin Wei looked at the time on her watch and said to Mingming, “See? Because you weren’t focused and rushed through it, you didn’t write clearly. That cost you another twenty minutes of playtime. Altogether, you’ve had fifty minutes less playtime than Ruirui and Xiao Shitou — longer than a full class period. Do you think it was worth it?”

When Lin Wei said “fifty minutes,” Mingming didn’t have much of a reaction, since he had no real sense of how long that was. But when she converted it into “a class period,” Mingming felt seriously shortchanged and quickly shook his head: “Not worth it.”

Lin Wei asked again, “So next time in class, will you be serious? Will you still slack off when writing?”

The little guy shook his head like a rattle-drum. “I’ll be serious. I won’t slack off anymore.”

Though Lin Wei wasn’t sure if he’d actually follow through, she didn’t push him further. She nodded and said, “Alright, go play with the others.”

As soon as she finished speaking, the little guy lit up with excitement and ran out happily.

After Mingming went out, Lin Wei checked her watch again. It was almost 4:30. Usually, starting dinner this early would mean the food would be cold by the time Zong Shao got home.

But Zong Shao went out to sea today, so they could eat right after she finished cooking—no need to wait.

Still, the fact that Zong Shao was out at sea left her feeling uneasy. She knew it was probably unnecessary; they weren’t newlyweds, and this wasn’t his first day as a soldier. Over the past four years, he had surely gone out to sea countless times just like this.

But still…

Maybe it was because they had been living apart before. He used to mention going out to sea in a letter, and by the time she actually received it, he was already back.

So… there was no time to worry back then.

Earlier this year, tensions in the South China Sea had escalated, and people said war was imminent. She’d been anxious for a while, but it lasted no more than two weeks before she received a telegram from Zong Shao reporting his safety.

The war had ended, and the country had won a great victory.

Not only was Zong Shao unharmed, he even received a commendation and was promoted to deputy battalion commander within a few months.

He’ll be fine.

Lin Wei thought, Doesn’t Zong Shao live past fifty in the novel too?

…

After dinner, Liu Dan came over and asked Lin Wei if she wanted to go “clam digging” on Sunday.

Liu Dan was straightforward and always felt guilty—she believed that if she hadn’t talked about work with Lin Wei at the wrong time, Lin Wei wouldn’t have been reported and fired from the hospital.

Because of that guilt, she took special care of Lin Wei and always shared good news with her.

Lin Wei was surprised. “We’re allowed to go clam digging?”

While people used to live off the mountains or sea, those days were gone. Now under a planned economy, mountain folks couldn’t hunt at will, and coastal folks couldn’t fish freely either. If caught, you’d be accused of exploiting socialist resources—and punished harshly.

So although she’d heard of clam digging, she never considered it.

Their family of four received a monthly seafood ration of three pounds per person, totaling twelve pounds. It wasn’t much, but they could manage. It just didn’t seem worth the risk for the sake of a good meal.

“What’s not allowed?” Liu Dan knew Lin Wei was new to the island and didn’t understand how things worked, so she explained, “As long as you’re not out there all the time, eating lobster and crab every day, no one will care. And don’t worry about Gao Xiulian—she does it too sometimes to get a treat for the family. She wouldn’t dare report you.”

That was the trouble with nosy neighbors—always had to be cautious. But Liu Dan’s explanation eased Lin Wei’s concerns and even got her interested.

It wasn’t really about the food. She just felt that since she was now living on an island, not trying it out would mean missing something. So she said, “Sure. Will it just be the two of us?”

“There are two others from our courtyard coming. Zhao Li from the supply and marketing co-op, and someone named Yang Yi—you probably haven’t met her yet, but she’s easy to get along with.”

Zhao Li was the sales clerk at the fruit counter—very nice indeed. As for Yang Yi, Lin Wei didn’t know her, but she trusted Liu Dan’s judgment. She asked, “So what time are we leaving Sunday?”

“A little after six. Gotta go early for clam digging. I’ll come get you then.” Liu Dan remembered something and asked, “Oh right, do you have rubber boots at home? Gloves would be good too.”

Lin Wei paused. “You need those for clam digging?”

“Of course! The seawater’s salty—without rubber boots, you’ll need a full rinse afterward. And gloves help with flipping things over.” Liu Dan thought for a moment and added, “If you don’t have any, I can lend you a pair of boots. Doesn’t matter to me. I also have extra gloves I can lend you.”

The rubber boots Liu Dan mentioned were just rain boots. Not useful on sunny days, but essential in the rain. Gloves weren’t expensive either, and since it was early in the month, Lin Wei had just received her ration coupons—it wouldn’t be a big deal to buy a pair at the supply store.

After some thought, Lin Wei said, “I’ll check the co-op tomorrow. If they have them, I’ll buy a pair of each. If not, I might need to trouble you to lend me some. How tall should the boots be?”

“Knee-high is best. Mid-calf is acceptable. Anything shorter and you can only search the shore for shellfish—not much good stuff.”

Lin Wei nodded, then asked, “By the way, can I bring Mingming and Ruirui along? Zong Shao’s out at sea. If they wake up and don’t see me, they might cry.”

“Sure you can, but that means you’ll be distracted looking after them. You won’t be able to go far, and you probably won’t find anything good,” Liu Dan reminded her.

“That’s okay. It’ll be my first time too. Even if I don’t bring them, I might not find anything good either.” Lin Wei had already made up her mind. She just wanted to give the kids a fun experience—since they hadn’t really gone out since moving to the island, this outing could be like a little summer trip.

After they wrapped up that conversation, the two women chatted for a while longer. Once it got dark, Liu Dan, thinking of her own children, said goodbye and went home.