Chapter 70: Gifts

The two children saw their father looking mysterious for the first time and curiously asked, “Dad, what do you have in your hand? Why are you being so secretive?”

Wang Zhenhe smiled at them. “Take a look. What did I make for you?” He brought out something he had prepared carefully that morning.

The two brothers were pleasantly surprised. “A slingshot? Dad, is this for us?”

This was the first time Wang Zhenhe had given the children a gift. They received the slingshots with disbelief and joy. They happily played with them, and Wang Zhenhe had prepared the slingshots after hearing about the bullying they had faced the previous night. He thought it might be useful for them.

“Mingyuan, if anyone bullies you, use the slingshot to defend yourself. How dare they bully my son? Let them taste your strength in the future,” he said.

Wang Qian smiled as she watched her father. He had finally come to his senses and started thinking about the well-being of the children. Although she didn’t entirely approve of this approach, it was a good start.

“Time for dinner. What were you doing so early in the morning? You were making this, right? Sons, just play with the slingshots. Don’t listen to your father. Don’t cause any trouble,” Zhang Lan said as she served the meal. Even during the meal, the brothers didn’t want to put down their slingshots. The gift was truly precious to them.

“Mom, I want to visit Grandma’s house today. I want my brothers and sister to come with me. We can also bring back some seafood,” Wang Qian said.

Zhang Lan understood her daughter’s intentions and nodded with a smile. “Alright, but be careful on the way there and back. Have a safe trip.”

Mingyuan, excited about visiting Grandma’s house, said to Mingcheng, “Brother, we can use the slingshot to hunt rabbits for Grandma to eat.”

Wang Zhenhe didn’t object to the children visiting their grandmother’s house. After reminding them to be safe on the way, he and his wife went to work. Once the children were ready, they set off with their tools. Each of the brothers carried a basket, ready to gather some things from the seaside.

The weather was warm, the birds were singing, and the flowers were in full bloom. The fragrance of the flowers mixed with the breeze was intoxicating.

Mingcheng picked a willow branch and made a willow flute for his little sister to play. Wang Qian blew into it, but it only made a sound similar to a car horn. She could only produce that one sound. Wang Xuan took the willow flute from her sister and played it quietly, creating simple but beautiful music.

The children couldn’t help but admire their big sister. She had turned such a simple thing into a musical instrument.

“Sister, it sounds so nice. I didn’t expect such a small thing to produce such a pleasant sound,” they said.

As the children walked and chatted, they soon arrived at the winding path among the mountains. Mingyuan had just received the slingshot that day and was aiming at potential prey while walking. Mingcheng reminded him to watch his step to avoid tripping.

Their luck was in, as a wild chicken suddenly fluttered down from the nearby mountain. Mingyuan, aiming with his slingshot, shot a stone at the chicken, hitting it on the head. The siblings quickly ran over and caught the wild chicken.

Mingyuan was proud of himself. “See, I’m really good. I caught a chicken with just a slingshot. I guess what I said this morning came true. I’m going to be a sharpshooter from now on.”

The little guy had successfully shot a wild chicken with a slingshot for the first time, boosting his confidence. Unfortunately, they didn’t encounter such good fortune again after leaving the mountains.

Mingyuan was still a bit dissatisfied. “When we get home, I’ll catch another chicken to bring back for dinner.”

Mingcheng laughed and said, “Mingyuan, one is already lucky enough. Don’t think about it anymore. Practice well in the future. Maybe you’ll catch more.”

When the children arrived at their grandmother’s house with the wild chicken, they saw their grandmother, Geng Lianhua, quickly repairing a fishing net in the yard. “Grandma, we’ve come to see you,” Mingyuan said as he ran into the yard with the chicken he had caught that day. Geng Lianhua was surprised to see her grandchildren coming over and quickly put down the net, embracing Mingyuan.

“Look at you, Mingyuan. Grandma can hardly hold you anymore. Oh, where did the chicken come from?” she asked, curious about the chicken the children were holding.

Proudly, Mingyuan raised his head. “Grandma, I caught this. I’m keeping it for Grandpa to have with his wine. Am I amazing?”

The children chuckled as they watched Mingyuan show off after catching the chicken. Geng Lianhua hugged her grandson and kissed him. “Yes, our Mingyuan is amazing. Not only can he catch a chicken, but he also knows how to be filial to his grandfather. Come, let’s go inside.”

After taking the chicken, they went inside, and the grandmother brought out some cooked conches for the children to enjoy. Wang Qian remembered that she had an important task. “Grandma, when is low tide today? We want to go gather seafood.”

The old lady smiled and gently touched her granddaughter’s face. “The tide will be out soon. You go ahead, and I’ll prepare our lunch. Then I’ll come and join you.”

The children headed straight to the beach from their grandmother’s house. They were the first to arrive after the tide had receded, leaving behind many treasures on the shore. They eagerly scurried to the beach like a flock of sheep let loose.

Each of them carried a small basket and squatted at the water’s edge, busily collecting the various items left behind by the receding tide. Today, there were many sand shrimps washed ashore, and the children were drawn to them. The lively sand shrimps were particularly attractive to Wang Qian. If she took them to the city to sell, they would fetch a good price. She collected the sand shrimps into her spatial storage using her mental power and also collected some seawater to keep them alive.

Once the children’s baskets were full, and she had collected most of the remaining items on the beach, they gathered their baskets together and began to dig for clams and harvest oysters, which they could take home to eat.

Wang Qian went to pick seaweed whenever she had a chance. She didn’t miss any that caught her eye. Fortunately, she had prepared buckets and containers in her spatial storage. Otherwise, there would have been nowhere to put them. Meanwhile, Geng Lianhua prepared the meal and hurried over with her husband and Zhang Weiguo. Seeing the children had collected so many sand shrimps, she shook her head. The children were still young, and sand shrimps weren’t suitable for eating. They were not only difficult to prepare but also didn’t have much meat. It was more cost-effective to eat clams and oysters.

Zhang Weiguo grabbed a shovel and started digging on the beach. Wang Qian went over to take a look and saw that her uncle had dug up many large, patterned clams, much larger than clams. She had eaten them in her previous life, but at that time, wild clams were already rare, and most were farmed.

“Uncle, you dig, and I’ll collect,” Wang Qian said, and Zhang Weiguo nodded, continuing to work.

“Wang Qian, have you moved to a new house?” Zhang Weiguo asked as he dug.

“We have. We moved to a new house yesterday. Uncle, when you have time, come and visit. Our new place is spacious, and we can arrange a special room for you,” Wang Qian said.

Last time, Zhang Weiguo had helped build their house and had to sleep on the heated brick bed. The house was narrow, and she felt sorry for her uncle, so she extended the invitation at the right time.

Zhang Weiguo looked at his innocent niece and smiled. “Okay, when I have time, I’ll come and see you.”

In Zhang Weiguo’s heart, he still favored his second sister’s four children. They were sensible and hardworking, much better than his eldest sister’s children. Even though they were all his nephews, he couldn’t help but compare them. Just as he was close to his second sister, he also had a special bond with his nephews.

When the tide came in, Zhang Wanyou and his family returned home with a full load. Geng Lianhua hurried to prepare a meal for the hungry group.

The children eagerly devoured the delicious salted eels. Wang Qian thought her grandmother’s cooking was exceptional. The eels were perfectly seasoned, and they tasted especially delicious when eaten with pancakes.

Mingyuan took a sip of corn porridge and gasped, “Grandma, these eels are so delicious. My mom can’t match your cooking skills.”

His words clearly pleased the old lady. Geng Lianhua lovingly encouraged the children to eat more and promised to send some eels home with them to steam for their mother.

After the meal, the children helped clear the table, and Geng Lianhua didn’t stop them. Zhang Weiguo had told her about his sister’s children being sensible, and now she could see it for herself. She felt that her second daughter was blessed to have such good children.

When Zhang Lan and Wang Zhenhe returned from work, everyone came over to inquire about the news. It’s said that good news doesn’t travel far, but bad news does. The incident involving Zhu Mancang had already become widely known.

The sisters-in-law all gave the same response, claiming it was a misunderstanding. They didn’t say much more, as it was better to say less and avoid making mistakes. After all, each family had children who would eventually marry, and having such relatives would tarnish their reputation.

The men were more straightforward in their conversations, sharing dirty jokes and lewd remarks. They felt helpless to have such a relative dragging them down.

Wang Zhenguo came home with a belly full of complaints and immediately began grumbling to Zhu Qiyu. “Mom, what kind of elder brother do you have? Everyone in the village is talking about it. It’s embarrassing. How can we face people in the future with such an uncle?”

Although Zhu Qiyu was also unhappy with her elder brother’s behavior, she said, “It’s just rumors. Why would you believe them? Look at how old your uncle is. He doesn’t have that kind of mindset.”