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Just as Lin Qingmei was about to drain the fifth tide pool, she heard the distant shout of the village chief’s wife.
Oh no! Could something have happened to her?
Panicked, Lin Qingmei quickly ran back in the direction she had come from, afraid she’d be too late.
“Auntie! What happened?”
“Qingmei, hurry and help me—there’s a big fish here! I can’t hold it down much longer!”
Ten minutes earlier, after digging up the razor clams, the village chief’s wife had come to look for Lin Qingmei. She hadn’t gone far when she saw a large red fish being pushed ashore by the waves.
Seeing such a large fish stranded, she naturally tried to drag it up. She hadn’t expected the fish to be so strong—it nearly dragged her into the sea instead.
With Lin Qingmei’s help, the two of them held onto the fish’s head. Eventually, the struggling fish calmed down.
“Auntie, what kind of fish is this? It’s so pretty!”
“This is a spotted coral grouper. Steamed, it tastes amazing. But it’s also expensive—it can sell for several yuan per jin at the collection station. A fish this size could easily go for dozens of yuan.”
The village chief’s wife was thrilled. This was the first time she’d ever caught such a big coral grouper.
What a lucky day! Usually, she just found a few crabs and shells when tide harvesting—rarely fish, and especially not big ones. Catching this coral grouper was something she could brag about for a long time.
Wait, fish are worth that much now?
Lin Qingmei began to feel tempted.
She had several yachts in her space. Maybe she should bring a fishing net and head out to sea someday?
But then the village chief’s wife’s next words crushed that idea—maybe she should just lie low for now.
“Coral groupers may be valuable, but they’re hard to catch. People from our village rarely come across them when fishing. Most of the time, it’s pomfret, threadfin, or sea bass. There are plenty of those, but they don’t fetch a high price. Don’t be fooled by the fact that the village has fishing boats—once you subtract fuel costs, it’s barely enough for folks to buy rice. Back when your grandfather was alive, he had connections to get foreign grain. Those were the days—our Linjiawan lived well. But unfortunately, not long after he retired, the long-range fishing boat broke down, and all the boatmen were laid off and returned to Linjiawan.”
The village chief’s wife was filled with nostalgia for the past. But it was all behind them now—there was no going back.
“Auntie… I miss my grandparents. When they were alive, I didn’t have a single worry. But now I’m all alone at home, with no one to even talk to.”
Lin Qingmei had just wanted to play the pity card at first, but the more she talked, the more her eyes welled up with tears.
“Aren’t your parents coming back to take you to the Northeast? Your dad used to say he didn’t feel comfortable leaving your grandparents alone, so he sent you here to keep them company. Now that they’re gone, how can they just leave you here by yourself?”
“My dad’s out on a mission. As for my mom… she doesn’t like me. Maybe she just doesn’t want to see me.”
Lin Qingmei decided to get ahead of things and expose Yao Yanfang’s dislike toward her. She was already fourteen this year. In a few years, she’d be old enough to marry. What if Yao Yanfang tried to sell her off?
Since she abandoned the original host from the beginning, she had no right to come back and play family now. Anyone who could abandon their own biological daughter had no moral high ground.
“Well, yeah… A daughter who wasn’t raised around them—of course, they don’t feel attached. Back then, your grandparents didn’t want to let your mom into the family, but your dad liked her, so they compromised. Your mom never came back to visit even once. She really is heartless—she could ignore her own flesh and blood. Your dad and mom didn’t even come back when your grandpa died, and now your grandma’s gone, and still no sign of them. I really think your grandparents got the short end of the stick.”
The village chief’s wife wanted to say more, but then she remembered—these were still Lin Qingmei’s parents. It felt inappropriate to keep badmouthing them. She closed her mouth in silence, scolding herself for speaking so much in front of a child.
But Lin Qingmei didn’t care that her parents were being scolded. Lin Jianshe often went on missions, true—but Grandma Lin had been sick for months. Did he really never return to the base? Or had someone at the base—possibly Yao Yanfang—hidden the truth from him?
Before her death, Grandma Lin had still been waiting to see Lin Jianshe one last time. But unfortunately, she never got to see the son she had longed for.
Deep within the mountainous jungles of Yunnan Province—
Six soldiers with camouflaged faces were crawling forward. Not far away was another team of dozens of people.
“Commander, we’re almost at the border. When do we strike?”
“Wait a bit longer. We strike when they let their guard down.”
“They’re carrying important documents. If they get away, it’ll be a massive loss to our country.”
“The lead guy—the fat one—has the documents. That bastard’s done every evil you can imagine. Keep your eyes on him. He must not leave the Motherland alive.”
The two teams crept closer and closer. Eventually, the enemy team noticed something was off.
“Shit! The Chinese soldiers are catching up—move, now!”
The slow-moving team suddenly panicked and began to scatter.
Seeing their formation in disarray, the Chinese soldiers seized the moment.
“Now—open fire!”
Bang bang bang!
After a brutal shootout, most of the enemies were down.
“It’s finally over. We’ve been chasing these foreign agents for over six months—finally, we can go home.”
Just as the six soldiers thought they had won, one enemy who had been playing dead suddenly sprang up and fired at the nearest man.
“Wu Hao—watch out!”
Bang!
A soldier fell to the ground.
“Commander—no!”
“Liu Yang! Get the documents from the fat guy’s body and bring everyone back to base!”
“No—we’re leaving together!”
Wu Hao’s face turned pale. If the commander hadn’t pushed him aside, he would’ve been the one who got shot.
“Commander, hang in there. I’ll carry you back.”
“Go! If you don’t leave now, it’ll be too late. All of you—turn back and get out of here! I’ll hold off their reinforcements.”
Fighting back tears, Liu Yang tucked the retrieved documents into his jacket and led the other four soldiers to retreat quickly.
On the other side of the border, a group of enemies was rushing toward the sound of gunfire.
Once the others were far enough away, Lin Jianshe gritted his teeth and slowly crawled toward the pile of enemy corpses.
The bullet had struck him right in the chest. He knew he wasn’t making it out of this forest alive.
He lay down among the enemy bodies, pressing tightly against the bomb strapped to his chest.
Not long after, the enemy reinforcements arrived.
Just as they reached him, Lin Jianshe raised his gun—and ignited the bomb.
BOOM!
Everyone nearby was instantly blasted away.
Not far off, the five retreating soldiers heard the explosion—and couldn’t hold back their tears any longer.