70: Chapter 70 Island Life in the 1980s (5)

When Jiang Wan regained her senses after receiving the plot, she found herself walking on the edge of a puddle. One more step forward and she would have fallen in.

Jiang Wan patted her chest, startled. That was close; she almost fell into the water.

Sigh, stop overthinking. Foraging by the sea is more important right now. The family has been buying vegetables for two days straight; she needs to pick up some seafood to take back.

She hoped her luck would be good today and that she could find some good things.

Jiang Wan wanted to bypass the puddle in front of her and continue walking, but suddenly, she noticed something seemed to be swimming in the calm water.

Jiang Wan thought, could it be a fish? Could there be a fish inside?

Jiang Wan probed the water with the tongs in her hand and found that the water quickly submerged them; it was quite deep.

As she stirred the tongs inside, she felt like she hit something.

Jiang Wan stirred vigorously, completely clouding the puddle, and then something popped up. Jiang Wan smiled; it really was a fish! It looked quite big.

Jiang Wan was overjoyed. She hadn't even started foraging yet and her bucket was still empty. She quickly crouched down and used the bucket to scoop the water out of the hollow.

With no other tools, she could only use this crude method.

Jiang Zhenyi looked up in Jiang Wan's direction and saw her scooping water there. He exchanged a glance with Shen Zhao and hurried over to see what was going on with Jiang Wan.

"Wanwan, did you see a fish in there?"

Jiang Zhenyi knew the reason as soon as he saw her.

After saying that, Jiang Zhenyi pulled Jiang Wan to the side and took over the work from her hands.

Jiang Wan stood to the side and said happily:

"Yes! I just saw a big fish in there, bigger than my calf. Big Brother, you have to catch it."

"Oh, really?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Zhao also picked up his bucket and helped Jiang Zhenyi scoop water.

He had come here to play anyway. He had been so busy talking just now that he hadn't foraged much. His bucket only had a few scattered shellfish, so he poured them directly into Jiang Zhenyi's bucket, freeing up his own to scoop water.

The puddle wasn't very large. With two tall and sturdy young men working, it didn't take long for the water level to drop.

As the water receded, the creatures inside couldn't stay still and started darting around.

When Shen Zhao and Jiang Zhenyi saw this, they both became excited.

"This one looks quite big! We're pretty lucky this time; it's actually a turbot. Oh my, we can have steamed fish for dinner tonight."

After Jiang Zhenyi finished speaking, he looked at Shen Zhao, who was helping out.

"Ah Zhao, you put in some effort today too. Come over to our house for dinner tonight."

It wasn't as if Shen Zhao had never eaten at the Jiang Family's house before, so he readily agreed upon hearing the invitation.

He gave instructions without the slightest bit of politeness:

"Sure thing, then I won't be formal. You know my appetite; cook a bit more rice tonight!"

"Don't worry, there definitely won't be a lack of food for you."

Jiang Zhenyi spoke with certainty. They grew rice in this area, at least two crops a year. His mother would buy a lot of rice from the villagers every year, so the family never lacked rice to eat.

After the two of them caught the fish, they found some other small fish in the hollow, which was enough to add another dish.

It was likely because it had rained these past two days and not many people had come. The fish were unlucky; they were washed up by the waves and couldn't get back, so they got a bargain.

After the two men took over, Jiang Wan went to another side to forage by herself.

She wanted to pick up some clams, sea snails, and oysters to eat. Although these shelled things didn't have much meat, if they were prepared well, they tasted quite good.

Jiang Wan didn't forage for long because the sun was particularly strong today. When Jiang Zhenyi saw the sun getting stronger, he called out to Jiang Wan, then found his two younger brothers, packed up their things, and went home.

The sun was so strong; what if his younger sister got a sunburn?

They had picked up enough to eat, so it was better to head back early.

Shen Zhao did the same; since Jiang Zhenyi was going back, he went back too.

He hadn't picked up much, so he poured it directly for Jiang Zhenyi. Since he was going to eat at the Jiang Family's house tonight, he might as well give these things to Jiang Zhenyi; at least it could add a dish to the evening meal.

Now that the Reform and Opening Up had occurred, the villagers also knew the benefits of doing business. They one after another placed the food they couldn't finish at home by the roadside for people to buy.

Jiang Wan saw the big, round watermelons and couldn't walk past. She went straight over to pick one out.

The watermelons here were big and sweet, and Jiang Wan loved eating them.

Jiang Weiguo and Su Yun would give her some pocket money every week, letting her buy snacks like the other students.

Jiang Wan wasn't actually a child, so she didn't really like eating those snacks.

She saved the money up, and bit by bit it added up. Combined with the rent from the village fields, she was now a little wealthy lady and could afford to buy these watermelons.

Of course, there were other fruits here too, but who could help it if watermelons were bigger? One could feed the whole family.

Jiang Wan quickly picked out a watermelon. In fact, she had watermelons in her space too, but the variety was different. The ones in her space were Black Beauties, while these had striped skins.

If she took a watermelon out, wouldn't people be suspicious? Jiang Wan didn't want to cause trouble for herself, so she could only buy them outside like this.

When Jiang Zhenyi saw Jiang Wan about to take out money, he quickly stopped her.

"Oh, Wanwan, put your money away. You don't need to pay this time. When we left this morning, Mom gave me money and told us to buy some fruit we like on our way back."

After saying that, Jiang Zhenyi pulled the money out of his pocket.

"Besides watermelon, what else do you want to buy? There are grapes and lychees over there. Do you want to eat some?"

Jiang Wan shook her head. She only wanted to eat watermelon. There was a grape vine at home that was almost ripe; they could eat from it in a while.

Actually, two watermelon seedlings were also planted by the door, and they had grown watermelons, but they weren't ripe yet. After a while, they wouldn't need to buy watermelons anymore.

Having a small courtyard is great; you can plant whatever you want.

Those military dependents living in apartment buildings were quite regretful. Although they were also allocated land, it was far away after all; having a field right by the door was much more convenient.

Of course, this was only the thinking of a small portion of people. Most people were quite satisfied with the apartment buildings. After all, such buildings were rare; some people wanted to live in them but couldn't."

When they went back to their hometown and told the people there, everyone was green with envy.

When everyone returned home, Jiang Wan saw that her Eldest Aunt hadn't finished work yet, so she took the initiative to go to the kitchen to cook.

Although the three brothers' cooking skills weren't great, they followed to help—some went to the vegetable garden to pick vegetables, some washed them, and some tended the fire.

However, the shelled items had to wait until they finished spitting out sand before they could be eaten. That big fish would be saved for when the guest arrived in the evening; for lunch, they just made do with something simple.

With everyone working together, lunch was ready very quickly.

When Su Yun returned and saw how well-behaved the children were, she praised them one by one without hesitation.

Look at that—whose children could be as wonderful as hers? She didn't have to worry about household matters at all.

Knowing that Shen Zhao was coming to the house for dinner tonight, Su Yun was also very welcoming.

Shen Zhao was a good friend of her son and was very pleasing to the eye. Su Yun liked looking at these handsome young men.

"Alright, Mom knows. If there's nothing pressing, Mom can come back a bit earlier today to cook for you."

"If there is something, then you'll have to do it yourselves."

When Shen Zhao came over, he didn't come empty-handed. He specifically brought a bag of pastries he had brought back from Jing City; these were specifically for his friends.

As soon as Shen Zhao entered the door, he saw a pretty young girl standing next to Jiang Zhenyi, watching him gut the big fish they caught this morning.

He didn't know what the two were talking about, but there were smiles on their faces.

However, when she saw Shen Zhao, the smile on the girl's face vanished.

"Brother Shen Zhao, you're here? I'll go get a stool for you."

Before Shen Zhao could even respond, he saw the young girl bring a stool over like the wind.

Only when she got closer did Shen Zhao realize that the young girl was quite good-looking.

Although she was young, she already looked very exquisite. He believed that once she grew up, she would definitely be able to charm a vast number of people.

Shen Zhao handed the pastries in his hand to Jiang Wan.

"Here, little sister, these are snacks I brought. They're a specialty from my place; have a taste."

Jiang Wan looked at Jiang Zhenyi. Only after seeing him nod did she accept them, then she turned back into the house to put them away.

Seeing Jiang Wan go inside, Shen Zhao plopped down on the stool next to Jiang Zhenyi.

"So this is your sister? She's way too good-looking, isn't she? To look like this at such a young age, what will she be like when she grows up?"

Hearing this, Jiang Zhenyi gave him a harsh eye-roll.

"Please, you're a man with a fiancée. Don't go thinking about other girls, and definitely don't praise other girls—especially my sister. My sister is still young."

Shen Zhao looked at Jiang Zhenyi and chuckled softly:

"I know, I know. Don't worry, I treat your sister like my own. I'm telling the truth, I'm not lying to you!"

Shen Zhao felt that Jiang Zhenyi was being a bit over-worried. The girl was very pretty, but she was still young.

He wasn't a beast himself, so why think so badly of him? He was a man with a fiancée, after all!