Fishing Net

At the moment, the few of them had yet to settle down. Since the village chief had a carriage at home, it would be very convenient for them to buy things in the county.

Yu Ling and Zhao Yuyan were not familiar with the outside world yet. Xiao Zhu had never gone out alone, so it would be unrealistic to expect them to buy food on their own now.

However, once they become more familiarized with the outside world, they should be fine.

Therefore, Xiaoguo had to trouble the old village chief during this initial period.

Seeing how insistent Xiaoguo was, the old village chief looked at his wife hesitantly. She nodded at him, indicating that he should accept it.

After a while, he sighed and said, “I’ll accept it then. Madam, don’t worry. Since the Zhao family’s mother and daughter have come to the fishing village, they are a part of the village now. As the village chief, I will definitely take responsibility and take good care of them.”

Xiaoguo smiled and nodded. She had no doubt about his words.

It was rare to come across someone who was willing to go out of his way to take care of the orphans in the village. He was definitely a very responsible person.

“To be honest, I have another favor to ask of you.”

“Please tell me.”

“I also need your help to keep an eye on their situation. If there’s any problems, please inform me.”

“Aye, okay. I will.” The old village chief understood what she meant and nodded without hesitation.

Xiaoguo smiled and said, “I live in Peach Blossom Village. You can locate me by my husband’s surname. Our surname is Jiang. It’s easy to find us.”

The old village chief immediately instructed his wife to find a pen and paper to write the name down. After writing, he showed it to Xiaoguo. When Xiaoguo had confirmed that the name was taken correctly, he carefully kept the paper.

After saying goodbye to them, Xiaoguo was about to walk towards Xiao Zhu’s house when Zhuang Zhuang stopped and pointed to the sea. “Mother, shall we go to the seaside for a while?”

“All right.”

Xiaoguo looked at the sea and nodded. She held Zhuang Zhuang’s hand and walked towards the beach.

Zhuang Zhuang looked down at the sand under his feet. He stepped on the sand and kicked it.

Xiaoguo could tell that he was curious, so she squatted down and asked, “Do you want to take off your shoes?”

“Can I take off my shoes? And go bare-footed?”

Zhuang Zhuang looked into her eyes hesitantly. Then, under her encouraging gaze, he smiled and nodded. “Yes!”

Xiaoguo squatted down and took off his shoes. She suddenly realized a problem. “Have Zhuang Zhuang’s feet gotten a little bigger?”

It was only then that she realized that Zhuang Zhuang’s shoes were a little too small for his feet. Before leaving for the island, she had made the shoes according to his size. It had only been two months since then, but he had already outgrown the shoes. That was really fast.

“I think so.”

Zhuang Zhuang couldn’t tell if his feet had grown bigger, but the shoes did feel a little tight. He hadn’t told his mother about it. He wanted to let her know when they got home, but his mother had found out before that.

“That was fast…” Xiaoguo took off his shoes and placed them aside. She measured his little feet with both hands and rubbed them while feeling nostalgic. Her actions made Zhuang Zhuang laugh out loud.

“Mother… no matter how fast I grow, I’m still your son. I’ll never be separated from you!”

He was right about that. The bond between a mother and her child was unbreakable. Whenever Xiaoguo was unhappy, Zhuang Zhuang was able to sense it immediately. Then, he would immediately shower her with warm and sweet words. Xiaoguo did not have a chance to sigh even if she wanted to.

At this moment, Zhao Yuyan, Yu Ling, and Xiao Zhu arrived at the beach.

“Hey, is that Zhuang Zhuang and Sister Xiaoguo?”

It was hard to tell because Xiaoguo had her back towards them and Zhuang Zhuang’s head was lowered.

At this moment, Zhuang Zhuang heard his name. Although the voice was soft, he instinctively looked up in that direction.

When Xiao Zhu heard Yu Ling’s words, she spotted Zhuang Zhuang’s face. She smiled and said, “It’s Zhuang Zhuang and Sister Xiaoguo!”

The three of them walked quickly towards them.

Xiaoguo was focused on taking off Zhuang Zhuang’s shoes. Seeing that there was no reaction from her, Zhuang Zhuang nudged his mother and reminded her.

“What’s wrong?”

Xiaoguo didn’t understand and looked up at Zhuang Zhuang. At that moment, she heard two voices behind her.

“Sister Xiaoguo…”

“Yes.” Xiaoguo answered first before looking at the person.

It couldn’t be helped. Recently, there had been too many people who were addressing her as their ‘big sister’. At this age, she should be addressing other old women as her ‘big sister’. She really didn’t expect to meet a group of little sisters here.

“We have come out to look for you.”

Xiao Zhu was overjoyed and ran over first.

“Are you looking for me?”

“Yes, yes. We were tidying up the house when we found a small wooden boat and fishing net. After our beach-combing session tomorrow, we can go out and catch some seafood.”

Xiaoguo smiled when she heard that. That would be great. She should try to bring as much seafood as she could get her hands on. The bigger the catch, the more she can share it with the rest. Earlier on, she was still worrying about not being able to gather enough seafood.

However, if they were going out to sea, it would be better if there was more time. They would leave for home first thing after their beach-combing session. It was unlikely that they would be able to catch much seafood. If they wished to catch more fish, they would have to go out to sea when the sky was still dark. But then, that would be too dangerous.

“Forget it. It’s too late to cast the net tomorrow. We’re going home right after combing the beach.”

Xiaoguo said in disappointment. Xiao Zhu and Yu Ling fell silent when they heard this. It was not going to work.

“It’s fine. We can do it now.”

Zhao Yuyan looked at them strangely. “Why have this bunch of girls become muddle-headed all of a sudden? It’s not like they could only go out to sea tomorrow.”

“That’s right!”

Xiaoguo patted her head and smiled. How silly.

Xiao Zhu and Yu Ling instantly perked up and said in unison, “Then we’ll go get the boat and the fishing net!”

“I’ll get the fishing net!” Zhuang Zhuang was not going to be left out.

“Let’s go then!”

Xiao Zhu took the shoes from Xiaoguo’s hands and helped Zhuang Zhuang put them on together with Yu Ling’s help.

Zhuang Zhuang swallowed the words that were at the tip of his tongue. He was about to say that he could put the shoes on by himself. Looking at the two girls, who looked so motivated, he nodded firmly and tried to keep up with them.

With his short legs, it was impossible for him to keep up with the two older girls. Hence, Yu Ling and Xiao Zhu ran for a while before stopping and turning around. They picked up Zhuang Zhuang, who was trying to catch up. With both of them holding onto the boy’s arms, the three of them instantly raced forward.

Looking at such a funny scene, Xiaoguo and Zhao Yuyan laughed so hard that they almost choked.

Zhuang Zhuang, who was in the middle, seemed to be running and floating at the same time. However, his little face looked extremely serious. It was a very comical sight.

After a long time, the three of them returned with strained expressions.

Although the boat and net were not heavy, having to push the weight over a long distance did require a lot of strength and effort.

Seeing this, Xiaoguo and Zhao Yuyan quickly went forward to help. Only then did the three of them have the chance to catch their breath.

Just as Zhuang Zhuang was pushing with all his strength, he suddenly felt the weight disappear from his hands. Being caught off guard, he almost fell forward.

Hearing the laughter from everyone, he blushed in embarrassment and chuckled to himself.

With their combined efforts, the few of them managed to push the boat into the sea. The small boat swayed a few times before floating steadily on the water.

The small wooden boat was left behind by Xiao Zhu’s parents at that time. Ever since they passed away, no one had used it. Although the boat was old, it was fortunate that there were no cracks on it, and the oars were also intact.

As the boat was small, it could only seat two or three people.

Xiaoguo knew how to row a boat, so she had to get on it. Xiao Zhu and Yu Ling both wanted to get on the boat too. Since they were both skinny, it was okay for them to hop on.

By now, the boat had reached its maximum capacity. Zhao Yuyan wasn’t very interested, so she volunteered to stay on the shore and wait for them.

Zhuang Zhuang seemed to be thinking about something. He kept looking at Xiaoguo pitifully, hoping that she would bring him along.

Xiaoguo looked hesitantly at the space between the three of them and then took another look at Zhuang Zhuang’s stomach…

“Come join us.”

Zhuang Zhuang immediately opened his arms happily and waited for Xiaoguo to pick him up.

However, what greeted him was Xiao Zhu and Yu Ling pulling him onto the boat by his arms. When he was seated down firmly between the two of them, he looked sadly at Xiaoguo’s back view.

Sensing something, Xiaoguo explained without looking back, “Mother has to row the boat. I can’t take care of you.”

Hearing her explanation, Zhuang Zhuang nodded in understanding.

Just like that, the three and a half people rowed off.