Going Home!

Feeling curious, Zhao Yuyan stopped what she was doing and shook the sand off her hands before walking over.

After squeezing through the crowd, she saw a large pile of green stuff. She couldn’t tell what it was, but it didn’t look like seafood.

Other than Xiaoguo, everyone else in the group looked a little dejected.

“After all this time, we’ve only caught a bunch of kelp. There’s only so little seafood.”

Xiao Zhu looked sadly at the few sea fish in the wooden bucket. How pathetic. They were not even enough to fill the gaps between her teeth.

Disappointed, Yu Ling took out the last fish from the fishing net and threw it into the bucket. After laboring for half a day, they only caught five fish. The remaining stuff were all some green stuff that she hadn’t seen before.

“It’s fine. I like kelp. The more the better!”

Xiaoguo’s attitude towards kelp was completely different from theirs. She liked it very much.

Kelp was nutritious. Apart from seaweed, she liked kelp the most. It was perfect for soups, salads and fillings. She had gotten exactly what she wished for.

When Yu Ling and Xiao Zhu heard this, they thought that she was trying to comfort them.

The two of them looked at each other with the same thoughts in their eyes.

Sister Xiaoguo was going home soon. They should maintain a happy atmosphere instead of sighing in despair throughout the day.

After cheering themselves up, the two of them looked at Xiaoguo again. They were now wearing looks of satisfaction and joy.

Xiao Zhu said, “The kelp is indeed good stuff!”

“That’s right, that’s right!” Yu Ling chimed in. Although she had only just found out that the green thing was kelp, it did not affect her extolling the stuff at all.

“This kelp is indeed a good thing. Okay! It’s beneficial for…”

“…”

Okay, she still wasn’t quite sure about the goodness of kelp.

Xiaoguo nodded and inadvertently looked at the crowd around them.

Good lord, in order to check out the harvest in the fishing net, she had actually missed out on beachcombing. “This is such a good opportunity. Hehe…”

Xiaoguo looked into the crowd and secretly gave Zhao Yuyan a look. The other party immediately understood and started combing for seafood.

After all, there was only so much one person could do. Hence, Xiaoguo secretly let Zhuang Zhuang and Xiao Zhu join in. She pretended to pack up the fishing net nonchalantly and slowly moved out of the crowd’s view. Then, she started gathering seafood in a frenzy.

The surrounding people were still excitedly watching Yu Ling sort out the kelp.

“Sigh… How can we finish so much kelp?”

Yu Ling did not notice that she was the only person left who was tidying up the kelp in the fishing net. She was also muttering to herself about the benefits of kelp.

Just like that, the three of them could have sorted out the kelp quickly, but with only one person left, it was hard to say how long it was going to take.

However, the longer Yu Ling was taking to sort out the kelp, the more Xiaoguo liked it.

It’s strange, but these seafarers have incredible patience and perseverance. They can spend half a day just observing a pile of kelp.

As a result, after Yu Ling was done packing the kelp, Xiaoguo and the others had also reaped a bountiful harvest. When the other villagers were preparing to start picking seafood on the beach, they were dumbfounded. There was nothing good left.

Xiaoguo and the others were already carrying the small boat in satisfaction. With a few buckets of seafood on the boat, they headed for home happily.

On the way back, they saw the old village chief waiting at the door with a villager. There was a carriage parked beside him.

The cheerful atmosphere instantly dissipated.

That was because everyone knew that it was time for Xiaoguo to leave.

Zhuang Zhuang could also sense that something was wrong. He closed his smiling mouth and quietly carried the boat.

“Madam, we can set off now.”

The old village chief stepped forward and interrupted the gloomy atmosphere.

“Okay, I’ll leave after packing up.”

Xiaoguo replied with a smile.

The few of them moved the small boat to the courtyard and placed it in a safe spot. Then, they began to distribute the seafood.

“Sister Xiaoguo, why don’t you bring these back? We can always catch some when we want to eat.”

Xiao Zhu wanted to load all three buckets onto the carriage, but Xiaoguo stopped her.

“I don’t need so much. Just give me this bucket which has more kelp.”

In Xiaoguo’s eyes, kelp was more attractive than the seafood.

“No, kelp is not as delicious as seafood.”

With that, the three of them worked together to transfer all the wooden buckets onto the carriage.

Seeing this, Xiaoguo brought down one full bucket of seafood for them, leaving two buckets that contained kelp for herself.

“Alright, alright. Let’s not argue anymore. You guys can keep this. Don’t let it spoil. Try to finish it soon.”

Seeing that they were going to add seafood into her buckets, Xiaoguo said, “I’ll come often. We’ll catch more seafood together another time.”

When the three of them heard her words, they smiled.

Xiao Zhu and Yu Ling were young, so they got teary-eyed instantly. Zhao Yuyan was fine, but she was feeling a little emotional. Her state of health…

After this farewell, she wondered if they would meet again.

“Alright, alright, stop crying… Be good and live well. I promise you that I’ll visit often.”

Xiaoguo hugged the two teary little girls and patted their backs to comfort them.

As she was hoping to reach home before dark, Xiaoguo did not dare to dawdle. After coaxing the two girls, she took her bag and prepared to leave.

Before leaving, Xiaoguo looked at Zhao Yuyan. The two of them nodded silently as a gesture of farewell.

Xiaoguo wasn’t sure either. She wondered if Zhao Yuyan would still be around the next time she came back…

At the thought of this, she couldn’t help but feel a little sad. Afraid that the tears they had barely held back would fall again, she quickly wiped her tears and got into the carriage.

Zhuang Zhuang was also busy bidding farewell to the others. In the end, he nodded heavily at Zhao Yuyan, drawing a smile from her. Only then did he retreat into the carriage with a flushed face.

“We’re leaving! You can look for me regarding anything. I’ll be right over!”

Before Xiaoguo left, she leaned out of the carriage and instructed worriedly.

“Got it!”

Xiao Zhu and Yu Ling swallowed their sobs and waved desperately in the direction Xiaoguo had left.

Zhao Yuyan watched as the carriage drove further and further away. Her eyes dimmed as she said softly in her heart, “Goodbye…”

“Mother…”

Zhuang Zhuang watched the carriage leave before calling out to Xiaoguo.

Xiaoguo thought that he couldn’t bear to part with her and was about to comfort him.

Unexpectedly, Zhuang Zhuang shook his head to show that he was fine. “Mother, I have something in my bag that Aunt Yuyan asked me to give you.”

“Aunt Yuyan asked you to give it to me?”

“Yes!”

Xiaoguo was curious now. Why didn’t she pass it to her personally? Instead, she asked Zhuang Zhuang to do it for her.

Seeing that she didn’t respond, Zhuang Zhuang took over the bag and rummaged through it. Soon, he found a palm-sized object that was wrapped in a cloth.

Xiaoguo held it in her hand. It felt like a rock.

“No wonder you insisted on packing your own bag. You were hiding a little secret.”

Zhuang Zhuang smiled sheepishly. “Aunt Yuyan wouldn’t let me tell you. She even said that it was a surprise and that she could only give it to you when you leave. This is my promise to her as a little man!”

Hearing his words, Xiaoguo became even more curious. She looked down at the thing in her hand. What was this mysterious thing?

Xiaoguo quickly unwrapped the cloth. It was something that she had forgotten and used to yearn for. It was a luminous stone!

“When did Aunt Yuyan give you this?”

“She gave it to me yesterday afternoon.”

“Did she say anything when she gave it to you?”

Zhuang Zhuang thought about it carefully and said, “She didn’t say anything else. She just said that this was her personal collection from a long time ago. She asked you not to worry, it’s fine to keep it.”

Xiaoguo took a deep breath. If it was from a long time ago, could she have secretly hidden it when she was building the cellar on the island?

Was this something she could keep?

Xiaoguo hesitated. Since it belonged to the country, she shouldn’t keep it.

However, on second thought, no one would know if she used it at night. Besides, it was just a small piece of luminous stone. It would be fine if she used it. After thinking it through, Xiaoguo accepted it with relief.

This was a really fruitful trip.