latelenovela Chapter 61 Lin Chang'er, did you do this on purpose?
Chapter 61 Lin Chang'er, did you do this on purpose?
Gu Dalang and Gu Erlang usually don't drink alcohol, but today, when they invited Zhou Lizheng to dinner, they scooped out three small bowls of the yellow wine they had brewed before the New Year.
After finishing a bowl of yellow soup, Zhou Hai, emboldened by the alcohol, discussed with Lin Chang'er, "Chang'er, I'm truly happy for you that you've managed to run a business. But have you ever thought about taking the whole village... to go beachcombing?"
Before Zhou Hai could finish speaking, Aunt Zhou tugged at his sleeve and scolded, "What nonsense are you talking about! If you had known you could drink so little, you shouldn't have drunk a drop."
Lin Chang'er smiled and said, "Auntie, it's alright, let Uncle speak."
Zhou Hai glanced at his wife, who was giving him a look that said, "Don't say that," and shook his head helplessly. "I'm just mentioning it. Whether it works or not is up to Chang'er."
Aunt Zhou pouted in dissatisfaction, and Lin Chang'er patted the back of her hand, "Aunt, since Uncle says so, let's hear his thoughts."
Aunt Zhou glared at Zhou Hai, then turned her face away and ignored him.
Zhou Hai chuckled and said, "Chang'er, what I'm thinking is that once you have experience, you can lead everyone to prosperity. If everyone makes money, building bridges, roads, and schools will also benefit future generations, right?"
Aunt Zhou scoffed at him, "You sure know how to think! Getting rich isn't that easy."
Lin Chang'er was silent for a moment before replying, "Uncle, your idea is certainly good, and it's not that I'm unwilling."
But as you know, beachcombing involves too many uncertainties, and ultimately it requires a bit of luck and skill.
Furthermore, if I take everyone to go beachcombing, what about their safety? Those who are willing to listen are fine, but people have different mindsets. One might want to collect more and not want to come ashore when the time is up, while another might want to go into the deeper water to find the best catch. What should I do then?
After hearing what she said, Aunt Zhou immediately chimed in, "Your uncle is just stubborn. He's only thinking about the whole village getting rich together, but people might not even appreciate it."
Zhou Hai remained silent. What Lin Chang'er said was certainly reasonable; he had oversimplified the matter.
Lin Chang'er smiled and smoothed things over, "Uncle is the village head, he's in charge of all the miscellaneous affairs of the village, so it's inevitable that he won't be thorough sometimes."
Upon hearing this, Aunt Zhou nudged Zhou Hai with her elbow, "Did you hear that? You're making things difficult for Chang'er like this, and she's even taking your side!"
Lin Chang'er quickly waved her hand, "Auntie, don't say that. Uncle has his own reasons, but my abilities are limited. As things stand, I really can't lead the whole village."
Besides safety concerns, there's also the issue of sales channels, which is the most pressing issue.
The market in the town and county is only so big. Unless we can open up roads so our seafood can be sold inland, it will just rot in our hands, and all our efforts will be in vain.
That makes sense, Zhou Hai finally nodded, "I was just assuming things."
Lin Chang'er pursed her lips. She had thought about selling seafood inland for a long time, but she knew she couldn't do it alone.
I wonder if Young Master Wu and Young Master Bai have any such thoughts. If they are interested, perhaps the chances are better.
Let's just let this go as a side note. After dinner, Lin Chang'er asked the little goldfish to deliver a large bowl of mutton soup to the old lady next door.
Today, Xiao Niu from next door helped deliver a message, and Lin Chang'er remembered it. She asked Gu Silang to send over a bowl of fried small fish to express her gratitude.
Unexpectedly, when Gu Silang returned, Zhou Xiaoniu's mother from next door also came over.
She was a rather simple and honest woman, looking to be in her early twenties. She was rather thin. When she saw Lin Chang'er, she nervously tugged at the hem of her clothes and just smiled at her.
Lin Chang'er was straightforward. "Sister-in-law, you've come here because you need something, right?"
Zhou Xiaoniu's mother pursed her lips and finally spoke, "Third sister-in-law, I know you've been collecting seafood these past few days, so I shouldn't have brought this up."
But we're really starving at home. Could you take me with you tonight, my dear sister-in-law? I won't fight you for food. You just need to take me with you.
I will definitely not cause any trouble for my third brother and sister-in-law.
Lin Chang'er frowned, not wanting to show those three words on her face.
Zhou Xiaoniu's mother didn't say anything, just quietly looked at her with expectation in her eyes.
Lin Chang'er felt a little irritated by the stares. Just then, Aunt Zhou came out and greeted Zhou Xiaoniu's mother.
Seeing that she also called her Aunt Zhou, Lin Chang'er pulled Aunt Zhou aside and asked, "How is she? Is she worth helping?"
Aunt Zhou sighed, "Xiao Hua is also a pitiful person. Her husband is an honest man. He was conscripted into the army along with Jingzhe's father."
Originally, she had three sons, and it wasn't necessarily her husband who would have chosen her, but her husband was the least favored by his parents!
Like Jingzhe's father, she left and never returned. The compensation money, if it weren't for your uncle's intervention, would have been kept by her in-laws. Her family did come several times to persuade her to remarry, but she couldn't bear to leave Xiaoniu, so she raised him alone.
Lin Chang'er frowned even more after hearing her words.
A widow and her orphan, girls help girls!
He sighed and said to Zhou Xiaoniu's mother, "Sister-in-law, I can take you, but there are some things I need to make clear to you beforehand."
First, don't go sneaking off on your own tomorrow after you've found the way. If you encounter danger, I won't be responsible. Second, when I say we're going back, you must all come back together. Otherwise, if your family asks for your return, I won't acknowledge you. Third, whether you find anything good depends entirely on luck. If you do find something, great; if not, don't blame me.
Zhou Xiaoniu's mother repeatedly agreed, and thanked her, "Thank you, Third Sister-in-law. I didn't expect to find anything big. It doesn't matter if it's good or bad, as long as it's edible. It would be even better if it could be exchanged for some money."
Lin Chang'er nodded. "We'll set off right away. Go back and bring the basket, water bucket, and plow."
"Okay, I'll go prepare right away. Third sister-in-law, wait for me." Zhou Xiaoniu's mother said as she turned and ran home.
When they returned, they brought 6-year-old Zhou Xiaoniu with them.
Just as Lin Chang'er expected, when they arrived at the beach, they saw a few scattered lights flickering.
Lin Chang'er didn't care; everyone could pick up the good stuff by their own ability, as long as they didn't openly rob her.
As usual, the family members were divided into three groups. Gu Silang, his mother, and Gu Erlang and his wife went to the grove to collect sea duck eggs and catch blue crabs. Yesterday, Gu Dalang took the children to collect clams on the beach. Today, Aunt Zhou and Zhou Li were also added to the group.
Zhou Xiaoniu was about the same age as Xiaojinyu and Gu Xiaolu, so he joined them in picking clams.
Zhou Xiaoniu's mother was quite sensible; before going to the grove with Gu Silang and the others, she asked Lin Chang'er if she could go.
However, the other women who arrived early were not so tactful.
Wherever Lin Chang'er went, they followed, chattering incessantly and annoyingly. When they saw Lin Chang'er discover seafood, they deliberately made noise, almost scaring away her two grouper.
There was also a girl named Lin Xiaomei who was on good terms with Yang Cuihua. She was the most shameless one and actually tried to steal the sea eel that Lin Chang'er had found first.
However, she had no experience and couldn't hold the eel at all; she was just messing around.
Lin Chang'er also lost her temper. She used fire tongs to scoop up the eel like noodles and threw it at Lin Xiaomei.
The conger eel was slippery like a spicy snack, which scared Lin Xiaomei so much that she screamed and tried to pat it, but ended up patting another woman who was with her.
In an instant, chaos erupted on the shallow reef, with screams echoing everywhere. In her panic, Lin Xiaomei slipped and fell into the sea, throwing her bucket out of the water and throwing all the seafood she had collected back into the sea.
Several other women were also dragged down and slipped.
Lin Xiaomei, soaking wet, climbed out of the sea and yelled at Lin Chang'er, "Lin Chang'er, did you do this on purpose?"