Chapter 418: Chapter 418 - Transfer
Chapter 418: Chapter 418 - Transfer
Dinner was at Great-Grandmother's house, and knowing that Jiang Xia's family had gone out to sea, He Xinghuan prepared dinner for them as well.
The meal consisted of braised pork, steamed seabass, shrimp, and a mixed fish hotpot.
The mixed fish hotpot was a dish almost every family in the village ate daily, as it was both affordable and delicious.
When one had a poor appetite, they could even use the broth from the hotpot to mix with their rice.
Jiang Xia also brought a snake-skin bag filled with sea cucumbers, a large bucket of conch, spicy whelks, and mussels.
The sea cucumbers were steamed with garlic and vermicelli, while the rest were simply blanched and dipped in soy sauce.
Today's sea cucumbers were especially plump, and the scallop meat was exceptionally large, fresh, and sweet. They were steamed in halves, and Jiang Xia ate ten of them, barely touching her rice and only finishing half a bowl.
During dinner, Great-Grandfather asked, "Next semester, I plan to transfer Zhou Jie to the town's primary school. What about Zhou Zhou? I can pick up and drop off Zhou Zhou as well."
Great-Grandmother replied, "The teachers in town teach better than the ones in the village. The village teachers use the local dialect in class, while the town teachers speak Mandarin."
Great-Grandfather added, "Not all teachers in town use Mandarin, though."
Upon hearing this, Jiang Xia said, "We'll think about it and discuss it."
This matter needed to be discussed with Zhou Zhou at home to see if he was willing.
If Zhou Zhou wanted to go, he could also transfer to the town's school.
As for transportation, Jiang Xia planned to handle it herself and wouldn't trouble Great-Grandmother and Great-Grandfather to pick up and drop off Zhou Zhou daily.
People tend to be lazy, and even when taking care of their own children, there are times when they want to slack off. It's even more so when taking care of someone else's child.
After dinner, when they returned home, Jiang Xia asked Zhou Zhou if he wanted to transfer to the town's primary school.
Zhou Zhou shook his head.
"Why not?"
"It's too far. Every time Yingying comes back, she's in a rush to go to school. Auntie Li Xiuxian keeps urging her."
Jiang Xia: "..."
The truth was that Zhou Ying ate slowly, and Auntie Li Xiuxian's constant urging made it seem rushed.
The town was only a short 10-minute trip away, not far at all.
"Auntie can pick you up and drop you off. If she's busy, you can go to school with Zhou Jie."
"I don't want to go. The town school has a lot of homework. Yingying does her homework until late every night. And when Yingying studies in town, I see her struggling with math problems that I already know how to solve! There are even some words she doesn't know how to spell, but I do! This shows that the town's teachers aren't that great either."
If she had any questions, she could just ask Auntie or Uncle for help, and they were even better than the teachers.
Moreover, she always scored full marks in her exams, and transferring to the town school wouldn't make her score 101 out of 100.
Why transfer? Zhou Zhou didn't want to go, and he didn't want Auntie to send him every day.
Attending school in the village meant he could walk there himself. The school was right by the rice fields and vegetable gardens. On the way back from school, he could pick wildflowers, catch eels, dig sweet potatoes, and even get sugarcane from his classmates' fields to eat. How fun was that?
The village school had less homework, which he could finish during breaks. At home, he could take care of the cows, geese, and ducks while flying kites or roasting sweet potatoes. He could even go to the beach to collect seashells and sea cucumbers to roast and eat. How wonderful was that?
Zhou Mu: "It's fine if you don't go. It's not like we're talking about university; primary school is the same wherever you go. The town and village schools have teachers of the same caliber."
Seeing that Zhou Zhou genuinely didn't want to transfer, Jiang Xia thought it might not be a good idea. Zhou Zhou was shy by nature, and if he transferred, not only would he have to adapt to a new school, but also to new classmates.
"If you don't want to transfer, then don't. Have you finished today's homework?"
"Yes, I finished it at school. I've also memorized the English words and sentences. Auntie, listen and tell me if I made any mistakes."
"Okay."
Zhou Zhou recited his homework seriously.
After he finished, Jiang Xia laughed and praised him while gently correcting his pronunciation. She then urged him to go take a bath and get ready for bed as it was almost 8 o'clock.
In this era, 9 pm is considered late, and most fishermen in the fishing village are already asleep, preparing for their voyage.
The next day, Jiang Xia woke up on time, intending to join the fishing trip again.
The previous night, Zhou Fu had thoroughly rinsed the piece of sandalwood with fresh water, concerned about the potential harm of saltwater to the wood.
Zhou Chenglei planned to send it to the city after the Ebb Tide, asking Zhang Rong to sell it in the port city.
When Jiang Xia got up, Zhou Chenglei was already out of the room.
She put on her clothes, turned on the light, and checked the time; it was only 4:25 am.
Where could he have gone at this early hour? Jiang Xia went to brush her teeth and wash her face, then headed downstairs. She saw Zhou Mu and asked, "Mom, where's A Lei?"
"He went with your dad to catch squid."
"Is the Ebb Tide happening on our side too?"
"Yes, many villagers have gone. They should be returning soon."
In the middle of the night, she heard many villagers passing by on the road, heading for beachcombing, saying that the Ebb Tide had arrived.
Upon hearing this, Zhou Fu and Zhou Chenglei got out of bed and left.
No matter when the Ebb Tide occurs, even in the middle of the night, the villagers will get up to go beachcombing.
The sea experiences daily tides, but only during the beginning and middle of the month do they recede more noticeably.
The timing of the tides is not fixed; it varies daily.
During the Ebb Tide, the seawater recedes rapidly, leaving many shellfish unable to escape, stranded on the beach.
Hence, beachcombing during the Ebb Tide yields a more abundant harvest.
Moreover, with each tide, the sea offers different seafood treasures to humanity.
Nighttime is when squid come out to feed, so beachcombing at night increases the chances of catching squid.
As the father and son were going out to sea, Zhou Mu had to prepare breakfast and couldn't join the beachcombing.
Zhou Mu guessed that the beach they went to yesterday would experience the Ebb Tide again today, so she planned to join them this time.
"What time did they leave?" Jiang Xia, who had slept deeply after a tiring day and went to bed at 9 pm, was unaware of the time.
"Around midnight. They should be back soon."
Soon after Zhou Mu finished speaking, the father and son returned, carrying a bucket and two large nets filled with sea cucumbers.
Both buckets were half-filled with squid.
Jiang Xia exclaimed in surprise, "So many? And these squid are so big!"
Zhou Fu laughed, "We were lucky to catch so many. Others only caught a dozen or so."
Zhou Mu smiled, "Let's bring them on the boat. I'll clean and sun-dry them on the boat. You two go wash your hands and have breakfast."
The catch of the night consisted of long-legged squid, which, after cleaning the innards, could be laid out on bamboo mats to dry, forming a large piece.
There were over a hundred squid in the two buckets, and after drying, they would be enough for Jiang Xia to consume after childbirth, cooking three to four a day, lasting a month.
Their family had been catching squid with earthenware jars, and Zhou Mu had already sun-dried over ten pounds of dried squid.
Their clothes were soaked from beachcombing, so Zhou Chenglei and Zhou Fu quickly changed into dry clothes before having breakfast.
While they ate, Zhou Mu went to call Great-Grandmother and Tang Ping's mother to join the beachcombing.
The family arrived at the dock half an hour late, and Li Fu and Li Qingmin were already waiting there.
Ever since discovering the profitability of fishing, the father and son were eager to start earlier each day.
Today, with beachcombing on the agenda, Li Mu and Li Qingmin's wife had also come along.
Yesterday, Zhou Chenglei and his group had collected several large bags of sea cucumbers, worth over ten dollars! And sea cucumbers are a delicacy loved by many.
Li Fu smiled and asked Zhou Fu, "In-law, are you going beachcombing today?"
Zhou Fu laughed, "Sure, let's go."
After waiting for over half an hour, Li Qingmin grew impatient, "Why are you guys getting later and later?"
Zhou Chenglei gave him a calm look, "Did we ask you to wait?"
Li Qingmin: "..."
(End of Chapter)
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