Chapter 658: Harmony
Chapter 658: Harmony
Jiang Xia heard Zhou Chengsen shout and turned to look.
Zhao Cheng Lei also looked over.
Not far away, Ruan Tang ran toward the sea to retrieve Zhou Ying’s flower cap, which had been blown into the water. Hearing Zhou Chengsen’s shout, she instinctively turned back. "It’s fine, I’m just picking up the hat!"
Zhou Chengsen had already rushed into the water like an arrow, grabbing Ruan Tang’s arm and pulling her back to the shore.
He didn’t let go of her arm. "Are you trying to get yourself killed?"
His tone wasn’t exactly gentle, but he tried to soften it.
Just now, watching Ruan Tang walk into the sea, and seeing that the water in front of her had no waves and an unusual color, Zhou Chengsen’s heart nearly stopped.
It was a rip current!
He was afraid she might follow the hat into the rip current area.
Ruan Tang didn’t understand the source of his anger. Did he think she wanted to commit suicide?
She explained, "I was just picking up the hat. Yingying’s hat was blown into the sea. The water isn’t deep, it doesn’t even reach my knees. If it were deeper, I wouldn’t have gone further. It’s not summer, and it’s so cold."
The flower cap had been carried away by the waves, but the water looked shallow, and Ruan Tang could swim, so she ran to retrieve it.
Two nurses also pulled Zhou Ying over.
Nurse Li saw and explained, "Yes, the hat was just blown into the sea."
Zhou Ying stood nearby. Ruan Tang had kept her from getting too close to the water, and she quickly said, "Dad, the wind blew my hat away. Sister Ruan was helping me. It’s the flower cap you bought me. Don’t be so mean, you’re so mean!"
"…."
Was he really that mean?
Zhou Chengsen glanced at Ruan Tang and realized he was still gripping her arm tightly. He let go, trying to soften his tone. "I’m sorry. I wasn’t being mean, I was just worried. I wasn’t careful with my tone in the heat of the moment."
"I know."
Even though she understood his concern, Ruan Tang’s heart still raced a bit.
The spot where he had grabbed her arm was still burning.
She subconsciously rubbed it.
Zhou Chengsen looked at her, wondering if he had been too rough and hurt her.
"Did I hurt your arm?"
Ruan Tang released her arm and shook her head. "No."
Zhou Chengsen turned to his daughter. "If the hat blows into the sea, just let it go. Dad will buy you a new one. Look at the surface of the water."
Zhou Ying looked over. Her face paled when she saw that the surface of the water in front of her had fewer waves and looked unusually calm. She could still see her flower cap a moment ago, but now it was gone, carried far out to sea in just a few seconds.
"Is that a rip current?"
Dad had taught her how to identify a rip current before.
"That’s right. See how your hat disappeared? It was carried out to sea in an instant. Dad has told you many times to be cautious about the waves and tides when we’re at the beach. Otherwise, you could easily lose your life."
Zhou Ying acknowledged her mistake. "I understand. I’ll remember next time."
Jiang Xia and Zhao Cheng Lei had also arrived by then.
Jiang Xia asked, "What happened?"
Zhao Cheng Lei glanced at the water. "It’s a rip current."
Jiang Xia looked at the water.
She had never seen a rip current before.
Zhao Cheng Lei had previously explained to her that a rip current is a narrow, strong current that quickly flows back to the open sea. It is fast and often appears calm on the surface, making it easy for people to think it’s safe.
But it can carry swimmers or anyone who falls into the water out to sea in just a few seconds.
"What’s a rip current?" Ruan Tang asked, having never heard of it before.
Zhou Chengsen pointed to the particularly calm sea surface in front of them. "Look at this part of the sea and compare it to the area next to it. What’s the difference?"
Ruan Tang looked closely, trying to spot the difference. "It’s calmer, with fewer waves?"
"Exactly. And the color is different too, can you see that?"
Ruan Tang took another careful look. It was indeed a bit different, a bit deeper, but who would notice if they didn’t look closely?
The two nurses, who didn’t understand these things, also looked carefully and said, "It does seem different."
"You wouldn’t think such a calm sea surface could be so dangerous."
Zhou Chengsen continued, "When something seems unusual, there’s usually a reason. Sometimes, the calmer a part of the sea appears, the more dangerous it is. When beachcombing, always check if the tide is rising, especially if you’re on an unfamiliar beach. During a low tide, a trench might be exposed, and the tide can rise very quickly. Before you know it, the water in the trench could be higher than you."
Ruan Tang nodded. "I understand. I only know about beachcombing here. I don’t know other places."
Zhou Ying chimed in, "That’s right, Ruan Sister. Don’t go beachcombing on unfamiliar beaches by yourself. Come to our village and ask my dad to take us. He’ll take us out on his boat! He knows many good spots! With my dad around, it’s much safer."
Ruan Tang smiled. "Okay, but I don’t want to trouble you and your dad. Does Ying Ying mind?"
"I don’t mind at all! My dad doesn’t mind either, right, Dad?" Zhou Ying shook Zhou Chengsen’s arm.
If Ruan Sister came to ask her dad to take her beachcombing, she could tag along too.
Adults generally didn’t like taking children out to sea.
Zhou Chengsen nodded. "It’s no trouble. I’m free during the holidays."
Children by the sea should learn to swim and beachcomb; these are survival skills. Knowing how to swim can save your life, and knowing how to spot shell eyes means you won’t go hungry. Even if you’re poor, you can always have a meal of clams.
It’s also time to take the children beachcombing more often to teach them about different shell eyes.
Nurse Li smiled. "Ying Ying, we should come beachcombing too. Can you take us? Will it be a bother?"
Nurse Su added, "Yes! I want to go beachcombing with Ying Ying too."
Zhou Ying immediately said, "Not at all! Come along! All of you! We can pick turbo shells and grill them; they’re delicious!"
Jiang Xia smiled. "Alright, let’s keep picking shells. We should gather more for a barbecue tonight."
"Yay!" Zhou Ying was excited about the barbecue tonight.
She quickly pulled Zhou Chengsen and Ruan Tang. "Dad, Ruan Sister, let’s hurry and pick shells. Dad, you use the rake! You rake, and Ruan Sister and I will pick them up."
"You’re quite the planner." Zhou Chengsen took the rake and started working on a patch of sand.
The rake’s teeth scraped through the sand, flipping out the turbo shells and white clams hidden beneath.
Their luck was good; each rake brought up three or four turbo shells.
Ruan Tang and Zhou Ying picked up the shells from the turned-over sand while Zhou Chengsen raked ahead.
Zhao Cheng Lei took Jiang Xia to dig for sand worms, planning to make sand worm porridge tonight.
Jiang Xia planned to buy some dried sand worms from the villagers to take back to the capital, both for her own enjoyment and to share with others.
After digging a few sand worms, Jiang Xia got tired and handed the hoe to Zhao Cheng Lei. "You dig! I’ll go pick shells."
Zhao Cheng Lei pulled out the sand worms and took the hoe.
Jiang Xia glanced at Zhou Zhou and the two nurses picking turbo shells and then at Zhou Ying.
She suddenly found the scene of Zhou Chengsen, Ruan Tang, and Zhou Ying beachcombing together quite harmonious.
Li Xiuxian also found it harmonious, but it was almost blinding!
(End of Chapter)
Chapter end
Report
