The person who came was Haizhu's second grandmother, she came in with a bowl of thick porridge, and smiled when she saw Haizhu, "I didn't see that this girl still has the luck to make a windfall, and her pocket bulged when she went out." ”

After her, four or five people came one after another, and Haizhu's cousin inquired with her about the grand occasion of snatching whale meat, and praised her for being brave enough to dare to pounce into the sea.

There are no children by the sea who don't know how to water, and since they can walk, they are taken by their parents to the river to learn how to swim water, and the original owner has always been the best among cousins. Haizhu mentioned in a timely manner: "I also rely on the good quality of the water, thinking that if I can't catch the boat and swim to the shore, there are many people on the pier, and there will be no accident anyway." ”

The water is good and there is a boat, and the people here can't help but regret that Haizhu is a girl, if she is born as a man, she will be able to hold the boat out to sea and raise a home in another two years.

The chicken stewed in the crockpot was fragrant, and the neighbors sitting around had empty rice bowls, realizing that it was time to go, they talked about business and wanted to book the fishing boat of Haizhu's family in advance.

Fishing boats are expensive, it is the most valuable family property of the fisherman, a boat can be repaired for two generations, and the children and grandchildren of the family have to take turns to go to sea to fish. Therefore, the fishing boat of Haizhu's family, which was about to be repaired, became a fragrant bait, and before she could speak, the people who wanted to come to rent first quarreled, changing from quarterly rent to monthly rent to three-day rental.

Seeing that Grandma Qi was about to agree, Haizhu sighed and said first: "The boat is not rented, I use it myself, and I will go out to sea to fish after the boat is repaired." ”

"What kind of sea is you girl's house! It's not that Ertang looks down on you, Haizhu, you should know how risky it is at sea, a man with the strength of a man can't frighten the wind and waves, and a fishing net can drag people into the water when it sinks, and you don't want to die when you go to sea? ”

"Who lives off the sea and doesn't fight for their lives? Although a woman does not go to sea to save her life, the person born from her crotch / will give her life to the sea, and sooner or later there will be this experience. Haizhu scrubbed the dried bamboo shoots, and in the ticking sound of the water droplets, she said in a clear voice: "I go to sea to fight for my life, I don't need a white-haired person to send a black-haired person to make a fortune, if I don't have that luck, I don't need a white-haired person to send a black-haired person." ”

There was silence, and the people present were choked by her words. The gurgling in the crockpot drowned out the breaking sound of two teardrops falling to the ground, and Grandma Qi put herself in her shoes, if she had known that her sons would end up in death, paralysis and hard work, she would not have given birth to them.

"Don't rent it, let it be." Grandma Qi spoke, "It's all fate, if it's short, she can choke to death if she drinks water." ”

Haizhu: "......"

"Auntie, think about it again, if something happens to Haizhu again, what will happen to your family?"

Grandma Qi didn't know if she had figured it out or couldn't get out of the horns, so she said indifferently: "It's already a mess, how rotten it can be." ”

Haizhu didn't expect the attitude of the most difficult person to convince to loosen so quickly, and she couldn't wait to jump up and shout a few times My good grandma.

"Is the chicken stewed? I can smell the scent. Dongzhu ran back with small steps on his back.

This sentence reminded the few people who had no gain, they took the bowl and got up to leave, refused Grandma Qi's stay, pointed to the sea, and said, "The tide is low, let's go over and have a look." ”

The chicken was already stewed, and the two chicken thighs were picked out and put in a bowl to dry, and when it was cold, it was given to Second Uncle Qi to eat. The chicken liver and chicken blood were crushed and mixed with chicken soup to feed Chaoping, and the remaining can of hen stewed bamboo shoots belonged to the four grandchildren, and the embers under the stove were still roasting thin strips of capelin fish.

"Milk, don't just eat bamboo shoots, eat more meat, the three of us can't eat so much meat, and it will be bad tomorrow morning." Haizhu scooped the chicken with a spoon and poured it into Qi A's milk bowl, followed by another sentence: "We are old and old, small and small, eat more and earn a meal." ”

Grandma Qi was right, who knew if she wouldn't wake up one morning, so when she thought about it, her heart suddenly brightened, and she said to Haizhu: "I said that your temperament has changed greatly when this girl is seriously ill, it turns out that she wants to open it." ”

Haizhu smiled and nodded quickly, "Come, drink some more chicken soup, drink one more sip to earn a mouthful." ”

Chapter 10

After the meal, Grandma Qi took the warm chicken and the lamp oil back to the house to take care of Second Uncle Qi to eat, Haizhu boiled water to wash the bowls and chopsticks clay pots, and took off another half-leg-high clay pot from the wall and put it on the stove to boil the bath water.

The child who was less than a year old sat obediently on the circle chair when he was full, and at this time he was already asleep with his head down, Haizhu woke him up, and undressed him under his confused eyes and threw him in the basin, the water that dried during the day was still hot, and the bath would not be cold.

There was no movement in the stone house across the wall, and even the food was quiet. After a while, Grandma Qi came out with an empty bowl, and her footsteps stopped at the door for a few breaths, and she said to Haizhu: "You go back, lock the door from the inside when you get home, don't come out when you go in, even if someone knocks on the door." ”

Haizhu said "hey", wiped the water on Chaoping's body and put it back on the circle chair, and the rice noodles brought back were divided into half and left, the rice noodles were let Dongzhu carry, she lifted the chicken and said: "I will send this chicken to Aunt Wei tomorrow, and I will buy another one in two days, and we will stew it and eat it back." ”

"That's how it should be, thank them well." Grandma Qi followed her three grandchildren for a while, stood by the river and watched the door open before turning back to the house.

The house is no different from when she left, there are traces of cleaning inside and outside the house, Haizhu scooped up the clay pot of boiling water and let Dongzhu burn the fire, she poured the rice and noodles into the grain bowl, and asked: "Where are you sleeping with the wind when I am not at home?" ”

"Sleeping in our house, the second uncle's bed is small, so my grandmother will come over with Chaoping to sleep with us, and eat there during the day."

Haizhu nodded clearly, calculating that it was the end of the month again, and she was thinking about waiting for the third uncle to come back and let him take the second uncle to the boat and take him to the dock to see the doctor. Even if it can't be cured, you can find a carpenter to make a suitable chair, preferably foldable, as a bed at night, folded up as a chair during the day, and then install four wheels, and then Qi Grandma can push people out of the door to bask in the sun and blow the wind.

Even if a healthy person lies in a dark and stuffy room for a month or two, he will get sick, and Second Uncle Qi, a paralyzed person, will not be able to survive for many days, and it is not difficult for Grandma Qi to die sooner.

*

The next morning, Haizhu got up, washed her face, and went to Zheng's house with a bundle of rice noodles and a chicken. The ropes in the yard are full of salted fish, and on a low shelf is a large bamboo sieve, on which dried shrimp, oysters, and abalone are dried.

The stone wall has a strong atmosphere of life, although the taste is a little smoky, but the family has enough dry goods, at least not worry about rations.

"Aunt Wei, what about cooking? I'll add some food to you. Haizhu threw the wilted chicken with its wings tied in the corner, and the rice noodles were put on the board.

"What are you doing with these, take them back, my aunt's family is not short of food." Wei Jinhua said blame words, the tail of her eyes flashed with laughter, the child was grateful, and she was also happy.

"I went out to make a fortune, and when I came back, I brought a chicken to my aunt to add a dish, and my aunt accepted it, don't think I'm stingy." Haizhu joked, with the friendship of the two families, he thanked him seriously, but insulted the kindness of the two people.

Wei Jinhua chuckled twice, and when she heard movement in the house, she said: "I heard your uncle say about your fortune last night, and he regretted it so much that he wanted to slap his legs blue, and he said that it would be good if he accompanied you to Yongning Wharf." ”

Zheng Haishun heard this when he went out, he pretended to be open-minded in front of Haizhu yesterday, and in a blink of an eye, he was disguised by this broken mouth woman, he stiffened his face and scolded her for talking nonsense.

"Why did Haizhu come here so early? But what's the matter? ”

"There is indeed something to ask Uncle Lao to help me do, you come back in the evening to help me tow the broken ship at home to the boatsmith's house for repairs."

The men in the village would only paint the boat to make up a wormhole, and the mast, sail and broken planks had to be repaired by shipbuilders.

Zheng Haishun washed his face for a moment, thought for a moment and said, "I won't go to sea today, I'll go over to tug the boat after dinner." ”

delayed his work for another day, Haizhu's scalp was a little numb, she was used to being independent, and she was always burdened by the kindness of others.

And also restricted, when Zheng Haishun knew that she was going to hold the boat out to sea to fish, he was full of objections, Haizhu racked his brains and thought of a basket of tactful words, and he didn't have the heart to appreciate the scenery on the road.

In the end, Grandma Qi was moved out, and Haizhu said willfully: "My grandmother agreed, anyway, I want to hold the boat out to sea." ”

Zheng Haishun was so angry that he didn't return home, and when he got off the boat, he went to find Grandma Qi, and said irritably: "Old aunt, how can you let Haizhu go to sea, she can't stand on her feet when a wind and waves hit, and she lost her life if she accidentally hit her." ”

"I knew you would come over to talk about this, Xing Tsai is his blessing to have you as a good brother, and I thank you for taking care of the three children on his behalf." Grandma Qi was full of relief, she looked at the sparkling sea and let out a long breath, and said: "Haizhu has changed her personality after breaking through the life and death barrier, how obedient her mother was when she was there, how strong she is now, and her bold ideas are also big, she wants to go to sea and let her try, and she knows how many pounds and taels she has after hitting the south wall and suffering." The aunt is cheeky and begs you to bother to look at her, she falls into the sea and you catch her, and if you don't obey in the future, you will slap her. ”

How can a person of his age subvert the concept that he has insisted on for most of his life for Haizhu in three or two sentences, Grandma Qi just saw through Haizhu's temperament, she can suppress that girl for a while and can't manage it for a lifetime, and she can still follow the persuasion when she is alive, and when she stretches her legs, she will not let the birds fly in the sky, but it will be noisy.

Zheng Haishun said "hey" and agreed.

……

It took five days to repair the ship, it was tattered when it was towed, it was neat when it was brought back, the rotten planks were replaced with new ones, the bursting bow was tightly clamped, the sails were replaced with new ones, and the smell of ink remained on them.

The fishing boat stopped in the river outside the house, and the villagers looked around twice and asked Haizhu how much money it cost to repair the boat.

"Twenty-three taels, it's quite expensive."

"Then you have a lot of silver left."

Haizhu looked at the man with a shy face vigilantly, and said that there were still ten or so taels.

"Eldest niece, you lend me the silver, and my uncle can buy a ship so that he can marry a daughter-in-law."

The man who spoke was nearly thirty years old, his ancestors were poor, and his generation was even poorer, and there were no boats in two old houses, and he could not save money and marry a daughter-in-law, such people were not uncommon in the village. To be precise, those who don't have a fishing boat at home will fall to this point, and those who are lucky enough to be recruited by a widow can have a son and a half daughter, and those who are unlucky will be cut off and buried by the clansmen after they die.

Haizhu shook his head, "I still have the remaining silver, and when my third uncle comes back, we will take my second uncle to the town to see a doctor." ”

"The doctors in Chunhetang all said that your second uncle can't be cured, and what are you doing with wasting money." Someone muttered.

Haizhu ignored it and repeated: "Anyway, when my third uncle comes back, we will go to see the doctor." ”

"Damn, why don't I have that luck to make a fortune." Seeing that they couldn't borrow money, some people hated and scolded.

Haizhu pulled Dongzhu and Fengping onto the boat, and she carried people to practice rowing and rocking on the river, and asked the old fishermen in the village how to judge the direction of the wind and how to raise the sails.

In the evening, she took Grandma Qi to the sea in a boat.

On the fifteenth day of the first day of the new year, the sea will usher in a high tide, the wind and waves can hit two people high, the fish and shrimp are dizzy in the sea, and after the tide is low, it becomes the fisherman's bag.

"There are a lot of small shrimp and crabs today, which is suitable for making shrimp paste and crab sauce." Wei Jinhua walked to Haizhu's side, lifted the stone slab and hugged it in the water with a rake, "Haizhu, you pick up more, pick it up, I'll teach you to make shrimp paste, your mother doesn't like to make these because of the smelly taste, and she likes to eat the sauce when it's brewed." She doesn't learn from you, learn from me, and if she wants to eat this bite in the future, let her beg you. ”

Haizhu has this thing in her memory, the man is capable, Qin Jingniang lives more leisurely than others, she doesn't like to eat fresh fish if she doesn't like stinky salted fish, she never touches the fish and shrimp sauce that flies flying, and when the sauce is brewed, she coaxes people everywhere sweetly, scoops two bowls from the old woman, and then goes to her friend's house to scoop two bowls after eating.

Thinking of this, Haizhu chuckled, she didn't dislike these, she had seen all the smelly fish and shrimp, and nodded and agreed to learn to make sauce.

*

On the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, when the wind and waves on the sea were light, Haizhu took the fishing net and carried the bucket with great interest, and followed the fishing boats in the river to go out to sea.

Other people's boats are all two and three people, and she is a thin little girl who supports a boat alone.

"Haizhu, forget it when you go back, don't mention whether you can pull the net or not, you are less than a pig's weight, you can't hold the boat when you stand on the boat, and a wave will shake you out of the sea." Said fellow travelers.

Zheng Haishun didn't squeak on the side, he deliberately didn't remind him of this.

Haizhu was very optimistic, saying that she would get up again after falling into the sea, "I am good at water." ”

When they arrived at the mouth of the sea, everyone was busy hoisting the sails, so they stopped paying attention to her.

Three or five boats in one direction, adjusted the sails and sailed out along the wind, walking all familiar roads, without worrying about hitting the reef, and the people on the boat still had the leisure to talk. In order to scare Haizhu, Zheng Haishun pointed to the five boats in front and behind, left and right, and asked, "Do you know why we are walking together?" ”

"Be a companion, you can call for help when you are in danger." Haizhu replied.

"If you choke on water in the sea, you can catch a handful, if you can't catch the corpse, if you can't save your life, you can bring the corpse back, if the corpse can't be found, then bring back the dead letter and the fishing boat." Zheng Haishun said calmly, he stared at Haizhu, "Your father is reckless, I'll go and get his body back, you ......"

He didn't say the rest, Haizhu knew what he was not done, and she realized that one of her decisions had put pressure on the people around her who loved her.

Rashly taking over an abrupt life, Haizhu feels that no one can accept extremely strange and natural interpersonal relationships, and the relationship that breaks through the intimate distance often makes her have the idea of escaping, and the contradictions caused by responsibility will break through the sense of alienation, and it will also bring a sense of disgust, and it is not so easy to accept other people's lives. No matter how hard Haizhu tried in the past two months, he couldn't hide the sense of vanity in his heart, and there was a kind of casualness that was detached from reality. She looked at the person in front of her who cared about her, and at this moment, her heart fell to the ground, everything is really happening now, and a series of changes brought about by her actions will also be borne by her.

"I see." Haizhu said seriously.

Zheng Haishun: What does "......" know? What he wanted to hear was that she had changed her mind.

"It's netting." Zheng Changan reminded.

The five boats in the same boat didn't know when they dispersed, they were far away from each other, but they could see the people on board, only Haizhu's boat was the boat that was close to the Zheng family.

At this time, the sun was shining and the sea was calm, Haizhu took out a set of ropes and tied them to her waist, and tied the other end to the plank, she went to the side of the boat and cast the fishing nets, and cautiously pulled up the fishing nets after two hundred counts.

Empty.

Sprinkle it again.

……

After a busy morning, the coast has become a line, Haizhu is so tired that his arms are sore and his back is stiff, and he has no taste for lunch.

"Rest, don't cast your net, for after noon the sea will be stormy and wave-like, and when the tide is high, the ship will swing violently, and it is not for nothing that the waves will be lifted straight up. You hold on to the mast, hold on to the mast later, and stand firm on your legs and feet, so as not to be shaken off the boat. Zheng Haishun passed on his experience.

Haizhu listened to the persuasion this time, judged the direction of the wind on the sea and asked: "Do we want to change the way and go back directly?" ”

"Hmm."

The direction of the wind changed, the sails also changed direction, the boundless sea set off white waves, and the fishing boat was like an ant in a bottle.

The nets slid from bow to stern, the water in the bucket swung out, and the half-dead fish fell on the board and silently moved their mouths...... Haizhu couldn't control this, she was about to be shaken and vomited, dizzy and weak legs, in order not to make a mess for others, she clung to the mast, the side of the ship, and the plank, from standing to squatting, and then to kneeling.

Zheng Changan laughed out loud when he saw her cowardice.

Haizhu glanced at it, the boat shook out of the afterimage, and the Zheng brothers were still standing upright, and they could pick up the fish with the other hand holding the boat board.

"Stand up and use your stomach and legs to exert force." Zheng Haishun taught her.