When they arrived, he poured the bamboo tube’s contents onto the clean banana leaves they’d laid out, immediately drawing the children over.
They were all shrimp larger than their palms—each bamboo tube could only hold one.
Yue Zhixian was equally excited. “I noticed shrimp in this river last time I passed by, but I didn’t have any tools to catch them. Who knew they’d all crawl out at night? With a torch, they’re like fools—every grab is a sure catch. You’re in for a treat.”
Old Man Sha was also delighted and immediately chopped up the remaining pineapples into smaller pieces to marinate the shrimp. They would wrap them in banana leaves and roast them over the fire pit.
“These shrimp cook quickly. We’ll let the kids have some first to tide them over.”
Xie Mingzhu observed the shrimp, which resembled the giant river prawns from her world. They were so large she suspected Xiaoshi could be full after eating just one.
She felt a bit regretful—with the darkness and the unsafe forest, they couldn’t gather any spices to make dipping sauces. But she was still quite satisfied: pure, natural, pollution-free giant shrimp marinated in sweet-and-sour pineapple juice were bound to be a divine delicacy.
Seeing Xie Mingzhu helping prepare dinner, Old Man Sha wiped his hands, sat down to smoke his pipe, and watched her skilled movements. He thought Yue Zhixian had really lucked out with her.
She was clearly capable, utterly different from the women from the capital that folks in the neighboring county talked about.
Yue Zhixian prepared bamboo tube rice, adding water from an extra bamboo tube before sealing the opening with banana leaves to start cooking.
Xiao Yunyan watched intently, afraid to miss a single step, especially the control of the fire. Although this young father had a foul mouth, he seemed easy to get along with so far. But with six mouths to feed, no household could sustain such consumption.
Yet they had to eat their fill.
His mother said without enough food, it was hard to stay healthy. He believed this—if they hadn’t forced themselves to swallow leftovers during their exile, how could they have remained spirited?
They would have ended up like other children crying for sweets and meat, carried off by a mere rainstorm.
So he worried that after the novelty wore off, Yue Zhixian might resent them for eating too much. He resolved to learn and observe more, to do more work in the future, so Yue Zhixian wouldn’t see them as freeloaders.
That way, he wouldn’t grow to dislike them.
If they were truly driven away, his mother would have to perform hard labor at the Salt Fields.
He’d heard that place was brutal—not even strong young men could endure it, let alone someone as delicate as his mother. The entire county relied on the Salt Fields to meet tax quotas, so they often worked overtime, and when the weather turned bad, they couldn’t rest even overnight.
They also had to guard against salt-stealing pirates who killed.
As the eldest son, he absolutely could not let his mother be sent to the Salt Fields.
So he learned with utmost seriousness.
Yue Zhixian, thinking the boy was simply studious, was quite pleased. He believed boys should learn more—like himself, if he hadn’t known how to do things, he would have starved long ago.
Thus, he occasionally explained a thing or two, teaching him how to control the fire.
Meanwhile, Xie Mingzhu wrapped the marinated shrimp in banana leaves and secured them with bamboo skewers to keep them from falling apart.
Yue Zhixian had been observing from the shadows. Seeing Xie Mingzhu handle the ingredients with swift and tidy movements, he felt quite approving.
It seemed she wouldn’t hold him back in the future, knowing she wouldn’t just wait to be fed and clothed.
He assigned Xiao Yunyan the task of preparing the bamboo tube rice and walked over to pick up the shrimp parcels Xie Mingzhu had wrapped. “It’s hot by the firepit—I’ll take over.”
After saying this, he noticed Xie Mingzhu hadn’t moved. Worried she might misunderstand, he quickly explained, “I’m just afraid if you keep roasting by the fire, the moles on your face and body won’t heal anytime soon. People might laugh at me, saying not only did I become a cheap dad, but I also married an ugly woman.”
Xie Mingzhu knew it—no ivory could come from a dog’s mouth.
Even though he spoke the truth, it still grated on her nerves.
She had actually felt a touch of warmth from his previous words, thinking this guy might be considerate after all.
But reality proved her too naive—how could she ever trust a man?
So she let it go.
However, her five children disagreed. Even though they were a bunch of little “ugly ducklings” themselves.
Xiaoshi was the first to speak.
The innocence of youth meant she spoke her mind without filter. “Daddy’s lying! Mother is the most beautiful in the world! Xiaoshi and Mother are the bestest friends! Daddy can’t say that about Mother!”
Yue Zhixian naturally paid no mind to Xiaoshi’s words. After all, as the saying goes, a dog doesn’t despise a poor home, nor a child an ugly mother—he understood that well enough.
He just chuckled, “You little girl, just earlier you said you and I were the bestest friends.”
Xiaoshi hurriedly defended herself, “Xiaoshi is bestest friends with Daddy, and bestest friends with Mother, and bestest friends with brothers and sisters and Grandpa Sha too!”
“Your ‘bestest friends’ sure come cheap,” Yue Zhixian laughed at her sweet, mumbling voice.
Old Man Sha, hearing himself included, beamed with delight. “Xiaoshi is such a good girl. When we get to the village, Grandpa will go to the seaside and dig up big sea snails for you to play with.”
The children had never seen the ocean before. His mention of the sea immediately sparked their curiosity—they asked how big it was, whether it was larger than the Great Ming Lake in the capital, if there were man-eating fish, and so on.
Old Man Sha patiently answered each question, his tone full of grandfatherly affection.
Yue Zhixian listened, growing visibly jealous. “Damn old man, why don’t I ever see you this patient with me?”
Old Man Sha turned to him, his expression instantly turning fierce. “What do the little ones call me, and what do you call me? Got no shame? Want me to be patient with you? If your family’s too poor for a mirror, can’t you at least piss and see your reflection? Look at yourself—do you even deserve it?”
Then he switched back to his kindly face and told the five children, “Your cheap dad here is just a madman. Don’t bother honoring him when he’s old. When the time comes, carry him up to the back cliff and toss him into the sea for the sharks. Saves money and trouble.”
Yue Zhixian snorted coldly, not to be outdone. “Damn old man, keep poisoning their minds and see if I don’t dig you up and sun your corpse for three days after you die!”
The old man couldn’t care less. “If I can’t whip you now, can’t I still go find your parents down below?”
And so the two of them fell into bickering again.
Fortunately, Xie Mingzhu and the others had witnessed these two sparring and cursing at each other all afternoon on the road and were already used to it.
She quietly continued turning the roasted buns and bamboo tube rice over the fire.
By now, the distinct fragrance of bamboo had spread, and the pineapple shrimp in banana leaves were cooked through.
Xie Mingzhu was about to ask if they could dig out the food, as it was so late that Xiaoshi was already dozing off—the child must have been starving for a while.
Yet, being sensible, the little one hadn’t complained.
Unexpectedly, the two men’s bickering didn’t slow them down. As if the aroma alone signaled the food was ready, they simultaneously picked up branches to scoop out the pineapple-shrimp packets.
Then, as if their earlier quarrel had never happened, they ignored the scalding heat, used bamboo sticks to pry open the packets, and the perfectly cooked shrimp fragrance instantly wafted into the air.
The children’s stomachs rumbled in unison, a chorus of hunger.
Old Man Sha couldn’t bear it and scolded Yue Zhixian again, “What are you dawdling for? The kids are nearly starved to death!”
For the first time, Yue Zhixian felt a twinge of guilt. It was only his first day as a father, and he’d already let five children go hungry—what an unfit dad he was.
So, despite the heat, he blew on the food without retorting.
Xie Mingzhu was also busy blowing on the packets, waiting until they were cool enough to hand to the children.
Soon, all five children were eating shrimp. Just as she reached for one herself, Old Man Sha barked at Yue Zhixian, “Are you a toad? Do I have to poke you to make you move? Are those big eyes of yours just for show? Hurry up and cool one for your wife!”
“Rush, rush, rush—I’m not an eight-legged crab! How can I manage everything at once?” Yue Zhixian was already blowing on another packet, convinced the old man simply had it out for him.
He quickly handed a cooled shrimp to Xie Mingzhu.
Xie Mingzhu waved it off, “No need, no need! I’ll help myself. You all eat too—you’ve been busy for ages.”
Old Man Sha beamed at her, “Don’t you worry! Here in Silver Moon Beach, we have one rule: men must treat their women right, or they’ll be struck by lightning, and the Sea Goddess won’t bless them!”
Then he turned to Yue Zhixian with undisguised disdain, “Look at your wife—so considerate. And then there’s you, all dressed up but acting a fool. What a lucky break for you, kid.”
But Yue Zhixian ignored Old Man Sha, his bright, shining eyes fixed intently on Xie Mingzhu. “Take it,” he insisted, or the old man would start yelling again.
Xie Mingzhu had no choice but to accept it.
Xiao Yunyan, savoring the sweet shrimp, secretly observed the scene. It was a bit noisy, but this unexpected little father figure seemed… alright.