It turned out that Old Man Sha was originally the village chief of Silver Moon Beach. Therefore, whether to go out to sea for fishing usually depended on him, as the person in charge, throwing the divination blocks at the Sea Goddess Temple. Only if the Sea Goddess agreed could they set sail.
If she didn’t agree, they could only gather seafood along the shore.
This was also why Old Man Sha had been so eager to return while he was in the county town—he was afraid that if he didn’t come back soon, the villagers would grow anxious.
He was worried they might miss the five-day window for going to sea preparations.
Sha Pozi didn’t know whether the Sea Goddess would permit going out to sea that day, so she quickly reassured Xie Mingzhu, afraid that she might grow impatient without a house and come to dislike Yue Zhixian. “Don’t worry too much. If we go out to sea now, it’ll take at most three days to return. Besides, the materials for building the house are readily available.”
Although a catastrophic typhoon was a once-in-a-millennium event, strong winds and rough waves were common by the sea. Thus, the village kept plenty of building materials on hand.
Just in case.
Soon, Yue Zhixian and Old Man Sha returned.
The Sea Goddess did not permit going out to sea.
But she did allow Yue Zhixian to build a new house.
Yue Zhixian was so overjoyed that he practically floated with each step. After breakfast, he called out to Xie Mingzhu, “Come on, let’s go find a plot for the new house. I’ll take you around the village while we’re at it.”
The children wanted to tag along, but Xie Mingzhu had some things she wanted to discuss privately with Yue Zhixian. She exchanged a glance with Xiao Yunyan.
The eldest child was quite sensible and immediately coaxed her younger sisters, “Let’s not go. It’ll get too hot once the sun comes out. We can stay in the yard and watch Grandma shuck oysters.”
Hearing this, the younger sisters glanced at the sun outside and quickly lost interest.
Xie Mingzhu and Yue Zhixian then left Old Man Sha’s courtyard.
When they had arrived the night before, they hadn’t gotten a good look. Now, they realized that Silver Moon Beach was quite large, and the villagers’ houses were scattered haphazardly, with no apparent planning—one here, another there.
Nearly every household had coconut trees in their front or back yards, and the coconuts seemed to be available year-round.
Papaya and banana trees were even more common, and they also spotted a few longan trees.
Of course, they also encountered many villagers along the way, all of whom were friendly. They greeted Yue Zhixian warmly.
When they saw Xie Mingzhu accompanying him, they couldn’t resist teasing, “Oh, so A Xian already has a wife!”
Even after walking away, they couldn’t help but whisper about Xie Mingzhu’s face.
Xie Mingzhu instinctively touched her cheek, feeling rather awkward. “Should I cover my face with something?”
Yue Zhixian didn’t mind at all. “Why bother? It’s so hot. If you cover up, how will it ever heal?”
Then, as if worried Xie Mingzhu might misunderstand and think he found her unattractive, he quickly added, “What I mean is, covering up would make you uncomfortable.”
In truth, Yue Zhixian thought that although Xie Mingzhu’s face might not look appealing at the moment, her eyes were beautiful—like stars in the sky.
Those who called her ugly must be blind.
Seeing his flustered expression, Xie Mingzhu found it rather endearing and couldn’t help but laugh.
Relieved to see her smile, Yue Zhixian grinned and said, “If they laugh at you for being ugly, just laugh at them for being dark. Besides, you’re only ugly for a little while—they’ll be dark for life.”
Initially, Xie Mingzhu had thought that although Yue Zhixian was handsome, he was a bit tanned.
But after seeing the other villagers today, she realized the women were somewhat better off, but the men all looked as if they had been coated in a layer of antique bronze.
So in her eyes, Yue Zhixian, who she considered dark-skinned, was practically a pretty boy compared to these men.
Actually, if he paid attention to sun protection from now on, his skin tone could recover somewhat to normal.
Seeing that there was finally no one around, she quickly brought up the marriage certificate matter. “Our marriage, I imagine you’re not willing either.” No normal person would want to become a stepfather to someone else’s children, especially so many of them.
Yue Zhixian, walking ahead, paused his steps, suddenly feeling a sense of loss and fear. Was he destined to be alone forever? Having brought misfortune to his parents was bad enough, but now even Xie Mingzhu with her bunch of children looked down on him.
Xie Mingzhu walked behind him, only seeing that he had stopped but unable to see his current expression.
Thinking she had touched on what he truly felt, she continued, “But there’s no other solution for now, so I’d like to ask you to take us in for a while. In two years, if you meet someone you truly like, I’ll go with you to the magistrate’s office to dissolve our marriage.”
Two years might be a bit short – imperial pardons weren’t that easy to come by.
But Xie Mingzhu was afraid that suggesting a longer time would make Yue Zhixian unwilling.
After all, he was seventeen this year. Though she still considered him young, in this era, he was indeed old enough to be a father.
But she didn’t know that when Yue Zhixian heard this, his mind was completely filled with the thought of “two years.”
He thought it would work – at least for these two years, he wouldn’t be suffering alone. And she came from the capital, rumored to be some kind of Imperial Mandate holder. Such a noble person, what did it matter if she was older? She wasn’t someone he could aspire to anyway.
So, he shouldn’t be too greedy. And it was a full two years – enough time to warm even a stone. He refused to believe otherwise.
Thus his mood improved, and he turned around with a radiant smile, agreeing very readily: “Alright.”
Xie Mingzhu hadn’t expected him to agree so readily, thinking he would find two years too long! She felt deeply grateful in her heart.
Her anxious heart settled – at least for the next two years, she wouldn’t have to worry about herself and the children being sent to the Salt Fields for hard labor.
Therefore, she bowed deeply to Yue Zhixian: “Thank you!”
Unexpectedly, this scene was seen by several mischievous thirteen or fourteen-year-old boys who began to mock them, “Oh look, the idle man and the ugly wife are bowing in wedding ceremony! Everyone come see!”
Some laughed along: “Lazy man matches with ugly wife – a perfect pair!”
Although several people they encountered earlier had whispered behind their backs about Xie Mingzhu not being very good-looking.
None had mocked them to their face like these boys.
Yue Zhixian thought that since she was willing to stay with him for two years, he certainly couldn’t let her suffer this humiliation, and immediately stepped forward to confront them.
Xie Mingzhu quickly stopped him, “Don’t bother with them.” During their exile journey, they had endured much more humiliating insults than this and survived – what was this compared to that?
Yue Zhixian, remembering they still needed to find a place and hopefully start work this afternoon, halted his steps.
Unexpectedly, these boys became even more aggressive.
Yue Zhixian could no longer contain himself. At heart, he was still a young man himself – how could he swallow this insult? He immediately charged at them and started fighting.
Suddenly, the whole group was brawling together.
Seeing this, Xie Mingzhu initially wanted to help, but who knew Yue Zhixian actually had some skills? He single-handedly beat the three youths until they were stumbling and reeling.
The youngest one, with a swollen face, cried out: “Yue Zhixian, you… are dead! My dad… and my brothers won’t… let you off!”
It seemed that speaking pulled at the injuries on his face, causing pain, so his words were broken and intermittent.
Hearing this, Yue Zhixian sneered, “Spineless weakling, still running home to tattle? You’re like a dog in the height of summer, gasping for breath. Get your breathing straight before you talk.”
Then he turned to scold the other two, “And you two, daffodils that never bloom—putting on airs in front of me? Why don’t you take a piss and look at yourselves in it? Are you even worthy of being called one, two, three, four, five, six, seven bastards? Do you have what it takes?”
Xie Mingzhu glanced at the three youths who couldn’t win in a fight nor outdo in insults and felt genuinely worried about causing trouble. She quickly stepped forward to persuade him, “Let’s not waste time with them. We should hurry and attend to our proper business.” If they were to settle in this village, it was best to keep a low profile until they understood the situation better.
This reminder struck a chord with Yue Zhixian, as he was soon to have a new home.
So he snorted coldly at the bruised and battered youths, “I’ve got important matters to attend to, so I’ll let you off today. If you dare spout nonsense again, I’ll beat you so hard you’ll be embedded in a coconut tree, impossible to pry off.”
Hearing this, the three quickly helped each other up and ran away.
Yue Zhixian then led Xie Mingzhu to continue searching for an auspicious site in the village.
However, further into the village, there were no suitable spacious spots left, so they finally chose a place closest to the waterfall behind the village, where an old banyan tree stood.
As the saying goes, one banyan can form a forest—its massive canopy covered an area almost the size of a basketball court. Building a house directly in the tree wasn’t out of the question.
But now, Yue Zhixian felt he wasn’t alone anymore. Recalling how a lightning-struck tree had once caused a massive mountain fire years ago, he thought a treehouse might not be safe.
If he were alone, escaping in case of an accident would be easy.
But Xiaoshi and the others were still so young, and Xie Mingzhu was so slender and delicate, so he preferred to choose the open space not far from the banyan tree.
“What do you think of that spot?” he asked Xie Mingzhu as they relaxed under the banyan tree.
Xie Mingzhu was surveying the surroundings. This area was considered the southernmost part of the village. If they chose the banyan tree’s location, it might still feel integrated with the village as a whole.
But building where Yue Zhixian pointed was a bit remote.
Still, she had to admit she quite liked it there. There were seven or eight coconut trees nearby, and it was spacious. About fifty meters away was a branch of the waterfall.
The villagers drew their drinking water from this stream. Living here would make washing clothes and fetching water much more convenient.
Moreover, with their large household and high water consumption, this location was most suitable.
She nodded immediately, “Alright, whatever you say.”
Somehow, these words pleased Yue Zhixian. He instantly became excited, looking very happy. “Then I’ll go find Old Man Sha and hire some help.”
He began muttering and calculating who owed him how many days of labor, figuring that since they weren’t going out to fish these days, they could repay him by working.