Based on Xie Mingzhu’s current understanding of Silver Moon Beach, fishing depended on the Sea Goddess’s approval, with trips scheduled every five days. If the Sea Goddess permitted, they would set out to sea.
If not, it seemed they relied on gathering shellfish along the shore for their three daily meals, making do with what they found.
As for farming, during her morning bath in the pond beneath the waterfall, she had already noticed the scattered paddy fields among the coconut groves in the distance.
The rice had been planted, but its growth was far from impressive.
Moreover, the soil here was exceptionally fertile, largely consisting of sediment washed down from the endless Phoenix Mountains during rains. In theory, crops grown in such soil shouldn’t fare poorly, and she wondered if Yue Zhixian’s fields were among them.
But as someone of Chinese descent, the innate agricultural instincts in her blood seemed to awaken at a certain age. When she saw that fertile land, all she wanted was to fill it with grains and vegetables.
Yet the locals of Silver Moon Beach appeared to cultivate only rice, with no other crops in sight.
Even with rice farming, assuming they could manage three harvests a year, the busy periods would only last a few days.
If these happened to coincide with days when the men weren’t fishing, the women hardly needed to participate.
Thus, the daily routine of rising with the sun was essentially about securing ingredients for three meals.
Vegetables hung abundantly from trees—not only did the coconut groves around the village yield coconuts year-round, but the various fruit trees surrounding the settlement also ensured no shortage of food.
Then there was fishing: they ate what they caught fresh, drying any surplus into salted Seafood. On days without fishing trips, they dug for razor clams and gathered clams on the beach. With luck, they might even encounter octopuses or crabs.
Overall, the locals here seemed to live quite primitively.
Once their three daily meals were settled, they would gather under the village drum tower to sing and dance.
Weaving cloth was time-consuming and labor-intensive, but their material desires were modest—being well-fed and clothed seemed sufficient.
As for accumulating Seafood to sell in town? That simply didn’t happen.
Xie Mingzhu surmised the reasons: first, their fishing tools were outdated, limiting their catch; second, the Serpent Gorge housed man-eating snakes, making villagers reluctant to leave the settlement unless necessary.
They could even obtain salt by scraping cliff salt from the reefs.
Yet, even with these circumstances, doing nothing at all felt somewhat unjustifiable.
Most people wouldn’t appreciate those who expected clothes to be handed to them and meals served.
If one couldn’t care for others, at the very least, they should be self-reliant.
But Su Yurou wasn’t like Xiao Yunyan and the others—how could Xie Mingzhu possibly ask her to learn?
Then again, those children were truly one in a million—each diligent and proactive, never needing to be told what to do.
When Xie Mingzhu first transmigrated, unfamiliar and emotionally detached even from the original host’s relationships, the children faced dire circumstances without succumbing to panic. Their composed and sensible demeanor softened her heart with both affection and pity.
Thus, she never once considered abandoning them to strike out on her own.
Noticing Xie Mingzhu standing there lost in thought, Su Yurou couldn’t guess what she was pondering. However, after glancing at her mother-in-law downstairs, she proactively suggested, “Perhaps you could teach me, Sister Xie? I’m afraid if things continue this way, my mother-in-law will truly dislike me, putting my husband in an awkward position.”
Seeing her like this, Xie Mingzhu doubted she genuinely feared her mother-in-law. “Really learning?”
“Naturally.” Su Yurou nodded firmly. “What if a general pardon is issued in the future? In this world, where would I find a place to belong? Besides, my husband isn’t so bad.”
Apart from being illiterate and unable to write essays, what was wrong with him?
“You’re quite open-minded.” Though Xie Mingzhu thought this way, she was well aware of how harsh this world was toward women. Even with a general pardon, there truly was no second path for them.
As for herself, at least she had her child.
Once Xiao Yunyan grew up, he could establish his own household.
Both women tacitly avoided continuing the topic of the future. Xie Mingzhu began by teaching her how to sweep the floor.
But Xie Mingzhu had misjudged. She assumed that since Su Yurou was a talented woman who could effortlessly compose difficult poetry and songs, cleaning would be second nature to her—after all, she had grown up watching maids do it.
As the saying goes, even if you haven’t eaten pork, you’ve seen a pig run.
Yet, when the broom reached Su Yurou’s hands, it seemed to come alive with a mind of its own, swishing here and swaying there.
Good heavens—instead of cleaning the room, it gave Xie Mingzhu the impression of making things messier.
Su Yurou seemed to realize this too and quickly said, “I actually understand how to sweep, but when I try to do it myself, it doesn’t seem to work out.”
Xie Mingzhu let out a long sigh, thinking, She’s not even as good as Xiaoshi. How old is Xiaoshi? She knows to sweep stroke by stroke. Why can’t Su Yurou do the same?
But seeing Su Yurou’s self-reproachful expression, Xie Mingzhu couldn’t bring herself to scold her. She swallowed her words and tried to find a solution, addressing the root of the problem: “How about you pretend the broom is a brush and the floor is paper? When you write, you don’t scatter characters randomly all over, do you?”
Su Yurou felt as if she had been enlightened. “Sister Xie, I understand now.”
With her meridians unblocked, she finally managed to sweep the floor clean.
Excited, she applied the same method to wiping the tables, chairs, pots, and bowls in the room.
It was surprisingly effective.
Just a bit slow.
But Xie Mingzhu felt this was already quite good for her.
After all, when writing, who finishes in one stroke?
If it’s done in just a few strokes, it’s definitely cutting corners.
Su Yurou felt as if she had discovered a new world. Her previously dejected self suddenly brimmed with energy, and she even wished she could go home and clean her own house the same way.
But since she was here to help, it made no sense to leave midway to sweep at home.
After tidying up, Xie Mingzhu came down to lend a hand.
However, Sha Pozi and the village elder couldn’t bear to let them shuck oysters—not only were the shells prone to cutting hands, but they also feared the small knives used to pry them open might injure the women.
So they sent the two to pick papayas and plantains.
This task was familiar to Xie Mingzhu and Su Yurou. They immediately shouldered their baskets and left the courtyard.
The village still operated somewhat collectively, without clear ownership of the fruit trees around houses. Anyone could pick the fruit once ripe.
As long as they didn’t enter anyone’s yard.
Thus, carrying their baskets, they wandered through the village.
They also took the opportunity to visit Lu Wanwan.
Sure enough, upon seeing Xie Mingzhu, Lu Wanwan seemed to regain her backbone and recovered by the next day.
She too came to Sha Pozi’s house to help.
Unfortunately, today was yet another day when they still hadn’t seen each other’s husbands.
After all, the two locations were quite far apart – Old Man Sha’s house was at the easternmost end, while Xie Mingzhu’s current construction site was at the southernmost edge.
By the third day, the main structure and walls of the house were already completed, leaving only the roof beam installation and roofing.
Installing the roof beam was even more important than selecting the foundation site. Early in the morning, Sha Pozi began peeling open the water lilies they had gathered from the pond yesterday.
As everyone knows, water lilies need to be manually opened after being picked.
Then came stringing jasmine garlands.
Su Yurou, who had always felt she couldn’t do anything well, finally found her comfort zone. Her mother-in-law A Xiang’s smile grew increasingly benevolent, saying she would let Su Yurou prepare the garlands for future worship ceremonies of the Sea Goddess.
As for cooking, A Xiang no longer insisted on her mastering it.
After all, A Xiang had seen the garlands Xie Mingzhu made – they were rather indescribable.
Thus she felt she shouldn’t be too strict with her daughter-in-law either, since not everyone could be perfect.
Besides, this daughter-in-law had already learned some household chores now.
She might be slow, but that was still better than not knowing how at all.