The items in the shop expanded from basic daily necessities to various medicinal herbs and even swords.
Hmm! Very powerful!
The system’s broadcast voice sounded at the same time as the children’s envious exclamations.
Ruanruan was so happy she nearly jumped up.
But on the surface, she pretended to stay calm while distributing the fish to the other children. Especially to the little boy who had contributed the fish bait—she waved her tiny hand generously and gave him seven or eight big, plump fish.
Chen Zihao happily carried the fish home to find his mother.
Completely unaware that a severe beating from his father was waiting for him.
Ruanruan was also very happy.
She kept ten fish for herself. Hehe!
There’s meat to eat today~
Su Xiaomei returned home alone. Su Ting, who was cooking, immediately noticed something was wrong.
“Why are you the only one here? Where’s that girl?”
“She… she’s still at the beach…”
“Idiot!” Su Ting’s heart jumped. She angrily slammed the spatula down. “What if something happens to her?!”
Mainly because that incident before… had left too big of a shadow in her mind.
As she spoke, she rushed toward the door.
Just then Lin Dayong came back. His eyes turned as he looked at the situation and he “kindly” advised, “Don’t worry too much. There are plenty of adults at the beach.”
Su Ting shot him a fierce glare. “You’re really carefree!” She grabbed his arm and dragged him outside. “Come help me look for her!”
It wasn’t that she was truly worried about the brat. But if something happened right after the girl arrived, what would people think of her as a stepmother?
The two of them searched around the beach but couldn’t find her anywhere. They were sweating anxiously.
Lin Dayong was also genuinely worried now. Originally he thought his daughter was smarter than ordinary children and should be fine.
But no matter how smart she was, she was still just a child!
He searched until his forehead was covered in sweat.
When the neighbors heard that Ruanruan was missing, they also came out to help search.
Just as everyone was about to look toward the more dangerous rocky reef area, someone suddenly shouted,
“Isn’t that Ruanruan?”
They saw the little girl carrying a small cloth bag, humming a tune as she walked over from the direction of the supply and marketing cooperative.
“Lin—Ruan—Ruan!” Lin Dayong gritted his teeth. His hands itched—he really wanted to smack the child.
Su Ting’s eyes flickered, and she immediately began scolding, “You child! We told you not to run around. Why won’t you listen?”
As soon as Ruanruan saw the scene, she instantly understood what had happened.
She quickly ran forward. Before her stepmother could continue throwing accusations at her, she apologized first.
“I’m sorry! Ruanruan shouldn’t have run around!”
“Ruanruan only heard Auntie say she didn’t like me coming here. I was worried there wouldn’t be enough food at home for me, so I went to catch fish myself.”
As she spoke, she lifted the fish she caught high into the air.
“Ruanruan eats very little, and I can catch fish too. Auntie and Daddy, please don’t send Ruanruan away, okay?”
The aunties watching nearby instantly softened.
“What a sensible child!”
“Exactly! She even knows how to lighten the burden at home. How could they bear to treat her like that?”
“Sigh! People say stepmothers aren’t good—I guess it’s true!”
Su Ting was full of anger but had nowhere to vent it. Her face flushed red.
She gritted her teeth and stared at the bucket of fish with an unfriendly look.
“You’re so small. How could you possibly catch this many fish? Tell the truth! Did you take advantage of other kids?”
Ruanruan fiddled with her fingers. The two tiny buns on her head drooped as well, looking pitiful.
“Ruanruan used my friends’ fish bait, but I shared fish with them. I didn’t take advantage.”
Her little milky voice sounded extremely aggrieved.
The aunties watching immediately became unhappy.
“Doctor Su, how can you think of a child like that?”
“That’s right! We all saw Ruanruan catch lots of fish and share them with the other kids!”
“Exactly! Ruanruan is a good child! Accusing her without knowing the facts—she must feel so hurt!”
Especially the parents of the children who had received fish at home. They all stepped forward to speak up for Ruanruan.
They felt Su Ting, as a stepmother, was far too harsh—accusing the child without even knowing the truth.
Faced with the collective judgment of the neighborhood aunties, Su Ting couldn’t keep up appearances. Embarrassed, she awkwardly apologized to Ruanruan.
“Sorry, Ruanruan. Mom wronged you.”
In the end, Lin Dayong stepped in to smooth things over.
“Alright, the child’s been found. Let’s hurry home.”
Only then did the crowd disperse.
Ruanruan was being carried by her father when she saw Chen Zihao’s father walking this way from afar. Thinking about the fish bait, she felt a little guilty.
She quickly added,
“Uncle, Chen Zihao gave the most bait. The fish he got were only a little less than mine~”
As she spoke, she pinched a tiny distance between her fair little fingers and looked up with watery, innocent eyes, completely sincere.
Sigh… hopefully Chen Zihao’s dad will go easy on him for the sake of the fish.
Chen Zihao’s father didn’t know what had happened yet. Hearing this, he happily patted her little head.
“Good child. You know how to share.”
Ruanruan grinned, showing a row of small white teeth, giving an awkward yet polite smile.
She watched as Chen Zihao’s father walked home cheerfully with his hands behind his back.
Ruanruan quickly urged, “Dad, let’s go home.”
Lin Dayong was also happy. Today his daughter had made him look good.
With one long arm he scooped her up, grabbed the bucket of fish, and carried her home.
When they passed Chen Zihao’s house—
Suddenly a thunderous roar came from inside.
“Chen Zihao! You little prodigal brat! Where’s my fish bait?!”
Immediately afterward came Chen Zihao’s pig-like screams and the sound of “bang bang bang” chasing and beating around the yard.
“Aoo! Dad! Dad, I was wrong! I gave the bait to Ruanruan to catch fish!”
“Doesn’t matter who you gave it to! That belongs to the collective! See if I don’t beat you to death, you little rascal!”
Not long after, Chen Zihao burst out of the house, hopping while clutching his butt.
“Help! My dad is trying to murder his own son!”
His father chased behind him furiously.
“You brat, you still dare run? See if I don’t beat you to death today!”
In two quick steps he caught up, grabbed Chen Zihao by the collar, and whacked him repeatedly with the broom handle.
Smack! Smack! Smack!
Chen Zihao cried miserably.
Ruanruan shrank her neck, unable to bear watching.
It felt like the broom handle was hitting her own butt.
She quickly buried her head into her father’s shoulder and stayed silent.
Lin Dayong also heard what Chen Zihao’s father had said. Embarrassed, he rubbed his nose and hurried away.
Unlike the chaos at Chen Zihao’s house—
Auntie Wang looked at the two palm-sized sea bream her son had brought home and smiled so widely her eyes disappeared.
“Oh my! So many fish? My son is capable! I’ll fry fish for you tonight!”
Chen Dahu puffed out his small chest.
“It’s Sister Ruanruan who’s amazing! She caught them and shared with me!”
“Which Sister Ruanruan?”
“Su Xiaomei’s new little sister.”
Auntie Wang understood immediately and smiled brightly.
“She’s a good girl. Mom will give you two fruit candies later. Bring them to her tomorrow, okay?”
“Okay, Mom!”
The Chen family happily cooked fish soup. The aroma drifted straight into the neighbor’s house.
Coincidentally, next door was Liu Qianqian’s home.
Smelling the meat fragrance from next door, the family found it hard to swallow their bowl of boiled wild vegetables.
There was a famine outside now. Every household was struggling.
Being able to eat even one fish was already considered a very good meal.