They had just gathered their belongings together when the buyer of the boat arrived. It was Song Da from a neighboring village.
“Auntie, are you there? I’m here to collect the boat.”
Lin Guiying hurried forward. “Yes, yes, we’re here. We just finished sorting our things. We’ll move them off right away.”
“No rush. Take your time. I’ll check the boat first.”
Song Da walked along the hull, then climbed onto the deck, carefully inspecting the wooden fishing boat inside and out.
Seeing how meticulously he checked the boat, Lin Guiying worried that he might try to lower the price.
“My Er Zhu’s boat may be old, but it’s been well maintained. You definitely won’t lose out buying it for ten taels of silver.”
Song Da saw through her concern. “Auntie, don’t worry. I won’t bargain the price down.
First, your boat is indeed well maintained.
Second, Er Zhu and I have fished together before. He’s injured now. If there’s something I can help with, I should.”
“Good, good!”
Lin Guiying felt deeply grateful to him. At this time, very few families could afford to pay ten taels of silver for a boat, and most wouldn’t even consider buying their old fishing boat. To her, Song Da buying it was truly help in desperate times.
“I already gave Er Zhu’s wife three taels of silver in town. Here are the remaining seven taels. Keep them safe.”
“Thank you, Song Da. You know what happened to my Er Zhu, so I won’t refuse you,” Lin Guiying said as she accepted the silver, then immediately handed it to Zhang Chun’e. “Eldest daughter-in-law, hurry and take this silver to Er Zhu.”
Li Lanzhi’s eyes lit up at the sight of the seven taels of silver. She had never seen so much money in her life. “Mother, I run fast. Let me deliver it.”
Lin Guiying glanced at her. “You may run fast, but I’m afraid the silver will run off with you.”
“Mother, how can you say that about me?”
“I’m not in a good mood today. You’d better not talk back. Hurry and help move these things off the boat.”
Hearing Lin Guiying’s cold words, Wang Lanzhi stomped her feet in anger.
Now that the boat they relied on for survival belonged to someone else, what Li Suisui cared about most was where they would live next.
There were few rooms in the old family house, and too many people. There was simply no room for their family, and the elder branches of the family probably wouldn’t welcome them back either.
“Grandma, Aunt said you arranged a place for us to stay. Where is it?”
Hearing this, Lin Guiying grew irritated again.
“You’re all like debt collectors. The family has already split up, and you still come to trouble me.”
What did that mean? Li Suisui didn’t understand. Had Zhang Chun’e lied to her earlier? Had Lin Guiying and Old Man Li not arranged any place for them at all?
“Why are you still standing there blankly? Hurry over and help move the things off the boat.”
“Oh, coming!”
No matter what, they would deal with things step by step. She refused to believe Lin Guiying would truly let their family become homeless.
She grunted with effort as she helped move the belongings off the boat, then again as she helped carry them to two small stone houses at the entrance of Shigang Village.
“From now on, your family will stay here for the time being!”
Their village was a small coastal fishing village called Shigang Village.
There were nearly fifty households in the village, with a small population, and everyone lived in poverty. Most families relied on cultivating a few poor acres of land and gathering seafood along the shore to survive.
Li Erzhu had been the first person in Shigang Village to buy a fishing boat. Everyone originally thought he would become wealthy because of it, but unexpectedly, before he could prosper, the boat had to be sold.
Li Suisui recognized the two stone houses before her. They had once belonged to Zhao Laosi, who had no heirs in the village.
Zhao Laosi died five years ago, and the two stone houses were taken over by the village. They had remained empty and fallen into disrepair ever since.
A year ago, Wu Tiesheng’s family had tried to occupy the houses but were driven out by the villagers.
Now that her family was moving in, would there be any problems?
“Grandma, if we live here, will the villagers talk?”
“We paid money for it. What right do they have to talk?”
Mentioning this made Lin Guiying start cursing again, mainly blaming the villagers for being unreasonable and complaining that Village Chief Huang showed no sympathy for Li Erzhu’s hardship. These stone houses were so shabby, yet they still charged rent.
Li Lanzhi curled her lips toward Li Chun. “Chun’er, you don’t know. Your grandparents even took out their coffin savings to treat your father.
That was five taels of silver. Those two old folks really hid their money well. They always cried about having no money, but now they suddenly produced five taels.”
Not long ago, Li Lanzhi’s family had come to borrow money. They had approached Lin Guiying, but she insisted she had none. Yet when Li Erzhu got into trouble, the money suddenly appeared.
“Third Aunt, Grandma said these houses are rented. How much did it cost?”
“Twenty copper coins a month. A house without even doors or windows, and Village Chief Huang still has the nerve to ask for twenty coins. I can’t believe your grandparents agreed. If it were me, I wouldn’t pay a single coin.”
“Third daughter-in-law, these stone houses haven’t been lived in for a long time. They’re damp and moldy. Hurry and clean them up. Suisui, you help too.”
Wang Zhilan plopped onto the ground. “Mother, we’ve been moving things for so long. You should at least let me rest before working again!”
“You’re just lazy,” Lin Guiying sighed and continued working.
Li Suisui silently followed Lin Guiying into the stone house. The house was not only damp but also overgrown with weeds.
As soon as she entered, Lin Guiying crouched down and began pulling weeds.
Li Suisui walked to the other side and copied her, pulling weeds as well.
Seeing her helping, Lin Guiying’s expression softened slightly.
“Your body just recovered. Don’t overwork yourself. If you get tired, go rest.”
“Grandma, I’m not tired.”
Soon, Li Suisui helped Lin Guiying clear all the weeds and sweep away the clutter inside.
When Lin Guiying walked out and saw Wang Lanzhi still sitting there resting, her anger flared instantly. She threw the bundle of weeds she was holding straight at her.
“You lazy woman! Still not done resting after all this time?”
Wang Lanzhi patted her clothes and stood up. “Hehe, I’ve rested enough. Mother, don’t be angry. I’ll help clean up now.”
She walked into the stone house pretending to help, then immediately cried out, “Oh my! You’ve already cleaned both rooms. What’s left for me to clean?”
“The rooms are clean, but there are still plenty of weeds outside. Can’t you see?”
Wang Lanzhi was displeased. “Mother, there are so many. I’m afraid I can’t finish pulling them all by myself.”
“If you can’t finish, then don’t go home today. Finish pulling them before you leave. Hurry up and start!”
“Fine, I’ll do it, I’ll do it.”
As soon as Lin Guiying left, Wang Lanzhi began muttering angrily.
“Bah, you old hag. Always bullying me. I’m so unfortunate, marrying into your family. Never enjoyed a single good day, only ordered around by you.”