Isn't She Supposed to Be Well-Educated?

Zhou Chenglei carried Jiang Xia straight off the beach, set her down, then took her home and brought out some Yunnan Baiyao to apply to her wounds.

Jiang Xia said, "Red medicine will do. This powder is almost gone, so don't waste it. You still need to treat your arm."

The wound on his arm was deeper.

Zhou Chenglei said nothing. He scattered the medicinal powder over the wounds on her knees and ankles as if it cost him nothing.

When he was done, he stood up. "I'm going to the beach to sell those shrimp. Sit at home and don't wander around."

Jiang Xia couldn't help saying, "When have I ever wandered around?"

Zhou Chenglei said nothing. It seemed she hadn't actually wandered around, but...

He didn't know how to put it. Anyway, he just felt that she was rather disobedient.

Jiang Xia didn't argue with him. "Sell the shrimp in the bucket, that green wrasse, and anything else valuable. Sell whatever you think is valuable. Don't sell the Orangutan Sea Chrysanthemum Clam."

Zhou Chenglei acknowledged her and went out. He transferred the Slipper Lobster and green wrasse Jiang Xia had caught into his own bucket. Aside from the Orangutan Sea Chrysanthemum Clam, he had no intention of selling the other Giant Seashell either. It was an Emperor Tang Guan Conch, and one this large might have a pearl inside.

Jiang Xia's crabs weren't for sale either. She liked eating them, so he picked out several more crabs as well. Since they had eaten dinner early that day, he planned to steam them with the Slipper Lobster for her late-night meal.

The rest were White Clams, Blood Cockles, oysters, flower clams, and the like. None of them were worth much, so he didn't plan to sell them. He would bring back some seawater later to keep them alive and save them for the family to eat.

After sorting everything, Zhou Chenglei carried the bucket and the Snakeskin Bag containing the large hairtail, then pushed the family's handcart out.

It was already beginning to grow dark, and Jiang Xia guessed they wouldn't be back so soon.

She went out to heat water, planning to wash her hair and take a bath.

When Jiang Xia went out, she saw the Slipper Lobster and several crabs in the bucket. They had clearly been left for her, because she was the only one who liked eating crabs.

The oysters, Blue Mussels, and other shellfish had been placed on the ground in a small pile. The oysters weren't very large.

The Giant Seashell and the Orangutan Sea Chrysanthemum Clam hadn't been sold either.

Jiang Xia began to feel hungry. She had eaten dinner before four in the afternoon, and it was already past seven.

White porridge was simmering in the coal stove. Mother Zhou had made it, though Jiang Xia didn't know whether it was meant for dinner or breakfast the next day.

Jiang Xia figured they would be hungry when they finished working and came back, so she opened some oysters. They could have oyster, shrimp, and crab seafood porridge later.

Jiang Xia lit the fire and heated the water first, then opened the oysters.

She had just opened a small plate of oyster meat and finished preparing the Slipper Lobster and crabs when Zhou Chenglei and Father Zhou brought back two Bamboo Baskets of shrimp.

Jiang Xia was surprised. "Why didn't you sell them?"

Mother Zhou said, "There were too many people selling shrimp today. The Purchasing Station said that if they kept them until tomorrow, they wouldn't be fresh, so they offered too low a price. A'Lei said we should bring them back and dry them before selling them."

Jiang Xia immediately said, "There aren't many here even after drying them. Why don't we buy the shrimp from the other villagers too?"

Zhou Chenglei was unloading the shrimp from the handcart and glanced at her.

Father Zhou smiled. "Xiao Xia's idea happens to be exactly the same as A'Lei's."

Mother Zhou said with some heartache, "A'Lei and your Eldest Brother, Great-Grandmother, and several other families have already been told that we'll buy their shrimp. We'll pay five cents more per pound than the Purchasing Station."

They hadn't made any money yet, and they still had to pay five cents more per pound than the Purchasing Station.

What a spendthrift. He was far too generous, and Mother Zhou's heart ached.

Jiang Xia said, "It's fine. We can earn it back once they're dried."

Mother Zhou said, "What you said is the same as what A'Lei said. But after drying them, we'll have to take them to the city market to sell them properly. They won't sell well in town. What a hassle."

Mother Zhou felt that if they simply didn't sell their own shrimp, it was fine. At least they wouldn't lose money. If they dried them and couldn't sell them, they could eat them slowly without wasting anything. But buying other people's shrimp with cash wasn't worthwhile. If they couldn't sell them, they would lose money.

Besides, the weather wasn't good. Who knew whether the sun would come out tomorrow? If the shrimp couldn't dry and spoiled, they would suffer a huge loss.

Father Zhou said, "We can dry some fish too. When we don't go out to sea, we'll take everything to sell together. Why are you worrying about so much?"

Jiang Xia agreed. She didn't continue and changed the subject. "The hot water is ready. Mom, go take a bath. I'll cook some oyster and shrimp porridge for us to eat later."

Since the shrimp weren't being sold, she could add a few more to the porridge. It would make it sweeter.

Mother Zhou said, "I won't wash yet. The water's ready at just the right time. I'll blanch the shrimp and dry them."

Mother Zhou acted as soon as she spoke. There were so many shrimp, and she was afraid they would spoil.

Jiang Xia also took a pound of shrimp, washed them, blanched them in boiling water, and put them into the porridge. More shrimp would make the porridge sweeter.

Zhou Chenglei glanced at Jiang Xia's knee, but she had already lowered her trouser leg, so he couldn't see it. He said nothing and carried the two baskets of shrimp into the kitchen, pouring them in batches into two large iron pots.

Mother Zhou had already divided the water from one large iron pot between the two iron pots.

They blanched the shrimp, spread them out to dry, and Jiang Xia finished the porridge as well. She called everyone to eat before continuing with the work.

The whole family was actually hungry. They each held a bowl of porridge and began eating.

Jiang Xia gave Zhou Zhou a bowl filled with shrimp, oysters, and crabs, then asked Zhou Chenglei, "Why didn't you sell the remaining Giant Seashell?"

Zhou Chenglei said, "That seashell is an Emperor Tang Guan Conch. Like the Orangutan Sea Chrysanthemum Clam, it might contain a pearl."

Jiang Xia stopped eating her porridge and immediately went out to bring the Giant Seashell and the large clam back to her room.

Someone would be coming to sell shrimp soon.

Although they didn't know whether there were pearls inside, if someone secretly took them away, Jiang Xia would be heartbroken as though they had certainly contained pearls.

Just then, Mother Zhou shouted from the courtyard, "A'Lei, someone has brought shrimp over! Come out quickly."

Zhou Chenglei acknowledged her, hurriedly finished his porridge, then returned to the room and took a stack of small bills from an iron box. He handed them to Jiang Xia. "You'll be responsible for paying the villagers in a while. There's one hundred and fifty yuan here. If it isn't enough, come back and take more from the box."

"Okay." Jiang Xia accepted them.

Jiang Xia and Zhou Chenglei hurried outside.

Jiang Xia first found a plastic woven handbasket to hold the money. She looped it over her arm, which was very convenient.

Several villagers had arrived in the courtyard, each with half a bucket of shrimp.

Wen Wan stood behind the villagers carrying two Snakeskin Bags.

After falling into the water, she had gone home to change clothes, then come over to sell shrimp.

She glanced at the bowl of porridge in Mother Zhou's hands, filled with shrimp, oysters, and crabs, and unconsciously swallowed.

The Zhou Family was truly wealthy. Their meals were so good.

No wonder Jiang Xia hadn't left after being reborn. She had even plotted to split up the family.

Father Zhou had already prepared the scale. He and Zhou Chenglei were responsible for weighing the shrimp.

Pan Daidi charged out first with her bucket. "Weigh mine first!"

Zhou Chenglei weighed hers first. The half-bucket of shrimp didn't amount to much. After weighing it and subtracting the bucket's weight, he said, "One pound and six ounces."

Pan Daidi said, "Why is it so little? Is your scale accurate?"

Zhou Chenglei said, "If you think it isn't accurate, you can sell them at the Purchasing Station."

Pan Daidi said, "Forget it, forget it. I can't be bothered with all that. Just give me the money! How much is it? Who can calculate it for me?"

Wen Wan's sweet voice rang out. "It's thirty-five cents per pound. One pound and six ounces comes to fifty-six cents."

The villagers were all still calculating when Wen Wan had already worked it out.

Someone praised her. "Xiao Wan is really good at arithmetic."

There was a girl in the village named Zhou Min who was Wen Wan's classmate and close friend. When she heard that, she said, "Wen Wan was the best student in our school. She came first in the entire school in every exam, so of course she's good at arithmetic."

After saying that, she glanced at Jiang Xia. "But Sister-in-law Jiang Xia should be even better at arithmetic, right? After all, you came from the city, so you're supposed to be well-educated."

Remembering how Jiang Xia had ignored her last time, Pan Daidi immediately said, "Exactly. Isn't A'Lei's wife from the city? Wasn't she supposed to be well-educated? She can't even calculate such a small amount?"