One happy event followed another, filling the house with a lively, festive mood. For once, Mother Chen even poured Father Chen two liang of liquor.
Father Chen took a smug little sip. "Our family's been riding a wave of good fortune lately, with one good thing after another. I reckon it's because Haichao was kind enough to save someone, and now the blessings have come."
"People really ought to do more good deeds and never do anything that goes against their conscience. Do enough good, and your outlook broadens too. Heaven is watching."
Mother Chen smiled and rolled her eyes at him. "Do you even know what you're saying? When has our family ever done anything to feel guilty about? Now that Sitian has a job too, life will surely get better and better for us."
Chen Haichao couldn't help remembering how the house had been filled with crying at this time in his previous life, but he quickly shook the thought away. "Absolutely. Our good days are still ahead of us."
Mother Chen continued, "In a few months, if you go take the university entrance exam, let Panpan do your job. It would be best if you got in, but if you don't and come back then..."
"I'll give the job back to Sitian! If she's going to take the university entrance exam, I'll cover her shift for her. When she comes back, I'll give the job back to her," Chen Panpan said hurriedly.
Chen Sitian looked touched. "Sis..."
"You were the one who passed the test for the job in the first place. It's yours. I'm just covering a shift for you. If you become a university student and don't need it anymore, then you can give it to me."
Mother Chen looked at the two sisters getting along so well, her face full of satisfaction. Then she turned and glared at Chen Haichao, who never lived up to expectations.
"If you don't study hard, all you can do is scratch a living out of the fields or face wind and waves at sea. You had a chance before, but you didn't know to treasure it."
Everything had been going fine, so how had the fire spread to him?
"You said it yourself: that was before. Who could have known what would happen later? I can still shine and give off heat without studying. Tomorrow I'll earn my second pot of gold, and who knows, maybe even more after that."
"Studying hard is still easier than doing anything else."
Chen Haichao jerked his chin toward the pigeon pair, who were listening with their ears pricked. "Look, there are still two here. Keep a close eye on them and make sure they study hard. Do your best to raise them into people who are useful to the country and the people!"
The twins were eating their meal. Why did it feel like the fire had spread to them now?
They looked at their brother in confusion, then at their mother, without saying a word.
Sure enough, Mother Chen's attention shifted. She looked at the two of them. "You two aren't allowed to run around tomorrow. You have to help with the work at home first thing in the morning."
Chen Xiaoliu nodded.
Chen Xiaoqi said in a clear voice, eager to please, "Mom, thanks for all your hard work. I'll get up early to help you, and I won't run around."
Chen Xiaoliu turned and glared at him. "Mom, let me do all your work from now on."
Chen Haichao clicked his tongue inwardly. They have to compete over this too?
The mood at the table was relaxed and harmonious, and everyone looked cheerful.
In those days, recruitment was generally limited to city residents, so it wasn't easy for someone from the countryside to become a worker. Even a temporary worker's worth rose like a boat with the tide, and Chen Sitian had suddenly become the whole village's most sought-after catch.
They hadn't even finished their meal before people began arriving to offer congratulations, and some came to propose matches for Chen Sitian.
It really was just like the saying: their doorstep was about to be trampled to pieces.
Chen Haichao hurriedly finished eating and left the table, lest the aunts and busybodies turn the conversation back to him.
The commotion didn't die down until it was dark, everyone had gone to bed, and the house door was shut. Even then, there was still no end to the talking in all three rooms. He, however, was scolding Chen Xiaoqi. Every night, he had to yell at Chen Xiaoqi a couple of times before the boy could get to sleep.
The next day, before dawn, faint rustling came from the main room. He had also been thinking about shelling the dried shrimp today, so he sprang up as soon as he heard the sounds. He didn't even feel the cold; excitement surged in his chest. Money would soon be coming in today.
Whether he could establish a long-term supply arrangement also depended on that afternoon.
Outside the house, his parents were already rolling the dried shrimp. They wore only thin sweaters, but a fine layer of sweat had already formed on both their foreheads.
There were several ways to shell dried shrimp. One was to put them straight into a sack and beat them, then use a winnowing tray to let the wind carry the shells away. Another was to roll them directly with a stone roller, crushing the shells and tossing them in the wind. If they still weren't clean enough, they were put in a mesh bag and rubbed back and forth until they were clean.
The whole process was much like pounding grain into rice, which was why these dried shrimp were also called "sea rice"-rice from the sea.
They had dried a fairly large amount, so they had started rolling it with the stone roller early in the morning. When there was less, they had previously shelled it by beating it.
"Why are you up so early? It's not even light out yet, is it?"
"Your dad and I couldn't sleep, so we got up to take a look. The batch outside the door was almost dry yesterday, and after another night in the wind, it was completely dry, so we got straight to work on it."
Father Chen wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "There's so much of it. The earlier we start, the earlier it'll be ready. In a bit, we'll go check the last few hundred jin drying at the threshing ground and see if we can roll that by noon too. If we can, we'll have a little more to bring in today."
Chen Haichao nodded and rolled up his sleeves to help. "Let's roll it all. We'll check how dry it is later. If it isn't dry enough, the shells won't all come off. Then we can sort it out and leave it to dry some more. Once it's thoroughly dry, we'll bag it up for them."
Holding a wooden rake, he kept spreading and turning the dried shrimp his father had rolled over, breaking apart the clumps. Once a batch was finished, he put it into a large winnowing tray.
Mother Chen lifted the large tray and stood where the wind could reach her, using both arms to toss and shake it up and down. The sea breeze caught the broken shrimp shells and sent them fluttering through the air in every direction. They landed on the family's hair and shoulders, and everyone was covered in tiny shell fragments that wouldn't brush off completely.
The two sisters also heard the noise and got up to help, taking brooms and sweeping the debris together to separate it from the dried shrimp.
Watching his mother, Chen Haichao recalled that the brigade winnowed grain the same way, lifting and tossing it so the grain remained while the impurities, rice stalks, and shriveled kernels were removed.
Grandma next door heard the family working outside and came over early to help sort the dried shrimp, picking out broken pieces of shrimp and small stones.
The family worked from before dawn until the sun rose in the east, finally finishing the several hundred jin of dried shrimp outside the door and packing it into sacks.
The twins also got up, rubbing their eyes and still bleary with sleep.
Chen Haichao smiled and teased them. "We told you two to work, but look at you. The sun's already shining on your backsides, and only now do you know to get up. You couldn't even get to shit while it was still warm."
Chen Xiaoliu protested loudly, "I don't want to eat shit!"
Chen Xiaoqi chimed in, "Only dogs eat shit."
"You sure know a lot. Hurry up, wash up and eat, then come help."
"They're still little. Why are you calling them over?" Grandma put down her work, took the two by the hand, and led them inside.
Chen Haichao and his father had also worked up a sweat taking turns pushing the stone roller. He followed them inside, intending to have some tea.
He had barely stepped into the house when he saw his grandma with her back to him, taking two eggs from her pocket. In a low voice, she said, "Eat them secretly in a little while. Don't let anyone else see."
Chen Haichao raised his eyebrows behind her.
The twins didn't move. They looked up at Chen Haichao.
Grandma followed their gaze and turned around, only then noticing him standing behind her. In a low voice, she said, "You didn't see anything..."
"Mm, I didn't see anything."
He went around them, picked up the kettle, and tilted the spout above his mouth without touching it, taking a big gulp. Then he went to wash his face, which was covered in powdered shrimp whiskers.
Behind him, Grandma was urging the twins to hurry and brush their teeth and wash their faces before eating the eggs.