1983Fishing and Farming between Mountains and Seas

Chapter 379 Something is wrong with the whole person
Hearing Lizhi's startled voice, the two of them looked away.

Liang Ziqiang looked and found that it was Deng Zhaocai who came to catch fish with a bucket. Beside his sturdy figure, there were two other people.

One was Deng Zhaocai's mother, and the other was a simple and beautiful figure. She walked onto the beach with Deng Zhaocai, holding Deng's mother's arm.

She was sandwiched between Deng's mother and Deng Zhaocai, sometimes leaning close to Deng's mother's mouth to listen carefully to what she said, and sometimes looking at Deng Zhaocai with a smile and talking to Deng Zhaocai.

The three of them walked out slowly from under the palm branches on the shore and stepped onto the beach so naturally and harmoniously, as if today's sunny winter beach was just right with their three figures.

Liang Ziqiang immediately understood what Lizhi meant when she muttered in surprise, "It's beautiful." She was undoubtedly referring to the swallow next to Deng Zhaocai, Yao Yanlei.

Chen Xiangbei also looked up and saw the graceful figure and the beautiful face. She was startled for a moment and couldn't help but said:
"You're talking nonsense. I'm not as pretty as her!"

Then she turned around and asked her husband: "Aqiang, who is this girl? Does Acai have a girlfriend?"

"Of course she is!" Liang's mother answered first, "Look how happy she and Ah Cai are laughing!"

The mother was indeed right. When Ah Cai picked up a common snail from the ground, Yan Zi would giggle happily. Her eyes never left Deng Zhaocai, and she was almost unaware of the glances from other people on the beach.

This kind of liking obviously couldn't be hidden, just like how Chen Xiangbei usually looked at Liang Ziqiang with rolling eyes.

It seems that Deng Zhaocai was right. Yan Zi really only appears happy temporarily when she is with Acai.

"Mrs. Gui? Are you here to catch seafood today? It's rare to see you out. You look in good spirits today!" A villager ran into Deng Zhaocai and his two companions and was already greeting Deng's mother.

"Yes, I feel very relaxed today. It feels as if the pain has been relieved!" Deng's mother answered others. Her voice was not as weak as usual. She even sounded full of energy.

"Acai is great! He has taken good care of his mother for so many years!" Someone also muttered not far from Liang Ziqiang, "This kid is a bit muddleheaded, but he is really filial to his mother!"

At this time, as if to prove that she was in good condition today and had no illness, Deng's mother let go of Yan Zi who was supporting her and walked along the beach alone.

"Auntie, can you walk?" Yan Zi was also obviously surprised. "How about I help you walk for a while, and we can go home later if you are tired?"

"Swallow, look, I'm walking fine, I can even pick up snails!"

At this moment, Deng's mother was like a naughty child. Not only did she not ask for help, she also bent down with interest to pick up a few snails and put them into Deng Zhaocai's bucket.

Liang Ziqiang couldn't believe it at this moment. Mother Deng, who had been ill for several years, suddenly became energetic like a different person. Could it be that she was in high spirits because of good things happening to her? With Yan Zi by her side at home, she was completely recovered?
"Brother Qiang, you guys are here too? It's amazing that you got so many razor clams in the middle of winter!" Deng Zhaocai came over while picking snails along the way, looked up and saw Liang Ziqiang, and grinned.

Yan Zi also stopped and greeted Liang Ziqiang and his wife with a smile.

"Mrs. Gui, from this year on, you will be free of illness and pain and will be healthy!" Seeing that Deng Zhaocai's mother looked good, Liang's mother hurried forward to say good things.

"Qiuying, you are so lucky. Your grandson has grown up so well!" Mother Deng praised the baby in Chen Xiangbei's arms as if she was returning a favor.

Liang Ziqiang discovered that although Deng's mother's face was thin and skinny due to long-term illness, her wrinkled face actually had some color and even looked rosy.

"Sister Gui, you are really fine? This is amazing!" Several villagers gathered around and looked at Deng's mother in surprise. "It's really fine. I found it when I got up this morning!" Deng's mother replied, and then she saw a lot of sea lettuce, wakame and camel hair in the shallow water nearby. "I won't talk to you anymore. I'll pick some sea vegetables and fry them up!"

She took the hand-held net from the bucket and walked briskly to the shallow water to catch seaweed.

Deng Zhaocai and Yan Zi were both startled and went forward to help her. Yan Zi even gently hugged Deng's mother from behind, fearing that she would slip into the water.

However, they were all wrong. Deng's mother showed no signs of falling and successfully scooped up a net of sea lettuce.

"Mom, let me fish it out, you just sit back and watch!" Deng Zhaocai hurriedly went to get the hand net.

Deng's mother dodged and refused to let her take the seafood. "Acai, the first time I went to the sea after marrying into Changwang Village was on such a cold day. Do you know what I picked? Seaweed! Sea lettuce and sea kelp! There were so many seaweeds at that time. The whole sea was full of them, with no end in sight! I didn't even know how to use a scoop net, so your father held my hand and taught me. Your father is a very good man, and he teaches me in detail. He doesn't have a bad temper towards others, but to me, he is the best..."

"Mom!" Deng Zhaocai's face froze, "Why are you suddenly talking about Dad?"

"Acai's father has been gone for more than ten years, but you have such a poor memory that you still remember every little thing!" A villager nearby also looked at Deng's mother and said.

"His father likes the seaweed I cook!" Mother Deng turned a deaf ear and said stubbornly, "Let me catch a few more and prepare them at home. When Ah Cai's father comes back from the sea, we can eat them for a few more days at home. I can also make seaweed dumplings, which his father likes too!"

Hearing this, even Liang Ziqiang's expression changed.

"Sister Gui!" Liang Ziqiang's mother raised her voice, "Why are you still talking nonsense? Ah Cai's father went out to sea more than ten years ago and never came back. How could he come home and sit there waiting for you to eat some seaweed!"

"You haven't been home for so long?" Mother Deng was startled for a moment, then seemed to wake up a little. "It's okay if you haven't been home. Come on, Acai, let's take a break and sit under that big rock for a while!"

There was a stone as tall as a person at the back of the beach. Deng's mother pulled Acai and Yanzi, walked towards the stone, and sat down under the stone.

The more Liang Ziqiang looked at it, the more he felt something was not right, so he put down the bucket and followed.

Deng's mother sat on the pebbles exposed under the stone and wanted to pull Deng Zhaocai and Yan Zi to sit down as well.

Deng Zhaocai and Yan Zi looked at her talking nonsense, and refused to sit down, so they squatted down nervously.

"Acai, why don't you help your mother go home to rest, or send her to the county hospital?" Liang Ziqiang suggested from the side.

"I'm fine. I'm not going anywhere." Mother Deng said to Ah Cai with a burning look in her eyes. "Since I got married, I always sit under this stone, waiting for your father to come back from the sea. I stretch my neck and look around. Just when I'm about to doze off, your father's pitch-black little wreck boat appears from the sea..."

As she spoke, her gaze shifted from Acai to the sea ahead.

"He will be back. I have brought all the seaweed and will fry it for him later. He just stayed out at sea for a long time, not that he won't be back! I will sit here and wait. If I wait one more time, he will be back..."

Mother Deng's bright eyes shone through her deep eye sockets as she looked out to the sea. Although there was not even a single boat in the shallow sea at this time of year, and it was empty as if it had been licked by the wind, she just looked out with such conviction...

(End of this chapter)