He forced me to sever ties with my family and sleep on a dilapidated boat, then turned around and be

This wicked family devised a wicked plan.

……

Niu Bayi slept in the wrecked boat until almost noon before getting up.

He was stunned as soon as he stood up.

He Zhenzhen was sitting at the bow of the boat, gazing at him with deep affection.

There was a rice bucket next to it.

Niu Bayi was both amused and exasperated.

"I told you to stay home and rest, why did you come here again?"

He Zhenzhen pouted her little lips.

"I was worried you'd be hungry. You said you wanted to eat in the county, but it's about 70 or 80 kilometers from here, and the ride will be bumpy and take almost two hours. By the time you get there, you'll be starving."

As she spoke, she opened the lid.

This made Niu Bayi's eyes light up.

My stomach immediately started growling.

What a sumptuous meal!

A big bowl of fragrant brown rice.

A small bowl of golden, glistening braised pork with preserved mustard greens.

There was also a greasy steamed chicken leg, bigger than his fist.

There are two fried fish left!

Fry them until golden brown and crispy; they'll definitely taste delicious with every bite.

Adding a small bowl of stir-fried spring vegetables, which are bright green and quite appealing, is also a nice touch.

He Zhenzhen took out the food, bowls and plates, and then heard someone's stomach growl.

She rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"My goodness, whose stomach is growling so loudly? They said they were going to the county town to eat, but they don't want to starve to death on the way."

They may have a sharp tongue, but their hearts are incredibly kind.

So Niu Bayi didn't bother arguing with her. He immediately picked up a large bowl of brown rice and first picked up a fried fish.

Click!

I took a bite and ate half of it, chewing it with gusto, then shoveled some rice into my mouth.

I casually picked up a mouthful of glistening, oily stir-fried greens and popped it into my mouth; it was incredibly delicious.

He said happily, "Mom's cooking is just so delicious."

He Zhenzhen rolled her eyes again.

"Mom made it, I made it."

Niu Bayu's eyes widened instantly as he stared at He Zhenzhen in disbelief.

"You made this? How come I didn't know you cooked so well?"

He Zhenzhen said, "My goodness, how much do you look down on me! My mom passed on her cooking skills to me a long time ago, okay? I made a portion of the meals you've been eating these past few days."

"My mom said that if you want a man to treat you well, you have to win his stomach first."

"Once you win his heart through his stomach, he'll know that if he doesn't treat his wife well, he won't be able to enjoy such good food."

"His life is tasteless if he can't eat such good food."

Niu Bayi almost choked on his food when he heard this, then gave a thumbs up.

"Yes, that's very well said!"

"Look, I can't bear to treat you badly now. If I do, life will be meaningless. I won't be happy looking at a pile of money. I'll just be thinking about who to spend this money on."

He Zhenzhen burst out laughing.

"My goodness, Niu Bayi, you're so good at making me happy."

She took out her handkerchief and, seeing that Niu Bayi's mouth was greasy, carefully wiped it for him.

Although this girl is a bit rough in her speech and actions, she is definitely good material to be a virtuous wife.

A dozen minutes later, Niu Bayi had finished off the entire bucket of food.

He rubbed his bloated belly and exhaled.

"That's enough! Alright, I need to go to the county town now."

He Zhenzhen hummed in agreement, then cautiously added, "Ba Yi, my parents and my brother all think that although your golden sea willow is worth some money, it definitely can't fetch such a shocking price."

"So you need to be mentally prepared so you won't be too disappointed later."

"Anyway, if I can sell it for a thousand or eight hundred yuan, I'll think that's a great achievement, understand?"

"Money should be earned slowly. It's unreliable to earn so much money all at once."

This is a bit like trying to persuade someone with good intentions.

Niu Bayi suppressed a laugh.

"Okay, okay, I got it. I have to go now. You should go home and rest too."

He Zhenzhen pouted.

"I won't be able to rest when I get back. I really want to go to the county town with you, but my mom said I have to go back right away after delivering your food. I have to help her with chores like mending fishing nets."

"She also took on a lot of work from other people's homes, such as drying fish, weaving fishing nets, and stringing seashell jewelry. She was so busy that she couldn't keep up. She even said that she would save the money I earned as her dowry in the future."

"My God, I have to earn my own dowry, it's so tough."

She pouted, almost crying.

Niu Bayi laughed and then said, "If you don't want to do it, then don't. Anyway, I can make a lot of money. When I go out to sea to fish again and make money, I'll secretly give you a large sum as your dowry."

"That won't do."

He Zhenzhen immediately refused.

"Dowry, dowry, it's not the groom's family's responsibility to provide it. The groom's family has already paid the bride price, so the bride's family has to pay for the dowry! No matter how much it is, it's all money I earned, so don't give me that money."

"If I give it to them, I'll throw it into the sea to feed the turtles."

Seeing such a determined girl, Niu Bayi's heart was warmed beyond measure, and he could only nod and agree.

He Zhenzhen seemed to have thought of something, lowered her voice, and blinked her big eyes, which looked particularly bright.

"Bayi, did you really come back last night stepping on a giant sea turtle? When I brought you food, I heard a lot of villagers say that you are really the Dragon King's godson."

"Otherwise, how come when the ship was hit and blown up, there were sea turtles to carry you back?"

Niu Bayi said, "How could this be fake? So many people saw it."

He Zhenzhen immediately felt a strong urge to try it.

"Could you ask that giant sea turtle to carry me? I want to stand on its back, or even ride on it. I want to ride a giant sea turtle and go play in the sea, okay? Okay? Okay?"

She tugged at Niu Bayi's sleeve and swayed gently, her face full of coquettishness.

Niu Bayi felt a surge of affection and gently pinched her cheek.

"Okay, I'll look for that giant sea turtle again next time. If I find it, I'll bring it to the shore, call you over, and we'll ride it together into the sea, okay?"

He Zhenzhen's face flushed with excitement, and she nodded repeatedly in agreement.

Then, he packed up the food bucket and went home.

Niu Bayi also ran to the simple seaside road.

A bus passes by here every two hours, heading towards the county town.

Trucks of all sizes, carrying various mountain and sea goods, also pass through here.

Not long after, Niu Bayi flagged down a small truck and got the driver to agree to take him to the county town for just one yuan.

At this moment, Niu Bayi's hands were empty.

He hid seven golden willow branches, each over a meter long, in the space of the sea.

Take it out when you get there.

The small truck drives much faster than the bus; that's called racing against time.

An hour and a half later, around 2 p.m., we arrived in the county town.

In the county town, not just any shop will buy this kind of golden sea willow.

As far as Niu Bayi knew, only craft shops would accept them.

This is the only craft shop in the county town, and it belongs to the county craft company.

The goods inside are mostly produced and sold directly to overseas Chinese.

After all, it was still 1984. Although the reform and opening up had been going on for several years, ordinary people were still mainly concerned with filling their stomachs.

I can't afford handicrafts, and I won't buy them.

When they were almost at the craft shop, Niu Bayi found a quiet spot.

With a flick of his wrist, something wrapped tightly in a tattered burlap sack appeared in the crook of his arm.

It was wrapped in several layers of tattered burlap sacks.

Inside were seven strands of golden sea willow.

He walked toward the craft shop, but before he even stepped past the door, a voice inside, both annoyed and disgusted, came from inside.

"Hey, don't come in! Get out! Get out! This isn't a place for you! What kind of Tom, Dick, or Harry is wandering around like this!"