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

Niu Bayi suddenly opened his eyes and saw that the white light of dawn was already appearing outside.

I slept soundly until dawn.

He stepped out of the cabin and saw He Zhenzhen squatting on the deck, holding a lid in her hand, staring intently at the pot.

With her other delicate little hand, she vigorously wiped away the drool from her cherry-like lips.

If you're not careful, a drop or two of glistening saliva will fall into the pot.

Niu Bayi looked on, feeling both amused and exasperated, and deliberately let out a hum.

"You're calling me a spendthrift? We were going to stew two abalones, one for you and one for me, fine, I'll eat both!"

He Zhenzhen suddenly turned around and quickly shook her head.

"No, no, no! These two abalones would have been best sold, earning us tens of dollars, but... well, let's just stew them and eat them! You take one, I'll take one, and we'll enjoy them together."

She turned back and inhaled the fragrance deeply.

"I've never eaten abalone before, let alone two-headed abalone, I've never even eaten seven- or eight-headed abalone! Sometimes my dad and brother can catch a few, but they always sell them. Eighth, these two abalone..."

"Can I really eat one?"

Niu Bayi walked over, squatted down next to He Zhenzhen, looked at the abalone in the pot, and couldn't help but swallow hard.

Two-headed abalone! How big must that be?

It's bigger than a grown man's fist!

It lay there in the pot, bubbling gently, because the firewood underneath hadn't completely gone out.

Its overall color is somewhat like chocolate, and it looks very glossy and smooth.

An indescribable aroma of meat wafted over.

This tastes better than any stewed meat!

Niu Bayi said, "Are you stupid? You're my wife. I stewed two abalones. I'll definitely give you one, and you can have one. If you can eat them, I'll give you both. I'll watch you eat."

These were truly heartfelt words from Niu Bayi.

He Zhenzhen has been so good to him over the past few years.

I would bring him food that I myself would not eat.

After finally saving up a few dollars, I would buy nutritional supplements and secretly feed them to him.

Seriously, if it weren't for He Zhenzhen, Niu Bayi definitely wouldn't have been able to endure those days of being exploited by his family.

So let alone two abalones, if He Zhenzhen wanted to eat his meat, he would pick out the tenderest part and send it to her.

He Zhenzhen immediately shook her head.

"I don't want to eat both. One for you and one for me is perfect. When are we eating? Now? I'm hungry. I haven't had breakfast yet. I brought two big chicken legs from home for you."

"I'd like one for you and one for me, but since there's abalone, I won't eat the chicken leg."

She pointed to the lunchbox next to her.

Indeed, while chicken legs are rare, they can't compare to the scraps of abalone.

Niu Bayi smiled slightly, immediately took out two rough porcelain bowls, picked one up with chopsticks, put it in the bowl, and handed it to He Zhenzhen.

He Zhenzhen also picked up another bowl, took the remaining abalone from the pot, put it in the bowl, and handed it to Niu Bayi.

The two smiled at each other.

Look!

If you put abalone on my plate and I put abalone on your plate, what's that called?

Let's call it "harmonious union"!

The two sat on the deck, munching on the abalone with relish.

He Zhenzhen's face was full of enjoyment.

"My goodness, this abalone is so delicious! It's so tender, smooth, and crisp. Every bite is bursting with juice. I've never eaten anything so delicious before."

As she was talking, the girl suddenly burst into tears.

Tears fell into the bowl.

Niu Bayi was startled when he saw it.

"What's wrong with you? You were happily eating abalone, and then suddenly you started crying?"

He Zhenzhen nodded vigorously.

"Yes, I cried tears of joy!"

"I never dreamed that Niu Bayi, whom I thought I would have to take care of for the rest of my life, would become so incredibly capable! He made so much money in no time and bought two big fishing boats."

"He has one of my own!"

"We've caught such rare two-headed abalone again! I'll have one, he'll have one too! My goodness, my good days are finally here!"

As she spoke, she burst into laughter again.

Laughter mixed with tears, tears mixed with laughter.

It looks incredibly beautiful.

This made Niu Bayi unable to restrain himself. He suddenly stretched out an arm, hooked his arm around her slender neck, and pulled her into his arms.

pat!

A big mouth kissed her cherry-like lips and wouldn't let go.

He Zhenzhen's eyes widened instantly, and she almost dropped the bowl she was holding on the deck.

She stood there, frozen, too afraid to move.

Only after Niu Bayi had finished his misdeeds and stopped talking did she stare incredulously at the man in front of her who had committed so many crimes.

"My god, Niu Bayi, you used to kiss me secretly, but now you're kissing me openly, on the lips, and you're acting like you're robbing me!"

Under He Zhenzhen's stern gaze, Niu Bayi scratched the back of his head, feeling a little embarrassed.

"I can't help it, you're so cute, I just can't resist wanting to kiss you."

Then, he put on a fearful expression.

"You're not going to call the police, are you? You're not going to say I tried to molest you, are you? I could go to jail for that, are you willing to do that?"

Seeing Niu Bayi's shameless behavior, He Zhenzhen was furious.

But there's nothing we can do about it.

She could only snort angrily and finish the last bite of abalone.

They even licked the abalone sauce from the bowl clean with great relish.

Then, she put down the bowl and jumped up.

"Fine, fine, I won't argue with you. But if you kiss me like that again, I...I'll..."

As she spoke, she scratched the back of her head, unsure of what to do.

Niu Bayi asked, "Are you going to call the police?"

He Zhenzhen immediately shook her head.

"Calling the police is out of the question, absolutely out of the question in my life. The only thing I can do is... the only thing I can do is bite you, yes!"

He Zhenzhen raised her small hand and slapped hard on the long legs.

"If you kiss me again, I'll bite you, just like last time!"

"Let's go, it's already dawn. Let's hurry to Dongwangjiao to dig for ark shells. I'm worried that if we're any later, they'll all be gone."

She pulled two baskets over from the side and took out a pair of large water shoes and a pair of small water shoes from them.

The big water shoes were given to Niu Bayi.

"This is my brother's; it should fit you. Here, take this basket; there's a small rake inside. We'll use it to dig for ark shells later."

The two put on their rubber boots, carried their baskets, and set off.

To get to Dongwangjiao, you first have to climb a mountain that's forty or fifty meters high. Looking into the distance, you can see a vast expanse of blue sea.

If you continue down the hillside, you'll reach East Point.

This is a large mudflat.

Thirty minutes later, the two who arrived at Dongwangjiao were both dumbfounded.

By now, it was already broad daylight.

The wide mudflats were teeming with people.

If not three hundred, then two hundred.

Most of them were women with children, wearing water shoes, walking on the mudflats.

Carrying a basket on their backs, they raked around in the mudflats with a rake.

Once they found a clam, they picked it up and put it in their basket.

These people weren't just from the fishing village where Niu Bayi and He Zhenzhen lived; they were from several nearby fishing villages as well.

It seems that women from several fishing villages have received news of ark shells in Tung Mong Kok and have rushed to dig for them.

Judging by this pace, even if there are still many ark shells, they've been almost completely dug up.

What to do?