Chapter 530: Chapter 530: Was a Monkey in a Past Life
The next day, Yi Chichi first took Qin Jiu to send a telegraph to her grandpa to let him know they were safe, and then took him to the beach for beachcombing.
Today, there’s a high tide, and when they arrived, the tide hadn’t receded yet. Being a non-rest day, the safe areas far from the coastline were sparsely populated.
Qin Jiu looked at the turbulent sea and then at those people, "Aunt, are they all here for beachcombing?"
"Yes."
Yi Chichi nodded, "What made you think of beachcombing?"
"Free food, it’d be wasteful not to gather it."
Qin Jiu chuckled, "Don’t worry, Aunt, I did my homework before coming."
"Who did you do your homework with?"
Yi Chichi got interested, and Qin Jiu explained, "I have a classmate whose family is in Lu Province, and he often goes beachcombing. When he found out I was coming to the island, he taught me some beachcombing tricks."
No wonder he was so well-prepared.
Looking at the time, Yi Chichi led him forward, "The tide won’t go down for a while, let’s go pick some coconuts first."
Qin Jiu’s eyes brightened, blurting out, "Aunt, can I mail a few coconuts back to my classmate?"
"... Today?"
"When we’re about to head back."
"Sure."
They planned to call Old He and the others to help pick coconuts then.
The two walked south along the coastline, encountering many elderly locals and children not in school along the way, but they didn’t see many military dependents.
Even those they encountered were mostly nodding acquaintances.
If you’re asking if they were familiar, not really.
Until—
"Chichi, wait for me."
A familiar voice called from behind.
Hearing the call, Yi Chichi and Qin Jiu stopped and turned around.
Then, they saw Ji Jian and Zhou Lan running toward them, panting.
"Slow down, slow down, I’m not going to run away."
Seeing the two running faster and faster, Yi Chichi, worried they might fall, quickly advised.
Soon, the fully equipped pair appeared in front of her.
"You came beachcombing without calling us?"
Ji Jian immediately questioned her.
Yi Chichi, between laughter and tears, explained, "I left early in the morning; I didn’t know you were coming beachcombing today too."
Zhou Lan’s gaze fell on Qin Jiu’s face, "Is this your big nephew?"
"Yes."
Yi Chichi pulled Qin Jiu over to introduce him, and Qin Jiu politely greeted them. Ji Jian and Zhou Lan responded with a friendly attitude.
After getting to know each other and clarifying their destination, Ji Jian and Zhou Lan decided to join them.
"Exactly, it’s been a while since I’ve had coconut water; we can bring some home."
"Let’s go then."
So, the group of four headed towards the coconut trees.
As the tall coconut trees came into view, Qin Jiu looked at the towering trees, feeling overwhelmed.
He hesitantly asked, "Aunt, how do we pick coconuts from such tall trees?"
"See if there are any on the ground."
If not, they’ll have to try shaking the tree, and if that doesn’t work, someone will have to climb the tree or use tools.
However, they hadn’t brought a long-handled sickle, so using tools was not an option.
"If it doesn’t work, we’ll have your Aunt Ji climb the tree."
Ji Jian, "???"
Why should she be the one to climb the tree? What did she do to deserve this?
"How come you don’t climb?"
She indignantly questioned.
Yi Chichi confidently replied, "I can’t climb trees like you can."
Zhou Lan burst into laughter, "Haha, in the family area when it comes to climbing trees, no one can beat you, Ji, just accept it, picking coconuts is definitely your job."
Then, the matter was settled, and Ji Jian, who had no choice, walked around under the coconut trees but couldn’t find any fresh ones. She tried shaking the trunk, but nothing fell, so she resigned and rubbed her hands.
"Everyone back up, I’m going to unleash my moves."
Before her words were even finished, she clung to the trunk and rapidly climbed up.
She was quick and agile, astonishing Qin Jiu.
Are all family area dependents this skilled?
In all his life, he had never seen a woman climb a tree so smoothly.
Zhou Lan couldn’t help but marvel, "I bet Old Ji was a monkey in her past life."
Yi Chichi, "... Don’t say that to her face, or she’ll hit you."
"Relax, I’m not stupid, I’ll say it behind her back."
Zhou Lan laughed, "Unfortunately, I can’t learn this skill; if I could, I wouldn’t have to bother Old Wang at home for some coconut water."
"Men are meant to be used."
Qin Jiu couldn’t help but chimed in, "My Aunt Ye says women who feel sorry for men have a lifetime of bad luck."
His words stunned the two women.
Yi Chichi, "Who’s Grandma Ye?"
Her focus was on the Ye surname, as for the saying about women’s luck, it was just something to listen to.
She had no comments on the dynamics between men and women, as long as she managed herself well.
After all, whether in a romantic relationship or marriage, it’s like drinking water; only you know how cold or warm it is.
"Grandpa Ye’s wife came back."
The Grandpa Ye in Qin Jiu’s words refers to Ye Yunqing. Due to generational differences, he calls her aunt and uncle, while Qin Jiu calls them grandpa and grandma.
"... Your Grandpa Ye didn’t mention it in his letters to me."
"He was embarrassed to say."
Qin Jiu gave Yi Chichi a look indicating they would talk about it later, and Yi Chichi understood that there was more to the story.
Otherwise, when Uncle Ye sent her things, he wouldn’t have kept it so secret.
Just then, there were a few thuds, and several coconuts dropped on the sand.
Zhou Lan immediately got excited, shouting, "Old Ji, toss a few more down, these aren’t enough."
Ji Jian responded with an "Oh," looked up from the tree, and after picking a few more, she climbed down.
"Let’s switch to another tree; the remaining ones on this one are too small and won’t ripen anytime soon."
Those who couldn’t climb trees had no say, so Yi Chichi and the others followed Ji Jian.
When she said switch to another tree, they switched to another tree.
After switching three trees, they finally had enough coconuts.
Each family could get about six.
Once the coconuts were packed, the four returned to the beach. By then, the tide had almost fully receded, revealing large areas of the beach and rocks.
"We’re in the wrong place; we should be at a tidal flat or mangrove."
Looking at the various fish and shrimp left on the beach but not taken by the tide, Ji Jian sighed and waved, "Let’s start."
"Charge!"
Zhou Lan dashed out first, bent down, picked up a cat’s-eye snail, and threw it into her basket.
Yi Chichi spotted a purple scallop in a small puddle, big, beautifully colored, its mouth open showing some meat, looking appetizing.
In one swift move, she grabbed the scallop and tossed it into her basket. Just as she was about to leave, she caught sight of a piece of kelp draped over a rock out of the corner of her eye.
Immediately, she was delighted, "Sister-in-law, there’s kelp."
And it looked big too.
If they took it home to dry, it would be enough for the three families to share.
"Where?"
Ji Jian and Zhou Lan simultaneously looked over; clearly, kelp was more enticing than shrimps.
"Over there."
While this stuff wasn’t worth much, finding kelp in the island waters wasn’t common, and picking kelp required luck.
As she pointed in the direction, Ji Jian and Zhou Lan saw the kelp on the rock.
Their eyes lit up.
"Let’s go, let’s get it back; the kelp looks really big."
Before the words were fully spoken, Qin Jiu immediately said, "I’ll go."
"You can’t!"
Ji Jian directly refused, "You just got here and don’t understand how these rock formations work. They’re jagged and protruding everywhere, and because of the low tide, they’re slippery. Without experience, it’s easy to fall."
