Chapter 110: Treating her like a goddess
Han Ruochen frowned when she saw the people on the mudflats. It was already so dark, and yet there were so many people lining the mudflat. What were they doing so late at night?
Some of them were wearing headlamps, and those who didn’t have headlamps at home were carrying flashlights. If someone from the county saw this scene, he would surely be terrified. And if it had not scared them, they would surely have become alarmed; after all, the scene looked like it was a murder spot.
What were these people even thinking?
Han Ruochen couldn’t help but wonder. What she didn’t know was that these people were still upset over the fact that she could return with a full load and that they couldn’t get anything in return. What kind of situation was this? Only the people in the village knew the truth.
When they saw Han Ruochen coming over, Widow Wang was very dissatisfied. She even went on ahead and said, "Are you trying to snatch the remains from us, too?"
"The sea doesn’t belong to just you." Han Ruochen calmly replied as she walked past the woman. She didn’t have the ability to stop these people, and similarly, they had no right to stop her either. What surprised her was that even Widow Wang’s brother, who liked to lurk with the thugs, came to the shore. Did the sun rise from the west or something?
She didn’t know what was going on with the people of the village.
Han Ruochen didn’t bother to go along with the rest of the villagers, and instead, she walked over to the other side. However, as soon as she walked past the crowd, the people hurried over to her. Han Ruochen was surprised when she saw the people walking over. She was just wondering what they were trying to do. Were they going to mob her? But before she could even take a step back, Old Madam Zhang rushed forward and took her hand into her own.
She rubbed and then bowed in front of her.
Surprised, Han Ruochen jumped to one side and then tried to avoid the old woman. "Grandma Zhang, are you trying to make me commit a sin?"
Why was she bowing in front of her? She was older than her grandmother; if someone saw her accepting the bow, they would drown her by spitting on her name. What was this old woman even trying to do?
However, she was not the only one; there were several of the villagers who rushed forward to either hold her hand or touch her back. It was like she was some kind of idol statue that they were touching and rubbing to get lucky. Han Ruochen was stupefied and immediately ran away from the crowd. She was worried that if she stayed any longer, there was a very good chance a layer of her skin would be stripped.
The coastline was very long. Han Ruochen immediately walked over to the other side, and while running, she even caught Tong Zhaodi, who was digging in the sand alone. From the looks of it, she seemed to be crying.
"What’s the matter?" Han Ruochen walked over and looked at the woman, who was crying as if the world was coming to an end. "Why are you crying here, and that too at such a late hour?"
Tong Zhaodi wiped her tears away and then said in a low voice, "It’s my mother. Once she found out that you had found snail caviar, she was furious and called me useless, saying that I could have caught the snail caviar instead of you if I were a bit faster. So she sent me here. She wants me to dig the snail caviar as well and even told me not to come back home if I cannot find the snail caviar."
Tong Zhaodi didn’t want to go back home, but who would have thought that even if she didn’t return home, her mother would come looking for her? The woman not only came to look for her, but she also announced that it was better if she died on the shore while looking for the snail caviar; at least they wouldn’t have to feed her and waste money on her. Tong Zhaodi wanted to ask her what kind of money she had wasted on her when all she ate was watery rice gruel.
Han Ruochen sighed when she saw Tong Zhaodi crying. She walked over to where the woman was kneeling and commented, "Why do you listen to her so much? Do you think that you will be treated any better if you give in to her every time?" She hated seeing Tong Zhaodi like this; after all, she was once like Tong Zhaodi as well. In the end, her mother drove her to an early death.
What was the point of working so hard?
Even if she gave her heart and soul away, Mother Tong would never feel the slightest bit of sympathy for Tong Zhaodi. It would be better if this woman lived for herself rather than for her mother or the Tong family. But there would be no point if she were to tell these things to Tong Zhaodi. The woman had to understand the truth on her own.
With that thought in her head, she said in a low voice, "Zhaodi, come with me. I will help you look for seafood. It will be the same as usual, but if you find something on your own, it’s yours."
Tong Zhaodi nodded and then got up from the ground before walking along with Han Ruochen. She swallowed hard and said in a low voice, "Ruochen, what did you talk about with Jianguo? Did he say something about my brother?"
"Don’t worry, he will not cause any trouble for your brother for the time being. You can slowly think of a way to get out of this situation." Han Ruochen told the woman, which made Tong Zhaodi smile wryly.
