Chapter 283 - 213: Flames Like Daylight

Chapter 283: Chapter 213: Flames Like Daylight

"Food by the sea in the middle of winter? Are you kidding me? You believe everything Zhao Wendong says? I bet he’s just showing off again. Even if there was a little something, his family would have already picked it clean. You think he’d be that kindhearted? I’m going to sleep. I’m dead tired."

Zhao the Sixth’s wife glanced at him, then opened the door to look at the neighbors. She saw many people running out with baskets. After a moment’s thought, she gritted her teeth, grabbed her own basket, and joined the crowd rushing toward the sea. ’Worst case, it’s a wasted trip. But what if it’s real?’ Quite a few people had the same idea. So, despite their doubts, more and more villagers ran toward the shore. Torches were lit, one by one, illuminating all of Dragon King Pond Village in the night.

"Grandma, Grandpa, we’re heading out!"

"Alright, go on."

Zhao Pandi and Zhao Laidi grabbed their baskets and hurried out the door toward the beach. Ye Qingmei glanced at the east room. Seeing that Zhao Dahai and the other two still hadn’t stirred, her anger flared. She was about to get down from the bed to put on her shoes when Zhao Chuanhe grabbed her arm.

"Don’t go. He’s a hopeless case. You reap what you sow. Whoever gathers the food gets to eat it. Those who don’t, get nothing. It’s as simple as that."

Hearing her husband’s words, Ye Qingmei snorted and sat back down on the heated brick bed.

"Sigh, how did I give birth to such a disappointment? Could he really have been switched at birth? Was any other family having a baby the day he was born?"

Zhao Chuanhe chuckled.

He smiled and patted Ye Qingmei’s hand, knowing she was just venting. He changed the subject to Zhao Wendong.

"Did you hear that? It was our grandson who found it. He’s letting the whole village go gather food!"

"So your hearing is sharp now? I couldn’t hear clearly, but you did?"

"Yep. Heard it crystal clear. Isn’t our grandson something special?"

"Of course he is. Our grandson is the best in the world."

Zhao Chuanhe seemed to recall something and suddenly sighed.

"My dear, don’t you think our grandson is just like Dajiang?"

Ye Qingmei stiffened and turned to look at her husband, Zhao Chuanhe. In the darkness, her eyes glistened.

"Yes, he is! When our eldest was young, he was the leader of all the village kids. The other young men looked up to him, called him their leader, and followed him into the mountains to become bandits, fighting the Japanese and their collaborators. When the village had no food, it was our eldest who brought back grain to share with everyone. Sigh... what a pity. The good die young."

After she finished, they both took out their long-stemmed pipes and lit them in silence, taking slow puffs. In the darkness, two embers glowed and faded like distant, twinkling stars. They acknowledged that Zhao Wendong’s uncle, Zhao Dajiang, was a bandit—a brigand. But he had never harmed his own people. The ones he fought were the puppet troops, the wealthy collaborators, or the Japanese. Back then, the man with the highest bounty on his head from the Japanese was none other than the bandit leader, White Dragon King—their eldest son, Zhao Dajiang.

When Zhao Dajiang was later captured, the Japanese, who despised him, subjected him to endless torture. Yet Zhao Dajiang met their cruelty with taunts and laughter, completely unfazed. He endured every torment with his iron will, and even at his death, he never revealed he was from Dragon King Pond Village. At the time, everyone in the county gave him a thumbs-up, calling the White Dragon King a true badass. In their prime, both Zhao Dajiang and Zhao Wendong were the talk of the town; the resemblance was uncanny.

Three days later, Zhao Dahai and Zhao Dahe went to retrieve his body under the cover of darkness, but it had already been gnawed apart by wild dogs. All they could find was a pile of bones. To this day, Zhao Dajiang’s grave remains unmarked, for fear that his past would negatively affect the family’s political standing. But in the hearts of the old couple, and in the hearts of Dragon King Pond’s older generation, Zhao Dajiang was a great hero.

Zhao Wendong knew nothing of his grandparents’ heartfelt thoughts. He had just returned to the beach to rejoin his family. The Zhaos were the easiest to spot; while everyone else held torches, their spot was illuminated by the bright beams of four or five flashlights.

When Zhao Wendong arrived, he saw that the area where he had first discovered the sea cucumbers was occupied only by his family. The other villagers would rather walk farther down the beach than compete with them, subconsciously leaving this prime spot for the Zhaos. The shore was teeming with people and torches. Tonight, Dragon King Pond was as bright as day.

"How come no one else is over here?"

Zhao Wendong took the basket Chen Yanmei handed him, asking curiously as he looked at the distant crowd.

"They’re showing their gratitude. They’ve left this whole stretch for our family," Chen Yanmei said, her face beaming with pride. She had only ever heard about how impressive her son was, but today she truly felt the respect he commanded in the villagers’ hearts. "Hurry and start gathering. There’s more than we could ever finish."

Seeing that everyone’s baskets were already quite full, Zhao Wendong quickly bent down and started gathering too.

With each wave that receded, a new patch of shore was exposed, revealing all sorts of nature’s gifts. At first, it was a sheet of ice, but soon the receding tide revealed the sandy beach beneath. No one paid any mind to the chilling water soaking their clothes; they were all gathering with feverish excitement, their faces lit with the joy of the harvest.

"Zhiyin, are you cold?"

Zhao Wendong asked with concern, looking at Lin Zhiyin beside him, who was bent over, rapidly gathering things from the shore. Wiping a bead of sweat from her forehead, Lin Zhiyin broke into a happy smile. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ

"Not at all! I’ve been moving so much I can’t even feel the cold. I’m warm all over. By the way, is this happening on all the beaches? Should we notify the other villages?"

Zhao Wendong shook his head. ’I was just thinking about that myself.’

"It’s no use. There isn’t enough time. Even if we hitched a cart and rushed to the Commune headquarters to get the word out, by the time everyone woke up and got to the shore, the tide would already be rising."

"Oh, then never mind. Let’s just gather as much as we can."

"You got it."

Zhao Wendong fell silent and focused on gathering the marine bounty on the shore. Most of it was from the shallow seabed, washed up by the strong tide. It was mainly shellfish, sea anemones, and the like. One by one, Zhao Wendong tossed large yellow clams, oysters, and venus clams into his basket. They took up a lot of space, and in no time, the basket was full. He carried it up the shore, didn’t bother bagging it, and simply dumped the contents onto the ground.

Zhao Shitou and Zhao Sanwa were stationed there. Their job was to sort everything the gatherers brought back. Fish were put into one basket, sea cucumbers and anemones into another, while things like laver and sea moss were placed in their own separate pile.

"Shitou, Sanwazi, are you two cold?"

Zhao Wendong asked them with a smile. The two boys shook their heads, their young faces flushed with excitement. They were so busy their foreheads were covered in sweat; from a distance, it looked like steam was rising from their heads. All around, everyone was bent over, silently gathering food. No one spoke. No one wanted to waste a single second, because they all knew time was short. Once the tide started to rise, there would be nothing left to gather. Every extra piece they picked was another bite to eat.