Years: Return to the Leisurely Fishing Village

Chapter 115 Surprise! The Lost Child
In the evening, smoke rises from every household.

Tan Shaoyang stewed a pot of chicken soup and fried a pot of stir-fried chicken with black fungus, and brought one portion to Grandma Tan.

As for the rest, the five of them sat around the table and started eating. There was some freshly bought bulk wine on the table, so they were sure to have a great time drinking tonight.

Zhang Yishui looked at the large bowl full of meat, his eyes lit up, he licked his lips, and felt like his saliva was about to flow down.

"Really slaughter two chickens!" Tan Shaoyang was really willing to slaughter them as soon as he said so!
Tan Shaoyang nodded, "How can we mess up what we agreed on? Eat quickly, these two chickens cost me 9 yuan!"

"Everyone has worked hard during this period. Let's not talk nonsense. Let's eat meat and drink wine to our heart's content!"

Several people nodded, and no one was vague.

The Xu Qiang brothers were familiar with the place, and while they were chatting, the meal was served to them.

Tan Shaoyang said, "We can eat seafood porridge every day. Let's eat white rice today. I cooked a lot. Let's eat as much as we want. I guarantee you'll have enough."

The atmosphere here was harmonious, but on the other side, Mrs. Tan couldn't help but grumble at home.

"Old Third is such a fool. Building houses is so profitable, why didn't he invite you two brothers?"

"Instead, they brought the Xu Qiang brothers with them. If you don't know them, you would think they are real brothers! They stick together on everything. How can you two brothers compare to them?"

Tan Shaobei was already exhausted after just returning to the boat, and now he had to listen to her complaints, which made his head hurt.

"Can you please stop talking so much? You are the one who makes the most trouble. How did you stop the third brother when he called out to you earlier?"

"They say he is unreliable, but you can learn by watching! Building houses is not as profitable as going fishing."

"Now that he's making money and you're complaining here again, if he hears us, do we still want to be brothers?"

"You said all that. You can't stand seeing others do well. Just because they make a little money, your eyes are about to pop out of your head with envy."

Mrs. Tan curled her lips and became even more angry after hearing his words, "You thought of him as a brother and asked him to go fishing, but what happened? Now he is eating delicious food at home, did he ask you to join him?"

"Your cousin next door can even get food, Zhaodi eats a mouthful of greasy food, but what's the result? Your son is closer to her! Do you smell any meat?"

"You are the only one who treats him as his real brother!"

Tan Shaobei didn't want to pay any attention to her at all. They were already familiar with each other, so what would it be like to involve him?
It's not like you need a bite of food, so why are you so short-sighted?
Besides, given the Third Brother’s personality, how could he not think about them when he had food to eat?
In other words, she was doubting this and that every day.

If he was called the boss, he would feel aggrieved. But now the boss is also eating at home, so why should he be uncomfortable?

"Okay, stop complaining here. It makes people laugh at us. We've made a lot of money. After we pay off the losses at the end of the year, our lives will be better."

"We can still go out to sea to fish. Look at other families. They can't push large quantities of goods and their lives are difficult. If it's the same for our family, wouldn't you complain even more?"

"Eat quickly, and sleep when you are full."

"You have to take good care of this child. If he still has so many problems, you will feel even more distressed when you spend money on him."

"If you're not happy staying at home, just go back to your parents' house and stay for a few days. You won't have to worry about it every day. I'm already tired from working, and I don't want to listen to your nonsense anymore."

The second child is weak and often sick. A lot of money is spent on buying medicine every month. That’s why she complains all the time.

When Mrs. Tan saw the fire burning her body, she dared not say a word. When she was pregnant with her second child, she worked too hard and gave birth prematurely.

Now that I’m pregnant with my third child, I dare not be so willful anymore.

"I'm going back, what will I do with the chickens at home?"

"Don't wait for me to come back. They're all starving to death."

Tan Shaobei waved his hand, "You won't starve to death. I'll let grandma take care of you. You can go back and play for a few days."

The next day, he pushed the third brother's bicycle and sent his wife home to avoid hearing gossip and disturbing the relationship between the brothers.

Tan Shaoyang didn't know about these things. He went to the town and bought a lot of things, including Daya's schoolbag, grandma's new clothes, gloves, and other miscellaneous items that the child needed.

After coming back, they were all divided up.

It made several children jump for joy.

The happiest one was Daya. Everyone else had a schoolbag, but she only had a canvas bag. Now when she saw the brand new schoolbag, her eyes became red.

"Thank you, Uncle San. I'll keep it for next year's school."

I treat it as a treasure and don’t want to dirty it.

The little ones were also very happy when they received the gifts.

The two fat brothers had a set of clothes, which they gave to the second brother when they were not at home.

After everything was distributed, Tan Shaoyang went home.

After being busy for a while, he now has some free time. He just wants to have a good sleep and make up for the energy he has lacked during this period.

At this moment, Mrs. Tan took advantage of the night and went home with a piglet. There was no place to stay!

She raised chickens at home, but she was worried that her husband didn't have enough to eat, and she couldn't feel at peace. So she raised piglets at home and went home carrying one on her back.

As soon as I arrived at the door of my house, I saw Daya holding her schoolbag curiously. With its bright color, I knew without even looking at it that it must have been bought by Tan Shaoyang.

After taking a look around the house, Mrs. Tan found that her child had nothing, so she dragged Pangdun out, giving him instructions as she walked.

"Son, go ask your third uncle what he bought for you. He will definitely bring you a gift for your eldest sister's schoolbag."

When Pangdun heard that his uncle had returned, he was so happy that he immediately ran towards the old house.

Although he was quite fat, he ran very agilely and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

He pushed the door open and ran towards his uncle's room as if he knew the way there, banging on the door and shouting.

"Uncle San, is Uncle San back?"

When Tan Shaoyang heard the noise, a smile appeared on his lips. The little fat boy didn't go back to his grandmother's house, but came back again.

As soon as I opened the door, I saw a dark face. It was obvious that he often went out to sunbathe. Only his teeth looked white.

"Aren't you going back to grandma's house? Why are you back?"

Fatty ran forward two steps, hugged his legs tightly, and looked up at him, "Uncle San, when did you come back? If I had known you were coming back, I wouldn't have gone to grandma's house."

Tan Shaoyang felt warm at heart listening to the cordial greetings. Mrs. Tan Er was narrow-minded and calculating, but her son was quite open-minded and what he said made people feel comfortable.

He raised his hand to rub his little head and said, "I just came back and brought a set of clothes for you two brothers. Your father took it home."

When Fatty heard that he had one too, he smiled so hard that his eyes narrowed.

"Uncle San, can I sleep with you tonight?"

Although he was asking, he wanted to kick off his shoes and climb into bed.

Tan Shaoyang grabbed him quickly. Boys love to play and smell of sweat, so he couldn't roll onto his bed.

"Go take a shower first. You're dirty, and don't climb onto my bed." Fatty was very obedient. He took a shower and changed his clothes.

Although I moved up there, I still kept one or two sets of clothes, and sometimes I had to sleep with my grandparents.

Seeing that he wanted to stay, Tan Shaoyang really took him to sleep with him.

While things were going harmoniously here, Mrs. Tan couldn't sit still anymore. She sent her son away and he never came back.

When she entered the room, she saw two sets of laundry in the room. She was so suffocated that she couldn't breathe up or down, and her face turned red with shame.

Tan Shaobei was stunned for a moment when he saw her.

"Didn't I send you back? Why are you back again?"

Mrs. Tan moved her mouth for a moment before answering, "I came back because I was worried that you wouldn't eat well at home."

Tan Shaobei had doubts in his eyes but did not refute her, "Just go back, don't keep thinking about things you shouldn't be thinking about."

"The third child is a very honest person. He treats all children equally. You always talk about him behind his back. If he is upset that day and treats Fatty badly, you will feel bad."

Mrs. Tan Er: “…” She was scolded again because of the third son.

Even though she was told off, she didn't dare to say a word. It was obvious that her husband was holding a grudge, and if she continued, he would be unhappy.

After this incident came to an end, rumors slowly began to spread in the village, all revolving around the Tan family.

"The Tan family is really smart. They can't make money here, so they go back to their mother's house to make money."

"Will her sister-in-law agree to go back?"

"Why don't you agree? Look, is he back now? I haven't seen him for several months. He must have gone to work on the farm."

"You can grow rice and sugarcane there, and you can make a lot of money every year. You can also go fishing and make money. The Tan family has taken all the good things."

"You don't know, it's not that I'm occupying my sister-in-law's land. A child was taken away from the Tan family a long time ago. That child was lucky enough to be picked up by a man and taken home."

"She was just weak. The man earned money to pay for her child's medical treatment, and died early because of exhaustion. The family still had a lot of land, and the couple used to cultivate the land."

"Ah... there is such a situation. Didn't the old Tan family get a lot of land for free? Doesn't that man have anyone else in his family?"

"No, he was originally a bachelor. The Tan family is really lucky. They even got the land."

"Who says it's not true? It's no problem to earn tens or hundreds of dollars a year."

The noise of discussion outside spread back and forth. Second Sister-in-law Tan heard about it and hurried to find the eldest sister-in-law. She asked her in confusion, "Sister-in-law, does our mother have a lost son?"

"It's been rumored that she went to her grandmother's house to help the kid tend the fields!"

"They also say that our family is lucky and has a lot of land!"

Mrs. Tan was stunned after hearing this. She was in heavy physical condition and had a lot of housework to do, so she seldom went out. She really didn't know such a thing existed!

"I didn't hear your eldest brother mention it. Why don't you ask the second brother?"

Mrs. Tan turned around and asked again, but Tan Shaobei looked confused. He couldn't keep secrets in the first place, and he didn't tell them about this matter specifically, so he was naturally kept in the dark.

In this way, the whole family gathered at the old house.

Tan Shaoyang was full of energy after two days of rest. When he saw them coming together, he was puzzled, "What happened? Why do you all look so serious?"

I hadn't been out for several days, so I naturally didn't know what other gossip was circulating in the village, so I had no idea what the purpose of their visit was.

Tan Shaobei looked at him and asked, "Third brother, why did mom and dad go to grandma's house? There are rumors outside that they are occupying other people's land."

"They also said that they found the lost child. When will our parents have another child?"

Tan Shaoyang: “…”

It is true that there is no impenetrable wall in the world. The two villages are not far from each other, and there are daughters-in-law who married from the other side in the small fishing village. It is only a matter of time before these things spread.

After knowing this, he calmed down and pulled up a chair to sit lazily. "You don't even know, and you come to ask me. I'm younger than you!"

"You should ask the boss if he has any impression."

Tan Shaonan was silent for a moment, then nodded, "Yes, there was a child, but later he disappeared for some reason."

Everyone: "..."

Tan Shaoyang did not intend to get involved in this matter. If he let them know that he knew about it in advance, he was afraid that they would have some new thoughts in their minds.

They would definitely think that the two elders would avoid them as the eldest when something happened, and they would not be close to them after the family split up.

The family atmosphere is still good now, and he doesn't want to cause such trouble.

"If you're anxious to know, just go and ask. I'm often not at home, so I won't know even if you ask me."

Tan Shaoyang simply became a hands-off boss. Anyway, Zhang Shaojie would not come and no one would confront him. Whether they believed it or not, this was the fact.

For a moment, the four of them were silent.

Tan Shaobei waved his hand, "Forget it, you make a very reasonable argument, and I guess it's pretty close. It's already happened, so let it be."

"I'm planning to go fishing, how can I have the time to go there?"

"Work harder, and pay off the money this year, so you can relax a little next year. Since you don't know either, let's go back."

"Would you like to come with me tomorrow?"

Tan Shaoyang waved his hand and refused without thinking, "No, I'm exhausted after a few months, at least let me take a break, it's better to give me money than to give me my life."

Tan Shaoyang had just sent the man away and closed the door when he heard the sound of the door being pushed open not long after.

When I went out, I saw that it was obviously Tan's mother who came back.

When Tan Shaoyang saw her, he was stunned for a moment. It was true that she didn't talk about ghosts at night and didn't talk about people during the day. She really couldn't resist the thought and appeared in front of him as soon as she was mentioned.

"Mom, why are you back?"

Mother Tan put down her things, took a deep breath and said, "Your sister-in-law is about to give birth. I feel uneasy if I'm not waiting at home."

"If something goes wrong, you will be helpless."

"Shaojie, just let your dad stay with you while you study."

Tan Shaoyang nodded in understanding, and then reminded, "Mom, Shaojie's story has spread all over the village. Even when you went over there to farm, the villagers were talking about it."

"The eldest and second brother just came to me to ask about this, but I brushed them off. Find some time to explain it to them."

Mother Tan nodded, "I guessed it a long time ago. I will explain it to them."

(End of this chapter)