Fisherman Fubao made his fortune by fishing

Chapter 152: Take a Boat Back to Grandma's House

The second day of the Lunar New Year is the day for married women to return home. Since Old Mrs. Cai had already returned home before the New Year, she did not go back and stayed at home to wait for her daughters-in-law to return home.

Life was much better this year, and Old Mrs. Cai did not have the habit of mistreating her daughters-in-law, and she prepared a lot of New Year gifts for each of them.

Two pounds of pork, five pounds of black flour, three feet of red cloth, and a white pine tree.

These are already generous gifts at the moment. If there are more, people’s hearts will be hard to predict.

Li Laoer's leg injury had not yet healed, so he could not accompany Fan back home. Li Erlang took on the main responsibility. The sea cow was too small and a little weak in the womb, so Fan did not take him back.

Fan's mother's family is in Fanjiatuozi, an island south of Tudao. Now the boats from Tuwozi Village have been docked, so you can only go out of the island by ice, go to the dock, and then take a boat from the dock to Fanjiatuozi.

The wharf is deep and wide, with big waves and ice and snow that cannot block the sea. But there is no beach at the wharf, and the tide does not go out, so you can't go fishing.

Many people visit relatives during the Spring Festival, so there are boats at the dock that specifically solicit passengers. The fare is not cheap, but there are still many people riding on it.

Not long after the sun rose, a number of boats, large and small, came to the sparkling sea to solicit passengers and docked at the pier.

There were quite a few guests on the shore, and some people were selling breakfast on their shoulders. It was bustling and lively.

Brokers seeking customers kept moving among the crowd, promoting their own boats, trying hard to brag about how big their boats were, how resistant they were to wind and waves, and how skilled the captain was in steering the boat, in order to attract customers.

"Where are you going? North or south? A short route or a long one?" A broker who was soliciting customers came forward and greeted them.

Mrs. Fan carried the basket and said, "Let's go to Fanjiatuozi."

"That's perfect. I have a boat going to Fanjiatuozi. It costs five copper coins for an adult and three copper coins for a child."

It is indeed expensive. A porter carrying heavy bags at the dock only earns ten cents a day, but it costs five copper coins to enter the island, and ten copper coins for an adult to go back and forth.

Fan didn't bargain. At that time, the brokers basically agreed on the price with each other, so there was no need to waste words.

Visiting relatives during the Chinese New Year is only once a year, so Fan had no choice but to pay the boat fare and take Li Erlang and Li Yuer on board.

In the original owner's memory, his grandparents were kind people, and his uncle and aunt were also very kind, so Li Yuer and Li Erlang added two kilograms of flour, a kilogram of sugar, and an ordinary unsold oil lamp as new year gifts. A piece of the shell of the oil lamp had fallen off, so it was a defective product, but it did not affect its use.

Although it was a sunny day today, it was dry and cold. There were more than a dozen people sitting in the medium-sized sailboat. Although it was not crowded, it was not convenient to talk. Along the way, no one spoke except a few children.

It was cold, and except for the boatman and the captain, no one sat outside to enjoy the scenery. Li Yuer wanted to go out, but was stopped by Fan.

"If you want to be convenient, just bear with it. It's not good for a daughter to be seen." Fan whispered in her ear.

Li Yuer felt embarrassed. She just wanted to go out and see the scenery. Forget it, she decided to just stay in the boat.

About half an hour later, there was a "bang" and a strong vibration came from the hull, and the boat reached the shore.

The shore is rather deserted, with a simple seaside pier. The horizontal pier is similar to a dock. At this time, there are several passenger ships entering and leaving the island, with people going up and down on the ships, adding a bit of liveliness to this deserted place.

The horizontal bridge is connected to a vertical pier that leads all the way to the island. The pier is surrounded by reed marshes, which are now mostly covered with ice and snow, making it impossible for ships to navigate. Boats can only be launched by passing through the pier.

"Everyone, be careful when getting off the boat, and don't fall into the water." The guy on the pier was responsible for taking care of the passengers getting off the boat, and the service was quite good.

Walking along the pier towards the island, you have to climb over a small mound before you can see any human habitation.

The three of them walked for about a quarter of an hour and finally saw the boats and people coming ashore.

Mrs. Fan hadn't visited her parents' home for several years. Now that she had returned to the place where she was born and raised, her eyes were full of longing and excitement.

"See? That's where your grandma's boat was parked in front. When I came back a few years ago, you were still young, so Yu Baoer probably can't remember it clearly."

Li Yuer said, "Indeed, I haven't been here for a long time and I have forgotten most of it."

The islanders all live on boats. From the outside, each household’s boat does not look much different and you have to slowly identify them.

"Wang Wang Wang!"

As I passed a kitchen shed, I heard a dog barking nearby.

A big yellow dog was tied to a tree stump. When it saw a few people, it jumped out of the doghouse and kept barking.

A few more puppies staggered out and imitated the mother dog, whimpering and barking as if to cheer.

Li Yuer's heart was instantly melted. She loved small animals and had long planned to raise a dog, but unfortunately she didn't know where to get a puppy.

Now there are ready-made puppies, so she plans to spend money to buy one and take it home to raise.

"Da Huang! Stop shouting!"

A young man got off the boat, about the same age as Li Erlang.

"Xiaojun?" Fan looked at the young man in front of her as if she saw her elder brother from many years ago.

There was a moment of confusion in the boy's eyes, but he soon reacted: "Aunt? Is that you?"

Fan took good care of herself during the confinement period for her third child. She looked a lot fatter and whiter. She had a pearl and silver hairpin in her hair, shiny earrings in her ears, and new clothes made of fine cotton with prints and embroidery. Fan Yongjun didn't dare to recognize her at first.

Li Yongjun looked at the people carefully and saw that the two children behind his aunt were also dressed as decently as the children in the town, carrying large and small bags in their hands.

Only then did I dare to confirm that it was really my eldest aunt who had returned.

"Dad and Mom! Grandpa and Grandma! Aunt is back!"

The big yellow dog next to it seemed to understand its owner's thoughts. It whimpered twice and stopped barking, leading the puppy back to the kennel.

After a while, four or five people got off the boat.

When the two elderly men in the lead saw Mrs. Fan, tears welled up in their eyes.

"Damn it, Juanzi! You're finally home! Why didn't you send any news home in all these years?"

Grandma Hu came up and held Fan's hand. Fan hadn't seen her family for many years and was filled with emotion at this moment.

"The unfilial daughter is back to see you!"

Mrs. Hu's facial features were very similar to Mrs. Fan's. Her gray hair was tied into a bun at the back of her head. Her clothes were neither new nor old but very clean. Her life was much better than before for the Li family.

Old man Fan is quite tall, but his back is a little hunched. His dark face is smiling like a chrysanthemum.

Boss Hu was as tall as Old Man Hu, but more sturdy and straight, with a round face that was somewhat similar to Fan. He looked at several people with a smile on his face, but he didn't know how to express it.

My aunt, Xiao Hu, is a distant niece from Hu’s maternal side. She has an ordinary appearance, a chubby figure and a very friendly look.

"Dad, Mom, let's get them into the house. They must be freezing after being on a boat on the sea."

Everyone went into the house, and Xiao Hu brought hot water and dried clams. Li Yuer took a bite and found the dried clams to be very hard, without any extra seasoning, and had a pure seafood flavor, which was not bad.

Mrs. Fan led the two children to greet the elders. Mrs. Hu took Li Yuer's hand and said, "I haven't seen you for a few years. You have grown so beautiful."

Seeing her daughter and grandson's current attire and how plump they are, Mrs. Hu knows that the Li family is living a good life and feels relieved.

If a married daughter doesn't come home for several years, it's inevitable that her parents will be worried.