klisemfg Chapter 207 Moon Bay
Chapter 207 Moon Bay
"Madam, this is the village chief's house." Tang Yu led Song Jiaojiao to a large courtyard. The oyster shell walls were a distinctive feature of the area. The houses here were all without roof tiles. Strong winds often occurred by the sea, sometimes so strong that they could blow the houses down, and even blow a slightly thin person into the air.
In the village chief's yard, there were many sea fish drying. The locals would clean the fish that they couldn't finish and then dry them directly in the sun. The dried fish wouldn't spoil easily, and they could be steamed when they wanted to eat it. This method of handling excess fish is only found in the local coastal areas, which gives it a unique flavor.
The village chief's wife was in the yard when she saw Tang Yu arriving with his men and quickly asked, "Tang Yu, what's this?"
Their village is called Moon Bay. The entire village is built on the flat area of the bay, which is named Moon Bay because the bay is shaped like a moon.
The village chief of Moon Bay is surnamed Ge. He took office just two years ago. The previous village chief was his father, so it can be considered a case of son inheriting his father's position.
"Sister-in-law Ge, this is Madam Song. They need to see Uncle Ge about something. Is Uncle Ge home?"
Looking at the people in front of her, whose clothes were clearly different from theirs, Sister Ge knew that a horse-drawn carriage had come to the village today and gone to Tang Yu's house. Everyone in the village said that they were relatives of Tang Yu.
Sister-in-law Ge didn't believe it. When Tang Yu's family had their accident, her father-in-law went to those people, but none of them came to help. Over the years, Aunt Tang had raised Tang Yu alone and had never seen those people come to her door.
"Your uncle just went out. Your brother Dahai caught a lot of fish last night, and your uncle took them to your third uncle. It'll probably be a while before he arrives," Sister-in-law Ge said with a smile.
"I know about the Third Duke's family. I'll go find Uncle Ge. Please ask Sister-in-law Ge to take care of Madam Song." Tang Yu said and quickly left.
"This child is so energetic! Mrs. Song, please come in and sit for a while. It's so hot outside, you can escape the heat." Sister-in-law Ge smiled and invited Song Jiaojiao and her party into the house.
"Thank you for your help, Sister-in-law Ge."
Song Jiaojiao followed Sister Ge into the courtyard. The courtyard was quite simple, with only two trees, a palm tree and a coconut tree, which provided some shade from the scorching sun.
A stone table was placed under the palm tree, and Sister Ge brought out some cool tea and placed it on the stone table.
"Madam Song is drinking tea. This is a special herbal tea from our area, which has the effect of clearing heat and relieving summer heat."
The ceramic cup contained black tea, which smelled somewhat like the Jiaduobao herbal tea from her previous life. Song Jiaojiao took a sip and confirmed that it was indeed herbal tea, but it lacked the sweetness of her previous life.
"Is Madam Song not from around here?" Sister-in-law Ge sat down and chatted with Song Jiaojiao.
"Yes, I heard there are a lot of strange things here, so I came to take a look."
"That's right. Ever since Quanzhou County built its port, many people from other ethnic groups have come here, bringing things that we don't have here. Indeed, many people come here specifically for that reason."
Sister-in-law Ge knew that when she was a child, there was no port, and Quanzhou Prefecture was just a small county town at that time.
She remembered that when the port was being built, every household had to perform labor service. Previously, they could buy labor service with money, but that time they couldn't. She still remembers it clearly. Once, her father and eldest brother were not at home for two whole months. She and her mother ate shrimp and shellfish for two months without any oil or fat. They would get hungry as soon as they finished eating. It wasn't until her father came back that they had money to buy lard.
"Yes, I heard about this place on the way here, so I came to check it out." Song Jiaojiao said, taking a sip of her herbal tea. Although it didn't taste as good as in her previous life, it did have the effect of clearing heat and relieving summer heat.
“Madam Song, please don’t blame me for being nosy. The villagers have been saying all day that Tang Yu’s family has some relatives visiting, but I just don’t believe it. Judging from the way those people acted when Tang Yu’s family had that accident, and besides, they haven’t come over in all these years, how could they suddenly start seeing each other? I wonder how you and Tang Yu met. That kid hasn’t had it easy these past few years.”
"Speaking of this, Tang Yu helped me a lot yesterday. You know, we outsiders are unfamiliar with this place. My daughter suddenly disappeared. If it weren't for Tang Yu seeing her, I'm afraid it would have been difficult to find her. Yesterday, I was overjoyed to have escaped this ordeal, so I didn't pay attention to when Tang Yu left. When I remembered, he was nowhere to be found. Fortunately, he is very active in the county, otherwise it would have been really difficult to find him."
Song Jiaojiao still feels lingering fear when she thinks about what happened yesterday.
"So that's how it is!" Sister-in-law Ge suddenly realized: "Tang Yu is indeed a kind-hearted person."
During the conversation, Sister-in-law Ge also learned about the purpose of Song Jiaojiao and her group.
"Madam Song wants to stay in the village permanently. The water in Moon Bay is indeed clear, and there are large areas of rocky beaches along the shore. At low tide, there are plenty of sea creatures stranded there."
Sister-in-law Ge spoke with a smile, her words revealing her pride in Moon Bay.
Every year, this place attracts many outsiders to live here, some for as little as seven or eight days, and others for more than a month.
"Yes, I could clearly feel the difference as soon as I entered the village. I figured I'd stay anywhere, so I thought I'd settle down here. Plus, with so many people coming and going in the county, it's really inconvenient with a child. If yesterday's situation happened again, I really wouldn't know what to do," Song Jiaojiao explained, sipping her iced tea.
"That's right. The people in our village are simple and honest, and the population is small, so naturally, things like what happened in the county wouldn't happen."
Just then, a sound came from outside the courtyard. Sister-in-law Ge looked out and said, "Oh, they're back."
Song Jiaojiao got up and looked outside. She saw a young man walking towards her with Tang Yu. The man looked younger than Song Jiaojiao. She never expected that the village chief of Moon Bay would be so young.
"Madam Song, this is our village chief," Tang Yu introduced from the side.
"Village Chief Ge, I'd like to rent a courtyard from your village chief for at least a month. I wonder if you have a courtyard that can accommodate more than ten people?" Song Jiaojiao stated her request directly.
"There isn't a courtyard that can accommodate more than ten people, but there are two empty courtyards next to each other, so we should be able to accommodate them." Tang Yu told the village chief about Song Jiaojiao and her group's purpose on the way. There have always been empty courtyards in the village, and in previous years, there have been outsiders who have come to the village to rent houses, and the rent can help subsidize the village.
Some of these empty courtyards were sold to the village by villagers who had earned money, while others were built with funds raised by the village. Song Jiaojiao and her group were not the first group this year, but they had been renting the houses the longest so far, and Village Chief Ge was very willing to do them this favor.
“That works too. Is Village Chief Ge free right now? I’d like to go take a look first.” Song Jiaojiao didn’t think there was anything wrong with living separately; since they were next to each other, it wouldn’t be too much of a problem.
“Of course, Madam Song, please come with me.”
Arriving at the courtyard, Song Jiaojiao was very satisfied. The courtyard faced the sea, with the azure waters rising and falling with the waves. There was only a row of coconut trees in front of the courtyard, with no other obstructions. She could see the sea as soon as she woke up. For Song Jiaojiao, who was from inland, this was truly a wonderful place.