After dinner, the sky was already dark.
It was not safe to return to the village at this time, so the two decided to stay in the city for a night and return the next day.
The night passed without a word.
The next morning, it started to drizzle. Li Yizheng went to buy a double raincoat. The two of them put it on and rode their bikes home.
"Oh right, is there any place in our village where we can repair the boat?"
With the money, Qi Hang planned to repair the broken boat in the backyard.
After all, he would definitely go out to sea in the future. If he only relied on swimming, he would not be able to go far. It was unrealistic to want to catch more fish.
"Why are you asking this?" Li Yizheng was a little curious.
"I still want to go out to the sea."
"You have already earned more than 800,000 yuan. Don't tell me you still want to go out to the sea to try your luck. Who has such good luck every day? You only get it once in a lifetime."
However, even though Li Yizheng said so, he changed his words in the next second. "If there's anyone in our village who knows such craftsmanship, it's probably only the village chief."
"Village chief?"
A wave of memories immediately surfaced in Qi Hang's mind.
The village chief and his family were considered family friends. When he was young, when he had nothing to do, he would dig into other people's watermelon fields. Every summer, he would steal a lot of it.
And even if the village chief caught them, he did not blame them. He even told the two naughty children to run slowly so that they would not fall.
In the blink of an eye, it had been many years since he had seen him.
Qi Hang was too ashamed to see him.
The old village chief was now 70 or 80 years old. He only had one son, and this son and daughter-in-law just had to follow his parents out of the boat. In the end, they met with misfortune and left behind a granddaughter who was more than 10 years old.
It was hard to imagine how much pain the old village chief endured.
He could not help but hesitate a little.
"The village chief is already so old. He might not be able to fix it. Is there anyone else who can do it besides him?" Qi Hang felt that it was better to choose a different candidate.
"Then I'm not sure. Why don't we go to the village chief's place and have a look first? If he can't fix it, we can ask him where else he can fix it."
Qi Hang fell silent.
Li Yizheng seemed to have noticed something and said, "don't worry, the village chief won't blame you. After all, the sea is unpredictable. No one can predict what will happen next."
After a long time, Qi Hang nodded heavily.
"Okay."
...
The two returned to the village. Qi Hang bought some gifts from the small shop at the village entrance. Then, he met up with Li Yizheng and went to the village chief's house together.
Li Yizheng went to knock on the door. Soon, a reply came from inside. Then, the door was opened by a young girl.
She was about 15 or 16 years old. Her facial features were very delicate, especially her pair of eyes. They were lively and charming, as if they contained a clear spring.
Although the color of her skin was a little dark because of her long-term life on the island, it was a very healthy wheat color.
She could be considered a complete beauty.
Her name was Fang Qing, and she was the granddaughter of the village chief.
When she was young, she often followed Qi Hang and Li Yizheng to do mischief.
Fang Qing's gaze moved back and forth between the two of them, and she asked in puzzlement, "brother Yizheng, who is he?"
Li Yizheng smiled and placed his hand on Qi Hang's shoulder. "This is your brother Qi Hang. Can't you recognize him?"
"Qi Hang?"
Hearing this, she could not help but be stunned. She found it hard to believe.
It was said that one white could hide a hundred ugliness. Moreover, Qi hang was not bad looking to begin with. Moreover, he had stayed in Shanghai for five years. Whether it was his temperament or his style of dressing, he had changed a lot.
In addition, she had not seen him for many years. She was completely unable to compare the current Qi Hang with the previous Qi Hang. Qi Hang's skin was was darker than hers and was also quite rustic.
Qi Hang smiled slightly and subconsciously reached out his hand to touch her head. "It's me. I haven't seen you for many years. Little sister, you've grown so tall."
Fang Qing avoided his hand and asked with a frown, "what's the matter?"
Qi Hang was not embarrassed. He lifted the gift in his other hand. "We're here to visit the village chief."
"Grandfather's health is not good, so it's not convenient. Please go back." Fang Qing's small face fell, not giving Qi Hang a good look.
Deep down, she was still brooding over the departure of her parents.
And the instigators were Qi Hang's parents. If they had not invited her parents to go out to sea that time, they would not have made her lose her parents.
"Qing, who's here?"
The old village chief appeared at the door of the inner room with his crutch.
Fang Qing hurriedly trotted back and supported him. "Grandfather, don't come out. It's windy outside."
At this moment, Qi Hang and Li Yizheng also walked in and greeted him.
"Village chief, it's us. Zheng and Hang are here to see you." Li Yizheng was very impressed with this village chief who had protected the village for most of his life.
"Oh? Little Hang is back?" A warm glow appeared in his turbid eyes. He excitedly went forward and grabbed Qi Hang's hand.
Qi Hang was a little moved as he said in a low voice, "village chief, I'm back."
"It's good that you're back. It's good that you're back." The old village chief patted his hand with relief. He was getting old and would always be a little sentimental.
Then, he opened his mouth and asked, "how long do you plan to stay this time?"
Qi Hang had a smile on his face. "I'm not leaving. I plan to settle down in our village and stay there forever."
"What about the work in the city?"
"I don't want it."
Qi Hang gave a simple reply and did not intend to continue the conversation on this topic. He then asked, "village chief, have you been feeling well recently?"
Before the old village chief could speak, Fang Qing, who was beside him, interrupted first, "Hmph, can't you speak less? Grandfather can't be exposed to the wind!"
Qi Hang was stunned.
The old village chief quickly tried to smooth things over. "Alright, alright, let's talk inside. Little Qing, go make a cup of tea for the two brothers."
Fang Qing did not dare to disobey her grandfather. She glared at Qi Hang and turned to leave.
"Let's go in and talk." The old village chief turned around slowly.
Qi Hang and Li Yizheng quickly held his hand and sent him all the way to the hall to sit down.
At this time, Fang Qing brought out a few cups of tea. First, she gave them to the old village chief, then Li Yizheng. Finally, she placed a teacup with only a few pieces of tea in front of Qi hang.
It seemed that she was a little resentful of him.
Qi Hang did not mind. He raised the teacup and took a sip. A strong sour and salty taste came from it, and he could not help but spit it out again.
The old village chief immediately looked over.
"Ahem... It's fine, it's fine. I was scalded," Qi Hang quickly explained.
The old village chief was silent for a moment. Then, he looked at Fang Qing and slowly opened his mouth.
"Qing, sit down next to me."
"Oh..."
Fang Qing pouted her mouth aggrievedly and walked over with her head lowered.