The amount of luggage they brought resembled a house move—several large bundles including bedding, food, water, hot water bottles, and spare clothes. Naturally, this drew quite a bit of attention at the port.
At the docks, Lin Zhen, a former soldier, easily recognized the soldiers stationed there. Since the military was based on the island, they often traveled by boat to buy supplies. Dedicated boats also transported military families back and forth daily.
Though Lin Zhen appeared rough and rugged, he was actually quite meticulous. Spotting a suitable boat, he told Song Wei to wait while he approached the vessel with his long strides.
Song Wei, Hei Dan, and the two wolf cubs stayed behind to guard their belongings, ignoring the curious stares from onlookers.
“How are you feeling now?” Song Wei asked Hei Dan, handing him some water. The boy’s face was pale, and he looked queasy but tried to hold it in.
“I’m better,” Hei Dan replied, shaking his head.
It’s not motion sickness—he had been fine for the first two days. But the closer they got to the south, the worse he felt, likely due to the change in environment.
Song Wei handed him an orange candy to suck on, which helped calm his nausea.
Meanwhile, Lin Zhen explained their situation clearly, several military spouses on board were intrigued.
“You’re relatives of Captain Song?”
“Oh, so you’re here to visit family?”
“Well, you’ve come to the right place—this boat’s heading to the island.”
Lin Zhen gestured toward their mountain of luggage. “Ma’am, are there other boats heading to the island? We’ve got quite a bit to carry.”
“There are. Let me take you there,” said a warm-hearted woman, who then accompanied Lin Zhen back to Song Wei.
“Goodness, that’s a lot of stuff!” she exclaimed. “I’ll help you carry it. The boat’s just over there.”
Lin Zhen introduced her. “This is Aunt Lian.”
Song Wei greeted her politely. “Hello, Aunt Lian.”
“Well, aren’t you polite! So, you’re Captain Song’s sister? My, your family has good looks in abundance!”
“Thank you, Aunt Lian. Is my brother currently on the island? We didn’t tell him we were coming—wanted to surprise him.”
“He’s there, busy with training. You’ve come at just the right time.”
Looking at their pile of luggage, she added, “It’ll take more than one trip to carry all this.”
“It’s fine, Aunt Lian,” Song Wei assured her. “We’ll manage.”
With that, Song Wei effortlessly hoisted the largest bundle onto her shoulder, the massive package resembling a giant turtle shell.
But she didn’t stop there. She picked up another two large bundles, one in each hand, leaving Aunt Lian dumbfounded.
Lin Zhen also carried two bundles, and together they managed to handle most of their belongings.
Flashing a bright smile, Song Wei said, “Aunt Lian, you don’t need to trouble yourself with this. Just keep an eye on the boy for us, so he doesn’t wander off.”
Not that Hei Dan needed supervision—he clung tightly to one of the packages, obediently following them.
Aunt Lian nodded in a daze, still processing what she had just witnessed.
After a few steps, she snapped out of it and asked, “Dear, isn’t that heavy for you?”
“It’s manageable,” Song Wei replied. “The biggest bundle is mostly bedding, so it’s not as heavy as it looks.”
“Bedding is heavy!” Aunt Lian exclaimed. But seeing Song Wei carry it with ease, she realized the young woman wasn’t just pretending to be tough.
No wonder they had brought so much luggage—they were clearly strong enough to manage it.
On the boat, their belongings took up a significant portion of the space.
As they set sail, Aunt Lian sat with them and shared details about the island.
“Captain Song doesn’t have family with him, so he stays in the barracks. You can either stay at the guest house, which is cheaper, or rent a place, which is a bit more expensive but more convenient.”
Song Wei immediately asked, “Do you know of any houses for rent? We don’t need anything big—just two rooms will do.”
Aunt Lian beamed. “I do! When we get there, I’ll take you to see a few. But will you visit Captain Song first or look for a house?”
“Let’s find a house first,” Song Wei decided. “We’ve got too much stuff—it’d be a hassle to bring it all to my brother’s place.”
“Alright. It’ll take about half an hour to reach the island,” Aunt Lian said.
Song Wei chatted easily with Aunt Lian, much like she did with the older women in her village. She even handed Aunt Lian some roasted pine nuts.
“These are from the mountains near our home. We collected and roasted them ourselves. They don’t have many kernels, but they taste good.”
Aunt Lian was delighted. “What a rare treat! We only see pine nuts around the New Year, and they’re never this big. They smell amazing!”
Hearing this, Song Wei began pondering possibilities.
In this era of scarce resources, nuts were far less common than in later years. Commercial sales were limited, but she knew the mountains near Peace Brigade were abundant with large pinecones and nuts.
With such excellent natural resources, it would be a shame not to put them to good use.
She tucked the idea away for future consideration and continued chatting, learning more about her brother.
Apparently, Captain Song was quite popular with the ladies. Women from the art troupe and medical corps were all smitten with him.
“Well, he is handsome and capable,” Aunt Lian remarked.
Song Wei chuckled. “Sounds like my brother’s got main character energy.”
When they arrived at the island, Aunt Lian kept her promise and took them to see rental properties.
After visiting three homes, Song Wei chose the third.
“You’re sure about this one? It’s a bit remote and could be dangerous,” Aunt Lian warned.
Song Wei smiled. “We’ve got two dogs with us. Staying in a crowded area might scare people. Here, there’s more space for the dogs to roam, and it’s not far from the beach. Can we go clamming or fishing there?”
“Of course!” Aunt Lian replied. “If you can catch it, it’s yours.”
She added, “Policies are looser here than inland. As long as you’ve got the skills, you can make good use of the sea.”
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