Unfortunately, Zhou Jianjun had the advantage of being her blood relative. Compared with leaving Linlin in the care of a child, the military trusted an adult like him far more to raise her.
After Su Lang passed away, the house that had originally been assigned to them was no longer available for them to live in.
Jiang Chengzhou had no choice but to entrust his little sister to Zhou Jianjun.
He became the island's orphan. Su Lang’s savings were all in his hands, and Jiang Jinzhu and Deng Jing would occasionally send him money as well.
Word of it couldn’t be kept from the islanders.
A child with no one to protect him, yet holding such a large sum of money—what child wouldn’t take notice?
This was a military base, so the adults wouldn’t do anything improper, but the children had no such qualms.
At first, they tried to win him over, saying they would take him out to play. In truth, they wanted him to spend money treating them.
Jiang Chengzhou was no fool. There was no way he would fall for that.
So after school, the older children often cornered him in the alleys and robbed him of his money and food.
Jiang Chengzhou never reported them. He only fought back head-on.
He often came home covered in bruises, black and blue from head to toe.
When the teacher asked him about it, he only said he had fallen.
Because of these experiences, his personality became somewhat extreme. Whenever someone hit him, he never thought of any other solution—he only knew to hit back.
Yan Yuan had played with him when they were little, but as they grew older, they gradually stopped seeing each other.
The two became close again later because of a fight.
At the time, Jiang Chengzhou had been cornered in a dead end, surrounded on all sides, his face already marked with bruises.
Yan Yuan happened to be passing by. He hadn’t intended to get involved.
But Jiang Chengzhou, crouched against the wall, was the one who called out first.
“Help me, and I’ll give you five yuan.”
To Yan Yuan at the time, five yuan meant selling more than sixty jin of crabs to earn that much.
Yan Yuan set down his schoolbag and joined the fight.
Only later did he realize just how much trouble he had gotten himself into.
Because of this “bond,” the two grew much closer, and Yan Yuan came to discover the extreme, untamed side of Jiang Chengzhou’s nature.
Yan Yuan only wanted to earn an honest living. Once his grandfather grew old, he planned to take over his grandfather’s work and go out to sea fishing.
Jiang Chengzhou was different.
He had no shortage of money and no one to keep him in line, so he was often out fighting and getting into brawls.
For a while, Yan Yuan was convinced that Jiang Chengzhou would eventually cause trouble for him. Just as he was trying to figure out how to shake him off, Jiang Chengzhou suddenly announced one day that he was going to visit his little sister.
It was the first time Yan Yuan had ever seen him so happy.
He excitedly went to the supply cooperative and bought all kinds of snacks. He even remembered to buy hair ties for girls.
After a few visits, it seemed that his sister no longer allowed him to keep buying things for her.
Yan Yuan also noticed that she was the one who had put a bridle on this wild horse.
Every time Jiang Chengzhou visited her, no one knew what the girl said to him, but afterward he would behave himself for a long while and stop going out to fight.
Yan Yuan once asked him about it.
Jiang Chengzhou waved him off, an exasperated yet blissful smile on his face. “Don’t ask. It’s all because of my sister. The moment she sees the wounds on me, she cries and cries. It’s so annoying.”
He called it annoying, but his face gave away his pride and fondness.
Yan Yuan was grateful that someone could keep Jiang Chengzhou in check. At last, he felt at ease about being friends with him.
After Yan Yuan’s grandfather passed away, Jiang Chengzhou busied himself with everything that needed to be done. Later, no one knew quite how it happened, but he simply moved into Yan Yuan’s home.
Two children with no one to look after them began relying on each other for survival.
They went to school together, cooked together, and combed the shore for seafood together.
The only problem was that neither of them put much effort into their studies.
Yan Yuan’s grades were decent, but all he wanted was to grow up quickly so he could go out to sea with the village’s fishing collective. He had no interest in studying.
Jiang Chengzhou was the school’s resident problem child.
The teachers had no way to deal with him and only hoped that he wouldn’t cause trouble.
Jiang Chengzhou often slept during the day, then went out with Yan Yuan at night to gather seafood along the shore.
After finishing junior high, neither of them continued their education.
The military had made a special exception allowing local fishermen to set up stalls near the supply cooperative and sell seafood. The two of them started running a stall together.
Later, they grew dissatisfied with the meager income from gathering seafood and wanted to go out to sea on one of the village’s large boats.
The two were only in their early teens, still half-grown children, and had no parents to look after them. The villagers simply didn’t dare take them along.
But the boys were bold. They figured things out on their own and repaired Yan Yuan’s grandfather’s old fishing boat.
And just like that, the two children began making their own way in life.
Because they were so young, the village didn’t require them to contribute grain or fulfill similar quotas. Quietly and little by little, the two of them managed to save a considerable amount of money.
They had nowhere to spend it except on food. They ate a great deal, and both grew tall and powerfully built.
As soon as they reached adulthood, people began coming to arrange matches for them.
Although the two boys had neither parents nor family, they were handsome, tall, hardworking, and capable. They were well-known young men throughout the surrounding villages.
Their looks were enough to win over the girls’ parents, and once the girls saw their faces, they were willing too.
Unfortunately, the two were both stubborn to the core, and neither had any desire to date or get married.
The money they earned went almost entirely toward food. They couldn’t bear to spend it on anything else.
They wore old, tattered clothes. Even the clothes Jiang Chengzhou had torn during fights were patched by Yan Yuan, who had taught himself how to mend them.
People couldn’t understand why they worked so hard if they had no intention of getting married.
Yan Yuan himself wasn’t sure. There was nothing in particular he wanted.
It was just that when his grandfather had been ill, the pain had been unbearable. Whenever it flared up, his grandfather had felt as though he would rather cut off his own leg.
Yan Yuan had wanted to take him to the hospital, but his grandfather refused.
Yan Yuan knew why: he was afraid of spending money.
Perhaps because of that, Yan Yuan had developed an obsession with money. He couldn’t bear to spend it. Somehow, watching his savings grow little by little was the only thing that made him feel secure.
Jiang Chengzhou was even more shameless about it.
He didn’t spend money either, but he said he was saving it for his sister.
The college entrance examinations had been reinstated, and his sister had excellent grades. She would definitely get into college. When the time came, he would use the money to support her education.
Jiang Chengzhou also said that she would have to go to a big city for university, where people might be snobbish.
He needed to save more money for his sister so she could buy pretty clothes and never be treated unfairly.
Everyone said Jiang Chengzhou was a fool. Only Yan Yuan secretly envied him.
The two of them lived together, and everyone called them orphans.
Yan Yuan knew that only he truly was one. Jiang Chengzhou wasn’t.
Yan Yuan had been left to fend for himself from a young age. Having no family meant having nowhere to return to and no idea where to go.
No one held on to you. No one cared what happened to you.
It was a miserable feeling.
Perhaps that was also why he had tacitly allowed Jiang Chengzhou to move in.
At least there was someone in the house to talk to.
With that thought, Yan Yuan pulled in the net. “If you really can’t find a place, let your sister stay here for now.”
Jiang Chengzhou’s eyes lit up. “You agree?”
Jiang Chengzhou knew better than anyone how withdrawn Yan Yuan was, how he disliked dealing with people and hated trouble.
Allowing Linlin to move in really was unexpected.
Jiang Chengzhou hadn’t wanted Linlin to stay here either.
The two of them were grown men, and Linlin was a girl. It would be inconvenient for everyone.
It was just that finding a suitable place was too difficult.
