Jiang Yang crawled out of the tree hollow, stretched lazily, and after washing up with a homemade wooden toothbrush, she walked aimlessly along the beach. Some shells, small crabs, and small fish had been washed ashore, but Jiang Yang didn’t even glance at them.

Initially, she found eating crabs and sea fish quite novel, but after eating them for nearly half a month, she was truly tired of it. She missed the stir-fried dishes from the mainland, missed hotpot, spicy food, and even plain rice. But unfortunately, she could never eat those again.

Jiang Yang sat on the beach, sighing wistfully: “Ah—, I really want to eat rice.”

“Hahaha!” Spring’s two little cubs ran happily past her, clutching rice balls in their hands.

Jiang Yang immediately focused her gaze on the rice balls in their hands. Although it wasn’t the refined rice she was used to, but rather brown rice, it was already quite rare to be able to eat rice on an island. Jiang Yang immediately called out to the two children.

“What?” The two cubs looked at her curiously while eating their rice balls.

Jiang Yang pointed at the rice balls in their hands and asked: “Where did you get these?”

The cubs answered: “Father made them for us. Father planted a lot of rice on the back mountain.”

It seemed that Spring hadn’t wasted his seven years on the island. Not only had he built a wooden house, but he had also started farming.

“Besides rice, what else is there?” Jiang Yang asked again.

“There are vegetables, ginger, green onions, garlic, and red fruit vegetables,” the cub said, counting on his fingers.

“Red fruit vegetables… chili peppers?” Jiang Yang’s eyes lit up.

“Yes, Father said they’re called chili peppers. I forgot,” the cub said innocently.

Jiang Yang’s heart stirred. She hadn’t eaten chili peppers, rice, and vegetables for so long, and she was craving them terribly.

“Take this to your father and ask if he can exchange some rice and vegetables for it,” Jiang Yang untied the ornament from her belt. As a member of a prominent Lingnan family, even the decorations at the end of her sash were pure gold carved frost flowers. The carving of the frost flower was exquisitely intricate, connected to the sash with a hollow gold bead. With the slightest movement, the carved gold frost flower would rotate 360° and make a light, crisp sound.

Children, especially little boys who love beautiful things, couldn’t resist this. Their eyes fixed on it as they carefully accepted the frost flower pendant and ran excitedly home.

Jiang Yang waited on the spot. Soon, Spring came walking towards her, carrying food.

Actually, men like Spring who had suffered heartbreak naturally had no interest in such jewelry, but he couldn’t resist his two little sons’ fondness for it. Jiang Yang had deliberately given two, one for each child, and they loved them so much they wouldn’t let go, constantly begging Spring to exchange things for them. Spring had no choice; after all, they were his beloved treasures, so he had to agree to Jiang Yang’s request for an exchange.

However, the amount of food Spring gave to Jiang Yang wasn’t much: only about two bowls of brown rice, enough for her and the stupid fish to eat one meal; a handful of chili peppers, about 10 in total; one clove of garlic; and one small green onion.

Jiang Yang didn’t object. After all, she was the one asking to exchange things, and gold, which was valuable on land, wasn’t even worth a ten-thousandth of food on this isolated island. So Jiang Yang politely accepted.

Spring was somewhat surprised that she didn’t get angry. He had interacted with humans before and knew that gold was extremely valuable in human society. Many poor families couldn’t earn the equivalent of her two gold pendants in their entire lifetime, and he had exchanged them for just two handfuls of brown rice and a handful of chili peppers. He thought she would be furious, but to his surprise, she calmly left.

Spring watched Jiang Yang slowly walk back with the food in her arms. As she passed by a flame tree in full bloom, she paused to think for a moment, then stopped. She nimbly climbed the tree and quickly broke off two branches. The flame flowers fell like a fiery tree.

Spring initially didn’t want to bother with women. Ever since Xu San Niang, he found women disgusting and repulsive. But he saw the fish tail accidentally exposed behind the reef.

He used to have such a beautiful fish tail too… Spring cut off thoughts of the past and stepped forward to ask: “What are you picking flowers for?”

Jiang Yang carried the flower branches on her shoulder: “For Chi Mei. He likes flame flowers, and the ones in the room have already withered.”

Chi Mei, hiding behind the reef, smiled sweetly.

Spring glanced at Chi Mei behind the reef, seeing that the two were in the midst of a passionate romance. But so what? Once this period passes, the sweeter they are now, the more awkward it will become later. Thinking of this, he finally felt a sense of satisfaction.

Jiang Yang left carrying the flowers, and Chi Mei was about to leave too, but was stopped by a voice from behind.

Spring sat on the reef, waves beating against his cold brows: “Did you give her your mermaid pearl?”

Chi Mei stepped back, leaning against another reef. He still resented Spring for insulting his mother last time, and spoke with an unfriendly tone: “What’s it to you!”

Spring clasped his hands to his chest, sneering: “Why did you give her the mermaid pearl? Don’t you know you’ll die?”

Chi Mei recalled the scene when Jiang Yang’s life hung by a thread: “But if I didn’t save her, she would have died.”

“Tsk tsk tsk, how touching.” Spring laughed disdainfully: “You gave her the mermaid pearl so decisively, but have you thought about whether she’ll return it to you?”

Chi Mei turned his head away: “That’s none of your business.”

Spring laughed loudly: “You certainly haven’t thought about it, because you don’t dare! To give up the mermaid pearl, the person possessing it must willingly take it out from their body. The powerful healing ability of the mermaid pearl is something every human craves. That woman now has the mermaid pearl, she’s not even afraid of seawater anymore, she can breathe underwater without hindrance. Who wouldn’t want such an ability, and who would willingly give it up? Haha, just wait for the day she abandons you! My today is your tomorrow!”

“Shut up!” Chi Mei angrily grabbed a nearby stone and threw it at him.

Having learned from last time, Spring quickly dodged. He looked at the wound on Chi Mei’s tail fin and coldly smiled: “Your anger is useless. Humans have always been like this, putting profit above all else, cold-hearted. And you, Chi Mei, a merman without a mermaid pearl, without the nourishment of the pearl for your blood and qi, at most a year, at longest seven years, none of us will live long.”

Chi Mei clenched his fists tightly: “I don’t need you to tell me, I know.”

Spring stood on the reef, gazing at Jiang Yang’s diminishing figure as she carried the flowers away. He looked down and asked: “Does she know?”

“No, I didn’t tell her,” Chi Mei shook his head and said.