That year, Father had just passed away, leaving Haizhong and his mother without any support, their lives directionless. At the time, many people suggested that Haizhong be given to his grandparents to raise, so that his mother could find another man to marry.
Some people even went so far as to say to his mother, "Why keep this burden? You need to think more about yourself."
Everyone advised his mother to give up custody of Haizhong and find a good man to marry. His mother, however, just held Haizhong tightly and said nothing. At the funeral, his mother fainted several times, but after it was over, she looked at Haizhong's innocent face and resolutely took him back to the small fishing village, where they started selling fish at the market to make a living.
His mother paid no attention to the advice to remarry. After losing her husband, Haizhong was her entire world. When Father was alive, he was a soldier, and every promotion meant moving to a new city. So, from deputy platoon leader to regiment commander, Father had seven promotions, and Mother moved with him to seven different cities.
This meant that Mother never had a stable job. At the time, Father loved Mother deeply and did not want her to work. Now that Father was gone, although he died in the line of duty and the state provided a subsidy, the money was enough to support Haizhong until he was an adult. However, Mother saved all the money, even when they were so poor they could hardly afford food, she never touched it.
Someone asked Mother why. Haizhong, hiding behind the door, would never forget the gentle yet determined words of his mother: "That money is for when Haizhong grows up, to buy a house and get married. It can't be touched. It's fine if we are poor now, as long as Haizhong eats well and is full. I can do with less, but that money must not be touched."
Haizhong cried then, and even now, as an adult, thinking back to those words, he still feels tears welling up.
Thus, Mother, with no special skills, took on the full responsibility of the family with her gentle yet unbreakable shoulders. She came to the seaside market, started from scratch, learning how to sell fish while also taking care of Haizhong's daily life.
Every morning at four, Mother would go to the seaside because at that time, some fishermen had already returned with their catch and started selling fish. The fish were the freshest and the prices were the cheapest. To earn more money, no matter how cold or rainy it was, Mother would be there at four o'clock, waiting for the fishermen's boats to return.
After buying the fish in bulk, Mother would carry them to the market to sell. At six in the morning, she would ask a neighbor to watch the stall while she went home to make breakfast for Haizhong, who was preparing for the high school entrance exam. After watching Haizhong eat and go to school, Mother would eat the leftovers, clean up, and return to the market to continue selling fish.
At the time, Haizhong was focused on his studies and had no idea how much hardship his mother endured. On weekends, Mother never let Haizhong help her work, wanting him to live a carefree and happy life like other children. If it weren't for Haizhong's curiosity and the occasional words from neighbors, he might never have known how his mother supported them.
After learning how much his mother had done for him, Haizhong wanted to help her buy fish every morning, but Mother firmly refused. She would rather not do this job than let Haizhong accompany her to the seaside to buy fish every morning.
However, Haizhong couldn't bear to see his mother work so hard while he lived a carefree life. After much pleading, Mother finally agreed to let Haizhong help her buy fish on weekends.
It was then that Haizhong realized that selling fish at the market was not as simple as he thought. There were two people at the market, Guan Dachun and Guan Dahai, who were troublemakers.
On the first day Haizhong helped his mother, he saw a group of people with dyed hair and tattoos walking around the market, occasionally beating and insulting the vendors and taking their goods. Just as Haizhong was about to ask, his mother led him aside and made a gesture to be quiet.
Although he didn't know why his mother didn't want him to speak when she saw those people, Haizhong followed her lead and turned to help her arrange the fresh fish on the stall.
When the two leaders approached, one of them casually took a large fish that Haizhong had just placed on the stall and said, "Brother, let's have fish for breakfast today. This fish is good. Let's take it to the restaurant and have the boss prepare it for us. The fish he sells is too bad."
Haizhong thought someone was buying fish and immediately said, "This black fish is twelve yuan per pound." Haizhong didn't realize that this simple statement would bring so much trouble to his family.
Hearing Haizhong's words, the people around him first froze, then burst into laughter. The tattooed man squatted down, looked at Haizhong with fierce eyes, and smiled cruelly, saying, "Kid, what did you just say? You're asking me for money?"
The young boy, who had never experienced the harshness of the world, asked in confusion, "Yes, I'm talking to you. Shouldn't you pay for what you buy?"
The tattooed man laughed and turned to his subordinates, saying, "He's asking me for money. Brothers, who has money? Come help me pay, ha ha." Everyone laughed along.
Then, the tattooed man turned back and punched Haizhong in the face, knocking him to the ground. He then stepped on Haizhong's chest, glared at him, and said fiercely, "Today, I'll tell you, I never pay for what I buy here."
Mother had gone to the back store to get change. When she turned around and saw Haizhong being beaten, she ran over and shielded him with her body, pleading, "I'm sorry, please stop. It's my son's first day here, he doesn't know any better. Please let us go."
The tattooed man said, "Be more careful next time." Bullying a child wasn't satisfying, so he kicked Haizhong again and left with his subordinates. Haizhong later learned that the man's name was Guan Dahai.
Being beaten wasn't a big deal for a young boy, and Haizhong recovered in two days. Knowing how hard his mother worked to sell fish, he suppressed his委屈 and continued to help her happily on weekends.
Mother, with her honesty and quality goods, gradually built a large customer base. She moved from a street stall to renting a shop. Soon, the market erupted in a conflict when the fishermen of the small fishing village, unable to bear Guan Dahai's exploitation, gathered to resist him. Guan Dahai, being outnumbered, called his brother, the "big brother" mentioned by Guan Dachun, a small-time gang leader in Donghai City, who brought dozens of tough gang members and beat the fishermen of the small fishing village so badly that they could no longer resist Guan Dahai's exploitation.
Seeing his friends and elders beaten by Guan Dahai and his gang, Haizhong was powerless to help and could only glare at them in hatred.
The gang continued their rampage and did not spare Haizhong's stall. The fish on the stall were worth hundreds of yuan, money his mother had worked hard to earn. Afraid they would be stolen or damaged, Haizhong broke free from his mother's hands and ran outside, trying to move the fish back into the house. As a result, he was beaten by Guan Dahai and his gang.
Seeing Haizhong being beaten, Mother immediately ran out, but was kicked to the ground halfway by Guan Dachun.
Haizhong would never forget that scene. Mother, while being beaten, crawled to his side and shielded him with her body.
The shop was completely destroyed by Guan Dachun and his gang. Haizhong could only look at them with hatred as they left, deeply remembering the man who had beaten his mother.
After that day, the protection fee at the market doubled. Many people left the market to find other work. Mother, with no special skills and just starting to make a living selling fish, had no choice but to continue, working harder every day to cover the increased protection fee.
But even so, Guan Dachun and his gang did not let Haizhong and his mother off. Soon, Guan Dachun came back with his subordinates. The reason was simple: Haizhong's hateful gaze made Guan Dachun very uncomfortable. Every night, thinking of Haizhong's gaze, Guan Dachun couldn't sleep. Mother could only beg Guan Dachun not to hold a grudge against Haizhong, but these gangsters always bullied the weak and took advantage of the small. So, Haizhong was beaten again, this time so badly that he was hospitalized, nearly breaking his bones.
In the hospital, Haizhong and his mother cried together. Haizhong vowed that one day, he would make Guan Dachun pay with blood.