"That's a type of military boxing. If you want to learn it, you must first become a female soldier!"
The one who spoke was Zheng Hongjuan. She walked over to Tang Qiyue, saw her standing there smiling, and subconsciously rolled her eyes.
Even though she explained things to Tang Qiyue, she still felt that Tang Qiyue was not worthy of Zhan Zeye.
"A female soldier? Can I become one?"
Shanhu looked excited. She had always admired soldiers. She was no longer very young. Although her parents loved her, she would eventually have to get married. But she didn't want that life. She didn't want to be treated like a tool by her husband's family, the way Yu Niang was.
Zheng Hongjuan did not laugh at Shanhu's question. Instead, she carefully examined her, rubbing her chin thoughtfully.
"Your physical condition is very good. You have a high chance of passing the female soldier assessment. But right now isn't the recruitment season."
Military recruitment had fixed periods, and the selection process for female soldiers was extremely strict. Not everyone could participate.
Shanhu didn't understand those details. She only cared about whether she could join the army.
She grabbed Zheng Hongjuan's arm excitedly.
"When will recruitment happen? What should I do? If I really manage to join the army, I'll definitely set up a longevity tablet to pray for your long life!"
In the fishing village, people frequently went out to sea, so every household worshipped the Sea Goddess and believed in various spiritual traditions. Setting up a longevity tablet was a way to show deep gratitude to someone who had helped their family.
Zheng Hongjuan clearly knew what Shanhu meant and waved her hands quickly.
"No, no! I'm still young! Besides, the recruitment time is public information. Even though you live on the island, you may still have to go to the mainland for the assessment."
Zheng Hongjuan then explained the recruitment timeline in detail.
The spring recruitment had already passed, but the autumn recruitment had not started yet.
As for how many recruits each region would accept, those quotas were only announced on the day of recruitment.
However, since this was a military island, there were some preferential policies. Battalion Commander Zhan and Political Commissar Wu could provide recommendation letters, so it probably wouldn't be too difficult.
When Shanhu heard that Tang Qiyue's husband could write a recommendation letter, her eyes immediately lit up as she looked at Tang Qiyue.
Tang Qiyue quickly shook her head.
She didn't want to cause trouble for Zhan Zeye.
"Your fishing village can contact the camp directly. It wouldn't be appropriate for me to get involved."
Shanhu's disappointment was obvious.
Seeing this, Zheng Hongjuan snorted.
"Even though she's Battalion Commander Zhan's wife, she's still just a family member, not a soldier. Her words don't carry much authority."
Hearing this, Shanhu immediately realized she had been a bit inappropriate.
She quickly changed the topic.
"Anyway, it's still early. Since it's getting close to evening, do you want to go beachcombing? Even though today is a neap tide, it's almost the fifteenth day of the lunar month, so there should still be plenty of seafood!"
Tang Qiyue and Zheng Hongjuan were both interested.
Since they had nothing else to do, Tang Qiyue grabbed a bucket and prepared to go to the beach with Shanhu.
However, before they could leave the courtyard, Zheng Hongjuan's little niece ran over in a panic.
"My two brothers got into a fight! They're both bleeding! Mom and Dad are busy, so they told me to come find Aunt!"
Zheng Hongjuan sighed helplessly.
"We really owe those two troublemakers. You two go beachcombing first. I'll go deal with them."
After saying that, she left with her niece.
Tang Qiyue continued walking toward the beach with Shanhu.
On the way, Shanhu suddenly asked quietly,
"Sister Qiyue… why do women have to get married?"
Shanhu was still young. After seeing Yu Niang's miserable life and the situations of many married women in the fishing village, she couldn't understand it.
Marriage seemed to bring endless trouble—enduring her husband's coldness, her in-laws' control, and sometimes even beatings.
What was the point of it?
Tang Qiyue shook her head.
"Who says women must get married?"
"I don't know what things are like in your fishing village, but outside, there are many women who never marry and still live very well."
Shanhu was stunned.
In her entire life, she had never heard that women could choose not to marry.
Tang Qiyue continued,
"This is a new era now. Women and men have equal rights. Many outstanding women focus on their careers. They don't necessarily have to marry or have children, or sacrifice everything for their families."
"And even if a marriage becomes unhappy, divorce is also an option."
These ideas were completely new to Shanhu.
Tang Qiyue added,
"Even in the old days, in some southern regions, there were women called 'self-combed women'. They chose never to marry and lived independently for their entire lives."
These were things Shanhu had never heard before.
She looked at Tang Qiyue with admiration.
"Then Sister Qiyue… why did you get married? Did your family force you?"
Tang Qiyue smiled slightly.
"Not exactly. For me, getting married was simply the best choice."
She didn't explain further. The real reason behind her marriage was something she could never tell anyone.
But Shanhu understood one important thing.
Marriage was a choice, not an unavoidable fate.
By the time they reached the beach, the tide had begun to recede.
Feeling grateful for Tang Qiyue's advice, Shanhu deliberately led her away from the crowded areas where people were gathering seafood and brought her behind a cluster of reefs.
There were many hidden rocks and reefs here, so most villagers didn't dare come unless they were very familiar with the terrain.
"Sister Qiyue, there's a type of shellfish that grows in the cracks of these reefs. They're not very big, but they taste amazing. My dad said rich merchants used to pay female divers a lot of money to collect them!"
Tang Qiyue leaned down beside the rocks.
Sure enough, she saw strange shell-like creatures clinging to the crevices.
They were goose barnacles.
Although she had never eaten them before, Tang Qiyue had heard of them and seen pictures. Goose barnacles required extremely specific conditions to grow, and because of their delicate flavor, many wealthy diners were willing to pay very high prices for them.
Now that the island was under military management, the fishing village could still catch and sell seafood, but most of it was supplied directly to the military.
Rare seafood was harder to sell privately, but the stable supply ensured that the villagers could maintain a basic standard of living.
As for goose barnacles, collecting them was usually considered too dangerous, so most people avoided them.
However, the place Shanhu brought Tang Qiyue to was relatively safe and within easy reach.
The only danger was the rising tide. If they stayed too long, they might be trapped by the water and unable to return to shore.
Fortunately, goose barnacles grew in clusters.
Once Shanhu loosened one from the rock, the rest could be twisted off easily.
Soon the two women had filled most of a bucket.
They even discovered two large lobsters trapped in the cracks between the rocks.
After avoiding the main group of villagers, they quietly returned home.
Shanhu insisted on returning to the fishing village.
"Just steam them and eat them yourself. Don't tell anyone."
Tang Qiyue hesitated.
These rare ingredients could actually be exchanged for quite a lot of points.
But just as she placed the seafood in the kitchen, she suddenly saw Company Commander Huang rushing toward her anxiously.