Duofu: "Definitely. Frog meat is so delicious, but nobody eats it. What do they know? Once Auntie has cooked it, it will smell amazing to them."

Since catching field frogs for the first time, Yu Rujia's family has been eating them every two or three days. They have eaten almost all the field frogs in the neighborhood, so you have to go further away to catch them.

Duolu chimed in, "Auntie's cooking is sure to be delicious."

Duoxi, holding a snail, followed the formation closely: "Eat the snails, don't give them any."

Gao Guojing: "Alright, don't be angry anymore. They don't know these things are delicious, which is perfect for us. If everyone knew how to eat snails, we wouldn't be here picking them up."

"Think about field frogs. We used to be able to catch a lot of field frogs by walking a short distance, but now we have to walk a long way to catch them."

Duofu: "That's right. If too many people eat it, everyone will come and catch frogs and snails. Once they've eaten them all, we won't have anything left to eat. So we have to eat it secretly and not tell anyone."

Duofu has vivid memories of catching field frogs. These days, field frogs are not as easy to catch as they used to be, and they don't want anyone to know that field snails are delicious.

There's really no need to hide it like that. Field frogs are different from field snails; field snails require more seasonings than field frogs.

Frogs have a lot of meat and a mild flavor, and as long as you know how to cook them, most families with a bit of money can afford to eat them.

Snails are different. They have little meat and require a lot of seasoning. Even families with the means can't afford to eat them more than a few times a year. If people knew how snails are prepared, they wouldn't be able to eat many.

The little ones didn't understand any of this. They nodded solemnly, determined to keep the snails tightly under wraps and not let anyone know how delicious they were.

Tie Dan showed the little ones through his actions that delicious food must be hidden away tightly, otherwise others will steal it. If people find out about things like snails that are unclaimed, they will fight even harder for them.

There were so many snails here, and with so many of them, they filled several baskets in less than half an hour.

Yu Rujia: "Let's go, that's about it. We'll catch more after we finish eating."

Duolu came over carrying a basket: "Auntie, shall we eat snails today?"

Yu Rujia: "You have to clean the snails before you can eat them, otherwise you'll end up with a mouthful of sand, just like some people say. That's why they say snails don't taste good."

Back home, Yu Rujia poured all the snails into a large wooden basin: "Guojing, go and pour some water over here. First, scrub the snails four or five times to clean off the mud, then put them in clean water to keep them."

Thinking about the delicious food, Gao Guojing enthusiastically moved the wooden basin containing snails to the hand pump well and started cleaning them with the little ones.

With nothing to do, Yu Rujia decided to first determine the tools for harvesting snails tomorrow, so she walked towards Gao Shujing's bicycle shed.

When Gao Shujing saw her coming over, he said, "It's dirty here. If Rujia needs anything, just call me from outside. Don't come over."

Yu Rujia stood at the entrance of the bicycle shed: "We've collected a lot of snails and wanted to see if you have any tools that we can use to cut them."

Ordinary scissors are not easy to hold and cannot withstand force, so special tools are needed to cut snails.

Gao Shujing: "Please sit outside for a while. I'll bring out the tools for you to choose from. If you don't find anything suitable, just tell me what kind you want and I'll make one for you."

Yu Rujia: "That's not that complicated. I just need a tool that's not slippery. Do you have one?"

Gao Shujing placed several pairs of pliers in front of Yu Rujia: "What do you think of these?"

There are so many tools for repairs. The pliers that were just picked up looked very useful. Yu Rujia pointed to two of the pliers and said, "These two should work. Give Guojing these pliers when he comes to see you tomorrow."

Gao Shujing: "Aren't you going to do it today? Are you too busy? If you're too busy, I can stop here for a while."

Yu Rujia: "We need to let the mud settle today so we can cut the stalks tomorrow."

With anticipation for the snails, Gao Guojing changed the water for them several times. By the next morning, the snails were clean.

Yu Rujia taught Gao Guojing how to cut snails, and then she followed along with him as he experimented.

Duofu joined in the cutting. Although he was only a little over four years old, the little guy was just as strong as a teenager, and he cut accurately every time.

Duolu watched eagerly, but Yu Rujia quickly pulled the little guy back: "Duolu, you're still too young to use scissors. If you hurt your hands, you won't be able to eat many good things."

Duofu had practiced martial arts and had learned to control his strength; although Duolu had practiced with him for several months, he hadn't grasped the essentials and was still just throwing his strength around, so naturally he couldn't do something like cutting snails, which required skill.

Hearing that he couldn't eat good food because his hand was injured, Duolu didn't insist on cutting snails. Instead, he and the other two little ones squatted down and watched the two of them pick them up.

While the group was busy harvesting snails, Erdan stormed in with a few friends, fuming: "Duofu, Duolu, where are you?"

Duolu poked his head out and said, "Brother Erdan, we're here."

As soon as Erdan and the others came in, they saw a huge pile of snails: "You guys are really eating snails? Is what those people outside said true? You have nothing to eat?"

Duofu stopped cutting snails, raised his little face and looked at Erdan and the others: "What are the people outside saying? What do they mean we have nothing to eat?"

The eldest child explained, "People outside said your family doesn't have money to eat meat, so you collect snails to eat."

Actually, he put it that way euphemistically. People outside were saying that Gao Shujing disliked Yu Rujia for raising four children after their marriage, so he didn't give them money and they didn't have meat to eat. Yu Rujia had no choice but to take the children to collect snails.

Erdan and the others had been visiting the Yu family for so long, and they had long felt how well Gao Shujing treated them, so they didn't believe the rumors circulating outside.

However, Erdan couldn't stand people talking about Duofu's family, so he argued with them and even got into a fight.

Even after chasing the guy away, the kid wasn't satisfied and brought a few friends over to see if Duofu and the others were really eating snails.

Erdan said indignantly, "That's right, why are you eating snails? We usually use them to play or feed chickens and ducks."

Yu Rujia: "Don't listen to those people's nonsense. This stuff is delicious. They just don't know how to eat it. I'll make it later, and you can try it. I guarantee you'll want to eat it again."

Dog Egg's eyes lit up: "Really? It tastes even better than jelly?"

Yu Rujia: "They have a different flavor, and they are definitely no worse than jelly noodles."

Dog Egg's eyes lit up with anticipation: "Can I have just a tiny bit? Just a little bit."

The memory of being scolded by Huang Guihua after eating jelly last time has gradually faded, but the delicious taste is back in my mind, so Gou Dan couldn't help but bring it up again.