Chapter 45 Discovering Pearls

After returning home, Ye Beixiu put the pheasants and rabbits in the backyard.

Zhang Juexia put the fish, clams and crabs in a wooden basin.

The clams need to spit out the sand, so it would be better to have fish soup, fried crabs and steamed rice for lunch.

Zhang Juexia picked up a fish and started cleaning it. After washing the fish, she went into the kitchen to cook lunch.

The kitchen in his home is now many times more convenient than the original one. Zhang Juexia asked the builders to renovate it according to his own ideas.

There was steamed rice in one pot and fish soup in the other.

After finishing all this, she went to the yard to prepare crabs and fried them for later.

After cleaning the crab, remove the guts and gills.

She went into the kitchen and chopped the crab in half on the chopping board, put it in a bowl, added flour and eggs and mixed them evenly, so that the surface of the crab pieces was coated with a thin layer of batter, ready to be fried in a pan.

Zhang Juexia lifted the lid of the pot and stirred the fish soup in it. Feeling that it needed to simmer for a while longer, she took out the herbs from the backpack and hung them out to dry in the yard.

Ye Beixiu came back from the backyard and squatted in front of the wooden basin, fiddling with the river clams.

Zhang Juexia also leaned forward and joined in the fun.

The shells of the clams were shining with colorful lights, and Zhang Juexia suddenly had an idea: could there be pearls inside these clams?

With this idea in mind, she ran to the kitchen and took a look at the fire under the two pots. Then she ran to Ye Beixiu with a knife and said, "Husband, open them and see if there are any pearls?"

Ye Beixiu was stunned. He took the knife hesitantly and said, "Madam, how could there be pearls on this thing?"

"Open it and see, maybe there is something."

Ye Beixiu carefully opened the river clams with a knife. He opened several clams but didn't find any pearls. When he found the last one, he asked Zhang Juexia, "This is the last one. Do you want to open more?"

“Fight!”

Zhang Juexia closed her eyes and clasped her hands together, hoping for a miracle. Ye Beixiu's hands were also shaking. "My dear, if there are no pearls, don't cry! Normally, we wouldn't catch these things and take them home even if we saw them. Not only is it troublesome, but the meat isn't very tasty either. It's not as satisfying as eating meat."

Ye Beixiu said as he opened the clam with a knife. Without even looking at it, he pushed it directly in front of Zhang Juexia, "You've given up now! Come and see if the food is ready. I'm so hungry that my stomach is flat."

Zhang Juexia took the clam and opened his eyes. "My husband, there really are pearls! Look, there are several of them."

These pearls are of different sizes and colors, some are pink, some are white, and some are black. They are very beautiful.

Zhang Juexia picked up one at random and showed it to Ye Beixiu.

Ye Beixiu's mouth opened wide, but his eyes curved with a smile, "My wife, you are truly amazing. These pearls can be sold for quite a bit of silver."

Zhang Juexia carefully picked up the pearls, cleaned them, and placed them in the purse she had sewn. "My husband, there are a total of twenty-two pearls, and there are a few larger ones. They should be able to sell for some money!"

"Very good."

Zhang Juexia was also in a good mood, it was unexpected money!

When you go to the county town the day after tomorrow, you can take a few with you and ask about the market price. If the price is right, you can sell them for some silver.

She took the purse to the bedroom and put it in a hidden box. Then she went to the yard and said to the dazed Ye Beixiu, "Stop dazed. Clean the river clams and fry them for you tonight. The meal should be ready. I'll go cook the crabs. Let's eat first."

Zhang Juexia poured out the fish soup and cleaned the pot. After the water in the pot evaporated, he poured oil into the pot and heated it to about 70% to 80% hot. Then he put the crab pieces coated with batter into the pot one by one and fried them slowly over medium-low heat until golden brown.

After the crab pieces are fried, remove them from the oil.

Zhang Juexia prepared some chopped green onions, minced ginger, and minced garlic, sprinkled them on the plate, stirred them evenly with chopsticks, then pinched a small piece and put it in her mouth to taste it.

The fried crab has a crispy outer skin and is tender and juicy inside. The delicious crab meat and the crispy batter combine perfectly, leaving you with an unforgettable taste.

"Husband, come and try it, it's delicious."

Ye Beixiu responded and washed his hands. After entering the kitchen, he first set the table and helped Zhang Juexia serve the rice before sitting down to eat.

He ate a piece of crab first, and exclaimed that it was delicious. "My dear, everyone thinks this thing has no meat, and we don't eat it on weekdays. I didn't expect it to be so delicious."

"Stop making a fuss and eat quickly."

Ye Beixiu grinned, "My dear, I've discovered that my luck has been so good since I married you."

Zhang Juexia was busy eating crabs, so she had no time to listen to his sentimental words, "Husband, aren't there any bigger crabs in the mountains?"

Ye Beixiu raised his head and thought for a moment, "I don't know. Didn't I just say that we don't like to eat these things in the water, and we haven't paid much attention to them."

"It's such a delicious delicacy, but you don't like to eat it. What a pity."

"Luckily, no one likes to eat it, otherwise we wouldn't have discovered pearls."

Zhang Juexia agreed with Ye Beixiu's words. "Then let's eat it secretly from now on and don't tell anyone. This thing is delicious. Otherwise, if the people in the village find out, they will rush up the mountain to catch it and eat it. Then we will have nothing to eat."

Although what Zhang Juexia said was a bit selfish, Ye Beixiu could not find any reason to refute it and could only nod.

After dinner, Ye Beixiu was still the one to wash the dishes.

Zhang Juexia washed the clam meat that Ye Beixiu had collected again. She looked everywhere but couldn't find the shells. So she asked Ye Beixiu, "Did you throw the shells away?"

"They were useless, so I just threw them in the backyard for the chickens to eat."

"Go to the backyard later and find me a few. Put them on the windowsill. I'll need them."

Ye Beixiu didn't ask Zhang Juexia what he wanted it for. "I'll pick it up later."

"Don't forget to feed the pheasant. We're going to the county town the day after tomorrow."

"I know. I've already reserved Uncle Yunhai's ox cart in advance."

Zhang Juexia was immediately deflated when he heard about riding in an ox cart. "Do we have any other choice?"

Ye Beixiu shook his head helplessly. "We only have ox carts in our village. Why don't we go to the town and see if there are any horse-drawn carriages going to the county town?"

"Okay, I've had enough of that ox cart anyway. It's too slow."

"Yeah, I think it's slow too. Otherwise, we would rather walk than ride in an ox cart on weekdays."

"Sir, are horses, mules, and the like valuable? How much silver would they cost?"

"If it were the same as before, a good horse would cost at least thirty or forty taels of silver. However, a mule should be cheaper. Twenty taels of silver should be enough."