"Xuefang, you take Ruyu to have some fun. I'll talk to Gaozi."
Kong Xuefang smiled and nodded to Gao Zi, then pulled Jiang Ruyu toward the seaside.
The beach was full of people, some bending down to pick something up, some searching for something on the rocks, and some squatting on the sand with tools in their hands, all looking for seafood.
Seeing that Ruyu was a little confused, Kong Xuefang explained to her: "The production team here is located by the sea, and there is very little land that can be cultivated. Half of their work points are for working in the fields, and the other half are for fishing at sea. Most of the people who go to the beach here take the seafood back to eat themselves, or if they are lucky enough to find something good, they can take it to the recycling station in the commune to sell and earn some extra money. This is all allowed."
"Can't those who aren't from their production team also be included?"
"It depends on the situation. According to the rules, it's not allowed, but as long as no one reports it, it's fine. As long as it's not a large quantity and it's used for profit, no one will care. Look at this wide coastline, there's low tide every day. If you don't pick it up, it's a waste. People who live by the sea every day are tired of eating it and won't say anything. Of course, it's even better if you know someone there."
They would come here to hunt for meat when they were craving it, since seafood was free and you could pick up a lot just by bending down. People who liked to eat seafood would come here, and over time everyone got to know each other, so no one would say anything.
Jiang Ruyu looked at the azure sea, took a deep breath, and smelled the salty and fishy taste: "Sister-in-law, let's get started. You teach me how to do it."
“Okay, let’s go over to the rocks. There are conches, crabs, eight-legged creatures under the rocks, and some shallow pools even have stranded fish.” Kong Xuefang patiently told Ruyu some common knowledge she knew.
The two sisters-in-law were lucky; after searching through a few rocks, they found a large crab hidden in a crevice: "Look, that's a swimming crab. It's delicious steamed or stir-fried."
Then Jiang Ruyu watched as her second sister-in-law used fire tongs to poke the crab out, grabbed a handful of sand and covered the crab's body: "These are the crab's eyes. If you cover them up, it won't be able to see and won't pinch you. But just in case, you can step on its back and hold it. Don't be impatient, or you'll suffer a lot if you get pinched."
Jiang Ruyu nodded, and when she encountered the next crab, she tentatively grabbed one. She was bold and had a steady hand, so she easily caught the crab.
Kong Xuefang praised her, "You're really brave. I didn't dare to catch any for a long time at first, and only dared to pick up some sea snails to satisfy my craving."
Jiang Ruyu laughed: "Me? Just like my second brother said, I have a sweet tooth. I love seafood. If I want to eat it, I'm not afraid of these things, especially since they're free."
Kong Xuefang laughed too: "Then let's take more back. The families by the sea all have some in stock, it's dried. Before we leave, let Jiang Jun ask his friend to get some."
"Okay, then I won't stand on ceremony."
Jiang Jun naturally knew that his cousin liked these things. Seeing the two of them bending over to look for them, he said to Gao Zi, "My sister likes to eat these things. Do you know anyone in the brigade who has dried shrimp, dried fish, or something? I'll buy some for her to take back."
Gao Zi thought for a moment and said, "My uncle's family should have some. My aunt is very hardworking. Come on, I'll take you there."
Jiang Jun and Gao Zi visited several shops in the village and bought five catties of dried shrimp, two catties of dried oysters, two catties of scallops, two large dried cuttlefish, and some kind of dried yellow clam meat, which was said to be the meat of a kind of shellfish. It was quite large after being dried and could be stir-fried or used in soup after being soaked.
This bag cost seven or eight yuan and I even gave away a few tickets, which was relatively a good deal, especially considering I was doing it for a friend.
When Jiang Jun returned with his purchases to find the two women, they had already come looking for him. Jiang Ruyu was incredibly lucky; she had stumbled upon a fish in a shallow pond. It was quite large, probably weighing over a pound or two.
She encountered a rather large eel, which looked like a snake, and she was too afraid to catch it. Just then, Jiang Jun arrived: "Brother, second brother, come quick, there's a fish."
Jiang Jun walked over with a smile and saw the eel that was being gripped by tongs and struggling to curl its tail: "Hey, you guys are lucky to have run into something like this. Let me catch it."
Jiang Jun, being a man, was strong, and it still took him some effort to grab the eel into the basket. Then, Jiang Jun saw what was in the basket: "Hey, you two are pretty good. You've caught so much in just one hour, and there's even a fish. This won't do. It'll die soon without water, and sea fish will smell fishy after a while. I'll go ask Gao Zi to borrow a bucket."
And so, with Jiang Ruyu's good luck, the three of them caught more than a dozen crabs, an eel, a fish that they said was called a grouper, four or five eight-legged fish, a small bucket of various snails, a few purple ones called starfish, a dozen or so sea snails the size of a child's fist, and a few sea urchins with long spines.
"That's enough, let's go back. It's a waste if we catch too many and can't finish them all," Jiang Jun reminded his sister, who still seemed a little reluctant to leave.
Jiang Ruyu looked up at the sky; it was almost four or five o'clock. "Alright, let's go. It'll be dark by the time we get back."
Kong Xuefang exclaimed, "Ruyu is so lucky. Your brother and I have been here many times, but this time we've had the best harvest."
Jiang Ruyu laughed and said, "Beginners are always lucky, but I've always had pretty good luck."
The group chatted and laughed as they headed back. They ran into Jiang Jianguo and Zheng Yang from a distance, and Jiang Ruyu asked with delight, "You're back with the goods? When did you arrive?"
Zheng Yang smiled and took the bucket from her hand: "You just arrived, went beachcombing? You had a good haul." Then he greeted Jiang Jun and the others: "Second Brother, Second Sister-in-law."
Jiang Jun smiled and asked him, "You're back. Perfect timing! You even know how to pick your time. Let's have something nice tonight. We missed the banquet at noon, how about we have a drink tonight? What time are we leaving tomorrow?"
He also knew that Zheng Yang had a job, and he was already very grateful that his father and sister could stay for so long.
"I have to leave tomorrow morning, so drink less tonight. You can drink with your uncle."
When they got home, the sun had already set. None of them were idle; some washed, some killed, Jiang Jianguo started the fire, and Jiang Ruyu and Kong Xuefang cooked.
After working for more than half an hour, a seafood feast was laid out on the table. There were more than a dozen crabs, half of which were steamed and half of which were stir-fried with scallions and ginger. The eight legs were cleaned and then stir-fried with scallions and green peppers. The grouper was braised. Several starfish were steamed with the crabs. Kong Xuefang cleaned the sea urchins and then steamed them with eggs. Jiang Ruyu was very interested in this and planned to eat it later.
There were a lot of snails, so we left them to purge the sand for a while. We blanched half of them and made a dipping sauce for them; it must have tasted great. We braised the other half and steamed a pot of rice as a staple food. There was also a conger eel left, which Jiang Jun said could survive, so he told them to take it back.
"Dinner's ready! Dinner's ready! It smells so good!" Jiang Ruyu couldn't help but drool while cooking.
Jiang Jianguo took out a bottle of wine: "Good food deserves good wine."
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