"This is a starfish from the sea; it's edible."
"Egg, put it in the sack. When we get back, Mom will cook it for you."
Lu Fangfang sat on the beach, her face slightly flushed.
They've been married for a long time, but she still felt a little embarrassed when her husband covered her feet in front of outsiders.
“Young men, I see you like sea cucumbers. Would you like to use this net? The seawater is cold now, so you outsiders shouldn’t go into the water carelessly.”
The old man came over carrying two buckets of sea cucumbers and a net.
Lu Fangfang's eyes lit up, and she quickly told her husband to reach out and take it.
There are still many sea cucumbers in the sea. She has come all this way, so she wants to catch as many as possible.
"Thank you, sir. By the way, how do I return this fishing net to you?"
"Young man, you can just put it at the brigade headquarters, I'll pick it up later."
The old man pointed to the fishing village to the west.
Beside her, Lu Fangfang watched as the old man picked up two buckets of sea cucumbers and was about to leave. Unable to contain her curiosity, she asked:
"Grandpa, how are you going to eat all these sea cucumbers you've collected at home?"
"Eat? No, no, no, I won't eat."
The old man quickly shook his head and said with a smile, "Comrade, this isn't for eating. I'm taking it back to feed the pigs in the commune."
After saying that, the old man carried away the two full buckets of sea cucumbers.
"Feed...feed the pigs?"
Lu Fangfang stood there, stunned, her mind a jumble of thoughts.
Beside him, Zhuang Mingcheng also looked at his wife with surprise.
Forehead……
"There are so many sea cucumbers on the beach that it's normal for them to use them to feed pigs. But they are really delicious and nutritious."
Seeing that her husband was still somewhat skeptical, Lu Fangfang added, "Mingcheng, you came here to get seaweed this time, maybe they'll use it to feed their pigs too."
"It's inconvenient to do anything now. Good things can't be transported out, so we can only feed them to pigs."
For some reason, Lu Fangfang suddenly thought of something: in the old society, poor families couldn't afford to eat, so they could only survive by eating hairy crabs.
"That's true."
Zhuang Mingcheng nodded, agreeing with his wife.
They couldn't even get seaweed in the Northwest, but when they arrived at a small fishing village on the coast, they found plenty in the warehouse, enough for their entire regiment.
Visiting a few more fishing villages and collecting seaweed would be enough to feed all the sick people in the entire military region.
"Mom, Dad, come quick! Qingqing has seen a big crab."
Qingqing stood by the bay, excitedly pointing to the area under a large rock.
"Crab?"
Lu Fangfang quickly pulled her foot out of Zhuang Mingcheng's arms.
She put on her shoes, grabbed the net, and ran over.
Where? Where?
"Under that rock, Mom, Mom, hurry and catch it!"
Zhuang Mingcheng looked at the excited mother and daughter and shook his head helplessly.
He got up and walked over to Dandan, took the sack from his son's hand, and picked up the sea cucumbers from the shore.
"Dad, Dad, Mom caught a really big crab."
Zhuang Mingcheng replied with a smile, "I'll cook it later and give it to Qingqing and Dandan."
Next, Lu Fangfang took the net and kept scooping up sea cucumbers.
Zhuang Mingcheng and his two children started picking things out of the sack.
After a while, the sun rose higher, and many fishermen came over to harvest sea cucumbers.
Lu Fangfang asked curiously about the purpose of the sea cucumbers that the fishermen harvested.
This time, the fishermen didn't catch the fish to feed their pigs; they intended to eat them themselves, and some would also feed their chickens and ducks.
Lu Fangfang finally understood that seafood was really not expensive these days.
Sea cucumbers, sea worms, and yellow croakers, which would later become incredibly valuable seafood, were already plentiful for people living by the sea in this era, and were used to feed their chickens and ducks.
Mantis shrimp and some easily perishable fish fared even worse, being thrown directly into manure piles for composting.
She thought about it for a while before she gradually understood.
In those days, there were no refrigerated transport vehicles, so seafood caught from the sea could not be transported out in a timely manner.
Even those fish that can be transported to the city are rare species.
Sea cucumbers and conch are eaten by people living near the coast to stave off hunger, but inland residents can't buy them even if they want to.
Having figured this out, Lu Fangfang regained her motivation.
She asked Zhuang Mingcheng to get a few more burlap sacks, and she scooped them up with all her might.
By noon, the two had collected two large sacks of sea cucumbers, along with many other seafood.
Zhuang Mingcheng looked on, but he was somewhat worried.
Sea cucumbers are easy to catch, but not so easy to bring back.
"Fangfang, that's enough, that's enough, stop scooping them out. Are you going to take all these sea cucumbers home?"
"Mingcheng, have the soldiers take this sack of sea cucumbers back with them so that everyone in the regiment can try some seafood. It's much more nutritious than kelp, and it won't spoil since it's cold now."
"Let's take this bag home and share it with our relatives back home."
Lu Fangfang had already made up her mind.
These things are worthless by the sea, but inland, you can't buy them even if you have money.
"Okay, let's do it that way."
Zhuang Mingcheng went to the fishing village and called over a few soldiers who carried the two sacks of sea cucumbers onto a large truck.
Lu Fangfang took the fishing net and the remaining catch and went to the brigade headquarters of the fishing village.
It was noon, so she picked out some of the fish and paid the fishermen to cook lunch for her.
"Comrade, I have some fish at home, would you like to try some?"
Lu Fangfang followed the fishermen to take a look and found that there were also fresh yellow croakers. She immediately asked for two fat ones and had the fishermen cook them.
After the seafood was cooked, she, her son, and daughter enjoyed a sumptuous seafood feast.
Zhuang Mingcheng was supposed to go with the soldiers to collect seaweed in other fishing villages, so he missed it.
After finishing her meal, she didn't rush to leave. Instead, she went from house to house and picked out some good seafood to buy.
After returning to the county in a large truck, she picked out some of the meat and planned to have the soldiers take it back so that everyone in the regiment could try it.
The next day, the soldiers boarded the train back home, carrying a wagon full of seaweed and other seafood.
Zhuang Mingcheng was still a little worried, so he gave each soldier a few instructions.
Once they arrive at Zhangye Station, the military region will send someone to pick them up, and then they can simply hand over the seaweed to them.
As for sea cucumbers and other seafood, they had to be brought to the regiment. We couldn't be foolish enough to hand them over to the military region; these were caught by my wife for the regiment.
"Dazhuang, get some kelp and sea cucumbers for Little Stubborn Donkey and Little Yellow Dog to try. Tell them to be good. Your regimental commander and I will be going back in a few days."
"Sister-in-law, I've got it. I'll give it to them when I get back."
Hao Dazhuang nodded hurriedly.
...
After seeing the soldiers off, the two waited a while longer before the train bound for their hometown arrived.
Zhuang Mingcheng carried the seafood, while Lu Fangfang led the two children, and they quickly entered the sleeper car.
"Dan'er, Qingqing, you'll be able to see your grandma and grandpa soon."
Lu Fangfang held her two children and looked out the car window, feeling the surrounding scenery gradually becoming familiar.
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