"Madam! No need for so much. Our little boat can't earn this much money in several days. You're giving too much. Three hundred coins is enough!"
When they were unlucky, they couldn't even earn a hundred coins a day. Now, they could earn money for free without doing anything, and she was almost embarrassed to ask for a hundred coins a day.
"Please accept this. My request is quite complicated, and you'll need to cooperate with me on a lot of work. This money isn't just for free!"
The woman wanted to refuse, but when she caught a glimpse of her thin, small daughter in the cabin and then remembered her husband lying in bed, she struggled for a moment before finally agreeing.
Ruyi saw the woman's eyes and expressions clearly, which further confirmed that the woman was a simple and kind person, and that her judgment was indeed correct.
The afternoon sun shone on the calm river, creating shimmering ripples. The trees on both banks were lush and green, and the distant green mountains were hazy. Cheng Ruyi sat in the small boat, swaying back and forth, and suddenly felt a sense of disorientation.
About an hour later, she was so drowsy from being rocked that she was almost asleep when the boat finally stopped.
"Madam, we're almost there. There's a hidden riverbed in the reeds around the bend ahead. My husband found it. If we cross the river, we'll reach a wild lake. That's where we caught the crabs earlier!"
Cheng Ruyi carefully stood at the bow of the boat and found that there was indeed a large patch of reeds not far away. They were very tall, and the small boat could be completely submerged in them. It was indeed a place that was not easy to find.
After passing through the reeds, there was a small, wild lake. The scenery was quite beautiful, but it was deserted. If it weren't for the fact that there was only a thin woman and an even thinner girl on the boat, it would have been quite dangerous.
Ruyi instructed the woman to moor the boat on the bank near the entrance of the river, then told the two women to stay there while she rowed alone to the center of the lake.
Water-repellent beads are completely waterproof. If I go into the water in front of them, how am I supposed to explain that I'm completely dry when I come out? For everyone's sake, I can only leave them on the shore, then paddle far away and find an angle where they can't see me when I go into the water.
Cheng Ruyi herself knew how to swim and enjoyed swimming. She remembered that the original owner of this body was also a good swimmer, but even so, she didn't dare to be careless. After warming up, she carefully tied herself to the boat with a rope. She touched the water-repellent bead around her neck, took a deep breath, and slowly slid into the water.
The feeling was magical, somewhat like hiding inside a transparent bubble. Cheng Ruyi was completely enveloped by a magical substance, which completely isolated her from the water, and she could breathe freely.
Fortunately, the small fishing net she brought with her was not in the package, and we don't know how it works.
The lake was deeper than expected, but because of the bright sunshine and clear water, the visibility was quite high. After looking around, Ruyi finally spotted the crab among the dense aquatic plants and piles of rocks at the bottom of the lake.
The little guy really hid quite well! It would be very difficult to catch him if you just cast a net from the boat.
Ruyi dived to the bottom of the lake and carefully threw the crabs one by one into the fishing net. After a while, she felt her body getting cold and her heart beating a little fast. Not daring to push herself, she immediately swam to the surface along the rope.
It wasn't until she was sitting on the boat, panting heavily, that she realized that although the water-repelling beads allowed her to breathe freely in the water, they didn't keep her warm, and the pressure underwater was no joke; she couldn't stand it for long.
Because the aquatic plants at the bottom of the lake were too dense, and most of the crabs hid in relatively concealed places, we only found five or six crabs after searching for several minutes.
Ruyi picked up a crab from the fishing net and examined it closely. She estimated that each crab weighed about 150 to 200 grams. Based on her previous experience, the crab roe and meat of a crab together accounted for at most a quarter of the total weight. If she needed to make a pound of crab roe sauce, she would need at least ten to fifteen crabs... It was a long and arduous task!
After resting for a while, Ruyi went into the water twice more. With the experience from the first time, she caught more crabs the next two times. In total, she caught twenty crabs in three trips, which was just enough for the experiment that night.
The physical exertion in the water was greater than she had imagined. After going into the water three times, Cheng Ruyi already felt exhausted. It seemed she needed to think of a solution, otherwise, if she continued like this for the next two days, the efficiency would be too low.
Although twenty crabs were too few for Ruyi, they were an astonishing amount for the boatwoman and her daughter. Seeing their surprised expressions, Ruyi could only explain that she was lucky. Fortunately, the woman was sensible and did not press the matter further.
Back at the dock, after agreeing on a time for the next day, Ruyi hurried home and began to work diligently. Although there wasn't much meat after steaming the twenty crabs, peeling them was still a very tedious task.
"A skilled craftsman must first have the right tools." Considering that she might need to peel hundreds of crabs in the next few days, she would be exhausted in no time without good tools. Although there is no such thing as an "eight-piece crab-eating set" tool, there are still simple substitutes available.
A small pair of tailor's scissors, plus a small spoon made of bamboo suitable for scooping crab meat, is enough to make do!
After a lot of effort, the crab roe and meat from the twenty crabs weighed less than two pounds, but it still filled a large bowl and looked golden and very tempting.
Next, start cooking. Pour the crab roe and crab meat into the pot, add lard, then sauté with scallions and ginger until golden brown, then remove and set aside.
After rendering the crab oil in the crab shells over high heat, remove the shells and add the crab roe and meat back in. Stir-fry slowly over low heat, being careful not to crush the crab roe. The larger the crab roe pieces, the better the flavor and texture!
Then pour on the fine Shaoxing wine that I bought at a "high price", add a little chicken broth that I specially made this morning to enhance the flavor, sprinkle with a little salt and a little Sichuan peppercorn powder for seasoning, and finally remove the scallions and ginger.
Soon, a rich aroma filled the entire courtyard. Fortunately, it was dinnertime, so the fragrance wasn't too overpowering.
The crab roe sauce, made with various seasonings, filled a large soup bowl, making it look much larger than before. The golden crab roe and oil, the deep red crab paste, and the snow-white crab meat created an irresistible aroma and color that would surely make the kids on the next street drool.
"Oh my, it's finally done? It smells so good! I've been drooling in the kitchen!" Xu Cui immediately went over and couldn't help but exclaim when she saw the bowl of crab roe sauce, "Tsk tsk tsk, just looking at this makes me want to eat three bowls of rice. Nobody would believe it if it wasn't delicious!"
Upon hearing this, Cheng Ruyi smiled and placed the prepared crab roe sauce on the dining table, distributing several spoonfuls to everyone. "Come on, everyone, try it! Mix it with rice and see if it's delicious!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com