Because I had arranged with Uncle Niu Er to go beachcombing at Mao Shi (around 5 a.m.) the next day.
So no one dared to sleep much the night before, fearing they wouldn't be able to get up the next day and would miss the appointed time.
If we miss Shanghai, we'll go hungry.
The Pei family also got up early. Yunniang and Chen Fang barely slept that night, and several times they dreamed that they missed the tide and woke up in fright.
They had originally planned that just the two of them, as adults, would go, while the children, including Yao, would stay at home.
But who would have thought that the children in the family got up even earlier than them.
Pei Yao got up early, clipped the oyster-picking tool she found in the kitchen yesterday to her waist, and found two somewhat worn bamboo baskets from the things Yunniang and the others had packed up yesterday.
He took one for himself and gave the other to Yunniang.
Then I chopped up three sweet potatoes and a handful of sweet potato leaves, and cooked a pot of porridge in an earthenware pot for everyone's breakfast. Even though it was such a simple meal, everyone ate it with great relish.
After finishing our meal, we went to wait at the end of the village.
They thought their family had arrived early enough, but it turned out there were even earlier than them; the two members of the Shen family arrived very early.
Qiaohui's family didn't have anything to eat this morning, so they didn't cook breakfast and arrived earlier than Pei's family.
Qiaohui and Yunniang were old acquaintances, having been close friends in the capital before they both got married. Now that they met, they held hands and chatted about what they had eaten the night before.
Last night, Qiaohui's family ate wild vegetable dumplings that they had saved on the way and some wild vegetables that grew in their yard.
"Yunniang, I found some vegetable seeds in the house yesterday. I'll bring some over to you later." Qiaohui only knew about growing vegetables from the various picture books she liked to read.
Yunniang was worried about this. Right now, there was no food at home, so it would be good if she could grow some vegetables.
Pei Yao sweetly greeted Auntie with a "Good morning."
Qiaohui happily patted her head: "Yao'er is such a well-behaved girl." Then she nudged her six-year-old son, Chen Cong, who was standing next to her: "Cong'er, call Yao'er 'sister'."
Shen Cong was extremely handsome. Even though he had been exiled for so long and was now very thin, it was not hard to see that his facial features were exceptionally well-proportioned.
"Sister Yao." Shen Cong called out to Pei Yao shyly, his head bowed. He was never one for words.
Seeing such a handsome child made Pei Yao happy, and she greeted him warmly.
Soon, the Liu family and Uncle Niu Er arrived. Uncle Niu Er also brought a dark-skinned, very strong young man, who was Uncle Niu Er's grandson, Niu Qingshan.
Several villagers arrived one after another.
There aren't many people left in Liangshui Village. The villagers have eaten seafood for most of their lives, but not every household goes to the beach every day. They only go every few days.
Most families have small boats, and occasionally they'll go out to sea to catch some fish.
That tastes much better than those shelled things on the beach.
The journey to the seaside wasn't far; it only took half an hour. They arrived at the seaside just as dawn was breaking.
Uncle Niu was old, so he just watched from the shore while Niu Qingshan led everyone to the beach to dig for clams.
He held a small rake in his hand, and with a little digging at the slightly bulging spots on the beach, several plump, white clams came out, which looked very appealing.
Liangshui Village has a small population and a large beach, with abundant marine resources. In no time, Niu Qingshan's bucket was half full.
"Just look for those small mud clumps on the beach and dig there, you're guaranteed to find some."
Soak these clams in warm water for half an hour to remove the sand. Remember not to use water that's too hot, or you'll scald them and they won't be as fresh. Clams are great whether you make soup or stir-fry them.
"This is a goby. You can steam it with some soy sauce. It tastes fresh, sweet, tender and smooth."
Niu Qingshan held the small fish in his hand and showed it to everyone carefully.
"These are oysters, they grow on rocks, and they taste sweet and delicious. But you don't have the tools to get them, so you can only pick the ones that have fallen off. They're good for cooking or making soup at home."
As soon as Niu Qingshan finished speaking, he saw a girl in coarse linen clothes not far away.
He was skillfully prying open a rock with a tool for prying oysters.
His eyes lit up.
Niu Qingshan pointed at the girl and said, "That girl is holding a tool for prying open oysters."
Everyone followed Niu Qingshan's gaze.
Pei Yao squatted on the beach, holding a small iron pry bar, and diligently pried the oysters off the rocks.
With a quick tap and a hook from the small iron pry bar, the shell was pried open in one smooth motion.
Pei Yao put the plump oysters back into her bamboo basket and continued with the next smash and hook.
The oysters here are much fatter than the ones I saw in my previous life. I was thinking that if I made a soup with these oysters and yesterday's winter melon, it would definitely be delicious.
Little Xuan'er, who was standing nearby, kept crying out when she saw Pei Yao pry out the fat meat.
Yunniang was surprised to see her daughter's skillful movements; this child was indeed much more capable than she had imagined.
It seems I can't be outdone; I need to quickly learn how to go beachcombing to provide more food for my family.
Pei Yao shucked some oysters and then stopped. These things don't keep very long, so enough is enough.
After wandering around the perimeter of the reef for a while, we found many clusters of mussels, snails, and whelks growing together.
The rocks are slippery and easy to fall on; falling on the rocks is no joke.
Pei Yao then asked Xuan'er to go with Pei Yichen to collect clams on the beach.
He then planned to walk into the reef to see if there was anything of value.
After Niu Qingshan finished his introduction,
He turned around to take another look at the girl from before, but saw Pei Yao walking towards the pile of rocks, so he quickly ran over.
"Eh..."
Hearing someone call out, Pei Yao turned around and looked at the tall, muscular young man standing in front of her. His arms were very muscular from years of working, and although his skin was tanned, his features were very handsome, and he exuded a rugged good looks.
He's like the kind of man you'd expect to see in a rough-and-tumble romance novel.
It was him.
Pei Yao raised her hand to shield her eyes from the sun, squinted, and looked up at him: "What's wrong, Brother Qingshan?"
When Niu Qingshan heard the girl call him "Brother Qingshan" in her clear voice, he scratched his head a little embarrassedly.
He is sixteen years old this year. Most of the girls in the village are one or two years older than him and usually call him Da Niu.
Even if they were younger than him, they wouldn't call him Brother Qingshan; they would all call him Brother Da Niu.
This was the first time someone had called him Qingshan. It was the name his father gave him, and he really liked it when people called him Qingshan.
"That's a rocky area. The rocks are slippery and sharp, it's very dangerous."
Qingshan didn't say much; his words were brief and to the point.
"It's okay, I'll walk slowly."
After Pei Yao finished speaking, she turned and walked towards the reef.
Niu Qingshan wanted to persuade her not to go. He had heard his grandfather say that these young girls from the capital were very spoiled. Even when they were at home, they had more than a dozen maids and servants serving them, just to eat or go out.
Especially Pei Yao's thin arms and legs.
He was a little worried watching the girl's retreating figure, so he followed her.
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