"Alright, Comrade Fu Wan, that's enough. I'm busy reviewing manuscripts now."
You mean the day after tomorrow, right? Then I'll come over first thing the day after tomorrow morning, can you pick me up at the station?
Su Ran glanced at her work schedule for the next two days and postponed her schedule for the day after tomorrow.
Fu Wan readily agreed, as she was also going to the station to pick up Jiang Wanghai that day. Both of them were taking the earliest bus, and they might even be on the same bus.
After hanging up with Su Ran, Fu Wan finally put down her cell phone.
Damn it, she made a call that lasted almost half an hour. The cell phone was as heavy as a brick, and her arm was sore from holding it.
Fu Wan flexed her aching wrists and glanced at the time; it was past six o'clock, already evening.
Just then, there was a sudden noise at the door. Fu Wan went out to see what was happening and found that Fu Ming and Qin Anning, who had been missing, had returned on their bicycles.
"Brother, sister-in-law, where have you been?"
"Hehe, we took a stroll around the aquaculture area."
"Oh, Wan, come and see what this is!"
As Fu Ming spoke, he pushed his bicycle to the wall and then, as if presenting a treasure, gestured for Fu Wan to look at the bucket in Qin Anning's hand.
The bucket was about half full of not-too-muddy water, and a dozen or so palm-sized prawns were darting around in it.
"Are these shrimp from a farmed area?"
Fu Wan's eyes lit up. She had just been thinking about whether to go to the breeding area, but it was getting dark, so she decided to go tomorrow morning.
Unexpectedly, Fu Ming and Qin Anning were so in sync that they happened to go to the aquaculture area and bring back shrimp!
It's true what they say, birds of a feather flock together! They all think alike!
Qin Anning smiled and nodded in affirmation. She was extremely surprised when she saw such large shrimp in the net cages and learned that they were raised by Fu Wan.
"They're from a shrimp farm, Awan. These shrimp have grown to this size, are they ready to be sold?"
Qin Anning didn't know much about seafood, but the shrimp she usually ate at the Fu family's house were about the same size as the ones in the bucket.
Fu Wan reached out and scooped up a shrimp, which was lively and jumping around. In less than half a second, it jumped back into the bucket.
"Wow, they're quite energetic!"
Hearing this, Ye Xiaocui, who was busy in the kitchen, also came over curiously. When she saw how big the shrimp she raised were, she was filled with pride.
A while ago, some people in the village said that fish and shrimp wouldn't grow big, but now they've been proven wrong.
Fu Wan picked up another shrimp and examined it closely. Its size was indeed similar to that of wild shrimp. The only difference was that its color was a little lighter than that of wild shrimp.
But color and appearance are not the most important factors.
Most importantly, of course, is this farmed shrimp delicious!
"Perfect timing! Let's try our own shrimp tonight and see how they taste!"
Fu Wan had definitely tasted farmed fish and shrimp before, but that was in her past life, a long time ago. As for what farmed fish and shrimp actually tasted like, Fu Wan really couldn't say.
It can only be said that most farmed products are no match for wild ones, while a small number of improved varieties have a taste and flavor that far surpasses wild fish and shrimp.
Fu Wan knew that for her farmed seafood to have a market, not only did it need high yields, but its taste and flavor also had to be excellent to fetch good prices. This way, when the fishing ban was implemented in the future, the aquaculture industry could make her a lot of money.
Without further ado, Fu Wan remembered that there were still many wild prawns in the pond in the backyard. She went over and scooped out a bowlful, intending to use the same method to make a reference.
Two plates of prawns were placed on the stove, and Ye Xiaocui sighed before they were even cooked.
"Hey, I'm not bragging, but I think our prawns taste just as good as wild ones."
Fu Wan was immediately amused by her mother's confident little face.
"Mom, how can you be so sure?"
"Oh, even a child could figure that out!"
As Ye Xiaocui spoke, she picked up two bowls of shrimp. "Look at them, although the colors of these farmed shrimp are different, their bellies are all clean, and they are very lively. They've been out of the water for almost fifteen minutes, and their legs are still moving!"
Moreover, our shrimp larvae are raised from wild shrimp, all in the same sea environment. It's like turning a wild rabbit into a domesticated one – the taste is definitely the same!
Fu Wan was stunned by what she said, but Ye Xiaocui's logic was indeed sound.
"Whether it can compare to wild-caught ones or not, we'll know once we blanch it."
The best way to test the taste of seafood is to steam or blanch it directly. After boiling water, Fu Wan first poured in the farmed shrimp. After the shrimp changed color and were cooked, she scooped them out.
As soon as they were caught, Fu Ming couldn't wait to pick one up and try it.
"Ouch, aren't you hot?"
Ye Xiaocui frowned in disgust, while Fu Ming grimaced from the heat, but still quickly peeled off the shrimp's shell.
He then stuffed the shrimp meat directly into his mouth without even dipping it in any sauce.
"Brother, how are you?"
Fu Wan looked at him curiously. Fu Ming chewed a couple of times and swallowed. "Hey, why does this taste no different from wild prawns? A-Wan, did you cook it wrong?"
Fu Wan shook her head, "It's impossible to cook it wrong. I used a round plate for wild shrimp and a soup bowl for farmed shrimp. Look, I just put these round plate shrimp into the pot!"
Upon hearing this, Fu Ming looked and realized it was true. "Then the taste is about the same. Why don't you try it again?"
After Fu Ming finished speaking, Ye Xiaocui couldn't resist either, grabbed one, peeled it, and stuffed it into her mouth.
The shrimp meat was springy and chewy, and Ye Xiaocui couldn't help but squint her eyes as she ate it.
"I think farmed ones taste better than wild ones!"
"It really is as sweet as if it had sugar added."
Fu Wan had already scooped up the wild shrimp. She picked up a farmed shrimp, peeled it, and put it in her mouth. After finishing the farmed shrimp, she tried a wild one.
Just then, Qin Anning walked in and, seeing the scene, asked curiously, "How is it? Is there a big difference?"
Fu Wan shook her head, a satisfied smile appearing on her face.
"I also think there's no difference. My goodness, I never imagined that the taste of our farmed shrimp could rival that of wild shrimp!"
Upon hearing this, Qin Anning couldn't wait to try it too, but she couldn't taste the difference. In the end, it was Fu Laoda, who had just returned from bragging to the village chief, who gave the same opinion as Ye Xiaocui after eating it.
He also thinks farmed shrimp taste sweeter!
It's strange, the shrimp feed is provided by the research institute. Fu Wan looked at the ingredients and found that it was basically plankton, with no sugar additives at all.
Time quickly came to the day of harvesting aquaculture seafood. Fu Wan drove to the station early in the morning to pick up Su Ran and Jiang Wanghai. Jiang Wanghai brought two other people with him, both of whom were colleagues from the research institute who had come to visit.
Su Ran came alone, and she was so excited to see Fu Wan that she almost cried.
"Fu Wan, you'd better treat me well this time. I even brought my brother's family heirloom to take good promotional photos for you."
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