"Mom, can I eat this?"
Shen Lingling only realized that this was not a stone when she saw Fu Wan take a screwdriver out of the bag.
"These are oysters. Crack the shell open and you'll find white meat inside. When Mom gets back, she'll add some garlic and steam them for you. They'll be so delicious!"
Oysters are delicious and nutritious. They are also a great food for children, and many people even crack them open and put them in their mouths right after harvesting, enjoying their freshness.
However, Fu Wan still didn't really want to try it. She had eaten it once when she was a child and found it to be a bit fishy and easy to bite into sand.
Upon hearing Fu Wan's description, Shen Lingling also became interested in the item and picked up a small twig to help.
Fu Wan dared not let her do anything; the oyster shells had sharp edges, and if you accidentally touched them, you could easily get cut.
Especially since Chen Lingling is only five years old, she is most prone to bumps and bruises.
"Lingling, go collect seashells to play with. Find some pretty seashells and bring them home to show your uncle."
Children's attention is easily distracted. Upon hearing Fu Wan's suggestion, Shen Lingling immediately forgot that she had just said she wanted to shuck oysters and turned around to happily squat on the ground to dig for shells.
As Fu Wan worked hard to pry the oysters off the bag, she would glance at Shen Lingling every few minutes to see if she had gone far.
That's how it is when you take your child out; you have to keep a close eye on them to feel at ease.
There were plenty of oysters, and Fu Wan only squatted there for more than ten minutes before harvesting half a bag.
The bag is a clean fertilizer bag from home; it can hold a lot.
"Ah Wan, Ah Wan!"
Ye Xiaocui held a carrying pole and a flashlight, calling out softly.
"I'm here!"
Fu Wan also responded softly.
There were quite a few people on the beach this time, mostly digging for shellfish that had been washed ashore by the waves.
Ye Xiaocui also wanted to dig for shellfish, but she had to find her daughter first, since her granddaughter was with her too.
Seeing her granddaughter digging for seashells and her daughter busy behind the rocks, Ye Xiaocui smiled.
Then she felt something was wrong.
This scene feels somewhat familiar.
Without thinking too much, she walked over to Fu Wan and took a look. Oh my goodness!
So many oysters!
Ye Xiaocui asked in a low voice, her tone full of excitement.
"Mom, hurry up, my hands are getting sore from prying!"
Ye Xiaocui quickly took out her tools and got to work, saying, "Let me do it. Why don't you take a break for a minute?"
Fu Wan glanced at the few more densely packed rocks beside her and said, "Never mind, I can do it!"
"We can rest after we've finished prying it open!"
Both mother and daughter were skilled at work, and with companionship, Fu Wan felt even more motivated. As for Ye Xiaocui, all she could think about were oysters—they were all money!
After finally digging out two snakeskin bags full, Fu Wan felt so weak she couldn't even lift her wrists.
"Mother, let's just forget about it. This is enough."
Fu Wan looked at the two full snakeskin bags, and then glanced at the half-eaten oysters still on the rocks.
Ye Xiaocui became anxious, "How can I let this stuff, which has been delivered right to my doorstep, go to waste? I'm not tired, I can still do it!"
She gritted her teeth, put down the knife, shook her aching wrist, and then continued digging.
Alright, we still have to keep digging!
The problem of having too many oysters!
Fu Wan sighed, holding the screwdriver, and took out her watch to check that it was already past nine o'clock.
Chen Lingling was already tired of digging, so she squatted down and played in the sand.
"Auntie, Wan, did you find anything?"
Fu Liang was carrying his harvest home when he saw Chen Lingling squatting on the ground.
Fu Wan had never thought Fu Liang's voice was so pleasant. "Brother Liang, come and help me quickly. I'll take Lingling back first."
It would be foolish not to seize able-bodied men from here!
Ye Xiaocui didn't mind. Fu Liang had at least called her "aunt," and since they were all family, it didn't matter who dug it.
Besides, oysters aren't anything particularly valuable.
Wow, so many oysters!
Fu Liang's eyes lit up, and he put down the bag in his hand and joined the oyster digging team.
“These oysters are very nutritious, Awan, why don’t you dig some more to take home?”
Fu Wan waved her hand, saying that she couldn't dig any more water now.
"I'm too tired, and Lingling is tired too. I'll take her home first."
No sooner had he finished speaking than Fu Liang accidentally cracked open an oyster shell, exposing the oyster meat.
"What a pity it's broken."
After saying that, he picked up the oyster meat and put it in his mouth. "Wow, this oyster is really fresh and sweet, and there's not a single grain of sand in it."
Seeing how happy and energetic Fu Liang was, Fu Wan felt admiration for him.
Wow, you have so much energy!
Little Chen Lingling didn't have the energy for this, yawning one after another. Fu Wan simply carried her on her back, with a bag of oysters in her hand, and headed home.
By the time Fu Wan got home, washed Shen Lingling, and put her to bed, it was already ten o'clock. Seeing that Ye Xiaocui hadn't returned yet, Fu Wan took a bag and went out again.
Her mother is really something, it's already past ten o'clock, how can she still dig?
When Fu Wan reached the beach, she could see several people gathered around Ye Xiaocui from afar.
"You can't possibly eat all these oysters. Give a few to my wife to help her recover."
"Sister-in-law, don't you know what it means to respect your elders? You'll get struck by lightning sooner or later for your disrespect!"
The ones speaking were none other than Old Lady Wang and Wang Zhaodi. Fu Wan didn't stand on ceremony and pushed Wang Zhaodi aside.
"You think I'm being polite? You didn't get enough of the stench of urine during the day, and you want to continue at night?"
When Wang Zhaodi saw Fu Wan, she was like a mouse seeing a cat; she immediately shut her mouth and dared not utter a sound.
People from the neighboring village also joined in the fun, eager to see what would happen.
"This young man has no manners at all; he's unwilling to offer a few oysters to his elders!"
"That's right, it doesn't cost much, look how many bags they dug up!"
Indeed, there was a bag that Fu Wan had dug up earlier, a bag that Ye Xiaocui had dug up, and a bag that Fu Liang had dug up. The three bags piled on the ground made people extremely envious.
"You people know nothing but still bully others!"
Fu Liang pulled Ye Xiaocui behind him, his face full of anger, "My aunt has nothing to do with them, so where would she get any filial piety from!"
Fu Wan picked up the bag on the ground. "The oysters were dug by my family. On this beach, whoever digs them owns them."
Whether I eat my things, sell them, or give them away is none of your business.
"Since you're so kind, why don't you give her what you found?"
People from Fujia Village gathered around, their eyes filled with envy as they saw the bags of oysters. "Wan'er, you guys are so lucky!"
Seeing people from the neighboring village again made me a little unhappy.
"Why are people from the next village coming here to collect seafood? Get out of here!"
The group completely disregarded the elderly Wang and Wang Zhaodi, who were pretending to be weak on the side, and several young people even started pushing people from the neighboring village.
Marine resources are limited, and no village would cross boundaries to collect seafood. For some reason, these people each collected more than half a bag and were still pointing fingers at the sea.
They're really getting the benefit and then acting innocent!
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