Chapter 420 Big Purchase
Zhao Jingya remained noncommittal. She had lived in Yingcheng for many years and was almost sick of eating seafood, but she still didn't eat sea worms.
"Moonlight Maiden, do you really know how to eat this?"
Zhao Jingya pointed to a large basket of unwanted sea worms and said, "There are still internal organs in these. You have to remove them and clean them before eating. They don't taste as fresh as fish and shrimp."
"I know, I know."
When Lin Yuesha was at the girls' school, she inquired about sea cucumbers. Li Ruoxue looked down on her, thinking that Lin Yuesha was asking about unwanted junk.
Lin Yuesha had prepared for this before coming to the beach, but when she saw the discarded sea cucumbers, she couldn't help but widen her eyes and really wanted to rush over and pick up all the sea cucumbers to take home.
"The tides rise and fall at specific times. It's a pity you only stayed for a short time, otherwise I could have taken you to go beachcombing."
The Zhao family owned several boats. Just as the fishermen returned from fishing, Lin Yuesha's eyes widened when she saw the large sea fish, and there was even an octopus among them. Stir-fried chives were her favorite dish!
"Take whatever you like, you can even take the whole ship with you."
Lin Yuesha's naive and unworldly demeanor successfully amused Zhao Jingya, who pointed to the large fish weighing several hundred kilograms.
These fresh sea fish are rarely seen inland outside of Yingcheng, and they are cheap in Yingcheng, not considered valuable. A few hundred catties of large fish can only be sold for the price of one or two silver hairpins.
"Sister Zhao, do you think I don't want to?"
Lin Yuesha clutched her chest. She could only stay for one day. It was too cruel to eat all that cheap and fresh seafood that she loved for only one day.
Lin Yuesha counted on her fingers, and she knew she would never get tired of eating it for a week straight!
"You're just looking for something new. For example, I've been eating this since I was a child. I can eat it whenever I want, so it doesn't seem special anymore."
Zhao Jingya's words were light and casual, yet they were like a heavy punch to Lin Yuesha—showing off, absolutely showing off!
The seawater in Daqi is unpolluted. The fish caught, under the sunlight, have bulging eyes and white bellies. Whether steamed or braised, the meat is tender and firm, absolutely delicious.
As a head chef, Lin Yuesha has an extraordinary passion for ingredients. The way she looks at the big fish is so intense that it makes Zhao Jingya feel uneasy.
"You like it that much?"
Zhao Jingya couldn't understand, so she said, "You can't carry too much on your journey. Fresh fish will go bad overnight unless you soak it in cold water."
Villagers would soak leftover fish and meat in well water, but the taste would be greatly diminished, or they would rub them with salt and let them air dry under the eaves.
"Sister Zhao, I know."
It took Lin Yuesha a long time to calm down before she could suppress her excitement. She took some white tea and Longjing tea and walked around the village, buying about a hundred dried fish, some dried shrimp, small dried shrimp, and clam meat from the fishermen.
If she could take more with her, she would have loved to take over all of them.
"You took so much?"
Zhao Jingya was dumbfounded. She hadn't expected Lin Yuesha to be so honest, just like the purchasing manager, buying and buying straight away.
"It looks like a lot, but there are a lot of us, so we can't actually eat that many meals."
Lin Yuesha had already exercised enough restraint, leaving all the remaining space in the carriage for sea cucumbers, as she still needed several large baskets of them.
Heading south from Yingcheng, the group passed through several small coastal towns. However, the coast was far from the towns, so to choose a shorter route, they did not have the opportunity to enter the towns again.
Zhao Jingya was a great guide. When she learned of Lin Yuesha's fervent need for sea worms, she pointed to the stone houses not far away and said, "The fishermen in the coastal fishing villages almost all live on their boats, and those stone houses are their small workshops. If they can't sell all the fish and shrimp they catch, they dry them to preserve them for longer, and peddlers often come to buy them."
If Lin Yuesha wants to take away more sea worms, she should ask fishermen to dry them. This would save space and not put too much strain on the carriage.
"Very good!"
Lin Yuesha was overjoyed. She had originally planned to dry the leaves herself, but with a processing workshop, she wouldn't have to worry about that issue; she just needed to pay them.
Dried sea cucumbers can be rehydrated before eating, which extends their shelf life and makes them easy to carry on the road.
"Sister Zhao, I'm so sorry. We agreed to have a good talk, but now I..."
Lin Yuesha blushed. She went to visit Zhao Jingya, but instead of accompanying her shopping, she asked Zhao Jingya to come out and help her. However, time was limited, so she had no choice but to do so.
"What are you being so polite about? You're the only sister I've ever made at the girls' school."
Zhao Jingya sighed. The other young ladies, upon learning that Li Ruoxue was not dead, mistakenly assumed that Zhao Jingya already knew the truth and kept their distance from her.
Yes, my cousin died tragically, and my older cousin came to make do with the real culprit's clothes. Whether it's a misunderstanding or not, it's enough to chill one's heart.
Zhao Jingya felt wronged and misunderstood, so she could only talk to Lin Yuesha about it.
"Sister Zhao, there's a saying that goes, 'Heaven is watching what people do.' Let's not rush things. Let's just live our own lives first and observe the rest from the sidelines."
Given Li Ruoxue's personality, she wouldn't be herself if she didn't court disaster. Lin Yuesha didn't believe that Li Ruoxue would remain safe and sound forever, unless she was God's favorite daughter.
This shopping spree lasted until sunset. Zhao Jingya found a carriage from her family to help Lin Yuesha transport the goods, and then took her back to the inn.
"If you like these sea worms, just write to me and I'll have a caravan send you some."
Zhao Jingya is very generous; she can easily handle such a small matter that doesn't cost much money.
The two parted ways, and Lin Yuesha left a gift for Zhao Jingya, promising to write to her again once she was settled in the capital.
"Miss, are these sea worms being loaded onto the cargo wagons?"
Bai Cha and Long Jing looked at the baskets scattered on the ground and wiped the sweat from their faces with their sleeves. The young lady treasured these things too much; they would have to find someone to watch the carriage at night to prevent them from being stolen.
"Yes, let's organize the cooking utensils on the carriage. We don't need any extras."
Before setting off, Chen packed too many cooking utensils, which were heavy and took up a lot of space, so Lin Yuesha planned to make room to pack sea cucumbers.
In order to make the purchase, she only ate a few pieces of cake to fill her stomach and still owed Zhao Jingya a favor.
After much deliberation and picking and choosing, Lin Yuesha took a bulky oven that she used to bake snacks and apple crisps. It had been packed by Chen Shi, and they hadn't used it for several days because they ate simply on the road.
"Let's talk to the manager and ask to use the kitchen."
Lin Yuesha suddenly remembered that she had promised Doctor Yan to make some pastries. Before it got dark, she asked Longjing to inquire about families in the neighborhood who raised dairy cows and buy some milk.
Lin Yuesha's pastries are different from traditional cakes. To make them more milky, she plans to add butter. Without any machines to help her, she has to extract the butter from the milk. The process is not complicated, but it is physically demanding.
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