Around midnight, the two cars finally arrived at the fishing village where the farm was located. Passing by the farm, they saw a row of large buildings close to the main road, with several trucks parked outside the entrance.
Zhang Guoqing slowed down, took a look, then turned around and continued to move forward slowly. Before entering the village, he could already smell the fishy smell in the air.
According to the arrangement he had discussed with Zhao Dashan in advance, Zhang Guoqing first drove to ask someone for directions and found the home of Old Wang, the crab seller, whom his father-in-law Zhou Xiaozheng had mentioned.
When they arrived at the other party's house, they happened to be finishing their meal. Lao Wang was delighted to learn that they were the family of Liu Sanyuan and Zhou Xiaozheng who had come last time. Since they were important customers, he quickly pulled them to sit down.
Zhang Guoqing returned to the car, unloaded ten kilograms of rice and a bag of vermicelli, and placed them in the house.
He smiled at Old Wang, who had repeatedly refused, and said, "Uncle Wang, don't be in a hurry to stop me. For lunch today, you must ask Auntie to prepare a good seafood feast. We came here just to try Auntie's cooking."
Old Wang understood immediately. This was just like when Liu Sanyuan's wife and her group came to the sea to catch seafood in the summer—they were city folks who came for something new, had fun, and could bring some seafood home afterward.
He quickly asked his wife to start preparing, saying, "Drink some hot water to warm yourself up first. When we're done eating and the tide is low, I'll let my eldest son take you there."
Zhao Dashan, seeing he wouldn't have a meal for a while, and seeing his wife and daughter eager to go, he and Zhang Guoqing agreed to stay for the time being, with Lao Wang helping to buy seafood, while Cheng Hongli took Zhao Yuanyuan and Zhou Jiao to see the sea. After dinner, the two families would go fishing.
Old Wang heard this and asked his youngest son to take the three of them to the beach and be careful.
Cheng Hongli and the other two were so excited that they were eager to run out.
Zhang Guoqing was quick to grab Zhou Jiao. Seeing that she was dressed warmly, he felt relieved and watched her being dragged by Zhao Yuanyuan. He couldn't help shouting at her not to take off her coat and asked them to come back early for dinner.
Zhao Dashan, Lao Wang and others laughed out loud when they saw it.
Lao Wang stopped laughing and comforted him, "It's okay. Even though the sea breeze is strong, you won't feel cold running. When it's time for dinner, let my wife go and call them back to eat."
Zhao Dashan said straight to the point, "His wife is just out of the month. Old Wang, you still have to help us collect some seafood."
"Okay. Dinner won't be served until later anyway. I'll take you to a few restaurants next door first. You can look around for yourselves, and if you like something, ask them to send it over and pay for it together." After Lao Wang finished speaking, he saw that they had stood up and led them out.
Zhang Guoqing planned to visit the fishing grounds his father-in-law had mentioned. Since the warehouse keeper could accept the money privately, he had a way to convince him. Unlike others, he had no shortage of money and was not afraid of the hot weather, so he kept the money in his storage space and used it slowly. Along the way, he inquired with Lao Wang about the fishing grounds, intentionally or unintentionally.
Old Wang led them to a courtyard. He explained that this family always returned from fishing with a full catch, with more than enough to give to the fishery. His wife and daughter-in-law dried a lot of fish and brought it to the market to sell. Their family had the largest seafood supply in the entire village.
The women in the yard were mending their nets. When they saw Lao Wang with two strangers, they knew he was bringing in customers.
The old lady quickly gave her daughter-in-law a few words, then put down her work and came forward.
Lao Wang said loudly, "Sister-in-law, what seafood do you have at home?"
Upon hearing this, the old lady cheerfully led them to the warehouse and opened the door. "It smells a bit strong. Feel free to look around. I'll bring out whatever you like."
As Zhang Guoqing and Zhao Dashan entered, the room was filled with the overwhelming smell of fish. No wonder the other person said it was a bit strong. Inside, there were piles of dried kelp. Several hanging bamboo baskets were filled with sun-dried shrimp and shellfish. There were also a number of large dried fish hanging on the wooden racks, and several broken bamboo baskets on the ground were filled with sun-dried fish.
After Zhao Dashan inquired about the prices, he asked Zhang Guoqing, "How about we each pick what we like?"
"Uncle, you choose first. I'll come after you've chosen." Zhang Guoqing said and walked outside.
The food was very tasty, and some were only a few cents a pound. What was there to choose from? He could buy it all for a small fee. He would never go in, and when Zhao Dashan finished choosing, he would take it all and keep some for others.
After placing the order and walking a short distance out of the courtyard, Zhao Dashan burst into laughter and pointed at Zhang Guoqing, saying, "You're worthy of being Lin Lishan's son-in-law. You always like to buy everything."
Zhang Guoqing was amused by his mother-in-law's behavior. "I have a lot of relatives, so if I just divide them up, there won't be much left. Uncle Dashan, you should buy more too. They can be used as New Year gifts or as gifts for the Lunar New Year." After saying this, she secretly counted the money with her fingers towards him. With Lao Wang around, she felt embarrassed to say that this place was cheap.
Zhao Dashan suddenly realized that it could indeed be a gift. Even though it was cheap here, the prices in their county town were quite high. It was especially difficult to find seafood in his hometown.
After they had visited two stores in succession, Lao Wang gave up and pulled them home. "Come on. You want everything without being picky. So why should we come here ourselves? Let my wife tell them to send all their stock to my house. You guys figure out how much you need, and I'll find a few suitable stores."
As soon as Zhang Guoqing and his friends came back, they saw a table full of seafood in the main hall, including fish, crabs and shells. Old Wang's wife was still serving food in the kitchen.
Zhao Dashan quickly said, "Sister-in-law, please don't do it anymore. It's enough."
Old Wang's wife smiled and said, "Not much. The ones with shells may look plentiful, but they don't have meat. Just two more dishes will do. You men should drink first. By the time the meal is ready, my brother-in-law and his wife will be back soon."
Seeing Lao Wang dragging Zhao Dashan to the table to pour wine, Zhang Guoqing quickly said, "Uncle, I'll go find them. You guys drink first." Then he slipped away. He didn't want to drink if he could, so he went to see if his wife was cold.
Zhang Guoqing hurried toward the beach, listening to the crash of the waves. From a distance, he could see those people having a blast—still shouting and yelling after such a long time, accompanied by a group of children. Someone on a few fishing boats parked on the beach was pointing at them and laughing.
As soon as Zhou Jiao saw Zhang Guoqing coming, she ran over and pulled him, "Come with me to the reef. We're afraid to go over there. The kids said there are the most things there, and we have to wait until the tide goes out."
Zhang Guoqing quickly grabbed her, so excited that he even used a lot of strength. He touched her hands and said, "Don't you see your hands are red from the cold? Let's go back and eat first. We'll come back this afternoon when the tide goes out."
Zhou Jiao pulled him hard to walk toward the beach. Zhang Guoqing had no choice but to follow her and hold her hands tightly in his, hoping to keep her warm.
"Aunt Cheng, the meal is ready. Let's go back first and come back later."
Cheng Hongli said without even looking up, "Wait for me five more minutes. I'll be leaving soon."
Zhang Guoqing watched the mother and daughter relentlessly chasing after the tiny crabs, feeling both amused and embarrassed. They were so small, even if they caught them, they couldn't eat them. And then, looking at the group of children surrounding them, they really looked like a child king.
Zhou Jiao dragged him towards the sea and pointed at a reef where the tide had not yet completely receded. "That's the rock! It will be fine in a moment. The sea water has receded more than half."
Zhang Guoqing lifted his foot to show her, and whispered, "Let's wait until the tide goes out after dinner. We'll come back then. I'll take you to where there are fewer people. Let's see what's there."
Zhou Jiao saw that if he took a few more steps forward in his military boots, he would indeed be unable to move forward. She could only nod helplessly.
Zhang Guoqing pulled her slowly to the left. The further they got away from the crowd, the more things the waves had pushed onto the beach. It was about to go out in the tide, and when it went out, the children from the village would come over with their bamboo baskets to catch seafood.
Zhang Guoqing nodded as he listened to the news Zhou Jiao had inquired about. Seeing Zhou Jiao's intense interest, he didn't remind her that one dollar could buy a lot of seafood for the other children.
Watching Zhou Jiao squatting and sneaking into the space, Zhang Guoqing happily cooperated with her and hid in front of her. He loved his woman and cared for her as long as she was happy.
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