Feng Ye knew that ship maggots were edible.
He also knew that for many people, shipworms were a rare delicacy.
Especially in Siam, Southeast Asia, this stuff is used in many dishes, and it's quite expensive.
Furthermore, locals consider boat maggots a stimulant that can uplift their spirits.
Even more terrifying is that they usually just rinse the boat maggots briefly with stream water before swallowing them whole.
Just thinking about that scene sent chills down his spine, and he quickly shook his head, erasing the image from his mind.
He avoids and cannot accept those unusual delicacies.
For example, the name "Dou Dan" doesn't reveal much, but it is actually the larva of the bean hawk moth, a type of large green caterpillar.
There are also things like ant eggs, grasshoppers, scorpions, locusts...
He can't get over that psychological hurdle.
He refused to eat ship maggots as well.
I've never seen or heard of anyone in their village eating this stuff before.
Surprisingly, he had someone with such unusual tastes by his side, and that person was his own older brother.
Shipworms are "terrorists" of the ocean and should not be classified as seafood.
Even though it has evolved a dangerous appearance, the rings of life are still etched on its back, and the soft mucus on its body is like will-o'-the-wisps in the countryside.
All clues point to it being inedible.
However, the ruthless cavalry would not let any weak prey escape; there would always be someone who could see the deliciousness within.
When the shipworm saw those unconsciously swallowing Adam's apples, the beads of sweat on their foreheads, and the throbbing deep in their pupils, it knew that the men were doomed.
However, he is definitely not included in this.
Of all the creatures in the sea, ship maggots are the only one I cannot accept.
Although there are other things in the sea that look very similar to shipworms and are quite disgusting, such as sandworms and sand worms...
But whether it's the scientific name or the common name, none of them contain the word "maggot," so there's not much of a psychological burden when eating them.
"Brother, are you really sure you want to eat this?"
"What's with that expression? Haven't you ever eaten it before?"
Feng Xuan raised an eyebrow, looking at Feng Ye with a hint of mockery.
"This thing has the word 'maggot' in it, and just hearing or seeing it makes me think of those things in the latrine... I really can't bring myself to eat it."
Feng Ye quickly shook his head, his expression changing slightly, a hint of undisguised resistance flashing in his eyes.
"You're still too green. Some things may seem scary, but they're actually incredibly delicious."
Feng Xuan's lips curled into a meaningful smile. "Think about it again."
"No, this thing is too disgusting, I really can't stand it."
"But you've eaten it before, and you said it was delicious, and you even tried to take it from me."
"What? I've eaten it?"
Feng Ye stared wide-eyed, pointing to his own nose, his face full of disbelief.
"No way, Brother Ye, you've actually eaten 'maggots'?"
Ah-Can also looked astonished.
"No, that's absolutely impossible."
Feng Ye kept shaking his head, like a rattle-drum.
At the same time, my thoughts raced as I tried to recall if I had ever had such an experience, but my memory was completely blank.
"Hehe, think about it carefully."
Feng Xuan smiled and said, "I'll give you another hint, when you were eight years old."
Feng Ye frowned. When he was eight years old?
He searched diligently in the sea of memories, trying to find a fragment of memory related to the "ship maggots".
But no matter how hard he tried, his mind remained a complete blank, with no memory whatsoever of ever having eaten that thing.
He looked up at Feng Xuan, his eyes full of confusion and doubt: "Brother, are you sure you're not mistaken? I really ate this stuff?"
“When I was eight years old, we were playing at the beach one summer and found some wood. We took it home and used it as firewood, remember?”
Feng Xuan's smile deepened. "And in the evening, didn't Mother make us a special dish?"
Feng Ye frowned even more, recalling that summer, that beach, and that dinner that night.
Suddenly, a blurry image flashed through his mind, and in the image there seemed to be a dish that looked a bit strange.
But he didn't think much of it at the time; he just thought it tasted pretty good.
"Could it be..."
Feng Ye's voice trembled slightly, "That dish... was it boat maggots?"
"That's right, they are shipworms. We found them while chopping wood, so we took them all out and cooked them."
Feng Xuan nodded. "You said it was delicious back then, why don't you recognize it now?"
Feng Ye instantly felt nauseous, and his expression became complicated.
He truly never imagined that he had actually eaten ship maggots, especially when he was so young.
"I...I really ate it?"
He muttered to himself, still trying to process the fact.
Ah-Can watched in stunned silence, never expecting that Feng Ye had such a "dark history".
He patted Feng Ye on the shoulder and laughed, "Brother Ye, I admire you. You're really brave to eat maggots."
He deliberately omitted the word "boat".
"Don't even mention it, it makes me sick just thinking about it. I will never touch anything like this again."
Feng Ye gave a wry smile and continued, "Also, could you please include the word 'boat' instead of just saying 'maggot'?"
"Okay, okay, it's my fault, it's the boat maggot, the boat maggot."
Ah-chan smiled and agreed, then added, "Actually, there's not much difference; they're all maggots anyway."
Feng Ye's lips twitched slightly, and she glared at him fiercely: "Shut up, no one will think you're mute if you don't speak."
Then, he turned to Feng Xuan and said, "Brother, I won't stop you if you want to eat it, but I really can't accept it."
"However, the ship is so badly damaged by ship maggots that it's uncertain whether it can be towed back."
"I think we should pry the goose barnacles off first, so they don't fall apart halfway through, which would be a waste of time."
"That's right, let's pry open the goose barnacles first. As for the ship maggots, we'll find them by splitting them open once we get them back. If we really can't get them back, then I won't have the chance to enjoy them."
Feng Xuan thought for a moment and nodded in agreement.
Upon hearing this, Feng Ye's lips twitched involuntarily, speechless.
Still want to enjoy your food?
However, thinking back to how I ate it when I was a child, it was actually quite good.
I vaguely remember that the taste was a mixture of razor clams and squid tentacles, similar to mussels.
It also contains the aroma of fish oil from steamed grouper, without any unpleasant or malevolent residue.
Nevertheless, he still couldn't get over that psychological hurdle.
The visual stimulation of that meandering, writhing motion lingers in my mind.
The word 'maggot' in its name, in particular, always reminded him of a latrine...
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
