Ye Cheng stepped over, picked up the large red-shelled shrimp from the ground, and examined it carefully.
I'm so familiar with it, really. I can't get by without eating several kilograms of it every year.
Crayfish, it really is crayfish.
"Are there a lot of crayfish around here?" Ye Cheng turned to look at Xiao Hu.
"Bro, this piece of junk is disgusting. It eats dead meat. What do you want it for?"
"I'm just asking you, is it a lot or not?"
“Our village is small, but there are several villages nearby that grow crops, all of which are located in the valley.”
No wonder I haven't seen many crayfish; apparently, they're not found in Baiyun Village.
Now that we've discovered it, we absolutely have to treat them to a meal.
"Ah Fu, Ah Long, come help me get some crayfish," Ye Cheng called out to the Chen brothers.
The two walked over, and their faces showed resistance when they saw the shrimp in Ye Cheng's hand.
"No way, Brother Cheng, what do you need this for? Nobody wants it even if you sell it."
"Yes, the shell is hard and dirty, nobody eats it."
Ye Cheng rolled his eyes at them. "If you're not going to eat, I will. Now, hurry up and scoop some out for me. At least ten for each of you, about the same size as the one in my hand."
Ten crayfish per person would make forty crayfish, enough to fill a big basin. Just thinking about the taste of crayfish made Ye Cheng swallow hard.
Since Ye Cheng insisted, the three of them had no choice but to search along the ditches and paddy fields.
These things weren't hard to find; they were just sitting there imposingly outside. The four of them circled the ditch and found them all.
This is why no one eats it now; if people start eating it in future generations, it will become extinct in the wild.
"Here, I've put them all in the bucket for you, bro. Just so you know, I'm not eating them." Xiao Hu carried a bucket and filled it for Ye Cheng.
"It's better if you don't eat it. Just don't take mine later. There's only a little bit. I don't even have enough for myself."
Now that they're wild, you definitely can't eat the shrimp roe or anything like that. Just eat the meat, and 40 shrimp will be a piece of cake.
While helping Ye Cheng with these tasks, the Chen brothers rode their bicycles slowly behind, while Ye Cheng and Xiao Hu rode their motorcycles home first.
Before returning, Ye Cheng called Boss Qian. After taking a shower at home, Boss Qian arrived shortly after, as did the Chen brothers.
"Hey, isn't this the guy we met last time? Now he's with you too?" Old Qian teased Ye Cheng.
Ye Cheng took out a cigarette and handed it to President Qian, saying, "We're all from the same village, so there's no need to talk about following each other."
"Okay, whatever you say. Where's the earth dragon? Let me see it. It's a good thing."
Ye Cheng had Xiao Hu bring out the water tank. "Here it is."
Mr. Qian opened it and took a look. He was immediately attracted by the 2-meter-long behemoth. "Holy crap! There are such big ones?"
"There's only one of these, so this one should be more expensive, right?" Ye Cheng asked.
"It has to be expensive. You know what this thing is used to mend, so of course the thicker and longer it is, the better the price."
The two exchanged a glance and gave each other knowing smiles.
There were also goby fish and mudskippers, which Mr. Qian collected together.
Earth dragon: It weighs 46 jin in total. At 300 yuan per jin, the total is [amount missing]. Adding the larger one, which sells for 1500 yuan separately, the total is [amount missing].
When the Chen brothers heard the price, they were completely stunned. They were breathing rapidly and their mouths were dry. More than ten thousand! More than ten thousand!
Crab goby: 33 jin in total, at 100 yuan per jin, the total cost is 3300 yuan.
Mudskippers: Two and a half buckets in total, weighing 54 jin (27.5 catties). At 30 yuan per jin, that's 1620 yuan.
As for the small, miscellaneous fish they picked up later, Ye Cheng had the Chen brothers take them home; there were too few to sell.
In total, the earth dragon was sold for a total of [amount missing] yuan. Ye Cheng gave Xiao Hu 5,000 yuan and the Chen brothers 5,000 yuan each.
Although the Chen brothers split 5,000 yuan between them, they were still incredibly excited. "Brother, that's 2,500 yuan each! That's equivalent to two months' wages for us working."
Ye Cheng ignored them, pulled Boss Qian aside, took the crayfish, and asked mysteriously,
"Old Qian, do you think they sell these in the city now?"
Mr. Qian glanced at it, shook his head, and walked away. "I know this stuff. It's from a stinking ditch. Nobody eats it."
After saying that, he looked at Ye Cheng curiously, "You're planning to eat this, right?"
Ye Cheng smiled but remained noncommittal.
After seeing off President Qian and the Chen brothers, Xiao Hu had a bad feeling. He was about to leave when Ye Cheng stopped him.
I dragged him along to cook shrimp, specifically crayfish.
Ye Cheng found a large basin and two broken toothbrushes. He and Xiao Hu sat down next to the basin and started brushing their teeth one by one.
These wild crayfish are different from the farmed ones of later generations; they're so dirty. Ye Cheng took a toothbrush and scrubbed the crayfish thoroughly, turning the whole basin of water green.
Even so, Ye Cheng still felt uneasy.
Xiao Hu looked at Ye Cheng with a gloating expression, "Brother, a bowl of green water, are you going to eat it?"
"Eat! If I eat, you have to eat too!"
Just to be on the safe side, Ye Cheng changed the water and had Xiao Hu wash the crayfish again, while he went to buy seasonings.
There used to be special condiments for crayfish, but not anymore; you have to find them yourself.
I bought some star anise, cinnamon, and bay leaves from Li the Cripple; these are common spices.
Then I bought a bottle of Pixian chili bean paste. Unfortunately, they didn't have any Sichuan peppercorns, so I just bought some dried chilies to make do.
The crayfish dish isn't just about the crayfish itself; it also needs side dishes.
I casually broke off two cucumbers from Xiao Hu's yard. Since we were out of rice cakes, I had to use potatoes instead.
By the time Ye Cheng returned with such a large bag of things, Xiao Hu had already started playing on the computer.
"Damn it, I told you to scrub it and you've already put it on again. Have you even cleaned it properly?" Ye Cheng put a bunch of things into the kitchen.
"I've brushed them, brushed them, almost brushed off all the shells. Look at them, they're like newborn babies now, pure and flawless."
Ye Cheng went to look at the pristine crayfish. They weren't exactly pristine, but at least the moss and other vegetation on their shells had been cleaned off.
He picked up a crayfish at random, pried open its gills and looked at it; it was still a bit dark.
Normally, crayfish can be stir-fried directly in a pan with oil, but Ye Cheng first boiled a pot of water and cooked them for a while.
It was hard to say whether the shrimp meat would be tough, but seeing the little black foam floating up in the pot, Ye Cheng immediately felt much more at ease about what he would eat later.
Xiao Hu played the game for a while and became a little curious, wanting to see how Ye Cheng ate this unwanted food.
After Ye Cheng finished cooking, he immediately heated oil in a wok and stir-fried the crayfish, then set them aside to serve.
Looking at the bright red crayfish, which were still emitting a fragrant aroma, Xiao Hu suddenly felt his appetite rise.
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