At this time, the tide had just receded to the very back, and most of the villagers were working hard by the sea.
Chen Zhiyao arrived early; her second uncle's purchasing station was still quiet at that time.
She parked her electric tricycle at the entrance and took all the seafood, except for some for her own consumption, into the purchasing station.
Seeing that there was no one else inside except her second uncle who was eating, Chen Zhiyao secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
Although today's catch wasn't as good as her usual trips at sea, there were still quite a few good things, and she didn't want to be surrounded by villagers.
The aunties in the village, though they meant no harm, were just too enthusiastic for her to handle.
"Second Uncle, I'm here to sell my fish!" The voice reached the house before the person even went inside.
Hearing that familiar voice, Second Uncle put down his rice and walked over happily.
"It's Tangtang! You're back from the beach so early."
"We still need to cook later, so let's go home early."
"Wow, so many clams! And they're quite big too. It's the fishing ban season now, so seafood prices have gone up a bit. I'll give you clams for 40 yuan a pound."
"Cat's eye snails are 32 yuan per catty, octopus is 35 yuan per catty, mantis shrimp and whelks are 45 yuan per catty, other small shellfish are not worth much, these are still the same."
The price has indeed increased significantly compared to before, and Chen Zhiyao nodded in satisfaction:
"Alright, then we'll go with the price you suggested, Second Uncle."
He was unaware that Chen Zhiyao had kept all the good stuff, like sea urchins and sea cucumbers, and asked with concern:
"Should we sell all of these? Or should we save some for dinner?"
"No need, no need, I've already prepared food at home." Chen Zhiyao shook her head and stepped forward to help with a smile.
While weighing her, her second uncle deliberately teased her:
"I was wondering why there weren't any valuable seafood like crabs; turns out this girl had kept them all."
"It's a miscarriage of justice. There are so many people going beachcombing these days, and there's hardly any valuable seafood to begin with."
She only kept a tiny bit; there wasn't much at all.
As the two chatted and laughed, the various fish catches were quickly weighed.
Sea snails: 7.3 jin (approximately 3.65 catties), 40 yuan per jin (approximately 20 yuan per kg), total 292 yuan. Cat's eye snails: 2.8 jin (approximately 1.4 catties), 32 yuan per jin (approximately 20 yuan per kg), total 90 yuan.
Octopus: 3.2 jin (1.6 catties), 35 yuan per jin (0.5 kg), total 112 yuan. Small clams: 8.6 jin (4.3 catties), 10 yuan per jin (0.5 kg), total 86 yuan.
There are 8 scallops in total, 5 yuan each, for a total of 40 yuan. There are 4 jin of mantis shrimp and whelks in total, 45 yuan per jin, for a total of 180 yuan.
Besides keeping the seafood for her own consumption, Chen Zhiyao also earned a total of 800 yuan from this beachcombing trip.
She originally just wanted to collect some seafood for dinner, but she didn't expect to earn 800 yuan.
After receiving the money, Chen Zhiyao could barely suppress the upward curve of her lips.
Ah Huang and Xue Tuan sensed her joy and excitedly jumped around at her feet.
The mud that the two little ones got from rolling around on the beach was almost all rubbed onto her legs.
However, Chen Zhiyao was happily looking at the savings on her phone and didn't notice anything at all.
"Thank you, Second Uncle. I'll head back now!"
"Next time you catch fish, remember to come over to your second uncle's place, I'll give you a high price."
"Okay, I'll definitely come over next time, Uncle."
It was getting late, so Chen Zhiyao happily took the seafood she had left behind, along with the dirty Ah Huang and Xue Tuan, and headed home with a beaming smile.
The villagers were all out on the beach, gathering seafood. On the way back, it was quiet all around. The country lanes were bathed in a warm orange-yellow glow from the sunset, interspersed with pink and purple clouds, creating a scene that was both cozy and romantic.
Suddenly, Xue Tuan's excited voice came from behind the car.
"Awoooooo..."
This energetic little guy, with his mouth wide open, foolishly nibbled at the evening breeze blowing towards him.
Ah Huang, lying lazily to the side, was clearly tired.
Before going home, Chen Zhiyao went to the old house first.
Chen Zhiyao forgot to feed the chickens in the afternoon; the bowls where she put the chicken feed were already empty.
Finally, they saw someone coming, and both the mother hen and the fluffy chicks started chirping and twittering.
Hundreds of chicks were chirping away, and she felt like her head was about to explode.
Knowing she was in the wrong, Chen Zhiyao quickly went to mix chicken feed for the little guys.
After feeding the chickens, the little guys finally quieted down, and their eyes looked at her with more kindness.
Chen Zhiyao wandered around the orchard and picked up about 20 small and exquisite free-range eggs.
In early spring, when food is scarce, newly planted vegetables haven't grown yet, and there are only a few kinds of vegetables available for consumption.
Chen Zhiyao cut a small bunch of tender chives and took them home. Since she had eggs at home, she decided to make chive and egg soup.
Then I picked some fresh scallions and a large piece of ginger. When cooking seafood, ginger and scallions are indispensable.
When I got home, the house was quiet; everyone else was probably still fishing at the dock.
There wasn't enough time, so instead of giving Ah Huang and Xue Tuan a bath, she took a clean towel and wiped the mud off their paws and bodies.
Then I rolled up my sleeves and got ready to cook.
After cleaning several crabs, they were cut into small pieces, and various sea fish were scaled and gutted.
For sea urchins, the long outer spines are cut off, and then the inside is opened to remove the viscera.
Shrimp, clams, and whelks can be simply scrubbed clean.
Seafood should be eaten while it's hot, so Chen Zhiyao waited until everyone was almost home before starting to cook.
Add a little peanut oil to the casserole dish, then sauté the ginger slices until fragrant, and then add the prepared scallops, whelks, sea cucumbers, ribbonfish, flounder, sardines, and shrimp.
Each type of seafood is only in small quantities, but when combined, it makes a very large pot.
No need to add any seasonings, just a little salt and chopped green onions, cook for a few more minutes, and a pot of fragrant seafood stew is ready.
The remaining dishes, such as stir-fried crab with ginger and scallions, steamed sea bass, steamed sea urchin with egg, cold seaweed salad, and egg with chives, are all quick and easy dishes.
The group returned from fishing, and the last dish was just ready to be cooked.
Hearing the door open, Chen Zhiyao peeked out of the kitchen with a smile:
"You're here! How's the fishing this afternoon?"
At this point, Chen Weiqiang immediately perked up and proudly went to his daughter to show off:
"It's a real shame you weren't here. The fishing was amazing this afternoon; I caught several groupers."
At this moment, Grandpa Chen, beaming with pride, pushed his son aside and continued:
“You’ve only caught worthless grouper. I caught a red grouper, weighing a full three pounds, which is bigger than the one Tangtang caught this morning.”
"There were even red-spotted fish! What a huge loss! I should have gone fishing with them too." Chen Zhiyao was extremely annoyed, as if she had lost a fortune.
"Okay, hurry up and wash your hands and eat."
Grandma Chen, who was at the very back, gently urged the few people who were still chatting to hurry up.
"Woof woof woof..."
"Awoooooo..."
Seeing that these people still hadn't moved, Ah Huang and Xue Tuan, who were eager to eat, cried out in frustration. Looking at the large table of dishes she had personally prepared—seafood stew, steamed sea urchin, cold salad, stir-fried leeks, and stir-fried crab with ginger and scallions—Chen Zhiyao felt extremely proud.
She even took many photos of the food, which looked and smelled delicious, and shared them with her best friends in the group chat.
Tang Youyou and Li Lin, who were eating takeout, were drooling and just wanted to fly over and beat her up.
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