Chen Zhiyao looked up at the seagulls in the sky, then glanced at the octopuses still struggling on the beach.
In the end, he rushed over and snatched several octopuses from the seagull's beak.
Octopus +4
The lunch that was almost in her mouth was snatched away, and the seagulls were furious. They all swooped down to peck at her.
Seeing this, Chen Zhiyao quickly grabbed the bucket and ran forward as fast as she could, crying, "Big brother, I was wrong, I was really wrong."
After running for quite a while, I finally managed to leave the seagulls behind, panting heavily.
Back where she had parked her electric scooter, Chen Zhiyao looked back and saw that the seawater below had risen.
The vast white sand beach I saw when I arrived this morning has now turned into azure water.
high tide
At this time, the villagers who had gone to the beach to collect seafood also returned home, filled with the joy of a bountiful harvest.
These were all elders who had watched her grow up, and Chen Zhiyao greeted them obediently along the way, her face almost frozen with a smile.
Today's harvest was so-so; the most valuable items were just the two large blue crabs and the conch.
The price wasn't high, so Chen Zhiyao didn't bother going to town and went directly to her second uncle's purchasing station.
Before she even reached the door, she heard several familiar voices coming from inside.
Apart from my own mother, the rest were all relatives. Everyone was chatting happily, creating a lively atmosphere.
Chen Zhiyao, a person with social anxiety, is most afraid of seeing a large group of relatives.
So he quietly squatted in the corner by the door and silently sorted the various small seafood in the bucket.
She'd rather feed the mosquitoes at the door than go inside and join the fun.
The small clams cost only a few yuan per pound, and there was only a little over a pound, so Chen Zhiyao simply kept them all.
Thinking of making a mixed fish stew for lunch, pomfret, black sea bream, sand goby, and shrimp were all put into the bucket containing small shellfish.
The remaining items were two crabs, a little over a pound of sea anemones, a little over two pounds of octopus, and various kinds of sea snails.
Chen Zhiyao waited for a while, and only went inside after most of the people had left.
Upon entering, they discovered that besides their second uncle, his eldest son, Chen Ziqi, was also present at the purchasing station.
Chen Ziqi is her distant cousin and childhood friend. He now sells seafood in the county.
"Brother Ziqi, when did you get back?" Chen Zhiyao greeted him obediently as she stepped forward.
Chen Ziqi and her father deftly took the bucket of water from her and began weighing it:
"It's almost the end of the year, and seafood sales have been good these past few days. I'm coming back to pick up seafood to take back to the stalls in the county."
"By the way, I heard you went fishing at sea with your uncle. How was the catch?"
"A good catch, I caught several manta rays and quite a few rockfish."
Chen Zhiyao only mentioned some lower-priced fish, such as tuna and longtail snapper, without revealing anything else.
After all, she sold all her fish catch to the town's purchasing station, so she was too embarrassed to say anything more.
The brother and sister chatted for a few minutes, and the catch was settled.
Large mud crabs weigh 1.1 jin (approximately 0.85 kg), priced at 68 yuan per jin, totaling 75 yuan. Small mud crabs weigh 0.6 jin (approximately 0.3 kg), priced at 50 yuan per jin, totaling 30 yuan.
Octopus: 2.8 jin (1.4 catties), 32 yuan per jin (0.5 kg), total 90 yuan. Sea anemone: 1.6 jin (0.8 catties), 35 yuan per jin (0.5 kg), total 56 yuan.
Horseshoe snails and whelks totaled 5 jin (2.5 kg), at 42 yuan per jin, for a total of 210 yuan. Spicy snails totaled 3 jin (1.5 catties), at 20 yuan per jin, for a total of 60 yuan.
In total, Chen Zhiyao's beachcombing harvest today amounted to 521 yuan.
Besides the money earned from beachcombing, there was also a lot of small seafood in the bucket.
Chen Zhiyao is very satisfied with her current life, as she can both earn money and enjoy all kinds of delicious food.
It feels much better than struggling in a big city.
Chen Zhiyao received the money and happily rode her electric bike home. As she passed the small shop in her neighborhood, she glanced inside.
I saw my mom sorting through the packages the delivery guy had brought.
The car stopped at the entrance, and Chen Zhiyao said with a grin:
"Mom, I'll cook lunch today. I'll make you some big dishes."
Yan Shuting was very supportive, looking at her daughter with pride, "Great! Tangtang's cooking must be delicious."
Emboldened by her mother's sweet words, Chen Zhiyao drove home feeling elated.
The various small shellfish I collected today need to be kept for another day before we can eat them. Just having salted mixed fish stew for lunch definitely won't be enough.
As soon as she got home, she went to the water trough in the yard to see what other ingredients she had.
The grandfather, grandson, and daughter-in-law have been away from home for the past few days, and the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law are quite frugal, so the sink has been empty for a while.
Now only half a bucket of small oysters and two pounds of tiny snails the size of a fingernail remain.
Chen Zhiyao took out the oysters and whelks. She planned to make oyster omelets for lunch, and stir-fry the whelks with scallions, ginger, and garlic.
Add the leftover braised pork from yesterday, and cook some green vegetables, and that should be about right.
Just after finishing preparing the oysters, Chen Zhiyao realized that the eggs in the house were gone.
She then drove her electric scooter to the old house in a great hurry.
The courtyard of the old house
At this moment, Grandma Chen had just fed the chickens and was weeding the vegetables in her private plot.
Hearing the sound of the electric scooter, the old lady looked up and saw her granddaughter's pretty little face.
"Tangtang, what brings you here?"
"I'm out of eggs at home, so I came here to pick up a few to use for lunch."
"The chickens at home usually lay eggs in the evening, I wonder if they'll still be laying eggs at this time."
"I'll go take a look."
Chen Zhiyao carried a small basket lined with rice bran as she entered the orchard.
More than 100 hens were scattered in various corners of the orchard. When they heard the door open, they all turned their heads to look at her.
Seeing over 100 pairs of eyes staring fiercely at her, Chen Zhiyao involuntarily swallowed.
Although she was a little nervous, she still gritted her teeth and went to the shed where the hens laid eggs.
There weren't many eggs, only six, but that should be enough for lunch today.
Chen Zhiyao smiled and picked up a few tiny free-range eggs, each no bigger than a toe.
I happened to pass by my family's shrimp pond when I went out. It was quite foggy today. The green hills and clear waters, with clouds and mist swirling around, gave it an ethereal feel.
A corner of the shrimp pond
"The lychee trees by the pond are growing so well, they should be bearing fruit by next year, right?"
Just thinking about the sweet and juicy lychees made Chen Zhiyao's mouth water.
Back in the courtyard, the old lady's carefully tended vegetables were growing lush and green.
Chen Zhiyao's eyes darted back and forth in the vegetable garden, her face intently considering what to cook for lunch.
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