Song Lizheng didn't know what crabs were. He only knew that two years ago, there was an old bachelor in the village who was so poor that he had no food to eat, so he caught some hard-shelled insects in the river.
He went home and cooked it and ate it, but he vomited and had diarrhea that night and died before he even saw the sunrise the next morning.
Song Lizheng finished his babble, and when he saw that no one responded, he jumped up again: "Did you hear that? That old bachelor is dead after eating this crab!"
The noise attracted Wang Dahu and Zhao Youcai who were not far away, and even the villagers who were working in the fields nearby came over.
They all said: "Yeah, yeah, this thing is not good to eat!"
"That's right, throw it away quickly. Your family is not short of money, so why take the risk?" His words were full of certainty, making Ling San and Ling Si hesitate.
He looked at Ling Jiheng with an uneasy look on his face: "Master?"
Ling Jiheng remained calm and asked, "Did the old man eat the dead hard-shelled insects?"
Song Lizheng didn't understand what was going on and gave Ling Jiheng a strange look: "Otherwise, you can't eat a living thing!"
"Did he just die, or has he been dead for a long time?"
"This..." Song Lizheng was stumped by the question.
The villagers scratched their heads and began to recall that evening a few years ago.
Someone suddenly had an idea: "It must have been dead for a while. I remember him coming down the mountain carrying the beetle's legs. If the beetle wasn't dead, wouldn't it have pinched his finger?"
"Yes, yes, yes. Besides, his family doesn't usually light a fire. They only picked up some firewood that day in order to eat the hard-shelled bugs."
Ling Jiheng understood that this was obviously a tragedy caused by eating spoiled crab meat.
So I explained to everyone: "This is called crab, it's not poisonous. When we were in the south, we ate it every autumn. It tasted very delicious."
"Then why is Peng Laosan gone?"
Song Lizheng asked suspiciously, "Is it because the hard-shelled beetles died?"
"Yes, this crab must be eaten alive. Once it dies, it will deteriorate, which is what the village head said is poisoned. At that time, you must see a doctor. If it's too late, you may lose everything!"
"So that's it." Everyone suddenly understood, but still kept their distance from crabs.
The Ling family, however, came over with great joy, discussing whether to steam or stir-fry the dish. They completely didn't understand the dilemmas people in the north have.
Ling Jiheng felt that crabs needed to be given a proper name, so he asked Ling San to go home and get a pot, water and a grate, planning to have a crab feast on the ridge of the field.
Actually, it's still early, so I'll go back and deal with the delayed things. I can't just slack off because of a few crabs.
"By the way, bring some more rice wine and ginger, and bring scissors and other things over." Ling Jiheng reminded.
Ling San nodded to show that he understood.
He ran away and soon arrived at the Ling family mansion.
He showed off their harvest of the day to the housekeeper for a while, and asked Shitou to harness the cart.
The twelve-year-old boy was quite talented. After watching it a few times, he was able to do it quite well.
Ling San packed up the things his master wanted, put them on the carriage, and went to the fields with Shi Tou and Lan Lan.
The two half-grown children couldn't take their eyes off the crabs trying to crawl out of the basket.
One can't help but wonder, is it really that delicious?
Seeing this, Ling Wu and Ling Liu carried their backpacks to the stream and used a small brush to clean the dirt off the crab shells.
Then pick it up and throw it on the grate.
Chi Xingyue put some ginger slices and green onions on the grate, and even sprinkled some wine.
A large iron pot was placed on the fire, and soon the water boiled.
Chi Xingyue went to the carriage to prepare the dipping sauce. It was nothing special, just a mixture of sugar, vinegar and minced ginger.
When the crabs were almost steamed, Chi Xingyue brought out the dipping sauce.
Ling Jiheng took out the crabs, and everyone washed their hands before getting one each.
Chi Xingyue handed the scissors to the old man, who skillfully cut the crab into eight pieces.
He removed the inedible items and went to help the old lady.
Seeing that the Ling family was so experienced, Song Lizheng completely gave up the idea that the hard-shelled insects were poisonous. Out of curiosity, he sat aside and watched the fun.
Even after Ling Jiheng stuffed a crab into his mouth, he was still a little dazed and didn't know how to eat it.
The excitement here attracted more and more people, and everyone was curious about how to eat hard-shelled beetles.
The news spread from one person to ten, and from ten to a hundred, and almost half of the village was mobilized.
The Ling family didn't care. After all, they had been stared at so many times in the past few days and were used to it. They just had to be thick-skinned.
They opened the crab shells one by one and drooled at the crab roe inside.
Some people who are impatient will slurp the crabs directly, but most people will break off the crab legs and eat them with the dipping sauce.
Chi Xingyue had only eaten hairy crabs a few times in his previous life, and his crab-cutting skills were not as skilled as Lanlan's.
Seeing this, Ling Jiheng immediately helped her deal with it. His considerate look made others envious.
Many young girls and wives in the village blushed with shame.
Seeing that Song Lizheng was feeling uneasy, Ling Jiheng took the initiative to sit next to him and chatted with him while unpacking crabs.
Song Lizheng imitated him and slowly mastered the technique. He hesitantly put the crab leg into his mouth, chewed it a little, and then widened his eyes in surprise.
Oh my god, this is so delicious!
In stark contrast to the greasy fat meat, crab meat is not very oily, but sweet and chewy.
If I had to describe it, I guess there is only one word that can describe it, and that is fresh!
Now, he finally agreed with Ling Jiheng's words and realized how much delicious food he and the villagers had missed out on.
"From the end of August to the beginning of October, crabs are at their plumpest. Eat them quickly. If you miss this opportunity, you will have to wait another year.
But this thing is cold in nature, so don’t eat too much. Especially pregnant women, don’t touch it at all.”
Song Lizheng said he remembered it and planned to go to the river to catch crabs after he finished this busy period.
Today's experience opened the door to a new world for him, and also made him admire the Ling family even more.
"Ji Heng, is the extreme cold that Yin Bao mentioned really true?"
Although the Ling family had already shown it quite obviously, Song Lizheng still harbored a glimmer of hope, hoping to hear a negative answer.
Ling Jiheng didn't answer directly, but just smiled: "Well, is there anything? We have to prepare for winter!"
This ambiguous attitude made Song Lizheng even more certain.
That night, he told his family this gossip and asked them to follow the Ling family's example, reinforce the house, go up the mountain to chop firewood, and pick mountain products.
Of course, that was all later. At this moment, he was enjoying his meal.
There is not much meat on a crab, and it is not satisfying to eat it.
Song Lizheng was too embarrassed to ask for a second one, so he rubbed his hands and left. Before he had gone far, he was stopped by onlookers.
"Village Chief, what do those hard-shelled worms taste like? Are they really edible?"
Song Lizheng recalled Ling Jiheng's reminder and said to them, "You can eat it, but only if it's steamed alive. The dead ones are poisonous. Pregnant women can't eat it. What else is there? Oh, don't eat too much."
Everyone slurped their saliva, wanting to taste the snow-white crab meat.
Unfortunately, the Ling family did not generously invite them.
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