Chapter 95 Returning with a Full Load

Chapter 95 Returning with a Full Load

Chapter 95 Returning with a Full Load
Before the four of them reached the mudflats at the edge of the trench, they saw Chen Yongwei's headlights from afar, still busy at the edge of the trench.

"Big sister-in-law, second sister-in-law, go quickly and try harder. Catch as many as you can."

"Okay, we'll come back to help you tie them." Mrs. Li Da and Mrs. Li Er ran towards Chen Yongwei, fearing that they would be too late and the crabs would run away and they would not be able to catch them.

Li Changle and Zhou Ruonan continued forward and saw several net bags on the ground. They exclaimed, "Ah Le, there really are so many! There must be dozens of kilograms here, right?"

"You thought I was lying to you just now?" Li Changle glanced at her complacently.

"No, I didn't know you had that big net bag." Zhou Ruonan had never tried picking up crabs from the ground before, so she pointed the flashlight at him and said, "A Le, I want to go find crabs, too."

"This is a rare opportunity, you should go and try it out. By the way, give the kettle to Awei so he can come and rest for a while." Li Changle gave her the headlamp and kettle and took the flashlight.

"Oh! Come and look for him together when he comes back." Zhou Ruonan left in a hurry.

After Li Changle went over and sat down, he untied the net bag, took out a blue crab and tied it up. He put the crabs with intact legs and claws in one basket, and the crippled and thin ones in another.

Looking at the crabs in the net bag, the more I tied them, the happier I was. This was all money! After selling these crabs today, I was one step closer to building a new house.

I don't know if it was the care of the reborn god or the blessing of God, but after he came back, his shipping and financial luck were both good. He could encounter sea urchins when fishing in the sea, and he could also encounter migrating crabs when setting traps. I'm afraid he and Awei are the only ones like them in the whole fishing village.

Chen Yongwei came over with a net bag, "Brother, I have more here, most of them are crab roe."

"There are quite a few crab roe here." Li Changle took out a cigarette and handed it to him. "It's a pity that some of the crab claws and legs are broken."

"It's not worth selling the broken ones, so we keep them to make crab sauce and eat crabs."

"That's fine. Pick out some fat ones and send them to your aunt. I'll send some to my uncle and sister."

"I only send it to my eldest and second aunts. Forget about my youngest aunt's family. They are rich and don't need it."

When Chen Yongwei thought of the way his aunt looked at him, he felt angry and felt that some relatives were not as good as friends.

"Your things are yours, so you can give them to whoever you want." Li Changle put the bamboo basket in front of him. "You can continue. There are many snakes and insects at night. I'll go see your sister-in-law."

"Okay!" Chen Yongwei looked at the net bag full of crabs on the ground and started working happily.

Before Li Changle arrived, he heard Mrs. Li's hearty laughter and Zhou Ruonan's exclamation.

"Look, I caught another big one!"

"Ah Wei said that when Ah Le left, crabs were everywhere like dried grains. Now they are hard to find. If I had known, I would have come here with Ah Le."

"It's good to be able to pick up a tail. In a short time, we can get more than what we used to get in an entire afternoon."

Li Changle walked over and asked with a smile: "I heard you guys laughing before we even got here. You look so happy. How many did you catch?"

Mrs. Li said cheerfully, "I have already caught seven or eight, and Ah Zhen also caught a few. Your Ah Nan was the luckiest, catching three butter crabs."

Zhou Ruonan picked up a crab and said to him happily, "Ah Le, look, this crab is orange all over, and it looks like even the cracks in its bones are filled with roe."

Li Changle picked it up and took a look. Under the light, the entire blue crab was orange and transparent, and even the crab claws were soaked with crab roe.

"The thing about butter crabs is that, I heard from the foodies in town that the season is too intense at this time of year. When the water temperature in the shallow waters rises, the roe crabs that are laying eggs are stimulated.

The crab paste in the body melts like lard into golden crab oil, which diffuses and penetrates in the crab's body and grows into this shape. "

He paused and continued, "I heard from them that every crab leg of the best butter crab is permeated with crab roe. Just like you said, it's as if even the cracks in the bones are filled with roe.

There are also butter crabs among field crabs and other crabs, but the butter crabs are the best tasting than the sea oil crabs, which are very oily and fragrant, and so fresh that they make your tongue fall off.”

As he spoke, he took the butter crab handed to him by Zhou Ruonan, tied it up and put it in the bucket. You have to be careful with this thing. If the claws or legs are broken, the butter will leak out from the wound. A butter crab without butter will be no different from an ordinary crab.

Butter crab is famous for its sweet and fragrant roe and tender meat. Therefore, it is best to steam it to keep its original flavor.

When you peel back the crab shell of the steamed butter crab, the unique aroma of crab oil will hit you. The bright yellow crab roe on the crab shell tastes sweet, fragrant and tender, and the meat is fresh and delicious. It can be said to be "the best crab".

Zhou Ruonan looked at Li Changle who was talking freely and felt that he looked energetic and handsome. "So that's what's going on?"

Mrs. Li turned her head and looked at him in surprise. For the first time, she felt that this idiot uncle of hers still had some good points and was barely worthy of An Nan.

Mrs. Li in front of us smiled and said, "Ah Le's trip was not in vain. He also learned a lot."

Li Changle: "Sister-in-law, are you belittling me or praising me?"

"I praise you!" Mrs. Li said with a smile, "I used to think you went out to play poker or mahjong!" "I just heard them bragging, I don't know if it's true or not." Li Changle put the butter crab in the bucket, "I'll carry it, you're lucky, keep looking."

Zhou Ruonan handed him the bucket and started searching by the trench. "My eldest and second sisters-in-law also said that there were a lot of crabs tonight. They were easy to catch and big in size. The smallest one they caught weighed 60 to 70 grams, and the biggest one weighed more than one kilogram."

"Take advantage of this opportunity to look for it carefully."

Li Changle followed her with a bucket in hand. Seeing crab claw prints by the puddle in front of them, he walked forward and poked the crab a few times with his pliers. He found the crab shell, pressed the crab with his pliers, put down the bucket, squatted down and picked it up.

Zhou Ruonan looked at the big crab claws that looked like chicken legs. "This one weighs just over a pound."

"It's a pity it's not a butter crab." Li Changle tied it up with a rope and put it in a bucket, and the couple continued to look for it.

Mrs. Li, who was digging crabs nearby, said, "Ah Le, just be content. Look at the nearby fishing villages. Who has such good luck as you? In just half a month, you have earned back your eldest brother's annual salary."

"Brother's salary is over a thousand a year, how can I earn so much?"

"Anyway, I've been jealous of all the fish you've caught recently. When your eldest brother comes back, I'll ask him to ask if we can terminate the contract early."

The current price of fish is a little higher than last year. Unlike the previous two years, most of the fish cost a few cents per pound, and seafood costing a few dimes per pound was rare.

In addition, Ah Le also has connections with restaurants, so the prices of good products are even higher.

Mrs. Li said with a smile, "If we can cancel the contract, we can also buy a small boat, and you brothers can go fishing together. Not only will you have company, but you can also share in your good luck."

"Don't blame me if you don't make as much money as your big brother sailing!"

"It's not your fault. My mother also said that you have been good at sea transport since you were young. Whenever I go fishing, I can find good goods as long as I take you with me. It's because you have grown up and become crooked and out of tune that your luck has become bad."

"Sister-in-law, what mother means is that Ale is now on the right path and his good luck is back, right?" Zhou Ruonan said curiously.

Mrs. Li nodded. "That should be what he meant. You've been so lucky since he started doing real work."

While listening to the two women chatting loudly, Li Changle rummaged through the pile of rocks, hoping to find a few more butter crabs and send them to the restaurant to see if he could sell them for a good price.
I turned over a few rocks and found a blue crab at the bottom of the pit. It was almost pinched by the claws, so I quickly clamped it with pincers, pressed down the crab shell with one hand, and picked up the blue crab. When I saw the bulging crab shell, I knew it was a full-roe crab without having to turn it over.

It was a bit of a pity that it wasn't a butter crab, but I was still happy to take out the hemp rope, tie it up and put it in the bucket.

The four of them found something near the trench around one o'clock, and around two o'clock, Li Changle and Zhou Ruonan found four more butter crabs, and the buckets they were carrying were already full.

The further we walked, the harder it was to find crabs. When we saw the tide was rising, we turned and walked towards the mudflats.

Chen Yongwei had already tied up all the crabs and was sleeping on the backpack with his mouth drooling.

Mrs. Li looked at the crabs in the basket and the net bag and said, "There are really so many crabs. I think with the crabs at home, there are at least more than 100 kilograms."

"There should be about one hundred and sixty or seventy." Mrs. Li said enviously.

"There are still many crabs with broken claws!" Li Changle put down the bucket and patted Chen Yongwei, "Awei, wake up, let's go back."

Chen Yongwei looked at him sleepily. There were still a few marks from the backpack on his face, and big lumps left by mosquito bites.

"Brother, our jars haven't been collected yet!"

"It's okay. We can collect it tomorrow morning after the tide goes out."

"Yeah!" Chen Yongwei stood up and stretched. "I just finished tying crabs for a while, and I was so sleepy that I fell asleep on the backpack. It was my first time tying crabs, and my fingers felt like they had chicken claws and I couldn't even stretch them straight."

Mrs. Li smiled and said, "Let's go back and steam some big blue crabs to nourish ourselves."

Chen Yongwei nodded happily, "There are quite a few blue crabs with broken claws and legs in the basket. If you want to make crab meat, you can make crab meat. If you want to make crab paste, you can make crab paste."

After they packed up, they dragged their tired bodies back. It was late at night and the village was quiet everywhere. The heavy footsteps of the few people seemed particularly loud in the silent night.

When they arrived at Li Changle's house, Li's mother came out of the house and saw that everyone's hands were full. She was so happy that she couldn't close her mouth.

"Your father said that you must have encountered migrating blue crabs. It's a pity that there were only two of you. If everyone in the family had gone, we would have made a fortune today."

Chen Yongwei felt a little distressed when he thought of the crabs that escaped. "Yes, if they were closer, we would have come back to call you."

"It's good to have caught so many. If we put so many together, they will be crushed to death. Let's take them out and keep them in a wooden basin first."

Seeing that none of them were in high spirits, Li's mother said, "You two should go to sleep for a while. I'll take care of this."

(End of this chapter)