Aunt Board heard that her husband was going out to sea again, and immediately raised her voice, "This whole boat of fish hasn’t even gone out yet, why go again? Don’t go, hurry home to push the cart and take these fish to the city. They’ll sell better there than at the pier."
Uncle Board pulled Aunt Board aside and whispered something to her, then Yu Xiaolian saw Aunt Board looking Yu Xiaolian up and down with an expression like she was looking at a fool.
Being the first to try crab in their eyes, Yu Xiaolian was unfazed by the strange looks she received.
Yu Xiaolian didn’t care, but Zhao Erya was uncomfortable being stared at by Aunt Board.
When she first saw those crabs, she was indeed startled—they were terribly ugly and scary. How could the sea have something so ugly?
Uncle Board and Aunt Board together emptied the boat cabin, found seven crabs from among the miscellaneous fish, and put them in a wooden bucket covered with a wooden board.
Uncle Board went out to sea again, drawing the attention of nearby fishing boats. They all came to ask Aunt Board, "Why are you going out to sea again? Have your fish already gone out? Sold to that restaurant?"
Aunt Board pointed to Yu Xiaolian and mentioned Yu Xiaolian’s plan to buy a whole boat of crabs.
This revelation caused quite an uproar.
Yu Xiaolian was surrounded and scrutinized by the fishermen.
Looking at her clear eyes, she didn’t seem foolish?
So it’s that she’s burning money?
Yu Xiaolian didn’t know she had already been labeled by the fishermen as foolish and rich.
Some were discussing, while others saw a business opportunity.
"Young lady, do you still want crabs? Eight coins a pound, and I’ll go catch a boatload for you!"
"Seven coins—my family can catch them for seven!"
"Six coins—six coins will do for us!"
Once one spoke up, other fishermen followed suit, bidding for Yu Xiaolian to buy their crabs.
A whole boat of crabs would weigh two hundred pounds—a pound at ten coins is two taels of silver.
Never mind ten coins, they’d do it for two, as this kind of thing is abundant in their part of the sea, even more so than fish.
Just two nets can fill a whole cabin.
Yu Xiaolian removed the board from the bucket and pointed to the largest horse crab, "You can all go catch them, but they must be this size. I don’t want the small ones."
"Then what price shall we calculate...?"
To foster harmony, Yu Xiaolian generously said, "Since I agreed to ten coins for Uncle Board’s family, it’s the same price for all. But you have to use straw rope to tie each crab up for me."
"No problem, we sell fish threading them with straw ropes one by one too, it’s a small matter. Just, young lady, are you sure you want all these crabs?"
Yu Xiaolian looked over and saw there were four fishermen families, counting Uncle Board’s as five, "Just these few. We won’t take from anyone else. Can you return before noon? If you come back late, I won’t wait."
The fishermen all assured her they’d be back in no time, urging Yu Xiaolian to wait for them.
As they set off, the fishermen lamented in their hearts that their boats were too small to bring back more; otherwise, they could earn more.
For after all, it’s rare to encounter such a wealthy yet foolish young girl.
Aunt Board brought over small wooden stools for Yu Xiaolian and Zhao Erya, letting them sit in the shade to wait.
Yu Xiaolian was jubilant at the thought of freely indulging in horse crabs in the future.
Zhao Erya saw the fishermen’s wives occasionally staring at them and said anxiously, "They’re watching us. Even if we want to leave now, we can’t."
"I didn’t plan to leave. I have to wait to collect the crabs!" Get full chapters from novᴇlfire.net
She wondered whether there were other seafood in the sea like sea urchins, scallops, conchs, and oysters, which she liked.
Zhao Erya whispered, "You’ve bought several boats; how will we take them back?"
Yu Xiaolian covered her mouth with her hand and whispered back, "Didn’t we pass an empty row of warehouses on our way here? I’ll have them sent there. Once they leave, I’ll store them."
Zhao Erya knew Yu Xiaolian could not only produce things but also store them, so she reminded, "Then I’ll watch out for you while you store them, don’t let anyone see."
"Erya, you’re the best." Yu Xiaolian hooked Zhao Erya’s arm and rested her head on Erya’s shoulder.
She and Erya had slept on the same kang before, becoming as close as though they were one person.
Zhao Erya had previously said she would never marry and just stay with the Yu Family, taking care of Mrs. Sun and Yu Changhe all her life.
Yu Xiaolian knew she had such thoughts because she had lost her purity, but she couldn’t persuade Erya.
Because Erya always thought they didn’t know about it.
When she wiped Erya, she was indeed shocked.
At that time, she and her mother agreed that Erya was unfortunate and that they should treat her well in the future.
After about two hours, the fishing boats sent out to catch crabs returned one by one, and Uncle Board’s boat was the fullest.
Someone clucked their tongue, "Uncle Board, your boat is so deep in the water, how did you row back?"
Everyone looked at the depth at which Uncle Board’s boat sat in the water and gasped inwardly—the man was risking his life for money.
Fortunately, Uncle Board had been fishing for many years and was experienced; otherwise, the boat might not have made it back.
The other four families weren’t jealous. Though Uncle Board’s was packed, his boat had many years, was old and small, seeming full but actually comparable to theirs.
Uncle Board tied the mooring rope to the fixed post onshore, pointed to the cabin, and said to Yu Xiaolian, "I’ve brought the crabs back for you. Weighing them individually is a hassle; my estimate is about two hundred pounds, some of them small ones are free, others we can count as one hundred fifty pounds. How’s that?"
Yu Xiaolian leaned closer and saw that the small ones Uncle Board referred to were green crabs, not as big as horse crabs but considered large for green crabs that naturally don’t grow as big.
Green crabs are tasty too, and they’re free—Yu Xiaolian nodded, "Okay."
Then she asked the other families, "Are you all the same?"
The other four families were quick to agree once Uncle Board took the lead—one hundred fifty pounds, that’s one and a half taels of silver.
Oh my, this boat of crabs earned them more than two months’ worth of fishing.
When Yu Xiaolian paid for the crabs, the fishermen’s wives began tying the crabs with straw ropes.
Once the cabins were emptied, the fishermen picked out several buckets of small fish and shrimp from the boat floor and asked if Yu Xiaolian wanted them.
Seeing Yu Xiaolian hesitate, they quickly said, "No charge, they’re free."
Having already earned one and a half taels, these small fish and shrimp were just given for the child to enjoy as a treat.
Yu Xiaolian definitely wanted them—shrimp paste and fish paste are delicious.
Thanking them, the fishermen poured the small fish and shrimp into a net pouch and placed it atop the crab-filled bamboo basket.
After waiting another couple of hours, the crabs were finally all tied, and the fishermen carried the crabs in bamboo baskets to the empty warehouse specified by Yu Xiaolian before leaving.
Zhao Erya kept lookout while Yu Xiaolian stored nearly a thousand pounds of crabs in her space.
After storing the crabs, Yu Xiaolian felt a bit guilty as she pulled Zhao Erya along to race back to the inn.