Chapter 13 Sneaking home in the dark!
Zhao Dahai got into the mangrove, bent down and walked five or six meters. There was a small puddle. To be precise, it was just a little water but it had just emerged from the mud. It was a little muddy. The sun had completely Down the mountain, it was pitch black in the mangroves. If it weren't for my sharp eyes, I wouldn't have been able to spot a blue crab hiding here. Its whole body was buried in the mud. When the flashlight came over, it just happened to reveal its two eyes, which were emitting a faint blue sound. Light.
Zhao Dahai picked up the green crab and looked at it. It was not very big, only half a catty. He got it for thirty or forty yuan.
Huh? !
The tide is rising? !
Zhao Dahai emerged from the mangrove forest and immediately noticed that the water level in the trench was rising. He stepped hard a few times, and the mud under his feet began to squeak out. The tide is really starting to rise. There are indeed blue crabs in the mangroves and there are more and more of them, but making money is more important than life. It is not advisable to stay here for a long time and you cannot be greedy. Once the water rises, all the mangroves will be submerged, especially at night, which is very dangerous.
Zhao Dahai quickened his pace and walked forward along the small ditch. In half an hour, he arrived at the small open space and picked up the mud snails and sea melon seeds that had been packed in the net bag. The net bag containing blue crabs was hung on the On the pole, I found a place to hide the hoe. There are so many blue crabs. I will definitely have to bring them back tomorrow. There is no need to bring them back. I walked out quickly. There is water in the mangrove. You have to hurry up. This Time goes as fast as it can.
Zhao Dahai emerged from the mangrove, panting heavily, his whole body covered with sweat. He shivered when the sea breeze blew over him. When he shined a flashlight on his feet, he saw that the sea water had reached his ankles.
Zhao Dahai shook his head. He was a little careless and ignored the time while catching blue crabs. Don't look at the fact that the water is not high now but it will reach his knees in twenty minutes. In half an hour and forty minutes, the mangroves behind you will be submerged. Next time, you must be very alert and pay attention to the time. You will definitely not be able to sail like this again. Only by being careful can you sail the ten thousand year boat.
Zhao Dahai stepped on the rising sea water and walked to the shore. He put down his burden and rested while waiting for the sea water to rise. Then he carefully washed the mud snails and sea melon seeds, and picked up the snails and sea melon seeds he just wanted. Walking into the village, I lowered my head and looked at the net bag containing blue crabs in my hand. I remembered that I had fished for crabs and tiger fish a few days ago. I turned a corner and took a dark path that few people usually take. There must be a lot of people on the road at the village pier at this time, so I have to avoid it. Someone must have seen the blue crabs they dug when passing by. The path took almost an hour longer, but I didn't meet anyone along the way.
Zhao Dahai saw his grandma Zhong Cuihua standing at the door dozens of meters away. He quickened his pace and walked into the yard without saying hello.
“What happened?!”
Zhong Cuihua closed the door.
I put down sea melon seeds and mud snails towards the sea, picked them from the net bag hanging on the pole and handed them to Zhong Cuihua.
“Yo!”
"That's a lot!"
Zhong Cuihua picked it up and looked down, and saw that the heavy bag was full of blue crabs.
Zhao Dahai walked into the kitchen, carried the kettle, took a bowl, poured water, drank two bowls in succession, and wiped the corners of his mouth.
“Hey!”
“Isn’t this true?!”
"Seven or eight of them are one or two kilograms each, and there are five or six that are smaller in size, but all weigh more than half a kilogram."
"I guess no one has entered the mangroves for a long time." "Green The size of the crabs is really good, and there are a lot of them.”
Zhao Dahai was very happy. After a hard day’s work, the harvest was good. There is nothing better than this.
Zhao Dahai told Zhong Cuihua that he had left the mangrove forest early and had waited for the seawater to come up to wash the mud and sea flower seeds. Mainly to avoid people, he took a long detour and came back at this time. Zhong Cuihua has lived in a fishing village all her life and is very aware of the time of the tide. The tide has risen and she has not returned yet. She is worried that something will happen and is very nervous, so she stands at the door of the yard.
Zhong Cuihua nodded. She was really anxious just now. She must take a detour to avoid people. On the first day when entering the mangrove, Zhao Dahai must not have gone all the way. No one knows whether he can go in in the next few days. Find some more blue crabs. Otherwise, I will be happy with the news. When the tide recedes tomorrow, I don’t know how many people will go to the mangroves.
Zhong Cuihua carefully put down the blue crabs and walked into the kitchen. The meals she had prepared earlier were placed on the table in the courtyard. The steamed pork belly exuded a tangy aroma.
Zhao Dahai took the drained bamboo basket, filled it with sea melon seeds and washed them. He heated a large iron pot over high heat and put in the oil. He patted two garlic sea melon seeds and poured them down for five or six minutes. They all opened their mouths, poured some soy sauce and salt, put them on the table together, and then they and Zhong Cuihua started eating. After walking in the mangroves all day, my stomach was already growling with hunger, and I ate quickly. After eating two large bowls of rice and a few pieces of salted pork belly, he slowed down, reached out and grabbed a handful of sea melon seeds, and put them into his mouth one by one. Even though the meat was not big, it tasted so delicious that it almost touched his tongue. Swallow it in your stomach.
Zhong Cuihua ate her meal in small bites and looked up at Zhao Dahai from time to time.
After Zhao Dahai finished eating, he rested for half an hour and started working. He took a large iron basin and took out all the blue crabs in the mesh bag. He removed the vines and tied them again with ropes. , tie it and check it again to make sure there is no problem with the tie. Blue crabs are very ferocious and have a strong sense of territory. If several blue crabs are put together, they will definitely fight. If the pliers and claws are removed, they will not be sold at a good price. They must be tied well. Prison, nothing can go wrong. A dozen blue crabs can be sold for hundreds of dollars. You have to save money to repair the fishing boat, so you can't be careless.
Zhao Dahai walked into the kitchen, put water in a large iron pot with a diameter of one meter, and boiled the fire. He walked out of the yard, took two mesh bags containing mud snails and sea melon seeds, put them under the faucet, poured water, and washed the mangroves. , I specially washed it twice at the beach, and rinsed it again carefully. Although it could not be very clean, it was certainly not particularly dirty. First, I put the mud snails and then the sea melon seeds with the mesh bag directly into the large iron pot of boiling water. Inside, more firewood was added to make the fire even bigger. They were all opened, scooped up, put them in big iron basins, and brought them to the main room. Grandma had been planting green flowers for a long time, and the two of them started to pick out the mud and the flesh of sea melon seeds. Worked until two o'clock in the morning.
“Grandma.”
“It’s quite late.”
“You go to bed.”
“I’ll do the rest. Just be busy.”
Zhao Dahai had asked his grandma and Cuihua to go to bed two hours ago, but he didn't agree and had to help him.
Zhong Cuihua nodded.
Zhao Dahai helped Zhong Cuihua go to the back room to sleep. He waited until he lay down and turned off the lights before coming out and continuing his work.
Pack up the shells of the mud snails and sea melon seeds, go outside the house, find a few dustpans and clean them. Spread out the meat of the mud snails and sea melon seeds and put them in the yard to dry.
Zhao Dahai took a shower after all this work. It was already four o'clock in the morning. As soon as he lay down and fell asleep, the roosters in the village had already started to come and go to see who was louder.
(End of this chapter)