Chapter 85: More exhausting than tightening screws in a factory

The three of them sat down to eat.

Mei Yueqin couldn't stay seated; she carried a snake skin bag down from the vehicle, opened it, peeked inside, and excitedly said, "I see they're all green crabs."

A Qing had his mouth full of biscuit, struggling to swallow while speaking indistinctly: "Sister-in-law, they're definitely all green crabs."

"We also saw quite a few shuttle crabs; that thing isn't worth money, so we didn't take any."

Wu Ping also chimed in: "Yeah."

"There are lots of shuttle crabs, so many they're getting in the way."

"We can't even pick up all the green crabs."

"For every shuttle crab we pick up, we have to leave one less green crab."

Mei Yueqin didn't know what to say; shuttle crabs were hitting the market in large quantities—were the prices too high? But they still went for ten or twenty yuan per jin.

Anyone who found a bucket of shuttle crabs at the seaside would be happy for half a day, yet they were despised by the three of them.

She asked, "How could there be so many green crabs?"

A Qing said, "Earlier, my brother and I caught plenty of green crabs on the tidal flats, thinking we'd gotten them all, but afterwards hardly anyone else caught any."

"I think they might have come to take refuge."

"When the typhoon blows in, they rush to their lair to hide."

"And they ended up running into us."

"What's this called? Just out of the tiger's den and into the wolf's lair—ahahaha."

Seeing A Qing foolishly delighted, although his words weren't quite accurate, upon reflection it really was the case.

A Qing continued: "It still has to be Brother."

"If it weren't for Brother wanting to go out to gather seafood, I'd still be sleeping soundly at home."

Wu An casually remarked: "Our luck is pretty good."

"It's not that we haven't gone out to gather seafood or fish for money in two days; I've been feeling restless."

"I woke up suddenly in the middle of the night, couldn't get back to sleep, so I simply sneaked out to gather seafood."

"I never expected to strike it big."

Wu Ping feigned anger: "You little brat, your guts are truly huge."

Wu An chuckled: "My boldness isn't something that just started a day or two ago."

Wu Ping was about to say more when Mei Yueqin punched him lightly, saying, "If I'd known it would be like this, I should have gone along."

"You finish eating and rest a bit; I'll get to work."

Wu An said: "Sister-in-law, separate the males from females; as for size, just split them into two groups—mainly keep the ones missing claws or legs and don't sell them."

Mei Yueqin nodded.

We can't get out the door.

The basin previously used for washing up was temporarily requisitioned; we separated males from females, then sorted by size into two kinds, and simply threw the ones missing claws or legs onto the ground.

After sorting for a while, Mei Yueqin asked in surprise, "You've already sorted them? There aren't any particularly small ones."

Wu Ping smiled: "No."

"We didn't take the tiny ones."

Mei Yueqin was at a loss for words, laughing and crying; if outsiders knew, they'd surely scold them for not knowing what's good for them—after all, that's all money.

Having finished the meal.

The three rested a while; if they didn't rest, the soreness all over would be tolerable, but their fingers wouldn't obey—just after eating, they could barely hold the chopsticks properly.

After a ten-odd minutes, once Mei Yueqin had finished sorting a snake skin bag of green crabs, the three joined her, and the four of them worked together, naturally making quick progress.

As the sky just began to lighten, all the green crabs had been sorted, still filling six snake skin bags; they loosened them a bit so the crabs wouldn't be crushed to death.

It would be best if we had crates.

But that's all we have at home, so we'll make do.

A Qing asked anxiously, "Brother, how are we going to sell them?"

Wu An thought and said, "We have to wait for the typhoon to pass."

The typhoon moves fast; usually it'll be gone in less than a day.

A Qing worried more: "Will these green crabs die if we just leave them like this?"

Wu An shook his head: "Basically they won't."

"At room temperature they can be kept for about seven days."

"Later we'll occasionally sprinkle some salt water on them; they'll definitely stay alive."

A Qing let out a sigh of relief.

Since Brother said all that, he doesn't have anything left to worry about.

Wu An didn't add more; keeping them for seven days is ideal, but under these circumstances, if the green crabs last a day or two, it's thanks to their hardiness.

Now the typhoon is blowing; forget selling green crabs, they can't even get out the door.

Mei Yueqin pointed at the pile of green crabs—all missing claws or legs, not a few, there must be several dozen—and asked, "How should we deal with these?"

"Even cheap, they could be sold."

"Sure they could be sold, but I don't think it's necessary." Wu An pushed a bit and said, "Let's just eat them ourselves."

"A Qing can take some later."

"We need to eat them while fresh; later, sister-in-law, you can go back to your parents' home and bring some."

Wu An and Mei Yueqin exchanged a glance; she smiled and nodded: "Okay."

Hearing Wu An's words, she was overjoyed.

Now life at home is good, she can also frequently return to her parents' home.

Over the years, my parents have helped a lot, though outsiders have had plenty of gossip; the last time Chen Lin came, she blocked the door with sarcastic remarks, while family members said nothing, but Little Wu felt she had suffered hardships in the Lao Wu Jia and often came to see her.

The older brother has doted on her since childhood, and the older sister-in-law always greets her with a smile, but she knows the older sister-in-law harbors resentment, feeling that the parents play favorites.

She needs to make amends, otherwise it will affect the relationship between the older brother, older sister-in-law, and the parents.

Wu An thought for a moment and said, "Brother, give Dad a call and say we're all at the Lao Wu, so he won't suddenly come home, find the house empty, and worry again."

Wu Ping nodded.

Wu An hastily added, "Don't mention what we're up to."

"I'm afraid he can't keep his cool."

Wu Ping laughed, "You're just afraid Dad will give you a hard time."

"Even at a conservative estimate, this trip could net us forty or fifty thousand; if Dad finds out, he might still scold me, but I'm afraid he'll be so happy he can't help but kiss me." Wu An grinned smugly: "Let's give him a surprise."

Wu Ping listened, overjoyed—could we really earn that much in just half a day?

He hurried to make the call.

Wu Yingwei didn't ask further, just telling them to stay safe.

Wu Ping said, "Dad, don't worry."

"A An is so foresighted—the door and window materials at the Lao Wu are especially good, sturdier than the house at home."

"You should also stay safe at the Village Committee."

Wu An saw A Qing yawning repeatedly and told him to go lie down on the bed for a bit.

Looking at the time, it was already seven in the morning; we've been busy since midnight, which is even more exhausting than tightening screws in a factory.

A Qing being able to keep up with them and work nonstop is already relying on sheer willpower to push through.

A Qing nodded, headed to the bed, and before long was snoring asleep.

Wu An didn't sleep.

By this time, it was still dark outside, with a raging storm; rain hammered the doors and windows, as if thugs were wildly pounding on them from outside.

Fortunately the older brother, older sister-in-law, and A Qing were all there; Wu An felt that if he were alone in the Lao Wu, even knowing the house was sturdy, he would still be terrified.

He pointed and said, "The doors and windows are leaking."

Wu Ping hurried over to look and said, "This is normal—it's not sealed, so with such a storm, a bit of seepage isn't a big problem."

"A An, after the typhoon passes, shall we go to the dock?"

"Or should you first contact the vendors?"

Wu An nodded: "Sure, I'll contact them first."

He hesitated only half a second, then passed on Lao Xie.

Lao Xie: "……#￥@%%##……"