Chapter 2: Catching snails in the sea and going to sea in disgrace

"Xu Xu."

A whistle interrupted Chen Hui's thoughts.

"Uncle Xiaoqiao! Why are you in the county?"

Chen Hui blurted out, and then he remembered that this was the second son of the village chief, named Chen Xiaoqiao.

He is young but of high seniority, and is a lazy but self-righteous person. He is a rare person in the village who can play with Chen Hui.

"My dad scraped together a few more dollars, thinking that Sister Lin Jiao might need it urgently, so he asked me to deliver it over first and bring them some food."

"It's almost dark, why haven't you left yet?" Chen Xiaoqiao parked his car and trotted over to ask.

“There’s no car.”

There are two minibuses from the village to the county every day, at 9 a.m. and 2 p.m.

It's already past time.

"You're lucky, kid. Wait for me. I'll deliver the things to Sister Lin Jiao and then go back."

"I'll go up with you."

I agreed to come down and get them something to eat, so I can't just leave without saying anything.

Chen Hui and Chen Xiaoqiao returned to the ward together.

Lin Jiao took a corn for herself and gave one to Chen Hui, and gave the two boiled eggs to An Wenjing who needed to take care of her health.

The steamed sweet potato rice was divided into three portions. The two sisters each had a small half bowl, and the remaining half had to be given to Chen Hui no matter what.

Chen Hui couldn't refuse but had to take it. He frowned after taking a bite.

Sweet potato rice is not rice.

Instead, the sweet potatoes are shredded, washed to remove the starch, and then dried into thin strips.

When you want to eat it, soak it in water, add some rice and steam it together.

The sweet potato rice that has had its starch and sugar washed away becomes dry and hard, and has a very poor taste and texture.

Everyone was poor at that time, so it was better not to have any comparison.

Chen Hui had been eating soft and fragrant rice for decades, so he found it a little hard to eat the rice like this. He quickly shoveled the rice into his mouth, chewed it, and swallowed it whole, then started to chew the corn.

"Xiaoqiao, thank you."

"I have a few chickens and ducks at home. When Wenjing is discharged from the hospital, I will catch them and sell them to pay back the money owed to the villagers first."

"For yours, I may have to wait until the end of the year." Lin Jiao looked at Chen Xiaoqiao a little embarrassed.

We still have pigs at home, but they are still small and cannot be sold at a high price if we kill them.

If you want to sell it at a better price, you have to keep it until the end of the year at least.

“There’s no rush for the money. Every family has its share of hard times.” Chen Xiaoqiao waved his hands, with the aura of a spendthrift rich kid.

While eating, several people talked about An Wenjing's marriage to Chen Hui.

Chen Xiaoqiao and Chen Hui were of the same mind. They were very happy for him when they heard the news. They just said, "Live a good life after you get married and make progress."

"Yes, but don't be like your uncle Xiaoqiao." Lin Jiao teased him with a smile, and at the same time criticized Chen Hui.

"Sister Lin Jiao, you..." Chen Xiaoqiao had no words to refute and could only shake his head helplessly.

After dinner, Lin Jiao insisted on washing all the dishes before letting Chen Xiaoqiao take them away.

When the two left the hospital, it was already completely dark.

Chen Xiaoqiao rode his bicycle through the streets and station of the county town and headed back to the village.

"Uncle Xiaoqiao, has anyone ever told you that you are very handsome?" Chen Hui looked at the minibus parked at the station.

You have to calculate the time to go there and back when you take the bus. It would be much more convenient if you had your own car.

"Tell me, what's your purpose?" Chen Xiaoqiao asked without turning his head while pedaling his bike.

"Uncle Xiaoqiao, I have a few dollars at home and I want to send it to Aunt Lin at the county hospital tomorrow."

"If I take the bus, the round trip will leave Aunt Lin with a few cents less. Can you lend me your bicycle?" Chen Hui smiled.

"If someone shows kindness without any reason, he is either a traitor or a thief. The old saying is true." "Uncle Xiaoqiao, you are my most handsome uncle."

"It's not impossible to lend it to you."

"Tomorrow I will go to my father-in-law's house to pick up my wife and children. I have agreed to bring some oyster snails. You will accompany me to pick the snails. I will walk there tomorrow morning and lend you my car to go to the county." Chen Xiaoqiao was easily controlled.

There are five villages under Dongmen Town. Chenjia Village and Dasha Village are close to the sea, and the others are close to the mountains.

Most of the areas near the sea in Chenjia Village are reefs, the roads are difficult to walk on and the waves are strong. Only on the first and fifteenth days of the lunar month when the tide is low is it suitable to go fishing.

Dasa Village has a fairly large sandy beach, and when it comes to going to the beach, everyone likes to go there.

The oyster snail that Chen Xiaoqiao wanted to touch liked to attach itself to the cracks in the rocks, so if he wanted to touch it, he had to go down into the reef.

"Are you going or not? If not, forget it." Chen Xiaoqiao asked.

"Go, of course."

"readily!"

Chen Xiaoqiao rode his bicycle back home, changed into rain boots, and then asked the old village chief to give them to Chen Hui. They each took pliers, shovels and buckets and went to the beach together.

The location of Chenjia Village is not suitable for fishing, so most people choose to work in the mountains.

After a day's farm work, there is not much energy left to go to the sea at night. Except for the low tide on the first and fifteenth day of the lunar month, there are usually only a few people on the reef stalls.

Chen Xiaoqiao was holding a flashlight, walking among the rocks, looking around. It took a long time before he heard a "bang" from the bucket next to him.

After finding two or three, he looked up and saw Chen Hui still standing there. He shouted at the top of his voice: "Chen Hui, I asked you to help find the snails, why are you just standing there in a daze?"

"Uncle Xiaoqiao, there are none in your direction, but there are more over there." Chen Hui said, pointing in the completely opposite direction of Chen Xiaoqiao.

"Ah?!" Chen Xiaoqiao looked at Chen Hui in confusion.

It's pitch dark here, and he has to use a flashlight to see it. How does Chen Hui know where it is?

"There are not only snails over there, but also a lot of crabs and a pretty big fish."

"Is it true? How do you know?"

Eh?
This question stumped Chen Hui.

He walked forward with the bucket in his hand, and when he felt between the gaps between two rocks below, he found two oyster snails in his hand.

Walking further, I reached under the water with a long pair of tongs and caught a crab with its claws and teeth bared.

dong dong dong.

Every few steps Chen Hui took forward, he could hear the sound of conch shells colliding with the bucket.

Even Chen Hui himself couldn't explain why, he just stretched out his hand and there were crabs, and he would use tongs when he encountered crabs.

This seems to be something that happens completely subconsciously and without any need for thought.

"Boy, your eyes are more powerful than those of a wild cat in the mountains."

Chen Xiaoqiao followed and shone the flashlight on Chen Hui's bucket.

Looking at the pitifully few four or five snails in my bucket, I felt that I had made the right choice today.

"Uncle Xiaoqiao, let's go to the sea. The sea is where the real treasures are."

"Chen Hui, what are you thinking about? This is the sea! The sea! Besides, you can't even see it." Chen Xiaoqiao was shocked. Who would go to the sea at night?
"Uncle Xiaoqiao, wait for me."

Chen Hui handed the bucket and shovel in his hand to Chen Xiaoqiao.

I walked forward along the rocks for a while, chose a suitable location, took off my rain boots and walked into the water for a while.

He chose a suitable location and dived into the water, swimming towards the deep end.

It was already dark, and it should be completely invisible underwater at this time.

But what Chen Hui saw was clearer than in the daytime. He could see the reefs, corals, seaweed and fish clearly.

Chen Hui floated to the surface. There was a bright moon in the sky and the visibility on the ground was much lower.

I dived back into the water, and it was still as bright as day under the water.

(End of this chapter)