After a long day's work, Ye Yaodong finally finished plucking the feathers from the chicken and cleaned it thoroughly.
"Alright, I've handled the chicken. Who's cooking? Xiao Xiao? Fatty?"
Xiao Xiao didn’t even lift her head and replied, "Let Fatty do it. He’s better at cooking than I am. I’m on a roll today, so I’ll clean up after we eat!"
"Fine! Dongzi, you take over!"
Ye Yaodong shook his head.
"I’m not in the mood. It’s not interesting; I’ll play cards instead!"
"How can six people play cards? Should we go crabbing instead?" A Guang suggested.
"That’s no fun; it’s all luck with no skill involved. You guys can play, I’ll just watch."
"Huh? You’re changing your ways? No Pai Gow, no crabbing?"
"Someone has to work. Otherwise, what will we eat later? You guys enjoy yourselves, I’ll help Fatty."
"Did you take the wrong medicine today? You’re unusually hardworking!"
Everyone teased him, and Ye Yaodong replied with annoyance, "I’m just in a good mood today, is that so hard to believe?"
"Then hurry up! Call us when it’s done!"
Fatty had entered the house, knife in hand, chopping the chicken with loud thuds.
He added, "Thank goodness Ah Zheng brought a chicken; otherwise, just over a pound of snake wouldn’t be enough to eat! That wouldn’t even fill a gap! I also grabbed two ribs on my way back home, thinking of stewing them with the snake; they can blend well together."
"Let’s cook the other things first and then stew the Dragon and Phoenix Soup. Make sure there’s plenty of soup, so Ah Zheng can take a bowl of meat back with him."
"Alright."
With a big rooster weighing around five or six pounds, over a pound of snake, and two ribs, they filled a huge pot with broth.
As the fragrant aroma wafted through the air, the others couldn’t stay still anymore.
After playing one round, they all threw down their cards and surrounded the stove.
"Is it ready yet?"
"It smells so good!"
"I haven’t had snake in a long time; I really miss it!"
"Can we eat yet? I’m starving! I’ve only had porridge for three meals today, and two trips to the bathroom got rid of it all."
Ye Yaodong fetched a soup bowl.
"Wait, I’ll scoop a bowl for Ah Zheng first, so he can take it back to his parents while it’s hot."
"Oh right, let’s give Ah Zheng a bowl to take home."
Ah Zheng felt a bit shy.
"Just a small bowl is fine; there are so many of us!"
"We’ve got a whole pot, it’s enough! There are other dishes too. We made extra soup, with all the essence in the broth."
After serving Ah Zheng, everyone took a bowl for themselves and sat down at the table to eat.
They didn’t add any herbs to the Dragon and Phoenix Soup, just ginger and rice wine for a clear stew.
After finishing one bowl, they began to dig into the seafood on the table.
A Guang fiddled with the sea clams on his plate and picked one up, saying, "Did you dig these sea clams and sand clams today? Was it just you, Dongzi? No wonder Xiao Xiao came looking for you this morning; you weren’t home. This little one is quite plump."
"I spent all morning digging them. It was sizzling hot! The tide will go out even further tomorrow; do you want to go too? It’s quite fun to gather some sea creatures occasionally."
A Guang immediately agreed, "Sure! I have nothing to do anyway."
"I can’t go. My wife wants me to go back to her home tomorrow. Her mother isn’t feeling well."
The usually quiet Huzi chimed in.
Chen Wei seemed quite interested.
"I’ll go! I haven’t been to the beach in a while, and it just so happens that the tide is right these days. I’ll bring a hook to see if there’s anything to collect."
"There will definitely be some. I found two five- or six-ounce crabs while gathering oysters and snails today. Tomorrow the tide is going lower, so let’s plan to go right after it recedes."
"Sounds good! Finding blue crabs is worth a couple of bucks—like a day’s pay. You’re lucky!"
Ah Zheng and Xiao Xiao also agreed to go to the beach together tomorrow.
They spent more time with each other than with their own families, often preferring to gather together for activities.
"How much are these shrimp today? They’re quite fat, and they even have red roe!" Ye Yaodong asked A Guang as he bit into one.
"Three and a half cents a pound."
"What!?"
He thought back; that did seem to be the price for this era!
Last September, no, specifically September 2021, those 5-7 cm shrimp only fetched three bucks at the dock, and the big ones only thirty.
But those prices weren’t seen in markets anymore.
Considering that price was reasonable enough.
"Three and a half for the picked ones, and just three if you buy them unpicked. I made sure to pick out the ones with red roe."
The others picked up a shrimp, breaking off its neck, and indeed, each one had red roe!
"You have a good eye!"
A Guang shrugged, seeming nonchalant.
"What's the big deal? I wanted to pick more, but Ah Cai at the dock saw how well I was picking and changed his mind, only letting me buy the unpicked ones. If I didn’t want to do that, he wouldn’t sell them! Well, whatever; I think this is enough."
"All these are just side dishes; too bad we don’t have any alcohol!" Fatty lamented as he shelled a shrimp.
"I still haven’t had enough from yesterday; when I got home, my wife scolded me so badly my arms turned blue. She almost wouldn’t let me sleep in the bed!"
"If your wife won’t let you sleep in bed, you could find a mistress to sleep over, and let her cry about it!"
"Pfft! Find a mistress? It’s a wonder I even managed to marry my wife. Spending all day with you guys has ruined my reputation. Thankfully, I’ve already got a wife and kids."
Ah Zheng cheekily remarked, "Damn, no wonder neither A Guang nor I have been able to marry. It’s all your fault. Hurry up and give us two wives!"
A Guang played along, "Exactly! While you two cuddle with your wives, poor Ah Zheng and I are lonely!"
"Well, you two can cuddle together; after all, when the light’s off and the blanket’s pulled over, it won’t be much different…"
"Ugh, it makes a big difference!"
Ah Zheng shamelessly wiggled his bottom, saying, "Compare? Whether front or back, I’m better, no doubt!"
"Be a little careful, my sister is still here!" A Guang quickly interrupted as he saw his two younger sisters enter, carrying bowls, looking embarrassed before quickly retreating.
"Enough eating; cut down on the lewd talk. Save that for when you get home to your wives!"
"Dongzi, I heard your dad caught a net full of yellow cucumber fish yesterday and sold it for over a thousand. You must be planning to go out to sea with him next, right?" Chen Wei asked curiously.
"Do I look like the kind of person who goes out to sea?"
"Not at all!"
"You look like a kept man!" Fatty laughed heartily.
"Well… soft rice is indeed delicious!"
(The End of this Chapter)