A scoop of water is poured on it and then rubbed with a brush to clean it, Haizhu pulls out the seaweed in the fishing net, two or three are kneaded into a rope, the long legs of the spider crab are broken and wrapped with a seaweed rope and then knotted and stuffed into the jar.

"Sister, the fire is ready." Dongzhu said.

"Come out and help me rub the rope."

"Fengping looks at the fire, don't let the fire go out." Dongzhu scooped up the water and washed his hands, rubbed the seaweed into the jar, and said, "We can't finish eating so much, right?" ”

The group of spider crabs I met today is not big, and the largest one is only a big bowl, and I removed two or three mouthfuls of meat from the shell, and Haizhu is very confident that I can finish it. The crabs were all stuffed into the clay pot, she closed the lid and stacked the jars on the stove, wiped her hands and scooped out the pork from the bucket and cut it into pieces, and told Dongzhu to burn the other stove as well.

The pork belly was poured into the crockpot of boiling water, and after a while, the oil and water were baked, and the winter beads burned the fire and sniffled from time to time, staring at the bottom of the pot with the splashing of oil stars, and said happily: "It's the same as the New Year." ”

Haizhu doesn't like to eat too fatty meat, she waited for the meat pieces to be scorched before cutting the dried ginger and pouring it into the oil to fry, and the soaked dried bamboo shoots were also brought in, stir-fried and poured two bowls of water into it, mixed with a spoon of soy sauce and then broke two pieces of cinnamon, covered the lid, circled around the lid and put on a wet rag, and then signaled the winter beads to boil over high heat.

This side is stewed, and the crab shells in the clay pot on the other side have changed color, Haizhu remembered that she forgot to buy rice wine, she took a bamboo tube for Fengping and asked him to borrow rice wine.

"I'll make the vinegar and ginger sauce, let's eat the crab first, the meat is stewed first, and the crab is almost eaten, and the meat is stewed." Haizhu looked at Dongzhu, "Okay?" ”

Dongzhu wanted to eat meat the most, and she stretched out a hand and said, "I only eat five crabs." ”

"I want to eat a few and eat a few." Haizhu moved the table out, the stove room was hot and choking, and the table was placed in the shade at the door.

The crabs in the clay pot were picked up and taken out, the seaweed steamed and changed color, and it broke with a light pull, and the sea beads slapped the crab shell with the back of the knife, and the juice splashed in the bang, and the taste smelled fresh and sweet.

At this time, Fengping also borrowed rice wine to come back, and the children on the beach ate rice wine when they were young, and he skillfully put the bamboo tube containing the wine in the ashes that were extinguished, and waited for the crabs to be served on the table, and the rice wine was also warm.

Dongzhu doesn't need anyone to take care of crabs when he eats crabs, Haizhu broke two crabs for Fengping, and the crab roe and crab meat were all removed in the bowl, so as not to scratch his hands with crab shells.

The rice wine was divided into three cups, Haizhu took a sip before eating the crab, and invited the younger brothers and sisters at the same table to touch the glasses, and she began to feast on the sense of ceremony.

The crab roe is fragrant and moist, and there is a granular feeling of bursting juice when chewing, and the crab paste has a thick and delicate taste, which is not as fragrant as the crab roe, but it is worth reminiscing.

Haizhu peeled ten crabs in a row, first ate crab roe and crab paste before starting to eat crab meat, sipped sweet and astringent rice wine, and then ate crab meat dipped in vinegar and ginger juice, and ate it in large gulps, the crab meat was tender but not firewood, chewing without effort, and swallowing without choking, Haizhu felt that she would not get tired of eating every day.

The crockpot on the stove gurgled and the strong smell of meat rushed out of the lime lid, and Dongzhu was hooked by the fragrance wafting from the door, and then looking at the satisfied expression on her sister's face, she became suspicious of the crab in her hand.

"Eat, there's so much more." Seeing Dongzhu looking at her stupidly, Haizhu clicked the table and asked, "You don't like to eat?" ”

That's not it, Dongzhu used scissors to cut the crab leg and pull out a long piece of crab meat, she doesn't like to eat ginger, she doesn't eat anything, this way of eating can taste full of freshness.

The three sisters and brothers have good appetites, and eating crabs is a troublesome thing, eating slowly means that you can eat more, and before you know it, there are piles of crab shells on the table, and the rice wine in the cup is bottoming out, and a thin layer of red is hanging on your face unconsciously.

After adding a few firewoods, the soup in the clay pot became thicker, Haizhu washed his hands and uncovered the half-dried rag, as soon as the lid was lifted, a thick smoke rose into the air, the meat pieces stewed into brown red, and the chopsticks poked, puffing and soft.

Dongzhu diligently put the crab shells on the table in the basket, looked at the meat jar and served it to the table, she knelt on the chair with bright eyes to look at it, pushed the bowl over, and said, "Sister, quickly give me a piece for me to taste." ”

Haizhu poked a piece of meat to eat first, she pouted and gave the meat to the two siblings. The condiments to remove the fish are not complete, the pork tastes a little fishy, and the taste is quite strong, compared to which she prefers to eat crab. But Dongzhu and Fengping like it, and the two of them are not tired, the crockpot is not cold yet, and half a can of meat is gone.

"Go out for a walk and eat less, don't eat overstock." Seeing that Dongzhu couldn't stop hiccups, Haizhu sent her out with Fengping, "Go to the nurse's house to help watch the baby for a while, and come back for a nap when the stomach is gone." As for herself, she ate the rest of the stew, and then brought out two large bowls to remove the crab roe and crab paste, intending to make the ravioli with bread in the evening.

It was the hottest time of the day, most of the people had eaten and rested, the fishing village was quiet, Haizhu went out with a basket to pour crab shells and saw no one, she stood in front of the house and looked around, it was too close to the sea, the soil was poor, and there were few decent trees to be found.

Dongzhu and Fengping were tired of playing, and walked back against the big sun, and when they saw the people standing at the door of the house, the two of them rushed home together.

"Wash your hands, wash your face, go to sleep for a while." Haizhu said.

"Sister, are you sleeping?" Dongzhu asked.

"Sleep, eat, sleep, sleep and grow meat."

This sleep until the sun was setting, the noisy talk outside the door woke Haizhu up, she opened the door and went out to see that the salt was back, they were not particular, and jumped into the river to wash their hair and bathe after getting off the boat.

"Haizhu, take the blanket back." Qi Laosan shouted in the water, "I heard that you repaired the boat, it's amazing, big niece." ”

"Probably my father's blessing, I was lucky enough to pick up a fortune." Haizhu picked up the blanket and walked back, remembering that there were still her father's clothes at home, and turned around and said that her third uncle would come and take the clothes away later.

In ancient times, poor families were very particular, as long as they were not worn when they died, and no one was disgusted with the clothes worn by the dead before their deaths.

Qi Laosan washed off the salt particles on his body and got up from the water to change his clothes, and when he was done, Haizhu packed up the five sets of clothes and asked him to take them back, and then talked about taking Second Uncle Qi to see a doctor. She told the third uncle her thoughts, "I still have fifteen or sixteen taels of silver left in my hand, and it should be enough to see a doctor and take medicine, and then make a chair that can be folded." ”

Third Uncle Qi rubbed the corners of his clothes and didn't answer, he sniffled and asked, "Are there any leftovers at home?" I smelled the meat, so I brought it out for me to eat, and I ate two cold oysters at noon. ”

Haizhu had to make a fire, only bamboo shoots were left in the crockpot, she added water to boil the rice noodles, the rice noodles were cooked and scooped in a bowl, the soft bamboo shoots were stacked on the powder, and then a layer of crab meat was spread, which looked very appetizing. When she went out with food, Uncle Qi San came back from the boat to fetch water.

"It's been a long time since I've eaten such a lot of oil and water, so it's better to go home." Third Uncle Qi sighed, he was not afraid of being hot, and he took a big gulp of powder and said vaguely: "Haizhu, what do you say if I come back to support the boat and go to sea to fish?" ”

Haizhu: ......

She frowned, she definitely didn't want anyone to go to sea with her, someone stared at her, but she wasn't so free.

"Third uncle, you can think clearly, your taking over this ship means that the three of us sisters and brothers, plus Chaoping, will all be raised by you." Haizhu said seriously with a little smile, "There are four of us who drag oil bottles, but no girl wants to marry you." ”

"Your father is gone, your second uncle is like that, don't you four just belong to me to raise, and I don't plan to marry another daughter-in-law."

He took a big sip of soup from the bowl, the soup bowl covered his face, Haizhu couldn't see his expression clearly, but the voice was not resentful.

"We don't need you to raise it, I can raise Dongzhu and Fengping." Haizhu thought about simply making the words clear and dividing the responsibilities clearly, "I will take over the fishing boat I repaired, this boat was bought by my father and my second uncle, and I will take care of my second uncle and Chaoping after I take over, of course, I will also be filial to my grandmother on behalf of my father." ”

"I didn't mean that, I didn't fight you for fishing boats." Qi Laosan put the bowl away, and said to Haizhu with a solemn face: "Your grandmother, your second uncle, and your four sisters and brothers are all my responsibility, I think I'm back, and it's easier to take care of you." ”

"You've never been to the sea......"

"You've been to sea again?"

Haizhu choked.

Qi Laosan saw that Haizhu had nothing to say, he couldn't help but become proud, "The little ghost thinks a lot, you are careful that you don't grow tall, although your third uncle is young, he eats a lot of salt." ”

The uncle and nephew are less than five years apart, and seriously speaking, they still play together until they grow up, and it wasn't until Qi Laosan went to be a salt boy four years ago that the two became unfamiliar.

Thinking of all this, Haizhu stared at the vicissitudes of life in front of him, and a pair of hands that burst his skin, and asked: "Is it hard to dry salt or hard to go to sea?" ”

"It's hard to dry salt, but you won't lose your life."

"If you don't think about us, will you continue to be a salter or will you save enough money to come back and buy a boat?"

Salt Ding is a family with a male family has to send a person to call to dry salt, and there is also a salary every month, but it is not much. When Qi Laosan went to be a salt ding, the two brothers were strong and capable, and the family didn't want him to go to sea to fight for his life, which could be regarded as leaving roots and seedlings, just to prevent the eldest and second child from dying in the sea, and the children of the family would be taken care of, who would have thought that this day would come so early.

Qi Laosan didn't speak, he picked up the blanket on the table and went into the stove room to fill the salt jar, went out and said, "I won't talk to you, I'll go back, and I'll go away on the boat." ”

"Clothes." Haizhu reminded, "Tomorrow morning, we will take my second uncle to see the doctor, don't be lazy." ”

Qi Laosan walked out of the door and turned back to take away a bag of clothes.

Without a boat, Haizhu can't go to sea, she went back to the house and brought a bamboo basket, shouted to Dongzhu and Fengping to go out for a walk, September is the season when the fruit is ripe, she wants to see if she can pick some wild fruits.

The three of them walked upstream along the river, where the water and grass were luxuriant, but everything they could eat was removed. Halfway through, I met Qi Laosan holding a boat to fetch water, and the three sisters and brothers took a boat together, disembarked at the tributary of the water intake, and walked with the boat in the direction of their backs.

"Don't go far, I'll go back and wash your second uncle's hair and take a bath, and I'll pick you up." Qi Laosan instructed.

Haizhu waved his hand without looking back, saw the wildflowers pinch the most bright and inserted them in his hair, and made a mark when he saw a vegetable that could be eaten, and planned to pick it again when he returned.

"Sister, I haven't been here yet." Dongzhu ran after the butterfly, looking back and glancing at the red sun that was about to fall into the sea, she covered her mouth with both hands in a bucket shape and screamed, "Sister, I think it's good for you to have a boat, you can take us around to play." When I'm as old as you, Fengping doesn't need me to accompany me, I'll go to sea with you. ”

Haizhu nodded, "Okay, when the time comes, we will throw Fengping at home to cook, and we will go to sea to make a lot of money." ”

Dongzhu laughed loudly, her eyes looking at the sea level were full of yearning, and she suddenly felt that she would not be sad without her father.

When the sunset was full, Haizhu called people to go back, and as he walked, he pinched the marked vegetables into a bamboo basket, all the way to the river, and the boat to pick up the people also arrived.

"Haizhu, I've decided, I'm coming back." When the people got on the boat, Qi Laosan said dejectedly, "I'll come back to the sea to fish, and I'll raise you in the future." ”

Seeing that his face was not good, Haizhu asked what was wrong.

"The flesh on your second uncle's buttocks is rotten, and there are sores on his back, I have to come back." Qi Laosan couldn't hold it back, threw the boat oars and sat on the board of the boat and cried, he was not afraid of being embarrassed in front of his niece and nephew, and said while crying: "Your grandmother is old, and he can't move him with little strength, the sores on your second uncle's body are going to give birth to maggots, and he won't say anything, woo woo I have to come back, if I don't come back, I won't have a second brother and no mother." ”

Haizhu was stunned, she knew that people who were paralyzed in bed were prone to sores, so she thought of finding a carpenter to get a simple wheelchair. She had noticed that her milk scrubbed her second uncle before, and when she saw that her face was not abnormal, she thought that she had taken good care of it and did not have sores, who knew that her second uncle intended to hide it, so she endured the pain and kept silent.

"Tomorrow morning when the tide is low, we will take my second uncle to see the doctor, don't cry, come back when you come back, I won't compete with you for fishing boats." Haizhu picked up the oar and began rowing, "This boat is for you, and I will save money to buy a new boat." Third uncle, when will you be able to come back? ”

"It's going to be next month, and at this time, Yanting is the time to employ people, and I can't leave." Qi Laosan wiped his tears and asked Haizhu to slow down, "Before I leave, give Cousin Mu a tael of silver, and hire him to turn over and scrub your second uncle every day, and when I come back, I will take care of him." ”

There is still a month, Haizhu pondered that it is not difficult to save more than 150 taels to buy a boat, but it is better to have a reasonable opportunity, so as not to provoke the eyes of others.

Chapter 13

The fishing boat was washed overnight, and when it was dark, Qi Laosan dragged the bow of the boat out of the water, laid out the hot water basin at the back of the mattress and went into the house to scrub his second brother.

"Third child, there's no need to spend any more money on me, you still have to live with the money." Second Uncle Qi tilted his head to look out of the door, and saw that Chaoping had climbed over and sat against the door panel at some point, he smiled at his son with difficulty, turned his head and said: "Third brother, second brother begs you something, if I die, Chaoping, you take care of it more, he doesn't remember anything, and if you are well raised, you will be more sons." ”

"Don't fucking talk nonsense, you raise your son yourself." Qi Laosan put the cotton cloth in the basin and rubbed it, raised his arm and rubbed his face, got up and said in a thick voice: "My little nephew is poor, he died when he was born, you live well, you can take a breath, and he also has a father who can say a few intimate words." ”

"Dinner is ready." Grandma Qi said, "Haizhu is also here." ”

Qi Laosan had no appetite, and he didn't want to waste any more time, so he said that he went to the dock to buy food. He picked up the skinny man from the bed, wiped it in the corner of his eye, and went out to raise his head towards Haizhu, "Let's go, the third uncle invites you to eat oysters." ”

Oysters are the cheapest, and you can buy two for a penny.

The morning sun has not yet appeared, the mist on the river has not dispersed, Haizhu and the other boat have pushed into the water, and she has jumped up with a run. The boat shook violently on the water, she sat down on the side of the boat, patted the purse on her waist and said, "I'm going to the dock, I'll treat the second and third uncles to eat well." ”

"Okay, we're going to have the most bulging pockets in your pocket right now." Qi Laosan shook the oar, bowed his head and said, "Second brother, you don't know, Haizhu made a fortune a few days ago, and our eldest niece is quite wealthy." ”

Qi Lao Er saw that these two people were making him happy, he didn't say anything to spoil the fun, and turned his head to look at the black plank.

The tide has not receded, the water is deep offshore, and after the sails on the fishing boat are raised, Qi Laosan rows the boat and walks along the seaside. Halfway through the journey, the tide receded into the sea one after another, and the wind became stronger, and the small fishing boat swayed like a leaf in the wind.

Haizhu looked at the sea, her eyes were almost dizzy, she hurriedly sat back on the board, and when she saw her second uncle looking at her, she pursed her lips and smiled.

"The sea is dangerous." Second Uncle Qi spoke.

Haizhu nodded in agreement, if there was no plug-in, she would not dare to sit on this kind of fishing boat with very little anti-risk ability.

"I'm not seeing a doctor anymore, let's go back."

Haizhu and her third uncle looked at each other, and they tacitly ignored him.

When they arrived at the wharf, the fishermen living in the town were preparing to go to sea, and seeing that it was inconvenient for Qi Laosan to get off the boat with people on his back, a few people not far away strode over to help drag the fishing boat to the beach.

Haizhu rolled up the mattress and thanked the person, trotted to follow the person in front, and said, "Let's go to the hospital first, and then come out to eat after seeing my second uncle's injury." ”

Qi Laosan also plans to do this, the paralyzed person is like a soft noodle, but also like a puddle of mud, he has to walk with his waist bent to prevent the person on his back from slipping down, hooping his waist, his legs are still hanging softly, and his toes are almost dragging on the ground.

People passing by stared at this one after another, but no one whispered their fingers, people of this shape are not uncommon on the beach, but most of them do not live long.

Even the doctor is accustomed to bedsores on his back, because the paralyzed person has a low perception of pain, and he does not use numbness to boil when he cleans the wound.

"Doctor Song, can the broken bones on my second brother's back still be connected?" Qi Laosan tilted his head sideways, not daring to look at the movements of the doctor's hands.

"It's broken, it's not misplaced, how can it be connected." The doctor kept talking and moving, "I prescribed the medicine, you took it back and boiled it for him, washed it and then applied the medicine, if you don't want him to have sores, you will wash him more, rub it more, and turn it over." ”

"No more medicine." Second Uncle Qi spoke.

The doctor looked up at the third child.