"Yao Qingman took a boat back to her parents' house a few years ago, saying that she missed her father, and Shen Sui also came with her to celebrate the New Year at her father-in-law's house." The merchants on the ship were almost gone, and Han Ji pulled Haizhu down from the cabin and said, "I'll inquire, let Shen Sui invite you to dinner tonight." ”

In the past year, because there are often merchant ships docking, and a new inn has been built on the island for merchants to rest, Han Ji went in to take a look, the conditions are relatively simple, he said to Haizhu: "We still sleep on the ship at night?" ”

"Okay."

The two strolled along the burgeoning market, where fishermen exchanged cloth, stoneware and porcelain with traders with home-dried seafood, beautiful shells, conchs or pearl tortoise shells.

"This night pot is good, how much does it cost?"

A familiar voice sounded behind him, Haizhu and Han Ji turned around, and saw Shen Sui holding Yao Qingman, who had a big belly, looking at the pottery on the stall.

"Little Sixth Brother." Haizhu shouted, and when she saw Yao Qingman's belly, she snorted, her belly was much bigger than when Bei Niang was about to give birth.

"Haizhu, Brother Han, why are you two here?" Shen Sui was pleasantly surprised.

"Come and see you." Han Ji lied casually.

"Then I'll take it seriously, let's go, go back." Shen Sui helped Yao Qingman to lead people home, and he stayed at his father-in-law's house when he came.

"The child has grown quite big, do you have a good appetite now?" Haizhu walked on the other side of Yao Qingman and asked.

Yao Qingman nodded and said bitterly: "I'm hungry fast, but my mother and my eldest sister don't let me eat more, for fear that the child will grow too big and be too big to give birth." ”

"It's time to eat less, you work hard for another two months, and the child will eat whatever you want after birth." Hae-joo comforts her.

Yao Qingman sighed with a wry smile and said, "I was happy for more than half a month when I learned that I was pregnant with two, but now I regret it, I'm tired to death." She glanced at the man walking in front, lowered her voice and said: "Fortunately, I'm back, didn't my mother-in-law pass over during the previous martial arts conference, she kept telling me to eat more and make up more, my attitude is great, I thought she accepted me because of the child." Then half a month later, along with the burden sent and a letter, his second sister-in-law told me to eat less, and Shen asked me to listen to my second sister-in-law. ”

Haizhu snorted twice.

Yao Qingman also smiled helplessly, when she was about to arrive at the door, she shouted at home: "Mother, there is a visitor." ”

Yao Qingman's father and mother learned that Haizhu and Han Ji acted as mother's family members when Qingman got married, and the old couple was very grateful, and took out all the good things in the house when cooking at night, and organized a table of sumptuous meals.

At night, bonfires are lit on the island, and fisherwomen from the island set up stalls around the bonfires with home-brewed fruit wine, and in order to attract customers, they dance around the bonfires to the beat of drums, and the onlookers in the past will buy some drinks.

"It's so fun for you guys to sail so much." Haizhu stood aside and stared intently, these fisherwomen were wearing brightly colored shells and conches on their hands, feet, waists, and hair, and they jumped up and made a clear sound, which was beautiful and good-looking.

"The further you go, the more lively it becomes, and the most crowded places are." Han Ji said.

As the night passed, and when it was dark, two official ships carrying sleepy-eyed merchants rushed to the next trading crossing.

Chapter 197: A Crab That Can Climb Trees

The next trading crossing is at Qiong Ya, heading northwest from the Quang Nam coast.

Haizhu looked at the land floating on the sea in the distance on the boat and asked, "It's okay for us to go over like this, right?" ”

"Qiongya is more wild than Guangnan, the humidity and heat are even worse, the imperial court did not send anyone to take over, it is completely wild and wild. Qiongya was presided over by the local chief, who was quite good at talking, and I negotiated with him that we would only trade with each other, and not mix with local affairs, and he would allow our ships to come and go. Han Ji knocked on the side of the boat and said: "Bypassing Qiongya is Guizhou Mansion, Guizhou Mansion is adjacent to Dali State, although Dali Country is also near the sea, but it has mountains and rivers and people, rice and grain are quite sufficient, half of the grain and meat last year were bought from Dali State." ”

Haizhu listened to him carefully, and asked: "The end of the voyage is Dali?" ”

"Yes at the moment, further south there are too many winds and waves, and there are pirates at sea, and the risk is too great."

Departure at dawn, before the sun sets, arrived at the ferry port of Qiongya, Haizhu saw the tall tree before she got off the boat, she knew the green coconut on the tree, this is the coconut tree.

After the official ship docked, the people at the ferry took the anchor and smashed it on the beach, the merchants disembarked with the goods, the soldiers guarded the boat, and Haizhu and Han Ji and other people on the boat were left before going down.

"There's a crab here that goes up the tree, and they live on the shore, so you can see if you can spot a few of them later." Han Ji led Haizhu to the coconut tree, he casually pulled out the saber on his waist, and pulled the miscellaneous leaves on the ground to find the hole.

Haizhu glanced at him, looked up at the tree, and asked suspiciously: "Don't fool me, can crabs go up the tree?" ”

"How dare you behold you, I don't believe you ask the local people."

Haizhu glanced at the island and said nothing.

Han Ji smiled, he found that after leaving the familiar environment, Haizhu unconsciously began to rely on him.

"Found it." He pulled her to squat, pointed to the entrance of the cave and said: "The local people say that this crab will live in the hole during the day, and then climb the tree at night, and they eat meat, fruit and grass stalks, and they like to eat coconut meat from the tree the most." ”

The sharp blade poked into the hole and shook off the cemented sand, and there was a slight cracking sound of branches and leaves breaking in the hole, and then a thick black and red pincer stretched out, and the pincers clamped the blade.

Han Ji glanced at Haizhu, and saw that her eyes widened in shock, he proudly drew out the blade of the sword, and a huge crab was picked out, with a yellowish shell, red pincers, thick chelicera, and the left and right chelae were not the same size.

Haizhu picked up a wooden stick and pounded its nest, and the fibers of coconut shells were buried under the mud and sand, no wonder she heard the sound of branches and leaves breaking. She looked up at the tree again and said, "Can it really climb trees?" ”

"How else can I lie to you? It's true, I'll show you when it gets dark. Han Ji pinched the crab and said, "Let's go, let's find a place to eat first, and we'll eat coconut crabs tonight." ”

Passing by a stall selling coconuts, Han Ji paid for two open-shelled green coconuts, and the stall owner handed over two rice stalks, he pinched his head and poked his tail into the coconut milk and handed it to Haizhu, saying, "Taste it, it's sweet." ”

Haizhu took a sip, the sweet taste, she took another sip, and said, "Why didn't you see the merchant bring this fruit back to sell?" ”

"It's too heavy, and it still occupies a place, and the other is that the amount is small, and the tree is too tall, so you don't have to worry about selling the coconut from the tree."

The weather in Qiongya is much hotter than in Quang Nam, and most of the people here wear shirtless shirts, regardless of gender, they are all dressed like this. When they saw people wearing long sleeves, long pants and long skirts, they knew that they were from other places, and the people on the street enthusiastically invited guests to eat at their homes.

Han Ji refused one by one, he still believed in the restaurant inn more when he went out, he casually threw the coconut crab to a little girl, and held the sea pearl with his free hand, in this strange and barbaric place, no one would make a fuss because a man and a woman held hands.

Entering the restaurant, Han Ji said to Xiao Er: "First serve six coconut crabs, and you can watch the rest, and the local food will be served." ”

Xiao Er happily responded and ran to the back kitchen.

"The rice here is delicious, there is black rice and red rice, I have come here to eat bamboo rice before." Han Ji said.

Haizhu found that she didn't have to worry about anything when she went out with Han Ji, he didn't take a small house, he did everything he could eat, wear, live and travel by, and he could take good care of her.

After drinking half of the coconut water, Haizhu called Xiao Er and asked where the toilet was, Xiao Er pointed in the direction, and Han Ji followed Haizhu over.

"You're going to pee too?" Haizhu sideways.

“…… I'll keep it for you. He went with her to the latrine, and before he went in, he went in to scan it to make sure that no one was hiding before letting her in.

Haizhu looked at him twice, Han Ji held back a smile and walked away with interest.

The restaurant was full of people, but it didn't hide the sound of the dripping water, Han Ji rubbed his ears, and when the people came out, he asked first: "Are you still sleeping on the boat at night?" ”

He had already said this on the boat, and when Haizhu heard him ask again, he understood that he had heard it, and with the idea that she could not be the only one to make a fool of herself, she said with a stiff face: "I also help you watch people when you pee." ”

"Rude." Han Ji couldn't hold back his laughter, he slapped her head and pushed her away, saying, "You didn't suffer a loss." ”

"You're not me, how do you know I'm not at a loss? I felt like I was at a loss. ”

Han Ji patted her, stopped paying attention to her, and called Xiao Er to wash his hands in the water, and the six plates of crabs were also served on the table.

In terms of eating, Haizhu didn't want him to help, she took a small hammer to knock open the thick crab shell, a fresh and sweet heat came out, the crab meat in the crab claws was as full as shrimp tail meat, she took it out with chopsticks and tasted it first, and said in surprise: "It tastes like coconut." ”

"Eat more if you like." Han Ji dismantled the crab meat and put it in the bowl in front of her.

Haizhu waved his hand, "Don't get it for me, I'm not a child, you can eat it yourself." ”

The eight pincers of the coconut crab are not small, and each claw has sweet crab meat, and Haizhu dismantles a bowl full of crab meat after removing eight pincers. She held the bowl and ate it like rice, her mouth was full of sweet juice, she ate the crab meat and then inhaled the coconut milk, the mouth was full of coconut fragrance, even if she inhaled and the mouth was not fishy, she was going to be satisfied.

After eating crab meat and then crab paste and crab roe, it is oily and fragrant, no need to dip soy sauce or vinegar, just eat it empty, and it rarely makes your mouth feel relished.

Three coconut crabs, plus a green coconut, and finally half a bamboo rice with pickled vegetables, Haizhu couldn't hold it anymore, so he could only watch Han Ji eat one bite after another.

"Is this delicious?" She asked.

Han Ji nodded, "Crunchy, a little salty and a little sweet." ”

Haizhu couldn't help but taste it, and only took one bite and then didn't move.

Han Ji laughed, handed over another dish, and said, "Try this, this is delicious." ”

"Don't eat it." Haizhu turned her head.

"It's dark outside, you hurry up and eat, let's go watch the coconut crabs climb the trees." She urged.

Han Ji stopped teasing her, ate seriously, worried that she would be hungry at night, and asked Xiao Er to pack two bamboo tubes of rice to take away. When he arrived at the ferry, he pulled her into the boat and got a lantern down, "You carry the lantern and walk in front of me." ”

He clutched his sword in one hand and protected her in the other.

"You're so nice." Haizhu couldn't help but say, she took a step back and reached out to hook his waist, and said, "I find that I like you more and more." ”

Han Ji snorted coldly, and said in a weird manner: "It's not easy to hear you say something I like to hear." ”

Haizhu tiptoed to kiss him and said, "Is sincerity enough?" ”

"What about sending Hanako? Take a good look at the road, and if we have something to say, we will go back to the boat. Han Ji stretched out his hand to wrap his arm around her waist, and the two walked under the tall coconut tree, listening to the sound under the tree with their ears pricked up. When the rustling sounded, a coconut crab crawled out of the hole, and it climbed under the root of the tree, and the eight pincers worked together to climb higher and higher, slowly and steadily.

"Crabs can really climb trees!" Haizhu exclaimed, "Is it a crab that lives in a hole during the day and climbs up a tree at night?" Crabs can climb trees......"

There was a sound of footsteps not far away, and Han Ji pinched his sword and asked, "Who?" ”

The other party muttered a few words, the footsteps did not stop, Haizhu held a lantern to shine over, it was a local man, he was carrying a basket, and he was holding a coconut crab that was about to have a big head in his hand.

"Out-of-towners, huh? Don't stand under the coconut tree at night, the crab will be drenched in water if you use tongs to open the coconut, and if you are unlucky, the coconut will fall down and kill you. The man said to Han Ji in an awkward voice, waving his hand to let him go.

Han Ji and Haizhu obediently retreated a little farther away, Haizhu saw him pinching the crab and putting it on the tree, she asked out loud, "You raised this?" ”

"Oh, I've been raising it since I was a child, and it will help me go up the tree and pick coconuts."

Haizhu: !!

Han Ji: ???

Chapter 198: Go to Dali to see the elephants

The crab climbed up the tree, and there was a sound of wood scraping at the top of the tree, Haizhu and Han Ji looked up, the coconut tree branches and leaves were luxuriant, and the shadows under the branches and leaves were pitch black, and they couldn't see anything.

The man with the basket also walked over, he stood three steps away from Han Ji, his eyes glanced at the glimmering sword in his hand, and then looked at the lantern in Haizhu's hand.

"Can crabs understand human speech?" Haizhu couldn't help but inquire.

The man retracted his gaze and waved his hand, saying, "Not every crab can help people pick coconuts, I caught fifty small crabs the year before last and raised them together, and this is the only one that can help with things." ”

When the words fell, the sound of the wind sounded overhead, and then a green coconut smashed on the ground with a clang. The man walked over and picked up the coconut and threw it in the basket, then stood aside and waited.

"Erhe, is that you?" Someone else is coming.

"Well, the coconut trees here are mine, you can find another land."

The two new men glanced at Han Ji vigilantly, and said meaningfully, "If you shout something, we will come over when we hear it." ”

Han Ji raised his eyes, and the posture of holding the sword did not change.

Another coconut fell down, and the man who asked Erhe to pick up the coconut and put it on his hand, he smiled at Haizhu and asked a little embarrassedly, "Do you drink coconut water?" I'll change it with you, and you give me the lantern. ”

Haizhu glanced at the lantern in his hand, It was a mahogany prismatic, and the lantern paper was painted with an octopus, and it cost at least two taels of silver to buy it in Fucheng.