CHAPTER 152: CHAPTER 151: IS THIS KID STUPID?

Yu Xiaolian agreed with her father not to mention the matter of being followed to her mother, to avoid causing her mother worry.

Whether the person following them was sent by Shopkeeper Wang or was someone merely tempted by profit, they decided it was safer not to go to Juming Pavilion.

The next day, after breakfast, Yu Xiaolian wanted to take a stroll to the dock.

Mrs. Sun was worried about her going out alone, so she asked Zhao Erya to go with her.

Little Tiger was also making a fuss about wanting to go out, but Yu Xiaolian managed to calm him down with a handful of nuts and left him at the inn.

They were staying at an inn near the dock, so Yu Xiaolian and Zhao Erya quickly arrived at the dock.

The dock was heavy with moisture, cool breezes blew, and people were bustling about; it was quite lively.

The laborers were unloading goods from the recently docked ships, receiving a bamboo token from the person recording each time they carried a load.

Physically strong workers had accumulated quite a few bamboo tokens in their waist pouches because they carried many loads, while weaker ones had to rest on the ground after carrying just one load, waiting to recover before taking up the next.

These bamboo tokens were a way of keeping count; once the cargo was unloaded, the porters would calculate their wages with the supervisor based on the number of tokens.

A ship’s cargo was quickly unloaded, and those who carried more earned over a hundred wen, while those who carried less earned only a few dozen wen.

Besides the porters, the dock had many fishing boats and food stalls, adding to the bustle.

"Hey, Brother Zhang, what brings you to the dock?"

"Things are unsettled at home lately; both kids have contracted malaria. My mother told me to get a crab from the dock to hang at our door to ward off the malaria spirits."

"I saw Uncle Ban’s boat has just returned; you’d better go ask him quickly. You might be able to get a couple before he throws them back into the sea."

"See you later then..."

Yu Xiaolian, with her keen ears, heard the word ’crab’ and immediately pulled Zhao Erya along to the middle-aged man surnamed Zhang.

Crab! Just the thought made her mouth water.

The middle-aged man surnamed Zhang swiftly walked to a fishing boat and shouted out loudly, "Uncle Ban, someone at my home has malaria; I’ve come to get a crab..."

Uncle Ban, who was picking fish into a bamboo basket, looked up upon hearing a familiar voice and started rummaging through the mixed fish in the boat’s hold.

Soon, amidst the dizzying array of fish, he found a crab the size of a hand and tossed it forcefully onto the shore.

The middle-aged man surnamed Zhang took a thin rope from home and tied the crab’s two pincers together several times, thanked Uncle Ban, and left.

Yu Xiaolian stared at the large crab held by the middle-aged man, her eyes fixated.

Huge, really huge.

The crab’s shell alone was as big as a hand, and it was a swimming crab.

"Little girl, are you also here for crabs?" Uncle Ban asked as he forcefully lifted a bamboo basket of lively fish onto the shore.

"Uncle, how much is crab per jin?"

Uncle Ban’s face, darkened by the sea breeze, cracked into a foolish smile, "How much per jin? Who would spend money on that? It’s free!"

Yu Xiaolian widened her eyes and asked uncertainly, "Free?"

Uncle Ban, puzzled by Yu Xiaolian’s expression, paused and said, "Yes, free. This thing can’t be eaten; who would spend money on it?"

Paying for crab, has your head been kicked by a donkey?

"Uncle, crabs can be eaten and are delicious; have you never tried them?"

Uncle Ban showed a hint of pity on his face; whose child is this? Doesn’t seem unable to afford fish, yet eating crabs?

Crabs are oddly-shaped, ugly, and they walk sideways. Around here, everyone uses crabs to ward off malaria spirits; no one’s ever dared to eat them.

"You’ve eaten them?"

Yu Xiaolian nodded, "Yes, crab tastes fresh and delicious."

Uncle Ban looked Yu Xiaolian up and down; this girl sure has guts, daring to eat such an ominous creature.

Uncle Ban asked again, "How many did you eat? How long ago?"

How hasn’t she been poisoned? Isn’t crab supposed to be deadly?

Yu Xiaolian tilted her head thinking, "A long time ago, I’ve eaten many."

Must have been in a past life; since coming here, she hadn’t had any.

"Uncle, how many more crabs like the one just now do you have? Ten wen per jin, I’ll take them all."

Uncle Ban was stumped; someone really had their head kicked by a donkey and wanted to buy crabs.

"Really ten wen?"

Uncle Ban felt like he had thrown a silver piece into the sea this morning, and at least two liang worth.

This morning when he went out, he was unlucky and caught several nets full of crabs, cursing all the while because crabs aren’t worth anything; they just waste your time.

And these crabs have so many legs, hanging on the fishing net made them hard to shake off, so Uncle Ban threw them back into the sea one by one.

Throw one and curse one, telling them never to come back again, or he’d curse their ancestors for generations.

He was after fish, big or small, never bothered with crabs causing trouble.

Uncle Ban had been fishing for many years and hated crabs the most; it could be said around here, there’s no fisherman who doesn’t dislike crabs.

Before each trip to sea, they discussed which part of the sea had fewer crabs to avoid areas with too many crabs.

Now someone’s telling him they want to buy crabs at ten wen per jin; Uncle Ban wondered if the kid was foolish.

Ten wen? Does fish not taste good enough?

Uncle Ban didn’t have the heart to take the child’s money, "If you want some, I’ll go get a few for you, free of charge."

Though he brought plenty of fish back, some crabs had fallen into the cabin. He was too lazy to bend over and throw them out; he should still be able to find some.

"It’s not acceptable to take them for free, Uncle, I need a lot of crabs, a few aren’t enough.

Here’s the deal; all the crabs you catch these two days, keep them for me. I’ll take them all at ten wen per jin, however many you have!"

After all, she had space in the supermarket, and things stored there stayed unchanged, no need to feed them, and they wouldn’t die.

Once they leave this sea, it’ll be hard to buy crabs.

Stored in the supermarket, she could take her time eating, steam a few whenever she was craving.

"Are you sure? Ten wen per jin?"

Uncle Ban seemed incredulous; fish sold for eight wen per jin, small fish only three wen per jin, yet these ugly crabs were more valuable than fish?

Uncle Ban thought this girl probably didn’t know how abundant Bohai crabs were, so much they were practically rampant; he dreamed of catching nets full of crabs only to be scolded by his wife for not catching fish.

"If you want, I’ll go to sea again soon; within an hour, I’ll bring you back a whole boat, each crab as big as this!"

Yu Xiaolian nodded enthusiastically, took out a piece of broken silver from her pocket, and handed it to Uncle Ban, "Here’s the deposit; go ahead, I’ll wait at the dock."

Uncle Ban saw the silver and realized this girl wasn’t joking, so he immediately called over the woman selling fish from the other side of the dock, saying he needed to go to sea again.