Rebirth of a fishing village: starting from Hua Axiang in Jiehu Village

Chapter 11 Mud snails and sea melon seeds in the mangroves

The sun rises.

The yard heats up.

Zhong Cuihua held her knees with both hands, and there were layers of deep wrinkles.

Zhao Shi frowned tightly, lit the hookah, and smoked one after another.

Zhao Dahai sat silently. He wanted to repair the boat and go fishing, but this was not something he could decide alone.

"Zhao Shi."

"Someday Dahai will be repairing the ship. Please do me a favor. You are a very good person."

Zhong Cuihua patted her knees.

"ah?"

"Old sister-in-law!"

"Can we go fishing in the sea?"

Zhao Shi's eyes widened and he didn't even bother to smoke the hookah.

"The sea is right."

"You have to make money to feed your family, you have to marry a wife, have a few children and raise them, etc. If you don't need money, you have to get out of the sea."

"This is the fate of people in our fishing village."

"No way!"

Zhong Cuihua waved her hand.

Zhao Shi moved his lips a few times, wanting to say something, but then kept his mouth shut tightly. Isn't that the truth? In every village on the seaside, there are people who go fishing and die. People who have died dare not go out to sea. The village has dispersed long ago. After sitting for a while, he sighed, stood up with his hands on his knees, and said that he would come to see him when the ship is being repaired. , turned around and walked out of the yard slowly.

"grandmother."

"Let's just wander around on the sea in front of the village. We won't go far."

Zhao Dahai took Zhong Cuihua's hand.

"Um."

"Don't run far."

"Catch some fish. Make some money."

"As long as you can get a wife and raise a child."

Zhong Cuihua patted Zhao Dahai's hand, stood up and walked into the main room, pulled up a low stool and sat down to continue weaving a fishing net.

Zhao Dahai shook his head. If something happens to my father and mother, this is a big deal for an old man. Even if he relaxes and lets himself repair the boat and go fishing, this is a last resort and he must be extremely worried. In fact, regardless of whether he has a father or not. As long as I go out to sea, people at home will worry about my mother's affairs day and night. Without saying anything, there is no comfort. The people in the fishing village have to face the reality and can only bear it silently.

Zhao Dahai cooked a pot of white porridge. This was breakfast. There was no food. He poured some soy sauce and stirred it a few times. He brought a bowl to Zhong Cuihua who was weaving a fishing net. He filled a bowl for himself and said that he would go into the mangrove tree to see if it could be done. As for making money, getting some small fish and shrimps is not a problem, but the pot on the table needs to be a bit fishy.

Zhong Cuihua thought for a while and nodded.

Zhao Dahai divided two by three, finished two bowls of porridge, packed a few mesh bags, picked up a pole, and picked up a small iron hoe. Today, the tide is low at three o'clock in the afternoon to enter the mangroves, and the tide is only high at nine o'clock in the evening. Bring a flashlight. , filled the bottle with cold water, put on Jiefang shoes, said that he would go home later tonight, and strode out.

Zhong Cuihua walked slowly to the courtyard door, watched Zhao Dahai disappear around the corner, and then turned back to the main room. She was distracted for more than ten minutes with the net shuttle, wiped the corners of her eyes, and then started weaving the fishing net one after another.

Zhao Dahai strode to the pier in front of the village and turned to the west under the sun. Going east across the beach was the reef zone for fishing crab and tiger fish, and the mangroves were at the west end of the village.

Zhao Dahai kept walking for almost an hour, when an endless mangrove forest appeared. This is a kind of shrub and small tree that can grow in seawater. Generally speaking, it appears on the tidal flats at the junction of land and ocean on the seashore, which can prevent wind and fix sand. Decades ago, when the typhoon season came, fishing boats from the village would come here to take shelter from the wind. In recent years, there has been a special fishing port to shelter from the wind, and gradually no fishing boats come anymore.

Zhao Dahai took a look and saw that the tide had just begun to recede. He rested for half an hour until the sand and beach mud were exposed on the edge of the mangrove forest. .

Zhao Dahai took a look and found that it was a jumping fish. In some places, they are called mudskippers and jumpers. They have large heads with protruding eyes and wide mouths. They are grey-brown in color and have suckers on their abdomens. They can attach themselves to rocks or treetops in mangroves. They have very strong jumping ability and can often be seen on beaches after the tide recedes. Once disturbed, a group of them jump forward.

Zhao Dahai shook his head. The jumping fish may not grow very big, but the meat is tender and delicious. This is not what he came here for today. He continued to walk in. Some mangroves can grow four or five meters high, but there are relatively few. It is generally only more than one meter high, and its root system is very developed and grows criss-crossing into one piece, making it very difficult to walk. There are few people coming into the mangrove forest. One is that walking is difficult and all you catch in half a day are worthless small fish and shrimps, which is not cost-effective. The other is that this place is like a maze, and ordinary people may not be able to get out.

Zhao Dahai bent over, one foot deep and one foot shallow. The sun hanging in the sky was shining like a steamer. After walking for only five or six minutes, there were beads of sweat the size of soybeans on his forehead. He looked left and right with wide eyes. There was no fishing boat. When going to sea, I can’t be picky. The mangroves are a good place for me. I have gone to the mangroves to catch fish and snails since I was a child. I am very familiar with this place. After walking for half an hour, I arrived at a small open space. I straightened up and put on my clothes. All soaked. I came here often when I was a child. Sea melon seeds and very large mud snails grow here.

Zhao Dahai took a look. The sea water receded, and the mud snails were half exposed. He picked it up with his hand, and it was as big as his fist. No one had come here for several years, and they were all densely packed. He took out the mesh bag he brought and packed it for half an hour. It was full, and I carried it for no less than twenty kilograms, and then took out another mesh bag. The sea melon seeds were as big as a fingernail. I dug out a piece and filled it with almost twenty kilograms. I dug a hole with my hoe, and half of it oozed out. Use the sea water in the pit to clean the mud snails and sea melon seeds in the two mesh bags. You don’t have to wash them too hard when you go back. There is no mud mixed with them. It will be easier to pick them back later.

Zhao Dahai rested for a while and drank some water. He didn't bring any mud snails or sea claws. Not many people came in the mangrove. Even if someone came, they would know at a glance that they had the owner's things. They were not worth a lot of money. People know how to take it, so they took a mesh bag, picked up a small hoe and went into the mangroves. They continued walking forward. Another hour passed and when they were going through the mangroves again, a small ditch appeared in front of them.

Zhao Dahai wiped the sweat from his forehead. He hadn't been here for several years. It was not easy to find the direction in the mangrove forest and many places had changed. He almost couldn't find it.

There are open spaces and small ditches in the mangroves. There are not many open spaces, but there are many small ditches. The sea tide rises and ebbs, and small ditches appear in the loose soil areas. Most of them are not deep, about one or two meters. The ditches are lower than the surrounding places. The tide ebbs. When there is water, the sea water flows like a small river.

Zhao Dahai went down the ditch and waded forward through the water. There were many small fish and shrimps. This was not today's goal. He stared wide-eyed at the earthen dams with grass and vines exposed on both sides of the ditch. Some people may think that grass and vines do not grow where the sea water is soaked. In fact, they not only grow but grow very well.

Zhao Dahai walked and looked. Half an hour later, he finally saw a fist-sized and flat hole in the earthen dam twenty centimeters away from the water surface of the ditch. He walked quickly over and observed it carefully for a while, with a smile on his face.

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