Chapter 34: Foraging by the Sea, Mailing Crabs

After lowering the crab traps and securing the ropes, Chen Zhou walked toward his wife and child.

The tidal flat was noticeably livelier. Chen Taotao had changed into her rain boots, her pant legs rolled up high, and she was excitedly wading through the puddles, her little bottom stuck out as she splashed water all over her face. Her giggles and laughter were carried far away by the sea breeze.

Seeing Chen Zhou approach, Taotao held up her muddy little hand, showing off a cat-eye snail the size of a fingernail. "I just stepped on it!"

Chen Zhou gave her a thumbs-up. "Our Taotao is amazing!"

Nearby, Ms. Lin was fussing over the child, reminding her, "Don't run around" and "Don't fall." She reached into a crevice in the rocks, gave a gentle pry with a flat-head screwdriver, and pried off a thick oyster. She showed it to Chen Zhou as well.

Chen Zhou laughed. "My wife is also amazing."

His gaze followed the oyster Lin Yifan had tossed aside and shifted to the small bucket the mother and daughter were using to store their catch. Looking closer, he had to admit, the haul was quite impressive. The bottom of the bucket was already covered, with a few seashells Taotao had picked up nestled in the middle.

Before long, the little girl seemed to have had her fill of play. She found a spot on the sand and began digging with a small shovel. Lin Yifan called her back and washed her hands with clean water. She asked Chen Zhou to open the parasol, then spread a camping mat on the ground.

The family of three lay down on the embankment just like that. Chen Taotao squeezed into the middle, eating a snack her mother handed her on one side, and sipping the rest of her milk on the other. Soon, her eyes grew heavy. Time, like a pink slipper soaked in seawater for too long, became heavy and sodden, flowing very slowly...

As the sun climbed higher, their backs began to feel the heat. Chen Zhou stood up and returned to the bridge, ready to collect the last of the crab traps. The man next to him, who had been fishing, had also caught quite a few crabs thanks to the effectiveness of Chen Zhou’s bait, so he proactively came over to help.

The two men untied the ropes and hauled up the crab traps. From the weight, it was clear they had hit the jackpot. The fisherman, lacking any prior intelligence on the matter, was even more excited than Chen Zhou: "Holy cow, it's packed!"

Chen Zhou smiled and warned him, "Your cigarette is about to fall!"

"Oh, oops!"

After the blue-shelled crabs were hauled up, they frantically waved their claws, bumping into each other and making a "click-clack" sound, much like chestnuts popping in a wok.

The fisherman couldn't help but glance at Chen Zhou’s crab trap. "These crabs are excellent today, full to the brim! I’ve benefited from your luck."

Chen Zhou didn't hold back on his bait recipe, sharing, "Pig liver, milk—you should try it next time."

The man was quite a character; with a cigarette dangling from his lips, he nodded in constant approval. Seeing Chen Zhou’s eyes drift to the slipper he had fished out earlier, he explained, "I was thinking of catching the other one to make a pair."

At noon, as the sun turned fierce, the family of three returned home, fully laden. The car smelled of the sea—the scent of the ocean. On the drive back, Chen Zhou suggested to his wife, "Why don't we mail some crabs to your parents? We caught so many, we can't eat them all."

Ms. Lin turned her head. "What about Grandma and Grandpa?"

His grandparents also lived by the coast and had easy access to seafood, whereas Lin Yifan’s hometown was inland in the Guanzhong region, where seafood was quite expensive. So, Chen Zhou still wanted to send some to them first to get a taste. Ms. Lin didn't say much, but she looked at her calendar, calculating when she could take their child to visit her parents. She then brought up a more practical problem: courier companies didn't ship live animals for individuals.

"Let me think," Chen Zhou said. He thought of Old Zhang at the wet market; his fresh food shop would surely have a way. Once they got home, after packing a few large ice packs into the foam box with the crabs, he turned around and headed back to the market.

...

At Happiness Market, Yongjia Fresh Foods, Zhang Jinsheng spotted Chen Zhou approaching from a distance, carrying a bag and pulling a small cart. He recognized the eight-legged creatures in the bag at a glance. He remembered what Chen Zhou had said before leaving earlier that day and sighed to himself: *'Well, well, young Brother Chen actually brought me crabs, and they look like he caught them himself!'*

Because Chen Zhou was still using a semi-transparent shopping bag labeled "Yongjia Fresh," and Zhang Jinsheng didn't even sell crabs, he was touched. However, what Chen Zhou said next left Old Zhang feeling inexplicably disappointed.

"Brother, can you help me ship these crabs? I want to send some to my mother-in-law's place."

"Ship crabs? Oh, oh, yes, I can ship them."

*So much for that,* Zhang Jinsheng thought, consoling himself. *It’s not for me... nothing to be done. If he gives, it’s a favor; if he doesn’t, it’s his right. I shouldn't expect anything.* He suddenly recalled why his daughter had been so angry with him the day before. He had promised to pick her up, but ended up twenty minutes late, leaving her waiting for nothing—of course she was angry.

Expectations lead to disappointment. But Brother Chen was a different case; he had just mentioned it casually that morning, so there was no need to take it to heart. Besides, this was a client with whom he did business; it was just a small favor, and he should help.

Old Zhang forced a smile and asked, "Where do you want to send them, Brother Chen?"

Seeing Old Zhang take the bag, Chen Zhou laughed and teased, "You’re quite proactive!"

"What do you mean, brother?"

Hearing Chen Zhou’s words, Old Zhang’s smile vanished instantly. *I’m helping you, shouldn't you have said thank you first?* However, because Zhang Jinsheng’s usual tone was quite blunt, Chen Zhou didn’t even catch the nuance of his "What do you mean?"

"Didn't I tell you this morning to wait for my crabs?"

Old Zhang reacted, his eyes blinking repeatedly. "Oh? These are for me?"

"Yeah," Chen Zhou nodded, pointing to the foam box on his cart—that was the one he wanted to ship.

When Zhang Jinsheng heard this, he couldn't keep his mouth from curling up. It looked like he was grinning from ear to ear.

Chen Zhou continued to explain, oblivious: "Don't think it's too little. My mother-in-law and the others live in Guanzhong, and it's not easy to get seafood there. But I picked out some big ones for you. Didn't you say your daughter loves seafood? Take them home and steam them... oh, you’ll surely know how to cook them."

Zhang Jinsheng thought, *'Forget about helping him ship those—even if the courier service shuts down, I would drive them to the old lady myself.'*

Chen Zhou left his contact information and address, and they chatted for a while longer—about raising daughters, crab bait, live hog futures, and so on. But Old Zhang's way of speaking made Chen Zhou feel a bit awkward, so he found an excuse and hurried home.

Walking down the road, he couldn't help but ponder: *Old Zhang is acting weird today. Did he get so twisted from arguing with his kid? What a total daughter-obsessed fool! That guy is beyond saving.*