Traveling through troubled times to escape famine and cultivate crops as a grain merchant

Li said, "What are you talking about? Didn't you pick up most of the basket and give it to the farm? There wasn't much left. The master and your elder brother went to dig some more later. This is the first time we are eating fish that we raise at home, so we have to eat enough."

The old man nodded. Two or three were not enough for one person. At least seven or eight were needed to satisfy the craving.

As he was speaking, Zhou Xing brought out another basin from the house and placed it in the middle of the table.

Zhou Guo: "...Isn't this too much? Or should I eat less? What if I get an upset stomach?"

Zhou Mai and the others opened their mouths wide and looked at the crabs with shining eyes. That was great. Fortunately they only ate one bowl of rice and had some food left in their stomachs.

Zhou Su said happily: "It doesn't matter. If you can't finish it, you can save it for tomorrow morning."

The old man has already started.

Zhou Mai and the others each took one.

Zhou Gu also happily took one and started eating it. The crab was so delicious.

Although Wu Ya, who was standing by, didn't know how to eat it, she also took one and imitated them. She removed the shell and looked at the meat inside. She held it up and examined it for a long time. It turned out that the crab had grown up and this was what it looked like inside. She peeled the one next to it first and planned to eat it.

Zhou Xing hurriedly said: "Sister-in-law, this is cheek, you can't eat it. Come, I'll teach you, you see you should eat the meat inside..."

Wu Ya's face turned slightly red and she looked at it seriously.

Li glanced at Zhou Gu who was eating happily and shook her head. This child was sometimes considerate, but sometimes, he seemed to be careless.

Zhou Guo picked up a female crab and slowly ate the roe first. The delicious taste made her squint her eyes involuntarily. The crabs raised in her own rice fields were also delicious. The crab meat was sweet and chewy. It was really delicious, hahahaha…

She couldn't help laughing while eating. She must make sure that these crabs survive the winter safely so that she would have an endless supply of crabs to eat in the future.

Wu Ya couldn't help but look at her.

Li smiled and said, "Don't bother her. She is just like that. Her mind is always busy even when she is eating. She will laugh when she thinks of something happy."

Wu Ya said: "My sister is really hard-working. She doesn't even take a break to eat."

After saying that, he lowered his head and began to peel the crabs, carefully peeling out the meat from the shells and placing them on small plates. After peeling several plates, he placed one plate each in front of the old man and Mrs. Li and Mrs. Xu.

Everyone at the table was stunned.

Li said, "Daughter-in-law, please eat by yourself. We have hands and feet and can move around by ourselves. We don't need your care."

The old man nodded, "Yes, yes, you can eat it by yourself, okay?"

Wu Ya said, "It's okay, Second Aunt, sir, it's not tiring to peel this."

He refused to listen and started peeling again.

Li told her several times but she didn't listen, so she just let her be. She thought she would get better after a while.

Zhou Guo glanced at them and buried her head in eating. In fact, she felt that this thing was more delicious if she peeled it herself. The peeled meat always lacked some soul and taste.

After eating a few, suddenly there was a small plate in front of me, with a plate of meat in it.

Looking up, Wu Ya smiled and said, "This is for you."

Zhou Guo smiled and said, "Thank you, sister-in-law. Don't peel it for me next time. I like to peel it myself. It's also a kind of enjoyment to peel it while eating. The waiting process of peeling the shell can enhance the taste of the crab meat. I think it tastes better than when others peel it for me."

Zhou Mai and Zhou Mi nodded in agreement, and even Li Lai preferred to peel the fruits himself.

Wu Ya was a little embarrassed.

Zhou Su raised his head and smiled, "Sister-in-law, I like to eat it. I'm too lazy to peel it. Since they don't want it, you can give it to me. I like to eat ready-made ones the most."

As he said this, he pushed all the meat in front of Zhou Mai and Zhou Mi into his own bowl.

Wu Ya smiled and said, "If you like to eat it, I will peel it for you."

Zhou Su's eyes sparkled, "Okay, okay, thank you, sister-in-law."

Wu Ya continued to peel crabs happily.

Zhou Gu whispered, "Eat by yourself. We don't have this rule. We all eat by ourselves."

Wu Ya said: "It's okay, I'm happy."

Zhou Guo ate nine crabs in one go, until his tongue was blistered. He then stopped eating and lay down on the chair, saying, "It's really satisfying."

It was really enjoyable. They ate all the crabs. After they were done, they even lit the lanterns.

Zhou Su covered his stomach and burped, saying, "I've had enough this time. It's great to raise crabs by myself. I can eat as much as I want."

The old man was happily picking his teeth. Who says it isn't true? This thing is a rare thing in the north. He said to Zhou Guo, "I will go to move the crabs tomorrow."

It just so happens that tomorrow is a day off, and Zhou Mai and others are going.

On the second day, the two acres of fields were as lively as during the autumn harvest.

More than 20 people were standing in the small field. Zhou Guo said, "Dig holes wherever you see them. There aren't many seedlings here, and a large number will probably die in the winter. If we can survive as long as we can, we'll make a profit if we can survive until next year."

Everyone took shovels and dug three feet into the ground. After searching for most of the day, they finally transferred the crab seedlings into the pond.

Zhou Su asked, "Sister, is there really nothing left in the field? Have you counted it?"

Zhou Guo said: "How could that be possible? But it's not too far off. If we miss one or two, there's nothing we can do about it. Whether they die or not depends on their luck."

With such a big commotion, the villagers naturally came to watch the fun.

Seeing these big crabs in the basket, everyone was surprised and envious. "I never thought that crabs could really grow so big. I wonder what's inside? Do you think we can also raise a few, so that we can raise more and more in the end?"

"What the hell are you dreaming about? Haven't you heard that this crab can be sold for four strings of cash in a big restaurant? Four strings of cash, for such a small crab, how can they give it to you for nothing? Not to mention you, the other Zhou family members in the village don't have one either. I don't think Zhou Guo would be willing to give it to you either."

"That's right. I wouldn't give it to you either. If you raise it by yourself or raise it by the whole village, even a fool would know how to choose. If you give it to us, how can we sell it for four strings of cash? Don't even think about it. The Zhou family won't give it to you."

His tone was full of regret.

Who wouldn't feel pity and jealous? Those crabs cost four strings of coins each.

Zhou Guo's family and their servants put all the crabs into the pond. The pond had been completed, and even the holes for the scorpions to spend the winter were ready.

Hundreds of crabs were thrown in and not even a splash was made.

The servants were very happy because they no longer had to run so far to collect crabs.

That evening, a villager came to the house. After a brief greeting, he got straight to the point. "Mother Guoguo, I see that you have so many big crabs, hundreds of them. I wonder if you can give us a few. We don't want too many, just a few will do. You know, the kids at home have never eaten them, so they want to have a bite. If you can't, I can buy them for them."

Mrs. Li looked at the group of seven or eight people and said, "This matter is not my responsibility. It is in my daughter's hands. But I don't think it will work. There are not many crabs this year. I won't have any extra for you."

She didn't want to offend these people. They lived in the same village, and if the relationship became too strained, it would not be good for their family.