The Crown Princess is busy fishing

After the meal, the group went to learn from the village women how to weave fishing nets and how to repair them.

Another whole afternoon was spent fiddling with the rough fishing nets, which gradually strained their hands.

The fingers of several people were rubbed raw and red from the network cable.

Lin Yuge's hands were even worn raw, revealing the tender flesh underneath.

When she returned, Xie Jingwan said with a pained expression, "Daughter, you shouldn't go tomorrow. Look at the state of your hands."

"Mom, I'm fine. I just started working and my hands haven't gotten used to it yet."

Such a minor injury is no problem for Lin Yuge.

"You silly child, you're already like this and you're still joking with your mother."

Xie Jingwan was still a little worried and held onto her daughter's hand tightly.

Just then, Wen Jizhong appeared at the door and handed over a bottle of medicine. "Sprinkle this on, it will help you recover faster!"

Xie Jingwan quickly took the medicine and thanked her, saying, "Thank you so much, sir. I just needed it right now."

Wen Jizhong nodded indifferently and said, "No need, use this to return the fish from lunch."

After saying that, he turned around and walked out.

Xie Jingwan was completely bewildered by him.

He muttered to himself, "This old man, even his concern for people is so awkward."

Lin Yuge nodded with a smile, "Yes, Grandpa Wen's awkwardness is kind of cute."

Xie Jingwan slapped her on the head.

She laughed and scolded, "You silly girl, you're talking nonsense. Hold out your hand, and I'll apply the medicine for you."

"Mom! You've made me stupid." Lin Yuge shrank her neck and smiled as she stretched out her hand.

It was still early, so Lin Yuge decided to make the sand crabs she had caught that morning into a sauce.

Otherwise, all those sand crabs will die after today.

Because of his hand injury, Lin Yuge had no choice but to ask his older brother for help.

"Brother, could you help me wash the sand crabs and change the water several times?"

Worried that her daughter might do something rash, Xie Jingwan quickly asked, "Daughter, is there anything else we need to prepare? I'll go get it!"

Lin Yuge thought for a moment, "Mother, we also need some ginger, garlic and white wine. I'll have to trouble you to go find them."

"Okay, I'll go to the village and see if anyone has any, then I'll buy some."

Seeing that he didn't have enough basins at home, Lin Fanghai turned around and went to find some wood.

"Daughter, Dad will make a few more basins so it's easier to wash."

Lin Yuge squatted down, removing the internal organs of the sand crab, specifically the part under its navel.

He called out, "Dad, could you make me a bathtub while you're at it?"

"Okay, I got it. I'll make it for you after I finish making the basin."

Soon Xie Jingwan returned with a few things. "Daughter, we don't have any baijiu (Chinese white liquor), but the village chief has a small jar of huangjiu (yellow wine). Is that alright?"

"Mother, you can do it."

Afterwards, the group cleaned all the sand crabs and put them into a ceramic jar.

Lin Yuge added two ounces of sea salt and had his elder brother crush it with a wooden stick.

Add the chopped ginger and garlic, then pour in the Shaoxing wine.

Finally, Xie Jingwan mixed it well by hand.

"Alright, tomorrow put it in the sun for two or three hours, seal it, and it will be ready to eat in a while."

Looking at the brownish liquid, the others all looked on with suspicion.

"Can this taste good?"

Lin Yuge did not explain, but only said, "You'll know in a while."

For the next two days, the group continued to go out to sea with the villagers to repair their fishing nets.

However, the catch they could keep each time was simply not enough to feed the group for a day.

So every day after dark, Lin Yuge would go to the sea to catch some fish and crabs and bring them back to supplement everyone's nutrition.

That morning, it was still dark.

Suddenly, a series of gong sounds rang out, accompanied by shouts of "The boat is back! The fishing boat has docked!"

Lin Yuge and his family were groggily woken up and followed the villagers to the seaside.

Three primitive sampans were moored on the shore, their hulls long and slender, each about seven or eight meters long.

The wooden hull, weathered by the sea and the passage of time, appears ancient and weathered.

At this moment, people were continuously carrying baskets of fish off the boat.

The women in the village quickly stepped forward and offered their concern and care to their husbands as they came down from the boat.

Some young couples even hugged each other excitedly.

Village chief Qiu Ming shouted from the side, "What are you doing? Hurry up and finish cleaning the fish, then go home and enjoy yourselves."

Upon hearing this, everyone was taken aback at first, and then burst into laughter.

The men blushed and silently quickened their pace in carrying the fish.

The women lowered their heads shyly, but quickly began to prepare the fish.

Lin Yuge squatted in the crowd, quickly sorting a basket of fish.

He would occasionally give science lessons to his family members next to him.

At this moment, she was holding a silvery-white, flat fish in her hand.

He explained, "This is a pomfret. It should be widely distributed in this sea area. You can see that this is the most common type in these baskets."

Suddenly Lin Qingzhou leaned closer.

"Little sister, look how fun this fish is! I poked it and it got angry. Look, it's all puffed up like a ball."

Lin Yuge slapped Lin Qingzhou's outstretched hand.

He said sternly, "Brother, never touch fish you don't recognize at sea. Many creatures in the sea are poisonous. This one, for example, is highly poisonous."

Upon hearing this, Lin Qingzhou shrank back abruptly, her face filled with horror, and exclaimed, "Such a cute fish, how could it be poisonous?"

Seeing that everyone looked puzzled, Lin Yuge explained, "I don't know if you've ever heard of pufferfish, one of the three delicacies of the river."

Lin Fanghai suddenly realized, "That's a pufferfish!"

"Girl, isn't this fish edible? I heard that the Marquis of Dingbei's mansion even held a special pufferfish banquet!"

"Father, haven't you ever heard of anyone being poisoned to death after eating it?"

"No, there are just occasional rumors that someone has suffered from hysteria. I wonder if it's related to the pufferfish?"

"That's right. Pufferfish contain tetrodotoxin, a highly toxic neurotoxin."

"If ingested accidentally, symptoms may include numbness of the lips, tingling of the fingers, nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea."

"It could also affect the nervous system, leading to the hysteria you mentioned, Dad. In severe cases, it can cause difficulty breathing, cardiac arrest, or even death."

The Lin family members watched as Lin Yuge spoke eloquently, demonstrating his extensive knowledge of these fish.

A look of doubt appeared on his face.

Lin Yuge noticed the change in the expressions of the others, her heart skipped a beat, and she couldn't help but secretly groan.

"Oh no, I got a little carried away when I started talking about these things. It seems I need to explain some things."

At this moment, Wen Jizhong interrupted the stalemate and said thoughtfully, "This fish is indeed poisonous. Look, here, and here, they all contain deadly poison."

He then took out a silver needle and pricked the pufferfish a few times; the needle immediately turned black.

The fishermen who witnessed this all retreated in unison.

Hearing the commotion, Qiu Ming came over.

"What are you doing? What are you chatting about instead of working?"

"Village chief, this fish is poisonous! Look over there!" a fisherman exclaimed, pointing at Wen Jizhong.

He was picking a banana leaf from a short distance away and carefully wrapping it around the pufferfish.

He glanced at Qiu Ming and said, "I'll take it back and study it."

Upon hearing this, Lin Yuge reminded him, "Grandpa Wen, please be careful, this stuff is very poisonous."

Wen Jizhong paused for a moment, nodded, and said nothing more.

The group then quickly cleaned the fish out.

After cleaning the catch, two people were left to guard it, waiting for the fishmonger to arrive.

The others went back.

The group remained silent throughout the journey.

Back home, Lin Yuge hesitated, murmuring, "Mother..."