"I am already very happy that you could bring me to do some Sea Gathering. You can make the decisions regarding these things; I wouldn't have been able to bring them home anyway, and if the villagers saw them, it would only cause trouble."
"Alright, then I will sell them all together and calculate the money for you later." Jiang Tang agreed, then shouldered the bamboo basket filled with razor clams and walked toward the reef.
Passing by a dense pile of reefs, she looked back and saw Su Lianxue only focused on digging for razor clams, not even lifting her head. Taking cover behind the reef, she moved her mind and collected the razor clams into her Space.
Jiang Tang walked toward the reef wall where Jiang Yi and Song Jiuxi were prying oysters, muttering to herself: I wonder if those two are still arguing?
Over at the reef wall, Jiang Yi and the other were only focused on prying oysters. Let alone bickering, they were too lazy to even speak, fearing that if they talked, they would waste their strength and be surpassed by the other.
You pry one, and I must follow with one. Neither was willing to let the other pry two more. They were competing silently, yet it revealed a stubbornness where neither was willing to submit to the other.
By now, both had two large bags piled at their feet, and their baskets were also full to the brim, showing they had certainly put in quite a lot of effort.
Jiang Tang walked closer and stood by for a moment, but didn't hear a single word, only the continuous "click, click" sounds.
Looking at the appearance of these two, she suddenly remembered Granny Qian and Grandma Sun from the village.
Those two also didn't get along; usually, when they met, they would either argue or bicker, never going three sentences without a quarrel.
Yet, when they went for Sea Gathering, they had a preference for sticking together. It wasn't that they had reconciled, but rather they were holding back, determined not to let the other gather more than themselves.
If they spotted the same seafood, they could argue until their faces turned red, and they wouldn't stop until they snatched it for themselves.
Jiang Tang took four apples out of her Space, walked over, and stuffed two into each of their hands. "Rest for a while, eat something before continuing."
The two took them almost as a reflex and took a big bite.
Song Jiuxi's mouth was stuffed with apple, and she shouted vaguely, "A'Tang, this fruit is too delicious! It's juicy and sweet, better than wild fruit!"
Jiang Yi also nodded repeatedly, having gnawed the apple core almost clean. "That's right, Elder Sister. Yesterday, when you put these fruits and vegetables together, I even thought you wanted to boil them to eat."
It was fortunate that Jiang Yi didn't put them in the porridge to boil, otherwise, Jiang Tang wouldn't dare to imagine what apple porridge would taste like.
She had just breathed a sigh of relief when she heard Jiang Yi add, "I almost cut them up to stir-fry. Grandma said to just put carrots in the porridge and no need to stir-fry other dishes, otherwise I would have tried it."
Jiang Tang: ······
She simply couldn't imagine what apples stir-fried with oil and salt would taste like.
The two finished the apples in a few bites and, as if they had pressed a restart button, immediately grabbed their small knives to continue prying oysters. Their speed was even faster than before, and they didn't even notice when Jiang Tang left.
Jiang Tang shook her head helplessly, moved the oysters under the reef, and put them into her Space. Today they only pried oysters, totaling four bags and two baskets.
Returning home and entering her small room, she moved her mind and shuttled to modern times.
When she came out, it was still that same quiet alley from yesterday, and the surrounding breakfast shops had just opened.
Having walked a bit far yesterday, Jiang Tang walked near the Morning Market Street before finding a quiet alley to transfer the items out of her Space.
She shouldered a basket filled with oysters, carried a bag of razor clams on her shoulder, and held a wooden bucket in her hand, which contained the large grouper and some black tiger prawns.
I have to say, the strength of this body is truly great. With so much seafood weighing on her, she didn't feel tired at all, walking steadily without even panting.
Jiang Tang turned the street corner and arrived at the entrance of the street where stalls were set up. From afar, she saw quite a lot of people surrounding Zhou Chong'an's shop.
Zhou Chong'an also seemed to have just opened the shop door and was standing at the entrance talking to someone.
Jiang Tang was puzzled: Is Brother Zhou's business this good? People are already blocking the entrance early in the morning waiting to buy things?
Yesterday, the business looked average, but today it was so popular.
Just as she approached the crowd, she saw the elderly man who bought seafood yesterday.
As soon as the old man saw her, the wrinkles on his face broke into a smile, revealing a set of dentures. "Young girl, you finally came! We are all waiting to buy your seafood! The seafood from yesterday was so fresh! My little grandson was shouting that he wanted to eat fish again, and my daughter-in-law also said the taste of that crab was superb."
"I even introduced quite a lot of my Chess Friends to come over."
An elderly woman next to her also leaned in to join the conversation. "That's right, young girl. The seafood I bought back yesterday, my family members all said it was delicious. I mentioned it in my square dancing sisters group, and they all pestered me to bring them here to buy some."
Jiang Tang suddenly realized that these people were blocking Brother Zhou's entrance early in the morning just to wait for her seafood.
"Thank you all for liking it." She nodded with a smile. "Please excuse me, everyone, let me through. I'll go in and set up the stall first. There are still some goods I haven't brought over yet, please wait a moment."
They didn't know, but how could Jiang Tang not? This wasn't farmed seafood; it was all wild seafood, so how could it not be fresh?
"Alright, alright, hurry in! You young girl are really strong, carrying so many things." The old man immediately signaled everyone to make a path. "Let's all make way for the young girl to go in, line up properly, and don't crowd!"
Zhou Chong'an in the shop heard the commotion and walked out, followed by Li Hongyu.
"Brother Zhou, Brother Li, good morning!" Jiang Tang put down the things in her hands and raised her hand to wipe the sweat from her forehead.
"Xiao Tang, you finally came, I was waiting for you too." Li Hongyu yawned, his eyes still somewhat sleepy. "The seafood you gave yesterday was too authentic. I wanted to rest and sleep in today, but I was woken up by my son to buy seafood."
Zhou Chong'an also nodded with a smile. "It was indeed delicious. My master specifically urged me to buy more to take back today."
The two also hurried over to help her put down the basket. It was truly quite heavy, and they didn't know how a young girl like her could carry it, while also carrying a bag and holding a bucket; they might not even be able to do it themselves.
"What are you buying! You guys just pick some and take them back to eat. Without your help, where would I find a place to set up a stall."
She placed the items down and turned to the two of them. "Brother Zhou, Brother Li, please look after these for a while. I still have some goods I haven't brought over, I'll be right back."
"How much more is there? Do you need my help?" Seeing her carrying and shouldering things earlier, and even holding a bucket, Li Hongyu was worried about crushing her thin frame.
"No need, I can do it myself." Jiang Tang's seafood was still in her Space, how could she let Li Hongyu follow her!
Before Jiang Tang had walked far, some of the elderly men and women in line saw the large grouper in the bucket.
"I want that fish, don't any of you fight me for it!" An old man shouted first, his eyes fixed on the fish, fearing it would be snatched away by someone else.
An old man immediately replied, "I want it too! Such a large grouper, it must be very fresh!"
"I am in the front of the line, it should be my turn first!" The old man at the head of the line was unhappy and argued stubbornly with his neck stiffened.
The few of them often had disputes while playing chess, and now they were even fighting over a fish.
"That's not necessarily true, it depends on who is more sincere." The previous old man was determined to win. "This fish would sell for at least six hundred in the market, I'll offer six hundred and fifty!"
"Seven hundred!" Someone immediately increased the price.
"Seven hundred and fifty!"
In just a moment's effort, the price was raised to nearly one thousand. The few elderly men and women argued until their faces were red, their voices getting louder one after another.
This actually amused Zhou Chong'an and Li Hongyu on the side.
Jiang Tang didn't know that her large grouper was so popular.
Yesterday it was snatched by her Aunt, and today it was being fought over by several elderly people.
The old man at the front of the line counted out one thousand yuan, picked up the fish, and stuffed the money into Zhou Chong'an's hand. "Boss Zhou, you keep this money for that young girl, I'm taking the fish now."
He was the same old man who bought Jiang Tang's seafood first yesterday, and also the one who organized everyone to line up.
Zhou Chong'an was caught off guard when someone stuffed money into his hand. He wanted to return it, but the old man had already walked far away.
By the time those elderly men and women came to their senses, he was already gone.
He had called his daughter back to eat today. Not only did his grandson love eating grouper, but his daughter also loved it, so he wouldn't argue with those people.
"Huh? This old guy told us to line up, but he took the fish himself."
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