Lu Jingnian washed the dishes and left.
Xiang Wanwan picked up her hoe and started turning the soil again.
On the neighboring yard wall, Sister Wang saw her working and immediately came over.
“Wanwan, where did you get those clams for lunch? My two sons loved them so much—they couldn’t stop eating!”
“Can you take me there to pick some more? The kids are still asking for them.”
She had never seen, let alone eaten, seafood before. And now she could cook it so deliciously!
Her two sons loved it too.
Xiang Wanwan put down her hoe and looked at Sister Wang.
She hadn’t had enough either! She had collected a whole bucket, but it felt like she barely took a few bites.
Hearing Sister Wang wanted to go pick some herself, perfect—they could go together.
“Sure! Sister-in-law. I was planning to pick some more too!”
“Bring a bucket and a small shovel, and also some salt.”
Sister Wang didn’t question the first two items, but was a little puzzled about the salt.
Yet if Wanwan said to bring it, it must be useful.
She hurried back home to prepare.
Xiang Wanwan put away her hoe and went inside to get the bucket.
A short while later, both women were ready, and Sister Wang had brought her two children along.
“Auntie, we want to play too!”
Sister Wang’s twin boys, Chen Weiguo and Chen Baoguo, though twins, were slightly different. Weiguo was a bit bigger and chubby, while Baoguo was smaller but still plump. Both had been taught well and were very sensible.
Xiang Wanwan looked at the two little bundles and felt her heart melt. She gently patted their heads:
“Great! Auntie will take you to catch crabs—it’s so much fun.”
“Yay, yay!”
The boys held hands and ran ahead, while she and Sister Wang chatted and followed behind.
Before long, they reached the spot where Wanwan had picked clams that morning.
She froze in shock at the sight.
Sister Wang was equally stunned.
“Wanwan, didn’t you say hardly anyone comes here?”
“There were hardly any people this morning,” Wanwan replied.
The quiet morning beach, with only two or three people, now had dozens of people tide-pooling.
Could it be that people were drawn here after seeing how much she carried back this morning?
Or perhaps it was because resources were scarce on the island, and everyone’s stomachs were empty. Seeing her sudden bounty, they followed suit.
But with so many people tide-pooling, could she still find anything good?
Before leaving, Wanwan had summoned the green sprite and hidden it in her sleeve.
It could wiggle in all directions, guiding her. When it stopped, it meant something was below.
But now, did she even need the sprite?
There probably wouldn’t be anything left!
Just as she thought this, the sprite stirred in her sleeve.
It moved forward, and Wanwan immediately walked that way, calling for Sister Wang as she went.
“Sister-in-law, follow me!”
“Ah, okay!” Sister Wang replied instinctively.
She crouched by the boys. “Stay on the beach and don’t wander off, alright? Mom will get you some treats soon.”
“Yes, Mom!”
“Yes, Mom!”
The twins replied in unison.
Sister Wang quickly followed Wanwan.
The sprite led Wanwan to a less crowded spot, then finally stopped.
Wanwan crouched down, and sure enough, several small holes were in the sand—there were plenty of razor clams below.
Seeing her stop, Sister Wang crouched too, asking, “Wanwan, why are we stopping?”
Wanwan pointed to the holes in the sand.
“Sister-in-law, these are where the clams live. First, sprinkle some salt. When you see bubbles, it means something’s inside.”
As Wanwan demonstrated, she sprinkled salt on a hole—and a clam immediately crawled out. She grabbed it quickly.
Sister Wang was amazed. So that’s what the salt was for! Wanwan was incredible.
Wanwan encouraged her: “Sister-in-law, you try.”
Following Wanwan’s example, Sister Wang sprinkled salt on a hole, and seconds later, caught a clam herself.
“This is fun! Wanwan, this is so fun!”
She had never tide-pooled before, and everything was so novel.
Wanwan smiled and encouraged her again: “All the clams here are yours. I’ll go check up ahead.”
She had already eaten clams for lunch and wanted something different for dinner.
The green sprite in her sleeve stirred again.
Following its guidance, she walked forward and stopped after a few steps.
The sand underfoot bulged slightly. Two scoops of her shovel revealed a cat’s eye snail.
She shook it in her hand—the meat was inside, just retracted into its shell.
“Clang!”
Wanwan tossed it into the bucket.
She looked around and continued digging, eventually collecting over a dozen cat’s eye snails from the area.
She felt elated looking at the bucket.
Following the sprite’s guidance, she went forward a few steps and spotted a small crab scuttling across the sand.
She quickly grabbed it.
“You little thing, where are you running!”
She had promised the two boys crabs, and now she could deliver.
While catching crabs, she also found a few buried octopuses beneath the sand.
Standing up, she looked in the bucket. These would be enough for dinner.
Glancing at the other tide-poolers, she left the remaining catch for them.
Xiang Wanwan carried the bucket back.
Sister Wang was still digging for clams.
Looking in her bucket, there were already nearly two kilograms of clams.
Seeing Wanwan approach, Sister Wang happily said, “Wanwan, wait! There’s so many here, I’ll be done soon.”
“It’s okay, Sister-in-law. Take your time.”
Watching Sister Wang dig enthusiastically, Wanwan didn’t disturb her and went to find the twins.
Passing through the crowd, everyone kept peeking into her bucket.
“Wow, Comrade Xiang, you’re so lucky—look at how much you picked!”
“Yeah, she’s only been here a short while!”
“I’ve been digging for hours and only found a few clams.”
A curious woman approached: “Comrade Xiang, do you have a secret for tide-pooling? How do you find so many? Share with us!”
Wanwan smiled awkwardly. “No secret, just intuition!”
The woman frowned, disappointed.
Intuition?
Obviously, she didn’t want to share—she was the chief’s wife after all, so stingy!
Such a large beach—surely they could find some if they tried. If not, too bad.
Wanwan walked on, ignoring all eyes and whispers.
After a while, she realized the twins weren’t in sight.
Panic gripped her.
Looking at the incoming tide, her anxiety grew.
Could the kids have been swept away?
Probably not—there were so many people.
If there were danger, someone would have called out!
“Weiguo!”
“Baoguo!”
She shouted their names.
By now, Sister Wang had finished digging clams and hurried over.
Seeing Wanwan calling her sons’ names, she panicked, dropping her bucket.
She ran to Wanwan. “Wanwan, where are the kids?”
Xiang Wanwan calmed herself and spoke steadily: “Sister-in-law, the kids probably got excited and ran off a little.”
“Don’t worry—there are so many people here. If there were danger, someone would have called out.”
“Let’s keep looking.”