As if to confirm her speculation, Mao Mao lazily stretched and let out a long “meow”.
“Are you saying that there will be a big tide and rough waves tonight, and we can catch a lot of crabs?”
Li Ying stared in disbelief with wide eyes. But the sickly kitten just licked the fur on its broken leg on its own and then closed its eyes contentedly to take a nap.
First there was the koi-like daughter, and now there was the weather forecast from the little spiritual cat. With such good luck in her beachcombing business, it would be hard not to make a fortune!
Before going out, Granny Sun was a bit puzzled when she saw Li Ying tying an extra big bucket to the bamboo cart.
It wasn't until she saw Li Ying skillfully pressing on the carapace of yet another swimming crab that she gasped in astonishment.
Just as Mao Mao had predicted, the big tide stranded a lot of seafood on the beach. Besides most of a basket of swimming crabs, there were also a lot of mantis shrimps and bouncing tiger prawns.
The fisherwomen knew that Granny Sun loved plump oysters the most, so they deliberately left a large stretch of reef for the two of them.
Li Ying couldn't decline, so she quickly opened a few coconuts and distributed them to the others.
The fisherwomen waved their hands repeatedly. “A Ying, this won't do! My husband came back from the town today. I just found out from him that the fruit you gave us is called the Bright Moon Fruit. Many young masters can't buy it even if they have money! You'd better keep it to sell in the town. It would be a waste to give it to us!”
Bright Moon Fruit?
Li Ying just smiled nonchalantly.
Fei Yan'er was really quick. In just one day, she had successfully attracted those arty literati with the name “Bright Moon Fruit”.
She waved her hand. “What are you talking about? It's just a fruit. It's not worth much. We're all neighbors. There's no need to be so particular about it.”
Even so, she still felt a faint uneasiness in her heart.
The seafood stir - fry business was so booming that it was already quite eye - catching, and it might attract jealousy.
She was selling coconut milk and agar jelly during the day. While she was delivering goods to the Lianying Tower, Fei Yan'er had come up with the “Bright Moon Fruit”. As long as people tasted it, they could notice that these two kinds of food came from the same source.
It would be very easy for someone with ulterior motives to find her by following the clues.
A man is not guilty, but his wealth may be.
As a weak woman, if she wanted to live in peace, she had to plan ahead.
Thinking of this, Li Ying quickly grabbed the wife of the bamboo craftsman, Li.
“Sister Li, I have something to ask you for help...”
Mian Mian in the bamboo basket babbled at Sister Li, making her smile brightly. She said heartily, “Don't be so polite! Just tell me what it is!”
Only then did Li Ying slowly say that she wanted to ask Master Li to make a four - layer bamboo food box in a hurry.
Sister Li had helped her husband before. Although the food box Li Ying drew was something she had never seen before, she thought it shouldn't be too difficult, so she readily agreed.
Li Ying stuffed ten copper coins into her as a deposit. After some refusal, Sister Li finally accepted it. They agreed to work overnight, and as soon as it was done, she would send it over.
Granny Sun didn't understand what she was up to. When she heard that she was going to the county yamen to do some networking, she looked at her worriedly.
“A Ying, the yamen is not a place to play around! The officials are all very fierce. What if they arrest you?”
Li Ying already had a plan. She smiled and said, “Auntie, I'm not going to cause trouble. Don't worry.”
As she spoke, she washed the wriggling swimming crabs, cut off their gills, cut them into two pieces, and evenly coated them with a thin layer of flour.
There were too many people around the yamen entrance, so it was not suitable to blatantly give silver, which might backfire.
Although swimming crabs were not as rare as green crabs, they were more than enough to be used as snacks for the yamen runners to make some favors.
Li Ying poured plenty of oil into the pot. She fried the crabs until their shells turned red. After letting them cool slightly, she fried them again. In this way, the freshness of the crab meat was locked in by the crispy coating.
She stir - fried ginger and garlic until fragrant over high heat, then added the crab pieces, splashed a circle of yellow rice wine, and added some homemade oyster sauce. The crabs were soon covered with amber sauce.
Finally, she sprinkled some dogwood and scallions. The spicy crabs were firm in texture, and one could taste a hint of sweetness from the crab meat in the salty and savory sauce. It was really finger - licking good.
She cut the mantis shrimps into small pieces and fried them until they were golden and crispy.
Li Ying had bought some Chinese prickly ash from the pharmacy. This little spice was extremely expensive. She endured the pain in her heart and grabbed a handful. She roasted it over low heat in the pot until fragrant, and then mixed it with sea salt and ground them together. The unique spicy aroma of the prickly ash and salt spread out and evenly coated each piece of shrimp meat. It was perfect for drinking.
She shelled and washed the oysters, blanched them in boiling water, and then carefully drained them. She marinated them briefly with ginger juice and yellow rice wine. While doing this, Li Ying took an egg white and roughly whipped it until it had fish - eye bubbles, and then prepared the deep - frying powder.
She crushed dry steamed buns into fine crumbs and mixed them with an equal amount of flour to make the deep - frying powder.
The marinated oysters were first dipped in the egg white and then coated with the deep - frying powder. In this way, even when the oyster meat cooled down, the crispy outer shell would not become soft.
Just as Li Ying was about to let out a sigh of relief after finishing these three dishes, she saw Granny Sun looking at the plate of deep - fried oysters and couldn't help but drool. She couldn't help but find it funny.
“Auntie, your gout hasn't gotten better yet! You can only have one.”
Granny Sun quickly agreed and hurriedly picked up a chopstick full of oysters while they were still hot.
As soon as she took a bite, there was a “crunch” sound, and the rich oyster juice filled her mouth.
“A Ying, I've lived my whole life, and I never knew oysters could be cooked like this!”
Granny Sun praised it continuously and finally managed to force herself to put down the chopsticks.
Sister Li also sent over the food box she had woven overnight. The bright green bamboo strips criss - crossed neatly and beautifully. It could also ensure that these fried foods would not become soggy due to the steam.
Li Ying put the spicy crabs, salt - and - pepper mantis shrimps, and deep - fried oysters on the top three layers respectively. The tiger prawns were very delicious when boiled simply, so she put them on the bottom layer. She also thoughtfully prepared some oyster sauce and salt - and - pepper as dipping sauces. Seeing that the sky was getting a bit bright, she hurriedly carried the food box and rushed to the county yamen.
Two yamen runners were standing guard at the yamen entrance sleepily. When they saw Li Ying approaching on her own initiative, they reluctantly straightened up and looked at her warily.
“Two noble sirs, I run a small food stall at the dock. I'm new here and don't know the rules. I've heard that if one wants to open a food business, one needs a license approved by the government. I'm here today to ask the officials how to apply for this license?”
Li Ying had already thought up this excuse.
She was naturally beautiful and delicate, and her plain clothes were washed clean. Her speech was soft - spoken. The two yamen runners felt comfortable looking at her and waved their hands indifferently.
“I know your stall. It's the one selling seafood stir - fry at the dock, right? It's okay. Only those with a shopfront need to apply for a license. You don't need to worry about those for your small stall.”
Li Ying looked flattered. “I see! Thank you two noble sirs for your advice! I'm a widow with a child, and I don't have much to offer to show my respect. I've just made some snacks for drinking. I hope you two sirs won't mind.”
She quickly presented the food box and two jars of yellow rice wine.
The two yamen runners saw that the swimming crabs and tiger prawns were indeed in - demand seafood, and the dishes were beautifully cooked, so they didn't decline anymore and accepted them.
“Miss, you can just sell your food with peace of mind. If there are any hooligans causing trouble for you at the dock, just come to us.”
Since they had taken the gifts, they naturally had to promise a few things.
Li Ying thanked them repeatedly and bowed respectfully several times before returning to the fishing village with peace of mind.
Although she didn't know if Fei Yan'er would cause any trouble, at least she had successfully networked with the yamen runners today. It was better to be prepared.