Ye's mother had been waiting at the door of her house. When she saw a group of grandchildren running towards her and yelling at her to blow up sandworms, she immediately started cursing back.
"What are you frying? No oil is needed. They are so small, but you know how to eat them. You even know to fry them before eating. Are you itching for food?"
"Hey, that's what Third Uncle said! He said he would fry a basin of sandworms for us," Ye Chenghai said, and immediately shouted behind him, "Third Uncle, you just said you would fry a basin of sandworms for us, does that count?"
Ye Yaodong slowly pushed the cart over and said with a smile: "What would you do if I said I lied to you?"
"Ah ah? I won't believe you anymore. We were working so hard just now!"
"That's right, I'm so pissed off..."
"Dad, you don't keep your word. You've gone too far..."
"Ah, we will never help you with work again..."
A group of children were very angry and glared at him.
Ye Yaodong knew that he had caused public outrage, so he didn't dare to fool them. "I didn't say I wouldn't blow it up. I was just asking you a question, wasn't I teasing you? I have to blow it up. Blow it up a whole basin of it, and let you guys eat your fill!"
"Humph, that's more like it!"
"What are you humming?" Ye's mother gave Ye Chenghai a slap and glared at Ye Yaodong, "What are you frying? You want to fry a whole basin of it? No oil. Is the money too hot?"
"Hey, use as much oil as you can to fry them. They picked up these sandworms, and they also picked up the things in the sacks. They were very active today and worked very hard, so they deserve a reward."
"Just indulge them. Tomorrow, when I ask you to blow up the stars and the moon, you should do the same for them."
"Hehe, then we have to be able to catch the stars and the moon."
Mother Ye glared at Ye Chenghai and said, "You are the only one who would start this blindly. It must be you who said you wanted to blow it up!"
Ye Yaodong touched his nose and said nothing!
"I'm innocent! It was clearly Third Uncle who said that!" Ye Chenghai felt that he was more wronged than Dou E. Not only was he cheated by Third Uncle every day, but now he had to take the blame for him!
Ye Yaodong continued to remain silent and quietly took all the sacks off the cart.
"You two uncle and nephew are the same, you only think about eating and frying it, you really think..."
Mother Ye muttered a few words and went to help move the things. Looking at the small bag of squirming sandworms, her face was also full of joy. "Put some in a bucket later and let my in-laws take it back."
"There are also a few bags of shelled ones that need to be cleaned up and sorted out."
"Come here, all of you, to help carry the food. Only by working can you have something to eat." Mother Ye ordered a few children to do so without any hesitation.
"Then you have to blast us!"
"I will bargain..."
After she said this, she went into the house to get the quiver.
It seems like they won’t give up unless I fry some for them today.
For fresh sandworms, you have to use a sharp knife to turn them over quickly to remove the sand in their internal organs, otherwise the sand will sink into the meat.
It tastes better if you wash it in sea water and put it in the pot after turning it over.
Alternatively, you can place the washed sandworms in a pot and take them out immediately after boiling. At this time, the sandworms are the most tender and delicious.
Ye Yaodong poured all the bags of shellfish onto the ground and asked a group of children to sort them out. Then he picked up a clapper to help clean the sandworms.
"Ye Chenghu, go and ask your two aunts to come and help."
"oh."
Mother Lin heard the noise outside the house and came out to take a look. She was also surprised, "Hey, why are there so many shells? And sandworms? Where did they come from?"
Mother Ye explained with a smile: "Those with shells were pried off from under Dongzi's boat. The sandworms were caught by accident. I didn't expect there would be so many sandworms on the beach today."
"Grandma, we also picked up a lot of small seafood, including crabs, stranded fish and shrimp, conchs, and clams..."
Mother Lin said with envy: "Your seaside is still the best. You can pick up seafood wherever you go. You don't have to worry about food and drink."
"It's not available every day. Sandworms are rarely seen during normal times, but when the tide goes out you can pick up some on the beach."
"very nice."
Lin's mother knew how to clean up sandworms, but she was not very skilled, so she took the initiative to help the children sort them out.
"There are quite a lot of shells under this boat. No wonder you have so many dry goods."
"Take some fresh ones back later. The weather is not too hot right now, so you can keep them for two or three days without washing them. They won't go bad."
"Keep it for yourselves. If you can't finish it, put it in the sun. We also have some that A-Dong gave us last year..."
"The dried ones are different from the fresh ones. Don't be polite. We are all family. These are not worth much. We have plenty of them at the beach."
Mother Lin smiled and said, "Okay..."
After Ye's mother cleaned out half a basin, she rinsed it with water, then added some salt and marinated it for a while. While there was still a faint red light in the stove, she lit a fire and poured oil.
Dip the marinated sandworms in a little sweet potato starch liquid, pour in 70% hot oil, fry slowly over low heat, observe the color of the sandworms while frying, and after a few minutes when the sandworms turn golden yellow, you can take them out.
Several children outside the house smelled the fragrance and could no longer sit still. They all ran into the house, stopped working, and gathered around the stove, craning their necks and waiting for the food to come out of the pot.
“It smells so good~”
"Ok?"
"How long will it take to explode?"
"Let me see, let me see, I can't see anything..."
Ye's mother was so annoyed by their noise that she couldn't even turn away from the stove and just waved the spatula to chase them away.
"Go, go, go, go, wait outside, don't get in the way, or no one will eat."
They all drooled and looked back every few steps with eager eyes.
"Okay, call us!"
Ye Yaodong also shouted to them from outside, "Come to work quickly, you will be able to eat your fill soon."
Not long after, Ye's father and Lin's father also came back at dinner time and joined in helping.
The entrance was full of people working. When Ye's mother came out with the fried sandworms, she was instantly surrounded. Fortunately, she held the basin high, so only Ye Chenghai and Lin Guangyuan could reach it.
"Go wash your hands quickly and come back to eat. How can you eat with such dirty hands?"
"It's not clean, but you won't get sick if you eat it!" Ye Chenghai secretly ate another one before running to wash his hands.
Ye Yaodong wiped his hands and secretly ate one, "It smells so good, and it tastes better when fried."
Sandworms are delicious in their own right. Apart from a little salt, no other seasoning is needed. They are fried to a crispy texture and have the salty and fresh taste of seafood.
"Isn't it delicious? Pour half a pot of oil into it."
Mother Lin also smiled and said, "Anything fried in oil tastes good, especially since these sandworms are very fresh."
"Cook a few for Qing to produce milk later, and dry the rest and save them for later consumption. Who knows if there will be any left tomorrow?"
"Uncle San, let's go to the beach to look for it tomorrow when the tide goes out."
"Tomorrow is Monday. Are you planning to take a day off to catch sandworms?"
Ye Chenghai instantly wilted.
Lin Guangyuan ate with great interest and said, "We can go to the beach with flashlights at night. I heard that there are many... "
Mother Lin interrupted him, "Who's with you at night? You're not going home yet, are you?"
"He can stay for a few more days and play here. Anyway, he hasn't even finished junior high school, so he doesn't have to go to school." Ye Yaodong helped with the conversation with a smile.
Lin Guangyuan nodded desperately, "Yes, yes, yes, let me play here for two days, and help take care of my two cousins."
"Yeah, he has never been to our new home. It's a rare visit for him, so let him stay for a few more days."
"It's a good opportunity for me to stay and help with the work and look after the children..."
"Yes, it's a good opportunity for me to stay here and keep Cheng Hu and Yang Yang company..."
Everyone spoke up for him, and Lin's mother had no choice but to let him stay here for a few more days.
"You must be obedient, don't act naughty, and don't run around with your two cousins. You must keep a close eye on them, okay?"
Lin Guangyuan nodded vigorously with excitement, "Don't worry, I'm not a child anymore, I will be obedient and help with the work."
After successfully staying, the children were all happy and discussed going to the beach to take pictures of seafood in the evening.
"You are not allowed to go without an adult. The beach is very dangerous at night. What if you get swept away by the waves?" Lin's mother frowned and said worriedly.
"Uncle, come with us!"
"You just promised to be obedient, but now you are encouraging them to be naughty? If they do something wrong, you will come home with me."
Lin Guangyuan didn't dare to say anything.
Ye Yaodong smiled and winked at him, and he was instantly happy again. He felt that he had understood what his uncle meant!
My uncle is still the best!
A basin of sandworms was especially popular among adults and children. Ye's mother would stop giving them the food after they had eaten half of it.
"Save it for later with rice, otherwise you won't be able to eat it."
Everyone licked the oil on their hands with relish and looked on eagerly, not feeling satisfied.
"Let's eat now? Otherwise it won't taste good if it gets soft. It's so crispy now!"
"You're never full, hurry up and help with the work."
After scolding, Ye's mother brought the food into the house, then fried two dishes, cooked a pot of fresh Chinese cabbage, and made an oyster omelette before calling everyone to eat.
After a hearty meal, Lin's father and mother helped to open all the oysters before leaving.
Before leaving, Ye's mother took two small buckets, filled them with some sandworms and oysters, and half a bag of barnacles and water spinach, and asked them to take them back.
The old man was used to being frugal, and Ye Yaodong was afraid that they would have to walk back again, so he specially sent them to the village entrance to wait for the bus.
Although their village is a small one, it is located on the roadside and there are often passing cars from the town. If they wait a little longer, they can still wait for a passing car.
He waited for the two to get on the bus, then paid the fare before going back.
Lin Guangyuan was also there, and after sending the man away, he excitedly asked, "Uncle, shall we go to the beach to catch crabs, snails, fish and shrimps tonight?"
"What? You just responded so nicely, saying you would be good and obedient."
"Didn't you just wink at me?"
"when?"
"Just now? You can't go back on your word!"
"I didn't say anything? I just blinked..."
"Yes, it's just a wink. I know what you mean."
"You know nothing!" Ye Yaodong rolled his eyes, lifted his long legs and strode forward.
Lin Guangyuan didn't give up and trotted to catch up, "Hey... Uncle, you can't deny it... We agreed..."