A group of children kept gathering around the stove, and Ye's mother couldn't drive them away. Some of them even wanted to help light the fire, but after Ye's mother scolded them, they went back and waited there, scratching their ears and craning their necks.
Lin Guangyuan asked curiously, "Are seabird eggs delicious?"
"It should be delicious, right? Chicken eggs are delicious, and seabird eggs must be delicious too."
"Haven't you eaten it?"
“Where are we going to eat?”
"Aren't you from the seaside? Have people from the seaside never eaten seabird eggs?"
"Who says people living by the sea must have eaten seabird eggs?"
They were discussing there in a lively manner.
Father Ye smiled and said, "Seabird eggs are delicious. Seabirds are different from birds in the forest. Seabirds often lay eggs on the ground or in piles of rocks. You have to rely on your luck. It's easier to pick them up on the islands."
Lin Guangyuan suddenly realized, "I was wondering how I could pick up seabird eggs on the ground, and I picked them up in nests. Sometimes I would find more than a dozen, and then there would be more not far away, all on the ground."
"normal."
"Okay, okay, it's ready to be served. Stand aside, I'm going to lift the lid, don't get in the way."
When they heard what Ye's mother said, they immediately stood aside and shouted excitedly, "It's finally healed."
Ye's mother took a small basket and scooped all the seabird eggs into the basket to drip the water, then poured them into a large bowl and brought it to the table.
"Be careful, it's hot. Wait until it cools down a bit before eating..."
"I want a big one!"
"I want a big one too!"
"I want one too. I want a big one..."
Ye's mother was overwhelmed after hearing this. "They are almost the same."
Seabirds vary in size, and their eggs vary in size too. Some are as big as goose eggs, while others are as small as quail eggs.
She picked it up on purpose when she put it in the pot, otherwise there would be a quarrel over whether it was divided fairly. Every time the food was divided, there would always be a few people who felt that it was not divided fairly and would cry.
This is what happens when you have too many children. A bunch of them are grandchildren~
The children didn't mind the heat, and as soon as the bowls were placed on the table, they all rushed over. Each of them took one, and then kept switching hands from left to right, then right to left, and kept blowing on them with their mouths.
"I told you it's hot. Will it be too late to eat it later?"
“Not hot, not hot…”
"Give them all to me, I'll soak them in cold water..."
"Need not… "
One by one, they were knocking on the stove, and some were even knocking on other people’s heads…
Then he peeled the shell quickly. Looking at the bright white egg white, he couldn't wait to peel the rest of the shell. He took a bite and rolled it in his mouth twice before swallowing it.
Ye Yaodong put down his bowl quickly after finishing his meal. Seeing their anxious looks, he couldn't help but ask, "Why are you in such a hurry? You've already eaten it. It won't be too late to wait until it cools down? You swallowed it without even chewing it twice. Do you know what it tastes like?"
The group of people were a little confused, as if they didn’t get the flavor
Ye Yaodong shook his head, ignored them, and went straight into the house to check on the mother and daughter. He was dirty as well, so he didn't dare to touch them. He just stood by and watched them happily for a while before going out with his clothes to take a shower.
As soon as I went out, I heard them shouting there again.
“This egg yolk is so big!”
"mine too!"
"Ah? I already bit it!"
Others who had not yet bitten into the egg yolk hurriedly ate the egg white, leaving the egg yolk rolling in the palm of their hands.
"Mine is bigger!"
"I am older than you!"
“I’m the biggest!”
Seabird eggs also tend to be larger than forest bird eggs, and tend to have a higher proportion of yolk, perhaps because of their larger size, whether it's albatrosses or great egrets, sea ducks, or gannets.
Of course there are also many small ones, such as seagulls, petrels and some wading birds.
Ye Yaodong was so upset after hearing this. What was he talking about
He frowned, glanced at the children, then swung the towel over his shoulders and went to the back door.
By the way, I took a look at the sky. The starry sky was particularly bright under the night sky, with many stars. I knew at a glance that tomorrow would be another good day.
Although the boat was hit today, nothing went wrong until the day it was returned. He plans to go out to sea as usual. If he asks someone to come and check it out, he will be delayed tomorrow.
The flood season is only a few days long, and rain and wind sometimes delay fishing. He can only fish for a limited number of days, and he is reluctant to stop now, as the loss in one day is huge. Anyway, Xiao Xiao Zheng's boat is operating near him.
When we were having dinner just now, Lin's father and mother also said that if it didn't rain or get windy at night, they would go with him again and go back the day after tomorrow.
After all, this opportunity to make money is quite rare. Earning more than 30 yuan a day is really a lot.
Ye Yaodong had no objection. This was just a side job. He didn't mind helping his father-in-law and mother-in-law and letting them earn some money. This was also earned by their own labor.
Just when he was taking a shower, Ye Chenghai came over stealthily.
"Uncle San, can you take me with you tonight? I don't have school tomorrow."
Ye Yaodong paused while rubbing his body with a towel and looked over. "Go talk to your father and ask him to take you there."
Ye Chenghai hesitated and said, "Will he agree to take me with him?"
"Why don't you agree? Just say that if you experience how hard it is to be a fisherman, you will cherish your studies in the future. Anyway, you don't have to go to school tomorrow, so if you go with me, you can have more labor and pick up more. And you can just stay on the island and not run around. You are not a child anymore, so you can definitely help your family with some work in your free time and earn some money to support the family. That's what I said."
Ye Chenghai was stunned by what he said, then he blinked.
"Uncle San, what you said makes a lot of sense! Why didn't I think of convincing him this way?"
"Because you're a clever fool!"
"ah?"
What adjective is this
"Why don't you go and tell me now?"
"Oh, yes, yes!" He ran away quickly. His parents had just come back and were still at the door.
But after running two steps, he turned back.
"Uncle San, please say it again, how did you say it?"
Ye Yaodong rolled his eyes and repeated it to him.
Ye Chenghai also recited it again, then said happily: "I remember it!"
Then he ran away.
Ye Yaodong shook his head and continued to take a shower. He had never remembered anything so quickly even when reciting the text. Everyone thought going out to sea was fun.
When he was almost done washing and was carrying the remaining basin of water towards his feet, Ye Chenghai came over like a gust of wind, excitedly running and shouting: "Uncle San, Uncle San, it's done, you're amazing!"
"Tsk~"
Glancing at him, Ye Yaodong continued to rub his two feet against each other, and then rushed to the end.
"Then how are you going to thank me?"
"You still want to thank me? Then I'll give you half of the seabird eggs I pick up tomorrow, and ask Ye Chengjiang to give you half as well. Second Aunt asked him to go with us, and he was so happy that he couldn't stop smiling."
"Oh, so you're not going to pick up squids, but seabird eggs!"
"Hey, pick them all up."
"Okay, then each of you give me half of the seabird eggs as a head fee!" He said as he walked in with a basin and a towel.
Lin Guangyuan was speechless after hearing this. "My little uncle, you are so cunning. You want to pay for a tip."
"Of course, if something comes to your doorstep, you should not refuse it. Don't forget to pay for your boat fare tomorrow. Pick up more and I will reward you later."
“Hehe~”
Peel the leaves!
Lin Guangyuan rolled his eyes, took his washbasin and planned to take a shower. He had been wearing Ye Chenghai's clothes for a few days. Although the sleeves and trouser legs were a little short, it was not a big problem as the weather was warm.
At night, they went out to sea as usual, but Lin's father, mother and Lin Guangyuan were obviously not as energetic as yesterday.
"Cheer up, it's only been two days!"
"Uncle, you've worked so hard."
"That's right. Pick up some more seabird eggs for me later."
Lin Guangyuan curled his lips and said, forget it, just pretend he didn't say anything.
There was no one foolish enough when we went out to sea today. Everything went smoothly. Zheng, Xiaoxiao and the others were working on both sides of the island without interfering with each other.
It was just that the wind started to blow in the afternoon and the waves were big. They tried hard to carry out the work for a while, but then they found that it was impossible. The boat was shaking violently and the waves hit their faces when they were pulling in the nets.
A Zheng and Xiao Xiaochuan also came over and told them that they could not continue working, so everyone had to leave work early with regret.
It didn't affect Lin's parents at all. The big waves swept in a lot of squids, so they picked up more than yesterday. There was one more sack of squids in the shells than yesterday, a total of 3 bags. Lin's mother was so happy that she couldn't close her mouth. It wasn't even evening yet and they had already harvested a lot.
The joy of going to the beach is the bountiful harvest.
"Not bad, Mom pried more today than yesterday."
Mother Lin smiled so much that her eyes wrinkled. She was extremely happy. "I have experience today. I pried it a little faster. I also went to dig it in advance. There are really too many seabirds. It's so annoying."
Father Lin also straightened up and asked in confusion: "Didn't you go squid fishing? Why did you come back suddenly?"
"The wind is blowing and the waves are getting bigger. We can't work anymore. We have to go back."
"Ah? So fast?" Mother Lin looked up at the waves on the sea, "It seems to be quite big."
Father Lin also felt that the waves were a bit big just now, but he is not a seaside person and does not understand this. Now that he knows that he has to go back early, he feels a little bit sorry, but safety comes first.
"Then go back early and carry all these goods onto the boat first." After saying that, he shouted at Lin Guangyuan towards the top of the hill.
Lin Guangyuan's voice also faintly came from the woods.
He and Lin's father first carried a few full bags of shellfish onto the boat and waited for Lin Guangyuan.
After carrying several full bags, his shoulders were red. Mother Lin pointed to a bag in the corner and said, "There's more..."
"I'm coming, I'm coming..." Lin Guangyuan's excited voice came from afar.
They turned around and saw Lin Guangyuan running out of the woods, walking to the reef, and throwing a string of white animals down from above
White animals
Ye Yaodong looked closely and found that this was a seabird.
Egrets? Gannets? Seagulls
"Fuck! Where did you get so many seabirds?"
Lin Guangyuan carefully climbed down from the reef, handed the bucket to Ye Yaodong, asking him to help catch it, and then jumped.
"Because I have a secret weapon!"
He smiled, showing his 12 white teeth, and took out a slingshot from his pocket.
"Look! I came prepared today!"
Mother Lin also said happily: "We caught so many again."
"again?"
"There are a few in the sack next to you."
Ye Yaodong then opened the sack beside him. He thought it was also a squid.
When he opened it, he found that there were indeed a few seabirds inside, all of which were quite large. He was immediately surprised.
"Good aim."
Lin Guangyuan said with some pride: "Of course, I will definitely hit the target when I attack. I can even hit a sparrow, let alone these seabirds."
"I found them annoying yesterday. I couldn't drive them away. If I drove them away, they would fly back. So I borrowed a slingshot from Ah He last night and asked Ah Hai and Ah Jiang to bring their slingshots too."
"You see, I always pick the big ones, these must be very meaty!"
"Uncle, is seabird meat delicious?"
He swallowed, "I haven't even eaten seabirds yet!"
Ye Yaodong flicked his forehead and said, "You can't fight seagulls."
As for the others, egrets were only listed as protected animals in 1989, and other seabirds were listed as protected animals at about the same time.
"Why? Are there any seagulls in here? I don't even know them!"
"There's one, and there's an egret, and the others are gannets, which are clumsy on land."
"Yes, some of them look stupid. Why can't we catch seagulls?"
"Let's talk about it on the boat first. The wind is blowing and the waves are a bit big. Let's go back quickly."
As he spoke, he picked up a bunch of seabirds and put them into a sack. It was quite heavy and their feathers were all dirty, black and white with mud. Fortunately he was able to drag them back.
Lin Guangyuan followed him and said with regret as he walked: "It's a pity that I'm too small to drag it, otherwise I could have killed a few more. After I found that I couldn't drag it, I went to dig out seabird nests. These few were actually just incidental. I saw them flying from the seashore to the woods, so I just shot them down."
"Get on board first."
Father Ye helped receive the goods on the boat.
After moving all the things onto the boat, they headed back. Xiao Xiao A Zheng and his crew were also waiting on the side, and they returned together.
Ye Yaodong rubbed his shoulders and said to Lin's mother, "It's just right to return early today. I'll go back and empty the goods and pick them out to see if there are any valuable ones that can be sold for some money."
"Aren't these shells worth anything?"
"There are some valuable ones, such as goose-strength barnacles, but I don't think there are any. We have been to this island before and didn't see them. However, larger snails can still be sold for money."
Mother Lin nodded with a smile.
"Uncle, you haven't told me why we can't fight seagulls?" Lin Guangyuan asked again as soon as he got on the boat.
"Seagull, seagull, my friend, seagull~our good friend~"
"Didn't your teacher teach you to sing this song?"
Lin Guangyuan blinked and said, "I think I've heard of it."
"Hmm~" Ye Yaodong cleared his throat, "Let me teach you a lesson today. In addition to eating fish, shrimp, crabs, and shells, seagulls also like to pick up leftovers discarded by people on the boats, so they are also called harbor cleaners."
"Seagulls are also the 'forecasters' of maritime navigation safety. When sailing on the sea, ships often hit reefs or run aground due to unfamiliarity with the water environment, or maritime accidents occur due to sudden changes in weather. Experienced fishermen know that seagulls often land around shoals, rocks or reefs, flying in groups and making noisy noises, which is undoubtedly a signal for people to be careful of hitting reefs."
"Oh! Is that so?" Lin Guangyuan seemed to understand.
Lin's father and mother, who were standing by, understood what was said.
"Also, it has the habit of flying in and out of ports. When you get lost or there is heavy fog, you can find the port by observing the direction the seagulls fly."
"Okay, which one is it? Take it out and let me see what it looks like. I think they all look pretty much the same."
"What? Like a bird! What else can it be?"
Ye Yaodong said as he took out the badly injured seagull that was dragged half to death from the bag, "This is the seagull."
"If it flies close to the sea, the weather will be sunny in the future. If it wanders along the seashore, the weather will gradually deteriorate."
“If seagulls leave the water and fly high, flying in flocks from far out to the seashore, or if groups of seagulls gather on the beach or in the cracks of rocks, it indicates that a storm is coming.”
Seagulls can foresee storms because their skeletons are hollow tubes filled with air and have no marrow.
This not only facilitates flying, but also acts like a barometer, allowing timely prediction of weather changes.
In addition, the hollow feathers on the seagull's wings are like small barometers, which can sensitively sense changes in air pressure.
Lin Guangyuan scratched his head. "From what I see, they all look pretty much the same."
"You are blind!"
"Humph, I'm not from the seaside!"