Chapter 113: Chapter 110 Yellow River Hairy Crab
Jin Chenyu paused, then looked down at the hairy crabs in the wooden bucket and laughed, “No, these are local Yellow River hairy crabs.”
The old man suddenly rembered how decades ago he and a few friends used to dive and fish for crabs in the Yellow River, his eyes lighting up, “Are there still hairy crabs in the Yellow River now?”
Jin Chenyu nodded, “Not in the lower reaches, the water there is too polluted for the hairy crabs to survive. But in the upper stream tributaries, it begins to clear up near Dongjiadu. There are plenty of hairy crabs there, and many of the local hairy crabs that go on sale each year are caught from those tributaries.”
Thinking of the Yellow River hairy crabs he had tasted in the old days, seemingly recalling that wonderful taste of rich and golden crab roe, the old man’s face bead with interest in the bucket of hairy crabs that Jin Chenyu was holding, “Young man, can you sell this bucket of hairy crabs to ? How much did you buy them for? I will give you double the price for them, how about that?”
Jin Chenyu chuckled upon hearing this, “Old sir, you want to buy crabs? There’s no need to make it troubleso by buying from . If you walk another fifty ters into this street towards the Flower and Bird Market, you’ll see a shop called Xianyu Shop up ahead. The owner there not only sells ornantal fish but also wild aquatic species, and they have local hairy crabs for sale. Absolutely fresh, wild local produce, you can pick as many as you like. I bought these crabs from that shop.”
It’s not that Jin Chenyu was unwilling to resell, but there was no need to take advantage of a stranger for this little thing. Huo Sining had plenty of crabs, and it was said that the batch sold out a while ago, and she had just restocked with fresh ones last night.
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After Jin Chenyu took a bag of hairy crabs from Huo Sining last ti, Mother Jin tasted them and praised them for being fresher and tastier than those sold in other fresh produce markets. So, upon learning that Huo Sining had new stock, Jin Chenyu received instructions from Mother Jin and rushed to Chenghuang Temple early in the morning to purchase crabs.
The old man showed a smile upon hearing Jin Chenyu’s words, “Alright, I’ll go check out that shop. Thank you, young man.”
“You’re welco, sir. Take your ti,” Jin Chenyu replied with a smile and continued on his way ho without delay, as the Empress Dowager at ho was still waiting for his crabs to be cooked.
“Grandpa, do you really want to buy these Yellow River crabs? Can we even eat this kind of local species? We have crabs in Xiangjiang, and even if you really crave them, we could go back to the hotel and ask the chef to steam a few Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs for you. Is it necessary for you to buy them?”
Seeing her grandfather set off towards the Flower and Bird Market with his walking stick, the old man’s granddaughter stomped her foot in displeasure.
The old man chuckled, “Little girl, you don’t understand. To enjoy crabs, one must have the locally born and bred ones. Those things from the restaurants, all show and no substance, they advertise as foreign imports, which turn out not only pricey but also tasteless. How can they compare to the delicious local crabs? Grandpa has eaten plenty of these Yellow River hairy crabs in his youth, and they were really delicious. I wasn’t even craving until you ntioned them, but now it’s brought back my childhood mories, and even the cravings have returned.”
Stubborn in his ways, the granddaughter could only helplessly support the old man as they looked for the shop, and sure enough, they soon ca across a shop nad Xianyu Shop with more than a dozen people queuing at the door, all craning their necks as if anxiously waiting.
“Comrade, what are you all waiting for?” The old man was curious upon seeing so many people in line and quickly stepped forward to ask.
“We’re queuing up to buy crabs,” answered an Old Granny, who looked up at the old man and smiled warmly, “This shop has fresh crabs for sale, live and active crabs you can choose from. The prices are similar to the regular fresh produce markets, but the taste is much better than what’s sold there.”
Before the old man could speak, the young girl by his side looked skeptically at the Old Granny, “It hadn’t better just be the shop owner’s self-promotion, exaggerating the advertising, right?”
The Old Granny’s smile imdiately faded when she heard what the young girl had to say:
“Would an old woman like
really deceive a young girl like you? I’ve already co to buy crabs two or three tis, my husband and grandson both love them and nag
to co here every day. We live more than ten stops away. If these crabs weren’t of good quality, would I bother to take the bus and subway all this way just to suffer like this?”
The young girl wanted to argue back, but the elderly man beside her coughed unhappily. The girl looked up at her grandfather’s displeased face, knowing she had upset him, and hastily shrank her neck and bowed her head, daring not to speak any further.
After waiting in line for almost twenty minutes, they finally entered the shop. The young girl, having been in the sun outside for so long, was already sowhat dissatisfied. But the mont they stepped inside, a cool relief washed over her, instantly making her feel utterly comfortable, and she couldn’t help but sigh, “This is really comfortable.”
The elderly man’s gaze swept around the shop, and although he didn’t see any crabs, he was first attracted by the dazzlingly colorful ornantal fish.
Especially when his eyes drifted over to the aquarium that occupied the most conspicuous position in the shop, his gaze involuntarily lingered.
Within that aquarium, there were six koi swimming and frolicking, their red and white colors vibrant. At ho, the old man had a few koi of his own, but neither their appearance nor their vitality could compare with these top-quality koi.
He hadn’t expected such an unassuming little ornantal fish shop to be able to raise such exquisite aquatic species—it seed the owner of this shop was no ordinary person.
The elderly man’s eyes sparkled with interest in the Xianyu Shop.
“Hello, are you interested in buying ornantal fish?” Seeing the two custors only looking around without indicating what they wanted, Huo Sining, assuming they were there to buy ornantal fish, quickly asked.
Coming back to his senses, the old man turned and saw a young girl approaching. Thinking Huo Sining was just a store clerk, he didn’t make much of it and smiled, “We heard there were hairy crabs in this shop while walking around Chenghuang Temple, so we ca to have a look.”
Huo Sining smiled, “The hairy crabs are in the back room, sir, please follow .”
The old man followed Huo Sining into the interior of the shop, entered a partitioned area, and indeed saw a bunch of hairy crabs waving their pincers in a large pool.
“You don’t sound like you’re from around here, sir. We’re selling local hairy crabs, and although they don’t have the fa of Yangcheng Lake hairy crabs, the taste is just as fresh and delicious. This is the second batch we’ve gotten this week; the locals really love this and we have many returning custors. If you trust , sir, why not take a few ho to try?”
Huo Sining was honest and, knowing the grandfather and granddaughter were from out of town, spoke the truth without embellishnt. However, she didn’t realize that her remark about the locals loving them hit the old man’s sweet spot. He had been hesitant at first but, upon hearing Huo Sining’s words, he didn’t hesitate anymore.
“Young lady, can you guys steam them for us?”
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