The Beach After the Typhoon

The Beach After the Typhoon

Tian Caihua said, "Go ahead! The typhoon just passed, and it's still raining. The waves are definitely huge. Going to the beach now is no different from courting death!"

Zhou Chenglei said, "There's no rush. Let's wait until the rain stops before taking a look."

Actually, he had also planned to brave the rain and go check the beach, but he didn't want to bring Jiang Xia. With the rain falling and the waves so big, it was dangerous.

Zhou Chengxin also advised, "Xiao Xia wants to go Tide Catching. Once the rain stops, just have A'Lei take you. There's no use going now. The waves should still be big, so you won't be able to pick up much, and getting soaked will make it easy to catch a cold."

Jiang Xia glanced at the rain outside. Although it was still fairly heavy, more like a moderate rain, the wind had stopped.

Besides, the rake in her hands hadn't been modified yet. Since it really was still raining, she would wait a little longer.

"Then I'll finish modifying these two rakes first. Once the rain eases up, we'll go check the beach. Eldest Brother, you should head to the beach early too."

"What's the rush? It's not as if the whole beach is waiting for people to come pick up fish, shrimp, and crabs. We'll go after the rain stops. Do colds and fevers cost nothing?" Tian Caihua glanced at the rakes Jiang Xia had modified and pursed her lips disdainfully. She suspected Jiang Xia was bored out of her mind and wanted to go to the beach to play with sand and water! Afraid the rain might worsen, Zhou Chengxin saw that his parents were fine and called Tian Caihua to leave.

Another quarter of an hour passed. The rain was still falling, and after Jiang Xia modified the other rake, she went straight to cook. She wanted to finish eating early and go to the beach to pick shrimp.

Jiang Xia simply steamed some dried fish, stir-fried a plate of greens, and fried a dish of pickled vegetables. The whole family had a simple meal.

After they finished eating, the rain eased, though it was still falling.

Jiang Xia gathered several Snakeskin Bags, two Bamboo Baskets, four buckets, several Seine Nets, and some bamboo poles. She also brought a new broom, a Winnowing Basket, and other things.

She put on a Bamboo Hat, took a sheet of plastic film to drape over herself as a raincoat, and said to Zhou Chenglei, "Let's go. The rain's lighter. We'll go take a look at the beach."

Jiang Xia had just seen Mother Zhou dressed this way while going back and forth between the kitchen and the main room.

She thought it was quite convenient. The Bamboo Hat's brim was very wide, almost able to cover her shoulders. With the plastic film draped over her body, she didn't need to hold an umbrella, freeing both hands! Zhou Chenglei: "..."

Father Zhou: "..."

Mother Zhou: "..."

Had this daughter-in-law completely fallen in love with rural life?

Or was she simply treating it as entertainment? Father Zhou looked at the Bamboo Baskets, buckets, and Snakeskin Bags Jiang Xia had gathered and found it utterly outrageous! He couldn't help saying, "Xiao Xia, two buckets are enough. There's no need to bring Bamboo Baskets."

Mother Zhou nodded vigorously. "That's right. Even after a typhoon, there won't be that much to pick up on the beach."

Taking so many things out would definitely make them a laughingstock if they ran into the villagers! Missy, did she think their fish pond had been drained, with fish everywhere to pick up?

She was going to the beach—was she bringing all that to carry sand? Did she really think the whole beach would be covered in fish after a typhoon?

"Better safe than sorry. They might come in handy! Haven't people said that the bigger the wind and waves, the more fish there are? Mom, remind Eldest Brother and the others to bring more things to carry them too. Remember to push the handcart over when the time comes."

After Jiang Xia finished speaking, she urged Zhou Chenglei again. "Are you done eating? Otherwise, I'll go to the beach first and won't wait for you."

Jiang Xia was genuinely anxious!

Going one second earlier might mean picking up an extra pound of shrimp!

Zhou Chenglei didn't understand why she was in such a hurry. It was still raining, and very few people would brave the rain to pick fish at the beach. They probably wouldn't go until evening. Still, he shoveled all the rice in his bowl into his mouth in one go, set down the bowl, stood up, and walked over to her. He picked up the Bamboo Baskets, buckets, Snakeskin Bags, Fishing Nets, two Iron Shovels, the broom, and the two bamboo rakes she had improved yesterday, along with the other things.

Although he felt that most of these things might not be useful, carrying them only took a little effort. Since she liked, he didn't argue.

Jiang Xia had already packed everything into the two Bamboo Baskets. He only needed to carry them out with a shoulder pole.

The couple left through the Courtyard Gate. When Jiang Xia saw smoke rising from Great-Grandmother's chimney, she ran over to her house and called, "Great-Grandmother, hurry up and go Tide Catching!"

Great-Grandmother replied, "So early? It's still raining! You go first. I'll go after I finish eating."

Jiang Xia didn't wait for them. After reminding them to bring more Snakeskin Bags and Bamboo Baskets, she hurried toward the beach with Zhou Chenglei.

Jiang Xia's steps were faster than ever. She wished she could run! No, she was already jogging, and she kept urging Zhou Chenglei, "Hurry up! Your legs are so long—how are you walking so slowly?"

Zhou Chenglei: "..."

When they were still dozens of meters from the beach, Jiang Xia saw densely packed things scattered across the surface of the sea. The waves surged in and carried away one wave of them. She immediately broke into a run! With his excellent eyesight, Zhou Chenglei ran too!

Shrimp! There were shrimp everywhere! And plenty of fish as well.

The book said that a waterspout had appeared at sea, sucked a school of shrimp from the seabed into the air, and sent them tumbling back down.

Fortunately, the waterspout hadn't come ashore. Otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable.

The two reached the beach. The waves were indeed still somewhat large, but they only needed to avoid getting too close.

There was more than enough beach beyond the waves' reach for them to pick over.

Jiang Xia said, "Set up the net around them. Don't let the waves carry all the shrimp away."

"Okay!" Zhou Chenglei was already taking out the Seine Net.

He now understood why Jiang Xia had prepared all these things. He was simply curious how she had managed to prepare so much, as if she had known long ago that there would be shrimp on the beach.

He was curious, but he wouldn't investigate further.

The couple stretched out nearly ten meters of Seine Net along the shore, enclosing the shrimp and blocking them in. Zhou Chenglei also kept his eyes on Jiang Xia, making sure she didn't go too far in case the waves dragged her into the sea.

"Give me that rake!" Jiang Xia said excitedly.

Zhou Chenglei glanced at her and immediately handed her the rake.

The couple found an area where the shrimp were densely packed. Holding the bamboo rake Jiang Xia had improved, they gently raked once, producing a small pile of shrimp; they raked again, and another small pile appeared! This also required skill. If they used too much force, they would stir up all the mud and sand, making things more troublesome.

The best way was to lightly rake along the surface, touching the shrimp without disturbing the sand.

Both of them were skilled at physical work. They quickly grasped the technique, and within a few minutes, they had raked up a pile of shrimp weighing roughly five or six pounds!

They went to look for another densely packed patch of shrimp. As for the scattered ones, they would pick those up slowly after gathering the shrimp from the dense areas.

There were also some fish and shellfish, which they raked into a pile along the way.

Wen Wan carried a shoulder pole loaded with tools and hurried to the beach through the rain. From a distance, she saw that there were already people on the beach and was startled! Then she recognized Zhou Chenglei and Jiang Xia.

Only after being reborn had she learned that there would be countless shrimp along the shore after this typhoon.

She had thought she would be the earliest to arrive.

Yet Jiang Xia and Zhou Chenglei had actually beaten her there.

For the past two days, she had been wondering whether Jiang Xia had also been reborn.

Now she could confirm that Jiang Xia had indeed been reborn too.

Wen Wan suddenly burned with rage. It was bad enough that Jiang Xia had been reborn and refused to divorce, monopolizing Zhou Chenglei.

These shrimp on the beach were something she had been waiting to pick up and sell so she could pay her tuition. What right did Jiang Xia have to snatch them too?

She was leaving her no way to live!