Unexpected

With the fan whirring overhead, he suddenly realized that it was already mid-June.

He had been back in his hometown for nearly a month.

After drinking tea for a while, everyone picked up buckets and hoes and headed out to catch Mud Crabs.

Mud Crabs were tidal flat crabs. They generally lived on muddy tidal flats or mud-and-sand flats in the intertidal zone, and built their burrows in the mud there as well.

People used to catching Mud Crabs could tell at a glance from the holes in the mud which burrows held crabs and which did not.

They were here to catch Mud Crabs to sell today, so they were competitors to some extent and it was not suitable for them to go together.

When they reached the riverbank, everyone split up across different stretches of the river, each catching their own.

Lu Ao had no experience, so he followed Lin Manzhang to learn, while Lin Qiyan carried the camera and filmed alongside them.

Lin Manzhang did not hold anything back. Squatting down, he carefully instructed them, "To catch Mud Crabs, you need to look at their burrows. Look, this is a Mud Crab burrow. You can even see traces of where the crab crawled from here."

Lu Ao and Lin Qiyan lowered their heads to look. There was a large, pitch-black hole in the dirt along the embankment, and faint claw marks could be seen around its broad entrance.

"Once you pick a Mud Crab burrow, you can start digging. Usually, you bring the hoe down like this." Lin Manzhang demonstrated with his hoe. "Dig at an angle, and be careful not to use too much force. Mud Crabs like living in places with rocks, so there may be stones hidden beside the burrow. If you hack down too hard, the hoe could bounce back and hurt you."

Lu Ao nodded, and Lin Qiyan deliberately filmed a close-up.

"The mud here is all very soft. When it feels like you have dug deep enough, scoop the dirt out and clear the crab tunnel. Look, this is a very obvious crab tunnel. Once you dig to here, gently reach in and feel around to see if you can touch the Mud Crab, but you must be careful during this part."

Lin Manzhang dropped to one knee and carefully extended his hand, covered in a cotton work glove, into the hole.

One hand braced against the dirt outside the burrow while the other reached far inside. His upper arm sank into the hole, his eyes slightly narrowed as he carefully felt around without pause.

It was Lu Ao's first time ever feeling for a Mud Crab, and his heart tightened slightly. He was worried Lin Manzhang might get pinched.

He could sense that there really was a Mud Crab inside, and it seemed fairly large.

Large Mud Crabs were valuable, but they were dangerous too. One careless move, and they could pinch off a chunk of flesh.

Lin Manzhang thrust his hand farther inside. After a while, he said, "Got it."

As he spoke, he slowly withdrew his hand.

Lin Qiyan hurriedly aimed the camera at Lin Manzhang's hand.

A few seconds later, Lin Manzhang flicked his wrist. A dark Mud Crab covered in mud flew out and immediately scuttled sideways with its claws raised.

It was pretty fast.

Lu Ao and Lin Qiyan jumped in fright and both retreated several steps.

Lin Qiyan's eyes widened. "This Mud Crab is huge!"

Lin Manzhang shook his hand, a satisfied smile on his face. "It's probably over a jin."

This big Mud Crab was nearly the size of a small washbasin.

Surrounded by people, the big Mud Crab raised its large claws high, still trying to escape.

Lin Manzhang bent down, casually scooped up a large clod of mud, and threw it at the Mud Crab's eyes.

With its eyes covered, the Mud Crab instantly could not see and began shifting from side to side.

Lin Manzhang calmly circled behind it, pressed down its rear shell, and grabbed it.

"Give me the rope."

Lu Ao hurriedly handed over the rope hanging from the side of the bucket. Lin Manzhang looped and tied it around the Mud Crab's large claws in a few quick motions, then bound its whole body, cut the rope, and put the Mud Crab back into the bucket. He also grabbed a large handful of grass and branches and tossed them inside.

"When catching Mud Crabs, you must put some grass, leaves, and branches in the crab bucket to keep them separated. Otherwise, they will fight. Mud Crabs with broken legs won't fetch a good price."

Lu Ao and Lin Qiyan nodded.

Lin Manzhang waved his hoe. "After digging out a Mud Crab, we usually fill the dirt back in. We can't damage the embankment. Just fill it in like this. As long as it is filled, that is enough."

The two of them had learned their lesson.

Lin Manzhang then led Lu Ao and Lin Qiyan to catch three more Mud Crabs.

Lu Ao was quick to learn, and he could sense the presence of Mud Crabs. After catching several with Lin Manzhang, he felt he had roughly gotten the hang of it and said, "Zhang Ge, I'll try farther downstream."

Lin Qiyan raised his hand too and hurriedly said, "I'll try too. I'll go farther downstream than him."

Lin Manzhang straightened up. "All right. Be careful on your own. Make sure to wear gloves and try not to get pinched by the Mud Crabs. If anything happens, call out right away. We're all nearby."

The two answered, then carried their hoes, tongs, buckets, and other tools downstream.

Before long, they separated. Lu Ao searched for Mud Crab burrows along the riverbank, while Lin Qiyan took his tools farther down.

Since Lu Ao could sense the presence of Mud Crabs, identifying their burrows became only his second choice.

He first sensed where Mud Crabs were, then searched for nearby burrows based on that feeling, and finally dug along the crab tunnels.

Using this method, he almost never missed.

Very quickly, Lu Ao dug up four or five Mud Crabs.

Following the method Lin Manzhang had taught him, he clumsily tied them up one by one, then stuffed them into the bucket filled with plenty of grass, leaves, and branches.

Digging for Mud Crabs was physically demanding work.

Lu Ao did not feel tired, but the others soon became exhausted. Their digging lost its strength, and they had to rest after finishing each Mud Crab burrow.

The weather was hot now. Fierce sunlight bleached the surroundings white, heat shimmered in the air, and cicadas chirped incessantly all around, adding another layer of irritation to the summer day.

At some point, Lin Gongshang had gone to the opposite bank. When he spotted Lu Ao from afar, he was sitting beneath a tree's shade, resting and fanning himself with his straw hat.

When he saw him, he trotted forward a few steps, ran to the riverbank, waved, and shouted to Lu Ao, "Lu Ao, how many Mud Crabs have you dug up? I caught five, all big ones—at least eight jin!"

Lu Ao looked at his Mud Crab bucket, which was nearly full and had to be covered to prevent the crabs from escaping, then looked at the animated Lin Gongshang across the river and fell silent.

In the past, whenever Lin Gongshang dug for Mud Crabs, he would end up covered in mud and sweat, yet after two or three hours, he would only dig up two or three.