Unexpected

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

It had been nearly a month since he returned to his hometown.

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

Mud Crabs were shore-dwelling crabs that generally lived in muddy tidal flats or mud-and-sand flats, building their burrows in the mud as well.

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

They had come to catch Mud Crabs to sell today, so they were competitors to some extent and should not go together.

Once they reached the river, they split up among different stretches, each catching their own.

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

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

Lu Ao and Lin Qiyan lowered their heads to look. There was a large, dark hole in the mud of the embankment, and faint claw marks could be seen around its broad entrance.

"Once you've picked a Mud Crab burrow, you can start digging. Usually, you bring the hoe down like this." Lin Manzhang demonstrated with the hoe. "Dig at an angle, and be careful not to use too much force. Mud Crabs like living where there are rocks, and there may be rocks hidden beside the burrow. If you hack down too hard, the hoe might bounce back and hurt you."

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

"This mud is all loose and soft. Once it feels like you've dug deep enough, scoop the mud out and clear the crab tunnel. See? This is a very obvious crab tunnel. Once you've dug to here, gently reach in and feel around to see whether you can touch the Mud Crab. But you must be careful during this process."

Lin Manzhang dropped to one knee and slowly reached into the hole with a hand covered by a cotton work glove.

One hand braced against the mud outside the hole while the other stretched far inside, his upper arm buried in the burrow. He narrowed his eyes slightly and continued feeling around with care.

It was Lu Ao's first time ever touching a Mud Crab. His heart rose to his throat, and he worried that Lin Manzhang might get pinched.

He could sense that there really was a Mud Crab inside, and it should be quite 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 pushed his hand farther in. After a while, he said, "I found it."

As he spoke, he slowly pulled his hand back out.

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

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

It was quite fast.

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

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

Lin Manzhang shook his hand, looking very satisfied. "It's probably over a catty."

This large Mud Crab was about the size of a small washbasin.

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

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

With its eyes covered, the Mud Crab instantly lost its sight and shuffled from side to side.

Lin Manzhang calmly circled behind it and grabbed the large Mud Crab by pressing down its rear shell.

"Give me the rope."

Lu Ao quickly 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 swift movements, then bound its whole body, cut the rope, and put the crab back into the bucket. He also grabbed a large handful of grass and branches and tossed them in.

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

Lu Ao and Lin Qiyan nodded.

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

The two of them had learned their lesson.

Lin Manzhang then took 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 them, he felt that he had roughly gotten the hang of it. "Zhang Ge, I'll go try farther downstream."

Lin Qiyan raised his hand too and quickly said, "I'll try as well. I'll go even farther downstream."

Lin Manzhang straightened up. "All right. Be careful on your own. Make sure you 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 split up. Lu Ao searched for Mud Crab burrows along the riverbank, while Lin Qiyan took his tools farther down.

Since Lu Ao could sense Mud Crabs, identifying their burrows became his second choice instead.

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

Using this method, he was almost never wrong.

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

Following Lin Manzhang's instructions, he clumsily tied them up one by one, then stuffed them into the bucket filled with plenty of grass, leaves, and branches.

Catching Mud Crabs was physically demanding work.

Lu Ao did not feel tired, but the others soon became exhausted. Their digging lost strength, and after each burrow, they had to rest for a while.

The weather was hot now. The blazing sun made everything around them gleam white, heat rising in waves as cicadas chirped endlessly, 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, fanning himself with his straw hat.

When he saw him, he ran forward several steps, reached the riverbank, and waved as he called loudly to Lu Ao, "Lu Ao, how many Mud Crabs have you dug up? I caught five, and they're all big ones—at least eight catties altogether!"

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

Lin Gongshang had always ended up covered in mud and sweat when catching Mud Crabs, yet after two or three hours, he would only dig up two or three.