Drying mantis shrimp

Chen Panpan, the third child, wiped her hands and came out of the house, only to see father and son carrying a burlap sack.

"Another big haul?"

"Is Chen Xiaoqi back yet?"

"He's back. He just had a fight with Xiao Liu. They started hitting each other, so Mom took a whip to both of them. Then Grandma took them away and gave them five fen. They've gone to buy candy now."

Chen Haichao was speechless for a moment.

Father Chen asked, "Why were they fighting?"

"Xiao Liu said Xiao Qi stole the bird and took it away, and sneaked off to the beach without her. She got angry and argued with him, then they started pushing each other and fighting. They even called each other sons of dogs, so Mom whipped them both." Chen Panpan laughed as she spoke, finding the two little ones funny too.

"Those two little brats were asking for a beating."

Grandma came over with a knife and chopping board just in time to hear him. She glared at him and retorted, "They're still little. What do they know? It's you adults who go around cursing and taught them to do it. You should be taking a good look at yourselves, yet you still have the nerve to hit them."

"You can't raise children without beating them. Tomorrow's New Year's Eve, so a beating will keep them in line for a few days."

"They're already very good. They can even help with the work, and you still have things to say about them..."

Chen Haichao hurriedly changed the subject, or who knew how long mother and son would keep arguing? "Dad, pick out the mantis shrimp in a bit. Cook them first. Once they die, they spoil even faster than shrimp. Their meat turns mushy in no time."

"What do you want those for? I was going to ask earlier. Why did you even bring them back? You could've thrown them on the beach, and the waves would've washed them back into the sea later."

"They've got meat, more than shrimp, and it's thicker too. Cook them and dry them, then crush the shells to get the meat out."

Father Chen picked up a thoroughly dead mantis shrimp, looking very skeptical. "Someone will buy... bah, someone eats these things? Nobody in the village eats them. Once they die, the meat turns mushy."

"If we get them in the pot in time, the meat won't turn mushy. Anyway, they were only just crushed to death. They were all lively when we came ashore. Hurry and pour them out, pick these out first, rinse them and get them in the pot."

Grandma looked at the pile they had poured out of the sack, her brows pinched tightly enough to crush a fly. "You keep bringing back things even pigs won't eat."

Chen Haichao smiled. "Once they're dried, the meat's nice and springy and delicious. I'll stir-fry a bowl and bring it over when they're ready. Don't go eating so much you can't put your chopsticks down."

"Don't think I'm easy to fool just because I'm old. How many mouths are there in your family? Can you even finish all this? Getting so much, you really have more energy than you know what to do with."

Father Chen worried that if she kept asking, he wouldn't be able to fend her off and would let something slip. He urged them on. "Hurry up and get to work. You can clean all these fish. Abao and I will sort and wash them."

There was only one knife in the house, and Chen Panpan had already taken it and begun silently helping clean the fish.

After finishing her work at the stove, Mother Chen came to the back door for a look. She could only go back inside for the scissors and use them to scrape scales and help clean the fish. Water was still heating in the pot.

Chen Haichao picked out a basin or two of mantis shrimp first, rinsed them, then took them inside and put them straight into the pot. He added a few slices of ginger and covered it.

A smile appeared on his face too. Mantis shrimp had more meat, and even at the same price as dried shrimp, they weighed more. He believed that with enough of them, they could still fetch a good price. His work certainly wouldn't be for nothing.

At the back door, Father Chen and Mother Chen were still doubtful. They didn't believe that something like mantis shrimp, which nobody ate and which cut your mouth when you bit into them, could sell for money. But with Grandma there, they didn't say it aloud, only saying they were a bother and that the meat might turn mushy.

"Don't worry. We've already brought them back. Once they're dry, we'll take the shells off and stir-fry a bowl. I guarantee you'll all be fighting over them."

"Who goes to so much trouble for food? There's perfectly good fish to eat, but you're fussing over drying this and that. Who has so much time to spare? You could earn more work points working with that time."

Grandma wasn't wrong at all. In the collective economy era, everyone started working for work points as soon as they opened their eyes each day, laboring from morning to night.

With something this troublesome, even eating it seemed like a waste of time, never mind spending time drying and shelling it themselves, just like drying rice. Food was food, whatever you ate.

Father Chen didn't like hearing it and shot her a glare. "If you're going to help, help. Don't nag."

"Can't I even say anything? I'm worried you'll work from morning till night, only to end up supporting your two sons-in-law and their whole families. Your own family has a hard enough time, yet you're always working for other people."

"I know what I'm doing."

Chen Haichao knew his grandmother meant well too, worried that their whole family was working too hard, only to make wedding clothes for others. He smiled and reassured her.

"Grandma, don't worry. We have a use for everything we dry, and it'll all keep. I get heartburn from eating sweet potatoes every day. Once these are dried, we can cook rice without sweet potatoes and put in more dried shrimp and dried mantis shrimp instead."

"That's good, as long as it goes into your own stomachs. Another day, you could give some to Sitian's factory director and ask him to look after her. That job didn't come easily, so you need to build a good relationship."

Father Chen readily agreed. "Right. There's plenty of dried fish at home, more than we can finish, and we brought back so many more fish today. I'll pick her up from work later and give her factory director a bucketful."

Mother Chen nodded repeatedly too. "That's right. It'll make things easier when Panpan takes over her job."

They worked for a while, then stopped to eat. After lunch, they got back to work.

The fire in the stove never went out. They cooked from morning till evening, only moving on to the shrimp after cooking every basin of mantis shrimp.

They had also taken plenty of fish, shrimp, snails and shellfish to Eldest Uncle next door and the homes of several of their cousins.

Although everyone thought their family was being hardworking to a fault, they all brought knives over after the meal to help clean and prepare the fish. Curious, they also asked why the family was drying so much.

Mother Chen fobbed them all off with the excuse they had thought up earlier. She said they were drying it to give away so people would help find matches for the three siblings, and they could also give some to their future in-laws. Otherwise, work would start again after New Year, and they wouldn't have time to fuss over it.

It made enough sense, so Eldest Aunt and the others said no more. Instead, they began talking about the hottest gossip in the village.

"I wonder if Liu Chunlan is spending today at her own home or her in-laws'. Will the Wangs even let her through the door?"

"Who knows? They wouldn't let her in last night. So many people followed them to his door and saw it. They just wouldn't let her in..."

As Eldest Aunt got worked up, she slapped her thigh. "Oh, you should've heard her calling 'Dad' and 'Mom' over and over at the door. Who knows if she did it on purpose, trying to make them angry for not letting her in?"

"It's a shame you didn't go and watch. Wang Laosan's doorstep was like an opera stage. Everyone stayed until it got dark last night, reluctant to leave. They only dispersed after Liu Chunlan left."

Mother Chen also regretted not having time to watch the excitement. She had been busy collecting the dried shrimp last night, so how could she have found the time?

"Today's New Year's Eve. From how much the Wangs despise her, they definitely won't let Liu Chunlan in for the New Year's Eve dinner."

"I reckon they're still planning a divorce so they can find him a new wife. We should tell Panpan to stay away from them, in case they latch onto her."

"Definitely. Yesterday was almost enough to make me sick..."

Chen Haichao's ears were pricked high. This village gossip was really something!

It was like a serial drama every day, only more exciting, with real people performing right on his doorstep. He couldn't wait to see what happened next.

Many hands made light work. In just an hour or two, they had cleaned and salted all the fish, cooked all the shrimp, and spread the mantis shrimp out to dry.

Even after the work was done, everyone still felt they hadn't had enough. Gossiping was so engrossing, and having gossip to share made the work feel easier. Before they knew it, they were finished.

Chen Haichao let out a long breath and looked up at the sun. It was still early, not yet time for the New Year's Eve dinner.

"Dad, spread the shrimp out to dry later. I have something else to do, so I'll go take care of it."

"Is it about your friend? Go on, then. There isn't much work left."

"Mm."

He went home and washed his hands before heading to the brigade leader's house.

The sun was still warm and hadn't yet hidden behind the thick clouds. The New Year spirit filled the village. Every courtyard gate and house door stood wide open, smoke curled from the chimneys, and waves of cooking aromas drifted through the air.

A couple of sniffs as he passed each house were enough for him to tell what dishes they were cooking.

The walls of the earthen houses were covered with bright red Spring Festival couplets. Children in clothes that were neither new nor old laughed and played happily at the doors. Some even clutched two sticky pieces of candy, covered in saliva.

It was simple happiness, and everywhere he looked was filled with the spirit of the New Year.