Chapter 520 - 354: Crab with Mashed Potatoes?

Chapter 520: Chapter 354: Crab with Mashed Potatoes?

"I’ll turn my back to you, so you can wash up without worrying."

"Okay..."

And so, standing seven or eight meters apart, they washed up with their sides and backs turned to each other.

Lin Chen first scooped up a handful of water and washed his face. The ice-cold stream water was invigorating, shaking off his lingering sleepiness.

He had just put the little pup down and was about to soak his jacket in the water when he suddenly froze.

’Wait a minute. I’m holding the clothes this little guy peed on. If I wash them here, won’t I be contaminating her water?’

Realizing he’d almost done something inconsiderate, Lin Chen quickly scooped up the pup, stood up, and scuttled sideways downstream.

"Hey, I’m going to wash this downstream from you so I don’t get your water dirty."

"Huh?"

Jin Meiyan tilted her head in confusion, not understanding what he meant at first. But when she realized what he was going to wash, it dawned on her, and a warmth spread through her heart.

He’d only slept for four hours and his mind must have been groggy, yet he was still so gentle and thoughtful.

’No, no. I’ve already made my decision. Jin Meiyan, you can’t be swayed so easily!’

She quickly shook her head and splashed a handful of clean water onto her face.

Although she had great faith in Lin Chen’s character, she couldn’t help but peek in his direction as she washed her body.

But he didn’t turn his head even once the entire time he was washing his clothes. This put her at ease, yet for some reason, she also felt a pang of disappointment.

’He said those kinds of things just last night, but today he’s being so self-controlled. How am I supposed to believe him?’

After washing the clothes, Lin Chen didn’t hurry back. He wandered along the stream bank, occasionally bending down to pick some verdant fiddlehead ferns.

After washing her upper body, Jin Meiyan glanced again at his back as he ambled among the trees. After a moment’s hesitation, she gritted her teeth, pulled down her leggings, and began to wash her long, beautiful legs.

By the time she had finished washing and gotten dressed again, Lin Chen still had his back to her. He hadn’t crossed any lines the entire time, and he’d stayed within her general vicinity, never wandering too far.

"I’m done, Oppa. Do you need any help?"

"No, there’s not much to eat over here. I only picked some fiddleheads and lichen."

Hearing her call, Lin Chen let out a long sigh of relief. He cautiously turned his head slightly, using his peripheral vision to confirm she was fully dressed before daring to turn all the way around.

What could he do? He’d fallen for that trick more than a few times and had developed a habit of being careful.

Back at the camp, he used the remaining abalone and oysters, along with the leftover Lobster heads and shells from yesterday, to make a seafood broth. He added a little light soy sauce, Korean chili paste, and chili powder, then tossed in the freshly picked fiddleheads to create a pot of spicy and savory seafood soup.

While the flavor wasn’t as rich as something from a restaurant, this was the wild, after all. With limited resources, making a stock from Lobster scraps was already quite impressive.

Jin Meiyan ladled up a spoonful of the spicy soup and blew on it a few times.

SLURP.

The piping hot, savory soup exploded with spice in her mouth. The umami of the Lobster, combined with that of the abalone and oysters, was enough to turn a simple pot of water into a rich stock without needing many other seasonings.

The addition of the fiddleheads gave the broth a faint, subtle tartness, which perfectly balanced the sweetness of the Korean chili paste, making the overall flavor of the seafood soup refreshingly sour and spicy.

With just one sip, her still-sluggish stomach slowly began to wake up, and she started to feel hungry.

"Oppa, you’re such a good cook! Whoever marries you in the future will be so happy!"

"Not at all. I’m just an ordinary cook. I know how to make a lot of things, but I’m not an expert in any of them. There’s still a big gap between me and a real chef. But thank you for the compliment."

Lin Chen smiled, a little embarrassed, and fished a plump, tender piece of oyster meat from the pot. "Here, try this. Do you guys eat cooked oysters where you’re from?"

"Thank you," Jin Meiyan said sweetly. She didn’t even realize her tone was like that of a completely different person from the day before, a hint of a cutesy affectation slipping in naturally.

She tried to scoop up the oyster, but the bark spoon seemed unable to bear its weight. In the end, she just picked it up with her fingers, popped it into her mouth, and nodded, her words muffled.

"We do! Grilled, steamed, fried... all kinds. But mostly we eat them plain with different sauces. You know how it is, in South Korea, almost all seafood is eaten with a vinegar-chili sauce. Everything tastes the same."

Although they had been sitting out all night since being harvested, it had only been about seven hours. The quality of the shellfish was still excellent; they were even still moving before being put in the pot.

Cooked this fresh, the oysters barely shrank at all. The meat was tender and plump, and the moment she bit into it, a sweet, savory juice burst out, mingled with the faint, clean scent of seaweed.

She cupped her cheeks in delight and exclaimed sincerely, "It’s so sweet! This is the most delicious oyster I’ve ever had in my life!"

"That’s because Vancouver Island is geographically located in the more northern part of North America, closer to the Arctic. The water temperature here is lower than in South Korea, so the seafood raised here is of very high quality, with a sweeter, fresher taste."

"Besides oysters, this area is famous for expensive seafood like Boston Lobster, king crab, and snow crab. The relatively cheaper options are things like salmon and cod."

"If you come to Vancouver Island in the winter, you can also catch the very rare bay king crab. Their bodies are covered in sharp spines, and their rock-like red shells have blue and purple spots. When they curl up, they look exactly like rocks on the seafloor, making them impossible to spot."

"They usually live in the deep sea, a hundred meters down, and can’t be caught except by fishing boats. Only in winter do they crawl to the shallow waters near the shore to find food."

"Vancouver Island has different tourist attractions throughout the year, like sea lions in the spring, whales in the summer, salmon in the fall, and king crabs in the winter. It’s a great place to visit any time of year!"

Jin Meiyan tilted her head, watching Lin Chen as he spoke so eloquently. She kept chewing the delicious oyster meat, her eyes sparkling.

She knew he was saying these things for the camera, to attract more fans and tourists, but she couldn’t help but wonder if he was also using it as a way to invite her to stay.

’It’s a great place to visit year-round, but it’s not like you can fly here from Asia every season. The best option would be to just live here.’

And she had a United States passport, with her parents also in the United States. Traveling back and forth to Vancouver would be much more convenient for her.

Plus, she was working as a travel blogger now, giving her a perfect reason and excuse to stay in North America long-term. After all, the natural attractions here were world-famous; it would take years to film them all.

A series of wild thoughts flashed through her mind. She sighed quietly, gave a self-deprecating smile, and ladled another spoonful of the spicy, hot soup into her mouth.

Feeling the fiery liquid flow down her throat and into her stomach, her mood improved slightly.

Just then, the little Coyote pup, which had been lying on the grass nearby, staggered over to Lin Chen’s leg. It pawed at the fabric with its two little claws, its back leg kicking several times as it tried and failed to climb up, and it began to whimper anxiously.

Watching the adorable little creature, dimples appeared at the corners of her mouth.

"This little guy has been restless all morning. He must be hungry, smelling something so delicious. Too bad you’re still too young to eat meat~"

"Oppa, shouldn’t we find something for him to eat later?"

"Yeah," Lin Chen nodded helplessly. "It’s hard enough for us to find food for ourselves on this island, and now we have to feed this little guy who pees and poops everywhere. It’s such a hassle."

"So, are we going to the other side? I remember you said there’s more food over there, Oppa."

She’d wanted to ask this question last night, but she’d had so much fun diving that it completely slipped her mind.

"No," Lin Chen’s expression immediately turned serious when she brought it up.

"I scouted it out yesterday. The appearance of that mother Coyote was strange, and there were no other signs of Coyote activity nearby, so I suspect she crossed the water to get here."

"Spring is when bears are waking up from hibernation. During this period, they’re at their leanest and hungriest for the entire year, so they become extremely aggressive in their search for food."

"I took a quick look around the shore over there. I didn’t find any Coyote tracks, but I found a lot of signs left by Black Bears. For example, in the intertidal zone by the sea—the area where the waves crash—there are usually a lot of shellfish, and I saw claw marks where bears had been digging."

"The shore?!"

Jin Meiyan’s expression changed. She covered her mouth, her face pale with fright. "Doesn’t that mean it’s really close to where we were diving last night?"

"Yes, about a hundred meters away. And this season is also when the salmon fry hatch. A batch of young fish that have lived in freshwater for a year will be swimming out to sea, making the area near the river mouth a natural hunting ground for Black Bears and brown bears."

"A Black Bear is about the size of an NBA basketball player. And don’t even get me started on brown bears. The brown bears in North America are the largest in the world. A single swipe of their paw could flatten a car. We don’t have any weapons, so we need to stay as far away from their territory as possible."

Hearing about the terrifying power of the brown bear, Jin Meiyan’s face went deathly pale, and she shook her head repeatedly. "Then... then let’s just stay on this island. It’s safer. I can handle being hungry."

"Don’t worry. There’s plenty to eat in the sea. You won’t go hungry."

Lin Chen smiled confidently and popped his own oyster into his mouth.

"Since you know how to dive now, we can go catch crabs on the seafloor. Crabs are less active during the day, so as long as you know the right technique, you can easily catch them with your bare hands."

"On Vancouver Island, besides king crab, the most famous type is the Dungeness crab. Their roe and tomalley have a rich, creamy flavor. There are also helmet crabs, kelp crabs, and so on. The invasive European Green Crab tastes pretty good too, though they might not have much roe this season."

"If we really can’t find anything else to eat, we can go back up the mountain and dig up some Spring Beauty Grass. I’ll make some crab and mashed potatoes for you to try. We’re not having Korean food today."

"Mashed potatoes?!"

The girl’s eyes lit up, and she clapped her hands in anticipation.

"Yes, yes! I love mashed potatoes. When I used to be on a diet, I’d often make all sorts of potato dishes to replace my staple foods. I’ve never had them made with crab before!"