Chapter 734 - 508: Staying Overnight by the Sea

Chapter 734: Chapter 508: Staying Overnight by the Sea

The spot they chose had a gigantic rock next to it, blocking the distant view.

Both of them ate and drank heartily, and then they put away the leftovers into their space to avoid drawing attention.

Even though the family knew already, they were still very careful around others, ensuring the secret of the space wasn’t discovered.

Wei Ziang also picked up some branches washed ashore, and then lit a fire, pretending they were grilling food there.

After fiddling around for a bit, they went to the granny’s house, just as she brought out a plate of fresh crabs and shrimp, inviting her three grandchildren to eat.

On the table were steamed buns, a bowl of seaweed soup, and that big plate of crabs and shrimp.

Of course, there were also a few shells and a big starfish.

Seeing them arrive, the granny quickly wiped her hands and greeted them: "You’re here, have you eaten already? Those things might not be enough."

"Granny, we brought our own food too, we’re quite full."

Wei Ziang placed the bucket down and smiled: "Granny, we’d like to stay in your village for a night. Do you happen to have any vacant rooms?"

"You want to stay in the village? Well, we mostly have thatched huts here, you see, we don’t even have adobe houses, and the waves are loud at night. Those not used to it might find it hard to sleep."

Indeed, they were all thatched huts.

Living by the sea is convenient for fishing but at high tide, if the tide is too strong, the houses get flooded. If they were adobe or brick houses, it would be too great a loss.

But thatched huts are different. As long as the beams are deep enough, the worst that could happen is losing the thatch. Then, you just haul back a load of thatch, and a skilled person can rebuild a hut in about an hour.

So, upon a glance, the village was filled with thatched huts.

"Don’t worry, Granny. We lived in thatched huts as kids too. It’s a chance to relive that childhood fun."

However, by the time Wei Ziang went to the Jiang family, they had moved into a bigger courtyard, and he hadn’t experienced living in a thatched hut.

Hearing Xiaomi talk about it now, he couldn’t help but feel curious about what living in a thatched hut would truly feel like.

The granny, seeing how easygoing they were, smiled even more: "Really? I do have one spare room, but for the other, you’d need to go to the village head’s place, you..."

At this point, the granny hesitated a bit, uncertain of their identity.

Wei Ziang hesitated slightly, but Xiaomi cut in without a word: "One room is enough for us."

The granny suddenly understood: "Oh, you’re a couple! So, will you spend the afternoon exploring the village? My son and the others will be back from fishing by then, and you’ll get to taste freshly caught big fish."

Xiaomi blushed slightly but still smiled and agreed: "That sounds great, thank you, Granny."

The three grandkids at the table were hungry. The eldest sister called their grandma, prompting the granny to say a few words to them before returning to eat.

The two of them wanted to ask the children for help, so they didn’t hurry away but instead pulled Wei Ziang along for a stroll around, waiting for the granny and her family to finish eating before discussing catching seafood.

Wei Ziang glanced at their clasped hands, stunned by Xiaomi’s unusual initiative today, making him feel unexpectedly pampered.

He even considered asking why they needed only one room.

But he refrained.

He couldn’t ask; what if Xiaomi thought he was unwilling to share a room?

However, he didn’t want to sleep apart in this village they weren’t familiar with, and he certainly didn’t dare let Xiaomi stay alone.

The midday sun was quite hot, but neither of them felt too uncomfortable. Xiaomi even dragged Wei Ziang along to see the villagers drying salted fish and seaweeds.

Right then, Xiaomi was sniffing intently at a salted fish as long as her elbow.

"What a salty and fragrant smell! It’s just like the dried fish Aunt Qian sent over!"

Wei Ziang snapped back to attention: "Do you want some? We can talk to Granny and buy more tomorrow."

The village was drying a fair amount of fish, so besides their own use, they’d probably be willing to sell some.

"Yes, yes, let’s buy a lot. We’ll ask around the village this afternoon and buy two sacks if anyone wants to sell."

Once we leave, we can just store them in our space.

There’s also seaweed and purple laver. We used to have some in our space, but there’s not much left now.

As they explored nearby, they found that most of those left in the village were women and children.

Even the men who stayed behind were very elderly.

Recalling what the granny said, it seemed the men of the village had gone fishing and would only return in the afternoon.

The granny quickly attended to her three grandkids’ meals, while Xiaomi pulled Wei Ziang along quickly.

"Hey, kids, mind helping us? How about catching some small fish and shrimp for us? We’ll pay you forty copper coins for a bucket, sound good?"

Xiaomi pointed to the wooden bucket they used in the morning for buying shrimp and crabs from Granny.

The bucket wasn’t very big, but if filled with small fish, shrimp, and crabs, it would certainly hold quite a lot.

The eldest sister immediately pulled her two brothers close, warily eyeing Xiaomi.

"Forty copper coins for a bucket of small crabs? Really? You’re not lying to kids, are you?"

The suspicious look in her eyes seemed to say, don’t lie, a bucket of small crabs isn’t worth forty copper coins!

Xiaomi found it both amusing and exasperating, wondering if the girl was naturally cautious or if she herself seemed too much like a swindler.

Wei Ziang, standing aside enjoying the show, found it amusing to see Xiaomi being doubted by a little girl.

Unhurried, Xiaomi patiently explained: "Why would I lie to you? We paid twenty copper coins for half a bucket of shrimp and crabs from your grandma this morning."

"By the way, I don’t want big crabs this time, just small ones, snails, shells, little shrimps, and crabs. As long as they’re edible, I want just the small ones."

"If you have friends, you can call them to help too. Forty copper coins for a bucket, I’ll buy however many you can catch."

While explaining and coaxing, they had noticed earlier a dozen kids with wooden tools and tongs catching seafood on the beach.

And their skill and speed were proficient!

The girl was somewhat skeptical, but luckily the granny returned from washing dishes.

"What’s up, girl?"

Xiaomi smiled: "Granny, I want to buy some small shrimps and crabs, so I was talking to the kids, offering forty copper coins a bucket. We’re hoping they can gather the village children to help catch some."

Currently, apart from several strands of octopus roe, there are no seafood items in their space.