Yonghe Road

Chapter 17: Sturgeon
Dinner was held at a country villa far from the city. The owner was away, leaving his friend to entertain. This friend was the wife of a city official, a high school classmate of Mei Wending. The reunion of old classmates was a warm and cordial occasion. The official's wife warmly welcomed Mei Wending and the others. They were all old acquaintances, save for Wang Zian, Zhong Ziqi, Xie Anmin, and An Hongdou, four young people who were new to the scene.

"Who are these four handsome men and beautiful women?" asked the leader's wife.

Mei Wending first introduced Wang Zian, the son of the renowned Baile Village Party Secretary Wang Kai, to his old classmates. He also mentioned Zhong Ziqi, also from Baile Village and a skilled basketball player. As for Xie Anmin and An Hongdou, Mei Wending simply treated them as Wang Zian and Zhong Ziqi's girlfriends. In this context, names weren't necessary; a gender was sufficient.

This made Xie Anmin sigh with emotion. She hadn't expected that after all her success in the world of fame and fortune, she would be nothing more than a "woman" in this small coastal town. This also confirmed a comment she had heard during her in-depth study of life in Baile Village: ordinary people in this city don't chase celebrities. Even the top stars are just passers-by. Even if the old Four Heavenly Kings come to perform a concert, tickets are sold at a discount or given away.

Xie Anmin's writer mother wasn't a useful connection in the city, but Secretary Wang Kai of Baile Village allowed Wang Zian to enjoy the benefits of "looking up to the father and respecting the son." The leader's wife paid Wang Zian a bit more attention than others, saying, "Zi'an looks more handsome than Secretary Wang, who has a rugged, masculine build..."

"Does Wang Zian look like a woman?" An Hongdou interjected, her innocent and quick words making the leader's wife, who always had a high emotional intelligence, feel a little embarrassed. She quickly explained, "That's not the case. A man is a man. How can he look like a woman? It's just that Zian looks more delicate and refined than his father, like a scholar."

"He is not a scholar, he has been a soldier." Zhong Ziqi couldn't help but interrupt.

What's there to explain? "Scholar" isn't a derogatory term. Wang Zian didn't think it was necessary for Zhong Ziqi to explain himself. At this moment, filling his stomach was the most important thing, because he'd been playing ball all day, burning calories, and was starving.

The table was already laden with delicious food, all representing the city's most representative delicacies from land and sea. The most eye-catching item was a large pot of steaming mutton soup in the center. The mutton were sea sheep, brought in by cruise ship from Dayushan Island. Their fame was so great that even people from Xinjiang were ordering them online. In the golden broth, chunks of mutton were stewed to a tender, yet firm hold. The carefully selected offal—including the liver, heart, and lungs—had been simmered for a long time, completely devoid of any fishy odor. Now, their allure was radiant, a fragrance that would make your throat water.

Next to the big pot of mutton soup is a small pot of chicken soup.

"My mother personally raises these free-range chickens. They're free-range and let them roam freely in the mountains during the day. They're very wild, so their legs are tastier than regular chicken legs," the leader's wife carefully served chicken soup to Wang Zian and the other three. She even gave the only two large chicken legs she had to Xie Anmin and An Hongdou, saying to the others, "You leaders usually have plenty of good food. Just give the large chicken legs to the two little girls."

As he spoke, he picked up some crabs and put them into the bowls of Wang Zian and the other three.

The crabs are about the size of an adult man's palm. They are cut in half and fried until they are golden and fragrant.

"Today I wanted to go to Yujing Wharf to find fishermen to buy red-roe sturgeon, but unfortunately there were none. We could only buy wild sturgeon..." The leader's wife's explanation immediately comforted everyone, saying that wild sturgeon tasted better and the meat was more tender. The red roe of red-roe sturgeon looked beautiful, but it was actually hard and hurtful to the teeth.

As a northerner, Xie Anmin didn't realize that the so-called "Platystem" (Scyprinus serrata) is actually a type of mud crab, named for the serrated notches along the edges of its cyan shell. The "Platystem" (Scyprinus serrata) is a common mud crab, while the "Red-roe Sturgeon" (Scyprinus rubra) is a female mud crab in its breeding season with red or yellow roe. The two differ not only in taste but also in appearance. The "Platystem" (Scyprinus serrata) has an elongated, triangular tail and a thin, triangular operculum, while the "Red-roe Sturgeon" has a spherical tail and operculum. In terms of nutritional value, the "Red-roe Sturgeon" has a richer and more nutritious roe.

At that moment, looking at the plates of sturgeon arranged in a circle on the dining table, Xie Anmin knew only that this crab was completely different from the famous Yangcheng Lake hairy crab. This must be a seafood unique to eastern Fujian.

As a guest, and with the topic unfamiliar to him, Xie Anmin couldn't join in the conversation and could only listen silently. He glanced down and noticed a freshly shelled crab claw lying plump on the plate in front of him. Xie Anmin turned and saw Wang Zian smiling at him, motioning for her to enjoy the crab claw he had peeled.

When Xie Anmin finished eating the crab claws, two peeled nine-segment shrimps were placed on the plate...

Xie Anmin enjoyed Wang Zian's service all night.

She glanced at An Hongdou, who was sitting across from her. She was peeling shrimp for Zhong Ziqi. While she was enjoying Wang Zian's service, Zhong Ziqi was also enjoying An Hongdou's service. Xie Anmin's mouth curled up unconsciously. She suddenly felt that she and Zhong Ziqi were the same kind of people, selfish people.

Xie Anmin was in a good mood. While enjoying the food, he listened to some gossip about the city at the table.

At the dinner table, Xiang Meiwendi from the Forestry Bureau recounted how he had his wife's position transferred from the township to the city. He explained that he had previously worked on demolition projects in the township, offending many villagers. After he was promoted for his work, his wife remained in the township, where she was often threatened and intimidated by the villagers. So, he personally went to Secretary Song's office, nearly bursting into tears, recounting how he and his wife had met and loved each other. He said that if his wife were implicated by his work and anything happened to her, he would not want to be deputy director anymore, and would even want to die, emulating Liang Shanbo's sacrifice for love. Secretary Song replied that Liang Shanbo died first, while Zhu Yingtai died for love. But Secretary Song, sympathetic to his subordinate, resolved the wife's position.

Another person from the Education Bureau complained to Mei Wending that for the past three years, he had been eager to make progress and had always wanted to leave his position in the Education Bureau and seek better opportunities. However, every time he was about to be promoted, a competitor would score before him. Also, the villagers whom he had offended when he worked in the township were causing trouble and writing letters of denunciation everywhere. This made him discouraged and he had white hair at the age of 40.

A representative from the Maritime Affairs Bureau raised a glass of rice wine to him and said with a smile, "It's normal to have gray hair at forty. I had gray hair in my thirties. Besides, isn't the Education Bureau pretty good? There are over five thousand teachers and one hundred thousand students in the city alone. How many families are affected by this? How can you not be happy? It shows that you are capable. That's why they gave you such a big job."

The man from the Education Bureau drank the toast from the Maritime Bureau and sighed.

He had a hard time expressing his frustration. Having embarked on a career in government, who wouldn't want to rise through the ranks? But in this city, every previous head of the Education Bureau had failed to achieve officialdom, so this position was somewhat shunned by young officials like him, who still had room for advancement. It seemed as if taking this position meant they had lost their chances of promotion. Consequently, when the position was initially reassigned, he hesitated for a long time before finally accepting it.

"If I had your identity as a 'cadre aiding Xinjiang', I wouldn't have to worry about this."

"I really think the Education Bureau is good. Education is a matter of vital importance to people's livelihood, and being able to manage education is a meritorious deed."

"Then I'll make room for you later."

"Whether you give me the land or not, we all have to follow the organization's arrangements, right?"

Mei Wending waved his hand, interrupting the conversation, and soothed, "Don't be too pessimistic. Your situation is different from the previous ones. They were all older when they took office, but you're still young and have a bright future. Everything depends on human effort. Our organization's standard for hiring people is both moral integrity and ability, with moral integrity being the priority. If you hold yourself to this standard, you won't be buried..."

Then he said to the one from the Maritime Administration, "Are you really interested and confident in this position at the Education Bureau? If there's a job adjustment, I can recommend you to the leadership."

The two men toasted Mei Wending and expressed their gratitude, while the leader's wife was already serving food. She disliked private gatherings like this, where leaders discussed work matters, especially with unfamiliar people present. However, those young men were all brought by Director Mei Wending, so they weren't outsiders. And Wang Zian, being Secretary Wang Kai's son, had some self-awareness and wouldn't just spread rumors after hearing a few things he shouldn't have.

How could the leader's wife know that Xie Anmin was a writer? If she knew Xie Anmin's identity, she would definitely remind everyone not to discuss sensitive topics. And if everyone knew Xie Anmin's identity, they would definitely restrain their words and probably ask the leader's wife to replace the rice wine brewed by her mother with juice and water.

Among the crowd, there was a knowledgeable person who felt that Xie Anmin looked familiar.

The man sitting to Xie Anmin's left was a seaweed seller, a man who had amassed a fortune in the millions. Besides making money, he also had a literary bent, writing a few rather cheesy poems. To get them published, he frequently sent seaweed to magazine editors, boasting that he was the best seaweed seller and the best seaweed seller among poets.

The homemade rice wine was very strong, and the seaweed poet was already slightly tipsy. He stared at Xie Anmin's face and said with a smile: "I think you look a lot like that Xie Anmin."

Everyone was curious about who Xie Anmin was. The seaweed poet said, "You leaders are usually busy with all kinds of affairs and don't have the opportunity to read leisure books. Of course, you don't know the great writer Xie Anmin."

The words "idle books" made An Hongdou and Zhong Ziqi look at Xie Anmin at the same time. Fortunately, Xie Anmin didn't frown this time. They were about to say that this Xie Anmin was the great writer Xie Anmin, but Xie Anmin spoke out before them: "Xie Anmin and I are not like each other. If you touched Xie Anmin's hand under the table, she would tell you in public and embarrass you, but I won't."

Xie Anmin smiled and lifted his hand from under the table onto the table. Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, the seaweed poet's right hand, like an octopus's tentacles, firmly clasped Xie Anmin's left wrist...