Rebirth 77: From Beachcombing to Becoming a Tycoon and Spoiling My Wife

Yang Bai tries to catch crayfish with his bare hands, and catching them without getting pinched is extremely skillful.

His hands were shaped like eagle claws, and he moved quickly and ruthlessly, gripping the crayfish's back on both sides and pressing against the base of the crayfish's claws, with his middle finger against the hard shell where the head and body meet.

He quickly threw it into the bamboo basket on his back.

Chen Dahai tried to imitate him, but he got pinched several times and cried out.

This made Huang Cuihua on the shore feel heartbroken.

The two of them filled a whole and a half bamboo baskets in about ten minutes.

Yang Bai is one, Chen Dahai is half, and there are more than seventy in total.

But looking around, at least half of them haven't been caught yet.

Yang Bai straightened his back and wiped away his sweat.

In my past life, there weren't so many wild crayfish in the countryside; they were eaten to near extinction in the fields.

Chen Dahai saw Yang Bai grab a bamboo basket and said.

"Xiao Yang, you've already filled a bamboo basket. Hurry up and take it to Cuihua's house to grind it up and feed it to the chickens and ducks. Anyway, you don't raise any."

Yang Bai shook his head and said, "Why feed them chickens and ducks? It's such a waste. These things are much tastier to eat."

Chen Dahai picked up a crayfish covered in mud, looking disgusted.

"Xiao Yang, there's no famine right now, why would you eat this?"

"It eats carrion, it's disgusting."

"I would never eat this stuff, no matter what."

Yang Bai smiled and said, "Isn't dead fish the thing that grouper loves to eat the most? Don't try to steal it when I cook it."

In his past life, his favorite thing was to eat spicy crayfish with beer and stay at home watching the World Cup; that's what summer felt like.

But he didn't know whether the Chinese national football team would qualify for the World Cup after his death; it felt like it would be a thousand years from now.

Chen Dahai curled his lip, "I wouldn't eat this stuff even if it were given to me for free, let alone steal it."

He actually cooked meat when he was starving and in debt before. It had a fishy smell, and the meat tasted like boiled shoe insoles. It was terribly disgusting.

Yang Bai placed a full basket of crayfish on the ground.

He bent down and continued picking up the pieces.

It took another ten minutes or so to finish picking up all the crayfish from the ditch, filling three whole bamboo baskets.

Yang Bai weighed it in his hand and estimated it to be at least five pounds. He could have it with some beer as a late-night snack when he got back.

He tied three bamboo baskets of crayfish to the back seat of the car.

"Cuihua, we've caught them all. We can sleep peacefully tonight."

Huang Cuihua nodded with relief. "Thank you. Would you like some water? You all look quite tired."

Yang Bai glanced at Chen Dahai, "I'm not drinking anymore. Please invite your Brother Chen in for a drink. I'm going back now."

He patted Chen Dahai on the shoulder, got on his motorcycle, and rode back.

He went in carrying three bamboo baskets in one hand and called out, "Wanqiu, give me a wooden basin and a brush, I need to wash the lobsters."

At this moment, Zhang Ning had finished reviewing her lessons, and Wanqiu was resting.

The two immediately set off to fetch a wooden basin and a brush.

Zhang Ning pointed to the contents of the bamboo basket and asked, "Yang Bai, what's that thing you're holding? It's dark and has pincers on it."

"Crawfish, you don't recognize it?"

Yang Bai put down the bamboo basket and said.

The crayfish wriggling in the darkness made it hard for Zhang Ning to tell the difference, and his face immediately turned disgusted when he heard they were crayfish.

"Isn't this for feeding chickens and ducks? We don't have any chickens or ducks here."

Yang Bai shook his finger, filled the wooden basin with water, placed it on the ground, and moved a small stool over.

"No, no, no, this is delicious food. Let me prepare it and you can have a taste."

He started processing the crayfish, removing the heads, tails, and black lines.

Just then, Qiaoqiao, who had just finished playing, squatted down and looked at the crayfish crawling around in the bamboo basket.

"Daddy, can I touch it?"

Yang Bai shook his head and laughed, "You can't touch it, or your hand will get pinched. Go wash your hands and do your homework."

"Okay." Yang Qiaoqiao nodded and ran inside.

Yang Bai cleaned the lobsters thoroughly, rinsing them twice more to make them clear, even though they would normally be dirty after just one wash.

Su Wanqiu lit a fire for him in front of the stove.

Yang Bai cut the ingredients and heated the oil.

Pour the drained crayfish into the hot oil all at once. With a sizzle, the hot oil bursts up, and the crayfish instantly curl up and turn red.

Add ginger slices, garlic cloves, dried red chilies, and a handful of Sichuan peppercorns and stir-fry until they release a pungent and rich aroma.

Add another spoonful of fermented bean paste and stir-fry until the oil turns red. Drizzle with light soy sauce and a little aged vinegar, sprinkle with white sugar to enhance the flavor, and then scoop half a ladle of water to cover the shrimp.

Cover with a wooden lid and simmer over high heat until the flavors are absorbed and the broth has thickened and become glossy.

A rich aroma quickly filled the room.

Zhang Ning and Yang Qiaoqiao walked over at this moment, drawn by the aroma of stir-fried lobster.

"Dad, this crayfish smells so good!"

Yang Qiaoqiao licked her fingers, constantly inhaling the fragrance.

"Can this really be cooked well?"

Zhang Ning's resolve began to waver.

This kind of food that even the villagers don't eat might actually be made delicious by Yang Bai.

"Just you wait and see."

Yang Bai opened the wooden lid, and steam rose, making the fragrance even more pronounced.

He tossed a handful of chopped green garlic into the water and quickly stirred it.

"Bring me a basin!"

Yang Qiaoqiao couldn't wait any longer. She picked up a big basin with her little hands and ran to Yang Bai.

Yang Bai took it, scooped up the crayfish and put them into the basin.

Five pounds of crayfish are enough to fill a basin the size of a washbasin.

Yang Bai placed it on the table.

A commotion was heard outside the courtyard.

Chen Dahai was walking in the courtyard carrying a large bag of peaches, his nose twitching.

I smelled a very spicy aroma.

"What's that smell? It smells so good! What has Yang Bai cooked this time?"

The aroma alone was enough to whet his appetite.

He quickly ran inside and put the peaches on the table.

Looking at the bowl of bright red stuff, I immediately thought of the crayfish I had just caught.

"Yang Bai, are these crayfish?"

Yang Bai nodded. "Yeah, what else could it be but crayfish? What are you doing all this way here?"

When Chen Dahai learned that it contained crayfish, his interest waned instantly. No matter how fragrant it was, it would probably taste bad. It was just a pity that so many ingredients were wasted.

He plopped down in the chair and said, "These are peaches from Cuihua, to thank you for catching the lobster earlier."

Yang Bai took out four bottles of beer and placed them on the table.

"Oh, thank you for coming all this way. Please sit down and have something to eat."

Chen Dahai felt a bit nauseous at the sight of the lobster tail and shook his head.

"No, we just finished eating, didn't we? We can't eat anymore."

"Old Chen, you're talking nonsense. We know each other perfectly well. Sit down and have a drink. This lobster is delicious. You'll regret it if you don't try it."

Yang Bai pressed Chen Dahai down to sit.

He grabbed a lobster and shoved it into his hand.

Yang Bai used the bottle opener to pry open the beer caps and Qiaoqiao's soda one by one, then sat back down.

He picked up a lobster, looked at Chen Dahai staring at him, and laughed.

"I wouldn't harm you. Besides, if it tasted bad, would I feed it to my wife and kids?"

It's because people have such a deep-seated stereotype about crayfish that they are now so hard to find in the wild.

Yang Bai grabbed the crayfish, removed the head (after gutting it), slurped it twice, then slurped the tail twice, and finally put the crayfish into his mouth.

It tastes just like it did in my past life.