Joe's Farming

Because they were going back to Taoyuan the next day, Qiao Yu and Gu Feng took the children to the beach again.

We played at the beach for an afternoon and watched the sunset before returning to the inn.

In the evening, Qiao Yu called Tianyu over and returned the purse that the county magistrate and his wife had given him.

Xie Tianyu refused to accept it, saying that he had been very happy these days, and Qiao Yu and Gu Feng provided him with food and accommodation and bought him clothes.

Qiao Yu had no choice but to secretly stuff it into Xie Tianyu's luggage the next day.

Xie Changyu was so good to them, he would never take his money even if he died.

When going to the North Wharf, Qiao Yu unexpectedly met Ji Cheng and Sun Xiaohai who had sold sugarcane to them before.

Two teenagers were selling sea urchins in a wooden bucket.

The sea urchins are plump and sweet, but they are covered with thorns. The two thought that since they had never eaten at the North Pier and there were not many people there, they would ask for a higher price, so they came here.

But they overlooked one point: people who have never seen this thing naturally don't dare to try it.

So it was a good deal for Qiao Yu, who was knowledgeable about the business.

Sea urchins are dark green and round, a bit like horse dung sea urchins.

Before Qiao Yu asked, Gu Heng had already reached out and poked it gently: "Wow! The thorns are so hard and prickly."

Ji Cheng still remembered Qiao Yu and said excitedly: "You you you are..."

Qiao Yu said gently, "Yes, it's me. You guys are so capable. This is the first time I see this for sale in Nanyang. How much is it?"

Sun Xiaohai said a little embarrassedly: "Eighteen cents for one, thirty cents for two."

He thought that if he sold Qiao Yu, he could sell it at a lower price.

Qiao Yu nodded: "Great, give them all to me. Count how many there are."

There are sixty-one sea urchins in total.

Qiao Yu gave them one or two taels of silver.

"No need to look for it, just go home."

Ji Cheng and Sun Xiaohai bowed deeply to Qiao Yu, then went home happily.

A group of children gathered around and touched and looked at the sea urchin curiously.

Even Gu Feng saw this kind of seafood for the first time.

Xu Yuan was surprised and said, "I was wondering why Brother Qiao suddenly stopped. It turns out he was buying sea hedgehogs."

Xu Ning: "Sea hedgehog? Is it delicious?"

When they came in winter, it was not yet the season for eating sea urchins, so Xu Ning had never seen one.

Xu Yuan nodded: "If deliciousness is a ten-point scale, I can give it a nine."

Qiao Yu smiled: "That's a very high score. Let's go to the boat and eat together later."

The little guys were very curious. How could they eat this thing covered with thorns?

Even Xie Tianyu picked up one and observed it carefully towards the sun, but still couldn't figure it out.

Qiao Yu didn't keep the secret.

As we walked, he said, "This sea hedgehog, we eat the yellow inside. We will use scissors to open it, remove its intestines and internal organs, rinse it with clean water and then we can eat it."

Gu Feng: "Qiao'er, do you want to eat it raw?"

"Yes! It looks very fresh to me, and is best eaten raw."

Gu Heng: "Okay! Eat it raw!"

Gu Xiaoyan: "Little Daddy, what did you just say about the intestines and internal organs? Is it alive?"

Qiao Yu looked at the sea urchins in the bucket and saw that their spines were still moving slightly.

"Yes! It's alive. It tastes better when it's fresh. This thing won't last long."

Xu Yuan: "Can't we keep it in water?"

"Putting it in water can keep it alive longer, but it won't taste as sweet. It's better to eat it fresh."

"I see."

Gu Xiaoxue grasped the key point: "Is it sweet?"

Qiao Yu nodded: "Mm, fresh and sweet. Especially delicious, melts in your mouth."

Xu Ninghuan: "Wow! Then I definitely like it~"

Xu Ning hugged his daughter and smiled, "What don't you like about what your father likes?"

Xu Ninghuan nuzzled into his arms and said, "Daddy likes little daddy the most, and I like him the most too."

Xu Ningxi held Xu Yuan's hand and asked him to hug her too.

Xu Yuan picked him up, and he whispered to Xu Yuan: "I like little daddy the most, too."

Xu Yuan: ...

-

On the return trip, the two families took the same boat.

The other boat was filled with things the two families bought in Nanyang.

Xu Yuan and Xu Ning mainly bought agarwood and glass products, both of which were very expensive, and Xu Yuan planned to sell them to the capital.

In addition, Xu Yuan also bought a lot of gems for Xu Ning, wanting to make jewelry for him.

Qiao Yu had no interest in gems. Most of what he bought were clothes, fruits and dried seafood.

Such as kelp, dried shrimp, seaweed, dried squid, dried clams, dried scallops, salted fish, etc.

At one o'clock in the morning, Anren appeared at the dock.

This time they picked five baskets of green peppercorns, a total of about 300 kilograms.

Qiao Yu happily paid six taels of silver.

"Let's go back! We may have to wait until winter to come next time. Please wish your sister and brother-in-law a happy and harmonious marriage."

Anren's face was filled with smiles, but he also felt a little reluctant: "When I make more money, I will definitely go to Taoyuan to see you!"

Gu Feng patted his shoulder: "I'm at your service anytime."

Gu Heng, who was held by Gu Feng, also smiled sweetly at An Ren: "Brother, come to my house, I will treat you to egg tarts, they are super delicious."

"Ok!"

An Ren waved his hands vigorously to say goodbye to Qiao Yu and his family, and only went back with his people after the boat had sailed far away.

-

Fresh sea urchins are best eaten raw, but they are also delicious when used to make steamed eggs, especially with so many children on the boat.

Qiao Yu planned to steam 1-2 for each of them, and eat the rest raw.

Each member of the escort team was given half a piece to try.

But no one had ever eaten it before, so they all gathered around Qiao Yu to watch how he operated it.

Qiao Yu used scissors to cut open the sea urchin shell from the mouthparts. The liquid inside was clear, indicating that the sea urchin was very fresh.

Then cut off the excess shell along the edges to reveal the yellow inside.

The sea urchin roe inside was very full and bright orange-yellow in color. Qiao Yu was almost stunned by it. It looked very delicious at first glance.

Because there were no tweezers, Qiao Yu asked Gu Feng to sharpen chopsticks and clean out the black intestines and internal organs from the sea urchin.

Finally, use clean water to gently wash away the impurities inside.

Qiao Yu's hands were very steady. During the whole operation, the sea urchin roe was not damaged at all. The opened sea urchin roe looked like five complete petals and was very beautiful.

"Wow! Like a flower."

Xu Ning praised happily.

Gu Heng nodded vigorously in agreement, then whispered to Qiao Yu, "Daddy, can Xiao Huan and I have a taste first?"

Xu Ningxi quickly looked at her sister.

Xu Ninghuan looked at Gu Heng, and Gu Heng added: "And Xiaoxi!"

"Hahaha, of course. Brother Gu, give me a spoon."

Qiao Yu was afraid of overturning the recipe, so he took a bite first.

It was just as he imagined, sweet and smooth in the mouth, with a rich taste, like the texture of ice cream, and a long sweet aftertaste.

After confirming that it was extremely delicious, Qiao Yu fed each of the three babies a small bite.

"Wow! It's so sweet! So delicious!" This is Gu Heng.

"Daddy, sea hedgehog is really delicious." This is Xu Ninghuan.

"Sweet." This is Xu Ningxi.

Qiao Xing stood in front of Qiao Yu and asked shyly, "Dad, can you bring one for Grandpa to try?"

Qiao Yu touched his head and said, "Of course you can. But we won't be home until the day after tomorrow. Don't be sad if it dies or breaks down by then."

Qiao Xing shook his head: "No, I won't tell him then."

Since they had to stay, Qiao Yu kept five, one each for Wen Ge'er, Li Xin, and their husbands.

If five of them cannot be preserved, then that is acceptable, but more than that is not acceptable.

He opened eight of the remaining ones, put steamed egg liquid in them and steamed them for the children to eat.

The rest we ate together.

Even Xie Tianyu couldn't help but eat three.

This is really the ultimate affirmation for him who would never eat more than two meals at other people's homes.