Chapter 28: Durian

Although Mingming was full of confidence when he boasted, more than an hour later, he still hadn’t found a big crab.

Instead, it was Ruirui who made a comeback—he found three crawling shrimp in a row, one more than Mingming had found. But he didn’t brag too obviously. He just glanced at the metal bucket from time to time and casually said, “Mom, the three lobsters I caught crawl really fast.”

Lin Wei: “…”

Alright, got it—you caught three lobsters.

Even though they didn’t find any crabs, they still had quite a fruitful day. The bottom of the bucket was layered with various shellfish, mostly clams, along with some razor clams and sea snails—enough for at least two stir-fried dishes. They had also caught about eight or nine crawling shrimp, enough for a decent plate.

While mentally tallying their haul, Lin Wei spotted Liu Dan and the others coming over from a distance. The three women were all smiling brightly—clearly they’d had a good catch.

Sure enough, when they got closer, each of them had half a bucket full of seafood. Yang Yi had found a sea cucumber as thick as three fingers, ten or so crawling shrimp, and her clams and sea snails were even bigger than Lin Wei’s group had managed to find.

Zhao Li had found a geoduck and two swimming crabs, with the rest of her haul similar to Yang Yi’s. Liu Dan hadn’t found any particularly special seafood, but she did catch a lot of crabs—seven or eight in total, more than enough for a feast.

Although they had split up after arriving at the beach, Liu Dan still remembered what she’d promised earlier. Very generously, she gave the biggest crab to Mingming.

Mingming was delighted: “Really? This crab is really for me?”

Lin Wei, however, felt a little embarrassed. That crab must have weighed at least four or five hundred grams. She tried to decline politely.

But Liu Dan confirmed it to Mingming first, then said to Lin Wei, “I promised Mingming. This has nothing to do with you.”

Since she put it that way—and with Mingming looking so excited—Lin Wei stopped insisting and said, “We’ll have steamed crab for lunch.”

“Crab for lunch!” Mingming cheered.

By then, the sun was high in the sky and the temperature was still rising, so they didn’t linger by the sea and headed back to the residential area.

On the way, Zhao Li asked Lin Wei where she got her hat. She had worn a hat too, but it was just a plain straw one that looked a bit rustic, so she usually didn’t wear it unless she was going to the beach. Once back in the neighborhood, she’d always take it off.

As the public face of the supply and marketing co-op, Zhao Li cared a lot about her image.

Hearing Zhao Li ask, Liu Dan remembered too: “Oh right, you still haven’t told me where you bought your hat?” She had asked Lin Wei that morning, but the topic had shifted before she got an answer.

Yang Yi also looked over, clearly interested in the hat on Lin Wei’s head.

Lin Wei didn’t try to keep it a secret. She said, “Sister Deng made it herself and gave it to me.”

“It’s not store-bought?” Liu Dan sounded a bit disappointed.

Yang Yi wasn’t very familiar with Lin Wei and asked curiously, “Who’s Sister Deng?”

Liu Dan explained, “Deng Xiangyun, the wife of Deputy Political Instructor Zhou.”

“Oh, her!” Yang Yi suddenly understood. “She’s quite skilled. Making a hat like that takes some effort.”

Zhao Li really liked Lin Wei’s hat and asked, “Xiao Lin, can you ask her if she’d be willing to make one for me too? I’m willing to pay extra for the labor.”

Liu Dan, who knew Deng Xiangyun a bit better, spoke up before Lin Wei could respond: “Probably not. That kind of counts as speculative trading.”

Zhao Li thought to herself—how could just paying someone for labor count as speculation? People who couldn’t afford ready-made clothes and didn’t know how to sew paid others to make clothes all the time, and no one ever got in trouble for that.

But just as she was about to say something, Zhao Li remembered that Deng Xiangyun had a questionable political background and always acted cautiously. She sighed and said, “If that’s the case, then never mind. I don’t want to cause trouble for her.”

…

Since they’d brought home such a good haul, Lin Wei didn’t hold back at lunch. She steamed the crab, stir-fried the shrimp and shellfish together, and even used some clams to make a savory egg pancake. The remaining shellfish she kept in clean water to eat the next day.

After lunch, Lin Wei made sure to give both kids and herself a bath.

Even though the morning sun wasn’t too strong, they had been outside for a long time and all three of them had worked up a sweat.

And they were exhausted. The two boys were alright—they were short, so they only needed to bend slightly to search for seafood. But Lin Wei, being an adult at 1.63 meters tall, had to bend at the waist and squat a lot.

She hadn’t noticed it while they were out, but once they got home and sat down, her back ached, her legs cramped, and she just wanted to collapse upstairs. She had only managed to cook lunch by sheer willpower.

So after their bath, Lin Wei didn’t bother doing laundry. She locked the door and took the kids upstairs for a nap.

They all slept until around four or five in the afternoon. Lin Wei was mentally awake, but her eyes wouldn’t open and her body didn’t want to move. She kept lying there until Mingming came in, saying he wanted to go out and play.

She had to admit—seeing how energetic Mingming was made her feel a little envious.

Even though she didn’t want to get up, it was almost time for dinner. After a bit of struggling, she forced herself up, cooked a pot of noodles, and poached three eggs.

After they were fed, Lin Wei took a quick shower and went back to sleep.

Before sleeping, she thought to herself: “Even though today was tiring, I’ll probably feel fine after a rest.” But that “rest” ended up lasting five or six days. Even when Zong Shao returned from his sea trip, she still didn’t feel quite right.

Seeing Lin Wei looking tired and worn out, Zong Shao initially thought she must’ve done some heavy work while he was gone.

But when he asked about it, he found out all she did was go seafood hunting one morning—and it hadn’t even lasted two hours.

He was silent for a while, then tactfully said, “Maybe you should start getting up earlier. I could take you jogging.”

Lin Wei stared at him wide-eyed, completely in disbelief. “That’s how you comfort your overworked, still-not-recovered wife? Are you planning to sleep in the guest room tonight?”

Zong Shao: “…I was wrong.”

…

After Zong Shao came back from his trip, the durian ordered by the co-op arrived too.

Since she had said Lin Wei should try it, Zhao Li brought the durian over after work that night.

It was almost 8 p.m. by then. Lin Wei had already showered and gone upstairs to lie down, so when she heard Zong Shao call for her, saying someone was looking for her, she was puzzled. She looked out the window, saw Zhao Li, and hurried downstairs.

After finding out why Zhao Li came, Lin Wei said, “You’re too polite. You could’ve just told me tomorrow—you didn’t have to come all this way.”

Zhao Li smiled and said, “No one else at the co-op can stand the smell of durian, so I didn’t dare open it there. I planned to take it home, and on the way I remembered you wanted to try it. Figured I’d bring it to you now and save you a trip.”

“I’ll go get a knife from the kitchen. Come in and have a seat.” Lin Wei welcomed her into the living room, then went to the kitchen to get a knife from the top of the cabinet, rinsed it off, and brought it back.

But as soon as she returned, Zhao Li said, “Let’s open it outside. If we open it inside, the smell might linger.”

Lin Wei had heard durian smelled bad, but didn’t know exactly how bad. Not wanting to risk it, she brought a stool outside and handed Zhao Li the knife.

Durian is spiky—she didn’t know how to open it.

Zhao Li was skilled, and soon had it opened. It had four sections, and the fruit inside was plentiful.

As the durian was opened, Lin Wei finally smelled it—but she didn’t think it was that bad… Just as that thought passed, she heard Mingming’s voice behind her: “Mom, what are you doing? It smells so bad!”

Turning around, Lin Wei saw that both Mingming and Ruirui had come downstairs.

Mingming spoke while holding his nose and backing away. Ruirui sniffed hard and asked in confusion, “It doesn’t smell bad?”

Zhao Li was used to the contrasting attitudes of the two kids and explained with a smile, “That’s just how durian is—people who like it think it smells good, people who don’t think it stinks. Ruirui, do you want to try it?”

Ruirui suddenly understood—so this was the stinky durian Auntie Zhao had mentioned earlier. He looked up at his mom.

Lin Wei took the golden yellow durian flesh from Zhao Li’s hand and asked, “Do you eat it directly like this?”

“Yes, just eat it as is,” Zhao Li replied, grabbing another piece and demonstrating by taking two bites.

Lin Wei picked up a piece and bit down hard.

But she soon realized there was no need to bite so hard—the durian flesh was very soft. With just a little pressure from her tongue, it turned creamy. And the taste wasn’t nearly as smelly as she had expected—it was actually quite sweet, sweeter than jackfruit or mango.

Seeing the look on Lin Wei’s face, Zhao Li asked with a smile, “Tasty, right?”

“Mm, it’s good,” Lin Wei nodded and turned to the kids. “Mingming, Ruirui, do you want to try?”

Mingming covered his nose and shook his head like a rattle drum, while Ruirui stepped forward and said, “I want to try a little bite.”

Since it was just a taste, Lin Wei offered the piece she’d already bitten to Ruirui, letting him take a bite. The next second, the little guy nodded eagerly, “Yummy!” and stared longingly at the fruit in Lin Wei’s hand.

Lin Wei handed it to him and turned to ask Mingming, “Mingming, are you sure you don’t want to try?”

Mingming shook his head firmly. “No! It smells awful.”

“Alright then.” Lin Wei was a bit disappointed but didn’t force him. She turned to Zhao Li and said, “How much for the durian altogether? Let me pay you.”

“No need,” Zhao Li waved her hand. “I just brought it for you to try.”

“That won’t do. There are only four segments total,” Lin Wei said, then asked, “Does your whole family like durian?”

Zhao Li looked puzzled. “My daughter eats it, but no one else. Why?”

“Then would one piece each be enough for you two? If so, we’ll split it. I’ll go buy a durian from your co-op tomorrow and we can split that one too. Sound good?”

Though Zhao Li could eat two pieces in one night, it could get cloying if she had too much. She agreed right away, “Sure.” Then she gave another piece to Lin Wei.

After dividing up the durian, Zhao Li didn’t stay long. She took the rest in its shell and went home.

Not long after Zhao Li left, Zong Shao came out from his shower. He stopped at the door and frowned. “She brought durian?”

“Yup. Want some?” Lin Wei held a piece of durian up to him.

Zong Shao immediately stepped back and shook his head. “No way.”

It was the first time Lin Wei had seen him so defensive. Feeling mischievous, she stepped forward and teased, “Really don’t want any? Durian’s delicious. Super sweet. Isn’t it, Ruirui?”

Mouth full of fruit, Ruirui nodded quickly. “Mm-hmm!”

But Mingming loudly exposed them, “Dad, don’t believe Mom or Ruirui—durian stinks!”

Zong Shao retreated two more steps. “You all go ahead and eat.”

“Then you’re missing out.” Lin Wei laughed and finished the durian in her hand.

After eating, Lin Wei was left with a brown seed in her hand—supposedly the durian’s seed. Ruirui had one too.

Determined not to waste seeds, Lin Wei didn’t care how durian trees were planted. She simply tossed the seed onto the patch of land left empty after the betrothal gifts.

Whether it would grow or not was up to fate.

Ruirui copied her, tossing his seed outside too. Then he brushed his teeth, washed his face, and followed his mom upstairs to get ready for bed.

But once upstairs, a problem arose. Mingming, with his sharp nose, felt his little brother now smelled like the stinky durian and didn’t want to sleep with him.

He didn’t want to sleep in the same room as Mom either—both she and his brother smelled bad.

So the poor, unwanted mother asked, “Then who do you want to sleep with?”

Mingming answered without hesitation, “Dad! I want to sleep with Dad.”

Lin Wei turned to Zong Shao, “Then can you take Mingming tonight?”

Zong Shao: “…Okay.”

Even though she was the one who asked, and even though Zong Shao showed a bit of hesitation, Lin Wei still pouted a little inside, snickering to herself: Hmph, men!

She made up her mind. Not only would she eat durian tomorrow, but the day after, and the day after that… for the next whole week, durian would be her bedtime fruit!

But alas, reality is crueler than dreams. By the third day, the co-op’s durian was sold out, and there was no telling when the next batch would arrive.

Having eaten vegetarian meals for two days, Zong Shao—who had made up his mind to finally have some meat tonight—heaved a long sigh of relief at the news.

The past two days had been rough. If Lin Wei hadn’t clearly enjoyed durian so much, he’d have written to the co-op suggesting they stop stocking it altogether.

That night, finally able to eat meat—and with the next day being Sunday—Zong Shao got a bit carried away. It wasn’t until the wee hours that Lin Wei finally got to sleep.

She slept soundly until the sun was high in the sky. Yawning, Lin Wei came downstairs and was surprised to see two new low cabinets in the living room.

As she was still spacing out, Zong Shao came in with Zhou Jianhai, carrying a bookshelf. Seeing Lin Wei standing blankly in the center of the dining room, Zong Shao asked, “You’re up?”

Lin Wei made a soft “ah” and gradually came to her senses. “The furniture’s ready already? It’s only been half a month, right?”

“It was finished a while ago,” Zong Shao said. “We painted it and let it air out for a few days.”

Lin Wei understood, walking over to run her hand over the smooth surface. “No wonder professionals work so fast.”

Zong Shao, the amateur carpenter: “…My wife is always right.”