Reborn in the Eighties as a Housewife with a Space

Chapter 985: Chapter 979: Going to touch the whelks _1

“Hey, Qin Xue, when did you get here?” Qin Xue heard someone calling, and when she turned around, she saw a woman about her mother’s age, standing not far away, smiling at her.

“Hello, Auntie Wu, you’re here too.” Qin Jiale saw the woman and greeted her with a smile.

“Hello, Lele, are you here with your sister to have some fun?” Auntie Wu looked at the young people and asked with a smile.

“Yes, my sisters are back for the New Year, and since they’re catching fish today, I decided to come out with them.” Qin Jiale said, looking at the crowd not far away.

“Hello, Auntie Wu.” Upon hearing her sister, Qin Xue also greeted the woman. She was a little taken aback at first, as she didn’t recognize the person, so she didn’t greet her. But as soon as her sister spoke, she followed suit.

“Hello, is this your child? He’s very handsome.” Auntie Wu said as she looked at Qin Xue’s child, who was adorable with his chubby face.

“Yes, this is my child. What are you up to?” Qin Xue asked, pointing at the basket in the woman’s hand.

“Isn’t everyone catching fish? I thought I’d pick up some whelks to feed my ducks.” Auntie Wu had several duck at home. Feeding them with whelks would make the ducks lay eggs.

“Are there whelks?” Qin Xue’s eyes lit up at the mention. Her fried whelks were delicious, especially when stir-fried with perilla and chili. Spicy and refreshing, they were exceedingly appetizing.

“Yes, there are. Didn’t you know?” Auntie Wu looked at Qin Xue and asked. She used to pick whelks too, didn’t she?

“I thought there wouldn’t be any in winter.” Qin Xue almost let the cat out of the bag. She had no idea whether whelks were available here.

“I’m going to pick some. If you want, I can share some with you later. But I’m not sure if your ducks are too young. I wonder if they will start laying eggs prematurely if they eat these.” Auntie Wu chuckled.

“Auntie Wu, I can’t just take them from you. You worked hard to pick them. How about this. I can trade something for them. What do you think?” Qin Xue intended to buy the whelks, but when she thought about it, saying she would pay might offend the villagers. So she decided to barter instead.

“These whelks are everywhere. You just need to pick them. There’s no need to trade anything for them.” Auntie Wu laughed. She was thinking that Qin Xue might just be inconvenient with her child, so she was going to pick some and share them with Qin Xue later.

“How about this. After you pick them, take them all to my house. I’ll cook them for you as a thank-you for your hard work. What do you say? You’re feeding them to your ducks, but I’m using them as food. It would be a nice gesture to let you have a taste of them.” Xue Xue figured out a win-win situation.

“Are the whelks edible?” Auntie Wu asked incredulously. She could hardly believe that those ugly whelks were actually edible. In their village, people only used them to feed chickens and ducks. Nobody ever ate them.

Well, it wasn’t entirely true that no one had ever eaten them. The older generations mentioned that people used to eat whelks during hard times. However, they had a strong, earthy smell and tasted fishy, so they weren’t good. That’s why no one in the village had eaten whelks for years. Now that Qin Xue brought this up, Auntie Wu felt like telling her that they tasted bad.

“Yes, they are edible, and they taste great. When I cook them, you’ll know if they’re good or not. What do you say? I can buy them from you at 20 cents a piece. However many you pick, I’ll buy them all.” Qin Xue thought she could also avoid owing favors this way.

“I don’t need to sell them. Whelks are everywhere. You can scoop up a bunch of them with your hand. Your price of 20 cents a piece is too high, wouldn’t it be a rip-off? I’ll pick some for you. You don’t have to pay me.” Auntie Wu was shocked by the price Qin Xue offered. It was outrageous to charge so much for something that nobody wanted. She thought Qin Xue was trying to rip her off.