Interstellar to 80s: A Scientist's Farming Mission

The moment they saw the ocean, all seven of them fell silent for an instant.

The next second, they unconsciously spread their arms and charged down the sloping path.

”The ocean—!”

”I’m here!”

A group of youths, all around twenty years old, enthusiastically rushed toward the ocean’s embrace for the first time.

”Sis, the sand is so fine!”

”There are seashells here! I’ve never seen any like these before.”

”What’s this?”

”A crab! Quick, quick, grab it!”

The young men were captivated by everything on the shore.

An Ning, completely immersed in the moment, ran onto the beach. She grabbed a handful of sand and watched it trickle through her fingers.

She then sat right down on the sand, listening to the waves and gazing at the boundless ocean. She let the sea breeze blow across her face, the salty taste seeming to linger on her tongue for a moment.

Jiang Xia sat down beside An Ning, lay back comfortably, and closed his eyes, basking in the sun.

It was comfortable, pleasant, and a chance to empty his mind.

She didn’t know how long they had been playing, but when An Ning looked over at An Guoping, Hua Cheng, and Zhou Xiaoshan, Hua Cheng was already buried in the sand.

Yin Xuemei appeared from somewhere and sat down next to An Ning. ”An Ning, I found a family’s house. If we give them some money, we can stay there.”

”Okay, we’ll head over in a bit. For now, just sit down and enjoy the ocean.”

The ever-worried Yin Xuemei obediently sat down, hugging her knees as she gazed at the ocean.

’She never thought she’d get a chance to come out and see this in her lifetime.’

The sea breeze gradually died down as the sunset stained the ocean orange. It was as if orange ink, laced with crushed diamonds, had been spilled across the glittering water.

An Ning and the others’ passion for the ocean finally began to fade, replaced by utter exhaustion.

They followed Yin Xuemei to the house she had found, just a few hundred meters from the shore. It was a stone house, very clean and quite large.

Yin Xuemei went to talk with the owner. The seven of them would stay in two rooms—one for the boys and one for the girls. They were spacious enough for everyone.

The owner of the house was a simple, honest woman who made her living from the sea, foraging for seafood and selling her catch.

The old woman was very down-to-earth. That evening, she made them a pot of Spanish mackerel with griddle cakes and a plate of stir-fried clams, giving the group their first taste of seafood.

That night, the seven of them drew water and took simple rinses in a temporary outdoor washroom.

When An Ning came out in clean clothes, she found that Yin Xuemei had already taken her dirty ones to wash.

”I’ll do it myself next time.”

An Ning walked over to Yin Xuemei, who was hanging up the laundry. Yin Xuemei said, ”It was no trouble at all. Don’t be so formal with me, alright?”

”Why does it feel like I’m the one in the wrong now?”

An Ning’s words made Yin Xuemei laugh.

At night, the temperature by the sea was a bit low, so they needed to use blankets to sleep in the house by the shore.

Early the next morning, the group was up again at four. They had originally planned to run along the coastline, but when they saw the old woman heading out to forage with a bucket and a small rake, they unsurprisingly changed their plans.

Running was not as important as foraging.

The sky was just beginning to lighten at dawn, but the foragers had already set out long before.

The tide had receded from the shoreline, pulling back hundreds or even a thousand meters.

The ocean’s gifts were now revealed.

The seven of them had thought they were up early, but when they reached the shore, they realized they couldn’t compare to those who rose at such hours to make a living.

On the exposed seabed, they could see people here and there, using all sorts of tools to pick things up from the ground.

None of them knew how to forage, so they followed the old woman and learned from her for a little while.

They learned that foraging here mainly meant gathering razor clams and various other shellfish. Occasionally, one might find sea snails, crabs, or stranded fish and shrimp. Of course, sometimes there were even rarer, more valuable kinds of seafood.

As for how to find them, it was a matter of both technique and luck.

The seven of them split into groups of two and three, and with their unprofessional tools, began their first foraging expedition.

The exposed seabed was firm in some places and soft in others, but as long as you didn’t pierce it with something sharp, you could stand on it without breaking through.

”There’s a little hole here. Is it a razor clam?”

”They say sprinkling a little salt works well.”

”Where are we going to get that? Besides, it costs money.”

The frugal An Guoping squatted down and started digging for the razor clam with his bare hands. Seafood was plentiful here, and he actually managed to catch it.

Meanwhile, Jiang Xia and Hua Cheng were only interested in finding some big-ticket seafood; they looked down on mere clams and razor clams.

An Ning and Yin Xuemei, on the other hand, were having a much smoother time foraging.

”An Ning, how are you so good at this? How do you know stuff is here?”

”I’ve got good eyes.”

An Ning gave a vague answer, and Yin Xuemei had only been asking casually anyway.

The group foraged from sunrise until the sun was beating down so hard their faces began to sting.

The sun at the seaside was simply scorching and harsh; their exposed skin was beginning to sting.

The seven of them left the other foragers and gathered in a shady spot to take stock of their haul.

”Sis, look how much we got.”

An Guoping showed off his bucket, which was a third full of clams, razor clams, and a good number of hermit crabs.

Hua Cheng glanced at it and said with feigned regret, ”We didn’t get as much as you. We only found these few.”

A bucket filled with several large swimming crabs appeared abruptly next to An Guoping’s.

An Ning, who had been watching quietly from the side, showed that she too had mastered the art of the humblebrag.

”I guess we did alright.”

THUD!

A bucket, filled to the brim.

So full that a lively, flopping fish slapped Hua Cheng in the face with its tail as he peered at it curiously.

”You... I don’t believe it!”

Hua Cheng, who had just been slapped by the fish, stood up clutching his face and said, ”Did you guys buy these from someone?”

”Say that again?”

Though there was no obvious threat in her tone, Hua Cheng was instantly cowed.

”I mean, you guys are just too amazing.”

After they finished foraging, the seven of them started a fire and cooked all their seafood.

Just as they were enjoying the fragrant meal in the courtyard, a girl walked in from outside. The moment she saw the seven of them, her expression changed instantly.

”You’ve gone too far!”

”Who let you into my house!”

”This is my home! It doesn’t matter who you are, you can’t be here!”

The girl grabbed a broom and moved to drive the seven of them away.

An Ning stepped forward, caught the descending broom, and explained, ”Aunt Zhang let us stay. We’re here on vacation and we paid rent.”

”Rent?”

Flustered, the girl lowered the broom and immediately began apologizing to An Ning.

”I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know my mom let you stay.”

”I’m sorry.”

The girl bowed repeatedly in apology, but An Ning said nonchalantly, ”It’s fine. It’s all cleared up now.”

She returned to her seat and continued eating, while the girl went back into another room.

Just as An Ning’s group was about to finish the seafood, Aunt Zhang returned, carrying a bucket. And she wasn’t alone.

”Mom—! Get out! You’re not welcome here.”