The image of the little mermaid with her round belly stuck halfway through the portal made Ye Jiujiu cover her face and laugh quietly. What was she supposed to do? Just thinking about it was hilarious.
The little mermaid, wedged in the middle—unable to go up or down. Would she need a giant shark to pull her out? And if they pulled too hard, would her tail get shaved bald? Or would the shark end up dragging the entire refrigerator away?
While Ye Jiujiu's imagination was running wild, the sound inside the refrigerator suddenly grew louder—like seawater rushing through a narrow passage. The gushing noise intensified, as if the next second it might swallow the whole fridge.
Standing before it, she enjoyed the cool morning air while listening to the roaring waves, as if she were on the beach instead of in her courtyard.
A minute or two later, the rushing gradually faded, leaving behind only a faint smell of the sea.
It stopped.
The little mermaid must've gone back with the tide, right?
Ye Jiujiu casually opened the fridge door—and immediately froze.
The little mermaid was sitting right there.
Both of them stared at each other, dumbstruck.
"…Why are you still here?"
The little mermaid, with several tiny red fish perched on her head and a large blue-spotted mackerel clutched tightly in her arms, shook her head blankly and said in her soft, syrupy voice:
"Phuket Island."
"Did you bring too much stuff and get stuck?" Ye Jiujiu quickly grabbed a bucket, swept the fish off the little mermaid's head and arms, tossed them in, then carried the soaking wet girl to the washroom basin to rinse her off.
"No." The little mermaid patted her dripping pink fishtail. "Only water can flow. Nests and fish… can't."
Translated: Only water can go back. Neither her nor the seafood could.
"So the water can flow backward, but creatures and objects can't?" Ye Jiujiu clarified.
The little mermaid nodded. "The nest can't turn into water."
"…You actually know quite a lot." Ye Jiujiu rubbed her temples. What was she supposed to do now? She couldn't send her back. But she couldn't just keep a mermaid either. Was she supposed to hand her over to the government? Or raise her secretly?
Wait—was illegally keeping a mermaid… illegal?
She grabbed her phone and searched. The first result:
"Mermaid Care Guide — JJ Literature City."
"…"
She turned off her phone in silence.
Of course no one believed mermaids were real.
"What do you think we should do now?" she asked helplessly.
The little mermaid tilted her head, thought seriously for two seconds, then brightened.
"I want to eat chicken nuggets!"
"You still want chicken nuggets? Aren't you afraid I'll hand you over?" Ye Jiujiu wrapped her in a towel, dried her off, and carried her back to the room. Thankfully she had bought extra clothes yesterday, otherwise the little mermaid would be streaking around the yard.
Nestled in Ye Jiujiu's arms, the little mermaid rubbed her cheek affectionately against her neck, showing a soft dependence. She'd only met Ye Jiujiu a few times, but she already knew this human was good.
Ye Jiujiu wiped her dry and dressed her. Once the tail dried, it slowly transformed into legs.
"That's amazing." Ye Jiujiu helped her into pants and shorts. "Do you want to sleep more? Or get up?"
"I'm not sleepy. Let's get candy."
"Okay."
They headed to the kitchen. Dawn had already brightened the sky. The cool morning breeze and warm sunrise lit up both their fair faces, clean and radiant.
Ye Jiujiu opened the fridge and began counting seafood.
"Today's haul is amazing. Everything's fresh! And there's way more than usual. Good thing I didn't put the shelves back in—otherwise it wouldn't fit."
There was a half-meter blue-spotted mackerel—the one the little mermaid had brought. It wasn't huge compared to the meter-long ones in Haicheng, but rare enough in Lucheng.
The small red fish previously sitting on her head weighed about five or six pounds—soft, tender tofu fish, also known as dragon head fish, dog mother fish, or nine-belly fish.
There were ten massive ivory clams, dozens of crabs, oysters, sea snails, shrimp, and small blood clams—nothing exotic, but all plentiful.
Not many types, but a lot of each. Today they were blessed with abundance!
Just as Ye Jiujiu was happily planning her menu, she turned around and saw the little mermaid fall headfirst into the bucket.
She hurried over. "How did you fall in—"
Before she could finish, she saw the girl biting into a soft, crimson tofu fish.
"It's raw! Spit it out! You can't just eat anything—you'll get sick!"
But instead of spitting it out, the little mermaid swallowed it whole like a pelican.
Ye Jiujiu pried her mouth open—only to see a row of sharp, tiny teeth.
"…."
Savage!
The little mermaid was a professional raw-fish assassin!
Within seconds she finished the whole tofu fish. She was about to grab another when she remembered her candy-buying human. She turned and shoved the fish toward Ye Jiujiu's mouth.
"Tsuh!"
Ye Jiujiu dodged. "I'm not eating that."
"Only if you're full, you won't starve," the little mermaid said earnestly.
"I'm not hungry." Ye Jiujiu put the fish back. "Humans don't eat raw seafood. We eat cooked food."
"Cooked?" The little mermaid blinked her bright azure eyes.
"Yes. Cooked fish tastes better." And safer—Ye Jiujiu wasn't letting her get parasites today. She sat the little mermaid on a stool. "Sit here. I'll make fish soup for lunch."
"But my belly is gurgling…"
"Then I'll buy you steamed dumplings."
She ordered xiaolongbao, ye'erba rice cakes, and soy milk from the shop at Lihua Lane. The owner delivered quickly.
She fed the little mermaid a ye'erba. "How is it?"
The little mermaid took a big bite. The fatty-and-lean pork belly filling burst with fragrant oil, balanced by the banana-leaf aroma.
"Delicious!" Her eyes sparkled—better than raw fish!
Ye Jiujiu tried one too—savory, refreshing, subtly fragrant.
"This xiaolongbao is also good." She fed her another.
"So delicious," the little mermaid exclaimed between slurps. "Why is there so much delicious food here? I love this place. I want to stay here forever!"
"You wish." Ye Jiujiu ruffled her soft hair. "Eat slowly. Drink soy milk."
While they ate, Ye Jiujiu preserved the seafood on ice and confirmed everything was still alive, then ordered vegetables from the shop.
There were many crabs today—wild, plump, irresistible. She decided to finally make the Chaoshan-style raw marinated crab she'd been craving. Soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, cilantro, ginger, garlic, Shaoxing wine, chili, sesame oil—simple but precise.
She scooped a little sauce to taste—
The little mermaid immediately hugged her leg. "I want some."
"You can't eat this."
"Yes." She looked betrayed.
"…Fine, just a little."
The moment it touched her tongue, her pretty face wrinkled like crumpled paper. She spit it out.
"Disgusting!"
"I told you." Ye Jiujiu handed her water. "Still dare to eat it?"
The marinade was salty and pungent—it wasn't meant to be eaten straight.
"I don't want it." The little mermaid sulked back to her stool and continued eating buns.
Ye Jiujiu washed the crabs, chopped them, soaked them in the marinade, covered the bowl, and left it in the fridge. They'd be ready by noon.
By 7 a.m., she had finished prepping. By 10 a.m., she was about to rest when Lele's mother called, asking if they were open.
"We're open. You can come anytime."
"Then we'll come at noon. What seafood is available today?"
"There are crabs, geoduck, mackerel, oysters, and some small fish."
"So much? We'll come early!"
"No need—just come by 11:30."
After hanging up, Ye Jiujiu rested for an hour, then decorated the tables with green branches and elegant tableware.
"Is it time to eat?" The little mermaid climbed onto a chair, nibbling corn, staring at her hopefully.
"…No. We need to make money first." Ye Jiujiu picked her up.