The two-month summer vacation is about to end, and soon it will be time to return to school.
Zhao Lixia, who usually let her son fend for himself, suddenly became diligent again. Every meal turned from simple pickled vegetables to hearty dishes, wishing to fatten her son up by five pounds before he headed back to school.
Sweet and sour pork, sweet and sour fish, quick-fried shrimp with eel, pineapple chicken stir-fry... there was even a large platter of hairy crabs.
Unfortunately, it wasn't the best season for eating hairy crabs just yet.
"Nine female and ten male" is considered the best timing, meaning eating female crabs in the ninth lunar month and male crabs in the tenth. The crab roe and paste are at their most succulent and tasty during these times, offering peak flavor.
It's only the end of the seventh lunar month now, not even August.
No choice, her son was about to attend school and couldn't wait until September or October in the lunar calendar.
