Chapter 252: Seaside Barbecue
Vivian Lowell looked at the shattered Clam King and sighed.
It was crushed so badly that she figured it was no longer edible.
"It’s all right."
Mr. Drake stood beside Vivian, as kindly as ever. "Since we can’t eat it, we can just leave it on the beach for the seabirds.
"I saw some seagulls flying by earlier. They must have noticed the low tide and come looking for buried sea creatures to eat."
Seabirds?
Vivian looked around. Sure enough, not too far out over the ocean, birds were swooping down. They skimmed the surface, their beaks dipping into the water.
She wondered if they had caught any small fish.
Birds did indeed hunt like this. Coastal seabirds would often prey on sea creatures buried in the sand. Vivian had seen similar scenes in beach-combing videos before.
Someone would spot a scallop washing in from afar and get excited, only to find the shell broken; upon prying it open, they’d discover the meat had been largely pecked away by birds.
And those stranded fish almost always ended up in a seabird’s stomach.
"Then I’ll leave it here."
Looking pitiful, Vivian tossed the Clam King she had accidentally crushed into the water. Seeing that high tide was approaching, she turned to Mr. Drake. "It’s getting late, Mr. Drake. Let’s head back."
"Mm, all right."
Mr. Drake nodded in agreement. He picked up his bucket and started walking back with Vivian. On the way, he remarked, "It’s still a bit of a pity. Domestic efforts in marine environmental protection started a little late.
"When I used to live in Brettony, I could find quite a few lobsters while beach-combing. They’re much rarer here. But finding an eel today is already pretty good.
"Vivian, I remember you like eating eel, don’t you?"
Vivian’s heart skipped a beat at his words.
She didn’t know why, but she always felt a sense of doting in Mr. Drake’s tone when he spoke to her, much like a kindly elder spoiling his own granddaughter.
Grandma Faulkner also frequently spoke to her in this gentle tone!
It made Vivian feel warm and incredibly comforted.
"Yes, I do. Mr. Drake, you’re amazing," Vivian praised him.
As they chatted, they happened to run into Julian Faulkner, who was walking over from the direction of the speedboat.
It seemed Julian had come out looking for her.
𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞
The moment he saw Vivian, a relaxed expression crossed his face. He walked over to help Mr. Drake carry his things, taking a glance at Vivian’s bucket along the way.
"Quite a haul," Julian complimented her.
His gaze swept over the eel in Mr. Drake’s bucket, and he frowned slightly. "I found an eel too.
"My luck just wasn’t as good as Mr. Drake’s; mine is a bit smaller. But Vivian, if you like eating it, I can have Vance Wyatt go buy some more."
"There’s no need!"
Vivian quickly shook her head. "One eel is already huge. There’s a lot of us, but we can just have a little bit each. Besides, we caught a lot today, so there’s plenty of food!
"I don’t think we need to buy any more. It’s just that I’m so hungry right now, and it’ll take us two hours to get back!"
"It won’t."
Julian shook his head and explained, "It only takes an hour to get from here to the nearest pier. It’s just that it isn’t very close to where we’re staying.
"That’s why we departed from our accommodation this morning. Since you’re hungry, we’ll head to the nearby pier first and find a beach to have our barbecue.
"It will still take some time to prep the ingredients, though. Vivian, if you’re hungry, there are some pastries on the boat—the Aethelburg-style ones you like."
She couldn’t believe Julian was considerate enough to bring pastries on the boat!
Although all Vivian could think about right now was the barbecue, since he had offered, she figured she might as well have a little something to tide herself over.
The group soon returned to the boat. Vivian noticed that Eleanor Rhodes had already made it back, and surprisingly, her bucket was quite full as well.
"Eleanor, you’re amazing! You got even more than I did!" Vivian was astonished.
She had assumed that given Eleanor’s somewhat careless personality, she would easily overlook the finer details. She never expected Eleanor to come back with a bucket almost brimming with oysters.
"Hehe."
Eleanor chuckled. "I ran into Mr. Drake right after I set out. He taught me a trick, so I managed to find a whole bunch of oysters.
"It’s just that I accidentally took a tumble later on, so I had to come back early. You’re really impressive too, Vivian!"
"You fell? Is it serious? Where did you get hurt? Does it still hurt?" Upon hearing this, Vivian abandoned all other thoughts and immediately wanted to inspect Eleanor’s injuries.
Eleanor quickly shook her head, explaining that she wasn’t badly hurt. She had merely twisted her ankle. It hurt a bit at first, but it was basically fine now.
She had been back for a while. Seeing the midday sun growing stronger and fearing heatstroke, she had chosen to stay on the boat.
"As long as you’re all right."
Vivian breathed a sigh of relief. Before long, Finn and Vance Wyatt returned as well. Their haul was quite standard—about the same quantity as Vivian and Eleanor’s, though with a wider variety of catches.
They had a little bit of everything: littleneck clams, Cat’s Eye Snails, oysters, mussels, and Clams. It seemed they were definitely going to enjoy a wonderful feast for lunch today.
The idea was beautiful. The reality, however, was a different story.
Even though it only took Vivian and the others an hour to return from the island to the shore, and the reception team Julian had arranged arrived promptly, prepping the ingredients still took a very long time.
By the time Vivian finally got to eat her grilled oysters, it was already three o’clock in the afternoon.
Thank goodness she had eaten some pastries beforehand, or her stomach would have been grumbling in protest.
At the beach.
A gentle sea breeze blew. Sitting under a sunshade, Vivian took a bite of a grilled oyster followed by a sip of coconut water. Looking out at the sparkling ocean and the people swimming in the distance, she suddenly felt as joyful as a deity.
Days like this were truly wonderful.
Vivian devoured the grilled oysters one by one. They were incredibly fresh, bursting with sweet, savory juices with every bite. After eating several in a row, she couldn’t resist grabbing a few for Julian as well.
"Eat up, they’re very nourishing. Have you ever noticed, Julian, that those little street stalls selling grilled oysters always stick a slogan on the front of their stands?"
Looking a bit bewildered, Julian glanced over at the grilled oyster street stall Vivian was pointing at.
The slogan was highly conspicuous, printed right on the stall’s cart. It read: "A Gas Station for Men, A Beauty Salon for Women." It was incredibly eye-catching.
A gas station?
Julian understood instantly. Looking back at her with an amused glint in his eyes, he asked, "So you think I should eat more to properly nourish myself?
"Hmm? In that case, Vivian, shouldn’t you be eating more too?"
Vivian didn’t get it. "Isn’t it a gas station for men?" she asked in return. "You just need to eat more. I’m already beautiful enough; I don’t need to eat that much!
"The only reason I like them is because grilled oysters are genuinely delicious!"
Julian sighed and suddenly turned serious. "It’s no use if I’m the only one eating them. If I eat so much that I get too hot and can’t sleep at night, then..."
Julian’s gaze was incredibly deep. As he looked at her with a smile, Vivian instantly understood.
This guy! She had teased him about his "stamina," and he had immediately turned it around to tease her about hers!
"Hmph."
Vivian let out a soft snort. "I don’t care. Either way, oysters are nourishing, so there’s nothing wrong with eating them. I’m hungry, I’m eating first."
"All right," Julian replied gently.
Just then, Eleanor’s voice chimed in from the side.
Compared to eating barbecue, Eleanor seemed to prefer doing the barbecuing. In her own words, she had loved playing with fire ever since she was a little girl.
Back when she was young and her family’s financial situation wasn’t as good, she loved playing with honeycomb coal briquettes.
Before Aethelburg had centralized heating, when families still had to burn coal in their heated brick beds during the winter, she loved helping the adults stoke the fire. While she was at it, she would toss other things inside.
Things like potatoes and sweet potatoes—it was extraordinarily fun!
However, those memories were from a long time ago. The Rhodes Family had quickly risen in wealth, and Aethelburg had developed rapidly. Eventually, everyone had radiators, and she no longer had the chance to tend a fire!
Eleanor was extremely bummed out about this!
Right now, she was making tin-foil grilled littleneck clams. She had been squatting by the grill keeping watch for quite a while. Seeing that they were finally done and remembering that Vivian loved them, she came over to call her.
"Vivian, the grilled clams are ready!"
"Got it, I’ll be right there!"
As Vivian answered, Finn, who was eating grilled eel, chimed in, "Oh, I want some too! Miss Rhodes, is there any left?"
"I told you not to call me Miss Rhodes! Finn, just call me Eleanor, like Vivian does! Miss Rhodes is way too formal!"
"All right then, Eleanor!"
"That’s a good girl!"
By the seaside, the group laughed and joked as they ate, thoroughly enjoying the relaxing atmosphere. Julian ate while keeping his gaze fixed on Vivian, and Vance Wyatt constantly stole glances at Finn.
Only Mr. Drake seemed completely tranquil. He sat in a beach chair, staring off into the distance with a profound look in his eyes and a smile playing on his lips, lost in his own thoughts.
Taking in this scene, Vivian felt it was incredibly beautiful.
She figured everyone must be feeling incredibly happy right now.
That was enough.
This was how life should be. You never knew which would come first—tomorrow or an accident. Given that, the best thing to do was to live every day to the fullest.
The time she, Julian, and Eleanor spent in Cyrina was also drawing to a close. Once they returned to Aethelburg, there would be plenty of things to keep them busy again.
They naturally had to make the most of this final stretch of joy.
That day, they stayed on the beach until the sun went down. After watching the seaside sunset together once more, the group finally got in the car and headed back to the hotel.
Meanwhile, back at the hotel, Joy Drake had been frantically searching for Mr. Drake!