Has she seen a ghost?
Or did pulling an all-nighter make her brain short-circuit?
Why on earth was she hearing the sound of ocean waves… coming from the refrigerator?
Ye Jiujiu rubbed her ears hard to make sure she wasn't hallucinating, then slowly walked over. She hesitated for a couple of seconds before opening the refrigerator door—and immediately, a strong salty smell rushed out. At the same time, seawater streamed down from somewhere inside, carrying several clams patterned with brown rings.
Ye Jiujiu froze on the spot, unable to believe what she was seeing.
While she stood there stunned, the seawater continued leaking out. Panicking, she grabbed a handkerchief and tried to block the flow, but it was useless. Not knowing what else to do, she hurriedly unplugged the refrigerator, hoping the seawater might stop.
But even with the power off, the seawater kept gurgling out.
The clams kept bubbling up.
Ye Jiujiu was completely dumbfounded. How could seafood still appear after the power was cut? Did her refrigerator suddenly gain sentience?
Before she could process what was happening, she heard a rushing sound—like water pouring into a whirlpool—from inside the refrigerator. The seawater then swirled away and vanished, as if it had drained into a bottomless pit, leaving behind only some droplets and a pile of clams covered in mud and sand.
She quickly bent down to examine the interior, but there were no holes big enough for even a crab to crawl through. She ran to check behind the fridge—still nothing. It was as though the opening had appeared out of thin air and then disappeared just as mysteriously.
None of this made sense.
If not for the pile of fresh clams, she would've thought she was dreaming.
Looking at the clams still spitting out mud, she guessed that the crabs from earlier must have come from the same strange source. A little alarmed but also curious, she reached out and gently patted the refrigerator.
"Are you… a spirit?"
The refrigerator remained silent.
"When did you turn into one?" She eyed the half-new, half-old double-door appliance. It was a large-capacity fridge she bought for her grandmother a couple of years ago with her own part-time income. Grandma had never mentioned anything unusual about it.
And even after returning home to care for her grandmother, she'd never noticed a problem. Whatever was happening seemed to have started after that rare, all-night thunderstorm two days ago. Could the two be connected?
Ye Jiujiu stepped back uneasily. "You're not… dangerous, right?"
Silence.
She scratched her head, completely confused as to why seafood was appearing. But after thinking for a bit, she relaxed. The world was full of strange things anyway. And what harm could a refrigerator have? Maybe… it thought seafood was too expensive and wanted to help her out?
If you can't understand it, then just accept it.
After comforting herself, Ye Jiujiu gave the refrigerator another gentle pat. The thought of her fridge being able to connect to the sea made her strangely excited.
"You're pretty amazing. Besides crabs and clams… can you bring over other seafood too?"
Refrigerator: "..."
Did she accept this a little too quickly?
With her strong adaptability, Ye Jiujiu had already begun taking inventory of the clams. They were common hard clams, but much larger than normal—almost palm-sized—thick-shelled, glossy, and clearly fresh.
She counted carefully: fifty in total, over ten kilograms. Thinking about how plump they looked, she immediately started craving seafood. Recipes flashed through her mind: steamed clams with egg, clam and winter melon soup, spicy stir-fried clams, clam porridge… All easy and delicious.
But since it was already late, she reluctantly put the clams in the fridge for tomorrow.
Later, in her room, the excitement still hadn't faded. That night she dreamed she was standing on a clear, deep-blue sea. The water was so clean she could see colorful fish swimming beneath her feet.
As she wondered why she could stand on the water, her refrigerator suddenly appeared. The next second, it turned into a huge whirlpool, spewing out piles of seafood. Ye Jiujiu collected seafood all night long, endlessly excited.
After harvesting seafood in her dream, she woke up the next morning feeling refreshed. Seeing her reflection in the mirror, she blinked in surprise—her skin was radiant and fair, without any sign of a sleepless night.
"This is unreal…" She gently patted her smooth cheek. She had even worried she might break out after eating spicy crab, yet her skin looked better than usual.
She chalked it up to the fresh hometown environment and didn't think much more about it. After washing up, she went to open the refrigerator—only to find it completely empty.
Of course. Reality always did the opposite of dreams.
Her shoulders slumped. Seafood freedom was still far away.
Shaking off the disappointment, she took out the clams she had refrigerated. Each one looked thick and fresh even through the shell. She couldn't wait to taste them.
For breakfast, she decided to make something hearty. The kitchen only had eggs and a few vegetables from Grandma Liu: cucumbers and loofah. A simple steamed clam egg custard and smashed cucumbers would work perfectly.
She selected fifteen clams and scrubbed them clean. She blanched them in boiling water until the shells opened, then removed them quickly. Since the clams were big, she only kept part of the meat attached.
Next, she cracked five eggs into a bowl, whisked them, added warm water and salt, then strained the mixture into a sesame-oil-coated deep dish. After skimming the bubbles, she arranged the clams inside, sealed the dish with plastic wrap, and placed it into the steamer.
The house had a built-in steam oven she'd bought for her grandmother, though Grandma rarely used it.
While the dish steamed, she divided the remaining clams into two portions and delivered them to Grandma Liu and Grandma Zhang. The two elders had been very kind to Grandma before she passed away, so after confirming the seafood was safe, she happily shared some with them.
By the time she returned, the steamed eggs were done. Opening the steamer, a burst of fragrant steam washed over her. She stepped back, waited for the steam to fade, then lifted the dish out carefully.
Peeling off the plastic wrap released a rich egg aroma, warm and sweet. The surface of the custard was perfectly smooth—no bubbles at all, a sign of success.
Ye Jiujiu tapped it lightly with a spoon; it trembled like soft jelly. She scooped up a spoonful and tasted it. The texture was silky and tender, the timing perfect. The clam essence mixed beautifully with the egg, leaving a fresh aftertaste that wasn't greasy at all—only pleasantly savory.
"So good!" She was savoring her triumph when suddenly a loud knocking came from the front.
Rushing to the door, she found the chubby boy from yesterday clutching the doorknob, crying dramatically.
"I haven't eaten breakfast yet! I don't want to go to kindergarten!"
His mother, sweating and exhausted, kept pulling him. "Lele, eat breakfast at the kindergarten."
"There's nothing good there!" he wailed.
"Lele, they have bread, shumai, steamed buns, the porridge you like—everything's there!"