Li Xiangdong walked quickly to the side of the boat and was momentarily stunned as he watched the large shrimp leaping out of the water against the waves.

"So many shrimp?"

Seeing Li Xiangdong's dumbfounded expression, the others did not laugh at him. Clearly, they had never seen such a spectacle before!

Professor Liu's students, Professor Liu himself, and even the crew members on board were all filled with surprise and disbelief.

"Old Chen, have we encountered a migration of red-legged shrimp?"

Professor Liu pushed up his slipped-down glasses and excitedly asked the boat captain, Chen Jihuo.

This boat belongs to the Pengcheng Fisheries Research Institute. The captain is an employee of the institute and also an excellent fisherman.

Before being incorporated into the Fisheries Research Institute, Chen Jihuo had spent many years making a living at sea and had extensive experience at sea.

His face was deeply lined and tanned dark, and he rarely smiled. But now, looking at the sea ablaze with red, he was grinning from ear to ear.

"These are wild red-legged shrimp! Quick, catch them!"

The boat was equipped with fishing nets, and all the crew members were waiting for Chen Jihuo to give the order!

Except for one person watching at the helm, everyone else was out catching shrimp.

Li Guoqing was lying on the bed in a daze when he suddenly felt the ship sway at a great angle. He didn't know it was caused by the nets being set, which startled him. He quickly struggled to his feet and went out of the cabin to find Li Xiangdong.

"Second Brother—"

Upon hearing Li Guoqing's shout, Li Xiangdong hurriedly went over to help him up and told him about their encounter with the wild red-legged shrimp.

"We'll be able to eat red-legged shrimp soon! I've had these before; they're fresh, tender, and bouncy—absolutely delicious!"

Li Guoqing had never seen such a shocking scene before. He didn't know if it was the seasickness medicine working, but for a moment he didn't feel uncomfortable anymore and watched the crew catch shrimp with great interest.

The fishing net was lowered, but it would take some time to haul it in. During this time, some people couldn't wait any longer, so they started casting a floating net along the stern of the boat. As soon as the net was lowered, they saw swarms of red-legged shrimp stuck to it!

Just then, Li Xiangdong and his group noticed a boat fishing for shrimp in the distance, indicating that fishermen working nearby had also discovered the spectacle.

Everyone was overjoyed as they scooped up shrimp. The first few nets of shrimp they caught were already being sent to the kitchen to be eaten fresh – that's what seafood should be like!

Li Guoqing fished a lively red-legged shrimp out of the bucket. It was dark red all over with obvious white stripes on its body, and it was more than 30 centimeters long!

"Second brother, this shrimp is heavier than the giant freshwater prawn! It must weigh over a pound!"

This is how big the red-legged prawns are; they can't fit in a whole pot, but one is enough to fill you up!

Crew member Xiao Sheng cleaned the red-legged shrimp and cut it open from the back. Inside the snow-white shrimp meat, there were two black lines. The upper one was lighter in color and wider, while the lower one was darker in color and lighter in color.

Xiao Sheng skillfully picked out the dark-colored narrow lines at the bottom, leaving the light-colored wide lines intact. "What I picked out is the shrimp vein, and this is the shrimp roe. It's delicious."

Li Guoqing nodded. He was very interested in cooking, so he stayed to help Xiaosheng cook, while Li Xiangdong wandered up to the deck to watch the shrimp catching.

The red-legged shrimp were so concentrated on the sea surface that there was no need to wait several hours to haul in the nets. Soon, Chen Jihu shouted, "Get ready to haul in the nets!"

The crew members worked together seamlessly, each performing their assigned tasks. Some went to the control panel to operate the machinery, while others attached the traction steel to the winch. As the winch slowly turned, the fishing net was pulled up. Everyone cheered as they looked at the bulging net, which resembled a red ball.

Soon, Chen Jihuo personally untied the rope from the fishing net, and then, like a rain of shrimp, countless red-legged shrimp fell onto the deck with a continuous "splashing" sound.

"My goodness, there are so many! I've never seen so many red-legged shrimp before!"

"We've struck it rich!"

"What a bumper harvest! We were so lucky this time! Luckily we set sail a few days later, or we wouldn't have encountered this place!"

Sometimes, the catch at sea is something you can only hope to get by chance.

Everyone was excited as they picked up the red-legged shrimp that had been shoved to the edge and threw them into the bucket.

Chen Jihuo looked at the several fishing boats approaching in the distance and shouted, "Righten the boat and prepare to cast the second net!"

More and more boats are coming to catch shrimp. If they don't hurry, these red-legged shrimp will probably be devoured very soon.

The boat swayed again as the trawl net was lowered into the sea. The boat maintained a steady, slow pace, and after a while, it could be hauled in the net a second time.

Professor Liu and his students also helped sort the fish caught on the deck, which were mostly red-legged shrimp, but also mixed with some small fish and crabs.

Professor Liu picked out a fish that looked like a mackerel, with a pointed head and legs, a black back, a snow-white belly, and a pale yellow tail fin. He said to the students around him, "This is a small mackerel, also called a jack mackerel. You can see that it has a keeled scale on each side that hasn't degenerated. Small mackerel are widely distributed and are produced in the coastal areas of our country. They are a very common economic fish. This fish is rich in oil and tastes very good. In Japan, small mackerel are often used to make sashimi. Of course, they are also very good when salt-baked."

Small mackerel

He tossed the small mackerel into the bucket, then picked up a fish that was entirely reddish-orange with yellow-green-blue fins on both sides, resembling a pair of large wings. "This is a greenfin fish, also called a green warbler. It has tender flesh and is distributed along the coast of my country, but its yield is not high. This type of fish has relatively few bones and can be braised or stewed."

Greenfin fish

Then he separated out a few plump ribbonfish. Li Xiangdong took the silvery-white ribbonfish, which shimmered with iridescent colors under the sunlight, and sent them into the kitchen, intending for Xiao Sheng to cook them immediately.

Once a ribbonfish dies, its taste deteriorates.

"Head east, bring these orchid crabs in too, and steam them all together!"

One of Professor Liu's students handed him a bucket containing seven or eight orchid crabs and three-eyed crabs that were blowing bubbles.

......

Today's lunch was especially plentiful, with steamed crab, mantis shrimp, red-legged shrimp, garlic red-legged shrimp, braised ribbonfish, radish stew with pufferfish, and unlimited brown rice!

The aroma of seafood wafted over, and the people who had been busy all day were already starving. They couldn't resist the smell of the food and dropped the red-legged shrimp they were holding to head straight for the dishes.

The crew on the ship, plus Professor Liu's team, totaled more than a dozen young men, each of whom was like an insatiable rice bucket, except for Chen Jihuo and Professor Liu who ate less.

Li Guoqing showed no signs of seasickness at all. He was eating with oil dripping from his mouth, a mountain of shrimp shells in front of him. He burped as he ate, "Second Brother, these shrimp are so delicious!"

Red-legged shrimp

Red-legged shrimp

Here's a picture of the Japanese raisin tree (Hovenia dulcis) that I posted earlier.

Additional image: Chinaberry seeds, usually used as slingshot ammunition, have now been discovered to be used to make bracelets.