"Ah Hai, Shuangzi, you two come here for a second, I need your help. I'm looking for something over here!"
Bai Yu was extremely curious about the creature that had just ambushed him, and he was determined to find it today!
"Brother Yu, there's no need to get bogged down in this. If we can't find it, let's look somewhere else. Maybe there's a big one waiting for us somewhere else!"
Lu Sheng was very puzzled by Bai Yu's decision to call Wang Hai and the other man over for help.
In his opinion, this was completely unnecessary. After all, based on what Bai Yu had just said, the thing that hit his plastic bucket was most likely a sea fish.
This guy probably popped out of some rocky crater, but now we don't know where he's gone.
A sea fish, and one that had washed up on the rocky beach, meant that it couldn't be very big, otherwise the two of them would have found it long ago.
A small sea fish is bound to have limited value, so there's no need to call Wang Hai and his companion over, as it would delay their time for beachcombing.
"No, no, no, Ah Sheng, I have a feeling we have to find this guy today, or we'll definitely regret it. This guy's breed will definitely be beyond our imagination."
If you were to ask Bai Yu if there was any evidence to support his claim, the answer would be no. It was purely an intuition, an intuition that comes from someone who goes beachcombing.
Soon Wang Hai and Li Shuang arrived, and Bai Yu explained the situation to them, instructing them to focus their search in the nearby rocky pits for objects that were similar in color to the rocks.
That guy couldn't have gone far, since the reef they were on was quite a distance from the sea. The fact that they haven't found it must be because its camouflage was too good.
For example, its own color is similar to that of the reef, making it difficult for people to notice its existence.
Sure enough, after Bai Yu and the others changed their search strategy and increased their manpower, they soon made a new discovery, and the person who made the discovery was none other than Li Shuang, who had been called over by Bai Yu to help!
"Brother Yu, come quick! I've found something good. See if it's the guy who attacked you!"
"Here it comes! Where is it? Where's the good stuff?"
Upon hearing Li Shuang's voice, Bai Yu immediately rushed over.
They weren't searching a wide area, and he quickly came over. Then, following the direction Li Shuang was pointing, he actually found something in a crevice in the rocks.
This is a creature whose body color is about 80% similar to the reef, covered in spots. It seems to have sensed the approaching danger and is hiding motionless on the reef peak.
"Pearl spots? No, that doesn't seem quite right. The spots on pearly white skin aren't this distinct. Could it be rat spots?"
When Bai Yu saw this creature, he began to analyze its species based on its appearance. Coincidentally, Li Shuang overheard his words.
“Brother Yu, stop guessing. This guy is a grouper. I just ate one during the Chinese New Year. It looks exactly like this one, but the one I ate was farmed, while this one is wild.”
"Is it really a grouper? I heard these things are really expensive, and we just happened to find one while we were beachcombing? Shuangzi, you found this guy, you catch it, this grouper is yours."
After receiving confirmation from Li Shuang, Bai Yu looked at the guy with considerable emotion.
Although it's uncertain whether this grouper was the same one that bumped into his bucket, there's no denying that this fish is indeed a top-quality seafood, the very pinnacle of high-end seafood.
As for who owns this grouper, it naturally belongs to whoever finds it. Although Li Shuang was called over by Bai Yu, Bai Yu had never mentioned that there was a grouper here before Li Shuang went looking for fish.
Besides, it's just a spotted rat. Even if it's very valuable and extremely rare, Bai Yu doesn't see it as anything special.
If it weren't for a bold guy bumping into his bucket and making him unhappy, this spotted rat might not have been caught.
Bai Yu could only sigh and say: "It's all about timing and fate."
"Brother Yu, this isn't really appropriate. I'm here to help you, after all. Why don't you catch this rat yourself? It's better if you keep it."
"Alright, enough nonsense. Can't you see this guy is terrified? Just give it a quick death."
"Shuangzi, if you feel embarrassed, then after we're done beachcombing, let's sell this grouper. We'll treat everyone to dinner tonight with the money—how about we go out for a nice meal?"
“Brother Yu, it’s nice to have a meal, but don’t forget we still have a competition. If you lose, you’ll owe us a meal. This is different from the meal with Rat Spot.”
"I know, you're talking like you two can win. Now it's just Lu Sheng left, and he's almost at his limit. You two should probably run with me."
While Bai Yu and Li Shuang were chatting, their hands never stopped moving.
Li Shuang took out his crab tongs and clamped them down on the spotted rat.
Although it hid in a very good spot—a narrow crevice in the rocks—this terrain also limited its escape routes.
Faced with Li Shuang's outstretched crab-catching pincers, the spotted rat had no room to hide. It didn't even have a chance to turn over before Li Shuang grabbed it with one pincer and lifted it up by its dorsal fin.
As the rat-shaped grouper left the crevice in the reef, Bai Yu and the others were able to see its specific appearance. The biggest difference between the rat-shaped grouper and the pearl grouper is probably the appearance of the rat-shaped grouper's head.
Just like its name suggests, its head does resemble a mouse, and it is smaller and more pointed than that of a typical grouper. Its back is also high and hunched, making it look like it has a hunchback.
Its scientific name is *Pleurotus ostreatus*, and it belongs to the genus *Pleurotus* in the family Serranidae.
The rat-like creature that Li Shuang caught was quite large. It hadn't been very noticeable in the crevice of the reef, but as it was pulled out, its exact size was revealed to Bai Yu and the others.
This creature is about 40 centimeters long from head to tail. Apart from its particularly small head, its body gives the impression of being chubby.
How can I describe this feeling? It's like this guy's head and body are fused together, giving people a very disharmonious feeling.
"Shuangzi, take a feel for it, how much does this spotted rat weigh?"
Bai Yu looked at the spotted rat in Li Shuang's hand and asked.
The larger this high-end seafood is, the higher its price.
Unlike freshwater fish, the larger the sea fish, the tougher and less delicious the meat becomes. On the contrary, the larger the sea fish, the better the quality of the meat, and the higher the price.
This is especially evident in high-end seafood, such as tuna, grouper, red snapper, and longtail snapper.
The rat-like creature in Li Shuang's hand was quite heavy, measuring over forty centimeters in length and weighing about two kilograms.
Two pounds may not seem like much, but for a spotted mouse that weighs only seven or eight pounds at its largest, two pounds is quite a good size.
To take good care of the rat-like creature, Li Shuang emptied all the conch, crabs, and other things from his bucket, then put everything that could be put into a net bag, and put the rest into Bai Yu's bucket.
After all, there's a difference in value between live and dead fish, and such high-end items must be well protected.
Bai Yu and the others then resumed their search. Half an hour later, Lu Sheng finally couldn't take it anymore and sat down on the rocks to rest.
"Ah Sheng, your physical condition is pretty good. You've been going beachcombing for almost two hours, and you finally couldn't take it anymore. If you don't give up soon, I'm about to collapse too!"
Lu Sheng couldn't take it anymore and sat down on the reef, and Bai Yu sat down next to him as well.
"Wow, wow wow, Brother Yu, you're really something! Just to save money on a meal, you had to go to such lengths!"
"You're just treating us to one meal, but Shuangzi and I won't be able to sleep in for the next six months! Can't you be a little more considerate of us?!"
Lu Sheng plopped down on the rocks, panting heavily as he looked at Bai Yu beside him.
"Ah Sheng, I can treat you to this meal, but you all have to run this run too!"
How about this? Since you've already lost, let's have that rat-spotted fish for dinner tonight, and I'll treat you to three more meals.
However, you can't just eat whatever you want for these three meals; I'll choose. You'll eat whatever I treat you to. Is that alright?
"Yes, yes, absolutely! Brother Yu, how about we call it a day for now, or maybe we should go sell the seafood in the buckets, we really can't carry any more!"
After receiving Bai Yu's promise of three meals a day, Lu Sheng's previously listless expression instantly brightened, and he looked much better.
Then they each carried their own plastic buckets and walked towards the shore.
In fact, Bai Yu's plastic bucket was already full, since it contained not only his own spoils but also some of Li Shuang's spoils.
If it weren't for the need to settle the score with Li Shuang, he would have already wanted to send the harvest in the bucket to the purchasing station to sell.
A few minutes later, the four of them rode their electric bikes to the recycling station and processed their catch.
As for the spotted rat, after inquiring about the price at the purchasing station, Bai Yu and his companions sold it.
Wild ones are really valuable. The price offered by the purchasing station is 400 yuan per kilogram. And that's just the price from the purchasing station. If it changes hands several times and ends up on the market, the price will be ridiculously high. Is this something that ordinary people can afford?
However, this has nothing to do with Bai Yu and his group anymore. Anyway, they have already sold the grouper. The fish weighed 2.7 jin and sold for a total of 1,080 yuan.
.................
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