A dozen minutes later, at the dock of the small fishing village.
The eldest uncle led them to a small boat that was over three meters long. This small boat belonged to the eldest uncle's family. Although the boat was not big, it could easily carry Bai Yu and the other two.
As for their destination this time, it was the mangrove forest not far from the pier.
Bai Yu's village is located in an inner bay. On either side of the bay's estuary, there are two mangrove forests. These two mangrove forests are not very large, but they are rich in resources.
If the villagers of a small fishing village are planning to set traps to catch crabs and lobsters nearby, these two mangrove forests are definitely the best choice.
However, due to the geographical limitations of these two mangrove forests, the only way for villagers to get here is by boat; walking here by land is out of the question.
If it weren't for his uncle's presence, it would have been impossible for him and Wang Hai to come to the mangrove forest, since neither of their families owned a boat, and without a boat, they couldn't have come here.
"You two sit tight, I'm about to set sail. If you feel unwell, just say so, and we'll get back as soon as possible."
"Don't worry, Uncle. This isn't our first time on a boat. It's nothing."
"You've got to come back to it, kid. I was worried about you. You drank at noon. If you're rocking on the boat, I'm afraid you'll throw up."
As he spoke, my uncle started the boat's engine, and with his help, the small boat slowly sailed out of the dock.
The small boat sailed on the sea. The fishing boats of all sizes that came and went were all from the small fishing village. Whenever they encountered Bai Yu and his group, they would inevitably greet each other.
Twenty minutes later, Bai Yu and his two companions arrived at a lush, green forest. The forest was very dense, with the trees forming a tightly packed canopy.
What's amazing is that this forest grows in the sea, and even now that it's low tide, the trunks of these trees are still submerged in the sea.
Even though this wasn't Bai Yu's first time here, she still felt a sense of wonder every time she came.
After all, seawater is salty. Ordinary plants, let alone growing in seawater, would be questionable if they were given seawater multiple times.
However, this mangrove forest contains not only trees but also shrubs. They not only grow in seawater but also play a role in preventing wind and waves and purifying seawater.
Looking at the mangrove forest in front of him, the eldest uncle steered the small boat into the forest.
Although there are no roads in the mangrove forest, for my uncle who drives the boat, there are roads everywhere.
There are gaps between these trees, and these gaps are very wide, wide enough for my uncle to drive his small boat through them.
"Xiao Yu, I'll be controlling the small boat in a bit. You and Xiao Hai will lower the crab traps. As soon as you see my boat stop, you two lower the crab traps to the trees on either side of the boat, and then tie a rope to the tree trunk to make a mark."
"Alright, Uncle, don't worry, we two brothers will definitely take care of this little thing perfectly."
Bai Yu readily agreed to her uncle's arrangement.
Then, after the eldest uncle stopped the small boat, he and Wang Hai each took a crab trap, set it up, and placed it on either side of the small boat.
Then they tied a white cloth strip to the trees on both sides. The purpose of tying the cloth strip was not only to mark the spot so that the uncle could remember where to set the net.
This strip of cloth is also telling people that the crab traps here belong to someone, and that if anyone comes to the mangrove forest again, they should not touch these traps.
After half an hour of work, Bai Yu and Wang Hai set fifty crab traps here. Don't be fooled by the number of traps.
Actually, the cages that my uncle prepared were not very big. Each one was only about half a meter in diameter. Compared to the cages that others used, which were one meter in diameter or eighty centimeters in diameter, the cages my uncle used were considered small.
After setting the crab traps, my uncle set two more gillnets around the perimeter of the mangrove forest. These two gillnets were quite large, each about 100 meters long.
Crab traps and similar items can usually be collected every two or three days, but gillnets are different. The gillnets that were set up this afternoon should ideally be collected by my uncle tomorrow morning.
Otherwise, if it takes too long, even if the gillnet catches fish and shrimp, they will drown.
You read that right, you will drown.
"Alright, Xiaoyu, I've finished all my work here. Do you and Xiaohai have anywhere else to go? Should we go back to the dock, or should I take you to see the islands and reefs?"
The crab traps and gillnets have all been set. Only a little over an hour has passed since we left the dock, and it's only a little past three o'clock now.
"Uncle, why don't you take us to the reef? It's low tide now, let's stroll around there, maybe we can catch something good."
“Yes, Uncle, we’ve finally come out of town, it wouldn’t be right not to go to the islands and reefs. Uncle, let me tell you, the tigerfish that my brother Yu brought to our house yesterday was delicious. Let’s go to the islands and reefs now, and if we can catch a few more tigerfish, we’ll let you have some too.”
"Tigerfish? I've had it. I just had it for lunch today. It's really delicious."
Since Bai Yu and Wang Hai both said so, the eldest uncle listened to their opinions and turned the boat around to head towards the reef.
Although my uncle is a sailor, he also knows how to go beachcombing. Now, taking a trip to the islands and reefs is quite a good idea.
Speaking of islands and reefs, there are quite a few in the sea area in front of the small fishing village; there are three islands and reefs in this inner bay alone.
Beyond this inner bay, there are even more islands and reefs nearby, scattered like stars across the sea, everywhere you look.
The reef that Bai Yu was referring to was not a small island, but a rocky outcrop completely devoid of vegetation and surrounded by seawater.
Normally, only a small portion of these islands and reefs are visible above the sea, but when the tide recedes, the rocks beneath are exposed.
Before long, my uncle sailed his small boat to a reef. The reef was very large, with the highest of the rocks protruding from the sea being more than three meters high.
"Xiaoyu, let's take this one. This should be the largest island in our inner bay. Let's wander around here."
“Okay, Uncle, move the boat over here. I see something over there, it looks like barnacles.”
"Brother Yu, are you talking about that Buddha's Hand snail?"
"Buddha's hand snail? Where are there Buddha's hand snails? Xiao Yu, Xiao Hai, you two point me in the right direction, let's go over there."
Bai Yu saw the barnacles, and Wang Hai recognized them as goose barnacles, but the one who was most excited was his uncle.
Bai Yu and Wang Hai only knew that the Buddha's Hand Snail was a plant, but they didn't know much about its value.
But my uncle was different. Although he didn't see any barnacles or basil, he was very knowledgeable about the value of basil.
This bergamot snail is known as a delicacy from hell. In some places, it is called the devil's claw snail because it looks remarkably like a devil's claw.
It looks particularly disgusting and evil.
However, you can't judge a book by its cover when it comes to marine life. Take the tigerfish, for example. It is quite ugly, but that doesn't stop it from being a high-end seafood. Both its taste and nutritional value make it a top-tier seafood.
Similarly, the bergamot snail, which has a very evil and disgusting appearance, is also like that.
Fresh basil is delicious and sweet even without complicated processing; it can be simply boiled.
In addition, this stuff is also very nutritious and has many health benefits, including strengthening the spleen and stomach, tonifying the kidneys and enhancing male virility, and beautifying the skin.
The two effects of tonifying the kidneys and enhancing male virility, as well as beautifying the skin, are enough to be suitable for all people. After all, men need to tonify their kidneys and enhance male virility, while women need to beautify their skin.
That's why, whenever a Buddha's Hand snail appears on the market, it's sure to be bought up immediately.
As for its price, it will be at least seventy or eighty yuan. If the Buddha's Hand snail is larger, the price can easily reach over one hundred yuan.
Guided by Bai Yu, the uncle steered the small boat to the west side of the reef, where a very high rock jutted out and hung in the air above the sea.
"Wow, these basil snails are growing in such a weird spot. If we didn't have a boat, even if we found these basil snails, we wouldn't know what to do with them."
Bai Yu looked up at the Buddha's Hand snails above her head. These things were growing quite well; they were everywhere on the rocks above her head, growing in dense clusters.
That's right, they had to look up. These basil shells grew under this reef, and since the reef was so high, Bai Yu and the other two could only look up at them.
For Bai Yu and his two companions, there is both good news and bad news.
The good news is that although these goose barnacles are above their heads, they can still reach them by reaching out.
The bad news is that the tide is still receding. They can still reach them now, but maybe in half an hour they won't be able to reach these cowrie shells anymore.
Furthermore, they did not bring any tools for harvesting barnacles on this voyage, so it would be a very troublesome task for them to pick these barnacles.
...............
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