Resuming his beachcombing routine, Bai Yu chose a direction, grabbed his crab-catching tongs, and got to work.
After taking only two steps, Bai Yu made a discovery in a crevice in the reef: a blue crab. Although it was hiding in a very well concealed place, the fact that one of its crab legs was sticking out still gave it away.
The orchid crab gets its name from the orchid-like color on its body. This color is exceptionally eye-catching in the crevices of the reef, making it hard for Bai Yu to miss.
Bai Yu immediately inserted his crab-catching pincers into the gap when he saw the orchid crab with its legs sticking out. He clamped the crab in one go and no matter how much it struggled or how its eight legs thrashed about, it could not escape the control of the pincers.
Three seconds later, the orchid crab appeared in Bai Yu's bucket.
Orchid Crab +1
"Huh? Buy one get one free? Could this be the kind of unwavering love in the animal kingdom?"
Just as Bai Yu was about to move on to another place after accepting the crabs, he glanced at the crack again out of habit, and then he saw a magical scene.
Another orchid crab crawled out of the crevice in the reef. This guy scrambled straight towards Bai Yu and then waved his two big pincers at Bai Yu in a show of force.
Judging from the expression of this orchid crab, it seems to want Bai Yu to release the previous one so that the two of them can be reunited.
As someone who understands crabs well, Bai Yu naturally had to fulfill this guy's request.
However, instead of letting them reunite, we let them reunite in the bucket.
The scene that followed was too cruel. Bai Yu stretched out his crab-catching pincers and grabbed the crab. Then he took out a cable tie from his pocket and tied up the crab's waving pincers before putting it into the bucket.
Bai Yu treated the crab already in the bucket the same way, tying up its claws as well, because he was afraid the two of them would fight if he didn't.
Now everything is perfectly resolved. The two orchid crabs are reunited, and Bai Yu has also reaped his rewards. Everything is fine.
Perfect!
After carefully collecting the two crabs, Bai Yu continued to use the crab tongs to search the rocks.
To be honest, the resources here are really abundant. Perhaps it's been too long since anyone has come here to go beachcombing, because you can find something to eat every few steps.
The catch might be crabs, conch, or scallops, but the probability of finding lobsters is rather small; Bai Yu didn't find any.
Although we didn't find any lobsters, we did find quite a few sea urchins, which are really good stuff.
Despite its thorny body and lack of meat, it's quite troublesome to eat.
However, despite being a marine creature that seems to have only flaws and no advantages, sea urchins are not cheap at all; in fact, many kinds of seafood on the market are not as expensive as sea urchins.
As for whether sea urchins are considered high-end or low-end seafood, it mainly depends on regional demand. Some places consider them high-end seafood, while others consider them low-end seafood.
Regardless, this stuff is quite expensive, costing several tens of yuan per kilogram. When the market is good, sea urchins are even sold individually.
Bai Yu readily accepted all of these thorny creatures, though he wasn't particularly interested in them; what he was interested in was money.
An hour later, Bai Yu found Liu Tianyu carrying more than half a bucket of his harvest.
"Cousin, the tide has gone out pretty much now. Ah Hai and I are going to go pick basil. Do you want to come with us?"
Bai Yu hasn't forgotten about the basil snails he found yesterday; he keeps them in mind at all times.
"Calamari? You guys go ahead, I won't go. There's enough here for me to collect."
As Liu Tianyu spoke, he picked up another large conch shell from a crevice in the rocks and said he wouldn't go without even turning his head.
Bai Yu didn't say much about it, but turned around and went to find Wang Hai, and together they came to the small boat.
After pushing the small boat out to sea, the first thing Bai Yu did upon boarding was to check the barracudas in the fish hold to see if they were dead or alive.
Fortunately, although these guys were exhausted, they still managed to hold on for a little while longer.
Then, under Bai Yu's control, their small boat swayed gently towards the reef.
Although Bai Yu's driving skills weren't great, thankfully, the two of them successfully reached their destination.
After more than an hour of receding tide, the reefs that were originally underwater came to the surface, about one meter above the sea level.
The height isn't too high, but it's good enough that Bai Yu and Wang Hai can reach the Buddha's Hand snails while sitting on the boat.
"Ah Hai, keep your head up. I'll steer the small boat under the reef, and we'll go down there to collect tamarisk shells."
"No problem, Brother Yu, you do your thing, I definitely won't bump into anything."
As soon as Bai Yu finished speaking, Wang Hai immediately sat down at the bottom of the cabin, trying to lower himself as much as possible.
To be honest, these basil snails found a really good spot; they grew at the bottom of this reef.
Even when the tide recedes and they are far from the seawater, they are sheltered from the wind and sun, and predators cannot find them.
Upon arriving at the foot of the reef, Bai Yu and Wang Hai immediately got to work, each using a small iron pickaxe to pry up the basil.
The pickaxe they were using had a small metal tool at the back, which was perfect for prying things off. They used it against the base of the basil snail and with a little force, they pried the snail off.
Bai Yu and Wang Hai were very well prepared to get their hands on these cowrie shells today.
In addition to the small pickaxe, the two of them also prepared a pair of goggles and wore masks to prevent dust from getting into their eyes and mouths when prying open the tamarisk shells.
They bought the masks at a pharmacy, and got the goggles from Bai Yu's second uncle, who runs a repair shop. His uncle had welding goggles, and Bai Yu took two to use first.
"Brother Yu, it's so easy to pry open the golden apple snails like this. I've already gotten several pounds in just a short time. It won't be long before we've finished all the golden apple snails in this area."
"It was really easy. Apart from a slight neck ache from looking up, there were no other problems."
Twenty minutes later, a layer of basil was laid out at the bottom of the cabin, and Bai Yu and Wang Hai sat directly in the pile of basil.
As for the tops of their heads, there were still a few basil shells left. However, the remaining basil shells were not only small in size, but also skinny and looked like they hadn't grown up and were not fully developed.
These days, the proper way to conduct oneself is to leave room for maneuver in all things, so that you can meet again in the future.
The same applies to beachcombing. Leave some roots for this nest of basil, and when they come back in the future, the basil may have grown into a whole patch again.
Bai Yu and his companion had no time to deal with the tuna in the cabin. Instead, they sailed back to the shore and continued their beachcombing.
Although this reef is not very large, it can take quite a bit of time to go beachcombing on it.
After all, reefs are different from beaches. Beaches, whether sandy or mudflats, are flat and you can see the end of them at a glance.
If there is seafood on it, it's either on the surface or in the sand and mudflats.
But the reefs are no good; when they go beachcombing on them, the seafood always ends up in some unexpected places.
For example, in rock crevices, under reefs, or in places where the color is similar to the reef and you can't see them unless you look closely.
So even though this reef isn't very big, after more than an hour, the three of them haven't even searched half of it. Even if they were given another hour, they still wouldn't be able to search it all.
At 4:30 pm, Bai Yu and the other two gathered near the small boat.
"Xiaoyu, shouldn't we go back now? There's no point in staying here any longer. Let's come back another day."
Cousin Liu Tianyu looked at the cabin of the small boat, then at the catch in their respective buckets, and said.
“Let’s go back. Not only are our buckets full, but our cabins are full too. What’s the point of staying here if we don’t go back?”
"Cousin, is it okay to put so much stuff on this little boat? We don't want it to sink on the way back. Losing all this seafood isn't the biggest problem, but it would be fun to see us all floating in the sea."
"It's okay, it's not a big problem. It's just that the three of us will have to squeeze into the stern."
That's right, Bai Yu and his companions not only filled their own buckets, but also filled the cabin of their small boat.
Their small boat was divided into two parts by the fish hold in the middle. Bai Yu and Wang Hai put their catch at the bow, while Liu Tianyu put his at the stern.
By this time, the bow of the boat was already filled with all sorts of conches, scallops, crabs, and the like, to the point that there was nowhere left for them to step.
The seats at the bow of the boat were slightly better, as they at least left some room for the three of them to sit.
The three of them had a very fruitful day on the island. The catch in the cabin, including the plastic buckets, must have weighed at least three or four hundred pounds.
Fortunately, their boat was fuel-powered. If it had been a small, hand-cranked boat, with such a small catch and the weight of the three of them, it would have taken them a long time to row back to the dock.
Having decided to go back, Bai Yu and the other two did not hesitate at all. After putting the plastic bucket on the boat, the three of them worked together to push the boat into the sea.
Then, they carefully boarded the boat again. The person in charge of the boat was changed to the experienced Liu Tianyu. Bai Yu dared not drive in this situation, for fear that a mistake in operation would cause the boat to capsize and people to sink.
Under Liu Tianyu's guidance, they sailed to the small fishing village's dock with a bountiful harvest.
...............
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