"What else is on the ship? Surely there's instant noodles?"
"Yes, I bought a box last time."
"Then let's just have instant noodles, what else can we think about?"
Just thinking about the greasy smell of breakfast made Ye Cheng lose his appetite instantly.
The net was pulled out of the water, revealing a large, bulging bundle. Little Tiger's eyes lit up.
"Brother, it looks like shrimp, so many shrimp!"
Ye Cheng also noticed that there were no fish in the net, only shrimp.
I just don't know what kind of shrimp it is.
The net was pulled up, and the two men dumped the shrimp on the ground; they were all lively and jumping around.
Xiao Hu picked one up, glanced at it twice, and
"Bro, it looks like mantis shrimp."
Ye Cheng picked one up casually, examined it carefully, and then shook his head.
"It's not a tiger prawn, it's a king prawn, and it's bigger than a tiger prawn. Look at mine."
Xiao Hu picked up a few more and compared them before confirming that they were indeed prawns.
Prawns, scientifically known as Chinese prawns, are mainly distinguished from South American prawns. They are also called oriental prawns, and in some places they are simply called prawns.
However, there are actually many kinds of prawns. There are Chinese prawns, South American prawns, and tiger prawns, each with its own characteristics.
Prawns typically range in size from 15 to 20 centimeters, with the largest reaching 25 centimeters. They do not have obvious stripes on their bodies, which is a significant difference from tiger prawns.
Prawns and mantis shrimp do look somewhat alike, otherwise Xiao Hu wouldn't have mistaken them for each other. However, prawns are larger than mantis shrimp, and mantis shrimp have light brown stripes on their bodies and slightly reddish legs. These two features make them easy to distinguish.
The two also differ in taste. Prawns have firm, springy meat and a strong sweet flavor, making them suitable for strong-flavored cooking methods such as braising in oil and salt-baking; while tiger prawns are delicate and soft with a milder sweetness, making them suitable for light cooking methods such as blanching and steaming.
Generally speaking, prawns are more expensive than mantis shrimp, mainly because mantis shrimp are mostly farmed, while prawns are larger and less farmed, so they are naturally more expensive due to their scarcity.
Besides the prawns, there were also some other small shrimp mixed in. The two sat down and began to pick them out.
Overall, 90% of them are prawns, and they are relatively large, with most being over 20 centimeters long.
The two of them spent half an hour sorting all the shrimp. They just threw the mixed shrimp somewhere and put the prawns back in the tank.
Looking at the time, it was almost lunchtime, and Xiaohu originally planned to just have instant noodles.
"Wait a minute, stop soaking. We've already cooked the noodles. Wash four prawns and add some mixed shrimp. Let's have some fresh shrimp noodles."
"Wow, bro, you're so generous, you're actually willing to eat prawns!" Xiao Hu teased, picking out four large ones from the tank and starting to wash them.
There's really not much to wash; just rinse it with water and you're done.
Ye Cheng opened the instant noodles, keeping the salt packet but skipping the oil packet, as he really didn't want to eat it today.
After the water boiled, Ye Cheng first scalded the shrimp, then added the noodles and salt packet, and quickly cooked a large pot of seafood noodles.
"Come on, let's eat. This is more like it. Next time, bring some eggs. We can't treat ourselves badly."
Looking at the pot of noodles, Ye Cheng instantly felt hungry. He picked out a shrimp, peeled off the shell, and took a bite. Damn, it was so fresh and delicious.
Besides the prawns, the mixed shrimp also tasted good, and Xiaohu ate them very quickly, talking as he ate.
"Brother, if you don't go out to sea anymore, being a chef would be a good choice. You can make delicious crayfish and grilled fish."
"Forget it, being a chef is too tiring, and once you become a chef, you lose interest in food. I'd rather just eat."
Ye Cheng said while eating,
"This is the real shrimp and fish cake noodles. Next time, we'll bring the noodles and just scoop out the shrimp to eat."
"Brother, how about we get some king crab noodles next time? I heard king crabs are huge and delicious." Little Tiger's eyes were full of stars.
"Forget it, king crabs are in the UAE, we don't have them here. You need deep-sea cold water, and besides, the taste of those things is just so-so."
"Tch! You talk like you've actually eaten it," Little Tiger said dismissively.
Ye Cheng had certainly eaten it. Although king crab is expensive in later generations, it is often served at business banquets.
To be honest, the king crab leg meat is pretty good, but you'll be full after eating just a couple.
"I'll take you to eat there next time, so you can see for yourself. Once you've tried it, you won't find it so amazing."
Upon hearing that Ye Cheng was going to take him to eat king crab, Xiao Hu immediately stood up, his mouth still full of noodles hanging out.
"Well, you said you'd take me out to eat."
"Yes, yes, one would cost at most 2,000 yuan, I can afford it."
Qian Yecheng has it, but I don't know if it's sold in Donghai City. I'll ask Wang Ke sometime; he has a lot of high-end ingredients there.
Seeing that Ye Cheng had agreed, Xiao Hu ate his noodles faster out of excitement. Ye Cheng thought to himself, "Damn it, this animal must be on stimulants."
"Damn it, slow down, leave some for me, damn it."
After the two finished eating—or rather, after grabbing the pot of noodles—they cast their net again, since it was still early.
This time, the net is still going down the bottom line. Since there were shrimp last time, there might be shrimp this time too.
After more than an hour, when the net was brought up, it was indeed full of shrimp again, even more than the previous net. It took the two of them more than an hour to clean it all up.
Looking at the time, Ye Cheng decided not to pull in the net anymore, mainly because the water tank was a bit too full. Although he hadn't caught any big fish today, he had caught several hundred pounds of shrimp, which was still a pretty good haul.
It was only 4 o'clock when Ye Cheng got back to the dock. There were still very few people returning. Ye Cheng was fine with the dock. After waiting for a while, a few seafood buyers came over. They were all acquaintances.
"Second brother, you're back so early today. Did you come back empty-handed?" Boss He teased.
I've gotten quite familiar with Ye Cheng over this period of time. Whether I buy or not is another matter, but I have to tease him a bit. This guy is really good at driving down prices, but his stuff is also really good. It makes us resellers feel awkward about whether to buy or not.
"Boss He, don't worry, it won't be as you wish. But we don't have fish today, only prawns. Would you like to buy them? Gentlemen."
Ye Cheng asked Xiao Hu to bring out a box of prawns.
The group picked it up and glanced at it. Those who had been receiving goods for years didn't need to look at it much, just like cashiers who had been doing this job for a long time didn't need to use a money printing machine. They could tell at a glance.
"They're prawns, and the size is just right," Mr. Lin said.
Ye Cheng smiled without saying a word. This size is just right, so please keep belittling it.
"How much is there? It can't be just this much, can it?" Boss He looked at Ye Cheng's boat.
"There's still some in the water tank, probably over four hundred pounds," Ye Cheng said calmly.
"How much? More than four hundred kilograms?" the three exclaimed in surprise.
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