The reef island is not large, and it is only exposed when the tide recedes to a later stage each day.
That's why the island has so many good things, especially various kinds of sea snails and crabs.
Red Flower Crab +2
Bread Crab +2
Blue Crab +3
Orchid Crab +4
Flower snail +6
Spider snail +3
Horseshoe snails +3
...
After wandering around several boulders, Chen Zhiyao picked up all sorts of seafood until her hands were sore, and the bucket in her hand gained several kilograms in weight.
As she walked, she suddenly noticed something in a small puddle ahead.
Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a red sea bream. Red sea bream are not much different from ordinary sea bream, except that their bodies are redder.
The creature was lying flat against the rock, and Chen Zhiyao thought it had died.
She bent down to pick up the red sea bream, but the fish suddenly jumped out of the puddle and splashed seawater all over her face.
Chen Zhiyao wiped the seawater off her face with her sleeve, then grumbled as she picked up the sea bream:
"I'll make braised sea carp for lunch."
He then put the poor sea carp into the bucket.
She had only taken a few steps when she spotted a large brown crab under a patch of seaweed. It was almost as big as her face.
This behemoth weighs at least two or three pounds and looks quite imposing.
Although the bread crab doesn't taste as good as the mud crab or blue crab, it's very large and has a lot of meat inside.
"Such a big bread crab, it's sure to fetch a good price." Chen Zhiyao happily put it into the bucket.
Before long, she arrived at a place that resembled a small ditch.
Following the current downstream, she soon discovered a moray eel that was barely alive.
There was also a large blue crab that had been half-eaten nearby.
Chen Zhiyao put the nearly 4-pound sea eel into the bucket, then looked at the half-eaten blue crab with a regretful expression:
"The remaining half weighs about four ounces. It would be wonderful if this big crab were still alive."
Chen Zhiyao, who missed out on a large blue crab, looked heartbroken.
After walking a few more steps, she discovered a nest of sand clams in a crevice in the rocks.
She gathered all the clams together, making two large handfuls, enough for the family to have one meal.
"They're quite plump; I can make steamed clams with vermicelli for lunch."
Besides the clams, she also found two mussels almost as big as her palm in a crevice in the rocks nearby.
These two mussels felt quite heavy in my hand; they must weigh at least a pound and a half together.
"Such big mussels, we have to try them."
They were only halfway through their beachcombing trip when Chen Zhiyao had already almost finished arranging lunch.
She put down the few small seashells in her hand, and as soon as she looked up, she saw that the water in front of her had suddenly become murky.
What was initially just a slight black color soon turned the surrounding water as black as ink.
What is this?
Chen Zhiyao walked over curiously and saw a huge octopus that was spitting ink. The octopus was so big that it was almost as long as her arm when she picked it up.
Chen Zhiyao weighed it in her hand and estimated it to be about two pounds. This was the biggest octopus she had ever encountered since she started beachcombing.
Normally, small octopuses cost 28 or 30 yuan per pound, but this one, which is as big as this one, would cost at least double.
Giant Octopus +1
At this moment, the seawater receded a little further, and Chen Zhiyao continued to explore the reef island along the seawater.
Upon reaching the other side of the island, Chen Zhiyao noticed that the seawater there was much clearer.
Bathed in sunlight, it glistened and translucent, as beautiful as a piece of crystal. Chen Zhiyao was admiring the clear seawater before her.
Suddenly, she saw two mantis shrimp swimming leisurely in front of her in the water.
Like a conditioned reflex, she immediately picked up the net from the bucket and scooped up the two large shrimp in a few swift movements.
Nine-shrimp + 2
Before she could even reel in the net, she spotted a dark, mottled-looking grouper trapped in a small puddle that was only knee-deep.
Chen Zhiyao scooped it up with a big smile, and was pleasantly surprised to find that it was actually a pepper snapper weighing more than three pounds.
"Not bad, not bad, this one pepper snapper alone is worth several hundred dollars."
Pepper Snapper +1
The seawater here is exceptionally clear, making all sorts of wonderful things in the water even more visible.
In less than two minutes, Chen Zhiyao spotted a pair of bread crabs nestled close together next to a rock.
These two little guys aren't very big, each weighing only about half a pound. They look like a young couple in love.
She didn't care what the two crabs were doing and invited them both into the bucket.
Bread Crab +2
"There are quite a lot of bread crabs here lately. I've caught several in less than an hour since I arrived."
Just as Chen Zhiyao finished muttering to herself, she looked down and saw a large red pincer peeking out from a crack in the rock.
Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be two red flower crabs, one large and one small.
The larger one should be a male crab, weighing a good seven or eight ounces. The smaller one is actually not small either, looking to be about half a pound.
She tied up the larger male crab very easily.
When Chen Zhiyao turned the smaller one over, she discovered that it was a pregnant female crab.
Pregnant female crabs dedicate all their nutrients to their babies, resulting in a significantly lower-quality crab meat.
More importantly, a female crab can give birth to many baby crabs.
Fishermen who make a living by the sea will usually release pregnant crabs or other marine creatures they see back into the wild.
Chen Zhiyao continued walking forward, and soon she found a nest of mussels. She collected both nests of mussels in front of her, a total of nine, weighing more than a pound.
Besides these, many mussels also grew in the crevices of the rocks nearby. Chen Zhiyao walked over and quickly harvested several more kilograms.
There were plenty of sea snails here, especially flower snails. Chen Zhiyao had collected a large handful in just a few minutes.
Before long, she noticed that the water in the gap between the two rocks in front of her had suddenly become murky.
Upon closer inspection, they saw something wriggling in the crevice of the rock. Can you guess what kind of marine creature it is? The thing in the hole was gray with patterns, and looking at the patterns and shape, Chen Zhiyao felt it looked very familiar.
The multi-tool reached out and poked the outermost patterned part.
Chen Zhiyao felt that this thing was soft, and it would shrink inward when poked.
As the clamp was pushed further in, it encountered something hard, which felt like its shell.
She immediately understood and happily pulled the thing out.
Just as she expected, it was a rather large coconut snail.
After taking the coconut snail out, Chen Zhiyao discovered that there were two smaller ones inside the crevice.
However, they were too small, so Chen Zhiyao decided to let them go.
Coconut snail +1
There's only one chapter tonight; the remaining three will be added tomorrow. I've been staying up late every night, I can't take it anymore (*?????).
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