This fish is called the Three-Knife Fish, supposedly because its body is quite thick, making it difficult to cook through when steamed.
Therefore, before steaming the fish, three cuts are usually made on its body, hence the name "three-cut fish".
Three-knife fish is fresh and tender, with a sweetness reminiscent of clam meat. It is known as the "King of Fish" and is very popular in Hong Kong, where it is said to cost thousands of dollars per catty.
However, this is the price in Hong Kong; in mainland China, it would probably cost several hundred yuan per kilogram.
Three-knife fish mainly live in brackish waters where fresh and saltwater meet, and can be found in rocky and sandy-muddy waters near the coast.
However, due to severe marine pollution in recent years and the high water quality requirements of the three-knife fish, it is now very rare, and its price has risen accordingly.
Chen Weiqiang had previously found one at Jiaoshitan during the high tide, and it cost a full 300 yuan per kilogram, which left a deep impression on Chen Zhiyao.
The people on the boat were incredibly excited when they saw Chen Zhiyao catch a three-knife fish, and they all showed expressions of envy and longing.
However, these people quickly forgot about their envy and stared longingly at the sea, hoping to catch an expensive three-knife fish as well.
Chen Zhiyao was quick; after taking down the beautiful three-knife fish, she immediately baited it with new bait.
Several minutes passed, and Chen Zhiyao watched as everyone around her started serving their fish while she remained motionless, which made her a little anxious.
After a while, she felt a pulling sensation from the fishing rod in her hand.
The pulling force was neither too strong nor too weak, so the fish shouldn't be very big. Based on the fish's movement habits, Chen Zhiyao figured it was probably a three-slit fish, just like before.
The thought of the price of 300 yuan per kilogram made Chen Zhiyao excited again, and her heart was burning with excitement.
The fish weighed just over a pound, and in less than two minutes, Chen Zhiyao pulled it out of the water. Its orange stripes were particularly vibrant and beautiful in the sunlight.
At this time, besides Chen Zhiyao, a middle-aged man and Chen Daqiang on the boat also caught three-knife fish, but the two of them caught small ones, about six or seven ounces each.
There's an island not far from here, and it looks quite big.
Three-knife fish mainly live in brackish water areas, and there happened to be an island in front of them. Chen Zhiyao thought that there should be fresh water on the island.
There weren't many three-knife fish, and after catching the second one, Chen Zhiyao's fishing rod remained still.
The others caught relatively inexpensive fish like barracuda and sea bass.
At this point, others also thought of the island not far away.
There is a stream on the island that flows directly into the sea, and there are several huge rocks next to it, which look like a good place for fishing.
uninhabited island
At this point, someone suggested going fishing on the islands over there.
Because this island has fresh water, the locals usually call it Freshwater Island.
Chen Feng and Chen Daqiang had often come to Danshui Island to fish before, so they were quite familiar with the place and knew that there was no danger there, and that the marine resources were relatively abundant.
Chen Daqiang glanced at the time; it was only 2:45 PM, plenty of time. So he agreed and steered the fishing boat toward the freshwater island ahead.
There is no suitable dock on the island, so fishing boats can only be moored in places relatively close to the shore.
Then they used small kayaks to take people to the island.
The father and son were quite familiar with the island and quickly found an excellent spot for the anglers.
rocky beach
The kayak quickly paddled towards a rocky beach, where the rocks were enormous and there were many coral rocks underneath, making it a perfect habitat for fish.
Moreover, this place isn't far from the stream we just saw; Chen Feng even caught a three-knife fish here before.
Upon hearing that there were three-knife fish here, a group of anglers became extremely excited.
Everyone was eager to catch one or two to see what they tasted like, since they could actually sell for several hundred yuan per kilogram.
However, ideals are often grand, but reality is often harsh.
A group of people stayed on the rocky beach for nearly an hour, but not a single one of them managed to catch a three-knife fish. They mostly caught small rockfish weighing two or three ounces each.
Chen Zhiyao caught two small stone goby fish weighing about two ounces each, and finally lost patience.
She got up and came to Chen Feng. "Brother, I don't see any fish here. I'm going to go beachcombing and collect some crabs and sea snails."
Chen Feng nodded and waved to her, "Okay, but don't go too far. You need to be back around 5 o'clock."
"Okay, okay, I promise I'll be back on time at 5 o'clock." As she said this, Chen Zhiyao set an alarm for 4:40 in front of him.
Carrying the bucket, Chen Zhiyao happily walked towards a less crowded area.
She hadn't walked more than a few steps when she bumped into a familiar little guy.
whelk
"Wow, this whelk is quite big."
Chen Zhiyao quickly picked up the little guy, and as soon as she looked down, she saw an even bigger whelk at her feet.
Flower snail +2
There are far fewer people coming and going on this island than on the rocky beach in the village, and the marine resources are much richer.
After walking only ten meters or so, several brightly colored whelks appeared in the bucket, along with two swaggering octopuses.
Flower snail +5
Octopus +2
The rocks on this reef beach are quite large; even the smallest ones are about half a person's height.
Turning her head, she discovered a large nest of snails in a crevice of a large rock.
These snails were exceptionally large, almost all of them were significantly larger than her thumb.
Looking at the densely packed little creatures in front of you, you can't help but feel a chill run down your spine.
However, this joy was quickly overshadowed; after all, this was all money.
Chen Zhiyao deftly put all the little guys into her bucket.
This nest of snails is quite large, probably weighing five or six pounds.
She thought she was lucky to have found such a large nest of snails, but after walking a few steps, she found an even larger nest of snails.
The gap between the two large rocks was crawling with little green creatures, and the largest ones even had small barnacles growing on them.
In no time, the bucket of live fish beside Chen Zhiyao was already half full. It was heavy in her hands, weighing at least 13 jin (6.5 catties).
Seeing that the sea resources here were quite abundant, Chen Zhiyao smiled broadly and turned on her X-ray glasses.
When she opened her eyes again, she could see at a glance the clams and moon shells hidden under the sand, as well as the crabs and octopuses hiding in the crevices of the rocks.
But what made her most excited was that she found a wild abalone.
The abalone grew on a pile of rocks, its shell a dull gray, almost blending into the surrounding stones.
Abalone mixed in with the rocks
Chen Zhiyao reached out with the tongs in her hand, trying to pick up the rare wild abalone.
Unexpectedly, this thing was sucking quite tightly, and I couldn't pry it off even after trying a couple of times.
Finally, I had to use a sand shovel to pry the abalone off its edge and get this plump creature off.
abalone
The abalone wasn't very big, but it was exceptionally plump and meaty, and quite heavy in my hand.
She put the abalone into the bucket, and then casually dug out the clams and moon shells hidden under the sand as well.
Moon Shell +3
Flower Clam +6
Then, turning around with a smug look on his face, he walked toward the reef where the large blue crab was hiding.
This big guy was very cunning, hiding in the gap between two rocks. If she hadn't had X-ray vision glasses, she wouldn't have been able to see at all that there was a nearly one-pound blue crab hiding inside.
But running into her was just bad luck for this guy.
Blue Crab +1
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