"Here, there's a big one." Mingliang saw a large creature in the puddle, lunged forward, and firmly grabbed the sea catfish by the gills.
Unlike ordinary catfish, sea catfish mainly eat plankton and are omnivorous. Their venomous spines are their weapon for self-defense.
It is an excellent tonic for women who have just given birth and are in confinement. It can be used to make soup, promote lactation, nourish yin and blood, and stimulate appetite and promote urination.
Therefore, families with pregnant women usually buy a few in advance, as they are said to help maintain skin elasticity and replenish collagen.
"This one must weigh about three pounds, it's huge!" Mingliang said, showing the catfish to Mingjing with both hands as if to make a show of it.
"You can keep it."
Mingjing turned and walked forward.
Although there were no glass shards on the mudflats, the stones were still very uncomfortable to walk on, so she could only walk on the muddy areas.
"Ouch!" Mingliang had just put the catfish into the wooden bucket when it jumped out on its own. He rushed over to chase it but tripped and fell.
"We've got him."
The fish swam to Mingjing's feet, and she grabbed its gills and threw it into the new snakeskin bag.
"Put it in a snakeskin bag. Catfish will eat squid and are more likely to escape."
With the discovery of the first catfish, Mingjing began its catfish-catching mode.
The catfish were quite large and difficult to spot when they burrowed into the mud. Mingjing was afraid of getting pricked by the fish, so after washing her feet and putting on her shoes, she used tongs to sweep across the mudflats. When the catfish touched her, they would wriggle.
Mingjing, wearing gloves, caught the catfish with ease, while Mingliang, catching them barehanded, failed several times because the catfish were too slippery and he dared not grab them carelessly, letting them escape.
"Damn it! This is so hard to catch!" Mingliang rolled around in the mud and finally managed to catch a catfish weighing more than three pounds. Just as he was about to grab it, his foot slipped.
He fell flat on his face.
Mingjing turned around and saw the clay figure behind her. She was so happy that tears almost came to her eyes. She took off one glove and said, "Here, put this on."
Wearing gloves, Mingliang spotted the catfish that had just run away and reached out to grab it. This time it was much easier; he simply grabbed the fish by the gills.
"This is really big, it must cost a hundred dollars," Mingliang estimated.
Mingjing nodded as he looked at the plump creature in his hand. The catfish was as long as an arm and probably weighed more than five pounds.
"Wow, why are all the catfish here so fat?" Mingliang nodded in satisfaction, holding a catfish about the length of his forearm.
As Mingjing saw that the more he grabbed, the more Mingliang grabbed, and Mingjing frowned.
That's really strange.
Why wasn't she as lucky as Mingliang? She only managed to catch five fish after half a day.
“Mingjing, there’s a big guy in front of you, do you see it?” Mingliang shouted.
"oh."
Mingjing raised her foot to grab it, and the thing seemed to sense it, twisting its body and running forward.
Ouch!
Mingjing slipped and fell face-first into the mud.
"Hahaha, you big monkey!" Mingliang laughed until tears streamed down his face.
"What are you laughing at!"
Mingjing got up, washed her face at the beach, and when she turned around, the sea catfish was still there. She reached out and grabbed its gills, then threw it into the snakeskin bag.
"Mingjing, we caught so many. We'll send them to your aunt later. She's about to give birth, so we'll get her a few more."
Mingjing nodded, then became sarcastic, "Finally, you've done something decent. We need to eat this ourselves; it's good for the stomach and spleen."
"Yes, yes, I have a bad stomach and can only eat soft food lately, so I need to take good care of myself."
"Isn't being a kept man satisfying?"
Mingliang shook his head. "What's so great about living off a woman? There's no oil or fat in it. Abalone and oysters are much better and better for your kidneys. A man's kidneys are very important."
Discovering that Mingjing and Mingliang were not on the same wavelength, Mingjing didn't say anything.
"Wow, this fish is huge."
Mingliang grabbed the big fish and held it in the air; it looked to weigh over five pounds.
"Okay, hurry up and pick them up. The tide has receded quite a bit now. Let's finish before the tide comes back in."
"Know."
Beachcombing isn't just about chasing the sea; it's also about racing against time. Once the tide comes in and floods the mudflats, all the fish will be gone, and what good will it do for her?
The two of them picked up more than half a bag of catfish, one in front of the other, and could barely walk with it.
The sun came out, its heat making their backs feel hot and burning. The damp mud on their bodies had hardened and clumped together, making them itchy.
"Mingjing, your face is covered in mud, isn't it heavy?"
"It's alright, it blocks UV rays, at least it won't tan me. Dark-skinned girls on the island aren't pretty."
Anyone who fishes on the island, regardless of age or gender, is dark-skinned and looks like they are over fifty even though they are not old, with wrinkles and age spots all over their face.
"Are all the girls inland as beautiful as you?" Mingliang asked, standing up.
"Hmm, not necessarily. You still want to go to Hong Kong?"
"Just asking."
Mingjing smiled. Nobody wanted to go to Hong Kong, but nowadays, various gangs were causing a ruckus there, and it would be difficult to survive without some kind of background.
If only she could buy a house in Hong Kong now, she would ask Bai Jiwen to help her take a look when she has time.
Mingjing kept working, and by the time the seawater came up, the two of them had already collected a large sack of catfish.
"That's about enough, let's go up."
Mingjing pulled the snakeskin bag up to the high rocks and stood watching the seawater rapidly submerge the mudflats.
"These weigh about seventy or eighty pounds. We've finally struck gold today."
Mingliang nodded in satisfaction, "With so many sea catfish, we'll keep two small ones for ourselves, give a few big ones to Auntie, and buy the rest."
Mingjing was too tired to talk, so she sat on the rock waiting for the boat to come and pick her up.
Sitting down made her back ache and her legs feel like they weren't her own.
The burlap sack was tied up and left aside. Mingjing lay on the reef looking at the sky. Seagulls circled in the sky, waves crashed against the reef, and a strong sea breeze blew.
Everything was so beautiful.
"Want some?" Mingliang walked to the shallow water, washed his face, took out a pancake from his pocket, and handed half to Mingjing.
The pancakes were wrapped in plastic bags and were not contaminated with mud.
Mingjing took two meat patties, each about the size of her palm, soft and fluffy, clearly made from leavened dough, with a very fragrant pork filling.
While eating, Mingjing stared at the sea rocks and saw many mussels clinging to them.
Mussels aren't expensive, but they still cost money.
Mechanically swallowing the meat pie, Mingjing stood up and said, "You wait here, I saw mussels, quite a few."
Where?
"Then I'll go take a look," Mingjing said, picking up a shovel and a bucket and getting up to leave.
"The tide has come in, you'd better not go. Those mussels aren't worth much." Mingliang felt it was a bit dangerous and was too lazy to move.
He also didn't want Mingjing to go down there, because if something happened, he wouldn't know what to do on his own.
"Don't worry about it, just stay put. If you have nothing else to do, throw the squid bags and catfish bags into the sea, so the catfish don't die."
"Hold this phone for me so it doesn't get wet," Mingjing said, pulling off the old mobile phone from around her neck and handing it to Mingliang.
The rocks were covered in moss, and if you slipped, you'd definitely hit your head. Mingjing jumped into the sea and swam over from the side with her tools to find mussels.
Bringing just a wooden bucket and a shovel won't be difficult.
Avoiding bright light, Mingjing stealthily opened the fishing tackle shop. She still had a lot of luck points today, so there should be some items left.
Could it really be a mussel?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com