"Oh, Mom packed these eggs for us. She boiled them yesterday, and there are also some pancakes for us to eat on the way," Mingliang said, taking out six eggs and a bag of rolled-up pancakes.
Mingjing said sourly, "Is it for you to eat on the way?"
Mingjing sighed inwardly, realizing that he still favored his son.
In this place, sons are the lifeblood of the family. If a family doesn't have a son, it's because their ancestors did something wrong. The Ming family only has one son, no wonder Sun Yunmei dotes on him so much.
"Don't say that. Mom said this pancake is sweet and tastes good. Oh, and she also told us to bring a kettle of water." Mingliang turned around and went to the kitchen to get the kettle.
The kettle was placed in the wooden bucket. Mingliang gave three eggs to Mingjing. The eggs were smashed on his head and the shells were easy to peel.
The chickens at home lay two eggs a day, which means they've been saving them up for several days. Free-range eggs have a wonderful aroma, unlike eggs from factory-farmed chickens, which have a foul smell.
After eating three eggs, Mingjing stopped and drank a bowl of plain water. Then he found a glass jar containing canned yellow peaches and filled it with water.
"Bringing a water bottle is too much trouble. You can carry the iron cage instead."
Mingjing pointed to the iron cages piled up at the entrance of the courtyard and said.
The iron cage was large and heavy in Mingliang's hands. He had to stop and rest every few minutes. Mingjing couldn't bear to see him like that and helped carry it.
He's a big man, but he can't even move an iron cage.
When the group arrived at the dock, Xia Chang'an's boat was already waiting. They boarded and introduced themselves to each other.
"Mingjing, why did you bring such a big cage?" Xia Chang'an asked, puzzled.
Besides the cage, Mingjing also brought various beachcombing tools, which didn't look like they were for sea fishing.
"I'm planning to set traps in the deep sea to try and catch king crabs."
"Oh my, if it weren't for this girl's cleverness, she wouldn't have thought of setting up a deep-sea trap. I should have made one too."
"Don't worry, if there are any in this cage, we'll all share them. You'll all get your share."
Mingjing chuckled dryly and added, "I forgot to bring the bait, so you sea anglers should share some with me."
"Of course, we are all expert sea anglers."
Xia Chang'an laughed heartily, showing off the fishing rod in his hand.
Mingjing had also wanted to go sea fishing, but her last experience there had been a bad one. A fishing rod is a fisherman's weapon, and no one can lend you their weapon.
A good fishing rod isn't cheap; she'll consider a better one after she's caught this batch.
"But why are you bringing these beachcombing tools? There are no islands in the deep sea."
"I found a deserted island last time. It has a lot of resources. If you can't catch fish, you can have a picnic there."
"Really? Then we'll have to go check it out."
Mingjing put down her things, turned to look at Mingliang, and asked, "Can you do it?"
Since her birth, Mingliang has always disliked the strong smell of the sea and has hardly ever been on a ship. She doesn't want to bring along a troublesome person.
"Sure, children of the sea, how could you say you can't go on a ship? Have you forgotten that I was selected as a sailor?"
Mingjing remembered that Mingliang had a dream of becoming a sailor. He was selected to be a sailor when he was eighteen, but Qian Jiu'er cried and made a fuss to stop him from going, so he gave up.
Besides Mingjing, the others also brought their relatives and friends, a total of three, two women and one man, all young people.
"Your name is Mingjing, right? You like beachcombing?"
"I don't like it, but I'm forced to by life's circumstances."
"Do you like the shells of the piglet snail or the phoenix snail? I can polish them into a heart shape and give them to you."
"I can find it myself."
The boy immediately noticed that Mingjing was good-looking and came over to flirt with her. Mingjing was clearly not interested in the blond-haired man with bangs covering his eyes.
The two girls also liked Mingjing's pretty face, and came over to greet her and share the mung bean cakes and steamed buns they had brought.
Mingliang stood alone to the side, looking on with envy for Mingjing.
Girls who are beautiful are liked by people of all ages and genders, while it is difficult for boys to achieve the same.
If it were him, he wouldn't have anything to talk about with older men, and he wouldn't dare to strike up a conversation with girls he wasn't familiar with. He was also too lazy to talk to younger men unless someone else initiated the conversation.
The ship sailed to the deep sea and stopped. The sun was shining brightly today, there were no big waves on the sea, and the breeze was very pleasant.
The group prepared their fishing rods and positioned themselves around the ship to begin sea fishing.
Before long, Xia Chang'an caught a grouper about the length of his forearm.
"Mingjing, take this as bait. Small grouper meat is tough and not tasty, but it's good as bait."
Xia Chang'an threw the grouper to Mingjing.
"Okay!"
Mingjing picked up the grouper, which weighed over a pound. Several large fishhooks were hanging from the top of the iron cage. The grouper thrashed around a few times after being hooked, and blood dripped down its body.
On the other side, Song Dali also caught a small white sardine and threw it to Mingjing as bait.
"Good heavens, a double-spined black-boned chicken fish, but it's a pity it's not very big. Mingjing, you can use it as bait."
Zhao Gang, who was standing next to Mingjing, caught two palm-sized black-boned fish and threw them to her.
"Thank you, bosses." Mingjing picked it up and hung it on the fishing hook, the blood dripping from the fish's head onto the iron cage.
Seeing that it was almost done, Mingjing took off her coat. "That's about it. I'll go down and put the cages down here."
Because it was deep sea, everyone felt unsafe, so they had Mingjing tie a nylon rope, about the thickness of a wrist, around her waist, and they held onto the rope from the shore.
A buoy was attached to the cage, and it was thrown into the sea. Mingjing jumped in after it.
With the strong buoyancy of seawater, Mingjing pulled the cage to a place full of coral and placed the iron cage there.
The iron cage had only one iron door, allowing entry but not exit, and all four sides were supported by a single arm-thick railing. Coral was a favorite spot for king crabs, so she felt confident that this time she had a sure thing.
After setting up the cage, Mingjing returned to the boat. It was just dawn, and the tide was going out.
"Mr. Xia, we'd like to go to the island ahead. Could you take us there and pick us up later?"
They came here for sea fishing, so they couldn't possibly go beachcombing with her. It was low tide, and she didn't want to miss the opportunity.
"Alright, the fish here aren't very big. Let's walk forward and see."
Xia Chang'an set sail and arrived at the shallow waters of the isolated island. Mingliang and Mingjing got off carrying their things, and then they sailed to deeper waters ahead.
"My goodness, Mingjing, when did you discover such a wonderful place?" Mingliang's eyes lit up.
Mingjing didn't reply, and walked forward with her things, saying, "The tide has just gone out, so pick up whatever you can find."
The tide rises and falls according to the rule of the sun rising in the east and setting in the west, and the timing is different each time. When they came today, the tide had not completely receded.
Some areas that should be exposed land are still submerged in water, but the tide has receded significantly from some of the higher rocky sections, and it will take some time for the tide to completely recede.
This is basic common sense for oceanographers. Mingjing looked up at the sun and continued walking.
"Go over there, don't walk with me," Mingjing instructed Mingliang, carrying a bucket.
Mingliang stood there, holding his things, dissatisfied. "Can you call me brother? You have no manners at all."
Since Mingjing came back, he hasn't called him "big brother" anymore, and now he even bosses him around, which makes Mingliang quite unhappy.
"That depends on whether you're worthy or not, let's talk about it later," Mingjing said, carrying her things towards the rocky puddle.
“I’ll follow you.” Mingliang chased after him, but Mingjing ignored him and took out an extra sled, tossing it to him. “Check if there are any clams.”
Mingliang bent down and rummaged around for a bit, then frowned. "There's nothing here. This place is even worse than my front door."
After looking around the rocky area, Mingjing was somewhat disheartened. She had found quite a few things last time and thought the area was rich in assets, and her luck was not bad today either.
Is it just bad luck? Or is it that the tide hasn't completely receded and we still have to wait?
"Mingjing, isn't that a sea eagle?" Mingliang asked excitedly, pointing to the sea eagle circling in the sky.
The presence of sea eagles, circling overhead, meant there was something ahead worth waiting for.
"Otherwise, we could roast a bird. I've heard the meat is delicious," Mingliang smacked his lips.
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