After more than half a month of practice, Li Xindong's skill in catching mudskippers had become superb. While Xu An was still trying to figure out what kind of creatures might be inside the mud holes, which were round or flat, big or small, Li Xindong was catching them one by one next door. With each strike, a mudskipper was bound to meet its end.
After diligently catching mudskippers for over an hour, feeling like his back was about to give way, Xu An had caught a total of seven mudskippers. Two of them were no bigger than a little finger, probably because the playful younger members of the mudskipper family had gone out for a stroll and had been caught by Xu An.
Looking at Li Xindong beside him, from the moment he stepped onto the mudflats until now, he has been like a tireless robot, surveying mud holes, wielding a hoe, catching mudskippers, and putting them into the fish basket.
Xu An quietly walked up behind him and glanced at his fish basket. The fish in the basket were all plump and strong, each one worth ten of the mudskippers that Xu An had caught!
Wow, professionals really do make a difference!
Putting aside his worthless competitive spirit, Xu An stood to the side, leaning on his hoe, chatting casually with Li Xindong. Perhaps because he was focused on catching fish, Li Xindong answered almost every question Xu An asked.
"How much is the tuition for repeating a year? Does the school have any reduction or exemption policies?"
"Yes, if you are admitted to a four-year university and go back to repeat the year, you don't need to pay tuition. If you are admitted to a four-year college and go back to repeat the year, you only need to pay half of the tuition. If you are admitted to a four-year college or below, you need to pay the full tuition."
Xu An nodded thoughtfully. So, Li Xindong wasn't just robbed of his phone and bicycle; he even lost the 1,500 yuan tuition fee he brought with him to register! How many takeout deliveries or how many mudskippers would he have to deliver to earn that much money?!
"There's only a little over a week until school starts. Once school starts, you won't have time to deliver food or catch mudskippers. Do you have enough living expenses?" Xu An asked.
“That’s enough.” Li Xindong continued working without turning his head and replied, “Before school starts, I can earn four or five hundred yuan by delivering food; these days, mudskippers are forty yuan a pound, and I can catch three or four pounds a day, which can earn me more than a hundred yuan a day; when school starts, I should be able to earn about fourteen or five hundred yuan. If I’m frugal, I can make enough to get by for a semester.”
After saying that, Li Xindong pretended to be relaxed and said, "You know how the food is in the school cafeteria. It costs two or three yuan a meal, and the monthly food expenses are only two or three hundred yuan."
Seeing that Li Xindong had already made his plans, Xu An didn't say much. He simply said, "Let's rest on the shore for a while," and then laboriously made his way to the shore, step by step. Although the mud wasn't deep, the suction was quite strong, making it very difficult to walk.
Sitting by the roadside, I took a mineral water bottle from the fish basket, wiped my hands on a clean spot on my clothes, unscrewed the cap, and took a sip of cool boiled water. Instantly, I felt refreshed.
Although mudskippers are expensive, this is a job that most people can't do. In terms of strength, Xu An is no less than anyone else on this mudflat, but catching mudskippers requires more than just strength; it also requires patience, endurance, and core strength! How could the untrained Xu An possibly be a match for them?
After sitting for a while to catch his breath, Xu An began to look around and observe the mudflats.
There were quite a few people catching mudskippers on the mudflats; a dozen or so could be seen nearby, and even more further away. As Xu An's gaze swept over the busy crowd on the mudflats, he suddenly noticed five dark figures standing and chatting. Upon closer inspection, the five figures looked more and more like Professor Yu and his four students.
Professor Yu took the samples yesterday afternoon to the Shanghai Maritime College for analysis. However, the analysis results were not available so quickly. He spent the morning at the hotel, but after lunch, he felt he couldn't stay there any longer, so he called his students to come to the mudflats to continue the investigation.
Without the hordes of people following them, they felt more at ease and observed more things than the day before. After wandering around the mudflats for over an hour, they discovered a strange place.
It's normal for mudflats near the road to have fewer creatures, given the large number of people, cars, and noise. The presence and quantity of creatures in the middle mudflats are normal; most people who go out to sea look for mudskippers and mud worms in this area. But the further south you go, the fewer signs of life there are. Right now, where they are standing, they can only see some small crabs darting by, and judging by their appearance, they don't want to linger for even a second.
Professor Yu bent down, grabbed a handful of silt, and brought it to his nose to smell. In addition to the pungent stench and fishy smell of the silt, there seemed to be another indescribable odor mixed in. However, after carefully examining the silt, he found nothing unusual.
That's really strange.
"Ah Xing, take a sample from the mudflats here, and analyze it later to see what's going on and why this phenomenon is happening," Professor Yu said, throwing the mud back onto the mudflats and turning to the student with a backpack beside him.
"Yes, teacher." The student named A-Xing quickly took out various sampling tools from his backpack and began sampling every aspect of the mudflat.
"Teacher, what do you think of this mudflat? Could we conduct our research project here?" another student asked curiously, approaching him. He was very satisfied with the mudflat; it was pristine, untouched by development or damage, and with a little restoration, it could become excellent aquaculture grounds.
"No rush, let's wait for the analysis results." Professor Yu didn't give a clear answer, but the joyful expression on his face revealed his true thoughts.
This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com