Life on the boat may not be as good as life on land, but it's not boring at all. Every day, in addition to sea fishing, they can also go ashore to patrol small islands and go beachcombing.
The island we were going to visit the next day was an unnamed island, which the locals called Zhou Island.
Zhoudao Island is not large. It is named for its resemblance to a wooden boat and has a long coastline with many reefs.
Lu Ze and his team were going to inspect the island this time, and their families could go beachcombing on the nearby coast. The patrol boat was moored in the waters about 100 meters away from Zhou Island.
Yu Yao and the others need to take a diesel-powered wooden boat to get there.
The soldiers placed the wooden boats, one soldier steered the boat, and the other family members boarded the boat one after another.
Normally, there is no one on Zhou Island, and the soldiers who come to patrol the area do not linger. No one has bothered with anything on the shore.
When Yu Yao and the others rushed over, they saw the sea pushing clusters of green jujubes toward the beach. Each of these green jujubes was as long as a palm.
Besides the blue clam, there are other blood clams, conch shells, and various other shellfish on the beach.
Su Meihua picked up her bucket and was about to go up and collect the goods, but seeing that Sun Yu and Yu Yao hadn't moved, she came over and pushed them, "Why are you moving? If you don't leave now, all the good stuff will be picked up. Hurry up!"
"Sister-in-law Meihua, you go ahead, I won't go."
"I'm not going either."
Su Meihua asked, puzzled, "What's wrong? Why aren't you going?"
Yu Yao said, "Lu Ze just said there are many reefs over there. No one is beachcombing here, and the oysters are practically sentient. I want to go and pry some off."
Su Meihua looked at Sun Yu.
Sun Yu shrugged. "Yu Yao is lucky. I'm going to follow her. Besides, my family prefers dried oysters to these green tea leaves."
Su Meihua thought about it and agreed, "If you're not going, I won't go either. I want to go shuck oysters with you."
Sun Yu laughed at her: "Aren't you going to go and seize territory?"
Su Meihua glanced regretfully at the beach that had been quickly taken over, clutching her chest in a pained expression: "No, these shellfish and clams are not meant for me, but oysters are."
This reef has been untouched for a long time, and the oysters here have been growing for many years. They are a rare find, and their taste and nutritional value are incomparable to ordinary oysters and green oysters.
Moreover, she felt that what Sister-in-law Sun Yu said was right.
Yu Yao is God's favorite; following her will definitely not be a mistake.
She also liked following Yu Yao.
After the three reached a consensus, they walked towards the reefs. These reefs all grew in the sea, and even at low tide, there was still a small amount of seawater around them.
People can go down there, but it's impossible to create a tidal pool; otherwise, the harvest would definitely be good.
Upon arriving at their destination, the three indeed saw countless oysters growing on the rocks.
Oysters of this quality, when made into dried oysters and sold to purchasing stations, can fetch at least a few yuan per kilogram.
"We're rich! We're rich!" Su Meihua couldn't resist the oysters, touching and examining them from all angles.
The three of them were very happy. They changed into rain boots and pants, took oyster knives and buckets, and waded through knee-deep seawater.
Upon getting closer, Su Meihua gestured with her hand to indicate the size of one of the oysters and gasped.
"My God, this oyster is bigger than my palm! Is it even older than me?"
"It's hard to say," Sun Yu said regretfully, as it was the first time she had seen such large oysters. "It's a pity, these oysters have been growing for too long, they're probably too old and won't taste good."
Looking at the palm-sized oysters, Yu Yao smiled and said, "It's okay, there are also many oysters here that are two to three years old. We can get our money's worth by shucking off more of these."
Oysters that are 2-3 years old do not become fibrous due to their long growth period; they still retain a tender and juicy texture and plump meat, making them the best time to eat them.
It's great whether you use it to fry eggs or make dried oysters.
Su Meihua and Sun Yu thought it made sense, so they didn't delay any longer and picked up the oyster knife to pry it open.
They only brought two buckets this time, which could only hold so much. Yu Yao simply suggested, "Since we'll just put these oysters in the freezer anyway, why don't we just keep the meat and leave the shells?"
Su Meihua and Sun Yu also thought it was good.
While everyone else was picking up clams on the beach, Yu Yao and her friends were shucking oysters.
While the others were digging for snails in the sand, Yu Yao and her friends were prying open oysters.
While the others walked far along the coastline, Yu Yao and her friends were still shucking oysters.
It's a rare opportunity to encounter oysters that have been growing for several years. If you miss this chance, you don't know when the next one will come. Bring as many back as you can.
For this reason, all three of them put in their best effort.
Although there are many reefs and oysters here, Yu Yao and her friends only want oysters that are 2-3 years old.
I wouldn't even glance at other animals that have been kept for too short a time, unless they are exceptionally plump and delicious.
It took the three of them two hours to pry open half of the reef.
Yu Yao was mindful of her pregnancy and didn't dare to overexert herself, so she chose oysters that didn't require bending over and shucked the fewest oysters of the three of them.
Even so, it's almost full of a bucket.
Su Meihua and Sun Yu are almost full.
The two helped Yu Yao carry the bucket to the shore. On the way back, Yu Yao saw some large, old oysters and casually pried off a few.
When they reached the shore to rest, Yu Yao took out the old oysters she had just pried off and used a knife to pry open their hard shells.
Sun Yu wiped her sweat, looking at her fiddling with the old oysters, completely bewildered: "Yu Yao, these oysters might have been growing for over ten years. They have a lot of fibrous meat and don't taste good. Why are you prying them open?"
As Yu Yao pried open the oyster, she laughed and said, "I've never encountered an oyster that's been growing for so long before. I want to see just how old its meat is. Do you remember the spicy shredded beef from Sichuan that I gave you to eat last time?"
Su Meihua spoke first: "Of course I remember. That beef jerky was so delicious. It was chewy and had a great texture. It was perfect for eating while listening to the radio."
Yu Yao said, "The reason why hand-shredded beef jerky is so chewy is because beef has high fiber content. If these oysters have enough fiber, they might be able to be made into spicy hand-shredded oyster jerky, which would be a way to make use of waste."
Su Meihua swallowed hard, thinking of the taste of the hand-shredded beef jerky she had tasted before. Without taking a break, she said, "Yu Yao, this method sounds delicious. Let me help you pry it open."
"Me too."
Yu Yao did not refuse. She divided the remaining old oysters, and after dividing them, she picked up the oyster knife and struggled with the oysters in her hand.
Perhaps because it had been growing for so long, this oyster was particularly difficult to pry open. Su Meihua and Sun Yu pried open several before Yu Yao finally opened the first one.
Su Meihua glanced at it casually and suddenly her eyes widened. "Yu Yao, there's something inside the oyster."
Yu Yao looked down and saw that there really was something there.
The grayish-white oyster meat had bulging edges, and when I touched it, I found a hard, round object inside.
Round?
Yu Yao's pupils dilated, and she squeezed the contents out in a few quick movements.
Her luck is truly unparalleled.
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