With a bucket in hand, Ye Yaodong walked toward the shallow water again.
As he got closer, he called out to his friends, “Did you find anything?”
“Is finding a cat's eye snail considered a catch?” A Guang replied, looking rather dejected.
“Better than nothing,” Ye Yaodong said as he approached A Guang and handed the bucket back to him.
“I feel embarrassed to carry such a large, empty bucket,” A Guang lamented.
“Haha, it’s alright! We can just change its name when we go back!” Ye Yaodong chuckled.
“Ah~ Let’s not talk about it. It takes firewood to cook a single snail, what a waste. Here, I’ll toss it in your bucket!” A Guang said, throwing the snail into Ye Yaodong’s bucket with a splash.
“Let’s search a bit more. The tide just receded; it won't come back up too fast. We might still find something,” Ye Yaodong suggested.
“Doesn’t matter to me. You guys continue, I’ll go check along the rocky shore to see if I can find anything,” A Guang shrugged and walked straight to the outermost rocky area.
“I just checked that rocky shore yesterday. I picked up all the decent clams and snails. Any that can be opened, I already opened. You won't find much over there now,” A Guang warned.
“Doesn’t matter, I’m just wandering about. If I don’t find anything, I’ll head back to eat,” he said.
“Alright, suit yourself. It’s so sunny; if you don't find anything, you should head back early to rest,” A Guang responded.
“Mhm.”
Ye Yaodong glanced around; it seemed his friends had searched this area already.
He decided to walk toward the rocks closer to the shore.
To his surprise, just a few steps in, he felt something hard under his foot.
Squatting down, he spotted a cat's eye snail poking its head out from beneath the sand.
He picked it up, using his thumb to scrape and squeeze the snail, causing it to suck in seawater.
The soft flesh, unprepared, had no time to retract.
Splashes! A few streams of water flew out.
He chuckled lightly and called out to A Guang, who was ahead, “A Guang, look! I found a sizeable cat's eye snail behind you!”
“Damn!” A Guang turned his head in disbelief, cursing, “I just walked past!”
Ye Yaodong tossed the snail into his bucket, smiling as he said, “Looks like I’ve got some luck these past couple of days!”
“We shouldn’t have come out today; it’s way more comfortable to sleep at home. I overate and just had to come out in the sun,” A Guang complained as he walked toward the rocky area.
Under the scorching sun, Ye Yaodong continued his treasure hunt along the beach.
However, he didn’t find anything valuable.
Searching for sea life relied heavily on luck, after all.
Forty years from now, even with high tides, there will be much less to collect on the beach.
Only a few jumping fish, stone crabs, and clams remained.
Perhaps it was overfishing or pollution that caused sea life to dwindle.
Only on uninhabited islands would one find enough marine treasures.
As the tide began to rise, everyone seemed eager to head back.
It was already past one o’clock, and hunger had set in.
“Let’s head back. There’s probably nothing left to collect; the tide’s about to come in,” Xiao Xiao shook her empty bucket and called out to the group.
“Alright, alright, let’s go back. It’s too hot!”
“There’s hardly anything left to pick. They’ve all been collected by East!” someone complained.
Ye Yaodong glanced at his half-full bucket and felt satisfied. “I didn't find much either, just some stone crabs and jumping fish. Should be enough for a bowl.”
“Having that one striped fish is good enough already. It paid for the trip; this outing wasn’t in vain,” another friend said.
“Don’t forget about that nest of snow frogs! That’s a win. Even the scattered sea life can fill a couple of bowls,” Ye Yaodong replied cheerfully, feeling pleased with his harvest.
With high tides expected tomorrow, he could return to see if his luck would hold.
“Let’s go back. My stomach feels like it's been flattened,” he said casually, kicking a stone at his feet as he prepared to turn around.
Suddenly, as he was about to turn, a tentacle reached out from beneath a rock.
He blinked in surprise, wide-eyed. “An octopus?”
“Really? You found an octopus again?” A Zheng, who was nearby, rushed over excitedly.
“It was hiding really well. If I hadn’t kicked the rock, its tentacle might never have come out,” Ye Yaodong said.
“Let’s see what we've caught! Is it a red, black, or white octopus? The tentacle looks rather small; it shouldn't be too big,” A Zheng added eagerly.
In these waters, there are three types of commonly found octopus: the white, also known as the tide-waiter, which is small but the most expensive and tastiest; the red, which is second best; and the black, the cheapest, often not even worth biting into.
Ye Yaodong reached out, grasping the tentacle firmly and pulled it up. “It’s tightly wrapped; turns out to be a black octopus. What a waste,” he sighed.
“Well, at least it’s better than going home empty-handed,” A Zheng replied.
“East, your luck seems to be running strong today! You managed to find a black octopus at the end,” another friend remarked.
“Looking at your bucket, it seems you had a good haul too,” Ye Yaodong noted as the octopus wrapped tightly around his wrist, making it hard to throw it in the bucket.
He used his other hand to pry it off and toss it in, only for it to cling to the bucket again, trying to crawl out.
“Wow, it really can climb! I’ll have to hold it in my hands for now. Can you help me move that rock over there and see if there’s anything below it?” he asked.
“You think there’s another nest there?”
Though it sounded doubtful, they worked together to flip the rock over.
“Whoa, there really is!” he exclaimed surprised. “Too bad it’s a bit small.”
“Another black one! Not bad. Any catch is good,” another friend encouraged.
Xiao Xiao squatted beside, helping to grab it and placed it in Ye Yaodong’s hand. “Alright, we can head back now. You’re really loaded today.”
He smiled broadly, pleased at the thought of an extra meal tonight.
It truly felt like all his efforts weren’t in vain, as he wouldn't just have something to eat but also some money to earn.
“I reckon you did well too. Even without the good stuff, the smaller creatures can still fill a couple of bowls,” A Zheng commented, shaking his bucket.
“Yeah, it’s not bad. Better than nothing. Hey, where’s A Guang?”
Just as he thought to poke fun at A Guang, they realized he was missing.
“A Guang wandered around the rocks but found nothing. Feeling unhappy, he went back early,” someone mentioned.
After all, he had already searched yesterday; it was no surprise he found nothing.
“He went out just to sunbathe,” A Wei chuckled, feeling a bit schadenfreude.
“Never mind, let’s pool our finds together and head to his place tonight for drinks,” Ye Yaodong suggested.
Friends sharing food and drink is the norm; after all, he had bummed a meal off them just the day before.
“Yeah, combining our food will make for a decent spread,” another friend said, agreeing.
“Let’s invite the fatty over, but it’s alright if the rat isn’t home.”
“The fat guy won’t join for sunbathing, but he’ll definitely come for drinks!”
“Have him bring a few pounds of the homemade rice wine too.”
“That works!”
As they chatted, they happily arranged their plans for the evening’s meal and drinks.
(End of Chapter)