With the tide receding, the sight of countless shellfish on the rocks filled everyone with excitement.
The earlier feelings of disappointment vanished without a trace.
Ye Yaodong's face lit up with joy.
The tide had only just begun to lower, and if it continued to pull back, more treasures would be revealed on the rocky surface.
“Everyone, split up and search,” he instructed.
He didn’t rush to dig right away but first made a round of the area.
It wasn’t until he spotted a rock swarming with wild abalone that he knelt down, screwdriver in hand.
These wild abalones, clinging to the rocks, looked quite different from the ones sold in markets.
They were much smaller, only a bit larger than a one-yuan coin, and had thin, oval shells.
This was one of his favorite delicacies, especially when steamed with enoki mushrooms and scallions—it was simply divine.
With just a slight prying action of the screwdriver, one abalone popped free.
Delight coursed through him as he collected it in his bucket, then continued to search the surroundings.
His peripheral vision caught a glimpse of a cluster of Buddha's hand citrons nestled in the gaps between the rocks.
This too was worth something.
Buddha's hand, also known as the pen rack, has a scientific name of “tortoise foot.” According to the Song Dynasty's “Three Mountain Chronicles,” it is named after its shape, and the flesh within is said to be delicious, with the larger ones being as big as a palm.
He quickly donned gloves to avoid being scratched by the young shellfish and reached into the crevice with the screwdriver to pry some loose.
After successfully removing a whole patch of Buddha's hand, he shifted his focus again and spotted a large snail, which he picked up as well.
Among the most common shellfish on the rocks were the spicy snails, horse hoof snails, shrimp snails, sesame snails, and flower snails.
He welcomed any large ones.
He focused his efforts on the valuable finds first, leaving the less valuable ones like mussels, sea clams, and cow eyes for later.
He didn’t bother with the oysters growing nearby; once he had gathered most of the valuable items, he could then slowly deal with the rest.
As he continued to dig, he bumped into A Guang, who glanced at the contents of his bucket and saw a mixed haul.
It seemed he was collecting everything in sight, as his bucket was nearly full.
“Is it full already? Why not transfer some into a bag?” Ye Yaodong asked.
A Guang replied innocently, “I only brought one bucket!”
Ye Yaodong couldn’t help but feel exasperated, “So now that your bucket is full, are you just going to sit and watch?”
“Let me fill it first. I only picked abalones and large snails at first. I got too excited and threw everything into the bucket, now it’s full, so I must start sorting through it.”
A Zheng, nearby, chimed in, “My bucket is almost full too…”
The stout guy sitting on the rocks sighed, “My bucket has been full for quite some time. I’ve been resting here for a while, who knew this lonely island would be so rich?”
Ye Yaodong couldn’t help but be speechless at their lack of preparation.
They had seen him bring burlap sack yesterday, yet they hadn’t made any arrangements for today.
Then he secretly rejoiced, relieved that he had brought two burlap sacks today.
When he had disembarked yesterday, he glanced around and saw the densely packed treasures, thinking there would be plenty to collect.
He worried one sack might not be enough.
“I saw you had a big bamboo basket earlier. Did you put your sacks in there?”
“Yes, I had two burlap sacks in the bamboo basket. My wife helped me prepare them today. I told you all yesterday that there would definitely be something on this island. Yet none of you seemed to take it seriously. Now, you can just sit and watch while I dig if your buckets are full!”
“We never thought about that. When we came ashore yesterday, we were so caught up in collecting tools that we didn’t look around carefully.”
Everyone felt regretful for not preparing earlier, and when their buckets filled up, they had no choice but to sit and watch Ye Yaodong continue digging.
Ye Yaodong was in high spirits; the dock’s rocks had barely anything worth digging, while here on the lonely island, the bounty was abundant, and the sizes were impressive.
For instance, the local mussels had two varieties: one was a vibrant green, and the other was black with a hint of purple.
The all-black mussels found in markets were farmed.
The green ones were egg-sized, while the black with purple ones had a white tip and were slightly smaller but still sizable.
Once his bucket was full, he set it aside and pulled out a burlap sack to start filling with mussels.
These shellfish typically grew in clusters, making them easy to dig up.
After finishing with the mussels, he also harvested cow eyes nearby, mixing them into the same sack to sort through later at home.
They called these cow eyes in their local dialect; he wasn’t sure what the official name was, as they couldn’t be farmed and weren’t available in stores.
They resembled scallops, but the meat was smaller, while the shells were round and stone-colored.
Just adding some ginger and garlic made for an excellent soup!
As he dug for mussels and cow eyes, he also snatched up sea clams and snails, collecting everything he encountered without hesitation, filling the burlap sack instead of the bucket, allowing him to be less picky like at the start.
Once the burlap sack was near full, he dragged it over to the beach, shaking out another sack from his bamboo basket.
“Tired yet, Dongzi? You really came prepared with two burlap sacks. Why are you working so hard? One sack isn’t enough; do you need a break?” Xiao Xiao lit a cigarette, watching Ye Yaodong’s busy figure leisurely.
“I can’t afford to slack. Building a house requires a lot of money. My older brothers work with my father at sea, and the money they earn goes towards the house, so I must pitch in as well. Bringing back more seafood for the workers helps cut down on household expenses.”
“If I don’t, I might end up hauling stones or sand. If I do nothing, my dad might just break my legs.”
A Zheng chuckled lightly, “Come on, your dad is just saying that. Does he not know your shoulders can’t bear heavy weights, and your hands can’t lift? You’ve taken a beating growing up; does it really matter?”
“You can’t say that. My eldest son is already five years old. As a father, I can’t just disregard my pride, can I? Besides, building a house is a big deal. I can’t be indifferent; I definitely have to help out a bit. Once we split up the family, I’ll still need to provide for my family.”
Xiao Xiao nodded in agreement, “You make sense!”
A Zheng continued enthusiastically, “Well, since we have nothing to do, let’s help you out tomorrow.”
“In this sweltering heat…”
“It’s okay; we’ll just lend a hand,” he replied.
Ye Yaodong considered this, “I'll check if we’ve got enough workers first. If not, you can come to help.”
“Enough workers, but we can always help too. No fees as long as we are fed,” said one of them.
“Sure, there’ll definitely be food. Just come when you can; if you can’t, then no worries.”
As they spoke, he had already pried up half a bag of young shellfish.
At that moment, he didn’t take the time to open oysters directly but instead collected all the young shellfish into the burlap sack, planning to take them home to let the womenfolk open them slowly.
“Can you help me lift that burlap sack onto the boat?”
“Sure!”
However, once they got the sack onto the boat, they suddenly realized they had made a foolish mistake!
The continuation of tomorrow’s chapters is very important; it relates to whether this round of recommendations can be upgraded and whether the book will be exposed to more readers.
Everyone should not neglect the story; make sure to catch the latest chapters tomorrow!
Thank you very much! Bow!
(End of Chapter)