With a light slap to his forehead, Xiao Xiao exclaimed, "Damn... are we being foolish? Why don’t we just dump the stuff from the bucket onto the boat? That way, we can free up space to load more!"
Ah Zheng suddenly came to realization, "You're right! Just pour it on the boat, and we can set it aside in a corner. We can grab a sack when we get back."
"Seriously, such pig brains... sitting here for so long, only watching Dongzi dig."
"Let's hurry up and go collect more. The boat fare and fuel are expensive; we can't waste this trip!"
When they returned to inform Fatty and Chen Wei, the two finally understood and quickly went to pour the contents from the bucket onto the boat, freeing it up to continue loading.
Ye Yaodong looked at them speechlessly.
As long as he filled two sacks, he would be satisfied.
He figured that as long as he didn't wash them and kept them in a cool place, those shellfish would last for two or three days.
If it weren't for needing to feed the workers, he wouldn’t have gathered so much.
After all, without a refrigerator, if he picked too much, it would spoil.
He had already collected enough.
Once his sack of young shellfish was full, it was time for him to sit down and take a break, watching them work.
On this uninhabited island, the rocks were still rich with the shellfish that attached themselves to them.
It was impossible for him alone to collect everything; they still had plenty to gather.
After sunbathing for a bit and munching on two corn cobs, he noticed that the tide had receded, exposing most of the surrounding rocks.
He called out to the others who were bent over the rocks, "Comrades, the tide is out! I'm going to treasure hunt; you all keep digging!"
"Dammit, there's no time to waste!"
"I'm going to dig a little longer. If you find something good, just yell for me, and I'll come down."
"Alright! I’ll let you know once I finish digging up the big ones."
Ye Yaodong chuckled, then rolled up his pants and began searching in the shallow water.
"Damn it, I won’t dig anymore. I’m going down to take a look," Ah Zheng said as he jumped straight down, not bothering to dump his half-full bucket first.
He feared being too slow; after all, those shellfish weren’t going anywhere.
As soon as he landed, he heard Ye Yaodong’s surprised voice.
"Shit! Sea centipedes!"
"What? Where? Where are the sea centipedes?"
"Are there sea centipedes?"
Everyone hurried over to Ye Yaodong's side, only to see the exposed mud flats crawling with countless sea centipedes.
Sea centipedes, known scientifically as sandworms, are a type of marine creature found on the shallow shores of the southeastern coast.
Their most terrifying feature is that they look like centipedes, but they are not venomous or aggressive and have short legs.
They mainly feed on seaweed and seagrass, with a bit of shrimp and small fish.
"Damn, that's disgusting! So many of them!"
"I’ve got goosebumps all over!"
A large mass of sea centipedes was writhing about, enough to terrify anyone with a fear of clusters!
Fortunately, Ye Yaodong wasn’t afraid of these creatures.
"This is a good find! Come on, everyone, be quiet when you catch them. Don't let them burrow back into the mud!"
"No way, that's too disgusting! I'm getting goosebumps just looking at that huge mass; I’m out!"
"Me neither; I didn’t bring gloves."
"My eyes are going to go blind! I’ll go look somewhere else to wash my eyes."
"Yeah, it is a bit gross. If you discovered them, you can go catch them yourself!"
Everyone shook their heads and quickly moved aside.
Ye Yaodong rolled his eyes, "Everyone wants to eat but no one is willing to catch!"
"That's not the point! The cooked ones look so different from the live ones, okay? It's so crowded that I feel like I'm going to be sick. You found them, so you go for it!" Ah Guang said, quickly grabbing his bucket and running off.
If it’s just him catching them, even better; his bamboo basket wasn’t really suited for carrying sea centipedes, so he dashed towards the boat.
He had to dump the seafood from the bucket onto the deck to clear it for more, muttering to himself as he walked, "Why are there so many sea centipedes out? Aren’t they supposed to be hiding in holes beneath the mud?"
"Who knows? Maybe they come out to mate during the first few days of the month."
As long as there was something to catch, he was satisfied.
After dumping the bucket, he rinse it with seawater before running excitedly toward the group of sea centipedes.
They were disgusting, but it wasn't like he couldn’t handle it; after all, he was wearing gloves, so he wasn’t directly touching them.
He scooped up a handful, watching them squirm and feeling a strong discomfort in his stomach.
He quickly shoved them into the bucket.
The sea centipedes nearby, sensing danger, hurriedly burrowed into the mud.
No way he was going to let them escape! Ye Yaodong moved quickly, catching as many as he could that hadn’t reacted yet, while the ones that did managed to hide.
Looking at the tiny holes dotting the mud, he gently probed one, hoping to feel something.
With a careful tug, he realized he needed to be patient and gentle.
Pulling too quickly could break them apart, so he paused after pulling a bit, giving them time to contract before continuing.
After only finding a few holes, he quickly lost patience; it was too time-consuming.
He already had almost half a bucket, estimated to weigh four or five pounds.
He planned to go treasure hunting first, then see if there were more good finds.
After all, those suckers weren’t going anywhere.
After placing the bucket in a cool spot, he took his bamboo cage and fire tongs and headed towards Ah Guang, who was closest.
"Find anything good?"
"What do you think? If I had found something spectacular, I'd have shouted it out already."
"True enough. It seems like no one discovered anything big!"
He glanced at Ah Guang's bucket, which contained a few stone crabs and some small fish, "You could try digging for shellfish on the rocks; you might get a better catch."
Ah Guang nodded seriously, "I think so too."
Ye Yaodong patted him reassuringly on the shoulder, then, after checking where everyone else was stationed, decided to walk a bit away along the island's rocks.
During the time he spent hunting sea centipedes, the tide had receded even further.
Since he had a good start on the mud flats today, he made his way toward the areas where the mud was exposed.
The parts of the island revealed by the tide contained small sandy patches and mudflats, which looked dirty enough that stepping on them caused you to sink in.
After just a few steps, he already had his pants splattered with mud.
Wielding the fire tongs, he stumbled upon a large blue crab, caked in mud, lying still on the mudflat, basking in the sun?
At first glance, it seemed well-camouflaged amidst the mud, and without careful examination, he almost missed it.
Ye Yaodong quickly pinched it with the fire tongs, and instantly, its strong claws started waving in defense.
"Oh, it's a female! Quite heavy, should have roe. Guessing it weighs about a pound and a half. Good, I almost overlooked it!"
He felt truly lucky; opportunities on the mudflat seemed plentiful, and just a casual stroll yielded surprisingly good finds.
(End of Chapter)