Back To the Small Fishing Village In 1982

  Chapter 45 Dense Clusters on the Reef

Upon seeing the dense clusters of shellfish on the reef, everyone became excited again, and the disappointment they had just experienced vanished instantly without a trace.

Ye Yaodong also had a joyful expression on his face. The tide had just receded slightly, and if it were to recede completely, even more of the reef's surface would be exposed.

"Everyone, act separately."

After saying that, he didn't rush to dig. Instead, he circled around the area until he spotted a rock covered with wild abalone. Only then did he stoop down and start digging with a screwdriver.

These wild abalones clinging to the rock were different from the ones sold in the market. They had a completely different appearance, much smaller in size, only slightly larger than a one-yuan coin. They were oval-shaped, and their shells were also quite thin.

These were his favorite delicacy, perfect for steaming with enoki mushrooms and scallion oil. It would be incredibly fragrant and delicious.

With a slight pry of the screwdriver, the entire abalone came off easily, and he happily caught it in his bucket. He proceeded to pry off the entire cluster and continued searching in the surrounding area.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a large cluster of sea cucumbers in the crevices of a nearby reef. They were densely packed together, forming an intricate pattern. These were also valuable and worth collecting.

The sea cucumber, also known as the "Buddha's hand" or "penholder" due to its appearance, has a scientific name called "Holothuria." The Song Dynasty's "Records of the Three Mountains" describes it as follows: "It is named based on its shape, with delicious flesh in its cavity. The larger ones are as big as a palm."

He first put on gloves to protect his hands from being scratched by the sharp edges of the shells. Then, he carefully reached into the crevices and used a screwdriver to dig out the sea cucumbers.

After successfully digging out the entire cluster of sea cucumbers, he shifted his focus to continue searching. When he spotted a larger-sized snail, he also picked it up along the way.

The most abundant types of snails visible on the reef were primarily the spicy snails, as well as the horseshoe snail, small green snails, sesame snails, and flower snails.

He didn't discriminate and accepted any large-sized ones that came his way.

He focused on digging up the ones that could fetch a good price. He prioritized valuable species and left behind less valuable ones like mussels, sea melon seeds, and periwinkles for the time being.

He didn't bother prying open the young oysters growing inside the shells. Once he had finished digging up the valuable ones, he planned to take care of the oysters at a later time, more carefully and deliberately.

As he continued his search, he bumped into Ah Guang. Glancing into Ah Guang's bucket, he saw a wide variety of seafood. It seemed that Ah Guang was not discriminating and was digging up anything he came across. His bucket was nearly full.

“It's full already. Why don't you empty it into a sack?"

Ah Guang innocently replied, "I only brought one bucket with me!"

Ye Yaodong didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. "Well, your bucket is full, does that mean you'll just sit and watch?"

"I’ll go and pack it. Right now, I'm only collecting abalone and large snails. I got too excited in the beginning and put everything in the bucket. Now that it's full, I have to pick it out." 

Ah Zheng also raised his head nearby and said, "My bucket is also almost full..."

Fatty sat on the reef and sighed, "My bucket has been full for a while now. I've been taking a break for quite some time. Who would have thought there would be so much to dig up on this deserted island?"

Ye Yaodong was speechless at them. He remembered they saw him bring a sack yesterday, yet today they had failed to make any preparations themselves.

Suddenly, he couldn't help but secretly laugh. Fortunately, he had intentionally brought two sacks with him today. When they had landed yesterday, he glanced around carefully and saw the densely packed area full of shellfish. He thought there should be a lot of goods and worried that one sack wouldn't be enough to hold it all.

"I see Yaodong had a big bamboo basket in his bucket this morning?"

"Yeah, in the big bamboo basket, there are two sacks. I specifically asked my wife to prepare them for me today. I told you all yesterday that there must be plenty of treasures on this deserted island, yet none of you made preparations. Now, once your buckets are full, you can just sit aside and take a rest. There's no need for you to rush with the tides anymore!" 

"We couldn't have expected it. Yesterday, as soon as we got out of the water, we didn't take a close look and went back to the boat to throw the nets." 

Everyone felt regretful for not preparing earlier. Once their buckets were full, they could only sit on the rocks and watch Ye Yaodong continue digging.

Ye Yaodong was also thrilled with excitement. On the pier, there wasn't much treasure to find, so he would just pick the largest among the smaller ones. But here on the deserted island, it was a different story. The abundance of high-quality seafood in large sizes was astonishing.

Like that mussels, there are two wild varieties. One is a vibrant green color, and the other is black with a hint of purple. The completely black ones found in the market are the cultivated ones.

The ones in vibrant green are each about the size of a chicken egg. The black ones with a hint of purple have a slightly smaller size, and their heads have a whitish hue. Nonetheless, they are still considered quite large.

Once his bucket was full, he set it aside in an empty space and took out a sack to start filling it with mussels. These creatures grow in clusters, making it easy to harvest them in bulk.

After harvesting the mussels, he proceeded to dig up the bull’s eye nearby and mixed them together in the same sack. He planned to sort them out once he returned home.

Locally, they call them bull’s eye, but the official term for them is unknown because they cannot be cultivated and are not commonly seen in the market.

They are also a type of shellfish, similar to scallops, but with smaller flesh. Their shells are round and have a color resembling stone. They are delicious when cooked in soup with ginger and garlic.

While harvesting the mussels and bull’s eye, he also took the opportunity to dig for sea melon seeds and pick up some snails. He dug up whatever he came across, without being selective, and used a sack instead of a bucket, eliminating the need for careful sorting like at the beginning.

When the sack was nearly full, he dragged it to the sandy beach and then shook out another sack from the bamboo basket.

"Aren't you tired, Yaodong? You really came prepared with two sacks. You're so diligent. One sack isn't enough. Do you want to take a break for a while?" Little Xiao lit a cigarette and leisurely watched Ye Yaodong bustling about.

"I have to be diligent. Building houses at home require a significant amount of money. My elder brother and second brother work with my father at sea, and they use the earnings to build houses. I also need to contribute and gather more seafood to serve as meals for the workers, which can reduce our household expenses."

"Otherwise, I would have to go and pick stones or transport sand. If I don't do anything, my father would threaten to break my legs."

Ah Zheng chuckled lightly, "Heh, your father is probably just talking. Doesn't he know that you can't carry anything on your shoulders or with your hands? You've grown up being beaten countless times, so what's the big deal?"

"Well, you can't say that. My eldest son is already five years old, and as the father, shouldn't I save some face? Besides, building a house is a big deal. How can I be completely indifferent? I definitely need to help out. After the family separates, I still have to support my family."

Little Xiao nodded, "That makes sense!"

Ah Zheng enthusiastically added, "Anyway, if we're just idling around, why not lend you a hand tomorrow and help with the construction."

"It's scorching hot..."

"No worries, we'll just lend a hand casually."

Ye Yaodong pondered for a moment. "How about I go back and ask the workers if they have enough hands? If they need more help, you guys can join in."

"Alright, if they have enough workers, we can still come and help. You don't have to worry about wages, just provide us with meals.”

"Sure, I will definitely provide meals. So, you guys can handle it. If you're free, go ahead and help; if not, it's fine.”

While talking, he had already pried open a small cluster of sea oysters. But this time, he didn't have time to directly open the oysters. Instead, he dug up the entire cluster of oysters and threw them into the sack. He planned to bring them back home for the women to slowly open them.

"Can you help me carry that sack onto the boat?"

"Ok!"

As soon as they lifted the sack onto the boat, they realized they had done something stupid!