Back To the Small Fishing Village In 1982

Chapter 55 Bountiful Harvest on a Typhoon Day

"Hurry up, hurry up, that clam is going to roll back into the sea."

Lin Xiuqing smiled as she stepped on the waves to go pick it up. Her face was radiant with joy, and Ye Yaodong couldn't help but glance at her a few more times. It had been many years since he had seen her smile so freely and happily.

After picking up the clams from the sea, she happily walked toward him and raised her hand, "This is the biggest one I've picked up, and it's as big as my fist."

"Um, let's put it in. We'll walk in the direction of the boulder reef and look for more as we go. By the time we reach there, the tide should have reached the rocks."

She nodded with a smile.

Ye Yaodong had only taken a few steps when he couldn't help but stop. He squatted down and used his fingers to dig into the spot on the beach with air holes. He dug out a sand clam.

"You have a sharp eye!"

After saying that, she also found a hole and started digging, and she managed to dig out one as well.

Sand clams are not evenly distributed on the beach, so it takes time to find them. It's easier to find them when the air bubbles are exposed during low tide.

"Do you want to dig here for a while or continue walking?" Ye Yaodong asked, seeing her engrossed in digging.

She stood up with a hint of reluctance. "Forget it, let's stop digging. Let’s go ahead and check if there's anything good to pick up by the rocks over there?"

"Um."

They walked to a small area with scattered rocks and mudflats, and the two of them were pleasantly surprised once again.

"There's a fish there."

"It's sea crucian carp."

The fish was already dead, stranded on the beach. Ye Yaodong opened its gills and took a look. Its color had turned dark red, indicating that it had likely died in the sea and washed ashore.

"It's not fresh anymore. Let's leave it and throw it back into the sea!" 

"Okay." Lin Xiuqing looked disappointed. She had finally picked up a fish, but it wasn't fresh.

Sea crucian carp, also known as black eagle, differ from regular crucian carp mainly in their habitats. Sea crucian carp live in the sea, while regular crucian carp live in lakes and swamps.

She picked up the fish and walked towards the waves. Just as she threw it back into the sea, a wave rolled in. She quickly stepped back a few steps. Unexpectedly, when the water receded, there was a large blue crab on the beach.

"Ah Dong, Ah Dong, come quickly, there's a big blue crab. Hurry and catch it before it crawls away…"

Hearing this, Ye Yaodong trotted over and saw a big blue crab waving its two pincers and rapidly crawling sideways on the beach. He promptly stepped on it and then grabbed it. The two large pincers were still brandishing menacingly.

"Good guy, this one weighs two jin! What good luck! It wasn't in vain to come out on a typhoon day!"

Lin Xiuqing's face also blossomed with a smile. "We made the right decision to come out today."

"I called you earlier, but you were unwilling. This one crab alone is worth two days of your fishing net."

"I didn't know either. Come on, let's follow the waves and keep moving forward."

This time, it was her turn to anxiously grab him.

Following the tide, they walked along and picked up various fish, shrimp, crabs, clams, and mussels of different sizes. They weren't valuable items, but it was still quite enjoyable and worth being happy about.

Their beach was quite spacious. As they walked down from the shore, they made intermittent stops. Occasionally, they even climbed up to check if there were any stranded seafood. As a result, it took them over half an hour to reach the rocky area.

Just as they stopped their steps, Ye Yaodong noticed two plum child fish swimming in a small puddle between the crevices of the rocks. Moreover, the rocky wall inside the small crevice was also adorned with baby fist-sized sea oyster snails.

After he caught the fish, at the request of his wife, he gave her the snail and let her break it open.

Plum child fish is often mistaken for small yellow croaker by laymen. The two are very similar, and the price is not much different.

"Unfortunately, there are only two of them, and they're so small."

Lin Xiuqing looked up and smiled, saying, "It's alright. We can steam them together with the golden pomfret and the small bass we just picked up. It will make a mixed fish platter."

"Okay, let's split up and search again."

The tide had already receded, so they split up to search more quickly. Ye Yaodong hadn't taken many steps when he heard Lin Xiuqing's voice filled with excitement, "Moray eel! Ah Dong, there's a moray eel here, and it's huge!"

He hurriedly walked toward her. There was a large eel, weighing approximately 3-4 jin, swimming in the shallow water area. It appeared to have been stranded there by the waves.

This moray eel has a powerful mouth and sharp teeth. Its bite can draw blood immediately, so one needs to be cautious when handling it. Ye Yaodong took careful aim and stomped directly on its head. The eel's tail started thrashing wildly.

No matter how it struggled, it was futile. He directly grabbed its head and threw it into a sack. 

Seeing that he had already caught the eel, Lin Xiuqing continued searching around the rocky area.

"Ah Dong, Ah Dong, grouper! There's a grouper here!"

Is his wife just incredibly lucky today? She's the one who keeps finding things!

"Damn, it's a sea bass! How come there's a sea bass here?"

Lin Xiuqing couldn't recognize the exact species of the grouper at all, but she knew it was a grouper. Ye Yaodong, on the other hand, was more familiar with it and recognized it at a glance.

The Japanese sea bass, which is a type of grouper, has an elongated, oval-shaped body that is flat on the sides and robust. It inhabits the clear waters of coral reef areas, with young fish often found in reef pools or tidal pools, while adult fish are usually found in deeper waters. It's surprising that, with the fierce waves caused by a typhoon, this fish was also swept up onto the shore!

Today's harvest is truly abundant. It wasn't in vain coming here. If only they had known, they would have brought a bucket with them.

"Do you want to run back home and get a bucket? I’ll wait here?"

This one is different from the regular seafood they picked up earlier. Although it may not fetch a high price in this era, it is still a rare find. It's better to keep it alive and sell it to a high-end hotel for ornamental purposes. It would make a great centerpiece.

"Is this fish very valuable?"

"Of course! Just by looking at its patterns, you can tell it's a rare fish. This Japanese sea bass grouper is not from our local waters; somehow it got swept over by the waves."

Upon hearing the affirmative answer, Lin Xiuqing became excited. "You stay here and make sure it doesn't get washed away by the waves or rain. I'll quickly run back home to get a bucket."

Today, it's hard to say whether it was his luck or his wife's luck, but most of the time he followed behind her, he picked up treasures.

It is often said that beginners have better luck playing Mahjong or cards. Does the same apply to sea digging?

The key is that she is not a beginner either; it's just her first time venturing out on a typhoon day.

This fish is quite valuable, and he couldn't bear to let it out of his sight while he went searching. So he had to stand here and watch. Who would have thought that while he stood there without searching, a blue crab crawled out from between the rocks.

It's really delivered to your door, can't let it go to waste for nothing!

The crab resources in this sea area are still abundant, but it's a pity that this crab is missing a claw and the other claw doesn't match its body size. It's clearly a newly grown one.

Although it weighs one jin, its value is greatly reduced!

Originally, with one claw missing, the price of the crab would have been reduced by at least one-third. Now, with the other claw just recently regrown, it's practically worthless and cannot be sold at a good price. It's a good opportunity to take it back and stew it with Dangshen to help the children gain strength.

(end of this chapter)

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3. Dangshen taste is sweeter, its uses fall short of ginseng, medicinal properties are weaker. It is traditionally used to regulate light ailments and slow advancing diseases and disorders. Increase dose of dangshen to improve results. However, for more severe ailments, the use of ginseng is recommended.