Chapter 22 Old Six
Chu Mingcheng handed the tongs to Jiang Luoluo and Zhou Jiayi, and, along with Zhang Wei, started leading them to search for edible seafood in the rocky reef area.
At first, they did not take them to the fake tide pools, so the catch was meager.
However, Jiang Luoluo and Zhou Jiayi seemed very excited, and would scream and shout upon seeing a tiny stone crab, rushing to catch it.
Unconsciously, Zhou Jiayi followed behind Zhang Wei, while Jiang Luoluo stuck close to Chu Mingcheng.
"Wow, there's a huge oyster here!"
Jiang Luoluo truly had sharp eyes, as she managed to discover a very large oyster inside a crevice on the side of a rock.
"Come on, here's the shovel. Pry it off," Chu Mingcheng immediately handed her the tool.
Without any hesitation, she took the shovel and went to work, prying the big oyster off after a few forceful shovels.
Picking up the oyster, Jiang Luoluo seemed overjoyed, "Haha, we finally got something today."
Seeing her happiness, Chu Mingcheng subtly suggested, "I think you should open the oyster to check, as seaside oysters are generally not this big. There might be nothing inside."
"Empty?" Jiang Luoluo took the bloodletting dagger with some confusion, then attempted to open the oyster.
Upon opening the oyster's shell, a large chunk of slightly greenish oyster meat was immediately exposed.
The oyster was indeed large and its belly was plump, rivaling those sold in barbecue shops.
"Haha, there's an oyster inside, and it's so big too!"
"Let me see..." Chu Mingcheng leaned in and, while Jiang Luoluo wasn't paying attention, suddenly grabbed the oyster meat and slurped it into his mouth, not forgetting to make a quick getaway.
"Ahhh, my oyster, Chu Mingcheng, you thief!" Even the best temper would explode at this, and Jiang Luoluo was no exception, furiously throwing the oyster shell at him, her temper flaring like a little cat's.
"Hahaha... This oyster is a bit too salty from the seawater!" Having dodged the "bomb" attack, Chu Mingcheng stopped to laugh nonstop, undoubtedly finding stolen goods to be the tastiest.
"Knowing that, you still ate it without worrying about the dirt!" Jiang Luoluo rolled her eyes unamusedly, her tone tinged with a hint of annoyance.
"Hehe, come on, let's see what's in the tide pools. Usually, during low tide, some creatures can't make it back in time and get trapped. With your luck in finding such a big oyster, maybe there will be other discoveries today."
"Is that really true?"
"It's all about luck!"
Time had mostly passed, and fearing something would happen to the seafood he had purchased, Chu Mingcheng started guiding Jiang Luoluo towards those tide pools.
"Wow, such a big scallop!"
Unexpectedly, Zhang Wei was faster and had already led Zhou Jiayi to the spot with the scallops and sea snails.
"Where, where?" Jiang Luoluo was instantly attracted to it.
Just passing a few small pools, she suddenly noticed something amiss, looked down to find a bunch of lobsters huddled in a tide pool at her feet, their antennae waving conspicuously.
"Ah!!!"
A soprano suddenly rang out beside him, and Chu Mingcheng complained without words, "Are you girls like Pokémon or what? Always attacking with a screech?"
"Lobsters, so many lobsters!" Jiang Luoluo couldn't care less about his mockery, as she pointed at the tide pool and excitedly slapped his arm.
"Sss~ They say you hit the jackpot on your first fishing trip, and now you've hit the jackpot on your first sea foraging too!" Even though the deception was so blatant, Chu Mingcheng still put on a bit of an act, forcing a surprised look on his face.
"Quick, use the tongs to pick them up and put them in the bucket, we've got our feast today."
"Oh, oh, oh..."
Jiang Luoluo hastily used the pliers in her hand to grab, but she didn't have enough strength. Every time she clamped down, the lobster would break free, making her so anxious that she threw the pliers aside and reached out to catch it with her hands.
"Haha, so many lobsters!"
"Yeah, you've caught the whole family in one go."
"Hee hee~"
After capturing all the lobsters and placing them in a bucket, the girl smiled until her eyes disappeared, turning into crescent moons.
Zhang Wei saw that she caught the lobsters and seized the opportunity to guide Zhou Jiayi to catch the Sri Lanka Green Crab.
But Green Crabs are so fierce, let alone the big ones weighing three or four pounds, even the ones weighing half a pound are too intimidating for most girls to try catching!
Chu Mingcheng only heard the girls scared, wanting to catch yet afraid to do so. In the end, he had to take matters into his own hands, catching the big critter, and then he picked up the scallops and sea snails one by one.
It was still early, and with so many catches, Jiang Luoluo and Zhou Jiayi were full of energy.
However, the reality of sea foraging, coupled with their inexperience, meant that by the time the tide came in at eleven o'clock, they hadn't found much else.
"Let's go, we've been lucky to catch so much this morning. We'll eat something simple for lunch; I'll take you out to sea in the afternoon."
"Out to sea? You have a boat?" Jiang Luoluo asked in surprise.
Chu Mingcheng explained, "I haven't bought one yet, but we can rent a boat! There's a group of fishermen on this island who make a living fishing. They lower the nets and then rent the boat to others."
"When the time is right, they'll take those who rented the boat to collect the nets, and whatever is caught, no matter its value, belongs to the person who rented the boat."
Jiang Luoluo nodded in understanding, "I see. So, is it common to make a profit or a loss when renting a boat?"
Chu Mingcheng let out a wry smile, "Of course, the losses are greater. The fishermen aren't that foolish. They won't rent out boats during the first month after the fishing ban is lifted, when catches are plentiful because it's easy to lose money by renting then."
"They start renting out boats after a month has passed, with different prices for different times. For example, renting in the morning or at noon would cost two thousand for one trip. In the evening, it would only cost one thousand five hundred."
Hearing about the frequent losses, Jiang Luoluo frowned and said, "Then let's not do that; we shouldn't engage in something that's bound to be a loss!"
"Haha, for us, renting a boat is actually a recreational activity. The main point is to experience how fishermen catch fish and the joy of a good haul."
"Besides, you two are so lucky today, maybe we'll have a big catch this afternoon?"
Seeing that Jiang Luoluo was about to say something, Zhou Jiayi pulled her sleeve and whispered into her ear, "Luoluo, since he's planned it, let's just go along! If we end up losing a lot, we can help cover some of the costs."
"Okay!" Jiang Luoluo, feeling that made sense, didn't try to persuade further.
They went to a noodle shop for lunch and had a bowl of seafood noodles each, then Chu Mingcheng took them back home to drop off their things.
On the way, he also fed the small miscellaneous fish he had found specially in a puddle to the tabby cat.
Having a cute pet at home surely made the place more attractive to girls.
Unfortunately, the tabby cat was highly alert and, except for Chu Mingcheng, didn't let anyone else near, it would hiss and run away.
Therefore, Jiang Luoluo and Zhou Jiayi could only watch it eat fish from a distance, yearning to pet the cat but without the chance.
After feeding the cat, they set off again and arrived at the pier.
Neither Chu Mingcheng nor Zhang Wei brought fishing rods, as they had no intention to fish. The area around the island was full of fishing nets, leaving virtually no good spots for fishing.
This was why most Fishing Men, as long as they had the time, would go to Dongting Island instead.
There, the fishermen partnered up for deep-sea fishing, and the fish resources around the island were still decent.
Those who came to Yanmen Island for sea fishing were generally people with not much time and who didn't want to go to too much trouble, with most only able to catch stone fish, or even returning empty-handed.