Chapter 273

Ye Guowei looked at Ye Cheng, "Nothing, what's up? You and Xiao Hu can't handle it? I'll go with you, your sister-in-law can just stay at home."

No, big brother, Xiao Hu and I discovered an island today with many Buddha's Hand Snails; I was thinking more people would make it faster.

Buddha's Hand Snails are too troublesome to handle; the speed can't keep up, and it's more convenient with more people, so Ye Cheng thought of also inviting Jiang Yunxiang.

Buddha's Hand Snail, that's quite a fun thing. I'll go too, let's do it faster. Tomorrow I'll have Qian Shen watch Dou Dou for me.

Jiang Yunxiang staying home alone was also a bit bored; having this opportunity to go out to sea, she also wanted to go out for a stroll, especially since they were going to collect Buddha's Hand Snails.

Seeing his wife speak up, Ye Guowei also felt embarrassed to object, nodded, and said, "Alright, then we'll go together tomorrow, bring more tweezers and small shovels, that'll make it easier."

Okay, brother, sister-in-law, that's settled then—we'll go out to sea together tomorrow.

After saying that, Ye Cheng was about to leave, but then he thought again, turned back with a thick-skinned expression and said,

Well, sister-in-law, could you prepare some food for us to bring tomorrow? Xiao Hu just bought a bunch of meat today, and we're stuffed with food.

Jiang Yunxiang gave him a look, "Alright, alright, I'll stir-fry two dishes, balance meat and vegetables, that should be fine, you're so picky these days."

Being scolded by his sister-in-law, Ye Cheng didn't mind; they're family, he went home, took a hot shower, played a game, and went to bed.

Considering there would be many Buddha's Hand Snails, Ye Cheng and his older brother agreed on an early time, getting up at 6 o'clock, then he checked the system:

Luck Value: 70+20

Points: 5200

Savings: 119,000, External Debt: 30,000, Mortgage: 300,000 (including interest)

The points gained yesterday weren't much, maybe the pomfret grade is low.

Ye Cheng tidied up a bit, took his things and left, called Xiao Hu, and the two rode their motorcycle to the dock; Ye Guowei and Jiang Yunxiang came by bicycle.

Besides bringing tools, Jiang Yunxiang also brought several lunch boxes, saying, 'Well, I've prepared rice for you, stir-fried chili meat, braised pork, fried an egg with some cold dishes, enough for you all to eat.'

Okay, sister-in-law, you're amazing, preparing this much so early.

Ye Guowei interjected, 'Your sister-in-law got up before 5 to cook rice.'

Then sister-in-law, once we're on the boat, find a place to rest; it'll still take about an hour to get there.

Okay, okay, I know, I'm up early anyway, I'm used to it.

Everyone picked up their things and headed to the boat, when they happened to run into Duan Chunsheng on the way; this time Duan Chunsheng also brought Duan Yong.

Uncle, what's up, today it's a father-son gathering." Ye Cheng greeted.

Duan Chunsheng came over with a beaming face, pulled Duan Yong and handed out cigarettes to everyone.

Wow, Uncle Duan, did you strike it rich?" Ye Cheng looked at the pack of Hua Zi cigarettes in his hand.

Duan Chunsheng burst out laughing, 'It's not because you, Old Two, had me go pull nets yesterday; I also pulled a net of pomfret, over a hundred catties.'

Yeah, my mom even laughed in her sleep last night." Duan Yong interjected.

Their family has grown closer to Ye Cheng lately, and their days are getting better; he himself also wants to get closer to Ye Cheng.

So, Uncle Duan, you're taking A Yong out to sea, planning to cast another net?"

Just testing luck, who knows; how come you guys have such a big entourage today—where are you headed?" Duan Chunsheng pointed at Ye Guowei and the others.

Bringing my older brother and sister-in-law along to have fun, just the island you mentioned, we'll go check it out for gathering.

Hearing Ye Cheng say they were going to gather, Duan Chunsheng admired and gave a thumbs-up, 'Old Two, you're still impressive; yesterday you pulled a fish school, today you don't even want to pull another net.'

Uncle, fish schools are hard to come by; I wish you good luck.

Ye Cheng also didn't mention going to collect Buddha's Hand Snails; after all, no matter how much there is, with more people there's not much fuss.

As for whether Duan Chunsheng can encounter a fish school, that's his own matter; right now Ye Cheng just wants to bring back the Buddha's Hand Snails.

The two families boarded the boat separately and set off.

The journey was fairly long; Jiang Yunxiang really found a spot to nap for a while, while the three men boredly chatted at the bow.

Ye Guowei's every third sentence was about the farm, saying many seedlings had died, he didn't know why, but the middle seedlings were fine, not many died.

Moreover, in just these few days, their size has noticeably grown; as long as there's no big tide here, this batch of clam seedlings will soon grow into adults.

He was already thinking about how much yield he could get.

Xiao Hu, being carefree, just listened for fun; when they passed the first fishing ground, Ye Cheng also took a look—today there were far fewer people fishing here.

On the contrary, where Ye Cheng pulled nets yesterday, the crowd had grown, and from afar they could see Duan Chunsheng already starting to cast his net.

Ye Cheng turned the boat a bit and headed toward that small island from yesterday.

Brother, look, that's the island." Ye Cheng pointed at the distant land and said.

Jiang Yunxiang had also pretty much woken up, she got up energized and said, 'Are there Buddha's Hand Snails here? There aren't even any reefs—impossible.'

Sister-in-law, on the back side of the island, that's where they all are.

Ye Cheng drove the boat around in a circle; indeed the back looked completely different from the front. Following the route he'd scouted yesterday, he stopped the boat, and then several people stepped onto the island in the water.

Big brother, sister-in-law, look, the crevices in those rocks are full of Buddha's Hand Snails.

Ye Cheng led the few people over, casually found a rock crevice and looked down—tightly packed Buddha's Hand Snails, making one's scalp tingle.

Really that many, Ah Cheng? We've struck it rich this time!" Jiang Yunxiang exclaimed.

Sister-in-law, it's true this time we'll be tired—just thinking about squatting here pulling them makes my back ache." Ye Cheng complained.

This thing earns only hard-earned money; honestly, picking abalone would be better.

Everyone split up and started working; Buddha's Hand Snails have a strong grip, to pull them out you need to use tweezers to clamp their 'hand' and slowly pull upward—too much force risks breaking them, so you have to go slow, pulling out the whole body.

Generally a Buddha's Hand Snail is only a few centimeters long, the edible part is even smaller—just a tiny bit of the body—but people still find it delicious.

Ye Cheng used tweezers to clamp one, applied more force, and the snail's body was pulled out—flattened cylindrical, surface rough, covered in dark brown skin, like rubber.

Don't let the somewhat ugly exterior fool you; the flesh inside is milky white, with a Q‑elastic texture, just as fresh as crab meat.

Generally Buddha's Hand Snails are picked off one by one, but Ye Cheng also saw a cluster of them here.

They grow fairly dense, like a flower; this is the best kind. Ye Cheng took out a small shovel, scooped along the stone, and dug up an entire cluster of Buddha's Hand Snails—this cluster had about a dozen or so, much better than pulling them out one by one.