Chapter 381: Taking Duan Chunsheng to the Island to Forage

To that small island, Ye Cheng was already very familiar with the way; when they arrived nearby, Duan Chunsheng recognized it.

"This isn't where we hid from the storm last time, is it?"

"Yes, Uncle, look at the island." Ye Cheng pointed to the center of the island,

"This is a grove, and behind it is a red mangrove forest; we caught many blue crabs in there, this big."

Seeing Ye Cheng's gesture of size, Duan Chunsheng was startled.

"No way, it must be about three catties."

"That's right, Uncle, our average that day was over two catties." Xiao Hu said proudly.

"Hiss—, you guys are really capable, able to find them even in such a place."

"Luck, it's all luck; we need to hurry up a bit later, there's quite a lot of stuff, and we also picked up quite a few red mangrove clams."

"Lao Er, don't worry, I'm absolutely skilled at foraging."

After the three of them moored the boat, they went up the island together, passed through the middle grove, and reached the back of the island, a red mangrove forest.

"Duan Shu, this is the spot; each of you show what you can do."

"Sure, Duan Shu, I did plenty of this when I was young; don't worry."

The three stepped across the puddles and walked over; last time it was all mud, but this time the seawater rose, turning it into a shallow beach.

Ye Cheng walked in the middle, he took two steps forward, stepped on a stone, and looked down at his feet.

According to common sense, there should be something good under the stone beneath his feet.

Ye Cheng poked the tongs under the stone.

Sure enough, a large pair of pincers stretched out and grabbed Ye Cheng's iron tongs.

Ye Cheng let it hold on, then pulled outward, and a large blue crab was dragged out.

Ye Cheng skillfully pressed it down, then took out a rope and tied it up, finishing the work.

"Duan Shu, look, fast?" Ye Cheng raised his first trophy and shouted loudly.

Duan Chunsheng snorted, pulled two blue crabs out of the bucket, flashed them, then lowered his head to continue searching.

Ye Cheng looked speechless; this old guy is really impressive, he's got two brushes.

After finishing the first blue crab, Ye Cheng continued to search with his head down; there were many dead branches here, just finished handling a piece of ebony, and Ye Cheng noticed the branches looked a bit twitchy.

If nothing else, he'd pinch with the tongs, feel the weight, to see if it was ebony.

But the result was predictable; these branches were just floating on the surface, how could they be something buried for thousands of years?

Other than wasting time, they served no other purpose.

Finally, Ye Cheng gave up; seeing branches, he'd push them aside to avoid trouble.

A bubble rose in the water; Ye Cheng poked it with his iron tongs, and it was a red mangrove clam.

Just as he was about to bend down to pick it up, he saw something suddenly leap out of the water nearby, jumping at great speed and stirring up a large patch of murky water.

What the heck, it looks not small; how had he not noticed it before?

When the water gradually cleared, Ye Cheng took a close look and saw it was actually a shrimp.

This shrimp is estimated to be about thirty centimeters long, definitely a big catch.

For a shrimp, no need for iron tongs; Ye Cheng just grabbed it directly with his hand.

The shrimp's body had rings of black patterns; this is a banded shrimp.

Ye Cheng had encountered such shrimp while foraging before, but never this large.

This banded shrimp looked large in the water; picking it up, it was even bigger, holy cow!

Ye Cheng had never seen one this big before; holding it in his hand, it felt like carrying a piece of ebony.

Hefty; estimating, two of this size would make about one catty.

"Duan Shu! Xiao Hu!" Ye Cheng shouted, then lifted the large shrimp high in his hand.

The two over there were still lowering their heads to search; hearing Ye Cheng's shout, they immediately looked over.

Although they were a bit far away, such a large thing was still clearly visible at a glance.

"Holy shit! A shrimp? This big?"

"Brother, this is thicker than yours." Xiao Hu chuckled.

Ye Cheng's face darkened,

"Get lost! Thicker than yours, you little kalamari."

"You guys watch out; with these shrimp, we're going to make a fortune today."

With shrimp this big, Ye Cheng could imagine that when he brought them back to the dock, these people would rush to grab them fiercely.

They're still alive, and pure wild.

If we ordered a portion for guests and put it on the table, it would definitely be impressive.

Seeing Ye Cheng catch the shrimp, the two also started searching with their heads down.

And indeed, Duan Chunsheng quickly found one, about the same size as Ye Cheng's.

"Lao Er, Xiao Hu, it couldn't just be these few; there must be a cluster, so search well." Duan Chunsheng's aging heart also began to stir with excitement.

Generally speaking, shrimp tend to be gregarious; solitary individuals are relatively rare.

Since they've both found two, there should be a school; as for how many in the school, that's hard to say.

As soon as Duan Chunsheng finished speaking, Ye Cheng let out a scream,

"Holy crap! A nest! A nest!"

"What?"

The two looked up at Ye Cheng in surprise.

Ye Cheng shouted in delight,

「Come over here, damn, a big nest of mantis shrimp, don't let them get away. 」

When the two heard it was a nest of mantis shrimp, they got excited, just like Tarzan, and jumped over stepping on the stones.

Indeed, on the beach ahead, a group of mantis shrimp swam leisurely, thick and dense, unaware they were being watched.

Ye Cheng didn't rush forward, mainly because this body of water was already connected to the sea; if he charged straight in, he feared the shrimp would jump straight into the sea.

What they'd jump into isn't the sea, it's my money!

"Duan Shu, what do you say?" Ye Cheng pursed his lips.

"Just surround it, what else can we say, block that opening and the rest won't be able to escape." Duan Chunsheng pointed to the distant sea inlet, a full ten meters long.

The three picked up a bunch of branches, then took a detour over, and upon reaching the sea inlet they threw the branches into the water; although there were gaps, the shrimp aren't small either, so as long as something blocks them they can't get away.

After throwing in dozens of branches, the sea inlet was basically blocked; next came catching the shrimp.

The water wasn't deep, just reaching their ankles, so the three bent down and grabbed with their hands.

The mantis shrimp fled frantically, but their stamina was limited; after a couple of jumps they needed to rest, and at that moment a swift grab would net one each time.

At first there were plenty of shrimp, making it easy to grab them; later they dwindled, so they had to chase after them, and the three spent nearly an hour before they'd caught most.

"Tsk tsk tsk, these shrimp, what a sight." Duan Chunsheng had a cigarette dangling from his lips and took a deep drag.

One should smoke after finishing, it's especially relaxing.

"Uncle, let's have another look later; I reckon there's still more, it can't be just this pile, and we haven't found many blue crabs today either."

"Don't worry, today I guarantee we'll return with a full load."