Chapter 44: Caught a Pipi Shrimp

Yesterday elder brother mentioned Liu Village; Ye Cheng plans to go there today to have a look and develop a new map.

Liu Village isn't far from Baiyun Village—it's just the neighboring village; by bike they can get there in ten minutes.

As soon as they reached the seaside, Xiao Hu sighed, "Still, Liu Village has more people."

Baiyun Village's beach is only for locals gathering seafood, while Liu Village's side, besides locals, also has some tourists; although not as many as in later times, it's still better than Baiyun Village.

They found a spot by the sea, parked the bike, picked up their gear, and headed toward the shore.

"A Cheng, Xiao Hu!" a voice called from behind, stopping them.

They turned to see three or four roguish youths walking over, clearly not good sorts.

The group walked up to Ye Cheng and Xiao Hu and barked, "Who let you come over? This is Liu Village, you know?"

Ye Cheng stepped forward and gave the leader a monkey-stealing-peach move; the guy hastily jumped back, shouting, "Damn, you're playing for keeps!"

Ye Cheng laughed and said, "Da Liu, just a few days without seeing you and you're already putting on airs."

"Exactly, Da Liu, you're wearing sunglasses like nobody knows you." Xiao Hu also went over and greeted the others.

These are the loafers from Liu Village, who get along with Ye Cheng and Xiao Hu—birds of a feather, or rather, like-minded.

The two villages are close, and since everyone is of the same ilk, they naturally hang out often and are well acquainted.

Da Liu's real name is Liu Xiao Wei; because his name contains the word "little," he disliked it and insisted on giving himself the nickname "Da Liu."

Da Liu took off his sunglasses, showed them off, and said, "Check it out, bro—these shades are alright, huh?"

"Wearing them makes you look like a toad, and what good are they?" Ye Cheng pulled out a pack of Liqun cigarettes from his pocket and passed them around.

"Yo, A Cheng, you've struck it rich—smoking Liqun now!" The guys took the cigarettes and joked a bit.

"I've been gathering seafood lately and made some money, but I can't compare to you, Da Liu, with your sunglasses—what's up? Got a big business?"

"No big business, just selling little knickknacks—I offer those tourists small shovels, buckets, plus bottled water and instant noodles, making a bit here and there, just small change." Da Liu said it was small money, but the corners of his mouth couldn't hide his pride.

"Damn, you must be making a decent amount each day." Ye Cheng pointed at the tourists on the beach.

Tourists' money is easiest to earn; in the Chinese mindset, when you go out to play, you want to enjoy yourself fully and spend much more freely than at home.

Ye Cheng guessed that Da Liu surely makes between 2,000 and 3,000 yuan a month.

"Ah, on a good day he makes over a hundred yuan—more profitable than hawking scrap wire before, and it's legal, right?"

"Hahaha." The two laughed, looking at each other.

Everyone knows what they used to do—scrapping copper and iron, etc.; Ye Cheng had done that too.

"So, why did you come to our Liu Village today? Planning to go gathering seafood?" Da Liu glanced at their gear and could tell they were headed for the shore.

"Yeah, we came to try our luck here; you won't turn us away, will you?"

"What's there not to welcome? It's all sea stuff—whoever picks it up gets to keep it."

"Don't worry, if anyone dares to give you trouble, just give my name." Da Liu thumped his chest, making a thumping sound.

"Fine, I'll report your name. We'll head out now."

"Go on, we'll chat later when you return."

After saying goodbye to Da Liu and the gang, Ye Cheng led Xiao Hu toward the distant beach, which was crowded with tourists.

Liu Village's beach is also a tidal flat, but it has a layer of shallow water and less muddy sludge, so walking on it is easier.

"This spot will do." Ye Cheng stopped when it looked about right and asked, "Did you bring the snakeskin bag?"

"Bro, I brought three; that should be enough, right?"

"Yeah, three should be about right."

Today his Luck Value is 80, so Ye Cheng feels they'll find more.

Before starting, they lit a cigarette to relax.

But before they'd taken two puffs, Ye Cheng saw something move in the shallow water ahead—it darted like a spring.

"Got something!" Ye Cheng, cigarette dangling from his lips, rushed over; the Liqun, he hated to waste it unfinished.

Ye Cheng splashed through the water, sending up a spray; the creature sensed danger, shrank and sprang back another ten or so centimeters.

"Damn, it's pretty lively."

Ye Cheng strode forward, accelerated the chase, and finally saw what it was.

"Xiao Hu, it's a Pipi Shrimp." Ye Cheng called out, then pulled out his net and scooped it up in one swift motion.

Good thing the system provided a net this time; otherwise relying on the sea‑gathering shovel would have been a hassle.

This Pipi Shrimp, also known as mantis shrimp, etc., differs greatly from other shrimp—it looks as if it's been constantly flattened—so it's easy to recognize.

Moreover, its meat is delicious and nutritious, making it a popular seafood dish.

The most common preparation is salt‑and‑pepper Pipi Shrimp, which is very flavorful.

The only downside is...

"Ah." Ye Cheng cried out in pain and pulled his hand back from the net.

"Bro, what happened?"

"I forgot that this damned Pipi Shrimp has spines—it pricked me."

Its shell is too hard; if you don't know how to peel it when eating, your lips and hands will suffer.

Generally, Pipi Shrimp aren't big—10 to 20 cm; the one in Ye Cheng's hand counts as large, about 15 cm, plump, clearly a meaty little guy.

Ye Cheng hadn't expected to find Pipi Shrimp here in Liu Village; after digging around his own village for so long he'd hardly seen any, and he felt the sea was like a courier, delivering different things to different places.

Pipi Shrimp are easy to spot—they hop and shoot on the water surface; Ye Cheng and Xiao Hu lined up and began scanning the beach.

No need to crouch—when they saw one, they just swept the net over and hauled it up; in a few minutes they'd caught twenty‑odd.

At times like this Ye Cheng didn't overthink; he activated his Burst Skill and kept going with Xiao Hu.

Then the sand beneath the water twitched, revealing a tiny head; Ye Cheng lifted his net, scooping up sand as well, and this time it was a bamboo‑joint shrimp, struggling desperately in the net.

The bamboo‑joint shrimp is also a common seaside shrimp; it gets its name from the dark brown bands on its shell that resemble bamboo joints.

This thing isn't cheap either, and it's generally not small, about the size of Ye Cheng's palm.

"Brother, I have an octopus."

Xiao Hu excitedly raised his own net, inside which was a small octopus, struggling against the net trying to crawl out, but Xiao Hu grabbed it and threw it into the bucket.