Chapter 45: Pond Shrimp Swarm

Ye Cheng didn't used to like eating octopus much, mainly because he thought it looked a bit ugly, but those who like it really like it, especially liking the suckers.

After walking two steps along the beach, a startled bamboo shrimp suddenly jumped out of the sand and darted frantically in the water.

Ye Cheng's eyes lit up; this bamboo shrimp was huge—about thirty centimeters long—and it shot half a meter out in the seawater with a swish.

But if you keep hitting, can your legs and arms outrun someone?

Ye Cheng suddenly sped up, a large net hooked onto it, and he hauled it up.

"Damn, that's big." Ye Cheng grabbed the shrimp in his hand; it was longer than his palm by a large margin.

He hadn't even looked closely yet when he saw a rustling in the sand beneath his feet, with movement in several spots.

Ye Cheng casually tossed the bamboo shrimp into the bucket and carefully lowered his net along the sand.

As soon as the net went in, a big splash erupted in the sand, and four bamboo shrimp jumped out.

But these shrimp obviously hadn't studied Sun Tzu's Art of War; they didn't know to scatter and flee, all running in the same direction, so Ye Cheng swept them up with one net, scooping them all in.

Plop-plop, plop-plop, the four large shrimp kept jumping in the net; these lively big shrimp are really cause for celebration.

"Brother, I've got another octopus over here," Xiao Hu shouted.

"Fine, you're basically dueling with the octopus, huh."

In the distance, Da Liu sat at the village entrance, pointing at Ye Cheng and them,

"These two kids aren't just here to play, are they? One moment they cast a net, the next they cast another, just like children."

"Brother, I heard the people from Baiyun Village say that A Cheng's luck has been great lately—he can haul in lots of seafood wherever he goes," the guy beside him said.

"Bullshit, you've looked at our village's beach for decades—what big haul have you ever gotten?" Da Liu didn't believe it.

"That's true, brother."

"Let me tell you, it's just that A Cheng offended the village chief over there, and they're spreading rumors—geez, how did this kid suddenly get so fierce? I heard he even went head-to-head with the village chief; that's awesome."

Da Liu sighed.

He wasn't afraid of confronting the village chief, because the village chief is his dad, and his dad can't control him.

But the other villagers wouldn't dare.

Ye Cheng hadn't seen any big haul, but there were plenty of bamboo shrimp and pipi shrimp; the two walked along the beach for half an hour, and their two small buckets filled up.

Ye Cheng's bucket was full of pipi shrimp and bamboo shrimp, while Xiao Hu's side had a bit less, with mostly octopus.

"Xiao Hu, put them in the bag and soak them in seawater—don't kill them, because dead shrimp won't sell."

"Okay, brother, I get it."

Xiao Hu grabbed a snakeskin bag, carefully put the shrimp and octopus inside, tied the mouth shut, and left the bag soaking in seawater.

The snakeskin bag isn't sealed; it has holes, so this bunch of shrimp awaiting slaughter just soak in the seawater, staying alive and jumping for now.

After that, the two continued catching shrimp along the beach; ahead there were more rocks, the water was very clear, and there was plenty of seaweed—this kind of place usually yields more.

With half an hour left of the burst period, Ye Cheng quickened his pace, but after just two steps he stopped.

Damn, an 80 Luck Value really lives up to the hype.

In a small pool ahead, dozens of shrimp swam leisurely, each small—shorter than a palm.

If this were shown in a modern livestream, Ye Cheng would definitely say it was pre-placed; otherwise, how could there be so many?

Ye Cheng planted his feet, turned, and softly called to Xiao Hu, "Xiao Hu, come over here."

Xiao Hu saw Ye Cheng like that and instantly understood—there was a catch.

He hurried over, and Ye Cheng quickly pressed down his hand, "Slowly, don't scare the shrimp away."

Ye Cheng and Xiao Hu stood together by the sea; damn, this time we won't give you a chance to escape into the water.

"Brother, there's a lot."

"Hmm, be careful in a bit; I think there's still more in the sand—don't step on them and kill them."

"Don't worry, brother—this is all money; I couldn't bear to waste it."

Having said that, the two carefully began lowering their nets from both sides, moving inward to encircle the middle.

As soon as the net hit the water, the shrimp sensed it and wanted to scatter and flee.

"Just go for it, don't worry about tactics!" Ye Cheng shouted.

No more tactics—we just came to smash them, and smash hard.

Ye Cheng scooped a net where there were the most, hauling up seven or eight at once, jumping and bouncing.

These are pond shrimp; although farmed pond shrimp have dropped in price these days and aren't considered high-end seafood, they're still not cheap—especially since these are wild pond shrimp.

Ye Cheng is quick-handed, but Xiao Hu—this Huzi—is even faster at dropping the net, leaving Ye Cheng stunned.

"Huzi, do you usually practice a lot? Your hand speed is insane."

Xiao Hu looked bewildered: "What do you mean, brother? Being fast isn't bad."

"It's fine; being fast is good—just watch your body, your health matters."

Xiao Hu scratched his head, wondering what hand speed had to do with his body.

The two jumped around like monkeys on this beach, throwing their nets to catch shrimp, and in less than ten minutes they swept the area clean, filling their buckets over halfway.

"Brother, light up a cigarette—running like this really tires me out." Xiao Hu was panting a bit; earlier he'd been counting his happy jumps.

Ye Cheng nodded, took out a cigarette from his pocket and lit it, too lazy to sit down, "Hurry up and smoke—we'll keep going soon."

"We're still going? There's not much left, with all this shrimp." Xiao Hu felt satisfied.

"It's still early; there's definitely more." Ye Cheng said firmly.

Today's 80 Luck Value, plus the burst—he doesn't believe it's only this much.

After finishing a cigarette, they kept working; this place really is a treasure trove—after a loop, they gathered another bunch of pipi shrimp and bamboo shrimp.

The buckets were full; Xiao Hu picked up the two buckets and went back to bag them.

Ye Cheng, meanwhile, kept walking forward; ahead there was a big pit, and he didn't know what was inside.

Ye Cheng checked the water depth; it should be about calf-high, so he didn't need to worry about waves and just went straight into the water.

The seawater was a bit cool, and stepping in felt very refreshing.

The water in the puddle was a bit murky; as soon as he went in, several bamboo shrimp panicked and shot out of the sand, trying to flee.

But in such a deep hole they had nowhere to escape, and Ye Cheng leisurely scooped them up one by one—a dozen or so, all quite large.

When Xiao Hu arrived, Ye Cheng had him come down too; the two grabbed a net and thoroughly combed the puddle's bottom, catching another dozen or so Pipi Shrimp.

"Brother, this hole is great."

Ye Cheng nodded, "Indeed it's fine, but where's the big catch? Why aren't there any big ones?"

After waiting for the water to clear, he bent over and probed beneath the reef with the net.

As soon as the net reached out, it felt a bump from something, and the force was not small.