Chapter 46: Two Big Lobsters

He was just about to continue exploring deeper when he saw a tail swing over; with a splat, a handful of seawater hit his face, and that thing revealed its true form.

A big lobster.

Damn! Lobster.

Ye Cheng wasn't scared of this thing; it wasn't a crab, so he flung half his body down, grabbed the lobster and lifted it up.

The lobster, thicker than his arm, thrashed in Ye Cheng's hands, swinging its waist back and forth.

"Brother, a big lobster!" Xiao Hu exclaimed in delight.

No matter the era, lobster represents high-end seafood; this big lobster is sizable and can fetch a good price.

Ye Cheng said excitedly, "I told you there'd be a big catch."

"Brother, you're really awesome; I've never seen anyone catch a lobster while gathering seafood in all my years." Xiao Hu rolled his eyes at Ye Cheng.

Ye Cheng chuckled, "That's right; without the system I wouldn't even see this."

"Keep looking!" After catching a lobster, Ye Cheng felt elated, and together with Xiao Hu they searched again around the tide pool, but this time they found nothing at all.

"Damn, only one?" Ye Cheng was a bit annoyed.

"One is enough; aren't you satisfied?" Xiao Hu gave Ye Cheng another eye roll.

"Then let's go on."

Ye Cheng and Xiao Hu crawled out of the tide pool, soaked through, but it didn't matter; as long as they had a catch, being wet was nothing—even losing their virtue would be fine.

"Brother, should we keep going?" Xiao Hu asked; after a few days of gathering seafood, he'd gotten a feel for it—Ye Cheng didn't gather endlessly; he had a rough schedule.

"Keep going; there should be more." Ye Cheng said, walking ahead.

Having just caught a big lobster, he felt an itch; he couldn't possibly stop now, especially since the haul hadn't stopped, so his Luck Value should still be there.

The two walked a stretch ahead, and there was a small stream.

Yes, a small stream.

It flows down from Liu Village into the sea; actually it's not really a stream, just a little ditch carved by water flow, with seawater and fresh water mixing.

"Look, what is this? This is where rivers meet the sea." Ye Cheng praised, then casually kicked a stone with his foot.

Before his words even faded, the thing under the stone shrank, a few whiskers twitching wildly.

"Damn, brother, another lobster!" Xiao Hu gaped; the lobster was so casual—just a kick and there it was.

Since it was out, Ye Cheng unceremoniously scooped it into the bucket.

"No way, brother—I'll look too."

Seeing Ye Cheng had caught two lobsters, Xiao Hu's damned competitive spirit flared up again.

He searched the stream thoroughly, only turning up a few bamboo shrimp, not a trace of lobster.

"Oh, Xiao Hu, it's about luck, not brute strength." Ye Cheng said proudly, his net still moving as he scooped up a few Pipi Shrimp from the sea.

At the junction, the seafood is more varied; Ye Cheng and Xiao Hu followed the stream downstream, picking up besides shrimp a few brow fish and some tiny shrimp.

"About done; today should be about done." Ye Cheng wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Checking the time, it was nearly noon.

"Alright, brother, I'm exhausted too—gathering seafood really wears you out."

The two returned the way they came, three snakeskin bags filled and placed in seawater to soak; the two big lobsters got better treatment, each placed alone in a bucket, basically having their own private quarters.

"Brother, how do we sell this—should we haul it to town? Will they die?" Xiao Hu worried, looking at the three bags of shrimp.

Indeed, this isn't shellfish or sea squirt; once out of water it likely dies, and dead shrimp versus live shrimp are two different prices.

If we still carried the snakeskin bags back, then found Li Yong, drove to town to see Boss Qian, probably even if the shrimp didn't die outright, about a third would perish.

We need a different method.

Ye Cheng took out his phone and called Boss Qian.

"Yo, Xiao Ye, another good haul to look after big brother?" came Boss Qian's hearty laugh from the other end.

Every time Ye Cheng manages to get good stuff, his business has improved a lot lately; now Ye Cheng is practically his lucky charm.

"Boss Qian's in a good mood." Ye Cheng didn't jump straight to the point; in business, a little small talk is still needed.

"Of course, thanks to you—many old customers are waiting for your goods. Hurry and tell big brother if you've got something good; rest assured, I'm waiting at the hotel, not going anywhere, I guarantee." The way Boss Qian thumped his chest came through the phone, audible to Ye Cheng.

Ye Cheng smiled. "I've got a bit of something—I caught some shrimp—but Boss Qian, you know I have no vehicle, and the shrimp can't leave water."

"I get it, I get it, brother—Baiyun Village, right? I'll be there right away."

"Not Baiyun Village—it's neighboring Liu Village. Bring some water tanks, or they'll die."

"Don't worry, I understand; wait for me—I'll definitely be there in forty minutes."

After settling the time with Boss Qian, Ye Cheng relaxed, slowly finishing a cigarette.

Seeing that the sky wasn't early either, he took out 20 yuan and gave it to Xiao Hu: "Go find Da Liu and buy two packs of instant noodles, then two bottles of happy water."

"Huh? I know instant noodles, but what's happy water?"

Ye Cheng patted his head; at this time cola was just called cola, only later did it become "fat‑otaku happy water."

"It's just cola—see if there's any chilled; chilled is refreshing."

"Oh, speaking of which, calling it happy water is pretty fitting—you feel happy after drinking it."

Xiao Hu trotted off happily with the money; in about ten minutes he returned carrying a thermos and instant noodles.

"Da Liu said to give us a thermos so we can brew it ourselves." Xiao Hu said.

"Hmm, Da Liu's service is good."

"He also asked if we were having fun, jumping around like this."

"I'm here to make money, not to play, damn it."

The two tore open the instant noodles, found a larger reef stone to sit on, with seawater soaking their feet, instant noodles in their mouths, then a sip of chilled cola—indeed, it had a unique flavor.

Feet soaked in seawater, mouth eating instant noodles, then taking a sip of ice‑cold cola—don't even say, it has a unique flavor.

Over there, Da Liu sat in a small pavilion by the seaside, leisurely blowing the sea breeze, watching Xiao Hu's receding figure as he walked away, then turned to the person behind him and said,

"What are those two up to? Are they addicted now, planning to keep going after finishing their instant noodles?"

"Big bro, maybe they're out gathering seafood?"

"What a load of bullshit gathering seafood, he just spent over ten dollars on stuff, plus cigarette money, the profits from gathering seafood can't even cover the expenses." Da Liu said dismissively.

"To be a person, you must use your brain, make money with your brains, get it? Like me, your big bro, doing a little business, how great." Da Liu looked out at the Beach, a look of longing on his face.

Half an hour later, a small truck drove over.

"Big bro, is that outside vehicle coming to gather seafood?" the sharp-eyed younger brother spotted it at once.