Chapter 69: Xiao Hu: Brother, we've hit the jackpot!

Once the fire was lit, the sand pot quickly began to boil, bubbling and letting out steam.

After the water boiled, Ye Cheng turned down the heat and kept simmering for a while, and a salty-fish aroma rose from the pot.

Done, work over.

A quick bachelor's dish, paired with a bowl of rice, is absolutely perfect.

While eating, Ye Cheng also received the murderous glances from outside.

They all went out gathering seafood today, and from their expressions you could tell the catch wasn't great.

One by one, regardless of whether they had to pass Ye Cheng's place on the way home, they all made a detour, glared at him for a moment, then left.

It seemed that if they didn't glare at Ye Cheng a few times, they couldn't even finish their meal.

Ye Cheng couldn't be bothered with them, just shoveling down his rice in big mouthfuls.

A rice-eating person, a rice-eating spirit — to be human is to eat rice.

After finishing, Ye Cheng stayed in his room boredly scrolling on his phone; in fact, the only thing he could play was Snake, nothing else.

He waited until 9 p. m., when Xiao Hu appeared.

The two exchanged a glance, said nothing, and sneaked out of the village.

The night wind was light, the stars twinkled, it was very quiet; if a beautiful woman stood beside him, it would be quite pleasant.

But after looking at the burly man next door, Ye Cheng had nothing to say besides smoking.

"Brother, how much do you think we can get?"

"I brought three snakeskin bags — do you think that's enough?"

"Bringing this water tank is useless; it's too big."

The "hundred thousand whys" — Big Baobao started muttering again.

"Xiao Hu, have I ever told you that men should be restrained?"

"Huh? No, my mom always said men should be bolder — speak up when you should, scold when you should."

Ye Cheng gave a faint smile, "Then why doesn't your dad act like he should speak up and scold?"

Xiao Hu's dad is also a typical case of bronchitis.

"Yeah, my mom said I can't end up like my dad."

Ye Cheng nodded speechlessly, "Good, well said."

"One's husband should be obedient, one's son should be domineering when he goes out — how could that work?"

The two walked down the mountainside; the sea breeze hit their faces, carrying the ocean's distinctive smell — well, actually half of it is fishy.

There were six fish traps in total; collecting them didn't require a shovel or anything — the two grabbed the snakeskin bags and a bucket and headed for the first trap.

In the darkness, the marker could still be seen clearly; the trap was still there.

The two cautiously approached the first trap, and Ye Cheng bent down to take a look.

Hmm, at least the net is still there.

"Xiao Hu, up!"

Xiao Hu: "Brother, I feel like you're scolding me."

"No, you're strong — hurry up."

For this kind of heavy labor, Xiao Hu must be the one to do it — it's time to show his worth.

The trap was long; Xiao Hu lifted it a bit, then it wouldn't budge. He turned to Ye Cheng and said, "Brother, it's stuck."

"Ah, no way — this is so unlucky? My luck's always been good; you're not just trying to slack off, are you?"

"It's really stuck — you try." Xiao Hu stepped aside.

Ye Cheng walked over half-believing, squatted down and gave it a pull — sure enough, it wouldn't budge.

"This... what happened to the promised 50 Luck Value?"

"Now it's worth it — all 50 points are gone."

"Come on, let's both try shaking it, see if we can wiggle it loose from the rock crevice."

The two took positions left and right, each grabbing one side.

Three, two, one!

Shake!

The two shook it left and right together; after two shakes they clearly felt it loosen a bit,

"Xiao Hu, pull outward together."

Together they pulled the trap backward; although it bumped and scraped, the trap was gradually pulled out of the water.

The two upper compartments were empty.

This made Ye Cheng's heart lift a little — this first battle's victory seemed uncertain.

The net in his hand grew heavier, and Xiao Hu's face lit up with surprise,

"Brother, it looks like we've got a catch."

"Of course, don't you know who I am?" Ye Cheng said, feeling a bit guilty.

When the fourth compartment gradually broke the surface, the churning sea suddenly became lively.

With a splashing sound, a bunch of unknown shrimp kept jumping, leaping out of the water and falling back.

The net in his hand began to strain.

Damn, it feels like pulling a net at Chagan Lake.

Seeing the catch, the two sped up and quickly pulled the fourth compartment out of the water.

"Brother, we've hit the jackpot!" Xiao Hu shouted excitedly.

In the darkness you couldn't see what it was, but its heavy feel couldn't be faked — a big, black lump.

"If it bursts, quickly pull it."

Ye Cheng also got excited. The two young men, after increasing effort, pulled the entire fish trap up in less than a minute.

The lower third of the fish trap is completely full.

Seeing the ground full of seafood, Xiao Hu couldn't stop smiling.

"Brother, even the next net doesn't have this much; my second uncle's ten nets don't have this amount."

That's true; previously when going out to sea with Xiao Hu's second uncle, a fish trap usually had just a few bits, and getting a big haul was already good.

Ye Cheng was also a bit surprised; the fish trap can still work like this; if it's always like this, then I wouldn't need to go out gathering.

Flustered, the two began to sort things out, putting them out one compartment at a time.

Fortunately, they had done this kind of work before with Xiao Hu's second uncle; they were quite experienced, pouring the contents into the bucket bit by bit; most were sea shrimp, plus a few sea fish.

"Brother, there are several sardines."

Xiao Hu pulled out several silver, spindle-shaped fish; these are sardines, used for making sardine cans, cheap goods.

Compared to the sardines, there are also a few half-fish; not bad, quite big, over two catties, don't know how they got in.

The half-fish really only has half a body; the other side is white like the devil fish; this is worth much more than sardines, though it's still common seafood.

Besides these few fish, the rest are shrimp and octopus; however, this time the shrimp feel especially large.

Ye Cheng felt out a few; they're bigger than his palm; these are tiger shrimp; although the texture isn't very good, they're big and not cheap to sell.

Ye Cheng and Xiao Hu picked out the tiger shrimp, about five or six catties; the remaining inside, the larger ones are pond shrimp, which they also sorted out, also several catties.

Other too-small ones and some small fish, they both released directly back into the sea.

This is everyone's consensus, for sustainability; besides, too small they can't fetch a price.

Now Ye Cheng feels quite clever; good thing he brought the water tank, otherwise these shrimp would die.

After finishing with the first fish trap, Ye Cheng checked his exclusive bait pack; it was still there, just a bit smaller; he sealed the opening and threw it back into the sea.

The second fish trap is not far away; this fish trap is placed in seawater where the current isn't so strong, a bit like a small pond.