Chapter 211: Diligence Leads to Wealth
The Treasure Ship returning to Youzhou needed to be full of hold, and this time the ship finally began proper fishing; Da Wang, who had been eager all along, could finally go into the water.
Without the humpback whale mount, Da Wang had to rely on a small boat for this leg.
When the Treasure Ship stopped to cast nets, he followed him into the water; Zhou Huang watched, clicking his tongue, sighing, "Youzhou is really not easy; even the You King has learned to dive, and he can go into the water to catch fish! You believe it?"
The Treasure Ship chased a school of rice fish, and Da Wang also dove into the nearby seabed, drifting aimlessly with the current; encountering unfortunate fish along the way, Da Wang accepted them all and stored them in the warehouse.
When he felt the seabed and stepped on sand and gravel, he immediately discovered banded shrimp half-buried in the sand; Bohai Sea truly lives up to its reputation as a shrimp holy land.
Seeing the patterns on these big shrimp, Da Wang laughed; banded shrimp, worth more than the common shrimp. He said, with just one treasure ship making round trips, the boundless sea could never be fished empty!
【Whether to store banded shrimp x18992 adult bodies in the warehouse? Yes/No】
So many? Da Wang kicked the dirt under his feet, and suddenly a bunch of big guys jumped out; Da Wang, pleased, confirmed storage.
This seabed floated with plenty of plankton; using Da Wang's limited experience, he judged that there should be many creatures hiding in the seaweed patches.
Sure enough, he opened the warehouse and fiddled around for a moment, and a bunch of frames popped up:
【Whether to store Ezo scallop x829 adult bodies in the warehouse? Yes/No】
【Whether to store flying crab x223 adult bodies in the warehouse? Yes/No】
【Whether to store Pipi shrimp x683 adult bodies in the warehouse? Yes/No】
Although the numbers aren't large, together they're not small.
Da Wang rummaged through this area enough that he even picked some sea cabbage into the warehouse, then he lifted a net bag of Pipi shrimp and floated up, pretending to catch his breath.
Waiting for the owl rider to pull him up, he didn't board the big ship; he let them row north a long stretch, then he changed nets and continued diving.
This time luck was better; as soon as he went in the water, he discovered the Bohai Sea's leading lady, the sea cucumber!
It's Brother Bai's favorite.
The wild sea cucumbers hard to come by at Bai Yang's place; two thousand years ago, in an unpolluted era without big ships, they bred all over the place.
Da Wang didn't much like their appearance, but they're valuable; Da Wang regards them favorably.
【Whether to store sea cucumber x8990 adult bodies in the warehouse? Yes/No】
Da Wang let out a wow underwater, successfully choked a mouthful of water, "Got rich, got rich!" This was his second encounter with a large sea cucumber population; after collecting them, he didn't leave, firmly believing their relatives were nearby...
Da Wang drifted around for a while and indeed felt another population.
An underwater valley, full of black big bugs.
【Whether to store sea cucumber x36552 adult bodies in the warehouse? Yes/No】
Now the sea is so abundant that even Da Wang, who has never seen the later seas, is astonished; after all, the mountains and forests on land don't have this many prey waiting for him to hunt.
After thinking it over, he could only thank that this era's navigation is lacking! Later generations' wild sea cucumbers require specific living conditions, but in the Great Jin, sea cucumbers just need to be in the sea; now there are more sea cucumbers down there, and Da Wang discovered it's far richer than he imagined.
Having caught a population, he lingered around for a loop and then collected over ten thousand adult specimens.
That evening Da Wang grabbed a fat one and rushed to Bai Yang's shop; Bai Yang, seeing his appearance, beamed, "Finally got time to fish? I'm going to get rich again!"
When Da Wang announced he had caught sixty thousand sea cucumbers in a day, Bai Yang picked up a calculator and started pressing...
"With this output… we can't just casually sell this high-end product like this! It's pure wild, zero-pollution pure wild! If we don't sell it at luxury prices, we're practically doing charity! Farmed dried sea cucumber outside sells for 800 to 1200 per 100 grams; selling ours below 2000 is practically charity, so let's establish a luxury sea cucumber brand! Once the sea cucumber makes a name, we can also sell other high-end seafood."
Da Wang nodded eagerly: "How much is a hundred grams?"
Bai Yang tossed him a box of newly arrived nut chocolate, "Here, this box is a hundred grams."
Da Wang took it and poured out twelve dark almond chocolate beans……
Just that much can sell for eight hundred? If they sold for two thousand… upwards?
Da Wang grabbed Brother Bai: "What brand, hurry up and get it done! How many days to finish?"
Bai Yang: "After the application succeeds, then finding a factory for processing, it'll take about half a month at least."
That works, Da Wang can wait.
As for the specifics, Da Wang didn't care; he just waited for his share, the sea cucumbers still needed time, so he first sold the shrimp and crabs he'd picked up today to Bai Yang.
The stray bits of fish were also stored in the warehouse, piling up; just a few kinds of shrimp, crabs, and Ezo scallops already weighed over two thousand catties; Da Wang alone was more useful than a ship.
By the time he left, not counting sea cucumbers, his account had increased by 1,220 ingots.
Da Wang felt maybe Heaven knew his poverty; the next day, shortly after disembarking from the big ship, he encountered tens of thousands of squid, swarming together in noisy chase.
Da Wang, being timid, rubbed his arms on the side, numb, numb!
After rubbing, he quickly opened the warehouse; the number made Da Wang float all day. 【Whether to store spear squid x87734 adult bodies in the warehouse? Yes/No】
Looking at the size of this batch of big squid made him even happier—so fat! The meat looks thick; he wants to open a shop specializing in big squid on Zhuque Avenue!
Thinking of acting, Da Wang that day sold most of the squid to Bai Yang, gave a small portion to Zhu Ti, and also ordered some seasonings from Bai Yang.
For example, chili powder, cumin powder, pepper powder. Even if Youzhou planted them, output is limited and not as cheap as Bai Yang's place; Da Wang has had enough of eating without seasonings.
Thus, while the Treasure Ship hadn't returned yet, a modest one-story shopfront on Zhuque Avenue, named
Along the way, the rich aroma wafts; as long as you pass by, not a single child can still walk the road.
Families with means, after seeing their kids roll in the street, would go inquire about the price. After a day of selling, Zhu Ti went to settle accounts and found it was still quite profitable; after all, the size there, buying one to take home, slice and cook properly counts as a big dish, much more conscience-priced than restaurant prices.
Afterwards, heading north all the way, Da Wang was so happy he forgot Shu; his daily harvest was good.
That day he discovered a group of blackish tiny hairy shrimp, incomparable to the banded shrimp and shrimp he'd caught before.
When Da Wang opened the warehouse, he was first stunned by the number in the millions, then realized the adults were only a bit big. He hesitated a moment, but still took them all; though people can't eat them, they could be sent to pastures to feed chickens, ducks, and geese; Da Wang, who would pass, couldn't bear to give up that million count.
That evening, Da Wang took it to ask Brother Bai; Bai Yang exclaimed, "Is there anything the Chinese people can't eat? This shrimp is great—fresh and calcium-rich; just saying makes me drool. Wait here, I'll go home get some tools and prepare a taste for you!"
Bai Yang went back to get an outdoor stove, cooking oil, ready-made pancake flour, and a handful of scallions. In front of Da Wang, he roughly dumped the three together, mixed them, then casually tossed a lump into the oil pot to fry crisp; Da Wang opened the door to a new world.
Obviously no seasoning added, yet how is it salty and fragrant?
What kind of oil is this, how is it so clear?
One bite of the shrimp cake is crackly crisp; with scallion fragrance it's incredibly fresh; indeed it's a different flavor from big shrimp.
As Da Wang left, one hand holding the pancake flour, the other holding the remaining half bucket of oil; if it weren't for Mengmeng collecting tolls, that stove couldn't have been left over……
End of Chapter
