Chapter 185: Prying Abalone in the Seawater

A Qing brought Wu An over.

Wu An was holding an abalone in his hand; the abalone wasn't very big, about palm-sized, estimated to weigh about two or three taels.

Fresh abalone is priced simply by weight.

For example, two-head abalone, four-head abalone, six-head abalone; simply put, it's how many abalones make up one jin, except that this abalone is calculated after being dried.

Even if fresh abalone weighs one jin, after drying it may not count as two-head abalone.

Whether fresh or dried, abalone is quite valuable.

A Qing's bucket held seven or eight of them.

With so many abalones, A Qing said he just picked them up casually.

What does that indicate?

It indicates there might be even more in the seawater!

Soon.

The two of them came to the place where they found abalones.

The reef here is slightly sloping but very gentle; the tide rises and falls, today there's not much wind or waves, so standing in the water is also quite stable.

Wu An tried walking downward.

He walked until the water reached his chest, when his feet suddenly felt something; he turned and shouted to A Qing, then abruptly squatted down into the seawater.

He gripped the abalone with both hands and yanked it upward.

With a "pop", the abalone was pulled off; he then stood up, accompanied by splashing water sounds, he shook his head, sending water flying.

A Qing let out a breath: "Brother, how was it?"

Wu An raised his arm, opened his palm; the abalone in his palm was large, about the size of his palm. A Qing widened his eyes: "What a big abalone!"

"This must be over one jin."

"Brother, it's still you; I picked up so many, none were big."

Wu An was also quite pleased; such a large abalone would surely fetch a good price, and this truly was just a casual pick—he had just swept his foot and touched at least three or four protrusions.

These protrusions were very likely all abalones.

Feeling delighted, he looked left and right; the seawater was still receding, but however much it receded, it wouldn't expose many more abalones.

One needs to go into the seawater and, in the form of snorkeling, pry off abalones.

That is comparatively dangerous.

But we still have to do it!

On this "Panzi Island", the terrain is relatively barren; those few pools are not big, and likely there won't be any good catch—later A Qing could clear them out with a basin.

These unexpectedly discovered abalones are probably the key to whether today's luck value can be used up.

Wu An said: "A Qing, let's go back to the boat first."

A Qing blinked, somewhat excitedly asking: "Brother, do you want to catch abalones?"

Wu An nodded: "Dare to?"

A Qing gave a hehe laugh: "That's the question to ask."

"As long as you say we'll do it, I'll definitely follow you."

"With you leading me, what do I have to fear?"

Wu An patted his shoulder without saying more.

The two signaled to Lao Mai, who brought the boat over.

Lao Mai asked: "Is there nothing to do on the island?"

"There's nothing to do on the island, but we've found abalones." Wu An said while speaking, and together with A Qing they took out the wetsuit set bought by Gu Anran.

Gu Anran had indeed spent a lot of money.

Said to be prepared for emergencies on the fishing boat, unexpectedly it came in handy on this trip.

Lao Mai watched the two fiddling, frowned and asked: "Since you've found abalones, just go pry them; the boat, the wetsuit… wait, you didn't find the abalones in the water, did you?"

Wu An said: "Right, I estimate that waiting for low tide won't help; the abalones are in deeper spots, so we'll put on wetsuits and dive down to pry them."

Lao Mai immediately became anxious, glaring and shouting: "You guys better not mess around!"

Wu An smiled: "But we're not messing around."

"We're wearing wetsuits for safety, aren't we?"

Lao Mai shook his head: "That's also not allowed."

"This is too dangerous."

"If a wave comes, you won't be able to find anyone."

"You're too young; you have no idea how terrifying the sea can be!"

He kept on talking incessantly.

Wu An listened, not interrupting Lao Mai's speech; after Lao Mai stopped, he then said: "Well then… Hangyu, come with me."

"Tie the rope to the reef."

"We've agreed that every two minutes I and A Qing will surface once; if we don't surface, you pull the rope."

What Lao Mai said was correct.

Pryng abalones in the tidewater carries a high risk factor.

Yet to let him just give up would be like entering a treasure mountain and returning empty-handed; how could he possibly be willing?

The rope is on the boat, several hundred meters long.

Moreover, it's sturdy and durable.

Mai Hangyu nodded and agreed.

He is different from Lao Mai; he can board the ship, that is as a 'helper', he gets wages; Wu An, this boss, said, he must listen.

Lao Mai still wasn't reassured, saying he wanted to follow and see.

Wu An didn't say anything.

Four people went ashore first.

At this time the tide was still receding; Wu An walked down, the seawater no longer submerged his chest, it had dropped a little, but not much.

About what he estimated; even if the tide went all the way to the bottom, probably only a tiny bit of abalone would be exposed.

That would definitely not be enough.

He discovered that the wetsuit could also increase Luck Value, and there was a shovel.

Abalone is similar to the General's Hat; both need to be shoveled off or lifted with the speed of thunder before one can cover one's ears, otherwise even if you smash its shell you couldn't take it off.

This is because the abalone's foot adhesion is remarkably strong.

This is also normal.

It's not about guarding against something; rather, because the current is turbulent, the abalone must adhere to the rocks with greater suction.

If you don't shovel the abalone off the first time, there's no need to shovel a second time.

Otherwise.

Even if you manage to remove the abalone's shell, the meat will still be attached to the rock.

After some preparation, Wu An and A Qing got ready, one left, one right, walking into the seawater; under the worried gaze of Lao Mai and Xiao Mai, their figures flickered and disappeared into the water.

With the wetsuit plus a diving mask, he could easily open his eyes to see the seabed; not sure if it's an illusion, but he could always easily lock onto abalone.

Then.

Using the shovel, a swift, precise, hard scoop and pry, the abalone flies up; he reaches out, grabs it, tosses it into the net bag, then moves on to the next.

Scooping while walking.

One step, two steps.

It's a devil's step.

He began to walk on the seabed.

Almost at the limit of holding his breath, he hurriedly swam to the surface, also raising his hand and waving; now the sea surface is calm, people on shore should be able to see him.

After catching his breath, he dove back into the water.

He walked casually.

No matter how he walked, he could easily spot abalone; the wetsuit enhanced with Luck Value seemed to have a built-in abalone-locking function.

In the vast sea, digging, digging, digging.

Taking a small risk.

Prying open huge abalone.

I am in the vast sea, digging, digging, digging.

Prying open lots of abalone.

Exchange for money to spend.

Digging away, the net bag soon filled; returning to shore, Lao Mai saw the net bag full of abalone and couldn't help but stare agape: 'How can there be so many abalone in this sea?'

While he was speaking, A Qing also swam ashore.