Chapter 492: Guarding the White Butterfly Clam

The fishing boat headed south all the way.

Straight for the White Butterfly Clam sea area.

After sailing for two hours, they finally reached the White Butterfly Clam sea area.

Mei Wu said, "Good thing we ran far away; otherwise, this place would sooner or later be eyed by others."

Along the way, they encountered quite a few fishing boats at work.

Moreover.

They left late today; if they had left earlier, there would definitely have been other fishing boats following them, and most of those boats would eventually stop after following.

After all.

Not everyone is like them; a ten-meter fishing boat sailing two hours out to sea for work—just the empty trip costs a considerable amount in fuel.

If there's no catch, the round trip could leave them feeling the loss painfully.

Lao Fu Tou slowed the boat, picked up the conversation, and said, "In the short term, most people won't follow us if we go far, but over time, that won't hold."

"Every time we go out to sea and come back, unloading the catch can't be hidden."

"Sooner or later, someone will be determined to follow us."

Upon hearing that, A Qing immediately grew anxious: "Lao Fu, if you're saying this, this feng shui treasure spot will surely be snatched away."

Lao Fu Tou nodded: "It's just a matter of time."

Others aren't fools.

They always return with full hauls, leading others to guess they have a feng shui treasure spot.

The sea has no owner.

If others insist on following, what can they do?

When it comes to making money, do you expect others to talk about conscience and morality?

Lao Fu Tou didn't make his words more serious; if they were just following, it's still better to think optimistically—worse things, he has seen before.

Mei Wu said, "It would be great if we had a private dock; then outsiders wouldn't know our haul each trip."

Wu An nodded.

That's a solution.

However, to set up a private dock, you first need land; the town probably offers no chance, so only in the village can we try to work it out, and at least we must wait until the village is under his say-so.

A Qing said fiercely, "If they dare to come and snatch, don't blame me for being impolite!"

Mei Wu also said, "Right, this is where we first discovered it; as long as we keep working here, this place is our territory."

"If others dare to come and snatch, we'll be impolite toward them."

"We are in the right."

Lao Fu Tou said, "That's true to say, but..."

There are rules for working at sea; generally, other fishing boats' operational grounds cannot be arbitrarily encroached upon—not just an unwritten rule but also a written regulation. If obstructing others' fishing operations is serious, the vessel's certificate or crew certificate may be revoked.

But people die for wealth, birds die for food.

This is also one of the reasons why Wu An initially demanded secrecy about discovering the White Butterfly Clam.

Money moves people's hearts.

Rules are rules, but there are those who will bend them to take risks.

By then, holding the jade brings guilt, and they'll suffer the consequences.

Wu An's thoughts shifted, and he said, "If we contract this sea area, even if someone else salvages the White Butterfly Clam, we could still hold them liable."

Lao Fu Tou nodded: "That's possible."

"But if we try to contract it, we probably couldn't keep the White Butterfly Clam's secret."

Wu An said, "Things depend on human effort."

"Let me think of a way."

"Now the question is whether we should keep working here; if we keep working here, other fishing boats won't casually approach, but it might also arouse others' covetousness, and by then the White Butterfly Clam's secret could easily be exposed."

A Qing shouted, "Brother, we definitely have to stay here; we must guard the White Butterfly Clam!"

Mei Wu shook his head: "I suggest we leave."

"If we keep staying here, someone will surely follow, and then the White Butterfly Clam will definitely be exposed."

"Better to go work elsewhere."

"As long as we don't lead people here, I think the White Butterfly Clam in this place won't be discovered later."

Lao Fu Tou didn't say anything.

He just looked at Wu An.

Waiting for Wu An to make the final decision.

A Qing and Mei Wu also looked over.

After a moment of thought, Wu An said, "Once we figure out the situation on this trip, we won't keep coming here often."

"From now on, we can come once every six months or once a year."

Lao Fu Tou and the others all nodded.

On the boat, no matter how big their disagreements, as soon as Wu An speaks, they listen to him.

A Qing chuckled hehe: "In that case, wouldn't it be like we have a cultivated plot of wild White Butterfly Clams, to be passed down through generations?"

Lao Fu Tou, hearing that, couldn't help but give a slight nod.

That statement is correct.

The premise is being able to guard the White Butterfly Clam's secret; otherwise, forget about passing it down—likely before long, the wild White Butterfly Clams in this sea area will go extinct.

Wu An said, "Then it's settled."

I saw the float of the crab pot.

Lao Fu, slow down.

He pulled the float up, and as the winch operated, the first row of crab pots was hauled up smoothly.

A Qing shouted: "It's out of the water."

The disturbance is still not small.

Brother, let me open it.

He eagerly opened the crab pot, dumped it out, and the sea haul splashed "hualala" onto the deck.

The next moment.

A Qing jumped up directly: "Holy shit, what the hell is this."

Scared the shit out of me.

A Qing was startled by the sea haul that landed on his foot, and while shouting, he lifted his leg and kicked the sea haul away.

The sea haul happened to land on Mei Wu's face.

Mei Wu hadn't even seen what it was when the sea haul slapped him, making him scream.

Covering his face and looking down, he was also startled.

What is this?

Is it a shrimp? It looks really weird.

It looks like a softshell turtle.

Lao Fu Tou saw them shouting, hurried over to look, and immediately laughed: "This is shrimp row, also called pipa shrimp."

Wu An said: "Its scientific name is nine-toothed fan shrimp; it's not common, but it's found in many places."

Don't think it looks bad; it's quite tasty.

After we finish work later, we'll eat it for lunch.

Lao Fu Tou nodded: "Don't just stand there, hurry up and sort; this is worth more alive."

A Qing and Mei Wu squatted down to sort; after a moment, A Qing got used to it, still holding a pipa shrimp, and shouted: "Brother, look, this one is as big as my face."

Wu An turned back, smiling and nodding.

Each row of crab pots yielded a decent haul, at least twenty to thirty catties of pipa shrimp each.

After more than an hour of gathering, Lao Fu Tou steadied the boat and asked: "Have you found them all?"

Wu An nodded: "Luck was good, none were lost."

Lao Fu Tou let out a breath of relief and said: "? This really can be considered a feng shui treasure spot; the typhoon likely didn't affect this place."

While speaking, he also squatted down to sort; besides pipa shrimp, there were many orchid crabs, blue crabs, and stone crabs.

With many crabs, it's more troublesome, especially orchid crabs and blue crabs, each needing to be tied.

This busyness lasted until noon mealtime.