Chapter 46: Sea Centipedes

Xiao Xiao slapped his forehead. “Damn… aren’t we dumb? Why don’t we just dump the stuff in the bucket onto the boat? That way, we can free up space to keep collecting!”

Ah Zheng suddenly realized, “Oh, right! Dump it on the boat, and we can sort it into the corners. Once we’re back, we’ll bag it up.”

“Ugh, pig brains… We’ve been sitting here for so long, just watching Dongzi dig by himself.”

“Come on, come on, let’s pick more. The boat and fuel costs are sky-high; we can’t waste the trip!”

When they went back and told Fatty and Chen Wei, the two finally caught on and quickly dumped the buckets’ contents onto the boat to make space for more.

Ye Yaodong looked at them speechlessly. For him, as long as he filled two sacks, he was good. As long as they weren’t cleaned and were kept in a cool place, these shellfish should last two or three days.

If not for needing to feed the workers, he wouldn’t have collected so much. Without refrigeration, collecting too much would just lead to spoilage. The current haul was already enough.

Once he filled a sack with juvenile shellfish, he took a break and let the others continue working.

Because the island was uninhabited, the rocks were still rich with shellfish. There was no way he could harvest everything alone, so even after they returned, there was still plenty left to gather.

After a short sunbath and two cobs of corn, he noticed that the tide had receded, exposing most of the surrounding rocks. He grabbed a large bamboo basket and fire tongs, and called out to the group bending over the rocks: “Comrades, the tide is out! I’m going treasure hunting. You guys keep digging!”

“Damn, we barely have time to work!”

“I’ll keep digging for a while. If you find anything good, yell, and I’ll come over.”

“Okay! Once I’ve got the big prizes, I’ll let you know,” Ye Yaodong joked, rolling up his pants and heading for the shallow waters.

“Forget it, I’m done digging. I’m going down to take a look too,” Ah Zheng said, grabbing his half-full bucket and jumping down without bothering to empty it on the boat, worried he might miss out. The shellfish on the rocks weren’t going anywhere anyway.

As soon as he jumped down, he heard Ye Yaodong shout excitedly.

“Damn! Sea centipedes!”

“What? Where? Where are the sea centipedes?”

“Sea centipedes?”

Everyone rushed over to Ye Yaodong. They saw the exposed mudflat crawling with countless sea centipedes.

Sea centipedes, also known as sand worms, are a type of marine worm that lives in the shallow coastal mudflats of Southeast China. Their most terrifying feature is their resemblance to centipedes. However, they are neither venomous nor aggressive and have very short legs. They primarily feed on algae, seaweed, and occasionally small shrimp or fish.

“Holy crap, this is disgusting! There are so many of them!”

“Ugh, I’ve got goosebumps all over!”

The sight of a dense mass of wriggling sea centipedes would terrify anyone with a fear of clusters!

Fortunately, Ye Yaodong wasn’t afraid. “These are good stuff. Everyone, come on! Just be quiet when you grab them, or they’ll burrow into the mud.”

“Uh, no way. This is too gross. Just looking at them makes my scalp tingle. I’m out.”

“Me neither. I didn’t bring gloves.”

“My eyes can’t take it. I’m going elsewhere to clean my vision.”

“This is a bit much. You found them, so you can catch them yourself!”

One by one, the group shook their heads and quickly walked away.

Ye Yaodong rolled his eyes. “All of you want to eat them, but when it comes to catching them, not a single one is willing to lift a hand.”

“That’s not fair. They look completely different when cooked compared to alive, okay? Seeing them squirming around like that makes me want to puke. Anyway, you found them, so they’re yours. Hurry up and catch them!” Ah Guang quickly grabbed his bucket and made a hasty retreat.

Fine, if it’s up to him to catch them, all the better—more for himself. But the bamboo basket he had wasn’t ideal for holding sea centipedes. Without wasting time, he dashed back to the boat.

He emptied the bucket of sea goods onto the deck to free it up, muttering to himself along the way, “Why are there so many sea centipedes crawling out? Aren’t they supposed to stay in the burrows under the mudflats?”

“Who knows? Maybe they’re coming out to mate since it’s the first day of the lunar month.”

Either way, as long as there were plenty to catch, it didn’t matter.

After emptying the bucket, he gave it a quick rinse with seawater and eagerly headed back to the swarm of sea centipedes.

Disgusting as they were, he could deal with it, especially since he had gloves on and didn’t need to touch them directly.

He grabbed a handful, watching them squirm and wriggle in his hand, feeling utterly grossed out. Quickly, he tossed them into the bucket. The nearby centipedes seemed startled and began burrowing into the mud.

Oh no, they couldn’t be allowed to escape!

Ye Yaodong sped up, grabbing all the centipedes still on the surface before they could react. The ones he couldn’t catch in time had already burrowed into the mud.

Seeing the tiny holes dotting the mudflat, he tried reaching into one. Feeling something, he carefully pulled. Patience and care were needed for this—it required gentle tugging to let the sea centipede contract its body, then pulling again. Moving too fast would easily tear them apart.

After checking a few holes, though, he grew impatient. It was too time-consuming, and the bucket already had about half a load, roughly four or five jin (about 2-2.5 kg).

He decided to go explore and see if there was anything else worth collecting. If he had time later, he could always come back to catch more; the centipedes weren’t going anywhere.

After placing the bucket in a shady spot, he grabbed the bamboo basket and fire tongs and headed toward Ah Guang.

“Any luck?”

“What do you think? If I’d found anything good, I’d have shouted already.”

“True. Looks like nobody’s had any big finds today.”

He glanced at Ah Guang’s bucket—just a few rock crabs and some small fish. “You might have better luck digging for shellfish on the rocks.”

Ah Guang nodded seriously. “I think so too.”

Ye Yaodong gave him a consoling pat on the shoulder, then scanned the others’ positions before deciding to walk further along the island’s rocky edges.

In the short time he’d spent catching sea centipedes, the tide had receded even further.

Since the day had started off well with the centipedes, he decided to head toward areas with more exposed mudflats.

After the tide receded from this deserted island, the exposed areas varied between small sandy patches and muddy flats. The muddy areas looked filthy, and every step sunk his feet into the mud. After just a few steps, his legs were already splattered with muck.

As he wandered with the fire tongs, he spotted a large green crab covered in mud, lying motionless on the surface of the mudflat, seemingly sunbathing.

Its camouflage was impressive. Its shell was so coated in mud that he nearly missed it. Ye Yaodong gave it a pinch with the fire tongs, and its large pincers immediately sprang into action, waving fiercely.

“Wow, it’s a female crab. Feels pretty heavy—should have some roe. Looks like it’s about a jin and a half (750g). Nice! Almost missed it.”

His luck was truly good today. The mudflats seemed to be full of treasures; even a casual stroll was rewarding.