Chapter 29: Returning with a Full Haul

Ye Yaodong headed back down to the shallow waters, bucket in hand. As he got closer, he called out, “Any luck, guys?”

“Does finding a single cat’s eye snail count as luck?” Ah Guang replied, looking dejected.

“Better than nothing.” Ye Yaodong chuckled as he walked over to return Ah Guang’s bucket.

“It’s embarrassing to carry such a big bucket when it’s empty.”

“Hahaha!” He couldn’t help laughing. “No worries—just give it a new name!”

“Sigh… I’ll figure it out later. A single snail’s not worth the effort of lighting a fire. Here, I’ll throw it in yours for now.” He tossed the snail into Ye Yaodong’s bucket with a light clink.

“Keep looking. The tide’s just gone out, and it won’t come back in so fast. We might still find something.”

“Doesn’t matter to me. You guys carry on; I’m going to check out the rocks over there and see if there’s anything left to scavenge.” Shrugging, Ah Guang headed toward the outer rocky wall.

“I cleared that spot yesterday. Any bigger clams and snails are gone, and I already shucked the oysters. You’re probably not going to find much there now.”

“Doesn’t matter. I’ll just have a look around, and if I don’t find anything, I’ll head back for lunch.”

“Alright, suit yourself. With this scorching sun, if there’s nothing left, might as well go back early and rest.”

“Mm.”

Looking around, Ye Yaodong figured that his friends had already scoured the area, so he wandered toward some rocks closer to the shore.

Unexpectedly, after only a few steps, he felt something hard beneath his foot. Crouching down, he spotted a cat’s eye snail partially buried in the sand.

He picked it up, pressing his thumb against the soft, water-soaked flesh that peeked out, causing several streams of water to spray out.

Chuckling, he called ahead, “Ah Guang, look! I found a cat’s eye snail right behind you. It’s a big one too!”

“Damn it!” Ah Guang turned and cursed, “I just walked right past that spot!”

Ye Yaodong tossed it into his bucket, grinning. “Maybe I’m just having a bit of luck lately!”

“Should’ve stayed home today. Sleeping in would’ve been better than roasting out here,” he grumbled, veering off toward the rocky area again.

Under the blazing sun, Ye Yaodong continued his beachcombing but didn’t come across any more big finds. Beachcombing really did depend on luck.

Forty years from now, even during high tides, there wouldn’t be nearly as much to pick up on these beaches. You’d only find a few jumping fish, stone crabs, and some large clams at best.

The tide slowly began to rise, and everyone started thinking about heading back. It was already past one o’clock, and they were all starving.

“Let’s head back; there’s probably nothing left to gather, and the tide’s coming in,” Xiao Xiao called out, shaking the water out of his bucket.

“Yeah, yeah, let’s go. It’s scorching out here.”

“Didn’t find much today—all the good stuff went straight into Dongzi’s bucket.”

Ye Yaodong glanced down at his half-full bucket, feeling quite satisfied. “I didn’t find much afterward, just some stone crabs and jumping fish. Might be enough for a bowlful.”

“With that tiger grouper, you’ve already made this trip worth it. We didn’t come here for nothing today.”

“And don’t forget the snow clams! We scored pretty well. A few scattered sea creatures here and there can add up to a couple of bowls.”

Smiling to himself, he realized he’d had a pretty good day. With the big tide coming in tomorrow, he could try his luck again and see if his streak continued.

“Let’s head back—I’m starving.” Ye Yaodong kicked a large rock by his foot casually and turned to leave.

Just then, out of nowhere, a tentacle emerged from beneath the rock, and his eyes lit up with surprise. “An octopus?”

“Huh? You found an octopus again?” Ah Zheng, who wasn’t far away, came running over eagerly.

“It was really well-hidden. If I hadn’t kicked the rock, it probably wouldn’t have poked its tentacle out.”

“Grab it and see what kind it is—red, black, or white. Its tentacles look pretty small, so it’s probably not that big.”

In this area, they typically found three kinds of octopuses: the white octopus, also called “望潮” (Wangchao), which is small but the most expensive and tastiest; the red octopus, a close second; and the black octopus, which is the cheapest and often so tough it’s hard to chew.

Ye Yaodong reached down, followed the tentacle, and pulled the octopus out with some effort. “It’s holding on tight… Just a black one, though. Meh.”

“Well, better than nothing. We didn’t find any at all.”

“Dongzi, you’re really having some luck today! Just about to leave, and you still found a black octopus.”

“Look at your bucket; you’ve got a pretty decent haul today.”

Ye Yaodong tried to toss the octopus into the bucket, but it clung tightly to his wrist. He had to pry it off with his other hand to get it in. But as soon as it was inside, it started clinging to the bucket’s edge, trying to climb out.

“Ugh, it’s determined! I’ll just hold it for now. Could you guys help me move that rock and check if there’s anything else underneath?”

“You think you’ll find a whole bunch?”

Despite their skepticism, they all helped tilt the rock over.

“Whoa, there is something else!” He was thrilled. “Too bad it’s a bit small, though.”

“Another black octopus, huh? Not bad—better to have something than nothing!” Xiao Xiao squatted down, grabbed the octopus, and handed it to him. “Alright, now we can go back. You’re really heading home with a full load today.”

Grinning widely, he thought of the extra meal they could enjoy tonight. Today’s work had been worthwhile; there was both food and money in it.

“Looks like you guys did alright too. No big catches, but you’ve got enough little ones to fill a couple of bowls.”

Ah Zheng hefted his bucket and said, “Not bad. Could be better, could be worse. Huh…where’s Ah Guang?”

They’d all been gearing up to tease him, only to realize he’d disappeared.

At this reminder, they noticed Ah Guang was indeed gone.

“Ah Guang was poking around near the rocks but didn’t find much, so he left in a bad mood,” someone explained. “Not surprising, really. I picked over that spot yesterday, so it would’ve been odd if he’d found anything.”

“Well, he came out just to roast in the sun.” Ah Wei chuckled with some schadenfreude.

“No worries. Let’s pool our catch and bring it over to his place for drinks tonight,” suggested Ye Yaodong.

Friends often shared like that, and they’d hosted him for dinner just the night before.

“Sounds good! All our finds together should make for a decent meal.”

“Let’s invite Fatty too. Rat’s not around, so we’ll leave him out.”

“Fatty might not come out to fish, but he’ll definitely show up for drinks!”

“Tell him to bring two jin of his homemade rice wine.”

“Now that would be perfect.”

With laughter and chatter, they’d already set up their dinner plans for the evening.