Ye Yaodong's gaze shifted from the boat back to the surrounding rocks, which were covered with dense clusters of tiny mussels, small Sea Snails, and oyster shells that had already been dug out.
The rocks here were visited too often daily; the slightly larger mussels and Sea Snails had long been dug clean, leaving only extremely small ones, about the size of a pinky fingernail, still growing on the rocks.
Such small ones only had shells, the meat was probably smaller than a booger and inedible, but when the tide receded, some larger ones would inevitably appear.
At this moment, someone was holding tools and searching on the rock wall, and Mother Ye was one of them.
He stepped forward and took a look; Mother Ye held a water scoop in one hand and had a small basket hanging on her wrist.
The water scoop already contained some small opened oysters, and the small basket also had some slightly larger Sea Snails and small whelks.
"Mother, looking at this dense patch will make your eyes go blind. Why don't you dig for Sand Clams?"
Mother Ye, while prying oyster shells from the rocks with a screwdriver, said, "So many people at home have dug enough. If I dig some oysters, I can make oyster pancakes tonight. The children at home haven't eaten them in a while."
"There's barely anything here. Didn't our boat get repaired? Why don't you let Dad take you to the Isolated Island to dig? It's better to dig for Sand Clams now. In two more hours, the tide will cover this Beach again."
"You make it sound easy. The rocks on the Isolated Island are very slippery and hard to stand on. If a wave hits, I could easily be swept back into the Sea to meet Mazu Niangniang."
"Ah, it won't come to that. Just pick a calm day with a receding tide and go."
Mother Ye lifted her eyelids and squinted at him, "Then you tell me what date it is, when it's calm, when the tide recedes just enough, and when your Dad and brothers are free!"
"Ah! How would I know that?"
How could a mortal like him predict the winds and waves on the Sea!
Moreover, how would he know when his Dad and brothers were free?
Mother Ye rolled her eyes at him, "If you don't know, then shut up. Go somewhere cool and stay there. Don't bother me while I'm working!"
Ye Yaodong rubbed his nose. Was he really that annoying?
"How about I help you dig? You go dig for Sand Clams?"
His legs would ache from squatting for too long, but digging oysters on the rock wall was fine. Anyway, he didn't have trypophobia.
"You?"
"Yes, I'll do it. Opening oysters and digging Sea Snails, I'm good at that."
He might not be good at other things, but he had played with these a lot when he was young, and the skills he learned wouldn't be forgotten with the passage of time.
Mother Ye looked him up and down, remembering how he had just sworn in the house that after the family split, he would learn from his eldest and second brothers to be diligent and hardworking...
Was he serious?
Had he changed his ways?
"Then you do it. If you don't dig a bowlful for me when we go back, I'll beat you to death!"
"Oh, you dig as much as you can. It also depends on luck. How can I guarantee I can dig a bowlful before we go back? These oysters are tiny..."
Mother Ye, without further ado, hung the basket on his wrist and shoved the water scoop and screwdriver into his hand. "Search carefully. I want a bowl of oysters, a bowl of Sea Snails, and a bowl of whelks!"
Ye Yaodong's eyes widened. Was he going to transform, or what? She wanted him to get three bowls.
"Dongzi, aren't you out playing today? Why are you at the Beach?" His aunt, also holding a water scoop and searching on the rock wall, asked curiously when she saw him.
"Hmm, it's too hot. I don't want to go out!"
"Oh? And coming to the Beach isn't hot? The sun is so strong!"
He hadn't found a good excuse, and Ye Yaodong felt a bit awkward. "Ah, yes, just came out to look around casually."
Better hurry up and search, no more chatting. Dig for a while, and when the tide comes in, it'll be time to go home for lunch.
Oysters, also called mussels, grow on rock walls; they are actually a type of plankton.
During the breeding season, oviparous oysters release mature sperm and eggs outside their bodies. The sperm and eggs fertilize in the seawater, and after a period of planktonic life, they attach to other objects, solidify into spat, and then slowly grow. When the shell is pried off, the oyster meat is inside.
When boats are anchored in the Sea for a long time, spat will also grow on the bottom of the boat. Generally, people will prop up the boat and pry off all the spat from the bottom to reduce the boat's weight, and then they can also put the spat in baskets and carry them back to open for oysters.
The spat on this rock wall were too small. The oysters that came out were tiny, yellowish-green, and looked like snot; only the larger ones had white on their bellies.
"What the heck am I opening? They're so tiny! When will I ever fill a bowl?" Ye Yao Dong muttered after opening one.
"If you want to eat, there's no other way. There are so many mouths at home. Every bit you can dig counts. This isn't Sand Clams, and you can't come out to dig this every day."
His aunt responded, and then earnestly said, "Dongzi, you're already the father of two children. You can't keep idling around all day. You should find a proper job. Your wife and children depend on you, and your Dad and mother can't support you forever."
"Aren't I working right now, Auntie!"
"Working is good, but you need to earn money, and you can't just work for one day. Supporting a family is a year-round commitment. You're a man, you need to be responsible, you need to have a sense of responsibility..."
An endless lecture, blah blah blah~
Ye Yaodong regretted speaking up a bit. If he had remained silent, his aunt probably wouldn't have had the desire to talk to him.
He couldn't retort rudely; after all, she was an elder, and everything she said was right and for his own good, but the endless talking gave him a headache. He'd rather go dig for Sand Clams. How did he not know his aunt could lecture so much?
"Auntie, you keep digging here slowly. I'll go out a bit and look around."
Just then, the tide receded a bit more, so he simply started searching from the rocks furthest out.
However, his luck seemed to be a little too good!
As soon as he reached the rock closest to the tide, he saw two small Green Crabs in the pile of rocks in the shallow water ahead. His eyes immediately lit up; these were good things!
He quickly put the water scoop and basket aside, walked a few steps quickly towards the pile of broken rocks. The two Green Crabs were still unaware of the approaching danger and were fighting with their large pincers!
Ye Yaodong grabbed one in each hand by their backs, carefully separating them to prevent their large legs from tangling and breaking.
Green Crabs with broken legs would be worth much less, though it didn't matter if he was eating them himself.
The two separated Green Crabs still waved their large pincers wildly. If he were to be pinched, it would be serious; his fingernail would break right off.