novelhk Chapter 19 Collecting Seafood at Low Tide
Chapter 19 Collecting Seafood at Low Tide
Qin Chuan looked at the sky; the sun had already moved far to the west, and the light on the sea had become softer.
He remembered the trap he had set in the rocky puddle that morning.
"The tide should be going out now, and it's almost time to harvest the traps I set this morning. Would you like to go take a look?"
"Go!" Fan Yubing was the first to respond, putting down the half-eaten mango in her hand.
Lin Shishi also stood up: "I want to go too. I've been sitting at the campsite all day, and my legs are numb."
Liu Yifei hesitated for a moment, glanced at Qin Chuan, and finally nodded: "Let's go, I'll go too."
The four people walked south along the coastline.
The beach was much wider after the tide receded, and the reefs that had been submerged by the sea were now fully exposed, covered with green seaweed and small shellfish.
The beach was covered with small puddles left by the receding tide, where small fish could occasionally be seen struggling.
Qin Chuan walked at the front, his pupil technique automatically activated, and annotation information popped up in his field of vision from time to time.
[8 meters directly ahead, a receding tide pool, 2 Otherworldly Yellow Croakers.]
[15 meters directly ahead, in a crevice in the rocks, 3 Otherworldly Blue Crabs.]
[22 meters directly ahead, on the beach surface, several clams.]
When Qin Chuan arrived at the rocky pit where he had set the trap that morning, he looked down and was secretly pleased.
The water in the puddle had receded by most, but there was still a shallow layer of water at the bottom.
The fishy smell of pig offal attracted many sea fish, shrimp, and crabs, but now that the water has receded, they are all stuck in the puddles and can't get out.
Qin Chuan counted them: there were seven or eight fish of various sizes, three crabs, and some shrimp.
"Not bad, not bad, quite a haul."
Fan Yubing squatted by the puddle and peered inside. A fish the size of a palm suddenly flicked its tail, splashing water all over her face.
"Ah!" Fan Yubing shrank back and almost sat on the ground.
Qin Chuan suppressed a laugh and reached out to scoop fish from the puddle.
The fish were thrashing about in the shallow water, and they were slippery and hard to catch.
Qin Chuan struggled for quite a while before finally managing to scoop up all the fish and throw them onto the nearby beach.
Crabs are more troublesome; their claws are quite powerful.
Qin Chuan grabbed one, but his finger got pinched, and he winced in pain.
"Hold the shell on both sides and grab it from behind so you won't get pinched," Liu Yifei said from the side.
Qin Chuan tried the method she suggested, and it went much more smoothly.
"You know how to catch crabs?"
"I grew up by the sea, so catching crabs was a basic skill for me."
Qin Chuan raised an eyebrow, surprised that this quiet and reserved biology graduate student had such a childhood.
They caught all three crabs and seven or eight fish.
Qin Chuan walked around the reef again and found more than a dozen snails and a handful of clams in the crevices of the rocks.
Fan Yubing and Lin Shishi were also busy; they rummaged through the beach after the tide receded and found quite a few shellfish.
The most unexpected gain was Liu Yifei.
She found a clump of seaweed on the back of a large rock; it was lush and green and looked very fresh.
Liu Yifei pinched a handful, looked at it in her palm, and then smelled it.
"This seaweed is edible," she said confidently.
"How did you know?" Qin Chuan walked over.
"The judgment was based on a combination of color, texture, and smell. The structure of this seaweed is very similar to that of Ulva prolifera from the Blue Planet, belonging to the edible green algae category. Of course, there may be differences in species here, but judging from its appearance, the possibility of it being poisonous is very low."
Qin Chuan scanned the area with his pupil technique:
[Otherworldly Seaweed, Level 1 Ingredient. Rich in minerals and vitamins, edible. First-time consumption grants a bonus.]
This is completely consistent with Liu Yifei's judgment.
Qin Chuan's gaze towards Liu Yifei was different now.
This woman's value on the deserted island might be greater than he imagined.
"Gather more, we'll have it for dinner tonight."
The four of them worked in the low tide area for about an hour and had a good harvest. They caught a variety of fish, shrimp, crabs, snails, clams, and seaweed in considerable quantities.
Fan Yubing, carrying a large handful of clams, walked back to the camp, her mood noticeably improved.
"We can have a big meal tonight!"
Lin Shishi laughed too: "It's been so long since I've had seafood. On the cruise ship, the seafood in the staff restaurant was all frozen, not fresh."
Liu Yifei walked at the back, carrying a clump of seaweed. Occasionally, she would look up at the three people in front of her and smile slightly.
After returning to the camp, Qin Chuan began processing the seafood.
The fish is gutted with a folding knife, its internal organs are removed, and it is washed clean in a water storage pit.
Crabs were tied to vines and thrown into the fire to roast. Conch and clams were piled together and roasted over the fire until they opened.
After washing the seaweed clean, Liu Yifei suggested putting it in a coconut shell and slowly drying it near a fire to make it into dried seaweed that can be preserved.
"Dried seaweed can be stored for a long time; you can simply soak it in water and eat it when needed."
Qin Chuan nodded, increasingly feeling like he had struck gold.
The aroma of grilled fish filled the campsite. The four people sat around the campfire, each eating a grilled fish with great enthusiasm.
Qin Chuan took a bite of the grilled fish, and a system notification popped up:
[Consumable Level 1 Ingredient: Otherworldly Yellow Croaker. First consumption grants +2 Speed.]
rose again.
After dinner, Qin Chuan opened the panel to check the situation.
[Host: Qin Chuan.]
【人物属性：力量30；速度20；防御20；生命20。（备注：人物初始四维属性为10点）】
[Character Status: Digestion Level 1; Stomach Space Level 1; Cooking Level 1.]
[Character Skill: Eye Technique LV1 (Data Scanning Ability) (Proficiency: 5/10)]
[Special Ingredients: Target Fan Yubing (10 hours remaining cooldown), Target Lin Shishi (8.5 hours remaining cooldown), Target Liu Yifei (11 hours remaining cooldown)]
As darkness fell completely, the sun set and the small sun turned into a blue moon, its ethereal blue light once again enveloping the entire island.
The four people sat in front of the newly built wooden house, watching the blue moonlight spill onto the sea, and no one spoke.
Fan Yubing yawned: "I'm so tired today, I'm going to sleep now."
Lin Shishi stood up too: "I'm going too, I'm so sleepy."
The two entered one of the bedrooms, one after the other, and the banana leaf curtain fell down.
Qin Chuan and Liu Yifei sat at the door.
A campfire burned not far away, the wood crackling and popping.
Liu Yifei hugged her knees, gazing at the distant blue sea.
"Qin Chuan."
"Um?"
"Does your system... really need a kiss to become stronger?"
Qin Chuan paused for two seconds: "Yes."
Liu Yifei rested her chin on her knees and asked softly, "Did you have a girlfriend back on Earth?"
"No."
Why?
"Because he's poor. Who would want a security guard job that pays only 5,000 yuan a month?"
Liu Yifei said "Oh" and didn't ask any more questions.
After a moment of silence, Liu Yifei suddenly spoke up: "When you kissed me this afternoon, I slapped you. Did it hurt?"
"It hurts quite a bit."
"sorry."
Qin Chuan turned to look at her. The blue moonlight shone on Liu Yifei's face, her eyes were clear and bright, reflecting the blue moon.
"It's alright, I've already hit you. I admit I was wrong; I should have explained things to you first."
Liu Yifei gently shook her head: "Even if you explained it clearly, I might not agree. But now that it's happened, it's no big deal."
Qin Chuan smiled and nodded: "Okay, thank you for understanding. Go to sleep, I'll keep watch again tonight."
"Okay." Liu Yifei stood up, patted the sand off her pants, bent down and went into another bedroom.
Qin Chuan sat alone at the door of the wooden house, added two pieces of firewood to the campfire, then placed his folding knife beside him, leaned against the door frame, and closed his eyes.