Chapter 413: The Joy of Beachcombing
Chapter 413: The Joy of Beachcombing
As the three boats separated, Zhou Chenglei headed straight for the West Bay area.
Upon reaching the bay, a vast stretch of beach came into view, much larger than what they had seen earlier in the morning.
In the distance, some people were beachcombing, and a few boats were anchored, smaller than theirs by more than half.
They were likely locals from the nearby coastal villages or fishermen from another province.
Jiang Xia noticed some of them bending over, and a few were even using hoes to dig.
Zhou Chenglei found a spot to dock the boat and set up a ladder, which he climbed down first before helping Jiang Xia descend.
Zhou Mu, who was on the boat, steadied Jiang Xia as she climbed down.
The ladder was specially made by Zhou Chenglei to facilitate Jiang Xia's boarding and disembarking.
Although she could jump down and he could catch her, the impact would still be significant, and it was best to avoid any injuries to the child.
Midway through her descent, Zhou Chenglei picked her up and carried her to the shallower waters.
He wore a wetsuit, unafraid of getting wet.
Jiang Xia, on the other hand, wore only water shoes.
After Jiang Xia disembarked, Tian Caixia followed, climbing down the ladder. She also wore a wetsuit and waded through the water.
Zhou Mu then climbed down the ladder as well.
Zhou Fu passed the tools to Zhou Chenglei before getting off the boat.
Jiang Xia surveyed the distant beach, and where the water had receded, the sand formed undulating waves. She could imagine how the waves must have sculpted the sand.
Tian Caixia approached the shallow water and bent down for a closer look, exclaiming, "Tiezis! So many of them!"
With a quick glance, she spotted three or four tiezis spouting water from beneath the shimmering sand.
This confirmed the abundance of tiezis on this stretch of beach.
Forgetting her tools, she bent down and started pulling them out.
Jiang Xia, unfamiliar with tiezis, asked as she approached, "How can you tell there are tiezis here?"
Just then, a spout of water caught her eye, and she saw a tiezi's spout.
Having seen tiezis before, she instantly recognized it.
Jiang Xia observed the tiezi's slightly open mouth, its tip barely protruding above the sand.
Jiang Xia bent down and gently touched its mouth, causing it to close.
Avoiding the tiezi's sharp edges, she dug up the sand on both sides and pulled with force, expecting it to come out easily. However, it remained firmly rooted, digging deeper into the sand.
Jiang Xia grasped the tiezi's shell and tugged a few times before finally pulling it out.
There was another tiezi nearby, which she also pulled out.
She continued pulling out more, one after another, finding a good number of them.
Pull, pull, pull!
The tiezis were vertically embedded in the sand, their mouths facing upward, and their pointed ends digging downward.
It was like pulling out radishes!
Moreover, because they were deeply 'planted,' the sand at the bottom turned into water as she dug, creating a 'swoosh' sound that was incredibly soothing to hear.
Pull!
Keep pulling!
Each pull yielded a large tiezi!
There were also some spicy snails nearby, which she collected and placed together.
Zhou Chenglei arrived with a bucket, tools, and a chair, joining Jiang Xia, who had already pulled out over a dozen tiezis and gathered quite a few snails.
Zhou Chenglei reminded her, "The edges of the tiezis' mouths are sharp, so don't use your hands directly. Be careful."
"I know, I'm wearing gloves," Jiang Xia said, tossing the freshly pulled tiezi aside.
"You can use a hoe to dig, like this," Zhou Chenglei demonstrated, raising the hoe and gently digging into the sand beside the tiezi. With a quick hook, the tiezi came out, sand and all.
It was like pulling out radishes, complete with the mud.
"This one is huge," Jiang Xia exclaimed, bending down to pick it up and comparing its size to her water shoes and then to Zhou Chenglei's. "It's as big as your shoe!"
Perhaps it was because this beach hadn't experienced a low tide in a while, and the tiezis had grown quite large!
"This is the season when tiezis are at their fattest and juiciest, with plump and large scallops inside," Zhou Chenglei added.
Zhou Chenglei demonstrated a few times and dug up several sea cucumbers, then handed the hoe to her, "Use the hoe to dig, no need to bend over. You dig them out, and I'll pick them up."
He bent down and quickly picked up the sea cucumbers, tossing them into the bucket.
The hoe was relatively light with a long handle, allowing Jiang Xia to work without bending over, reducing fatigue.
Moreover, she could use the hoe to support her body while standing.
"Okay." Jiang Xia took the hoe and started digging for sea cucumbers.
Zhou Chenglei picked up the ones Jiang Xia dug out while digging himself.
Jiang Xia lacked his experience; she could only identify the sea cucumbers by their traces on the sand's surface. He, on the other hand, could tell from the marks on the sand that there were sea cucumbers buried beneath.
He spotted a snail's eye and reached out to dig it out.
There were many sea cucumbers, various seashells, and cone shells and sand snails were visible everywhere.
Some seashells were clustered in groups of three or four.
The family was having a great time collecting them!
Today's joy came from beachcombing.
Jiang Xia also spotted a clam hole and sprinkled some salt into it, causing the clam to jump out.
Clam holes were common, but they were a bit troublesome. Still, sea cucumbers had the best value for effort, so they tried to dig up as many as possible.
Jiang Xia noticed two round holes about ten centimeters apart, with slightly larger openings and identical shapes. "Zhou Chenglei, what kind of hole is this? Could it be a sea snake's hole?"
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Zhou Chenglei took a look, "No, these two holes are connected. They're probably fiddler crab holes."
He stepped on one of the holes with his foot and stomped a few times. With each stomp, water sprayed out of the other hole.
After a few stomps, a jumping fish leaped out.
Jiang Xia: "..."
Zhou Chenglei quickly grabbed it and placed it in the bucket.
Jiang Xia: "But you said they were fiddler crab holes?"
Zhou Chenglei: "Probably the jumping fish visited the fiddler crab's home."
"..."
Jiang Xia laughed.
Zhou Chenglei saw her laugh and laughed too.
Jiang Xia spotted a pair of orchid crabs lying in a small puddle, seemingly fighting, and they weren't small. She quickly squatted down and grabbed them, being careful of their claws.
"Be careful of their pincers."
"I know, I'm an expert now."
Zhou Chenglei laughed again.
Jiang Xia avoided their claws and lifted them up, placing both in the bucket.
There was also a sea cucumber in the puddle, which Jiang Xia dug up and tossed into the bucket Zhou Chenglei was holding.
Zhou Chenglei squatted down and picked up a large scallop.
He dug up another sea cucumber.
Zhou Chenglei walked a few steps and spotted a long-legged crab. He grabbed it!
A sea cucumber, dug!
Jiang Xia saw a shrimp stranded on the beach and thought it was dead. She tapped it with the hoe, and it jumped up. She quickly chased and grabbed it!
A patch of sand had star-shaped marks, and Jiang Xia bent down to pick it up. Indeed, it was a small starfish.
Another sea cucumber, dug!
So fat!
A pile of cone shells, picked up!
...
Today's beachcombing yielded a sea cucumber on the left, a mussel on the right, a conch behind, and a cone shell in front.
After half an hour, the couple had collected three buckets of sea cucumbers.
Zhou Chenglei asked Jiang Xia, "Tired? Want to take a break?"
He had brought down a bamboo chair and a wooden board earlier.
"Not tired yet. I'll rest after an hour." Jiang Xia saw a small puddle spraying water.
She quickly squatted down and reached out to dig, only to pull out a huge one!
Jiang Xia screamed in surprise.
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(End of Chapter)
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