Catch the sea: start with a sand shovel and take over the entire beach

The system won't cheat itself; as long as there's a valuation, it can definitely be bought and sold normally.

Zhao Qin estimated that the reason this thing was so expensive was probably because of its damn good looks. It was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen in the sea, even more beautiful than the strange and wonderful corals.

"How is it?" Zhao Anguo urged, seeing him floating motionless on the surface of the sea, dozens of meters away.

"Dad, we have some goods, but everyone is tired today, so let's rest for another day."

No one objected; taking a day off wouldn't increase costs anyway.

Back on the ship, Zhao Qin showed everyone the two types of giant saffron clam that he had found in the sea. It was the first time anyone had seen one, and they were all captivated by its beauty.

"Brother, are there many? I'd like to take a pair and raise them later."

"How do you tell the male and female of these?" Chen Dong asked curiously, clearly wanting to get a pair to take home as well.

“Most giant clams are hermaphroditic, and this one should be too,” Zhao Qin added. “Let’s see tomorrow. We’ll catch some and share them. If there are too many, we’ll take some to give away.”

"Unprotected, right?" Chen Dong asked again.

“No, Dong-ge, let’s forget about selling. We’ve got enough good stuff on this trip, we won’t miss this little bit. Let’s grab a few to try, and take some back to raise.”

Everyone agrees.

"Chen, is the food ready yet? I'm starving!" Ahe wailed as he lay down on the deck.

Ah Chen gave him a cold look and said, "Shut up if you're not going to do anything."

A moment later, Ah Chen announced that it was time to eat. Knowing everyone was hungry, he made it simple: blanched snails, some steamed braised meat, and a big pot of noodles as the main dish.

Drinking alcohol when you're hungry is bad for your stomach, but you also crave a drink when you're hungry—it's a paradox.

The old Taoist priest took a sip of wine and said to Zhao Qin, "Go back tomorrow night."

"Don't worry, Master. No matter how good or bad the harvest is, we will set off back tomorrow evening."

I've been away for eleven days already, and it will take about three more days to get back. Labor Day is long over.

"Aqin, after you finish eating, take some of the baskets and hang them on the side of the boat. There's no room in the cabin. If we pile them up any more, the lobsters will definitely die."

"Okay, you can hang all the shellfish and other shellfish outside."

After dinner, Ahe was about to lie down when Old Cat kicked him up. "There's still work to do. I've never seen you this lazy when we were on the ship before. What, I'm on the big ship, so you don't have to do the work on the small boat?"

Ah He said dejectedly, "Brother Cat, I did all the work I was supposed to do, but to be honest, these past two days have been much more tiring than usual when I'm out at sea."

"Why don't you say you've gained a lot too?" Ah Chen's witty remark was always there. "Look at you, you'll turn into a pig if you get any fatter."

Ah-He was no longer sleepy and jumped up to argue, "I'm strong, you get that right."

"Heh." Ah Chen's cold laugh was quite lethal, which angered Ah He so much that he was about to fight him, but Zhao Qin pushed him away, saying, "Save your energy for work."

With a simple division of labor, Zhao Qin led Chen Xun, Qian Bijun, and Achen Teng in the cargo hold, while the rest of the team distributed the goods.

Although the old Taoist priest hasn't gone into the water these past two days, he's been quite busy. During the day, he spends his free time on the boat sorting cargo. Everyone on board objected, but the old Taoist priest insisted, and no one could do anything about it.

Chen's father sighed and said to the old Taoist priest, "Sir, I can count on my fingers the number of times I'll be able to go to sea."

"Don't say discouraging things. You're only in your fifties. You've suffered a lot when you were young, and now that your family is well-off, don't be embarrassed. You should take a break. Look at me, I'm at Aqin's house every day, and I don't do anything."

"Master, you're wrong. What you're doing isn't physical labor," Zhao Qin overheard and replied.

"I want you to talk more."

Well, now we know where Lao Zhao learned his tactless habit from.

There were so many shellfish that the boat was almost completely covered with them. Everyone worked until nearly 11 o'clock before they finally got a break.

The next day, everyone went into the water again, carrying oxygen tanks and wearing wetsuits, so they could search underwater continuously without having to surface for air. By 5 p.m., they had finally searched the entire reef area.

The harvest was very good; we had over 60 more baskets of snails.

Everyone boarded the boat again, made sure there was enough fresh water, and then took a refreshing shower.

The ship has started its return journey.

After taking a shower, Zhao Qin first went to the helm room to make a phone call, and then chatted with Chen's father for a while.

"Aqin, the boat is too heavy, so the return trip might be a bit slow."

"Dad, we're not in a hurry. It shouldn't be windy in the next couple of days."

Mr. Chen overheard the phone call and asked, "Can you mark a point? Where will our boat dock?"

Zhao Qin marked a point on the GPS. "Dad, this is a small island called Changzhou outside the port city. We can just dock the boat there. Uncle Li said that the island is jointly operated by him and the Zheng family. There is a simple dock, and he has replaced all the people on it with his family's confidants."

"Aren't you closer to the Huo and He families? Why are you asking the Li family for help this time?"

Zhao Qin chuckled, "Dad, to put it nicely, it's because I wasn't very close to the Li family before, so I'm taking this opportunity to get closer to them. Since they helped me this time, I owe the Li family a big favor. Uncle Li will be able to settle this score."

"How about a harsher tone?"

"Haha, his grandson is still in my hands."

Mr. Chen was taken aback, then burst into laughter.

Zhao Qin walked out of the wheelhouse and onto the aft deck. Ah Chen was busy cooking. When he saw Zhao Qin, he asked, "Brother Ah Chen, would you like some whelks to cook?"

"We need the conch shells, and we'll cook one giant clam shell for each of us too."

"Brother, isn't it a waste to eat that stuff?"

Zhao Qin glanced at Ahe and said, "It's not a waste if it's already in your stomach."

He's not a moral paragon; he believes that anything not explicitly prohibited by law is permissible, though he occasionally skirts the line, such as this shipwreck salvage operation.

Saffron giant clams are not yet listed as protected animals, so this is a good opportunity to try them, as there won't be another chance later.

Try it first. If it tastes good, save a few for your family. If it doesn't, keep it as an ornamental plant.

Instead of helping Ah Chen, he also needed to count the number of giant clams. Today's task involved two types of shellfish, so he had to separate them during the harvesting.

Compared to snails, there are far fewer giant clams. There are only 16 baskets in total. They are large enough that one basket can't hold many, so he needs to count the number.

When Ah Chen called for dinner, he had just finished counting the last basket, writing the numbers down in his notebook, and then went to eat.

Ah Chen first filled a small bowl for himself, then, holding his share of giant clam shells, went to the helm room to exchange them with Chen's father.

Zhao Qin also started with giant clam shells. Looking at the cooked, still purple snail meat, he couldn't help but feel a little scared. The color was so beautiful, could this thing be poisonous?

Of course, he knew it was impossible; the Poisonous System would give him a warning.

It was fresh enough that the shell opened automatically after cooking, making it easy to remove the meat. I cut off a piece with a knife and popped it into my mouth, tasting the original flavor first.

I thought it would taste similar to oysters, but it's quite different. The meat is very firm, and to be honest, it's a bit tough to chew, especially the adductor muscle, which is commonly known as scallop.

It's tough and doesn't disintegrate easily, but with each bite, a burst of sweetness bursts forth from the fibers, making it hard to spit out.

"It's really good, but it's not very friendly to old men." The old Taoist's cheeks were bulging, indicating that he had put in a lot of effort.

"The more you chew, the fresher it becomes; this meat is truly amazing." Ahe has a bad habit when eating: he likes to smack his lips.

Zhao Qin made up his mind that no matter what, he had to bring a few for his wife to try.