Chapter 393 - 387: Butter Crab

"No, I can’t go."

Yun Jiao shook her head and refused outright.

The others weren’t disappointed; after all, they had anticipated it.

The lobsters they caught today were more than enough to make them happy.

Besides, there were still more lobsters left to catch.

So, Yun Jiao and the others headed back into the water. They found that some of the lobsters that had escaped earlier had foolishly returned.

They couldn’t help but chuckle.

’It’s good that they’re a little stupid. How else would we catch them?’

After a quick glance, Yun Jiao dove deeper into the ocean to look for scallops.

Each time she filled her net bag, she swam back to the island.

Modern diving equipment couldn’t reach very deep, and besides, it was so expensive that few people could afford it.

As a result, the resources in the deep sea were truly abundant.

For instance, the part of the ocean she was in was practically overrun with the scallops she was gathering.

Yun Jiao made several trips back and forth, filling her large net bag to the brim each time.

Thanks to her efforts, a small mountain of scallops had piled up on the island’s beach.

Even Yun Xiaowu and the others were shocked.

"Jiaojiao, just how many of them are down there on the seafloor!"

’Why don’t we have that kind of skill? We’d love to dive down and see for ourselves.’

Su Huan was the most envious of them all.

’If I had Yun Jiao’s ability, I wouldn’t have to worry about supporting myself and Grandma at all.’

Yun Jiao caught her breath. It was exhausting, hauling such a huge load back and forth.

"There aren’t many left. I only took the large ones and left the small ones."

’Clearing out some space will help the smaller ones grow.’

Yun Linhai and the others came over as well, and they too were stunned by the mountain of scallops.

’As expected, when it comes to ocean foraging, you really have to count on our Jiaojiao. She manages to surprise us every single time.’

By the time Yun Jiao had gathered most of the large scallops from the sea, her stomach was rumbling.

Shen Yunlian and the others had already planned to eat on the island, so they had brought along pots, pans, bowls, and all sorts of seasonings.

They all got busy right away.

Soon there was a pot of fragrant, fresh congee with dried scallops and white shrimp, and a large basin of raw marinated seafood.

With the raw marinated seafood on hand, they didn’t bother making any other dishes.

"Come on, it’s time to eat!"

At the adults’ call, everyone grabbed a bowl and chopsticks and gathered around to eat.

The raw marinated seafood was made with the freshest possible catch, so its flavor was simply out of this world.

In the end, everyone ate until they were stuffed.

By the afternoon, the sun wasn’t as intense. Having eaten, everyone felt much more energetic.

"Let’s search for a little while longer. We’ll head back once the sky starts to get dark."

It was rare for the whole family to come out together, so naturally, they weren’t going to head back so early.

They didn’t have to worry about the pigs at home, either. Granny Yun had already asked Third Grandpa to help feed them.

After a short rest, everyone got busy again.

First, they moved all the pen shells onto the boat, along with their other things.

Then they continued to explore the island.

"Is that a crab over there?"

Yun Jiao asked uncertainly as she watched a small, slightly golden creature scurry past.

"Where? Let’s go have a look."

"I can’t believe there’s freshwater on this island."

Even though it was freshwater, they didn’t drink it.

They did, however, spot some shrimp in it.

"Dad, I found a crab!"

Yun Xiaowu’s excited voice rang out.

Yun Linhai replied nonchalantly, "So you found one. What’s all the excitement about?"

’It’s not like we’ve never found crabs before. We even caught two king-sized mud crabs today.’

"No, it’s a yellow-oil crab! A yellow-oil crab!"

"What?!"

Hearing this, even Yun Linhai couldn’t remain calm.

Yellow-oil crabs. Those things were both expensive and rare.

In an instant, everyone scrambled over.

A yellow-oil crab is actually a type of roe crab. It’s a variation of the female mud crab that occurs during spawning season due to specific environmental factors.

The yellow-oil crab has an orange-yellow hue all over its body, and oil even seeps from its joints, giving it an incredibly valuable appearance.

Most importantly, the crab’s body is packed full of roe, making it incredibly delicious.

For all these reasons combined, the price of a yellow-oil crab is several times higher than that of a regular mud crab.

Of course, the bigger the size and the fuller the roe, the more valuable it is.

The one Yun Xiaowu held in his hands looked to be about four liang.

That wasn’t a small size at all.

Since yellow-oil crabs are a mutation, they tend to be on the smaller side.

"Quick, let me see! It really is a yellow-oil crab! Where did you catch it?"

Just then, Yun Jiao’s voice rang out, "I caught one too!"

Everyone looked over. Good heavens, it was even bigger than the one Yun Xiaowu had caught.

Yun Linhe shot over in a single bound, taking it and weighing it in his hand.

"Based on my many years of experience, Jiaojiao’s must be around eight liang."

"No way! Can yellow-oil crabs really get this big?"

"Whoa, the roe is practically oozing out! This yellow-oil crab looks so fat."

"Quick, everyone, look around! See if there are any more!"

Everyone eagerly began to search.

Before long, shouts of pleasant surprise could be heard all around.

"I caught one over here, but it’s on the small side."

"Wow, Brother Nine, did you stumble upon a whole nest of mud crabs?"

Yun Xiaojiu didn’t find any yellow-oil crabs, but he found seven large mud crabs at once.

There were tons of mud crabs here; they must have come to this area to spawn.

They didn’t just scoop up every crab they saw.

They left the unmutated, egg-carrying females alone, only catching the males and the few that had mutated into yellow-oil crabs.

As the sky gradually darkened, everyone stopped searching.

Looking at the mud crabs and yellow-oil crabs in their cages, everyone was grinning from ear to ear.

Even Su Huan had caught six yellow-oil crabs and thirteen mud crabs.

He was happier than anyone else.

"Alright, let’s pack up. Time to head back."

Back on the boat, Su Huan’s catch was set aside separately.

The rest of Yun Jiao’s family put their catches together.

"We’ll keep these for our family to eat, and sell the rest."

What they kept included their personal favorites and some of the larger shrimp.

"Dad, are we keeping the pen shells for ourselves?"

Of the entire haul on the boat, the pen shells seemed to be the most plentiful.

In reality, it was just because they were so large; they simply looked like a lot when piled up.

"We’ll dry the adductor muscles into scallops to send to Eldest Brother and Second Brother."

Yun Xiao Liu added, "Send some to my master, too. He loves them."

’Every chef loves good ingredients.’

Mr. Yun said, "Then let’s keep them."

They had already grown accustomed to the family having special, delicious meals from time to time.

And so, the entire huge pile of pen shells was set aside.

When the boat reached the dock, Ah Wang looked at the pile of pen shells, but before a smile could even form on his face, he was told they were keeping the shells for themselves.

Ah Wang was left speechless.

He sighed.

’Jiaojiao’s talent for finding things was the real deal, but so was her love of good food. When other people find something good, their first thought is to sell it. Her first reaction is to see if it’s something she likes to eat. If it is, she keeps it.’

"You can forget about the pen shells, but I can give you some of these."

Yun Linhe took out the yellow-oil crabs.

Ah Wang’s face lit up the moment he saw them.

"Your luck is just incredible! To think you even managed to find these!"

’And from the looks of it, they’ve probably got quite a few.’