Walking past one high and low reef after another and seeing the shellfish growing in clusters on top of them, if you have trypophobia, you would get goose bumps.
However, he seemed to see wild kelp in the gap
"kelp?"
The wind on the island was particularly strong, blowing the kelp on the rocks out.
When he came here before, his attention was always on the beach. He didn't look carefully at the reefs next to it. Anyway, the goods on it would not run away. When he returned this time, he looked around and finally saw it.
Farmed kelp grows on ropes, while wild kelp clings to reefs and grows on rocks.
These days, the villages around them don't grow kelp. It seems that it will take a few years before the village committee learns planting techniques from other counties and organizes the villagers to plant it.
He couldn't remember it clearly; it was too long ago, and he had been living in a daze the whole time.
Considering that wild kelp was difficult to obtain and rare in general places, and farmed kelp was even less available, he hesitated for a moment and walked towards the reef.
Originally, I wanted to dig out the bamboo clams first and then slowly pry the goods off the stone wall. Now I'll go over and take a look. It won't take much time.
When I got closer, I saw that the things flying inward against the wind were actually kelp. I didn't know how long it had been growing. Some were so large that they were blown directly against the rocks. Only the small ones would flutter in the wind.
Normal kelp is not green, but yellowish-brown. It is connected to these rocks and looks like a whole from a distance. It is impossible to tell whether it is a rock or something growing on it, so it is easy to ignore it.
He put down the bucket, stretched out his claws, and tore hard at the large piece of kelp, and broke it off.
It has an irregular shape, being thicker at the head and the middle, and a bit thin at the tail. The whole thing feels slippery in the hand and feels quite heavy.
Looking at the scattered ones around, some even in the cracks between the reefs, he tore off the big ones without hesitation. Since he had encountered them, the more the better, and he threw them all into the sack.
Some grew on taller rocks, and he climbed up.
The stones covered with kelp are relatively slippery, and there are no barnacles growing on them. They look smooth, just like stones, and are really easy to be overlooked.
Tearing off the kelp is very easy and convenient. If you have a knife, it will be even more convenient and efficient.
He threw them all into the sack one by one, until he had almost picked up all the small area around it, leaving only palm-sized ones. Only then did he stop and jump down.
The sack also became heavy. The kelp was moist and expanded, taking up 1/4 of the entire sack. Fortunately, there was nothing else inside, so the sack could hold the kelp.
Both of his hands, the left hand was heavy, and the right hand was also full. He glanced at the bamboo sticks stuck on the beach not far away and could only put the bamboo clams aside for the time being. He moved these things back and visited his wife by the way.
I always feel like I brought her out here not for fun, but to do hard labor...
As soon as he arrived, he left her there alone, letting her slowly pry him off and get a guarantee, while he wandered around aimlessly.
"Wife!"
"Ah! You're back. Did you catch a lot of fish again?" Lin Xiuqing turned around with a smile, put down the tools in her hands, and trotted towards him. "Did you fill the bucket again? And there's still half a sack?"
Ye Yaodong kissed her cheek and asked, "Isn't it boring to be alone?"
"It's okay! How can work be boring? Why did you kiss me when you were fine? Do you feel guilty about it? You left me here all alone?"
Ahaha, so sensitive, I immediately noticed that he felt a little guilty.
"Tsk~ I'm rewarding you for your hard work and for catching the sesame spots. I'm giving you a loving encouragement."
Lin Xiuqing laughed so hard that her teeth couldn't see her eyes. "Come on! You're encouraging me. Where did you learn all this? You're becoming more and more slick."
"Aren't you also very happy and delighted to hear it?"
He just doesn't believe that there is no woman who doesn't like to hear nice words, especially the coaxing words from her own husband.
Lin Xiuqing glared at him in reproach, then glanced at the bucket. There were dog sharks in it. It was nothing surprising, as she had already seen a bucket of them before.
She opened the sack and took a look. She was surprised. "Huh? There's kelp! Where did you get it?"
"Over there," Ye Yaodong pointed her in a direction, "there is a small reef in a concave area. There aren't many of them there. I tore off the big ones and didn't take the small ones the size of a palm. I left them there so they can grow more and I can pick them next year."
"This is good. A whole piece can be dried and rolled up and stored for a long time. We can't even eat it in the mountains. I'll send a few pieces to my parents. My mother seems to like it, too."
His mother likes it
He really doesn't know this, so he is the unfilial son.
"Well, it's up to you. Go back later to see if there are any spare ribs for sale. I'll cook a pot of kelp and spare rib soup in the evening. If there's no spare ribs, I'll go rob the fat man. There's basically no meat left, but there's no need to worry about not having any bones."
Lin Xiuqing smiled and said, "The big black family at home will have something to eat again."
"Well, after raising it for half a year, it has indeed become more and more competent. I have heard the dog barking loudly at night many times. It must have deterred many thieves."
"I also dug a sack of shellfish, but it was too heavy for me to move. I had to use a bucket to fill it up, and when it was full I would pour it into the sack. Otherwise it would be difficult to move. I didn't dare to fill the sack too full, for fear that it would be too heavy and difficult to carry onto the boat later."
"It's okay, I'm here. I'll carry it later, and you can fill the bucket and pour it in. Do whatever is convenient for you. Don't separate it so carefully, because you will have to pick it out when you get back anyway."
"Yeah," Lin Xiuqing responded with a smile, "Do you want to go over there? There are also a lot of shells on the rocks here. It's impossible for the two of us to dig them all. Why don't you just dig here? Don't go over there?"
"There's a small patch of razor clams on the beach over there. Those can be sold for some money. I plan to dig those up and come over to accompany you."
"Then I'll go with you? We'll have company when we dig together, and we won't have to talk to anyone when we want to. If I had known this earlier, I would have called my eldest and second sisters-in-law to come along. They're idle at home weaving fishing nets anyway, so maybe we can get more if we go out. We can also have company when we talk together, and it won't be boring."
He thought about how his wife had been married for so long and really didn't have many friends. She only interacted more with her two sisters-in-law and her younger sister. The relationships with the neighbors were not as good as those with her as a family. It seemed really not easy.
"Next time! Next time I'll bring you along to keep you company. If you feel bored, shall we go back first? It's noon now, are you hungry?"
"I'm not hungry. I just ate several white shrimps. It's the first time I've eaten them raw. They tasted quite fresh and sweet."
"Well, these fresh wild seafood can be eaten raw. If you feel hungry or tired, shall we go back first?"
"No, no, it's not easy to come out. It's only noon now, the tide has just receded, and the rising tide is not that fast."
"Okay, let's go dig some bamboo clams first."
Since she was in high spirits and wanted to continue, he certainly couldn't spoil her mood by mentioning the two children in front of her, which would make her worry about them again and prevent her from having fun.
Lin Xiuqing happily emptied the bucket in her hand, then picked it up, put the tools in it, and then put her arm around his arm.
Only then did she realize that he had thrown his rain boots onto the beach and was barefoot.
"Hey, you're still barefoot?"
"Well, it got wet when I went into the water earlier, so I took it off. It's pretty comfortable to walk barefoot on the beach, it's soft."
"Then I'll take it off too."
Lin Xiuqing threw her rain boots onto the beach, took off her socks and stuffed them into them, rolled up her trouser legs, revealing her white and tender toes.
Two pairs of feet, one big and one small, but equally white and tender.
She couldn't help but teasing him, "Look at your feet, they're whiter than women's. Are you ashamed?"
She also used her toes to pick up a handful of sand and threw it on the back of his feet, and then used the soles of her feet to evenly smear it on the back of his feet several times.
Only after she saw the brown sand spots on the back of his feet did she withdraw her feet with satisfaction.
Ye Yaodong looked at her rare mischievous behavior and smiled, letting her grab him and step on him as she pleased.
"Feet aren't the whitest."
“Then where is the whitest place?”
"Butt! Do you want to take a look and verify it?"
"Go away!" Lin Xiuqing glared at him in reproach, let go of his arm, and jogged forward.
Ye Yaodong picked up the tools and the bucket and chased after him, "Sunshine, beach, waves, white buttocks, it's also very harmonious~"
"Hahaha~ You are so shameless~"
"I'm your man, what's so shameless about that? This is called fun~"
Lin Xiuqing laughed as she ran...