However, he had heard that the taste of shipworms was similar to that of clams and fish whiskers, close to dancai, and contained the aroma of fish oil from steamed grouper. It was springy and tender, with a hint of sweetness, and had no unpleasant evil residue.
but…
Haha~ It’s not easy to get over that hurdle in my heart.
Ye Yaosheng also squatted down and imitated him, finding a hole and knocking a few times, but he only picked off a piece of sawdust and did not see any trace of the shipworm.
He didn't know the value of sea chicken feet. Those with shells were not attractive to him at all. They were even worse than shipworms...
"We still have to wait until we get back and use an axe to chop it. We can't dig it out even if we try."
"Before we get there, let's first pry off the chicken of the sea feet on the outside."
While he was digging the holes, Ye Yaodong had already reached out and broken off several of them.
Ye Yaosheng also knew that the chicken feet he was talking about were the barnacles on the edge and side of the hull. "I'll go get two screwdrivers."
"In the toolbox in the cabin."
"I know."
Ye Yaodong also went to the side and got a bucket, ready to fill it later.
According to his visual estimation, if all the contents were taken away, there would probably only be a full bucket, about ten pounds.
Because there are empty shells on top, there will be more juvenile shells and reticulated barnacles growing on the bottom of the boat, while there are only a few inside the boat.
Human power cannot compare to tools. The reason why humans evolved into advanced animals is that they can use tools.
It is much more convenient and efficient to pry with a screwdriver, and a constant "dong dong dong" sound can be heard from the bucket.
When Ye's father was driving the boat, in addition to looking ahead, he would turn around from time to time to watch them busying themselves. He felt a little itchy. He had heard from Dongzi that the thing called sea chicken feet was very valuable and had been sold for a lot of money. He didn't know how much he could dig out
I didn't make any money for the whole month last month and was lying at home the whole time. The weather only cleared up recently. Fortunately, Dongzi made a lot of money selling dried fish before the New Year, and I heard that his business has been good recently, otherwise he would have been restless for him.
The final payment for the boat is still 8,000!
I didn't know how much cash he had on hand. Some time ago, when I couldn't sleep at night because I was worried about him, I secretly calculated it with his mother. I felt relieved that he didn't owe much.
He thought that there were still one or two years left, and if he didn't mess around with other things, even if he couldn't make as much money as last year, he would definitely have no problem making the payment. Today, this chicken feet from the sea was an extra income subsidy.
I have to find time to talk to him and tell him to stop struggling. He is already earning enough now and he just needs to live a peaceful life fishing and drying fish.
Ye Yaodong was prying with a screwdriver, but the boat was so rotten that before he had dug a few times, a large piece of wood was dug out along with the shells.
As soon as he took it in his hand, he saw a white figure wriggling in the hole.
There is a small shell at the end of its tail, which is very inconspicuous. People who are particular about it will spit it out if they suck on it. Of course, eating it can also supplement calcium.
“There really are shipworms!”
He reached in with a screwdriver, picked out the moving shipworm, hung it on the screwdriver, and handed it to Ye Yaosheng to see.
"Your dinner, a snack to go with your wine! It's quite big, would you like to have a bite of it raw, with all its original flavor?"
Ye Yaosheng opened his eyes wide, "Eat it raw???"
"Can't all seafood be eaten raw? Try it. Just slurp it up and it will burst in your mouth!"
Ye Yaosheng looked at the shipworms that were almost reaching his mouth and couldn't help but take a step back. His scalp was numb. Even if he had a strong taste for food, he couldn't accept eating it raw...
The liquid burst in one mouthful, Dongzi is so scary!
This is not an oyster, and you swallow it in one bite...
"No, no... How can this be eaten raw? This needs to be fried..."
"Why not? How about I wash it in fresh water for you? Don't you like it?"
Eating it raw is a tribute to the Creator, and blanching it in water and mixing it cold is an ode to nature!
"It has to be cooked! Throw it on the boat, and I'll split it open and dig it out when we get back."
Ye Yaosheng patted his arm, and the shipworm hanging on the screwdriver fell directly onto the boat. He immediately felt relieved.
How can this thing be eaten raw? He was so smart.
Ye Yaodong laughed out loud.
"Why don't you eat one for me to see?" Seeing that he was laughing so wildly, Ye Yaosheng picked up the shipworm that was making holes on the boat and brought it to him.
Ye Yaodong looked at the shipworm that was almost reaching his mouth, his eyes tightened, and he quickly covered his mouth in panic and slapped his hand away.
"Do you have to be so disgusting?"
"Didn't you say to eat it raw?"
"Where? I'm taking care of you. I won't eat this disgusting thing. Fried sea silkworms with leeks are much better than this."
“Everyone has their own taste.”
Ye Yaodong pursed his lips and said, it should be said that everyone has different tastes.
After scaring each other, the two of them started digging obediently. No one dared to make trouble again, and the shipworm was still digging holes into the wooden boat.
In an age when boats are still mainly made of wood, if a small wooden boat is not regularly maintained and cleaned, it will leak, sink, or fall apart within a few years. The reason is basically because of the shipworm.
This ship must have drifted on the sea for a long time. The ship was rotten, and the bottom was covered with various shells, and the inside was also occupied by shipworms.
However, he was more inclined to believe that the ship was stuck in the crevice of a reef, which is why it had not been discovered. It had been raining for some time, and the water level rose, so it was washed out, and many chicken of the sea feet grew on it.
Those shipworms have existed on Earth for as long as the recorded history of human civilization. Countless wooden ships have been destroyed by them, and their gnawing has also caused many strange shipwrecks.
Long ago, people tried to coat the hulls with bitumen and wax, as well as lead and tar, but these were all just extra food for the shipworms.
It was not until people invented fiberglass and used it to wrap the bottom and keel of ships that the damage caused by shipworms to ships was significantly reduced.
Some people also painted a layer of red paint containing highly toxic substances cuprous oxide and mercuric oxide on the bottom of the ship, completely solving the problem of marine organisms parasitizing the hull.
But as time goes by, more and more marine parasites have gradually adapted to this toxicity and evolved corresponding resistance to the toxicity. For example, barnacles still need to be removed manually, but the barnacle juveniles growing under the red paint cannot be eaten as they are toxic to the paint.
The shipworm is even more magical. It can’t be killed, removed or eaten away, making people both angry and greedy.
The iron boat is a health club for shipworms, not to mention the wooden boat, which is simply a spa center for them.
Shipworms secrete an enzyme that can digest wood, and they cause serious damage to wooden equipment such as wooden piles and wooden boats.
Once a whole piece of wood, a whole boat or a whole wooden pile is occupied by them, it becomes their comfortable home and sweet cake, and the problems of food and shelter are solved at the same time.
The enzyme is mildly corrosive to metals, and some extremely hungry shipworms can even eat rocks.
They eat stones and pull sand, and their return to nature has provided necessary help to the human building materials market.
The common shipworm is 2-3 cm long, while the king maggots under some large ships can grow to more than 1 meter in length.
It's totally unreasonable not to eat this thing freely, just because of its name~
Otherwise, the Chinese can eat it and raise it!
The two of them are now just digging out chicken of the sea feet, and there is no rush for other shellfish.
I was so busy that I didn't feel how cold the sea breeze was. My ears were just a little red from the cold, but everything else was fine.
However, Ye Yaosheng's hand holding the screwdriver was exposed and looked like it had frostbite. Every hand was red and swollen and looked as thick as a sausage.
Men do rough work, so their finger joints are big, and it seems like gloves can't fit on his hands.
"Do you wash your own clothes?"
Ye Yaosheng was stunned when he suddenly heard him ask about washing clothes. He felt a little puzzled. "Yeah, what's wrong?"
"Nothing. Wait until your second uncle cancels your marriage. I'll lend you some money so you can buy a small wooden boat to fish."
"Ah? No, no, don't lend it to me. I don't need it urgently. I can just work slowly and save money."
It's rare that he was so merciful and wanted to help, but he actually refused
Ye Yaosheng smiled and said, "I'm not so poor that I have to borrow money. I don't need any money urgently, so why would I ask you to lend me money?"
"Isn't this to help you?"
"Don't listen to my dad. He's just calculating, but he's not a bad person..."
"Am I someone who listens to your father? Which relative doesn't feel that he needs help? I just think it's not easy for you either."
"It's OK, it's OK, haha. I have hands and feet, which makes me better than many people. I can just earn money slowly. I don't feel at ease owing money to others."
Ye Yaodong actually had a new respect for him. Is it true that good bamboo shoots come out of bad bamboos