The Fish I Catch Can Level Up-Chapter 21: The Beachcombing

The alarm blared at three in the morning. Chu Mingcheng was jolted awake, but the heavy hand of sleep pressed him down, making it impossible to get out of bed. Getting up at this hour was a true test of will.
Finally, his brain issued a command. He used one charge of
Life Conversion
. Instantly, the world came into sharp focus, the drowsiness melting away.
Sitting up, Chu Mingcheng glanced at the single remaining charge and sighed. "This thing is basically a stimulant. Good thing there are no side effects."
He got dressed, washed up, and drove off without waking Zhang Wei.
He had gotten up at this ungodly hour for one reason:
to prepare for the day's beachcombing trip.
Those viral videos where people find a huge haul every time they go beachcombing? Ninety percent of them are just staged.
He was heading to the seafood market to buy some props. He wanted to fake a successful haul to give the girls the thrill of a fruitful adventure. You could say he was putting in the effort.
Lechang had a late-night seafood market. At this hour, it was swarming with stall owners stocking up for the day, which meant you could get wholesale prices, a wider selection, and the freshest catch.
The moment he stepped into the market, a potent wave of salty sea air mixed with a heavy, fishy stench hit him. Chu Mingcheng wrinkled his nose, pulled out the mask he’d brought along, and slipped it on.
Much better.
Even for someone who grew up by the sea, the smell was overwhelming. Only fishermen and vendors who dealt with seafood day in and day out could stand it—or maybe they had just gone numb to it.
Chu Mingcheng had a clear goal. No fish. He had other plans for the day that didn't involve them.
He went straight to a stall selling crabs and lobsters and spent five hundred yuan on five spiny lobsters. He steered clear of the ornate spiny lobsters; even the farmed ones for sale looked too much like the wild ones, which were a protected species. He didn't need the trouble of being misunderstood if they were "caught" later.
He figured they'd find some swimming crabs and mud crabs on their own, so he didn't buy any of those.
He did, however, pick up some large scallops and sea snails for another three hundred.
That should be enough. Just as he was about to leave, he spotted a stall selling mud crabs. But these weren't just any mud crabs—they were enormous. Each one appeared to weigh at least two jin ( approx 1 kg or 2.2 lbs), with some weighing as much as 4 jin.
They were Sri Lankan mud crabs, probably farmed.
"Boss, how much for these Sri Lankan mud crabs?"
"The small ones are two hundred a
jin
(approx. 500g), the big ones like these are two-sixty."
Chu Mingcheng winced. That was a steep price.
"Are they meat crabs or roe crabs?"
"All meat crabs. The roe isn't good this time of year. The meat crabs are what you want—they're incredibly sweet."
Hearing they were meat crabs, Chu Mingcheng decided to buy some.
When it came to mud crabs, aside from the prized yellow butter crabs, meat crabs were often tastier than roe crabs. The roe just couldn't compare to that of a mitten crab. Besides, there was a season for farmed mud crabs. After the Mid-Autumn Festival, the roe started to get bitter. If you wanted good roe crabs, you had to wait until after the Qingming Festival in April of the next year. The ones caught then, known as "winter crabs," would be large and full of roe.
Translator Note:
The
Qingming Festival
(清明节), also known as
Tomb-Sweeping Day
or
Pure Brightness Festival
, is a traditional Chinese holiday dedicated to honoring ancestors. It usually falls around
April 4th or 5th
, marking the 15th day after the spring equinox.
Chu Mingcheng knew how to pick a plump mud crab. One way was to check the shell, but Sri Lankan mud crabs had thick shells, making it difficult. So he picked up a few of the largest ones and flipped them over. He set aside the ones with protruding belly flaps and furry, overgrown claws.
Finally, he tested their vitality by placing them on the ground, belly-up. As long as you weren't trying to pry open their abdomen, the boss was fine with customers taking their time to choose.
Soon, Chu Mingcheng had selected a massive, meaty Sri Lankan mud crab. It weighed in at four
jin
and three
liang (
2.15
kg
or 4.7
lbs
) and cost him one thousand one hundred yuan.
By the time he left the market, he wasn't carrying much, but he'd spent nearly two thousand yuan.
For a moment, Chu Mingcheng seriously considered getting into the Sri Lankan mud crab farming business. The price was just insane. But it was a fleeting thought. He couldn't imagine waking up at three every morning during crab season. His current life of fishing and beachcombing was pretty great—better pay than his old office job, and a lot more freedom.
On the way back, he stopped to get some seawater for the lobsters and hooked up an aerator before finally heading home to catch a few more hours of sleep.
He slept until seven-thirty before getting up again.
This time, he made a point of kicking the log-like Zhang Wei awake. Grabbing the seafood he'd bought that morning, they drove straight to the spot where he'd found the mud sea snails last time.
Once his soul had returned to his body, Zhang Wei noticed the lobsters, the giant Sri Lankan mud crab, the scallops, and the rest of the seafood. He was completely baffled.
"What's all this?"
"What is there to find in our coastal waters? Without planting some stuff, how are they supposed to experience the 'joy' of beachcombing?"
"...Fair point.”Zhang Wei stroked his chin, a sly, knowing grin spreading across his face as he looked at Chu Mingcheng. “But man, you're really going all out for this, huh?"
"When you invite people out, you make sure they have a good time. It's called being a good host."
"Aren't I a guest, too? How come I don't get this treatment?"
"You're not a girl!"
"Hey, I can always take a trip to Thailand, you know~"
"..." When it came to being shameless, Chu Mingcheng knew he'd never be a match for Zhang Wei.
They drove to their destination. The tide was already out and wouldn't start coming back in until around eleven.
He handed the seafood to Zhang Wei, telling him to find a few good rock pools to hide everything in and to keep an eye on it. Then, Chu Mingcheng drove off to the hotel to pick up Jiang Luoluo and her friends.
They had agreed to meet at eight. When Chu Mingcheng pulled up to the hotel, Jiang Luoluo and Zhou Jiayi were already downstairs, dressed for the beach and waiting for him.
Their punctuality scored major points with him. It was a rare sight for pretty girls to be on time; he had half-expected to wait for an hour.
Of course, two beautiful women standing out front were bound to attract attention. He had just arrived, and already, some guy—probably a tourist in town for the National Day holiday—was trying to hit on them, asking for their contact info.
Chu Mingcheng honked the horn, drawing their attention. He rolled down the window and called out, "Tide's out! Hop in!"
The aloof expression on Jiang Luoluo's face instantly melted into a bright smile when she saw him. She grabbed Zhou Jiayi's hand and, under the envious glares of the other men, climbed into his modest, hundred-thousand-yuan Volkswagen.
"Why is it just you two? Where's your photographer?"
"Her stomach's upset, so she's resting at the hotel. We can pick her up before dinner tonight!"
"Sounds good!" Chu Mingcheng felt a little bad for Zhang Ruomei. With a stomachache, she would probably have to miss out on the seafood feast later.
"Thanks for that, by the way," Jiang Luoluo said. "That guy was so annoying. He'd been bothering us for a while."
"Don't mention it. When you're as good-looking as we are, people are going to hit on you everywhere. You just have to get used to it and learn how to say no."
"You're right. Ordinary people just don't understand our struggles!"
"You guys are so full of yourselves~" Zhou Jiayi couldn't help but chime in, rolling her eyes with a look of mock disgust.
"Haha~" Chu Mingcheng and Jiang Luoluo burst out laughing in unison.
"Oh, where's Zhang Wei?" Jiang Luoluo asked, seeming to have just now noticed someone was missing.
"He's waiting for us by the shore. Probably already found a few things by now!" Chu Mingcheng couldn't reveal the seafood scam just yet, so a little white lie would have to do.
Soon, they arrived at their beachcombing spot for the day.
After getting out of the car, Jiang Luoluo excitedly grabbed Zhou Jiayi's hand and dashed toward the reef flats. Chu Mingcheng followed behind, carrying a bucket filled with their tools.
Zhang Wei had already hidden the seafood in various rock pools, making sure they couldn't escape. The only one he was nervous about was the Sri Lankan mud crab. That beast was the only one strong enough to potentially climb out of a small pool. But since Zhang Wei was standing nearby, the crab stayed hidden in its rocky crevice, not daring to emerge.