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Waking up naturally, Shi Tian did not have the Fishing Tackle Shop with him; instead, he took Kang Ziyu to Xiu Shan. During this trip, he hadn’t spent much time playing with Kang Ziyu. Yesterday’s beach outing hadn’t been satisfying, and the carefully prepared shovel and bucket had gone unused. Today, the sky was perfect for her to show off her skills.
The islands here were mostly rocky, offering little fun. However, Xiu Shan had mudflats, and arriving just as the tide receded in the afternoon would allow them to play in the mud—what a thrill that would be! They rushed to Xiu Shan, enjoyed a hearty brunch, and after getting ready, the ground was alive with Jumping Fish guiding Kang Ziyu forward while Shi Tian followed behind, pulling her out of trouble.
The mudflats were not as easy to navigate as they seemed; just a few steps in and one could get stuck. Shi Tian had to pull her out repeatedly, allowing her to go wild for a while longer. The Jumping Fish were not easy to catch; by the time Kang Ziyu grew tired of playing, the tide was almost fully out. Shi Tian began to set up for fishing.
With a five-meter-four hard rod and a four-pronged anchor hook bought from a local farmer's market, he cast his line into the water. Dragging the hook near the Jumping Fish, he suddenly pulled it up and caught a small fish just like that. Even with legal video fishing gear and a 310-degree view, catching these little Jumping Fish was no easy task; they wouldn’t just sit there waiting for you to hook them.
These creatures were like Mudskippers; the only difference was that they could breathe both underwater and on land using the slime on their bodies. Dreamy Mudskippers! The Jumping Fish sold around Zhoushan were quite expensive—about ten dollars per pound. However, dreaming of getting rich through this was futile; even if one’s arms got sore from casting, it wouldn’t yield many catches.
There was another interesting creature on the mudflats called Wang Chao by the locals in Zhejiang—a small octopus that also lived in the mudflats. When the tide came in and submerged the flats, these creatures would emerge from their holes to catch crabs and Jumping Fish. Once the tide receded, they would retreat back into their holes to sleep until the next tide came.
Despite their small size, digging them out of the mudflats was quite challenging; these clever little creatures had multiple escape routes. If you approached from one side to dig them out, they might slip away through another exit. Even if you blocked both front and back entrances, there could still be side exits hidden in some corner.
Some people specialized in catching Wang Chao at night when the tide rose. They would drift along in small boats close to the mudflats with powerful flashlights; as soon as these creatures were illuminated by light, they would freeze up and could be easily caught.
This method was indeed quite fun—whether it was Wang Chao or Jumping Fish or even Pipi Shrimp crabs; once illuminated by light, they all became easy targets. However, Shi Tian and Kang Ziyu certainly couldn’t wait until midnight for high tide; they didn’t have a small boat either. Even if they managed to borrow one from Yu Jia Le, they wouldn’t have dared stand at high tide with more than a meter of muddy water below—it was too dangerous.
Catching Wang Chao wasn’t an option for them; at most, they could dig a bit or fish. After spending a fortune on cigarettes seeking advice from Yu Jia Le’s boss, Shi Tian realized from his accent that his money had been wasted!
They switched tactics and headed down an alley to seek out High Master Hermit for some tips while sharing a couple of cigarettes. Armed with a borrowed hoe from High Master Hermit and filled with confidence, Shi Tian ran back to the mudflats.
After confirming their target, he checked if the holes were smooth or not—smooth ones indicated Jumping Fish and Pipi Shrimp holes while uneven ones belonged to Wang Chao, marked by suction marks left by its eight arms.
Shi Tian led the way while High Master Hermit followed closely behind. Borrowing the hoe was fine as long as he kept an eye on Shi Tian; otherwise, this kid might dig up all the mud and toss his hoe into the flats—he might never see it again!
With a clear goal in mind, both of them were full of energy as they traversed twenty meters of mudflat until Kang Ziyu finally spotted a Wang Chao hole.
This thing was dozens of times larger than the Jumping Fish, yet the entrance was only slightly bigger than that of the Jumping Fish. Judging by size alone, there was no hope!
Kang Ziyu stepped back as a shovel swung down, sending a scoop of mud flying to the side. Kang Ziyu moved forward to sift through it, carefully filtering through the debris, but found nothing of interest.
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