boyutpedia Chapter 26: Giving Away Perks - Coconut Snails!
Chapter 26: Giving Away Perks - Coconut Snails!
For Wu, Yue, and their companions, who were gathering seafood in the rocky area after the tide receded, although they had collected quite a bit, their eyes kept glancing at the surface of the sea while searching for the seafood. That was where Yuan Linghan was diving to fish.
Seeing Yuan Linghan surface for air every few minutes, they felt somewhat relieved. They knew that even Wu Yue, who knew martial arts, couldn't do diving and shooting fish. Only Yuan Linghan seemed to have learned how to fish underwater.
To the three's surprise, Yuan Linghan, who had surfaced several times before, finally began swimming towards the shore. Chen Duling, who had been keeping a close eye on the sea, knew that diving was very tiring and decided to go over to see if she could help.
To Chen Duling's surprise, Yuan Linghan, who had swum to the shallow water and stood up straight, pulled a huge grouper from the sea. Seeing this, Chen Duling exclaimed excitedly, "Brother Yuan, you caught a fish? It's huge!"
Amidst gasps of surprise, Wu Yue and Zhao Liying both spotted the sea fish with its gills being pried open. Wu Yue even immediately recognized it as a grouper. Judging from its size, this grouper weighed at least five or six pounds.
At this moment, however, netizens' attention wasn't on the grouper, but rather on Yuan Linghan's inadvertently revealed abs. Although only a small portion of his abs were visible, it still triggered a frenzy of comments from netizens.
"Holy crap, Brother Ling really does have abs."
"I wonder who will be lucky enough to experience the impact of those abs someday. I'm so envious, I want to be one too!"
"Director, make him take off his shirt right now, I want to count how many abs he has."
"Based on my years of experience in fitness, this handsome guy has at least six-pack abs, and possibly even eight."
Chen Duling, who also saw Yuan Linghan's exposed abs, was unusually flustered and even blushed a little. Fortunately, after handing the grouper to Wu Yue, Yuan Linghan, who had freed his hands, took the opportunity to cover up his exposed abs again.
Immediately, the live stream chat exploded with comments. The planners, who were closely monitoring the stream, cautiously suggested, "Director, should we notify Yuan Linghan and have him give away some goodies to the viewers?"
"If netizens are making a fuss, are you joining in? This kind of benefit should be left to its own devices. If we interfere, it will damage our reputation!"
Seeing that the director disagreed, the planners were also helpless. On the other hand, Shen Jian, an old comrade-in-arms, knew that when Yuan Linghan served in the army, his physical fitness and physique far surpassed those of his fellow soldiers.
If he hadn't been injured during a mission, Yuan Linghan would most likely have stayed in the army. After all, his old comrades who served at the same time knew that Yuan Linghan trained hard after enlisting, with the goal of staying in the military indefinitely!
But life is unpredictable. Fortunately, Yuan Linghan, who was unable to continue serving in the army, was awarded a second-class merit for his injury. It was because of this military merit that he was able to be placed in a slaughterhouse when he returned to his hometown.
Actually, the county had offered Yuan Linghan other positions. But unexpectedly, Yuan Linghan, who had gained access to the system due to an injury, chose to work at the slaughterhouse. He even volunteered to become a slaughterhouse worker in the slaughtering workshop.
After resting for a while, Yuan Linghan took his speargun and dived back into the sea. Unfortunately, although he still managed to shoot two more fish, these two were noticeably smaller than the first one, but all three shots were accurate.
The shooting success rate was so high that even Tie Tou Ge, who was secretly watching the live stream, had to admire it. After all, this fish gun was one of the pieces of equipment he had suggested when he and Zhao Liying were choosing their gear.
Unfortunately, after landing on the island, he went out to sea several times but failed to shoot any fish weighing over a pound. As darkness fell, Yuan Linghan decided to stop the search. After all, the search had indeed exhausted him.
Just when he thought he was going to return empty-handed, a pale yellow coconut snail came into view. Seeing that the snail was quite large, he immediately dived into the water and pried it out of the rocks.
Clutching the coconut shell, he surfaced again, slightly out of breath, and swam towards the shore. Meanwhile, Wu, Yue, and their companions finished their day's beachcombing. They had thoroughly searched the rocks in the low-tide area.
They picked out the best quality seafood they could find. With the three fish Yuan Linghan had shot, all three knew they were in for another sumptuous seafood feast that night. They'd been eating smoked meat when it rained, so this was a welcome change.
Before Yuan Linghan could even reach the shore, Wu Yue called out loudly, "Linghan, that's enough for today! Our catch today is enough for a good meal. Besides, it's getting dark, let's hurry back to the shelter!"
"Okay, Brother Yue!"
Finally, Yuan Linghan, feeling grounded, didn't refuse Wu Yue's kindness. Although nighttime diving for fish might be more effective, the production team didn't recommend the contestants do so given the current situation.
After all, no one can predict sea conditions at night. If something unexpected happens, the production crew might not even have time to rescue them!
To the three's surprise, instead of returning empty-handed, Yuan Linghan had actually found a huge coconut snail. Chen Duling, who had grown up in a coastal city, exclaimed immediately, "Wow, what a huge coconut snail!"
"Dudu, have you ever eaten coconut snails?"
"I've eaten them! These snails are quite expensive, costing around 50 or 60 yuan per pound!"
"This coconut snail probably weighs seven or eight pounds, so it could sell for several hundred yuan, right?"
In response to Zhao Liying's question, Chen Duling nodded and said, "Most coconut snails sold normally weigh four or five pounds. A coconut snail this big, if it comes to a customer who likes to eat it, they'd probably be willing to pay a thousand."
"Wow, it looks like we're in for a treat tonight."
Wu Yue, who was speaking, also smiled and sighed. On the other hand, Yuan Linghan, who had come ashore, greeted the three of them, found a rock where he could find shelter, and changed out of his soaking wet clothes and pants.
The production team certainly wouldn't allow a drone to film such a scene. Immediately, viewers in the live stream began wailing and lamenting that the production team had missed out on such a spectacular, R-rated shot.
After changing into clean clothes, Yuan Linghan quickly followed the three of them back to the shelter with their afternoon's harvest. As soon as they got back, he told Wu Yue to take a shower, while he, Chen Duling, and Zhao Liying took charge of processing the seafood they had just collected.
Like the mussels we found, the meat can be boiled, removed, and then dried. It's a great ingredient for soups or porridge. As for the three sea fish, two are to be cured and smoked, while the grouper will be steamed as a side dish.
While processing the coconut snails, Yuan Linghan noticed a hard object as soon as he removed the cooked snail meat. After squeezing out the object, four Melo pearls—one large and three small—were revealed to him and his online friends.
Chen Duling, who was squatting down nearby tidying up the mussels, was also surprised when she saw this and exclaimed, "Wow, Brother Yuan, did you open this?"
"Hmm, looks like I'm in luck! I never expected that these coconut snails could produce Melo pearls."
Viewers who witnessed this scene through the live stream were envious of Yuan Linghan's good luck. But when they learned that the largest Melo Pearl was likely worth millions, the viewers became excited.
Some netizens felt that since Yuan Linghan found the coconut snail, the Melo pearls should rightfully belong to him. However, other netizens felt that since it was collectively acquired, the money from selling the Melo pearls should be divided equally among the four people for a fairer and more reasonable outcome.
While netizens were discussing the matter, Wu Yue, who had just finished showering, learned of the news and said nonchalantly, "You picked up these snails and opened the Melo pearls. No matter how much they can be sold for, it's all yours."
"That's right! I support Brother Yue's decision!"
After some arguing, Zhao Liying even said they weren't short of money, leaving Yuan Linghan speechless. In the end, Yuan Linghan insisted on giving the three Melo Pearls of roughly the same size to the three of them, as a way of sharing their good fortune!