475: Chapter 475 The Inner Bay

It was also Yang Qi's first time seeing such a large Mantis Shrimp. He recalled short videos he'd seen on his phone before; it seemed they had Mantis Shrimp this big over in Southeast Asia.

However, those had zebra stripes all over and were called Zebra Mantis Shrimp, which were clearly a different species from the Mantis Shrimp in front of him.

When everyone heard Bai Xue estimate that these Mantis Shrimp were worth over 100 yuan per jin, their eyes brightened significantly.

They had originally thought Mantis Shrimp were cheap goods, never expecting this kind could sell for such a high price.

The net just now had at least five thousand jin; that meant this single haul could bring in over five hundred thousand yuan.

"Everyone, be careful. These things are very strong. If you get flicked by one, it can pierce right through your hand!"

"Also, separate those with roe from those without into different baskets; the price difference between the two is huge."

Bai Xue reminded them loudly again.

In fact, Mantis Shrimp eat shellfish, and their way of opening shells is to flick them with their tails, which are as sharp as blades.

A single strike can pierce a hard shell and pop a hole in it, showing just how fierce the force is.

The Mantis Shrimp aren't at their fattest this season. In another month or two, around April or May, that's their spawning season and when they are at their plumpest.

"Xiaoxue is right! During the New Year, I accompanied a friend to the The City seafood wholesale market."

"It was right during the New Year, and I saw a seafood stall selling these. The price tag for those with roe was 260 yuan, and those without were 180 yuan per jin."

"The New Year is over now, so the price might have dropped a bit, but I expect the decrease to be limited. After all, these things are still rare."

Wang Jinxi said from the side.

"So they really are that expensive!"

Zheng Tie, Chen Sheng, and the others exclaimed, their eyes shining as they looked at the small mountain of Mantis Shrimp before them.

Good heavens, these weren't just Mantis Shrimp; this was clearly a mountain of money!

"A Xi is talking about the retail price. We sell to wholesalers, so the price will definitely be different."

Zheng Tie reminded everyone.

"Regardless, this haul definitely won't be cheap. We're rich!"

Chen Lin grinned.

Yang Qi saw that everyone had stopped talking and started carefully sorting the Harpiosquilla raphidea, so he brought up the topic he was most interested in.

"Um... A Xi, have you ever eaten these?"

Hearing Yang Qi's question, both Bai Xue and Yao Shanshan showed interested expressions.

Wang Jinxi shook his head and said with a smile:

"I've actually never eaten them. How could I bear to buy something so expensive? But I've heard they're delicious when raw-marinated."

Yang Qi's eyes lit up upon hearing this. He looked at Chen Gang, who shook his head, and then at Bai Xue.

It wasn't until he saw Bai Xue smiling and nodding that Yang Qi showed a look of relief. As expected, his wife was the reliable one.

Sorting a deck full of Harpiosquilla raphidea wasn't exactly fast.

Besides separating those with roe from those without, they also had to do a simple size grading. However, because the Harpiosquilla raphidea's striking power was terrifying and could easily injure someone,

everyone sorted them very cautiously. In the end, it took three hours to clear the deck.

Yang Qi picked up some of the sorted Harpiosquilla raphidea and asked the group:

"Does anyone here not eat raw-marinated seafood? Should I steam a few?"

"Uh... well, I want to eat both."

Yao Shanshan raised her hand and said weakly.

"Alright! One steamed for each person, and the rest will be raw-marinated."

Yang Qi said with a large wave of his hand, then began assigning tasks.

"A Lin and A Gang, take the scissors and trim off the sharp edges of the shells, the abdominal pleopods, and the legs of the Mantis Shrimp."

"The rest of you, tie up the net bags on the fish baskets and sink them all into the Live Well. I'll leave cleaning the deck to you guys too."

"Let's go cook!"

Bai Xue also said to Yao Shanshan:

"Shanshan, come with me to peel the garlic and scallions, and prepare the ginger. Mince them all. Hubby, you go get the sugar and wasabi."

"Okay! I'll go look!"

Yang Qi nodded and turned to search. In the end, he only found sugar; the wasabi was all used up.

Bai Xue then had Chen Lin and Chen Gang cut the Mantis Shrimp into thumbnail-sized sections. She sprinkled on a bit of sugar, poured in a little white liquor, stirred it, and set it aside.

Next, she prepared the sauce, putting all the minced ingredients into a stainless steel bowl, adding sugar, light soy sauce, aromatic vinegar, pepper powder, and a bit of sesame oil.

Finally, she poured all these ingredients over the Mantis Shrimp meat, ensuring it was completely submerged.

Yang Qi took some plastic wrap to seal the bowl and then put the meat and bowl into the refrigerator to chill.

Raw-marinated seafood must undergo a low-temperature soak, otherwise the flavor won't penetrate, so there would be none for lunch.

However, they could eat the cooked ones!

One per person. It wasn't that Yang Qi was stingy, but these things were really big; one person might not even be able to finish two.

Taking a bite, the meat was soft, delicate, plump, and sweet, leaving a lingering fragrance. Because they were large, there was plenty of meat.

That sense of satisfaction was far beyond what ordinary Mantis Shrimp could compare to.

"You really get what you pay for. At over two hundred yuan a jin, I might not necessarily buy them. But if they were a hundred yuan a jin, I'd at least buy some,"

Yang Qi couldn't help but think to himself.

After finishing the meal, everyone was in high spirits and decided to do another haul from the other side of the shallow water area on their way back.

Over an hour later, just as they were about to exit the Inner Bay, Yang Qi decided to haul in the net.

Chen Lin stepped forward to pull the rope and untie the cod-end. The catch pulled up this time wasn't too much, but it certainly wasn't little either, about four thousand jin or so.

The deck was instantly covered with all kinds of seafood; the harvest from this haul was quite mixed.

Besides Crabs scurrying all over the deck, there were Tiger Prawns and Flathead Fish jumping around, as well as increasingly large Spiny Puffers.

The most numerous were Wrasse. The deck was covered in their many colors, looking very brilliant.

Three people were pulled aside—Bai Xue, Chen Sheng, and Ding Kuan—to handle the Crabs crawling everywhere, tying them up and putting them into fish baskets.

The others sorted the other seafood on the deck. Except for a small portion of trash fish, the rest of this haul was considered premium goods.

Things like Spiny Puffer, Ruby Snapper, Wrasse, Rockfish, and Flathead Fish were thrown directly into the Live Well to be kept alive.

Tiger Prawns and Kuruma Prawns were placed in fish baskets with net covers and kept in the Live Well.

"Hahaha, it's been a long time since I've eaten Spiny Puffer. Tonight we'll kill a few to cook porridge. The umami of this thing is unspeakable; it truly deserves to be called the 'Number One Freshness of the South China Sea'!"

There were about a thousand jin of Spiny Puffer. The Spiny Puffer Yang Qi caught last year sold for 400 yuan per jin.

Even though the New Year is over now, it should still exceed 400 yuan per jin. So just these Spiny Puffers alone were worth over 400,000 yuan.

"Spiny Puffers, oh, we're rich! Hahaha!"

Chen Sheng laughed loudly.