novelraw Chapter 234: The Giant Clam Shell
Chapter 234: The Giant Clam Shell
Chapter 234: The Giant Clam ShellReturning to the entrance of the coral cave, Chu Mingcheng turned on his flashlight and shone it inside.
The ocean floor was full of highly venomous creatures, and the one he feared most at the moment was the sea snake.
Ordinarily, when he encountered them, sea snakes would be the first to flee, so he didn't need to pay them much mind.
But if there was a sea snake inside the cramped space of a coral cave, he wouldn't be able to dodge it if he went in recklessly.
Chu Mingcheng had assumed this coral cave would be a long tunnel, like the caves he usually encountered on land.
To his surprise, the inside was not what he imagined—instead, it was a huge space of about fifty square meters.
He scanned the entire interior with his flashlight and saw many swimming fish, crabs crawling on the ground, and a giant clam.
Chu Mingcheng wasn't interested in the giant clam's shell. The main issue was that this creature was a Class I nationally protected animal—an offense that could land you in prison.
Speaking of giant clams, most people's impression was that they were found in the South China Sea, but in reality, they also existed in the waters around Taiwan.
This just went to show that a region with such rich resources should be firmly in the nation's hands.Chu Mingcheng had heard there would be more military exercises this year. He was somewhat hopeful that they might open up the waters east of Taiwan. That way, he wouldn't have to try his luck at the Dongsha Islands for tuna in the future—he could go directly to eastern Taiwan to find bluefin.
But then again, the appearance of a giant clam in these waters was still a bit of a surprise to Chu Mingcheng.
Just looking from the cave entrance, this giant clam was massive—seventy or eighty centimeters in diameter.
While not as exaggerated as being over a meter, it was still quite large.
After confirming multiple times that there was no danger near the entrance, Chu Mingcheng slowly swam in.
From the entrance, the space inside had seemed quite large.
But once inside, it felt somewhat cramped.
His appearance threw some of the swimming fish in the cave into a panic, and a few shot straight out of the entrance.
Chu Mingcheng paid no mind to these small fish—he was looking for sea snakes hiding in corners and any large fish.
This cave was clearly a natural shelter and, like a shipwreck, would be a very popular gathering place for fish.
Just as Chu Mingcheng shone his flashlight downwards, he spotted a huge dragon moray, also known as a leopard moray eel, in the lower-left corner of the entrance.
It was a type of moray eel, but it was called a dragon moray because of the two small, horn-like appendages above its eyes.
He ignored the creature for now—he had to ensure the cave was free of any life-threatening creatures before he could hunt with peace of mind.
He continued to scan the entire cave with his flashlight.
He didn't find a single sea snake—the only venomous things were two lionfish.
However, lionfish meat was delicious and could sell for a hundred yuan per jin, so they were fair game.
Still, he wasn't careless. He scanned the area one more time, and after confirming the cave was relatively safe, he approached the giant clam.
The area around the giant clam was the only part of the cave he hadn't inspected.
But as soon as he got close, Chu Mingcheng felt a flicker of doubt.
The surface of the giant clam was covered in a lot of red algae. Its shells were open, and the flesh inside was long gone, leaving only a milky-white empty shell.
And hiding inside was the sea snake that Chu Mingcheng hadn't been able to find.
The sea snake was very thin, like a piece of string, but no one would dare underestimate it.
But this shouldn't be—although sea snakes lived in the water, they also breathed with lungs.
They could stay in the sea for a long time, but they still needed to surface to breathe.
In that sense, his ability to swim freely was a bit like a sea snake's.
Chu Mingcheng's initial caution was only against sea snakes that might be swimming around and hunting inside.
As for this sea snake, he didn't know if it was using the shell as a temporary resting place or as its home. If it was its home, that would be a bit strange.
Of course, that wasn't the main point.
The main point was that through the flashlight beam, he discovered the inside of the shell was as smooth as jade. The lustrous quality was almost comparable to the suet jade he had given Jiang Luoluo.
Could this giant clam shell be a treasure?
Chu Mingcheng, who knew little about giant clams, began to have his suspicions, but he still didn't dare to touch the shell recklessly.
Never mind the sea snake inside—if the giant clam shell was also restricted and couldn't be moved, taking it back would be a huge problem.
In this age of technology, it was best not to do things secretly.
If someone wanted to investigate, they would definitely find out. If they couldn't, there was probably another reason.
However, there were many valuable fish in the cave, and with this sea snake around, he couldn't feel at ease clearing them out.
He only had his fish spear and speargun, both of which could easily damage the clam shell. Thus, Chu Mingcheng had no choice but to return to the boat first.
Seeing him return, Jiang Luoluo asked curiously, "Ah Cheng, what's in that cave?"
"I found a super big giant clam shell, and a lot of valuable seafood. Some of the seafood is easier to catch with gaff tongs, so I came back to get my tools."
Chu Mingcheng didn't mention the sea snake to avoid worrying her.
Jiang Luoluo had originally thought there was something special in the cave, but when it turned out to be just some aquatic life, she immediately lost interest.
Their house wasn't big enough, and they didn't have any large fish tanks. In her eyes, a giant clam shell was pretty useless.
Carrying the gaff tongs, Chu Mingcheng returned to the cave. Seeing the sea snake was still in the shell, he clamped down on its neck with the tongs, right around the seven-inch mark.
Clamped at its vital point, the sea snake was powerless to resist. Chu Mingcheng swam straight out of the cave, found a rock on the seabed, and smashed the sea snake to death.
This coral reef was his hunting ground before the fishing ban. For a dangerous creature like a sea snake, it was best to kill it if he found one.
He flattened the sea snake's head, and after confirming it was dead, Chu Mingcheng released the tongs and let its corpse float in the water.
This sea snake was too thin, and its bones were numerous, leaving almost no meat.
Therefore, it had no culinary value—it was better off as a meal for some lucky creature on the seabed.
Afterward, Chu Mingcheng returned to the cave and began to clear it out.
He went in empty-handed and came out with a catch of over eighty jin.
The largest was a tiger grouper of over twenty jin, the smallest were the two lionfish, and there was also a large dragon moray nearly ninety centimeters long, estimated to be close to five jin.
This type of moray eel was extremely rare and could probably sell for four thousand yuan.
But the matter of the giant clam shell suddenly made Chu Mingcheng realize how inconvenient it was to be at sea without a small mobile base station.
A person's energy is limited—it was impossible for him to know everything about seafood. The internet was essential.
When he encountered something he didn't know, a quick online search would provide the answer.
Fortunately, he only had to endure it for a few more months. The big boat would have a small mobile base station.
In the future, he would basically have an internet signal while sailing on the open sea.
He brought the eighty-plus jin of catch back. The dragon moray was still alive, so it was stored separately.
This was to prevent it from biting the other fish to death in the livewell—those things were ferocious.
Chu Mingcheng did a mental calculation and found that he had now caught over four hundred jin of fish.
The cheapest fish was worth eighty yuan a jin, while the expensive humpback grouper could sell for over a thousand a jin. This four-hundred-plus jin of fish could potentially sell for seventy or eighty thousand. It felt like a bit much!
He checked the time—just after three in the afternoon. This money was too easy to make.
By the way, where was the little sea lion?
Chu Mingcheng went into the cockpit and honked the horn, hoping to attract the sea lion.
With such a big harvest today, he decided to take out the large greenspotted grouper he had shot to reward it.
The greenspotted grouper weighed over twenty jin, worth more than a thousand yuan, which was about equivalent to the little sea lion's food for a day.
At this moment, about a nautical mile from the small island, three sea lions were playing in the water.
If you looked closely, you would see that one of them was the ‘little sea lion’. The other two sea lions were smaller than the little one, but they were female.
The little sea lion was originally playing with its companions when it suddenly heard a familiar sound.
There were many boats at sea, and the sound of a ship's horn was common.
The sea lion had actually mistaken the boat at first, but thankfully, due to modern conservation laws, fishermen held no ill will towards these protected animals, so it had always managed to escape.
Later, after hearing the horn from Chu Mingcheng's boat so many times, it had learned to distinguish it.
The horn sound just now was very familiar. Upon hearing it, it immediately communicated with its companions and then quickly swam towards the small island.
Its companions stayed where they were, but after a short while, they surprisingly followed.
Sea lions don't have a fixed habitat—they basically go wherever resources are abundant.
The two female sea lions had just met the little sea lion last night. They were nearing adulthood and had been wandering the sea for a long time.
In the open ocean, there were too many sharks that posed a fatal danger to them. In the coastal waters, it was hard for them to find places with abundant food resources. Survival was indeed not easy.
Just now, the little sea lion had communicated to them: follow me, there's food.
On the fishing boat, Chu Mingcheng had no idea he was being treated as a meal ticket by the sea lion.
He rested for a while, and when he didn't see the little sea lion, he prepared to continue spearfishing.
Just as he was about to enter the water, he spotted a black figure swimming on the sea surface not far away.
Seeing that the little sea lion was really coming, Chu Mingcheng waited a little longer.
As a result, just as the little sea lion was about to reach the boat, he spotted two other sea lions following behind it.
"Well now, you've found some friends?"
Chu Mingcheng was a little surprised. He then patted the little sea lion's head and handed over the greenspotted grouper.
The little sea lion hadn't eaten much since last night. When this large greenspotted grouper appeared, it immediately turned its head and barked twice, then lowered its head and began to gnaw on the fish.
The two female sea lions, who had been waiting not far from the boat, heard its call and saw that it really had gotten food.
They boldly approached. They didn't dare to get on the boat but stayed by the ladder at the stern, poking their heads up to look, which was quite amusing.
Chu Mingcheng understood the scene immediately and was a bit speechless.
Just then, Jiang Luoluo, hearing the barking, also came out. She was surprised to see the two unfamiliar sea lions. "I didn't expect the little sea lion to find companions! I was originally feeling that it was a bit lonely all by itself!"
"This guy isn't even an adult yet; it's not in heat. What's wrong with being lonely for a bit?" Chu Mingcheng was a bit exasperated. Two more sea lions meant two more big appetites. It seemed he would have to bleed a little more this time.
He rummaged through his catch and found two parrotfish priced under one hundred yuan.
These two parrotfish weren't small either, each weighing about ten jin. He handed the fish to the two unfamiliar sea lions, and they immediately took them happily.
Sea lions usually swallow their food whole, but since the fish were too large, they had no choice but to hold them and gnaw.
Jiang Luoluo looked at the three sea lions, stroking her chin thoughtfully. "Ah Cheng, if we trained these three sea lions to help us find and hunt fish, do you think it's feasible?"
"It's feasible, but I don't know how!" Chu Mingcheng spread his hands. How long would it take to train a sea lion? It felt like too much trouble.