Chapter 747: Ineffective Troops
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Li Du hated when people used excuses such as, "I like to be straightforward," or "I like to speak the truth," to hide their rude language.
The boat owner"s att.i.tude and words made him angry. "Don"t jump to conclusions so quickly. It is just catching some lobsters and crabs from the sea, right? This is a piece of cake. Let"s have a bet if you don"t believe me," he said coldly.
"How do you want to set up the bet?"
"I see you have shrimp cages and crab cages on your boat, right? Give us an hour, we"ll go to sea, and an hour later we"ll come back with lobsters and crabs," said Li Du.
The owner of the boat shook his head firmly. "No, I will not take any chances with you."
"We"ll stay where you can see us the whole time. Isn"t that safe? You can see us on the water," said Li Du.
Hearing this, the owner of the boat thought for a moment and said with a knowing look, "You want to deploy a hanging cage in the sea to catch lobsters and crabs? Well, that"s a good idea, but you"re not going to do it."
Hanging cages for lobsters and crabs was common in the industry, with boats sailing out to sea, dropping crab cages, and waiting for lobsters and crabs to get in on their own.
However, this was not a simple task. First, it tested people"s judgment and experience. It was necessary to find a place where there were lobsters and crabs, and it was better to find somewhere that also had a large amount of shrimp. That way, the shrimp would attract the lobsters and crabs.
Second, you had to have enough attractive bait and enough time to attract lobsters and crabs into the cage.
Li Du"s idea was great. The problem was that the owner of the boat knew he had just arrived at King Island and did not believe Li Du knew about the distribution of the fish in the area.
Even if he had a rough idea of the fish"s distribution, an hour was not enough time to harvest unless the cage was placed right in front of the lobster and crab.
"Let"s just do it," Li Du shrugged. "Let"s leave the harvest to G.o.d. Or are you afraid to take the bet?"
The owner of the boat was offended by his words and said, "Sure, let"s bet. What"s are the stakes?"
"If you win, I"ll pay double the price of the trip. If you lose, the cost remains the same, but you must apologize to my friend," said Li Du.
He patted Brother Wolf on the shoulder and added, "Apologies to him for underestimating his abilities. You should not doubt him."
Without hesitation, the owner of the boat readily agreed. "Well, come on, then!"
He just had to apologize if he lost. If he won, he could make a ton of money.
Besides, he didn"t believe he was going to lose!
Both sides signed a written pledge. The owner of the boat dragged out the lobster and crab cages in the cabin and handed them to Li Du, telling him, "Be careful handling them. These are new."
There were many of them. It was a large yacht and a commercial fis.h.i.+ng boat more than ten meters long, with lifeboats.
Li Du put down the lifeboat and then went down onto the sea with Brother Wolf and Hans.
As the lifeboat rowed out, brother Wolf said, "Sir, the bet is not fair."
"Fair enough," said Li Du. "He is sure to lose, and then he"ll need to apologize to you. I"ll not let my people to be doubted by others in front of their children."
Brother Wolf opened his mouth to say something, then he nodded and said, "Yes, boss."
Li Du released the little bug to find the area where the last boat owner had good luck catching many kinds of seafood. The area was filled with towering reefs on the seafloor and brightly colored coral.
In addition to the coral, there were also large amounts of seaweed and algae that formed the bottom of the food chain, attracting large numbers of plankton and aquatic insects.
Plankton and aquatic insects were the food source for many fish, shrimp, and crabs. Li Du remembered clearly that there were lobsters and crabs there.
The little bug was unimpeded in the water, and soon, confirming Li Du"s memory, it found the rather extensive underwater reef.
The reefs were undulating, and in some places there were coral reefs where countless insects swayed with the waves of the water, revealing a glorious life.
The rest were ordinary reefs that were gray, black, red, brown, and so on, and there was a large amount of seaweed living there. There was a variety of fish swimming between them.
There were also holes in the rocks where lobsters lived.
Lobsters varied in size from thumb-sized to the length of a child"s arm.
They had a hard sh.e.l.l, a bluish-brown body, reddish spots, yellow pincers, and claws. They had patches growing on their bodies, making them look majestic.
This was the famous rock lobster from Australia, the world"s top lobster.
The rock lobsters were nocturnal and foraged at night. During the day, they hid in their burrows with only their two pairs of tentacles and head showing so they could sense movement.
Li Du had known about this Australian specialty before and knew that they mainly ate small fish, crabs, sh.e.l.lfish, sea urchins, barnacles, algae, and so on.
In addition to the Australian rock lobster, they also hoped to catch some emperor crab, which also lived on the reef.
Like the rock lobster of Australia, the emperor crab was one of the most famous marine products in Australia. They were abundant in the Ba.s.s Strait and Tasmanian Sea.
Unlike the cautious Australian rock lobster, the emperor crab was very aggressive. It could grow up to the size of a bowl of noodles and weigh up to 30 to 40 kilograms, which was quite amazing.
In this way, with their pincers and unbreakable sh.e.l.ls, the oceans didn"t pose many threats to them, especially because emperor crabs lived in groups.
On the reef where they currently were, there was an emperor crab swarm. They lived in an area under the reef. It was quite deep, and it would not be easy to catch them.
However, if they were given enough tempting bait, it would be possible.
Quickly finding their community habitat, Li Du motioned to Brother Wolf and Hans to start putting down their cages. Before they did, they stuffed them with raw chicken and some sh.e.l.lfish.
These treats were some of the favorites of lobsters and crabs.
Li Du determined the position of the hanging cage through the little bug to ensure that it ended up in the middle of lobsters and crabs. He believed that the right place and the right food would lure them into the cage.
Lobster cages and crab cages were different. The lobster cage was a rectangular shape, and the front and the left side had openings. Crab cages were flat and circular, and only one side had an opening.
Rock lobsters ate slowly and greedily, hogging food for long periods of time after entering their cages. They wouldn"t leave even if there were multiple openings.
Emperor crabs, on the other hand, would want to leave when they got the food, but they were easily confused. Consequently, the crab cage only had one opening. They went in and would not know how to get out.
Everything was ready, and the only thing now was to wait for them to go in. Li Du set up the hanging cage and returned with the two men to the yacht.