Chapter 11 Seeds

They arrived at the reef and began carefully searching for potentially useful materials. The most abundant items here were plastic bottles and disposable bags, but these were non-biodegradable waste that would pollute the environment. However, for now these plastic bottles could become one of the key survival supplies – after being cleaned and filled with boiled water, they could provide hydration during explorations and food searches. So, they collected every bottle and carefully placed them aside. Then they gathered numerous ropes, as ropes had wider applications for tying items, building shelters, etc., so they picked up as many as they could find.

After about an hour of effort, they finally found quite a few practical items: plastic bottles, ropes, bamboo poles, worn fishing nets, and even unexpectedly discovered fishing lines and hooks. Additionally, there were several “Brother Knife Happy Bottles” – these were perfect materials for making Sand Crab Traps.

Pan Mengyan looked at their abundant harvest scattered on the ground and nodded with satisfaction: “That should be enough, let’s head back. We can’t carry any more even if we continue collecting.”

Jiang Ruoxi responded with a smile: “Alright.”

They tied all the necessary items together with ropes and dragged them back. When passing by that mysterious wooden box, the two exchanged glances and decided to bring it along – who knows, maybe they would get something good from it? Holding onto this sliver of hope, they returned to camp with their abundant harvest.

Back at the cave, after neatly arranging all the collected items in one place, she immediately picked up the small wooden box and found a larger stone to smash it open. Since the wooden box was tightly sealed without proper tools, ensuring its intact opening was quite difficult, so they had no choice but to use a stone to break it. She picked up the stone and smashed it hard against the wooden box. With a crisp cracking sound, the box split open, revealing its contents. Pan Mengyan hurried forward to check and was delighted to discover it contained vegetable seeds – at least several dozen packets with seven or eight different varieties. When they saw these vegetable seeds, their hearts filled with indescribable joy.

After setting aside these precious vegetable seeds, Pan Mengyan picked up the knife and Brother Knife Happy Bottles again to start making Sand Crab Traps. First, she used the Stone knife to drill a small hole at the intended opening to release internal gas and prevent explosion from pressure buildup. Then, she carefully cut open one end of the bottle and used a burning twig to melt small holes on both sides of the opening, making it convenient to create a stand for securing bait. Next, she used a mineral water bottle as bait, similarly piercing holes at both ends of the bottle. The holes at both ends were for inserting wooden sticks, while holes in the bottle body were for dispersing the bait’s scent.

Jiang Ruoxi carefully followed Pan Mengyan’s instructions, meticulously completing each step. Before long, six Sand Crab Traps were successfully completed!

Pan Mengyan checked her watch and said excitedly: “It’s still early, let’s go to the beach where the sand crabs are and set up the traps now!”

Jiang Ruoxi smiled and nodded, responding: “Great, this way we can catch more sand crabs!”

So, the two of them, full of enthusiasm, brought their tools and materials to the beach where sand crabs were frequently spotted.

They dug several pits in the sand, each about the height of a bottle, and carefully placed the bottles inside, burying them to ensure the openings were level with the sand.

Next, they picked up the water bottles containing bait and walked over to the nearby rocky area. There, they found many small bitter snails, which they collected, crushed with stones, and loaded into the bottles.

Once everything was ready, they returned to the Sand Crab Traps. Jiang Ruoxi picked up a slender, relatively straight stick and skewered the bait onto the trap. Since the bait bottle was movable, when a sand crab climbed onto it, it would lose balance and fall into the “Brother Dao Happy Bottle.”

💝 Support the Team

Zephyr Yizelle

✍️ Translator

🍵 Ko-fi