The Republic of China: From Storyteller to God

Liu Che did not go to sea with the oyster farmers, but waited in the village.

Uncle Jiu, however, couldn't stay still, so he took Wencai and Qiusheng and went to the oyster fields with the oyster farmers.

After they left, Liu Che took the bead out of his pocket.

The misty haze above the bead had dissipated, and its color had become more grayish.

A-Wu cautiously approached and whispered, "Big brother, what exactly is this?"

He knew, of course, that the story Liu Che had just told Uncle Jiu was all a lie.

There are hardly any grey clams in Tianjin, and there has never been an oyster plague.

However, since my brother went to such lengths to fabricate that story, it means that this thing is very important to him.

"This is the [Illusionary Oyster Pearl], something very important to my cultivation."

Liu Che did not hide anything from A Wu.

The hallucinogenic effect of this [Illusionary Oyster Bead] can greatly enhance the efficiency of the [Storyteller] in acquiring the power of the seven emotions.

Using it, Liu Che can maintain an immersive state for a long time and effectively reduce the loss of qi and blood.

An ordinary storyteller needs three to five days of rest to recover after each performance.

However, with the [Illusionary Oyster Pearl], Liu Che could tell stories every day without worrying about depleting his qi and blood.

However, Liu Che's main purpose for this trip was not these [Illusory Oyster Pearls].

The appearance of these [Phantom Oyster Beads] was merely a byproduct of the existence of that secret treasure before it was created.

The purpose of that treasure is to allow storytellers to break free from the confines of their chosen narratives, creating imaginary worlds at will, and even bringing elements from those imaginary worlds out of reality.

However, it will take some time for that secret treasure to be revealed, and Liu Che has no way to obtain it for the time being.

But Liu Che had already come here to make arrangements, and that secret treasure would inevitably fall into his hands.

Gathering his thoughts, Liu Che instructed, "In a while, I will be collecting oysters here. Ostensibly, it's for business, but my main purpose is to collect these [Illusory Oyster Beads]."

This is very important to me; I need you to stay here and keep an eye on it to prevent anything from going wrong.

"it is good."

Without hesitation, Awu immediately nodded in agreement.

But then he hesitated and asked, "What about the Shahe Gang? I'm worried they might come after you."

"It's just a mere Shahe Gang, nothing to worry about."

Liu Che said calmly, "I'm close to Huang Feihong, so they won't dare to touch me for the time being."

"Once I have a free hand, I can deal with them."

A-Wu suggested, "Let me find an opportunity to kill their ringleaders first!"

"Need not."

Liu Che casually refused: "Killing someone now would be too conspicuous and would easily attract government investigation."

I still need to be in the public eye; I can't be too reckless.

"Let's go in a few days, once things have settled down."

Liu Che stared at the [Illusionary Oyster Bead] in his hand and said softly, "With this, crippling a few people is quite easy."

A gentle sea breeze blows, and time flies by.

Two hours later, the voices of the oyster farmers could be heard from the shore.

Small boats returned to the village, and the oyster farmers went home laden with their catch.

The harvested oysters were packed in bamboo baskets, which were so heavy they looked like baskets full of stones.

The oyster farmers worked quickly and efficiently, unloading the entire boat full of oysters.

"Mr. Liu."

Uncle Nine also returned by ship.

He showed no signs of fatigue and, upon seeing Liu Che, began to recount his observations in the oyster fields: "Just as you predicted, the red juice, once it entered the water, gathered together in the time it takes for an incense stick to burn."

They dug out all the oysters from that area; the red juice from those oysters dissipated as soon as they were taken out of the water.

"The red juice has dissolved, which means the poisonous oysters have been dug out."

Liu Che arrived at the shore and, seeing the oysters covering the ground, instructed the oyster farmers: "Open all these oysters right now and pick out the ones with meat."

For oyster farmers, shucking oysters is undoubtedly the simplest thing in the world.

The group pulled out the metal plates from their waists and expertly began opening the oysters.

But the oysters they opened were almost entirely empty shells, containing only a packet of foul-smelling liquid, nothing else.

Before long, the shore was piled high with empty oyster shells.

"This oyster has meat inside."

"They're here too."

Some oyster farmers have found oysters with meat still attached.

"Dig out the meat and put it together."

Liu Che watched as they put the oyster meat they had dug out into a large basin.

After all the oysters had been shucked, Liu Che brought over a basin of red sauce that had been left in the village and poured it into a large basin.

Soon, bubbles began to bubble up in the large basin.

Large amounts of mucus gushed out of the basin.

After about half the time it takes to pour incense, the foam stopped coming out, so Liu Che had the oyster farmers bring over several buckets of seawater and pour it into the basin.

The red juice was diluted, and Liu Che watched as the oyster farmers shook the large basin again and again, causing the seawater in the basin to be shaken out and leaving the sediment at the bottom.

After rinsing several times, the water in the basin became clear, revealing only some dried oyster meat and small, pale gray, transparent soft balls about the size of eggs at the bottom.

Liu Che stepped forward and took out all the soft balls.

"These are oyster toxins."

Liu Che showed it to the oyster farmers and explained, "Uncle Afa went crazy after eating this."

Uncle Afa is that crazy oyster farmer.

Upon hearing that this was the thing that drove him mad, the oyster farmers looked at it with even more fear.

"After removing these oyster toxins, the oysters in the oyster farm will no longer die."

Liu Che pointed to the remaining red juice and said, "However, these poisonous oysters will reappear in the future, but you don't need to be afraid."

I've already taught you how to make the red sauce.

In case of another oyster infestation in the future, you can use the red juice to find the poisonous oysters.

"Thank you, Mr. Liu!"

"Mr. Liu has shown us such great kindness and virtue; he will surely live to be a hundred years old!"

The oyster farmers were extremely grateful, their faces beaming with smiles.

Although everyone was exhausted after a long night, they had successfully resolved the oyster problem and were in high spirits.

"Mr. Liu."

The village elder looked at the soft ball slowly seeping out viscous liquid on the ground and asked with some concern, "Could you write down the recipe for the red juice for us?"

In case of another oyster plague in the future, we will be able to prepare the medicine accordingly.

We'll pay for it; you name your price, and we'll figure out how to scrape together the money.

"No need."

Liu Che laughed: "Didn't I say? I'm here to do business. I'll be coming here often in the future."

"That would be great."

The village elder grinned, his face crinkling with smiles: "From now on, all the oysters in our village will be reserved for you, the biggest and fattest ones!"

"No need for that."

Liu Che laughed and said, "My business doesn't need such high-quality oysters."

You can sell the oysters you raise for a high price.

If you have any oysters that are hard to sell, or oysters that were accidentally broken, feel free to leave them to me.

"this……"

The village elder listened with a puzzled look: "The oysters here are all sold to restaurants as large oysters, and to street vendors as small oysters. They are all sold fresh, shell and all. No oysters are shucked here."

Besides, oysters that have been plucked don't keep for long. If they're not eaten immediately, they're unusable. How can I leave them for you?

Uncle Nine, being somewhat knowledgeable, asked, "Are you planning to use them as animal feed? To raise chickens and ducks?"

Fishermen along the coast often use oyster meat to feed chickens and ducks.

"No."

Liu Che smiled and said, "I'm planning to make oyster sauce."