Beachcombing: The beach is full of amazing seafood, but my wife won't let me get out of bed!

Back at the old house, the lights were still on in the courtyard.

Wu Jianguo, wearing an old jacket, was sitting on a low stool in the yard smoking a pipe.

Hearing the commotion outside, he quickly got up and opened the courtyard gate.

"Why did it take you so long to get back? What was that truck carrying? It's so heavy!"

Wu Jianguo lowered his voice and helped Wu Gang push the cart into the yard.

Wang Feng was panting heavily from exhaustion, but her face was full of excitement.

"Father, quickly bolt the door! We're going to confiscate all of the Dragon King's possessions today!"

The curtain to the main room was lifted, and Li Cuihua and Chen Xue quickly walked out.

"Ah Sui, is everything alright?"

Seeing that Wu Sui was soaked to the bone and his trousers were covered in mud and sand, Chen Xue quickly went back into the house to get a dry towel and tenderly wiped the sweat from his head.

"It's okay, I'm fine." Wu Sui took the towel and wiped herself haphazardly a couple of times.

Wu Gang had already lifted the tattered sacks on the vehicle and untied the opening of one of the snakeskin bags.

"Father, Mother, look!"

Wu Jianguo leaned over for a look, and almost dropped his pipe.

Inside the snakeskin bag, a dense mass of plump, wild black sea cucumbers were crammed together, still wriggling incessantly.

"This...this is all sea cucumbers?" Li Cuihua covered her mouth, afraid that she would cry out.

"Four bags, plus two buckets, all full."

Wang Feng plopped down on the stool, grabbed the teacup on the table, and gulped down a large mouthful of water.

"These things are really heavy, they almost broke my and Gangzi's backs."

Wu Jianguo gasped and quickly told people to get to work.

"Don't just stand there, go to the backyard and get a few big basins. These things won't die immediately without water, but if they're squeezed together, they'll easily rot. Quickly separate them by their heads."

The whole family immediately got to work.

The door to the inner room was ajar. Ya Ya and Xiao Hu were sleeping soundly side by side on the bed, their snores even and steady. They were completely unaware that the adults outside were worrying about how to count a pile of gold nuggets.

Li Cuihua looked at the three people who were soaking wet and felt extremely distressed.

"Old man, you take them here to pick out some. Xiaoxue, you come with me to the kitchen and make them a bowl of noodles. They've been soaking in the sea all night; don't let them develop any health problems."

Chen Xue responded and followed her mother-in-law into the kitchen.

Before long, white smoke began to billow from the kitchen chimney.

Li Cuihua worked quickly, boiling water in a large iron pot and then adding a handful of noodles.

I casually fried six eggs in a small pan next to me, two for each of us.

When the noodles were almost cooked, Chen Xue took three large bowls, scooped a large spoonful of white lard into the bottom of each bowl, and poured in soy sauce and oyster sauce.

The piping hot noodles, along with the broth, are ladled into a bowl, the lard melts, and a rich aroma fills the air.

"Come on, have something hot first before you get to work." Li Cuihua brought the noodles to the wooden table in the yard.

Wu, Sui, and the other two were so hungry that their stomachs were practically sticking to their backs. They picked up the large bowls and started shoveling food into their mouths.

"Mom, you put in so much lard, it smells so good." Wu Gang said, giving a thumbs up as he chewed on a fried egg.

Wang Feng ate while sweating profusely, her mouth never stopping as she recounted, with embellishments, how she had outwitted and outmaneuvered Lai Er and his gang at the beach.

"If I hadn't held the sand shovel down, those contemptuous people would have devoured us alive."

Wu Jianguo frowned as he listened and tapped his pipe.

"Ah Sui did the right thing. You see each other all the time in the village. If you offend everyone, how will you get along with them by the sea? Let them pick up some scraps, and we'll call it a day."

After a bowl of hot soup noodles, the chill in the three of them dissipated completely, and they regained their strength.

The family gathered around several large plastic basins and began sorting the food without stopping.

Pick out the large sea cucumbers from one side and put the slightly smaller ones on the other side.

Pick out any that are damaged or don't look good and keep them for your own consumption.

They worked until dawn, and finally packed all the hundreds of kilograms of sea cucumbers into baskets according to specifications, then covered them with wet burlap sacks to keep them fresh.

Without delay, Wu Sui washed his face, changed into dry clothes, and pushed the cart with Wu Gang towards the town.

When we arrived at Haishun Seafood Purchasing Station, business was booming.

Several restaurant owners in town were picking out goods in their shops, and the sounds of them bargaining could be heard from a great distance.

Lin Tao was using a calculator to do some accounting with someone.

Lin Jing was helping with weighing and packing.

Seeing Wu Sui pushing the cart over, Lin Tao's eyes lit up. He threw his calculator on the table and went out to greet him.

"Hey bro, what good stuff did you get your hands on today?" He handed him a cigarette.

Wu Sui took the cigarette, tucked it behind his ear, and patted the sacks on the cart.

"Brother Lin, this time there's a lot of goods. Can you accept them?"

"You look down on your brother, don't you? As long as it's good stuff, I'll eat as much as there is."

Lin Tao lifted the sack and untied the rope of the top basket.

Lin Tao was stunned when he saw what was inside.

The wild black sea cucumbers, thick and plump, with distinct spines, were huddled together in the basket, full of vitality.

"My goodness, where did you go and stir up a sea cucumber nest?"

Lin Tao's shout was so loud that it reached the ears of the restaurant owners who were picking out goods in the shop.

Several business owners dropped the crabs they were holding and swarmed over.

"Holy crap, wild black sea cucumber? The quality, the size—it's top-notch!"

One of the portly bosses stared wide-eyed, reached into the basket, scooped one up, and weighed it in his hand.

"This must weigh about four ounces, right? Old Lin, when did your shop start serving this kind of food?"

The fat boss turned to look at Wu Sui, pulled out his bulging leather bag, and came closer.

"Young man, is this the truckload of sea cucumbers you ordered? Here's the deal: I'll buy the whole truckload. Name your price. What's your price per pound, Old Lin? I'll add two yuan per pound for you!"

Upon hearing this, several other shoppers nearby also became anxious.

"Fatty Wang, do you even know the rules? Why are you paying for everything? Hey buddy, I'll add three yuan, give me half."

Standing beside the cart, Wu Gang's heart pounded as he listened to the bosses adding more money. He tugged at Wu Sui's sleeve, signaling him to quickly agree.

Two yuan extra per pound, that's several hundred yuan for several hundred pounds!

Wu Sui remained unfazed, took the sea cucumber from the fat boss's hand, threw it back into the basket, and then quickly closed the basket tightly.

"I'm really sorry, boss," Wu Sui said with a smile, pointing to Lin Tao beside him.

"I'm just a deliveryman, working for Boss Lin. If you want to buy this batch of goods, you'll have to talk to our boss."

The fat boss was stunned, his briefcase hanging in mid-air before he awkwardly lowered it back.

Lin Tao stood aside, watching Wu Sui's actions, feeling completely relaxed, his face glowing with satisfaction.

Having been in the seafood business for so many years, what he fears most is that the fishermen will bypass him and trade directly with the buyers.

Wu Sui has given him the best of both worlds in front of so many people today.

Lin Tao patted Wu Sui on the shoulder and laughed out loud: "Good lad, I'll take this favor!"

Turning his head, Lin Tao changed his expression towards the bosses.

"Everyone, did you hear that? This is my merchandise, Lin's."

"Manager Wang, you can buy it if you want, at the market price."

"This batch is all top-grade black sea cucumber. Those under 2 taels are 65 yuan per catty, those between 2 and 3 taels are 80 yuan per catty, and those over 3 taels are 120 yuan per catty. No bargaining."

"65? Old Lin, you're ripping me off!" the fat boss gritted his teeth.

"If you think it's too expensive, don't take it. The big restaurants in the city are scrambling to buy it. Jingjing, bring the basket over here so we can weigh it."

The chubby boss, afraid someone else would get there first, quickly took out his money.

"Okay, okay, weigh out 30 jin and 2 liang for me."

The other business owners were not to be outdone and all asked to be weighed.

Lin Tao left his sister to deal with the guests while he personally helped the Wu brothers carry the remaining baskets of sea cucumbers into the inner room.

After weighing, it totaled 265 jin.

Lin Tao took out a calculator and started pressing the keys rapidly.

"Brother, I won't treat you badly today. This batch of goods is top-notch. Based on the price I just quoted, I'll take 5% of the profit. Is that acceptable?"

Wu Gang's legs went weak from listening to this.

He knew sea cucumbers were expensive, but he didn't expect Lin Tao to offer such a high price.

During sorting, those weighing over 3 liang (150 grams) weigh 60-70 jin (30-350 kilograms). How much would that sell for?

After calculating the bill, the total was 22580 yuan.

Lin Tao scraped together 22600 yuan and stuffed it into Wu Sui's hand.

With another 2 yuan in his account, Wu Sui felt he could talk to the village chief about the homestead issue.