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

The cart left two deep ruts on the muddy dirt road.

Braving the intermittent wind and rain, the group finally managed to haul the five large burlap sacks full of seafood into the courtyard of the old house.

Wu Gang locked the gate behind him, then leaned against it, panting heavily.

"Finally home. Those jealous people, they almost scared me to death with their stunt just now."

Wang Feng wiped the rain off her face, not even bothering to catch her breath, and quickly walked to the cart, untying the knot of a snakeskin bag.

"Splash!"

With a forceful jerk of her hands, she threw half a bag of black sea cucumbers, along with mud and sand, onto the bluestone slabs of the yard.

A vast, dark expanse, it's a delightful sight.

"Oh my goodness, this isn't just sea cucumber, it's all money!"

Wang Feng's eyes lit up, and she casually wiped the mud off her trousers.

Wu Sui also emptied the coconut snails and conch shells from the bucket.

The heavy conch shell struck the stone slab with a dull thud.

Su Yu came over, squatted down next to the fifteen-pound coconut snail, and poked the thick shell with his finger.

"Wu Ge, how much does this thing cost? It's so big, I've never seen anything like it in seafood restaurants in Shanghai."

Wu Sui patted the mud off his hands.

"A wild coconut snail of this quality can easily sell for several hundred yuan, and if you find a knowledgeable dealer, it could even fetch over a thousand."

Hearing the noise, Li Cuihua and Wu Jianguo came out of the house, putting on their clothes.

The elderly couple were so astonished by the sight of the sea cucumbers and conches filling their yard that they were speechless for a long time.

"Second brother, this...this is all what you just picked up?" Wu Jianguo's voice trembled slightly.

"Dad, the typhoon swept all the goods from the seabed up. The beach is covered with them. If Lai Er and his gang hadn't tried to steal them, we could have filled several more bags."

As Wu Sui spoke, he called on everyone to bring out baskets to sort the food.

The family, without even changing into dry clothes, sat around in the yard and began working enthusiastically.

The sea cucumbers were picked out and placed in a large basin, where they were kept in seawater.

Conch and coconut snails were picked out and put into separate baskets.

The crabs and fish that I picked up along the way were also sorted and put away.

As Chen Xue picked through the items, she whispered to Wang Feng.

"Sister-in-law, when Ah Sui chopped that lobster in half on the beach just now, my heart was pounding. I was so afraid they would rush up and beat me up."

Wang Feng snorted coldly, but didn't stop what she was doing.

"What are you afraid of? You have to be tougher than them in those situations. If you back down, they'll take advantage of you."

"The second brother did a great job today, he should teach these bastards a lesson."

Just then, someone knocked on the courtyard gate.

"Knock knock knock".

The people in the courtyard stopped what they were doing and looked at each other.

Wu Gang grabbed the shovel beside him and walked nervously toward the gate.

"Who?"

"Da Gang, it's me, Lao Zhang." Lao Zhang's ingratiating voice came from outside the door.

Wu Gang glanced back at Wu Sui, and only opened the door after seeing him nod.

The latch was pulled open a crack, and Old Zhang, wearing a tattered straw hat, squeezed in.

He was carrying two bottles of loose liquor in his hand, and his face was full of smiles.

"Ah Sui, Da Gang, are you busy?"

Old Zhang glanced at the several large baskets of sorted seafood in the yard, a hint of envy flashing in his eyes, but he quickly concealed it.

Wu Sui stood up, walked to the water tank, and washed his hands.

"Uncle Zhang, it's so windy, why aren't you at home? What are you doing here?"

Old Zhang handed the two bottles of wine forward, his face beaming with smiles.

"Ah Sui, Uncle came here especially to thank you."

"If it weren't for you leading the way and Da Gang giving me the snakeskin bag, how could I have found that half-bag of sea cucumbers?"

"My husband asked me to bring over two bottles of wine to warm you up."

Wu Sui didn't refuse, took a towel to wipe his hands, and accepted the wine from his hand.

Old Zhang felt a little more at ease when he saw that Wu Sui had accepted the wine.

Of all the people who left the Wu family today, he picked up the most. If this kid holds a grudge, he'll never have a peaceful day again.

Now that the gift has been accepted, it means we won't hold it against them.

"Ah Sui, you left early, so you don't know what happened on the beach behind."

Upon hearing that there was gossip, Wang Feng immediately perked up her ears and threw the sea cucumber in her hand into the basin.

"What's going on? What kind of trouble have those bastards caused this time?"

Old Zhang slapped his thigh and began to gesture vividly.

"Oh dear, you didn't see it! No sooner had you left than Lai Er and Chen Fugui started fighting right there in the mud over a two-pound sea cucumber."

"Chen Fugui punched Lai Er in the nose, and Lai Er's face was covered in blood. He then turned around and bit Chen Fugui's ear."

"Later, other villagers joined in the looting, and the scene was... wow..."

"No one would give in. Several young women were fighting tooth and nail over the conch shells, their hair nearly pulled out, their clothes torn to shreds, and they were covered in mud on the mudflats, unable to even find their shoes!"

Chen Xue pounded her chest upon hearing this, her face turning pale.

"Oh my god, is anyone hurt?"

Old Zhang waved his hand, his face crinkling with laughter.

"What injuries? They're just superficial wounds."

"When those old women fight, all they do is grab hair and tear clothes; at most, you'll end up with some bruises."

"But this time, Lai Er and Chen Fugui have really become enemies. When their families pulled them apart, they were still spitting at each other."

Wu Jianguo sighed and shook his head.

"It's all because of poverty. They've lost all sense of shame over a little seafood."

After finishing his sentence, Old Zhang wisely didn't linger and took his leave, rubbing his hands together.

"Ah Sui, you guys are busy, I'll head back now. You can keep those two bottles of wine for yourselves."

As soon as Old Zhang left, the yard returned to its busy state.

After a morning of running around, everyone's stomachs were growling with hunger.

Li Cuihua stood up and wiped her hands on her apron.

"Alright, your dad and I will take care of the rest. Xiaoxue, you and your sister-in-law go and cook dinner. Everyone, hurry up and have something hot to eat."

Chen Xue and Wang Feng agreed and got up to cook.

A delicious aroma soon wafted from the kitchen.

The lobster that Wu Sui chopped in two with a shovel won't fetch a good price, but it's fine for his family to eat.

Wang Feng cut the lobster in half, added minced garlic, and steamed it.

I'm not going to buy any more large blue crabs; I'll just steam them all.

Su Yu was telling a story to her two children when they smelled something and started waiting at the kitchen door.

Lunch was ready, and the sea cucumbers were almost sorted out.

The family sat around the eight-immortal table in the main room, eating with sweat pouring down their faces.

The two little ones, Xiaohu and Yaya, each held half a lobster tail and gnawed on it until their mouths were full of oil.

Ya Ya mumbled incoherently.

"Dad, these shrimp are so delicious, they're even more fragrant than meat."

Wu Sui picked up a piece of crab meat and put it in Ya Ya's bowl.

"Eat more if you like it. Dad will catch big shrimp for you every day from now on."

Little Tiger ate without even lifting his head, struggling with the crab and its claws.

Su Yu held a large bowl, slurping down his seafood noodles, and then let out a satisfied burp.

The Wu family thoroughly enjoyed the meal.

With so many gains, even Wang Feng became unusually generous.