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

After eating and drinking his fill, Wu Gang let out a loud burp and began clearing the table of dishes.

Wu Sui didn't move. He moved a small stool, sat down by the water vat, and stared intently at the dozen or so coconut snails in the basket.

Especially that big guy weighing fifteen pounds, its yellow shell with black spots gleamed enticingly in the water.

"Big brother, sister-in-law, father, mother," Wu Sui suddenly spoke up.

"What's wrong?" Wu Gang stopped in his tracks, holding a bowl in his hand.

"I don't plan to sell these coconut snails," Wu Sui said, pointing to the basket on the ground.

The courtyard fell silent instantly upon hearing this.

Wang Fenggang slammed the rag he had just picked up onto the table, took two steps to Wu Sui, and raised his voice eight octaves.

"Second brother, are you out of your mind? These dozen or so coconut snails could easily fetch two or three thousand yuan. Are you going to keep them as decorations for the New Year?"

Wu Jianguo frowned, took out his pipe, and tapped it on the corner of the table.

"Ah Sui, this is no joke. We fishermen have to turn any good catch into money as soon as possible. What's the point of holding onto it?"

Li Cuihua didn't say anything, but looking at Wu Sui's expression, she was full of disapproval.

Of the entire family, only Chen Xue walked up to Wu Sui, gently tugged at his sleeve, and whispered a question.

"Ah Sui, are you keeping these snails because you have other plans?"

Wu Sui patted Chen Xue's hand to reassure her, then turned to look at Wang Feng, who was so anxious she was about to jump up and down.

"Sister-in-law, these coconut snails, sold directly, would only fetch a thousand or two yuan at most."

"But did you know that there's a chance that Melaleuca lysate might come out of this thing?"

"Melodene?" Wang Feng was stunned for a moment, then rolled her eyes dramatically.

"I thought you were going to say something."

"I've heard the old folks in the village say that you can't find even one of those broken beads among tens of thousands of snails."

"Do you really think you're the Dragon King's son, able to just open fire whenever you want?"

Wu Gang put the bowl into the kitchen and came out to offer his advice.

"Second brother, sister-in-law is right. That thing is too rare. We don't have the luck to get it. It's better to just sell it and get money."

Wu Sui didn't rush to refute, but turned to look at Su Yu, who was picking his teeth.

"Su Yu, do you know about Melaleuca?"

Upon hearing his name called, Su Yu immediately perked up, tossed aside his toothpick, and cleared his throat.

"Ahem, I know that."

"Angkor is right, the Melaka pearl is a treasure."

"Last year, an auction house in Shanghai sold a bright red Melo pearl. Guess how much it cost?"

Wang Feng pursed her lips and tentatively gave a number: "Ten thousand?"

Su Yu held up two fingers and shook them.

"Twenty thousand?" Wu Gang gasped.

"More than two million!" Su Yu pronounced the four words clearly and precisely.

"Clang!"

Wu Jianguo dropped his tobacco pipe onto the bluestone slab.

Wang Feng was so frightened that she took a step back and almost sat down in the basin containing the sea cucumbers.

"How much? Two...more than two million?!"

Wang Feng stammered, her eyes almost popping out of their sockets.

"Just that one broken bead?"

"Sister-in-law, those aren't cheap beads; they're high-end jewelry that rich people would fight tooth and nail for."

"These beads cannot be artificially cultivated; they rely entirely on wild growth, which is why they are so ridiculously expensive."

Su Yu explained in a serious tone.

The courtyard was deathly silent.

After a long while, Wang Feng swallowed hard, staring at the coconut snails in the basket, his breathing becoming heavy.

But she was, after all, a person who lived a practical life, and she quickly calmed down.

"Second brother, even Young Master Su said it's only by being lucky that you can run into someone like that."

"What if we pry open the snails and find nothing inside? The snail meat will be broken up and we won't be able to sell it for a good price. Wouldn't that be a complete loss?"

Wu Sui stood up and pointed to the several large basins next to him filled with wild black sea cucumbers.

"Sister-in-law, look at all this! Just these sea cucumbers alone could fetch tens of thousands of yuan today. Are we really that short of a few thousand yuan from these coconut snails?"

Wang Feng followed Wu Sui's finger and looked over; the dark sea cucumbers certainly gave her confidence.

But a few thousand dollars isn't a lot of money, is it?

Her heart was bleeding with pain.

"Consider it buying a lottery ticket," Wu Sui said, striking while the iron was hot.

"If Melozhu really does appear, then we'll have something to buy the boat."

"Even if we don't manage to open the snails, we can still cook the snail meat ourselves, so we won't lose out."

Wu Jianguo picked up the pipe, took two puffs, and then made the decision.

"Alright, all the good things we've accomplished today are thanks to the second brother. Let him try it if he wants."

Wang Feng looked unwilling and decided to avoid the problem altogether, so she went to the kitchen to clean up.

That's worth thousands of dollars! If we don't get that Miracle Pearl, it'll all be a waste.

Wu Sui smiled and patted Chen Xue, telling her to follow and comfort her sister-in-law.

Now that the decision had been made to open the snails, the question became how to get the snail meat out.

If you smash it directly with a hammer, and there really is a bead inside, one blow could crack it, turning millions of dollars into scrap.

If you try to cut it with a knife, you might easily scratch the beads.

Wu Gang was an old hand; he waved his hand dismissively.

"Don't move, leave this to me."

He ran to the storage room, found some wire, bent it into a hook, and inserted it into the opening of the coconut snail's shell. He hooked the tougher part of the snail's meat and then hung the coconut snail upside down on the drying rope.

A dozen or so coconut snails were lined up and hung in mid-air.

"Big brother, will this work?" Su Yu scratched his head, looking at it with a puzzled expression.

"Don't worry." Wu Gang dusted off his hands.

"When snail meat is removed from water, it will dehydrate and shrink after a few hours."

"When it runs out of strength, the whole lump of flesh will fall off."

After settling the coconut snails, Wu Sui took out his phone and dialed Lin Tao's number.

As soon as the call connected, Lin Tao's voice came from the other end.

"Sui, why did you think of calling me during this typhoon? Is there something you need at home?"

"Brother Tao, the typhoon has subsided. I went for a walk on the beach and picked up a lot of stuff. Are you free to come over this afternoon?"

Lin Tao laughed on the other end of the line: "What can you find in this awful weather? A few rotten crabs or dead fish? You might as well just take them to town to sell. My collection station is closed today."

"Wild sea cucumber," Wu Sui slowly uttered the four words.

There was a sudden silence on the other end of the phone.

After a full five seconds, Lin Tao's voice rose in pitch.

"What is that? Wild sea cucumbers? How many are there?"

Wu Sui glanced at the basin: "There are probably several hundred pounds of it, along with some large conch and blue crabs."

"Several, several hundred kilograms?!" Lin Tao's voice cracked.

"Ah Sui, don't sell it to anyone else, I'll be there soon."

The phone slammed down.

Wu Sui put away his phone and smiled at his family: "Alright, now we don't need to go to town to sell them anymore, Boss Lin will come to collect them."

The family sorted through the sea cucumbers and conch, and Wu Sui secretly hid a few large ones when no one was looking.

But the yard is only so big, how could his little tricks be kept secret?

Su Yu couldn't help but roll his eyes at Wu Sui, who was sneaking around.