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

The whole family eagerly awaited Lin Tao's arrival to collect the goods in the afternoon.

Su Yu and the two younger ones watched in amazement as the snail meat was slowly squeezed out of the shell.

Wu Sui sat in the courtyard, pecking at the ground like a chick pecking at rice, occasionally tapping it.

Chen Xue found it amusing and told him to go inside and rest for a while.

But Lin Tao had promised to come and collect the goods, so he couldn't really go back to sleep. He could only light another cigarette and try to stay awake.

The older sister-in-law had been pacing back and forth at the door several times, and seeing Wu Gang's indifferent expression only fueled her anger.

He cursed and scolded his older brother, then asked Wu Sui a question.

"Second brother, Boss Lin has never been to our house before. Could it be that he can't find the place? Why don't you have your brother go to the village entrance to greet him?"

Wu Gang, who had been scolded, lowered his head and quickly stood up upon hearing this.

"Yes, yes, I'll go to the village entrance right now."

Wu Sui smiled and pulled his older brother back: "No need, Boss Lin in our village will definitely know him. We'll just ask at the village entrance."

Wu Gang: ...

Around 3 p.m., a pickup truck with a cargo bed stopped in front of the Wu family's old house.

Lin Tao and his sister Lin Jing jumped out of the car in a hurry.

Upon entering the courtyard, Lin Tao was stunned when he saw the several large basins filled with densely packed wild black sea cucumbers.

He squatted by the basin, his hands trembling as he scooped up a sea cucumber weighing over three ounces and examined it carefully.

"Wild... they're all top-quality!" Lin Tao exclaimed excitedly, his words tumbling out incoherently.

Su Yu also came over, looking at the sea cucumber in Lin Tao's hand with some confusion.

"Don't they all look the same? How can you tell they're wild?"

Lin Tao first looked at Wu Sui with his eyes to ask a question, and when he saw Wu Sui nod, he smiled and answered.

"First look at the color. Wild sea cucumbers are mostly dark brown or dark gray with a more uniform color, while farmed sea cucumbers are lighter in color."

"Looking at the thorns again, the wild ones are irregularly arranged, varying in length, and have thicker roots, while the cultivated ones are arranged more neatly and are also longer..."

Su Yu looked at one of them and found that it was indeed the same as what Lin Tao had said.

Once his curiosity was satisfied, he lost interest in selling the goods and went off to play with Xiaohu and Yaya.

Wu Sui shook his head at him and invited Lin Tao and Lin Jing to have some tea first.

Lin Tao was in no mood for tea at the moment, and waved his hand to ask Wu Gang to help him lift the scale off the car.

It took the whole family, including the Lin siblings, more than an hour to weigh all the goods.

Four hundred and eighty catties of wild black sea cucumber, thirty-eight catties of conch, plus a few blue crabs and miscellaneous fish.

Lin Tao held the calculator, his fingers flying across the keys.

"Ah Sui, this batch of sea cucumbers is of such excellent quality! I'll offer you the highest price; the total will be 46800 yuan!"

Lin Tao took out stacks of brand-new hundred-yuan bills from his bag, counted them, and stuffed them into Wu Sui's hand.

Wang Feng stared at the thick stack of money, her breath almost stopping.

Earned over 4 in just one morning?!

This was an astronomical figure that she would never have dared to dream of before.

Wang Feng stared intently at the stack of brand-new hundred-yuan bills, her chest heaving violently.

"Second brother, this...this is all ours?"

Wu Sui smiled and stuffed the money into Chen Xue's arms.

"Wife, keep this safe."

Chen Xue was at a loss, holding the money felt like holding a hot potato.

Outside the courtyard, a crowd had gathered at some point.

The news that the Wu family had picked up hundreds of kilograms of sea cucumbers on the beach that morning had already spread like wildfire throughout the entire village.

During the fishing ban, villagers like to join in the fun when they have nothing else to do.

When they saw a car parked in front of the Wu family's old house, everyone craned their necks.

Someone saw the sea cucumbers being loaded onto the truck and shouted at the top of their lungs.

"Boss, how much did you buy these sea cucumbers?"

Lin Tao was wiping his hands with a towel when he heard this and turned to look at the door.

He believed that harmony brings wealth in business, and he didn't hide anything from the public.

"I'll pay 65 yuan per jin for those weighing less than 3 liang, and 110 yuan per jin for those weighing more than 3 liang."

The moment the price was announced, the crowd gathered at the entrance erupted in uproar.

"How much? 110?"

"My God, at the village dock purchasing station, they only give 90 yuan for anything over three ounces!"

"That's outrageous stuff! They ripped us off 20 yuan per pound!"

The villagers' eyes turned red.

This morning, quite a few people went to the beach to scavenge for bargains. Although Wu Sui and his group took the lion's share, each family still managed to collect a couple of pounds here and there.

"Boss, I have 3 jin at home, shall I bring it over for you right away?"

"I have two pounds, I'll go home and get them now!"

"Boss, don't go! Wait for me..."

A group of people rushed towards the pickup truck, with some even blocking the front of the vehicle.

Seeing this, Lin Tao waved his hands repeatedly.

"Everyone, don't panic, listen to me."

"I only accept bulk goods; I won't accept the few kilograms of loose goods you have."

The people in the group were unhappy when they heard this.

"Boss, this carriage is empty anyway, so what difference does it make whose passengers you take?"

"Yeah, why aren't you making money?"

Lin Tao gave a wry smile, looking somewhat troubled.

If he has money, wouldn't he want to make it?

But this isn't about money.

There are rules in the seafood business.

If he were to collect all the loose goods in the village today, he would be breaking the rules.

If the people from the village's purchasing station also go to the town's dock to intercept goods, wouldn't that create complete chaos?

If this news gets out, it will be seen as him breaking the rules, and he'll be condemned by his peers.

Wu Sui has already taken all the bulk of the goods; he has to share some with others, right?

"Here's what we're saying: if anyone's willing to sell, bring your goods to the town's purchasing station tomorrow. I'll buy them at the original price. I won't buy them today, so please make way."

The villagers were unwilling to comply.

Going to town during a typhoon is difficult because the roads are bad and you have to pay for transportation.

"Boss, please do me a favor, it's just a small favor."

"If you don't accept it, we won't let you leave today."

A few scoundrels simply plopped down in front of the car.

Lin Jing sat in the driver's seat, honking the horn anxiously.

Lin Tao's forehead was also sweating, and he looked to Wu Sui for help.

Wu Sui frowned and was about to step forward when a figure rushed out like a whirlwind.

"Get out of my way, all of you."

Wang Feng stood at the gate of the courtyard, holding a large broom in her hand and looking fierce.

"What are you doing? What do you all want to do?"

"Are you trying to act like a scoundrel in broad daylight, coming to Old Wu's doorstep?"

Wang Feng really meant it; someone's trouser leg was swept by the broom, and they were so frightened that they took two steps back.

"Da Feng, that's unreasonable! We sell sea cucumbers, what's it to you?"

Wang Feng stood with her hands on her hips, her loud voice ringing in people's ears.

"Pooh!"

"Boss Lin was called here by my second son. If you're going to sell something, you need to make sure people are interested in it."

"They were politely explaining the rules to you, and you actually stopped the car?"

"What? Want to become a highwayman? Get lost, or I'll tear your mouths apart."

She slammed the broom down on the ground and pointed at the people sitting in front of the car.

"Can't you get up?"

"If you don't get up, my broom won't have eyes. If it sweeps in your faces, don't blame me for being impolite!"

Seeing Wang Feng's menacing posture, the thugs were terrified and slunk to their feet.

The villagers, embarrassed by the scolding, dispersed grumbling.

Wang Feng turned and shouted to Lin Tao.

"Boss Lin, you'd better get out of here right now! Let's see who dares to stop us today!"

Lin Tao felt as if he had been granted a pardon and quickly clasped his hands in a fist and palm salute to Wang Feng and Wu Sui.

"Ah Sui, sister-in-law, thank you for today."

After saying that, he got into the passenger seat.

The pickup truck roared and drove out of the village.

Watching the car drive away, Wang Feng slammed the gate shut and bolted it shut.

Turning around, she let out a long breath, her previous fierceness gone, and her gaze was fixed on the stack of money in Chen Xue's arms.