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

It was early morning, before dawn.

"Bang bang bang!"

The courtyard gate was suddenly knocked on, not with much force, but it sounded particularly abrupt in the quiet morning.

Behind the door, Wu Gang suddenly opened his eyes and sprang up from the ground.

He sat behind the door all night and finally fell asleep this morning because he couldn't stay awake any longer.

Hearing the noise, he grabbed the shovel leaning against the wall and gripped the handle tightly.

"Who!" Wu Gang shouted at the top of his lungs, his voice trembling with obvious tension.

"Brother Wu, it's me, Su Ruoxue." A clear female voice came from outside the door.

Wu Gang was stunned for a moment, then quickly peeked through the crack in the door. Only after confirming that it was Su Ruoxue's voice did he breathe a long sigh of relief.

He leaned the shovel against the wall and frantically pulled open the door latch.

Outside the door, Su Ruoxue was holding a black umbrella, and next to her stood an old man with a full head of white hair.

The old man was tightly holding a silver briefcase with a combination lock, looking very professional.

"Boss Su, you're here so early." Wu Gang quickly ushered him into the courtyard.

"Second brother, Boss Su is here, get up quickly..."

Wu Sui hadn't slept well all night either. He woke up when he heard a noise, followed by Su Yu, who was still rubbing his eyes.

"Sis, you really braved the rain to come all this way?"

"Hmm, you didn't cause any trouble for anyone here, did you?" Su Ruoxue put away her umbrella and completely ignored her younger brother.

Su Yu said, looking aggrieved, "How could that be? I helped my second brother earn money. We picked up a lot of sea cucumbers yesterday, and that Melo pearl was also found while beachcombing..."

When it came to beachcombing, Su Yu talked on and on, having endless things to say.

The old gentleman following Su Ruoxue smiled and nodded, but his gaze remained fixed on Wu Sui.

Knowing their purpose, Wu Sui ushered them into the main room, asked his elder brother to boil water and make tea, and then went to find Chen Xue to get the Melo Pearls.

Chen Xue and Wang Feng had also woken up long ago; or rather, apart from Xiao Hu and Ya Ya, the rest of the family hadn't slept much all night.

Hearing the noise, they all got up.

Chen Xue carefully carried the cotton bag out.

Wu Jianguo and Li Cuihua stood in the corner, unsure of what to do with their hands and feet, looking somewhat awkward.

Wang Feng hadn't even combed her hair; it was a mess like a chicken coop. Her eyes were fixed on the cloth bag, as if afraid it would fly away.

"Mr. Chen, thank you for your trouble." Su Ruoxue said politely to the old man beside her.

The old man, referred to as Mr. Chen, nodded, placed the briefcase on the octagonal table, and opened it with a "click."

He first put on a pair of snow-white cotton gloves, then took out a precision caliper and a professional high-powered flashlight.

"Let me see it." Old Chen's voice was steady, revealing a calm demeanor born of extensive knowledge.

Wu Sui took the cloth bag from Chen Xue and opened it layer by layer.

The bright orange Melo pearl lay quietly in the center of the cotton cloth.

Old Chen's originally cloudy eyes lit up the moment he saw the bead.

He took a deep breath, picked up the bead, and brought it close to his eyes to examine it carefully.

The room was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.

Wang Feng didn't dare to breathe, twisting the hem of her clothes with both hands.

Wu Gang stood beside her, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down, the sound of him swallowing particularly loud in the quiet room.

ten minutes.

A full ten minutes.

Old Chen measured it again and again with calipers and shone it from various angles with a powerful flashlight.

He even took out a small magnifying glass and examined the surface of the bead.

Finally, he put the beads back on the cotton cloth, took off his gloves, and let out a long breath.

"Miss Su, this...this Melo pearl is of good quality."

Although Old Chen said this, his voice trembled and his face turned red with excitement, which showed that it was more than just a good idea.

Su Ruoxue understood perfectly well what Old Chen meant; he was deliberately trying to lower the price for her because he was afraid Wu Sui would ask for an exorbitant amount.

She smiled and said, "Old Chen, you can just say what you want to say. Wu Sui is my brother's savior, there's no need to hide anything."

Old Chen was stunned for a moment, clearly not expecting this connection.

He gave an awkward laugh before speaking, somewhat embarrassed.

"This Melo pearl is perfectly round, its size is extremely rare, and even more remarkable is its flame pattern—it's bursting with fire!"

"It shines through the light, and it's incredibly bright under strong light. If it were a true red, it would be even more perfect."

"What about the weight?" Su Ruoxue pressed.

"I just weighed it, and it's over 100 grams."

Old Chen looked at Meilezhu with admiration in his eyes.

"I have been in this business for forty years and have appraised countless pieces of jewelry, but this is the first time I have ever seen such a large wild Melo pearl."

Su Ruoxue nodded, turned around, and faced Wu Sui directly.

"Wu Sui, we're friends, so I won't beat around the bush with you."

She held up three fingers, her tone resolute, "Three million, I'll keep it for myself."

Three million?

A few simple words sent a jolt through the entire room, leaving everyone's heads buzzing.

Wang Feng rolled her eyes and fell straight backward.

"Oh dear, sister-in-law!" Chen Xue was startled and quickly grabbed her, almost falling down with her.

"Three...three...three..." Wu Gang stammered for a long time, unable to say the last word, his face turning red.

Wu Jianguo plopped down on the long bench, covered his face with his hands, his shoulders twitching, and muttered something under his breath.

Li Cuihua quickly went over and patted his back, repeatedly saying, "Heavens above, our ancestors have shown us their power..."

Three million!

They made over 40,000 yuan selling sea cucumbers yesterday, which they felt was a windfall, and they were laughing in their dreams.

This bead can now sell for three million?

The family's reaction was exactly what Su Ruoxue had expected.

She looked at Wu Sui, waiting for him to nod.

She felt that no one could refuse such a huge sum of money.

But Wu Sui shook his head, rewrapped the cotton cloth bag, and did so slowly and deliberately.

"Ruoxue, I don't intend to sell this bead," Wu Sui said calmly.

Upon hearing this, everyone in the room was stunned, and even the air seemed to freeze.

Wang Feng, who had just caught her breath, almost fainted again.

"Second brother, are you crazy?!" Wang Feng yelled at the top of her lungs, breaking free from Chen Xue's grasp and rushing straight to Wu Sui.

"Three million! You're not going to sell it to breed more puppies? Have you lost your mind again?"

Wu Sui: ...What does "again" mean?

Su Yu also got anxious and started jumping up and down.

"Second brother, is it too little?"

"My sister gave us a perfectly fair price. This thing is rare, but three million is the absolute maximum. Don't be ungrateful!"

"It's not about the money." Wu Sui stuffed the cloth bag back into Chen Xue's hand and looked at Su Ruoxue to explain.

"Selling these Melaleuca beads now would be a huge loss. They have great potential for appreciation. If you keep them, you can definitely sell them for a higher price in a few years."

At this point, Wu Sui turned to look at Chen Xue, her voice softening.

"Besides, I want to keep such a nice piece and find a good craftsman to polish it and make it into a pendant for you."