Chapter 234: The Sea Turtle's Meal Money

Fortunately, the sea turtle doesn't mind either; it seems quite happy about it.

Ye Cheng bought some cheap small fish at the dock, planning to take them back to feed it.

After returning home, Ye Cheng gave Xiao Hu 15,000, but Xiao Hu refused outright,

"Brother, this is too much; I'll take 5,000 and that's enough."

Ye Cheng insisted twice, but this guy just wouldn't accept it, leaving Ye Cheng with no choice, so he gave 5,000 and called it a day.

With this 45,000.

Currently Ye Cheng has savings of 115,000, external debt of 40,000, and a mortgage of 300,000 (including interest).

Suddenly having this much money, Ye Cheng started to worry about how to spend it; putting it in the bank would lose value.

After returning home, Ye Cheng fetched some iodine and applied it to the sea turtle's back, not knowing if it was suitable, but feeling that applying something was better than nothing.

The pond in the yard was fine anyway, so Ye Cheng planned to put it in there to keep it for a couple of days.

The sea turtle seemed hungry, constantly opening its mouth toward Ye Cheng and crawling toward those small fish.

Ye Cheng simply put the small fish directly into a basin and brought it up to the turtle.

This guy ate happily to the point of being a mess.

Once it had eaten, Ye Cheng stopped paying attention and went off to take a shower by himself.

After he finished his shower and came out, the basin was already empty—this guy really has a good appetite.

Only, the turtle had crawled off somewhere unknown, so Ye Cheng shouted, "Brother, you person—oh, you turtle?"

It was just for fun; I didn't expect that calling out would actually get a response.

The sea turtle crawled out of the kitchen with something in its mouth—a coconut snail.

"Good grief, brother, you're not still hungry, are you?"

The sea turtle slowly crawled up to Ye Cheng, then put the coconut snail on the ground and rubbed its head against him.

So well-behaved, it's practically a dog.

Ye Cheng smiled, patted its bald head, and said, "Alright, I'll feed you; fine, I won't eat it then."

I was originally going to cook it myself, but since you want to eat it, I'll let you have it.

Ye Cheng got a small knife, pried out the snail meat, placed it in the basin, and waited to see the sea turtle eat.

Unexpectedly, this guy stayed completely still, just using its head to push the basin down to Ye Cheng's feet.

What does this mean?

Do you want me to cook it spicy for you?

Or do you want it sliced with some mustard?

Suddenly, Ye Cheng felt something in his heart—no, this isn't an ordinary thing; this guy has a bit of spirituality.

Last time, when we looked for people, it led the way; when we looked for the chest, it also led the way.

Now it's not eating this, but insisting I take it—could there be something inside?

Ye Cheng picked up that piece of snail meat, examined it closely, squeezed it hard a few times, and immediately felt something round and solid inside.

Judging by the feel, it should be a pearl.

Ye Cheng looked at the sea turtle—this guy really did give a pearl with his meal; that's pretty loyal.

However, sea-bottom pearls don't sell for much; last time those oyster pearls—17 of them sold for 10,000, which works out to a few hundred each.

This one would be enough to cover the sea turtle's food expenses for a while.

Ye Cheng didn't think much of it and just squeezed the pearl out with his hand.

As soon as it came out, Ye Cheng froze.

This?

Is this a pearl? Or a stone?

A not-very-round bead about a centimeter in size, orange-yellow, looking kind of like cow gallstone.

Ye Cheng rinsed it with clean water, and the whole bead became shiny, with a ceramic-like luster and internal flame-like patterns.

If I'm not mistaken, this is the Mei Le Pearl that Cai Zong mentioned earlier.

According to Cai Zong, this one could sell for over a hundred thousand, and Ye Cheng felt his heart race uncontrollably.

But he remembered Cai Zong saying that coconut snails don't produce Mei Le Pearls.

He picked up the coconut snail shell from the ground and examined it closely.

To be honest, he couldn't tell much; they're all spindle-shaped and this yellow color.

Never mind; if you can squeeze out a Mei Le Pearl, even a river clam would do.

The sea turtle beside him saw Ye Cheng take out the pearl, stopped bothering him, and went off to soak in the pond by itself.

This pearl needs to find a buyer to sell it.

Last time Cai Zong said it could sell for over a hundred thousand; I don't know if that's true, so I should find a time to talk to Cai Zong about it.

Besides, there's another thing Ye Cheng wants to take care of: the swallow's nest. On that island with coconut crabs where the swallow's nest was found last time, he and Xiao Hu lacked the proper tools, so they only managed to get a part of it.

He needs to get something and go again to see how much is left; these wild swallow's nests are hard to come by.

After dinner, he called Xiao Hu and told him to find Wang Defa to rent a boat, rent the whole thing, and they'd operate it themselves.

He really didn't want to bring Wang Defa along; this guy is sly and might end up selling him out someday.

However, although he and Xiao Hu know how to operate a boat, they lack a license, so Ye Cheng went to his older brother's place and asked Ye Guowei to accompany them out to sea tomorrow.

Ye Guowei had gotten a boating license when he was young, but after getting married he didn't want to go out to sea anymore, so he hadn't.

Ye Guowei readily agreed to handle the boat operation; he just made a phone call to request leave and that was it.

On the other hand, Jiang Yunxiang pulled him aside and asked a few questions about the crayfish business, making him worry a bit; he could only put it off for now.

Everything was settled; Ye Cheng had Xiao Hu go find two long extendable ladders to bring along—last time they suffered from not having ladders.

Early the next morning, Ye Cheng first checked the system.

Luck Value: 70+20

Points: 4090.

Savings: 115,000, External Debt: 40,000, Mortgage: 300,000 (including interest).

This Luck Value is not bad.

Ye Cheng had his things ready and was about to set out when he saw a sea turtle suddenly crawl out.

"Brother, what do you mean? I need to go out to sea today; I'll come back tonight to feed you, okay?"

However, the sea turtle paid him no mind, just clawing at his feet.

"Going together?"

Looking at the sea turtle's appearance, it seemed to want to come along; since it wants to come, let it come, and I don't mind having one more turtle.

Together with Elder Brother Xiao Hu, they rushed to the dock; Wang Defa's boat was already there, the keys with Xiao Hu, and the three boarded and set off, the sea turtle lying on the deck enjoying the sea breeze and sunshine.

"A Cheng, where did you pick up this sea turtle? This thing should be released." Ye Guowei said while steering the boat.

When speaking of this sea turtle, Ye Cheng couldn't help but praise it a few times: "Brother, it's spiritually perceptive; the last time I went underwater to salvage things, it led the way."

"Oh, it's still just a spirit turtle." Ye Guowei said with a smile, "I'll catch some small fish for it to eat later."

The sea turtle seemed to understand, turning its head to nod at Ye Guowei.

This made all three of them laugh.

While Ye Guowei was steering the boat, Ye Cheng briefly outlined today's plan, saying they were going to the island where they had previously found coconut crabs,

"Brother, you know that island, right?"