Chapter 25: Damn abalone and sea cucumber—they got nothing

The original owner's TV wasn't even hooked up to cable; it only had a few channels, and watching it meant old dramas. Ye Cheng went to bed to sleep.

The next morning, as soon as Ye Cheng woke up, he hurriedly checked the system.

Luck Value: 50.

Points: 80.

A Luck Value of 50 should be fine; last time at 60 the harvest was good, this time it's only down by 10 points, so I can give it a try.

Just then, he noticed the system store seemed to have unlocked something new, so he clicked to see what it was.

【Harvest Double】: usable only on items from the system store, it doubles foraging gains for one hour, costs 80 points to redeem.

Burst Skill—obvious at a glance.

In plain terms, it's just 'going big'.

One hour of doubled harvest—this needs to be used well, like in a game; such a burst skill must be timed right.

If what's below is sand clams, doubling them just gives more sand clams—not worth it.

If it's lobster, though, doubling it would be interesting.

He decisively chose to redeem it.

Suddenly gaining this one active skill, Ye Cheng instantly became interested—no, he had to go try it.

He had wanted to just have a bucket of instant noodles for breakfast, but thinking about what his older brother said yesterday, he decided against it—he really should eat less.

He felt doomed, as if his older brother would nag him back to normal.

For a healthy diet, Ye Cheng cooked himself a bowl of noodles—just plain broth noodles with fermented tofu, not bad; sometimes simple food is quite tasty.

He was still eating when Xiao Hu's lecherous little head poked in, looking uneasy.

"Fine, don't ask, I'll go in a bit." Ye Cheng cut him off—this guy didn't need to ask; he knew why he was there.

Hearing they were going foraging, Xiao Hu's face lit up, but then quickly darkened: "Brother, should we still go to the rocky beach?"

"Yeah, just follow the zones the village chief assigned." Ye Cheng answered clearly.

"That won't work, brother—if we don't go to another village's beach, the rules there don't forbid outsiders." Xiao Hu was still uneasy about yesterday's haul; coming back empty-handed really sucked.

"Wait a bit; if it still doesn't work, we'll change spots."

Ye Cheng didn't speak in absolutes; frankly, he wasn't sure what effect a Luck Value of 50 would have on a rocky beach.

Today he'll go once more; if it fails, he'll switch locations straight away.

As for opposing Chen Jinhai, he currently lacks the strength; without strength, mouthing off a couple lines is all he can do—if he really tried to stand against him, he'd be the one to lose.

Moreover, Ye Cheng also knew his reputation wasn't great.

Reputation is such a strange thing throughout history—you could say it's useless, since it really has no effect.

But you can't say it's useless either—back then Liu Huangshu rose to prominence largely due to his reputation, and Song Gongming could become chief because of his; in war they stress having a just cause, so reputation is an intangible asset.

Right now his reputation is negative; to turn it positive he has to build it up slowly.

Since Ye Cheng insisted on going, Xiao Hu didn't say much more, picking up his gear as usual and following Ye Cheng toward the shore.

Passing Zhang Guafu's doorstep, she happened to come out, gave Ye Cheng a complicated look, then walked away without saying anything, head down.

Xiao Hu looked curious: "Brother, did Zhang Guafu have a change of heart? She didn't even scold you when she saw you."

Ye Cheng was also a bit puzzled—could Zhang Guafu have heard what he said yesterday? Her perception would have to be pretty sharp.

Still, having one less enemy in the village is always good.

Thinking of that, Ye Cheng suddenly grabbed Xiao Hu and headed to the convenience store to gather some news.

Li Quezi had already opened his door and was sitting there lazily watching TV; when he saw Ye Cheng he was quite enthusiastic, after all Ye Cheng had bought a lot from him the day before.

"Yo, Lao Er, you're going foraging?"

"Yeah, I'm going foraging with Xiao Hu; on the way I picked up two packs of cigarettes—grab me two packs of Liqun." Ye Cheng said.

"You're still going? You said you didn't get anything yesterday." Li Quezi said while handing Ye Cheng his items.

Ye Cheng knew he could definitely pick up some news by coming to Li Quezi's place.

"Can't help it, bad luck—what about those who went out to sea yesterday? Did they snag any abalone or sea cucumber?" Ye Cheng handed Li Quezi a cigarette, asking casually.

Li Quezi took the cigarette, didn't smoke it, just tucked it behind his ear, and chuckled: "Damn abalone and sea cucumber—they got nothing. Old Zhao's family brought back a bucket of mussels, cursing you all the way home."

"Why yell at me? It's not like I sent them out." Ye Cheng laughed too—what did it have to do with him?

"If you hadn't hauled in all that loot, they wouldn't have gone out—don't blame me, blame whoever."

"Fine, keep blaming me then."

"But hearing you got nothing yesterday, they feel a lot more at ease." Li Quezi teased with a laugh.

Having gotten the info he wanted, Ye Cheng didn't linger, said his goodbyes, and left.

Without the system, you lot think you can go out and find stuff like I do—keep dreaming.

Ye Cheng's confidence in the system keeps growing; today he should have a decent haul.

The two chatted as they walked to the village entrance, where they happened to see Duan Yong and his two companions.

Duan Yong swaggered over, "Yo, Ye Lao Er, off foraging again?"

Yuan Jiansheng crossed his arms, sneering, "I heard you only got a few sand clams yesterday—what happened? Changing spots didn't help?"

Duan Yong added, "You're still going today? You're not planning to go onto someone else's turf, are you?"

Ye Cheng gave a cold snort: "Good dogs don't block the road—you lot went out to sea and got nothing either, what are you showing off for here?"

Duan Yong's face darkened: "What do you mean? I'll tell you—we'll send people to watch you; if you go onto another beach, we'll go straight to the village chief and complain."

"The village chief is your dad, huh, always running to him. Get lost if you've got nothing to do—don't hold up my foraging." Ye Cheng shoved Duan Yong aside rudely and walked on.

Duan Yong stood there, his mouth twisted with anger after being shoved, but he didn't dare strike—last time he got beaten and was scared.

Moreover, Chen Jinhai had told him that nowadays fighting isn't the thing; you rely on power.

"Hmph, wait till you're broke and can't eat—see how you'll strut then." Duan Yong said resentfully.

Ye Cheng ignored those people, taking Xiao Hu as they headed for the rocky beach.

The morning sun was still weak; its warmth on his body couldn't counteract the sea breeze's chill.

Xiao Hu stared at the rocky beach ahead, having no desire to go down, and stood there hesitating for a long time.

Ye Cheng slapped him on the back, saying, "Come on, what are you waiting for?"

After saying that, Ye Cheng jumped down, stepping on small stones as he began to search.