Chapter 335: Running into Li Ming

Li Ming also thought Ye Cheng was planning to run a motorbike taxi.

"No, I just bought it for personal transport; sometimes it's inconvenient to go into town." Ye Cheng said.

"Personal transport? Wow, you kid, you can do that—you fishermen make so much money? Take me along." Li Ming said jokingly.

"Are you short on money?"

Li Ming's hand motion paused for a moment, then he immediately continued working, self-mockingly saying, "Who isn't short on money? My dad died early, my mom got sick from my anger and needs medicine."

Nowadays medical insurance isn't as widespread as in later times; having a medicine jar at home costs a lot.

Seeing Li Ming like that, Ye Cheng suddenly wanted to lend him a hand.

A prodigal son returning is never an easy matter.

But he didn't speak right away; instead he continued to change the subject, "Didn't you ask Wu Bin for help? He's at the Wang Clan Group now, isn't he?"

When Wu Bin was mentioned, Li Ming gave two cold laughs,

"Forget it, just him. I'm not saying I haven't gone to ask him, but he said their group doesn't want people like me who've been inside."

"Actually, he just wants to see us doing poorly so he can feel superior; that's all he is."

Ye Cheng actually agreed with that—Wu Bin really is like that.

"I have a way to make a little money; want to try?" Ye Cheng said.

"Sure, tell me; as long as it's not illegal, I'll do it." Li Ming didn't look up, kept working on his task, thinking Ye Cheng was joking.

"Do you know what shrimp crawlers are?"

"Shrimp crawlers?" Li Ming looked up at Ye Cheng, doubtful, "You mean those red shrimp in the fields?"

"Yeah, that one. Someone in our village collects them, a dollar per catty; if you're free, go out at night and gather some—it can also help supplement the household."

"A dollar per catty, that's not bad—really? You're not just teasing me, are you?"

"A dollar per catty, if you gather ten catties in a night that's ten dollars—also a decent income."

"Why would I tease you? I do it myself; I'll give you a phone number later, you can call and find out."

"Okay, I'll call after work. This thing can actually make money—amazing." Li Ming remained half-believing.

Ye Cheng didn't say it was his own business; anyway, telling him this info might help him a bit.

The rack was set up quickly; after finishing, Ye Cheng gave him Duan Yong's number and told him to give it a try.

"Okay, thanks, Ye Cheng; if it really makes money, I'll treat you to a meal."

"Seafood feast?" Ye Cheng teased.

"Get lost, I can't afford that; at most I'll take you to a roadside eatery for some pork intestines or something."

"Pork intestines are great, they're tastier than lobster, hahaha."

Riding out on his motorcycle, Ye Cheng felt a bit sentimental.

Sometimes classmate affection is like that—although they haven't seen each other for years, they still feel close upon meeting.

Such a feeling is hard to find after entering society, so why mix good classmate feelings with so many other things?

Returning to the village, Ye Cheng only gave Xiao Hu ten thousand yuan—who let that guy fish on the boat, damn it, he's too relaxed; even his own soaked skin should go for a spa.

He calculated: his savings now total 215,000.

With more money, he should invest; otherwise leaving it in the bank would just depreciate.

After finishing with the pearls today, Ye Cheng also checked his points, which had increased by over a thousand; he was still a bit short of ten thousand, and upon reaching it he could upgrade to an intermediate farming system—simply awesome.

However, today the system seemed to have something extra; Ye Cheng opened it to look.

In the original farming system interface, he had gained a new skill:

【Advanced Seedling Skill】: Increases the survival rate of seedlings in the farming system by 50%.

Holy crap!

This is awesome.

If this had existed earlier, big brother's clams could have been 50% more.

But this skill costs 5,000 points; Ye Cheng saw he had over 9,000 points and hesitated a bit.

Should he first upgrade the 【Basic Farming Boost】 to intermediate, or first unlock this skill?

He was about to raise small lobsters; he felt both were needed.

After thinking for half a day and still undecided, Ye Cheng also got lazy to think; he'd decide in a couple days.

In the following two days, his luck value was too low, so Ye Cheng didn't feel like going out to sea.

Pulling Xiao Hu along to help Ye Guowei with the clam work, the harvest was imminent, and Ye Guowei was considering how to collect them.

Currently 50 mu; the cheapest and least destructive method is manual picking, but it's really labor-intensive and must be done at low tide, which feels tiring.

Another method uses a water pump: high-pressure water flushes the surface sand of the tidal flat, clams are sucked into the screen with the flow and automatically separated, but this requires a separate machine.

According to Ye Cheng's idea, using a rake is still more convenient; as long as it's not too harsh, it won't greatly affect the tidal flat.

These two days Ye Guowei has also been testing, trying to find what size rake is suitable; this is the farm's first harvest, and Ye Guowei is especially attentive.

Ye Cheng also busied himself on the tidal flat, casually picking up a few clams.

These clams have grown to about three centimeters; Ye Cheng opened a few to look, the clam meat inside was quite plump, obviously well-fed, indeed they could be sold, and the price should be decent.

After the clams are brought up, they still need washing, so Ye Guowei set up a large washing pool beside the tidal flat, connected to water, preparing to wash them then load them onto a truck.

Ye Cheng, working alongside, was also exhausted; he had planned to rest and sleep when he got home, but unexpectedly Duan Yong and Duan Chunsheng showed up at the door.

Duan Yong probably came about the small lobster matter; Duan Chunsheng came along too, so there might be something else.

"Lao Er, tired after a day's work?" Duan Chunsheng greeted.

"Brother Cheng." Duan Yong called politely.

"Yeah, I've been working with my brother all day, I am indeed a bit tired; you father and son coming over—what's the big deal?"

"Indeed there is a big matter." Duan Chunsheng said with a solemn face.

Seeing Duan Chunsheng's expression made Ye Cheng nervous too.

Go on, say it.

Duan Yong spoke first: "Brother, here the purchase price of small lobsters keeps rising; some places are already offering 2 yuan per jin."

Ye Cheng had anticipated the price increase; it's not a big deal—rising water lifts the boat, just that early profits will be lower.

As long as the small lobsters' taste remains, the price will definitely keep rising.

I recall that when those early farmers first started breeding, at their peak they sold for over 30 yuan per jin.

Now it's 2 yuan; he estimates it will rise to about 3 yuan.

Then, as the method of cooking small lobsters is researched, the price of small lobster dishes will also drop.

No way, that's just how it works domestically.

Once something becomes popular, someone will immediately copy it.