Chapter 36: Greed Meets Danger

Zhang Guafu yawned and scolded, "Who is it? Midnight, courting death, won't you let people sleep?"

"Aunt, I'm Ye Cheng."

Hearing it was Ye Cheng, Zhang Guafu paused, her tone immediately softened, "Old Two, what do you need calling me so late?"

"Yeah, Aunt, come help us tie up the crabs, I'll pay 150, will you come?"

Ye Cheng offered 150, which was quite high; half because he felt the night work was hard, half because he pitied Zhang Guafu raising a child alone.

"150?" Zhang Guafu exclaimed, "Coming, I'm coming—where?"

"The plot the village allocated to us."

"That plot? Wasn't it already swept over this morning by Duan Yong and his crew?"

"That was this morning—hurry over, I'm waiting for you."

"Sure, wait for me, I'll put on clothes and come."

After hanging up, Ye Cheng turned to Xiao Hu and said, "She's coming; she'll help tie the crabs in a bit—let's keep looking for goods."

He hasn't used tonight's skill yet; Ye Cheng isn't willing to call it a night with just this little.

Zhang Guafu came quickly, her small, quick steps steady on the beach; she arrived in the time it takes to smoke a cigarette, panting.

"Old Two, I'm here—what do you need me to do?" Zhang Guafu's face was bright with excitement, no trace of anger at being woken; after all, she's here to earn money, and she's certainly willing.

"Aunt, there are two bags here—just tie them up and set them aside."

Zhang Guafu took the bag, looked inside, and gasped, "Again this much? Did you gather all this from foraging?"

"Yeah, we just happened upon a bunch—can't help it being so much. You start; I'll keep going with Xiao Hu, okay?"

Zhang Guafu's eyes gleamed with envy, "Old Two, you're capable—rest assured, leave it to me; I'll make sure it's neat and won't crush anything."

Frankly, Ye Cheng doesn't like this petty work, and neither does Xiao Hu; he prefers the feeling of reaping a haul from foraging.

With the rear secured, Ye Cheng also felt relieved.

Right where the crabs had just fled, Ye Cheng noticed a stretch of mudflat had been washed out; shining his flashlight, he saw several protrusions.

Ye Cheng squatted, dug with his shovel, and uncovered flower snails—live flower snails.

"Xiao Hu, there are flower snails here—clear this patch first."

Ye Cheng opened the system, activated the Burst Skill—might as well use it.

A flash of gold swept over, making Xiao Hu quickly turn his head away, "Brother, why is your shovel glowing?"

"What light? I don't see anything—are you overusing your eyes and hallucinating? Hurry up." Ye Cheng gave a careless glance.

On this small mudflat, Ye Cheng shone his flashlight, followed each bump, dug with his shovel, and kept finding specimens—two, four— the clinking flower snails he tossed into the bucket.

Over there, Zhang Guafu tied crabs while watching Ye Cheng and Xiao Hu; the two seemed possessed by deities, picking up one then another, "When did our Baiyun Village get so much sea bounty? We never noticed before."

In half an hour, Ye Cheng had filled more than half a bucket with flower snails.

This area was pretty much cleared; Ye Cheng glanced along the shore and saw a large stretch of reef blocking the beach.

The earlier group of shuttle crabs had fled from here; Ye Cheng followed their escape route.

The seawater slapped the reef with a bang, splashing up, then receded, revealing the fine sand underneath.

The water beneath the reef also briefly receded; Ye Cheng shone his flashlight, his pupils contracting sharply at the sight of a huge snail.

He hurried over, reached down, scooped it up, and pulled it out.

A sea snail longer than his palm, pointed, yellowish‑brown shell—this is a trumpet snail, and it's truly a fine find.

Trumpet snail slices—the meat is always eaten sliced; in his past life at the factory he rarely got to eat it, it was too expensive.

Having this, Ye Cheng no longer cared about the seawater; he jumped straight in, water submerging his calves, then bent down to feel around under the reef with his hands.

Going forward, he'll need a diving mask and flashlight—this tactile search is too inefficient.

Fortunately, after a while his hand met a hard object; feeling up and down confirmed it was another trumpet snail.

Damn, today we're going to strike it rich.

He set the trumpet snail aside, then plunged both hands into the water, feeling around, leaving only his head above the surface.

Over there, Xiao Hu had caught a few more shuttle crabs, looked up, and exclaimed, "Holy crap! Ye Cheng, why are you floating on the surface?"

"Brother, brother, what's wrong?" Xiao Hu dropped the crabs, tossed them aside, and rushed toward Ye Cheng.

Zhang Guafu was also startled; seeing Ye Cheng's state, she screamed in fright.

Foraging at sea isn't without fatalities—some people are too greedy, go in, get swept by the tide, and perish.

Could this Old Two Ye have died? His wages haven't even been paid yet.

Zhang Guafu came running as well.

"What's the fuss? I'm fine." Ye Cheng rose from the sea, holding a large trumpet snail aloft.

Zhang Guafu and Xiao Hu ran up, delighted, asking, "Is this a trumpet snail?"

"Yeah, there are more down there—I've already got three, maybe there are still more." Ye Cheng was also excited.

"Old Two, it's too dangerous down there—the water's up to your thighs; come up quickly." Zhang Guafu, having just expressed joy, began to worry.

"My legs are standing; what's there to fear?" Ye Cheng said, then bent down again to feel around.

Xiao Hu was about to speak when a big wave rolled in; he shouted, "Watch out!"

Ye Cheng looked back; the wave smashed him head‑on, then a huge force hit him, his head struck a rock, he went dazed, his body was lifted and rolled out to sea with the water.

Salty seawater flooded his mouth; with nothing to hold onto below, Ye Cheng flailed his arms wildly, but could grasp nothing.

Another wave surged, lifting Ye Cheng's body above the surface, then slamming him back down instantly.

Brother!

Old Two!

Seeing Ye Cheng swept away by the seawater and vanished, Xiao Hu hesitated not, dove in, and swam toward Ye Cheng's direction.

Ye Cheng felt his consciousness fading, the seawater's power overwhelming—he felt like he was tumbling in a washing machine, endlessly turning.

At that moment, a hand seemed to materialize out of thin air from the void, seized his clothing, and only then steadied his form.

That hand pulled him hard, dragging him out of the waves, and Ye Cheng finally could breathe.

"Xiao Hu." Ye Cheng called out weakly, Xiao Hu pulling him while swimming hard toward the shore.