Chapter 371: Strange Stick

After lunch, I'll go to the Sea Bottom; you pick up everything above, I think that's about enough.

Okay, bro, I'll pick quickly; one person is enough.

Time is tight and the task is heavy; the two of them casually ate something at noon.

The only pity is that they didn't see Da Huang all morning; they don't know where this guy went, nor whether he ran away.

Ye Cheng was still muttering; just after finishing his meal, he saw a sea turtle swimming up from the Sea Surface — it was Da Huang.

However, this guy had a long thing clenched in its mouth.

"Bro, look, this guy didn't run away," Xiao Hu hurriedly said, lest Ye Cheng accuse him of driving Da Huang away.

Ye Cheng walked forward; Da Huang held in its mouth a blackish thing resembling a tree branch.

Seeing Ye Cheng approach, Da Huang hurriedly crawled a few steps, then tossed the thing beside Ye Cheng's feet and rubbed its head against him, seeking credit.

Ye Cheng picked up the stick dubiously; it was about 5 centimeters in diameter, 20 centimeters long, dark and dull, with some grain visible — just a tree branch.

The only difference was that it felt a bit heavy in hand, possibly because it had been soaked in water.

Not knowing what it was for the moment, Ye Cheng didn't worry about it, scooped up Da Huang and headed back,

"Brother, you used to collect pearls and such; today you brought back a piece of wood, which doesn't quite match your status."

Of course, Da Huang couldn't understand what he was saying.

Back on the Beach, Ye Cheng picked up a few shrimp and threw them to Da Huang, which lay nearby and began eating slowly.

Xiao Hu curiously glanced at the thing in Ye Cheng's hand,

"Bro, what did Da Huang find?"

"I don't know; it looks like a tree branch." Ye Cheng casually tossed it to Xiao Hu.

Xiao Hu didn't pay much attention, took it directly and played with it for a while,

"Whoa, it's a bit heavy; what kind of wood is this? Is it red sandalwood? I've heard red sandalwood is relatively heavy."

"Dark and dull, it's more like black sandalwood, not red sandalwood." Ye Cheng dismissed the idea.

"But since Da Huang brought it up, let's hold onto it for now; maybe it's something good."

"Fine, fine, anyway you think everything Da Huang brings is good; I tossed this wood into the Water Tank." Xiao Hu casually threw the wood into the Water Tank.

The two tidied up, then each went about their work — Ye Cheng went into the sea, Xiao Hu went shore‑gathering.

That afternoon, Ye Cheng made four trips to the Sea Bottom; he was really tired and didn't want to go down again.

Xiao Hu had already gathered almost all the scallops on the Beach and began slowly transporting them onto the Boat.

By the time Ye Cheng surfaced for the last time, Xiao Hu had already gotten most of them onto the Boat.

"Alright, your speed is pretty fast," Ye Cheng teased, hauling up a net bag, his face full of fatigue.

Diving and shore‑gathering really isn't an easy job; Ye Cheng felt his whole body swollen from soaking, his fingers covered in peanut shells.

"Bro, we're about done; let's head back — I can see you're spent."

"Thanks, bro — I'm done, done; I'm still young, I'll be fine even after you're done." Ye Cheng gave him a killer look.

"Fine, bro, you're old but strong, an old horse knows the way — shall we go?"

"Let's go, head home; I'm really exhausted."

On the way back, Ye Cheng let Xiao Hu steer the Boat while he wrapped himself in a blanket on the deck and rested a bit, regaining some energy.

Da Huang also seemed tired, lying motionless beside Ye Cheng; this little creature would definitely be an Innate Spirit Beast in a cultivation novel.

Back at the Matou, it was just past 5 p. m., exactly the busy time.

However, Ye Cheng's Boat received special treatment; as soon as it docked, He Lao Ban and Zhou Lao Ban rushed aboard first.

"What is it? What is it?"

The two were like bandits — they came aboard without even looking at people, just eyeing the goods.

"Holy scallops! Are you farming these out at sea? There's so many." Zhou Lao Ban gazed at a boatload of scallops.

"Damn, how many jin is this?" He Lao Ban also exclaimed in shock.

"I don't know how many jin either; you say that, should one person collect or two?" Ye Cheng looked at the two.

"I want!" they shouted in unison; such synergy — not forming some brother duo would be a waste.

"Then split it half each; give a price — if it's right, we'll settle. I'm tired too and want to head back early."

When it came to quoting a price, the two started assessing, randomly picking some scallops, opening two to have a look — they were inspecting the goods.

This is Noble Comb-hole Scallop, all with yellow, the size is also big — definitely delicious at this time; you can rest assured, hurry up and give a price. Ye Cheng, seeing their careful look, couldn't help urging.

The two exchanged a glance; finally He Lao Ban spoke up, extending a finger,

"10 dollars per jin — how about that? We won't differentiate by size."

"You two really know how to calculate — offering 10 dollars for such fine big scallops, I won't even say 15; 12 dollars would be fine."

Scallops are also priced by size; this batch of mine counts as large-sized.

Moreover, they're pure wild, so they're more valuable than farmed; if we really haggled, they could fetch 15.

However, I'm really tired today and the quantity is a bit large, so Ye Cheng settled on 12.

He Lao Ban didn't even look at Zhou Lao Ban, just reached out his hand: "Alright! Still, Lao Er, you're generous."

These two old foxes probably had already figured out that Ye Cheng would counter‑offer.

Ye Cheng also didn't mind; as long as the price was settled, it was fine.

Then came the settlement; each side took roughly half.

He Lao Ban had his workers dump the goods out, then weigh them crate by crate.

Halfway through, a black stick suddenly tumbled out with the scallops; the worker saw it was a tree branch and was about to toss it aside.

"Hey, don't throw it away."

Ye Cheng shouted loudly, startling the worker.

Whoa, Lao Er, you shouted like that—I thought I was holding a hand grenade!

Ye Cheng gave an apologetic smile,

This is something I picked up; I just forgot and casually put it inside.

What treasure, do you have to be so concerned, Lao Er? He Lao Ban came over and took a look.

Is it wood or stone? It looks weird. He Lao Ban took the branch from Ye Cheng's hand and examined it.

It's pretty heavy, all pitted and grooved, and has grain—looks like wood, but wood isn't this heavy. He Lao Ban couldn't tell either.

Bored Zhou Lao Ban also curiously walked over, took a look, played with it a bit, and then suddenly said,

Lao Er, why not sell this to me too?

Upon hearing Zhou Lao Ban's words, Ye Cheng knew they had recognized what it was.

Zhou Lao Ban, what exactly is this? Tell us about it. He Lao Ban's eyes lit up at the mention of buying and selling.