Chapter 430: Leisurely Beachcombing – A Nice Stone

I bought it, but now people want to mess with you, so Guowei-brother told me to follow you, fearing someone might hit you from behind with a brick.

Damn, Ye Cheng isn't scared even face-to-face.

But if someone bears a grudge, it's definitely not pleasant.

What should we do? My brother won't let us go out to sea; we can't just stay indoors, can we?

Brother, why not go to the beach to get some stuff? We could even have drinks at noon; it's rare to have such free time.

Upon hearing Xiao Hu say that, Ye Cheng's eyes lit up; it could work.

Come on, if we have no goods, let's go to my brother's farm and get some clams.

The two agreed immediately, didn't bring any big tools, just grabbed two buckets and set off.

As for the system, Ye Cheng didn't bother checking it; anyway, just picking up small things, having or not having the system doesn't matter much.

On the way, Ye Cheng stopped by Li Quezi's to buy some salt.

He remembered the online video of sprinkling salt to collect razor clams; it's faster than digging them up.

"Yo, Lao Er, you're back!" Seeing Ye Cheng, Li Quezi got a bit excited.

Fuck, you're not hoping I die out there, are you?

How could that be? If you don't come back, I wouldn't have any big business. Want a cigarette?

Damn cigarettes, give me two packs of salt, I'm going to dig for razor clams.

"Yo, you're still so leisurely, off to dig razor clams." Li Quezi walked over to the shelf and handed Ye Cheng two packs of salt.

"That, he said, saying many people in the village want to mess with me." Ye Cheng pointed at Xiao Hu.

Li Quezi laughed,

"That's not it, let me tell you: not only do people in our village want to mess with you, but those from Liu Village also want to mess with you; they've bought quite a few, and one was even arrested."

Arresting one, that's probably the kid who was in class last night.

Really, I saved them.

They're still intent on messing with me.

Now I only hope Song Zhiyong's side wraps up the case soon; once there's a conclusion, I'll be better.

After leaving Li Quezi's, the two wandered toward the beach; villagers they bumped into gave an embarrassed grin and hurried away.

Fuck, it feels like we've become village idlers again.

After arriving at the beach, there were fewer people, and the world felt more tranquil.

The two first stopped by Ye Guowei's farm on the way; the clams had grown a bit more, and they'd likely be ready for shipment soon.

As for Da Huang, he's holed up in the turtle burrow, no idea where he's gone to roam.

The two passed the farm, walked a good distance before stopping; this stretch has more mud and sand, making razor clams easier to find if they're there.

The two walked along the beach, feet sinking into the mud; the feeling of mud wrapping around their toes was great.

Ye Cheng walked ahead a bit and immediately spotted some small holes in the sand, though he didn't know what was inside.

He opened the salt and sprinkled some into the hole.

Soon, bubbles emerged from the hole, then a plump razor clam popped out; Ye Cheng pinched it out with two fingers, a dozen centimeters long, clearly meaty.

This method is good—faster than digging with a shovel and not laborious.

Two steps forward, he found a few more holes; same routine, sprinkle salt, though this time only one clam came out of three holes, but that's fine.

"Brother, there's a big patch over here!" Xiao Hu shouted from ahead.

Coming.

Ye Cheng stepped into the mud and sand and arrived at a small puddle filled with numerous little holes.

We've found the nest, sprinkle salt—what are we waiting for?

With such a large area and water, they poured in lots of salt before seeing any reaction.

Like bamboo shoots, seven or eight razor clams pushed up from the mud, sticking out their tongues as they expelled salt.

"Brother, I feel they're cursing us." Xiao Hu teased.

Right, they've never tasted something this salty before—haha.

In a short while they had a dozen razor clams in hand; enough more to fry a plate.

Ahead was a reef; Ye Cheng found a few small flower snails underneath, not big but lively; he squeezed out their water and tossed them in.

There are fragrant snails—look closely; at noon we'll get a snail to eat, razor clams alone get boring.

Got it, brother.

They had planned to get a whole plate of fragrant snails, but couldn't find enough later; instead they gathered some cat's-eye snails and flower snails, which should be enough for a plate.

The razor clams aren't enough; let's find more—they get eaten too fast." Ye Cheng said.

Razor clams aren't like snails; snails need sorting and take time.

Razor clams open right up; Ye Cheng can eat one in a few seconds. If he doesn't prepare more, by the time he's ready to drink, the food will be gone.

The two just kept searching loosely; whenever they saw a hole they sprinkled salt, and after over half an hour they'd scraped together a half-bucket of razor clams—though they'd run out of salt.

They were about to head back when Ye Cheng suddenly saw something move under the reef ahead.

Since it's exposed, can we just let it go?

Ye Cheng hurried over and saw at once it was a sword crab, desperately trying to bury itself in the sand.

Sword crabs are easy to catch; Ye Cheng didn't even need tweezers, he just grabbed it with his hand.

Not bad; looks like it's about three or four taels, we'll steam it and eat it later.

Ye Cheng turned to leave when a flash of light caught his eye; looking down, he saw a shiny stone half-buried in the mud and sand.

He picked it up casually; it was a small stone, not big, but resembled a rain‑flower agate: smooth surface, translucent, with chrysanthemum‑like patterns inside, quite pretty.

This thing feels a bit like jade in the hand, giving off a gemstone vibe.

Ye Cheng also didn't know what it was, but it should be something good.

Ye Cheng shouted, "Xiao Hu, come over and look for stones," and called him over.

Look, this kind of stone—see if there are any more; it feels like something good.

What's this, bro? Looks like a handicraft.

Don't know, let's look first.

The two began searching on the Beach; if they didn't search carefully they wouldn't know, but once they did, they actually found quite a few.

Over twenty pieces big and small, the smallest about thumb-sized, the largest about the size of two fists.

Those stones almost filled a bucket, so the two didn't bother searching anymore, picked up the bucket and headed back; on the way they also scooped a plate of clams from the older brother's clam farm, now they had enough for a meal.

Still, going out to gather at the seaside is comfortable; with little time, they just rustle up something to eat.

The two went straight to Ye Cheng's house; Ye Cheng first put those stones aside, then began cleaning the seafood, and Xiao Hu helped too.

They were busy when suddenly they heard several loud shouts from outside.

"Ye Cheng, come out!"

Ye Cheng and Xiao Hu exchanged a glance; trouble had come.

The two went out.

At the gate, Chen Jinfa and several people stood at the entrance to Ye Cheng's courtyard.