Chapter 53: Basic Luck Value Bonus, Luck Value 100

Beside her, Zhang Guafu could hardly bear to watch any longer; she suddenly stood up and said, "Village Chief, given that A Cheng is now a great benefactor of the village, I think we might as well forget about dividing the foraging area—we used to just wander wherever we pleased."

Exactly, dividing an area—I clearly saw an octopus over there and felt too embarrassed to go past it.

Right, right, besides, we usually don't catch much when we go foraging, so there's no need.

It's all about luck anyway, Village Chief—there really's no need.

Several villagers chimed in, talking over each other.

The main reason is that before, everyone just did whatever they wanted; after the area was divided, everyone found it inconvenient, so they took this opportunity to bring it up.

Faced with the crowd's anger, Chen Jinhai's face flushed alternating between pale and red, and he finally announced helplessly, "The division of the area is cancelled."

Ye Cheng pursed his lips; not bad—at least he wouldn't have to run as far, though the beach near Liu Village is a bit different, and occasionally going out for a wild hunt isn't bad either.

Seeing the Village Chief agree, Zhang Guafu looked at Ye Cheng as if seeking credit.

Ye Cheng understood; this was Zhang Guafu trying to mend their relationship.

"Auntie, if I need help later, I'll call you."

"Sure, sure, just call me anytime—I'm always free." Zhang Guafu beamed.

I had thought it would be an ordinary day, but I never expected so much to happen.

That evening, Duan Yong personally delivered the IOU; there was still little conversation, but his attitude had certainly improved a lot.

But, you uncles and aunts, where are the chickens and ducks you promised me? Not a single one in sight.

After lending 3,000 to Duan Yong's family, Ye Cheng had only 3,500 left in his hands; he hoped he could start saving up soon.

The night sky after the storm was unusually bright.

After yesterday's ordeal with zero luck value, Ye Cheng now feels a shadow in his heart whenever he opens the system.

He hadn't expected that, upon opening it, a dialog box would pop up:

【Activate Basic Luck Value Bonus, current bonus value is 20.】

Bonus?

Ye Cheng took a look.

Luck: 80+20

Points: 220

The luck value changed—now the basic luck value has a "+20" appended after it.

If my original luck value had been zero, it would become 20.

If my bonus value keeps rising, I wouldn't need to worry about the base luck value at all.

And this is a good thing—it's like a guaranteed minimum wage.

Only this guarantee is a bit low; if it were 50, Ye Cheng could go foraging every day.

I also don't know where this bonus comes from—I'm not wearing any gear or necklace, so I'm not sure if it's related to yesterday's storm.

Never mind—seize the day; at least today my luck value is 100, higher than it's ever been.

Early that morning, Jiang Yunxiang came over and brought him a bowl of food—braised potatoes stewed with beef brisket, though most of it was potatoes since beef is too expensive.

She also brought him some bed sheets and pillowcases, and took the dirty clothes back to wash, saying she'd hand‑washed them clean.

After breakfast, Ye Cheng glanced at his yard; yesterday's heavy rain had left the freshly tilled ground soggy, and he wondered whether the planted chives and radishes would survive.

Even after breakfast, Xiao Hu hadn't shown up, which was rather unusual.

Ye Cheng went straight to his door; upon entering, he found Xiao Hu still asleep.

"Lao Er's here," said Xiao Hu's mother, stepping into the room to pull Xiao Hu awake. "He helped his second uncle with work last night and got done late—I'll go wake him."

"Brother, why so early?" Xiao Hu said, rubbing his eyes and yawning.

"It's already 8 a. m., still early—hurry up and eat something; we're going foraging today."

"Ah, today? Sure, sure.

"Mom, give me two steamed buns—I'm going foraging with A Cheng."

As soon as Xiao Hu heard about foraging, his drowsiness vanished instantly—he didn't even want to eat.

"Eat first, then go—there's no rush," Ye Cheng said, pulling him to sit down; he always believed breakfast was a must, otherwise his body couldn't take it.

Seeing Ye Cheng's insistence, Xiao Hu could only sit down and hastily start eating.

Actually, breakfast only takes about ten minutes; after finishing, Ye Cheng had him grab a few snakeskin bags and they set off.

What would a day be like with the bonus bringing his luck value up to 100?

Unlike before, this time as Ye Cheng and his companions passed through the village, people would occasionally greet him—everyone still remembered what had happened yesterday.

"Brother, look—everyone's attitude toward you has improved a lot," Xiao Hu said.

Ye Cheng gave him a sideways glance: "Your attitude toward me hasn't improved at all."

"It has changed, brother—this feeling of being respected is pretty nice."

"Is that being respected? It just means they don't see us as bad people; being respected is still far off. Besides, why must we be respected? A person lives a lifetime not to live for others' eyes."

The two chatted idly as they reached the shore—this time there was no area division.

Yesterday's waves had brought plenty of lively life to the tidal flats—visible sand clams and green mussels, plus stone crabs that occasionally came out for a stroll.

Several early‑risen aunties had already picked up small buckets and begun gathering.

The storm means danger, but the ocean is fair—danger usually also brings opportunity.

So after every storm, the beach's yield can double.

Zhang Guafu also took a bucket, put on a straw hat, and was gathering there; when she saw Ye Cheng coming, she greeted him,

"Lao Er, Xiao Hu, there are lots of sand clams over here—come gather them."

"Auntie, you keep going; we'll have a look around."

Ye Cheng replied with a sentence and was about to leave, but Zhang Guafu had already moved close, wiping the sweat from her forehead, and said, "Lao Er, why do you always haul in big catches when you go foraging? I'm just here for sand clams and such."

Ye Cheng glanced at her bucket; there were twenty-odd Sand Clams, stir-frying a plate is still okay, but selling them for money is not worth it.

"Aunt, we're also lucky; I see Aunt Zhao hasn't just snatched the Flower Clam King, has she?" Ye Cheng pointed to Aunt Zhao over there, who was happily showing off.

"Ah, there's the Flower Clam King? Then I'll go over there; call me if you need anything." Upon hearing about the Flower Clam King, Zhang Guafu hurriedly turned and rushed over; this speed, even Bolt wouldn't dare to spread his arms arrogantly.

After bidding farewell to Zhang Guafu, Ye Cheng took Xiao Hu and walked to another side; this side had too many people, going a bit farther the number of people clearly decreased, and the beach had more seawater, with small pools scattered like stars; to say there's nothing here, Ye Cheng wouldn't believe it.

The two walked down, and as soon as they went down, Ye Cheng saw a red thing jump on the beach.

This thing was blood-red, elongated, looking like a loach from the fields, only a bit longer than a loach, and its head appeared larger.

Ye Cheng bent down, scooped it up with a net, lifted it; it was still alive, its body a bit longer than Ye Cheng's palm, slippery, and felt like a loach.