Chapter 113: Long-Term Investment

Wu An felt it wasn't bad either.

Gu Anran 'downward compatible', he could also 'seek upward'.

Gu Anran could be 'downward compatible' because she had emotional intelligence; she started doing business after graduating from high school, her mind was agile, and over the years she had seen all sorts of people.

She knew how to get along with people.

That's good.

If it were his previous life, even if he had some interaction with Gu Anran, it wouldn't be as naturally harmonious as now.

All this stems from the 'two-way pursuit' of emotional intelligence and experience.

A Qing walked around here and came back, shouting: 'Brother, there aren't any spicy snails here; after going around I only found a few.'

'There are plenty of sea snails, they're just not easy to smash.'

Wu An looked toward the farther beach, where he had previously dug up many clams, which Gu Anran had bought then, also helping him get closer to her.

Gu Anran said: 'There are quite a few people over there, and they're all from my village.'

Wu An shook his head and said: 'Forget it.'

'Let's just get busy here.'

'Smash some more sea snails, then pan-fry them to eat when we go back.'

All together it's only 15 Luck Points, not worth the effort.

Luck Boost.

Wu An used the excuse of checking what Gu Anran used to smash sea snails; it was a homemade tool, looked simple but was quite handy for smashing sea snails.

He casually added 2 Luck Points to it.

Seeking no return.

Consider it a long-term investment.

Wu An felt that someday there would definitely be an unexpected return.

Walking on the reef is hard; it's uneven, plus there's seaweed and moss on it, making it slippery. Fortunately, there are also empty sea snail shells on it from where the meat was dug out, which adds some friction; otherwise, not only would walking be difficult, just standing on it would be tough.

Wu An walked a bit farther, steadied himself, and saw the reef covered densely with sea snails—some smashed, some not.

This thing is inexhaustible, boundless.

It grows back quickly after being smashed, even more vigorously than chives.

Holding a screwdriver, a 'squeak' prick pries the sea snail shell open; a quick dig separates the meat, a flick of the hand tosses it into the bucket.

Don't complain about it not being clean; it will have to be washed when we get back.

Wu An held the screwdriver, hand rising and falling swiftly, precisely and fiercely; as long as he poked, there was absolutely no need for a second strike.

Without Luck Boost, such smoothness would be impossible.

Occasionally, A Qing shouted from far away: 'Brother, I dug up an especially big one, half the size of my palm, so plump!'

Wu An smiled.

On his side, he often finds fairly plump sea snails, looking almost like farmed oysters.

Probably thanks to the Luck Boost.

After digging for half an hour, Wu An straightened his waist and moved a bit; his bones cracked all over, his waist began to ache—though it hadn't been long, doing this continuously really is exhausting.

Looking at Gu Anran still busy.

Don't let Gu Anran's tall, slim appearance fool you; she's actually quite strong, and her stamina is impressive.

Then look at A Qing.

Hard to watch—this guy is smashing sea snails while still eating.

Just eating them raw.

Many villagers around here like this taste, thinking it's fresh, but Wu An feels nothing.

One hour later.

He called A Qing over for a drink, and meanwhile renewed the Luck Boost.

After drinking water, A Qing happily said: 'Brother, the sea snails are still pretty easy to smash.'

Wu An nodded.

Fresh sea snail meat has a market; a catty can easily sell for seven or eight dollars.

A Qing glanced at his bucket and exclaimed: 'Brother, you've already dug up almost half a bucket!'

Wu An smiled and said: 'I didn't mean to, but I got fast at smashing.'

A Qing said: 'No rest—I've only dug a small half bucket, I need to hurry and dig more.'

Wu An didn't say anything, but actually if A Qin didn't eat while working, she'd probably dig about the same amount as him.

Villagers around were also digging sea snails; hearing Wu An and A Qing's conversation, they couldn't help but roll their eyes.

Look at Wu An and A Qing's big buckets, then look at your own ladle in hand.

They've been digging a long time, yet their ladles aren't full—are they almost at half a bucket?

'How are they so capable!'

The villagers muttered to themselves, heads down, continuing to smash sea snails.

This area is spacious, with plenty of sea snails; plus it's relatively dangerous, so not many villagers come here to smash them, and there's no real competition among them.

Digging a lot is a skill.

Envy is envy, but there's nothing to quarrel over.

Working until just after five, the Luck Points ran out, the sea snails became hard to smash; sometimes you needed a slip of the hand, taking several strikes to break one.

Sore waist and back, hand cramping.

Wu An glanced at the half‑bucket of sea snails, then decisively stopped.

He called A Qing over.

A Qing walked over carrying a bucket, inside which was also half a bucket.

Gu Anran also walked over from this side, wiping sweat, and asked, "Are you planning to rest?"

Wu An nodded.

Gu Anran swept his sweat‑dampened front hair behind his ear and said, "I also plan to head back; these sea snails still need to be processed, and tomorrow I'll set up a stall to sell fried sea snail."

Wu An was somewhat surprised: "You really sell whatever you have."

Gu Anran said: "Yeah, although it's not fixed, I have quite a few regular customers, and everyone knows my stuff is fresh."

"If I really fixedly sold just one kind of food, business would actually be worse."

"After all, eating too much of it gets boring."

Gu Anran looked at Wu An and A Qing's water buckets and said, "You've really dug a lot."

"Still the old rule."

"10 yuan per catty."

Wu An nodded and said, "I'll keep some, and sell the rest to you."

Gu Anran went back and rode his bike.

They weighed them.

Together, Wu An and A Qing had a total of 63 catties of sea snail meat, worth 630 yuan; Wu An took the money and handed over a hundred to A Qing.

A Qing said: "Brother, that's too much."

Wu An said: "Take it; the extra money is for buying cigarettes, consider it a benefit."

A Qing was dazed but knew listening to his brother was right; he wiped his hands on his clothes and took the money.

Wu An looked at Gu Anran and asked, "If you're making fried sea snail, can you manage to come over?"

Fried sea snail is not like other foods that can be marinated and braised ahead of time; it needs to be cooked fresh.

Gu Anran said: "My grandma will help me."

Wu An nodded, said no more, greeted them, and he and A Qing walked toward the village.

On the road they met many villagers still gathering seafood, and many of them greeted them proactively.

A Qing felt strange: "Brother, why does everyone, upon seeing us, hurriedly put on smiles?"

Wu An shook his head.

Who knows.

A Qing was very curious, went over and chatted with people, then cheerfully caught up to Wu An and said: "Brother, it turns out everyone was afraid of you; before, they said a lot of nasty things about us behind our backs, and now they're afraid you'll take revenge."

Wu An realized.

Then they overthought it; he simply doesn't have the leisure to take revenge on so many people.

But being feared like this, I don't know whether it's good or bad.

A Qing smugly said: "From now on, mentioning your name in our village will definitely work."

Wu An told him to cut the nonsense, walked to the fork in the road, and said: "After you get up tomorrow morning, come to Lao Wu's house to find me."

"Tomorrow we're going to town; we have a lot to do, and we still need to test the boat."

"Brother, then I'll bring you breakfast." A Qing happily waved his hand, carried the bucket, and walked home.