Chapter 27: Not Everyone Has Good Luck

The Crab Tigers aren't weak; after being thrown into the bucket they thrash violently, slamming the bucket with a bang‑bang.

No wonder they're the ruthless ones that can eat crabs.

Hold on.

Wu An snapped to attention, hurried to the bucket, and sure enough, several Crab Tigers were mobbing a green crab.

These Crab Tigers had been snatched from their burrows and were terrified, but seeing the delicacy right before them, who could resist?

They had to gorge themselves to quell the shock.

He hurriedly said, "A Qing, let's separate the green crab and the Crab Tigers."

A Qing suddenly understood, "Brother, good thing you're here; I'd forgotten that these Crab Tigers eat crabs."

"Oops, this one got bitten."

"Damn!"

While speaking, he grabbed a Crab Tiger and slapped it twice.

The two separated the green crab and the Crab Tigers, then kept squatting in the water to look for Crab Tiger burrows.

Wu An said, "A Qing, let's use the tongs."

"If it's a green crab burrow, a careless hand could get pinched off."

A Qing replied, "I'll be careful."

"Using tongs isn't smooth."

"Better to use hands for strength."

Wu An shook his head, glanced at the tongs' Luck Value—only a point left—and said nothing more.

He looked at the glove.

Luck Value: 43 (5)

Target: plastic glove (+)

It's a multi‑purpose glove; after being imbued with Luck, it reduces the chance of injury while netting sea goods and raises the success rate of catching them.

Wu An felt pleased.

Sure enough.

The glove is also a tool that can be Add Point.

Luck Value: 43 (3)

Target: plastic glove (+2)

Like a sand shovel, it's among the most ordinary sea‑hunting tools.

He shouted, "A Qing, let me check your glove."

A Qing, puzzled, still reached out and said, "Brother, tighten the grip; Crab Tiger burrows are far harder to find than green crab burrows."

Add Point.

Luck Value: 43 (1)

Wu An said, "Go catch them."

A Qing squatted, groped a few times, then exclaimed excitedly, "Got it."

He quickly hauled out two Crab Tigers.

Wu An also abandoned the tongs, feeling directly with his hands; soon he made a discovery—Crab Tigers clustered in groups of two or three.

Although each Crab Tiger is small, a nest of three weighs about half a jin.

He tossed the three Crab Tigers in, glanced at the bucket, and saw it was already half full.

A Qing caught even more than him.

Sometimes A Qing even thrust his head into the water—truly determined.

A Qing shook his head, lifted the freshly caught Crab Tiger, and said, "Brother, this one's big."

"Catching Crab Tigers is more fun; it's far more interesting than tongs on green crabs."

"Let's come back tomorrow to catch more."

Wu An nodded; actually, tomorrow there might be no good catches—today's green crabs already show that it'll take a while to find a green crab burrow.

Compared with yesterday, it's pitifully few.

Of course.

Until there's a better spot, tomorrow they'll definitely still come here for Crab Tigers.

Even if it's few, catching seven or eight to sell can still fetch two or three hundred; these days, a regular white‑collar's daily income isn't that high.

He squatted, noticing the water level rise: "High tide."

"Let's head back."

"Don't let the big ones shout at us like yesterday."

A Qing nodded.

The two squatted in the water, one hand holding the bucket, the other feeling through the mud.

Efficiency was low.

But with the glove's boost, they could feel a Crab Tiger burrow in no time.

As the tide rose and they walked upward, they gradually couldn't feel Crab Tiger burrows; A Qing grew a bit frustrated, while Wu An glanced at the bucket—about two‑thirds full.

That's already quite good.

Above, many villagers were sharing today's haul; he took off his straw hat and covered the bucket. At that moment, A Qing shouted excitedly, "Brother, I've found another burrow."

The nearby people, hearing his call, turned to look.

A Qing suddenly withdrew his hand and shouted, "It's a green crab burrow."

Damn, good thing I pulled back fast, almost got pinched.

A Qing gave the tongs to him.

A Qing lowered the tongs, dejectedly shouting: "How come it's a blue crab hole, sigh..."

Everyone secretly cursed A Qing for being stupid, discovering the blue crab hole, why still sigh?

Isn't this a good thing?

Up to now, they only had one or two lucky ones who felt a few blue crabs, and just that made them so happy they almost laughed their mouths crooked.

A Qing threw the blue crabs he picked up with the tongs into the bucket, saying: "Not that big."

"Brother, today's haul isn't as good as yesterday's."

"It's fine." Wu An said with a smile, the current resources are already plenty, plus few people come to the tidal flats, in two or three hours they can gather a bucket of seafood.

After a few more years, when this place is developed and visitors from all over come, then this beach could be searched a hundred times a day by tourists and villagers, making such a haul impossible.

The two went ashore.

Everyone gathered around to look, seeing half a bucket of blue crabs, they were envious: "A Qing, look at you catching blue crabs, you don't seem happy."

A Qing pursed his lips: "What's there to be happy about."

That person grinned and said: "Then why don't you give it to me."

A Qing: "Get lost."

"You think I'm stupid."

That person, after being scolded, touched his nose and left.

Someone curiously asked: "A An, what's in the other bucket?"

Wu An said: "Nothing."

"Today's haul is far worse than yesterday's."

"A Qing, let's go."

Having said that, he picked up the bucket and left, not giving everyone a chance to lift the straw hat and look.

A Qing hurriedly caught up with the blue crab bucket, caught up, snatched the Crab Tiger bucket, and said: "Brother, carrying two is steadier."

Wu An didn't say anything.

After walking a while, A Qing laughed: "Brother, I just peeked, those folks following us to the tidal flats have nothing in their buckets."

"Today there's a lot of water, the tidal flats are hard to walk, not everyone can have our luck." Wu An smiled and said: "So we should stay low-key, not let everyone know what we're up to, otherwise they'll be jealous and cause trouble."

A Qing nodded blankly, knowing it's because Brother An is working that he's brought him to make money; without Brother, he'd still be running around the village aimlessly.

Not to mention making money, wherever he goes people despise him and dogs dislike him.

He thought, in the future he should do more work, so that when taking money from Brother's hand, he won't feel guilty.

A Qing said: "Brother, I'm hungry."

At this time, the dock still has no lights, the purchase stall hasn't opened yet.

Although the tide has come in, many villagers are still groping in the water; although it's a bit of effort, they can still have a harvest; precisely because they're tired and hungry, the two didn't dig for clams.

Wu An thought and said: "Let's go to the shop to buy some instant noodles, I'll make you seafood noodles. We also need to go home to change clothes, eat and drink our fill before heading to the dock to sell goods."

A Qing: "This time, not good."

Wu An said: "What are you thinking? We're not stealing or robbing, we're going to buy things."

Now it's 3 or 4 a. m., the sky is just faintly light, it's when people sleep deepest; before, they two used this time to steal chickens and dogs.

The two arrived at the shop and knocked loudly on the door.

Old Jiang, who was asleep in the inner room, heard the noise, suddenly woke up, and then heard Wu An and A Qing's shouts, scared out of his wits.

What was bound to come still came.

He just knew that Wu An came during the day to scout the place!