Chapter 454: Hooked

A Qing and Mei Wu also came over; in the end, the longline fishing didn't catch anything at all, so the two first tossed the longline aside and also came over to look at the white butterfly clams that could produce pearls.

A Qing urged, "Brother, what are we waiting for? Hurry up and take the pearls."

Wu An looked toward Lao Fu Tou.

Lao Fu Tou got up, found some tools, and handed them to Wu An.

Wu An asked, "Let me do it?"

Lao Fu Tou said, "Of course, your luck is better than ours."

A Qing and Mei Wu also nodded along.

Wu An could only grit his teeth and go ahead.

If he had luck value, he wouldn't be lacking, but now, relying solely on his own hand luck, he's certainly no extremely lucky person.

He used the tools to pry it open.

Using a long pick, he carefully poked into the clam meat, and a pearl popped out. A Qing excitedly shouted, "Pearl, there's a pearl, holy shit, there really is a pearl inside."

Lao Fu Tou secretly let out a sigh of relief.

Wu An's hand luck was not bad.

Not all white butterfly clams can nurture pearls.

He took the pearl in his hand, turned it over and over, looked at it, and nodded satisfied: "The size is not small, and looking at its shape and luster, it's simply flawless."

A Qing nodded vigorously.

Besides "holy shit," he couldn't utter any other words of praise.

Mei Wu's eyes also lit up: "This would make a nice gift for a girl."

Wu An smiled: "That makes sense."

He moved the pick a bit more, and another pearl came out; he then simply opened the white butterfly clam completely, and finally found five pearls of varying sizes inside.

Wu An asked, "Should we keep these pearls or sell them?"

"If we sell them, we should still divide these five pearls according to the ratio of ambergris."

"When we get back, I'll inquire about the market price of pearls."

Mei Wu hesitated a moment, then said, "I want to keep two."

"I want to make two pearl pendants for my mother and my sister."

"After deducting my share of the money, I'll make up any shortage."

"These pearls are what we encountered at sea; they're more meaningful than bought ones."

Wu An smiled: "Then I'll give you one."

"Your sister's share doesn't need you to pay for it."

"I'll give it to my older brother later, and let him give it to his wife."

Mei Wu said, "Okay."

A Qing raised his hand: "I also want one."

Lao Fu Tou shook his head: "I don't want any."

He's a lonely old man, with no one to give him anything.

Wu An nodded.

Mei Wu and A Qing each got one pearl, while Lao Fu Tou took money.

He kept three, gave one to his older brother, and gave two to Gu Anran.

After distributing the pearls, Wu An casually planned to toss the shells away, but Lao Fu Tou hurriedly stopped him: "What are you doing?"

Wu An asked, "You want them?"

Lao Fu Tou laughed: "These can also be sold for money."

"Do you know why this is called the white butterfly clam?"

As he spoke, he found a bowl, placed the clam meat inside, then rinsed the white butterfly clam with water, revealing the inner layer full of pearly luster; when the light hit it, it instantly became dazzlingly brilliant, and the handsome A Qing couldn't help but open his mouth wide.

Wu An couldn't help muttering, "It really blinded my eyes."

Lao Fu Tou put the two shells together and said, "Take a look—doesn't it resemble a butterfly in pearl color?"

The three of them nodded.

No wonder it's called the white butterfly clam.

Lao Fu Tou continued, "Every part of this white butterfly clam is a treasure; the shell can be used for carving, and we have shell carving here—you know that, right?"

The three of them nodded again.

Wu An knew even more: in the future, shell carving in some places would even apply for intangible cultural heritage status; when he first saw it, he thought of his hometown's shell carving, but although they have shell carving here too, it's not famous.

He looked at the clam meat in the bowl and said, "So we're going to eat this later?"

Lao Fu Tou nodded: "Sure."

"It's also been a long time since I've had it; I'll make it later."

Wu An glanced at the system; the luck value of the crab pot hasn't been used up yet, so he can only check again after a night.

The clam meat is blanched, original flavor, sweet and fresh, with no fishy smell at all; Lao Fu Tou is quite skilled at cooking.

Having a late-night snack, alcohol is naturally indispensable.

Anyway, out at sea no one will come to check whether they're drinking, but nobody drank much; they kept the amount low, mainly to relieve fatigue, and a little drink helps them sleep more soundly.

The late-night snack had no variety—just seafood, more seafood, and a plate of peanuts.

While drinking, the peanuts turned out to be the most popular dish.

They drank too much alcohol.

They went out to the boat shed to urinate.

He raised his head to look at the sky; the unpolluted heavens, the river of stars across it, shone with unmatched brilliance.

A Qing walked over and smoked a cigarette.

Wu An kicked him in anger and returned to the boat shed.

Mei Wu was clearing the bowls and chopsticks.

Lao Fu Tou said: "Still the old rule; later you all sleep first, about that time, I'll call A Wu to get up."

Wu An shook his head: "Don't call A Wu."

"I'll take the second half of the night watch."

Mei Wu and A Qing are now the main force; they have to work, but they still need to ensure rest.

On the contrary, he is basically a half-idler.

……

On the other side.

At the gate of the town Police Station.

A Jin squatted at the gate of the small convenience store opposite the Police Station gate, smoking a cigarette and waiting for almost an hour, when a group of youngsters came out of the Police Station swearing.

Two people walked toward the convenience store.

As they passed by A Jin, someone asked: "Kang, what's up?"

A Jin looked up.

The one called Kang, that is the crew-cut mentioned by Wu An, was originally this kid who brought these people to the milk tea shop to cause trouble.

The crew-cut man called Kang said: "What's up, hurry up and buy cigarettes and alcohol, let's go to A Feng Restaurant to drink and chat slowly."

A Jin saw the two buy cigarettes and alcohol, then went ahead to A Feng Restaurant.

They had ordered two dishes, but the food hadn't arrived yet when a group pushed the door and entered.

A Jin, waiting for them to pass by, pretended to make a phone call and said: "Boss, rest assured, I've already come to town; as long as Gu Jianfa is in town, he definitely can't escape."

"'One thousand per hit.'"

"'As long as you don't kill or cripple him, the more times you hit, the more you get, right.'"

"'Don't worry, I'm absolutely professional in this, I know how to measure my force.'"

"'Don't rush me.'"

"'I'm alone right now, I still have to wait for my partner to come.'"

"'Ah, never mind, my partner has a record, he won't be able to come anytime soon; when he arrives, I'll act immediately.'"

"'Let's wait five or six days.'"

A Jin, while speaking, lifted his head and glanced at the few crew-cut men standing nearby not moving, glaring and shouting: "What's the meaning of this, guys?"

The crew-cut man coughed: "Brother, I just heard you mention Gu Jianfa?"

A Jin asked warily: "Who are you?"

The crew-cut man had the people beside him sit first, then he sat opposite A Jin and said: "I'm Gao Kang; to be frank, I have a grudge against that bastard Gu Jianfa."

A Jin remained silent, picked up the cigarette on the table.

Gao Kang helpfully lit it for him.

A Jin asked: "What grudge do you have with him?"

Gao Kang explained the situation; when he got to the emotional part, he gritted his teeth in hatred, and A Jin asked: "So you're saying Gu Jianfa is in your hands?"

Gao Kang said: "More or less."

"'Brother, I have one more question: are you doing this for someone?'"

A Jin exhaled a smoke ring, lowered his voice and said: "Take people's money, eliminate their calamities."