Chapter 50: Just sell them all to me

Wu An slightly opened his mouth, momentarily at a loss.

They say they know each other because he really does know her.

Gu Anran.

She's from the neighboring village.

In school, she was a year below him, considered a junior; he knows her because Gu Anran is very beautiful—so much that the whole school could be described as "everyone knows her, no one is unaware."

He had also seen her at school, and the adjectives classmates used to praise her beauty were very fitting.

Gu Anran's grades were also very good.

He also knew Gu Anran hadn't gone to university due to family reasons—she'd been accepted but didn't attend—and he wondered why he knew that.

Of course, it wasn't because he admired her that he secretly paid attention.

But because his father's notebook recorded Gu Anran's affairs.

Back when the two villages merged, his father remained a member of the Village Committee, still doing those thankless odd jobs.

For example, settling neighborhood disputes.

One such matter was that after Gu Anran's grandmother passed away, her homestead was seized by her great-uncle, leaving Gu Anran without even a place to live in the village.

His father did everything he could to help, but still couldn't assist Gu Anran.

Afterwards, Gu Anran left the village, just like him, to go out and make her way in the city, after which there was no further news.

In his notebook, his father wrote of being unable to help Gu Anran: "regret, helplessness, incapacity."

Why couldn't he help?

His father also wrote it clearly: actually, it's not really his fault; this is the Gu family's "historical legacy issue," and he had already done everything he could.

When he first saw this, Wu An sighed, "What a twist of fate—I never imagined there'd be someone worse off than me."

He even felt some empathy, thinking they were both wanderers of the world—he had fled, while Gu Anran had been forced to leave; he imagined her feelings upon sailing away from home must be ten thousand times worse than his.

All these thoughts flashed through him in an instant; seeing Gu Anran step back half a pace, he quickly said in a joking tone, "Of course I know her—who doesn't know the campus belle Gu?"

After saying that, he gave an embarrassed chuckle twice.

As a result, Gu Anran stepped back another half step; late at night, alone on the shore gathering seafood, a strange young man approached and said those frivolous words.

Who wouldn't be scared?

Not running away outright already counts as being brave.

Wu An realized and hurriedly explained, "I'm a year ahead of you; I once spoke as an outstanding student representative—I don't know if you remember."

Gu Anran stepped back another half step: "It's you."

Wu An was dumbfounded.

What's going on?

If you know him, why are you still stepping back?

He said somewhat helplessly, "I'm also here to gather seafood—look."

Seeing his bucket, Gu Anran's bright big eyes softened a little; she let out an "oh" and walked to the side.

Wu An shrugged; she clearly didn't want to talk to him, was very wary, and he saw no need to get closer, lest he be misunderstood.

He walked downstream a bit, and the water just reached his ankles.

In this situation, clamps and shovels weren't suitable, so he took out his rake, squatted, and raked twice in the seawater.

Then, feeling with his hand, he grabbed a clam from the sand and mud.

"Not bad—pretty big."

Wu An rinsed it with seawater; the clam wasn't small—about the size of his two thumbs—and in the lantern light it showed a slight reddish hue, with a lovely pattern.

Big and meaty.

He dug it up!

"Plop" he tossed it into the bucket, then simply added his Luck Value to the rake.

Luck Value: 48 (5).

Target: Homemade clam raking tool (3).

Description: An ordinary homemade tool for gathering seafood, used to find creatures hidden in the beach's surface layer; wherever the rake goes, no seafood can escape.

Nothing much to say.

Start raking.

With the Luck Value boost, each rake pull yields a harvest, and plenty— a single grab nets a handful, which clatters into the bucket with a satisfying sound.

That's the wonderful sound of a harvest.

Although clams don't fetch a high price, if you have enough volume you can still make money; many villagers specialize in digging clams for sale.

Simply put, aside from sea snails and spicy snails, clams are the most abundant on this beach.

He kept raking with his head down for nearly an hour before straightening up; his bones all cracked with a "patter," feeling sore yet refreshed.

He lifted his shoulders, wiped sweat with his clothes, and muttered, "Still pretty tiring."

Mainly because each rake pull brings up so many clams that it's quite strenuous to lift.

Opposite side.

Gu Anran kept peeking.

At first she was wary, but seeing Wu An really raking clams, she grew more and more astonished—his luck must be incredible.

One grab yields a handful.

Although she was a bit far away and couldn't shine her headlamp directly, the sound of clams hitting the bucket was still clear.

She tossed in only one or two clams at a time, basically making no sound.

Wu An's luck is just too good, huh.

She was extremely envious.

Wu An completely failed to notice that he had been secretly watched; after stretching his back, he continued to squat and rake, and when his Luck Value ran out, he added (more).

As the tide rose, he followed it upward.

The Snake Skin Bag that had been brought was also put to use; when the bucket filled, he poured its contents into the Snake Skin Bag, and after who knows how long, one raking turned up hardly any clams.

If there were many, there would be three or four; if few, not even one; they found no clams, but instead raked up two razor clams.

Wu An then raised his head and looked left and right, discovering that everyone had already retreated to the far edge of the beach.

The Snake Skin Bag was completely full, and the bucket of clams was also full.

That counts as a big harvest.

The resources here are still not bad.

Because it lies where two villages adjoin, conflicts and disputes often occur, so the villagers of the two villages actually don't often come here.

Nobody wants to make a little money and end up angry.

Wu An looked at this Snake Skin Bag and a big bucket of clams, and instead found himself in a dilemma: how to carry them back?

Having come out to gather seafood, he didn't bring his phone, but after estimating the time, it must be at least past ten o'clock now; at this hour, every household is already asleep, so it's hard to find someone to help.

Just then.

From the side came Gu Anran's voice: "Um... Wu An, you dug up a lot of clams, right?"

Wu An turned his head and looked over, nodding: "Yeah."

"You also dug up quite a few, right?"

"Not as many as you; I only dug two buckets." Gu Anran paused, then asked: "You dug up so many clams—are you planning to sell them?"

"Yeah, just keep a little for myself to eat."

"Then could you sell them directly to me? I often go to the market to buy; a catty is six dollars. Would six dollars for yours work?" Gu Anran's voice was low; one could hear that she felt embarrassed saying this.

Wu An asked: "How much do you want to buy?"

Gu Anran: "All of it."

Wu An was startled: "You... you want to buy so many clams for what?"

Gu Anran said: "I'll buy them, prepare them, and sell them in town; I've sold them several times before, and they've done pretty well."

Wu An suddenly understood, nodded and said: "Okay, then I'll sell them to you."

"I'll go home by bike." Gu Anran's face lit up, and she said: "Wait a moment, I'll be quick."

Wu An saw her turn and run, and hurriedly said: "Take it easy, don't rush."

Gu Anran waved her hand without looking back.

Wu An watched her ponytail sway as she ran, and couldn't help but glance a few more times.