Chapter 67: You call this not much?

A Qing shouted: "What do you mean?"

"You're being sarcastic, cursing me and my brother to have bad luck?"

"If my brother and I have bad luck, it's definitely because you cursed us!"

Duan Dajie's scalp went numb.

Such a big pot, she can't handle it; she hurriedly explained, "A Qing, what nonsense are you spouting?"

"I think gathering seafood isn't a proper job."

A Qing shouted again: "What's improper about it?"

"Uncle Duan goes gathering seafood every day; he's the one who raised you and Brother Duan."

"Saying gathering seafood isn't proper is basically cursing your father."

"..." Duan Dajie slightly opened her mouth, completely numb.

Mei Yueqin stepped forward and said: "Alright."

"Both of you, say a couple less."

"A An, what do you want to eat tonight?"

Wu An was quite happy; A Qing's retort was good, so he didn't need to say more, following his sister-in-law's words, he replied: "Around here there are plenty of spicy snails and sea snails; let's see if we can find anything else."

"Whatever we catch, we'll eat that tonight."

"Do we still have pork belly at home? I want to eat braised pork."

Mei Yueqin smiled and said: "Yes."

"There's still plenty left from what we bought last time."

Wu An said: "We'll cook it all tonight; meat shouldn't be frozen too long, otherwise it won't be fresh and the texture will suffer."

As he spoke, they arrived at the spot.

Duan Dajie's sarcastic remarks weren't baseless.

On the rocky beach, there are plenty of people gathering seafood, basically all women; you rarely see elderly gentlemen.

Basically, the elderly gentlemen of the seaside fishing village either go out to sea as fishermen or find other work in town or elsewhere.

Of course, they do gather seafood, but only during spring tides do they come to earn money.

The twice-monthly spring tide is a gift from the sea to the seaside fishing village; if you're diligent, a half day's work can earn you a good amount.

It's still a couple days until the spring tide, so those gathering seafood now are basically women at home with nothing to do.

Some dig clams on the beach, some knock sea snails and sea cucumbers on the rocky beach, and more people pick up spicy snails.

To be frank.

Live off the mountains by eating what they provide, live off the sea by eating what it provides.

Living by the sea is actually a fortune; if you're diligent, going hungry is basically impossible, and getting rich isn't out of reach.

Here, backed by mountains and facing the sea, the geographical conditions are superior; in his view, opportunities for wealth abound everywhere.

The vast world offers great scope for action.

Let's get to it.

"Erzi, be careful."

"Make sure your footing is stable; there's still plenty of standing water in these rocks."

Seeing Wu An take the lead downwards, Mei Yueqin hurriedly warned: "If you miss a step or step into a crevice, falling wouldn't be a joke."

So gathering seafood truly isn't something you can just do casually; if you're unfamiliar with sea conditions, don't try it lightly.

Here they call gathering seafood "seeking livelihood from the sea," meaning they seek a living from the sea.

They hold reverence for the sea.

No one dares to slight the sea; those who have done so already have grass growing tall on their graves.

Wu An answered with a sound.

At this moment, the tide has receded but not yet risen, exposing a vast stretch of beach and interlocking rocky ridges.

He is now walking down along the rocks, following the tide; there's plenty of standing water between the rocks, and the rising and falling tide can also submerge the lower rocks.

These rocks are covered with big and small sea cucumbers, plus the shells of sea snails that have had their meat dug out.

At a glance, it's enough to trigger trypophobia.

This place is constantly picked over; anything big enough to eat or sell has already been dug up.

But there will also be the occasional "fish that slipped through the net."

Now the big catches are basically about finding those "fish that slipped through the net," which tests eyesight and luck.

It often happens that someone passes by, and then the person behind discovers a nest of spicy snails where the first one went.

Sister-in-law Mei Yueqin also walked over and said: "How's it going? Any finds?"

Wu An nodded: "Yes, but not many."

He casually pointed, and Mei Yueqin's face lit up: "They're pretty big."

"Such plump sea snails aren't common; knock a few back home, and I'll make fried sea snails for you tonight."

"Knocking these sea snails open is quite laborious."

As she spoke, Mei Yueqin walked over, took out a screwdriver from the bucket; the tip had been worn down, and from the marks you could tell this screwdriver had seen plenty of use.

With a "squeak," the pried-open sea snail shell came loose; after digging out, the snail meat separated cleanly; Mei Yueqin took out a small bucket from the bucket, which is specially for holding sea snail meat.

"Look."

"That's professionalism."

Wu An said: "Sister-in-law, let me try."

He took the screwdriver.

Indeed it can add Luck Value.

However, he only had three points left, so he only gave the screwdriver one point of Luck Value.

It's enough; sea snails aren't high-priced seafood, so even one point of Luck Value lasts a long time.

Wu An said it's still quite useful, but I plan to pick spicy snails, so I returned the screwdriver to my sister-in-law.

Ahead, A Qing waved at him.

Wu An hurried over.

"So many spicy snails." Wu An flipped over two big rocks and saw that the rocks beside A Qing were covered densely with spicy snails.

A Qing reached out a handful, spread it in his hand—big and small—and happily said, "Brother, I didn't expect there to be so many."

"How could there be so many?"

Wu An said: "Maybe fewer people come here; the rocks here are quite slippery, hard to stand on."

"Those women don't have legs as good as ours."

"You also stay steady—don't let a wave come and roll you straight into the sea to see Goddess Mazu."

A Qing laughed: "That's not simple, brother—you tell Goddess Mazu, then send me back."

Wu An: "Don't pull nonsense, here's this glove."

Speaking, he passed over the glove with one point of Luck Value added; these spicy snails cling to the rocks, so you can just grab them by hand.

Gloves with Luck Value yield mostly large spicy snails per handful.

Different specifications of spicy snails naturally have different prices.

The two of them squatted down to pick spicy snails.

One grab, a big handful.

"Brother, mine are all big."

"Picking spicy snails is also too satisfying."

A Qing said, throwing the spicy snails in his hand into the bucket, making a crackling sound.

Just hearing it gets you pumped.

Wu An laughed; spicy snails aren't valuable, but there's a lot—one grab a big handful, make a bucket to sell, and you can still earn decent money.

"There really aren't few spicy snails here—in just a short while we've already picked over twenty." Duan Dajie also walked over, asking: "Do you guys have many spicy snails here?"

A Qing grabbed with both hands, then held a handful of spicy snails and threw them into the bucket, saying: "Not many—after a few grabs it's gone."

Speaking.

Here the spicy snails picking is about done; A Qing continues walking forward.

Duan Dajie looked at the small half bucket of spicy snails, her eyes nearly popping out.

You call this not many?

You're lying with your eyes open!

Wu Anle chuckled: "We still need to thank Duan Dajie for bringing us here."

Duan Dajie showed a smile better than crying—how does she feel that clearly her spicy snails were snatched by Wu An and A Qing?