Beachcombing: The beach is full of amazing seafood, but my wife won't let me get out of bed!

Wu Sui pushed open his own dilapidated wooden door.

In the courtyard, Chen Xue was squatting in front of the stove, tending the fire, while white rice porridge bubbled and boiled in the iron pot.

Hearing the noise, Chen Xue turned her head, stood up and wiped her hands on her apron.

"Ah Sui, you're back."

She pointed to the broken water vat in the corner: "What's in there? It's making a loud splashing sound, it sounds kind of scary."

Wu Sui put the bucket on the ground and went to the water vat to fill a basin with water.

He buried his head in the basin of water and rubbed it haphazardly a couple of times, then wiped his face with a towel.

"Sandworms, we dug them up on the beach last night when the tide went out."

Wu Sui draped a towel around his neck. "There was a sandworm nest there. We dug all night and filled several buckets."

Chen Xue paused for a moment, then stepped forward, grabbed Wu Sui's arm, and looked him up and down.

His clothes were covered in dried mud, his trousers were rolled up to his knees, and his calves were covered in mud splatters.

"You didn't sleep all night?" Chen Xue's voice trembled slightly, and her eyes were red.

"Your body can't take it! You've just made some money, why are you working so hard?"

Wu Sui grinned, "Let's make some extra money while we're lucky. Hurry up and get me a bowl of porridge. After I finish eating, I need to go to town with my older brother to sell the sandworms. They're worthless once they're dead."

Chen Xue quickly turned around to get the bowl.

Wu Sui walked to the water vat, reached in and stirred it a couple of times.

I picked out dozens of the thickest and fattest sandworms and threw them into the empty basin next to me.

Chen Xue came over with a bowl of hot porridge and saw him picking out sandworms, so she quickly stopped him.

"What are you doing? This stuff sells for over thirty yuan a pound at the recycling station, why are you picking it out?"

Wu Sui picked up the bowl and slurped down a big mouthful of hot porridge.

"I'll save it for lunch. I'll buy some pork ribs when I come back from town, make a soup, and nourish Yaya."

Chen Xue was so anxious that she kept stamping her feet.

"What's the point of supplementing? This pot must weigh two or three pounds, and it's almost a hundred yuan!"

"A hundred yuan can buy several old hens, isn't that more nutritious than these sandworms?"

Wu Sui put down his bowl and leaned close to Chen Xue's ear.

"A hen is nowhere near as good as this thing," he said in a low, sarcastic tone.

"This stuff is an aphrodisiac. I'm full now, so I'll be able to work well tonight."

Chen Xue's face flushed red instantly, all the way to the roots of her neck.

She raised her hand and pinched Wu Sui's arm, spitting out a curse.

"You're acting so improperly in broad daylight."

Wu Sui laughed heartily, finished the remaining half bowl of porridge in one gulp, and wiped his mouth.

"Listen to me, save it for later. We'll have plenty of money in the future."

Wu Sui picked up the bucket from the ground, pushed open the courtyard gate, and walked out.

We arrived at the old house.

As soon as I entered the courtyard, I saw my father, Wu Jianguo, squatting under the eaves, puffing on his pipe.

Li Cuihua, the old woman, stood to the side, her eyes red and swollen, clearly having just cried.

Four large plastic buckets were neatly stacked in the center of the yard, filled with countless sandworms.

Seeing Wu Sui enter the door, the old woman quickly walked over, raised her hand, and patted Wu Sui's chest twice.

"You little rascal, running off to the mangrove forest in the middle of the night, are you out of your mind?"

Li Cuihua's voice choked with sobs, and tears fell again.

Wu Sui stood still without flinching, letting his mother slap him.

"Mother, I'm perfectly fine." Wu Sui reached out and wiped away her mother's tears.

"I was a jerk before, but I'll definitely live a good life from now on and won't let you worry about me."

Wu Jianguo tapped his pipe and stood up.

He didn't speak, he just stared at Wu Sui.

The muscles on that wrinkled old face twitched slightly.

Wu Jianguo exhaled a long puff of smoke and waved his hand.

"Alright, stop crying. The second son is capable of doing serious work, which is better than anything else."

Wu Gang came out of the house, carrying two thick carrying poles in his hands.

"Ah Sui, let's hurry to the dock, or the purchasing station will try to lower the price."

He handed one of the carrying poles to Wu Suiyi, saying, "Even at 31 yuan per catty, these goods can be sold for a lot of money."

Wu Sui took the carrying pole: "Let's not go to the dock, let's go to town."

Wu Gang was stunned and scratched his head.

"Why go to town? It's too much trouble to take a bus there and back. The dock and purchasing station are right at the village entrance. You can just pick your things and get paid. It's so convenient."

Wu Sui shook his head: "Brother, don't flaunt your wealth."

He pointed to the four large barrels.

"With so many sandworms, how could the guys at the docks not be envious?"

"If those idle men in the village knew we dug up hundreds of kilograms of sandworms in one night, would our family ever have a peaceful life again?"

"Besides, the dockside purchasing station is just a middleman; they buy goods and then deliver them to the town and the city."

"We can sell directly to big restaurants in town and get a few more dollars per pound."

Wu Gang opened his mouth, wanting to refute.

As the main house door opened, Wang Feng poured a basin of dirty water into the yard.

"You stubborn fool, the second brother is right."

Wang Feng threw the basin on the ground and pointed at Wu Gang's nose.

"You spend all day carrying heavy loads at the docks, your brain must be full of mush!"

"What kind of good guys are those seafood dealers at the docks? They'll probably cheat you out of your honesty by using the scales."

Wang Feng walked up to Wu Sui.

"Second brother, this time we'll listen to you. You two go to town to sell them, and your sister-in-law will pay for the car rental."

Seeing that his wife had spoken, Wu Gang could only shrink back.

"Okay, I'll do as you say, let's go to town."

The two brothers carried the four large barrels to the dock, found a three-wheeled vehicle, and bumped their way straight to the town.

Upon arriving in town, Wu Sui directed the car to be parked in the back alley of Hongyunlou.

Wu Gang paid the fare, and the two of them, each carrying two buckets of sandworms, arrived at the back door of Hongyunlou Restaurant.

Wu Sui stepped forward and knocked on the door.

A short while later, the iron gate opened.

Manager Liu, wearing a white shirt and sporting a large pregnant belly, walked out.

Manager Liu's eyes lit up when he saw Wu Sui.

"Hey bro, got some butter crab again today?"

Wu Sui smiled and handed him a Hongtashan cigarette.

"Brother Liu, you can't have yellow crab every day. I got you some other good stuff today, see if you can eat it."

Manager Liu took the cigarette and lit it for Wu Sui. Following the direction Wu Sui pointed, he looked at the four large buckets on the ground.

After just one glance, Manager Liu's breathing became heavy.

He rolled up his sleeves, plunged his hands into the bucket, and scooped up a handful of sandworms.

The fleshy red sandworms wriggled vigorously in his hand, each one as thick as an adult's finger.

"Purely wild sandworms!"

Manager Liu shook the mud off his hands, turned to stare at Wu Sui, his face full of shock.

"Hey bro, which island did you go to?"

Wu Gang, listening nearby, swallowed hard and nervously rubbed his hands together.

"Brother Liu, just tell me if you want this stuff or not. If you can't finish it, I'll go to the recycling station."

"No, no, no!" Manager Liu grabbed Wu Sui's arm. "I want all of this stuff. Name your price."

Wu Sui exhaled a smoke ring and held up five fingers.

"Fifty."

Manager Liu's face stiffened, and he waved his hands repeatedly.

"Brother, your price is outrageous. Wild sandworms on the market cost at most thirty-five yuan a pound."

"Although this looks good, it costs fifty yuan. My restaurant also needs to calculate the cost."

Wu Sui chuckled, not afraid of people trying to lower the price.

"Brother Liu, let's be frank. You know better than I what kind of customers your Hongyun Restaurant serves."

"You could sell half a pound of these top-quality wild sandworms for a hundred yuan, right?"

Manager Liu, whose profit margin had been exposed, coughed twice to cover his embarrassment.

"That's not how you calculate it. Labor and utilities cost money... Here's the deal, brother, I'll give you a heads-up: forty. I'll cover all four buckets."

Without saying a word, Wu Sui turned around and beckoned to Wu Gang.

"Brother, let's carry the load and go to the purchasing station."

Although Wu Gang felt bad about the 40 yuan price tag, he still gritted his teeth and picked up the carrying pole.

"Hey hey hey... bro, why are you so hot-tempered!"

Manager Liu panicked and stepped directly in front of Wu Gang.

It is currently the fishing ban season, and high-end seafood is in short supply.

If this batch of top-quality sandworms falls into the hands of competitors, Hongyunlou's losses will be far more than just the money it earned.

"Forty-five, that's really the highest price!" Manager Liu shouted through gritted teeth.

Wu Sui stopped and turned to look at Manager Liu.

"Forty-eight. I'll leave if it's even a penny less."

"Brother Liu, you can do the math yourself to see how many repeat customers this batch of goods will bring you."

"If you feel you're losing out, I won't force you."

The two stared at each other for a few seconds.

Manager Liu slapped his thigh: "Alright! Forty-eight it is, brother. If you have any good stuff in the future, be sure to think of your old brother."