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

Old Man Li returned home dejectedly.

Pushing open the courtyard gate, it was quiet; there was none of the usual noise from my grandson running around in the yard.

"Daqiang's wife? Is dinner ready?" Old Man Li called out.

No one agreed.

He walked into the main room and was immediately dumbfounded.

The house was ransacked, several closets were wide open, and all the clothes inside were gone.

There was a note on the table with a few words written on it.

He rushed into the inner room, only to find that even his grandson's usual toys were gone.

The daughter-in-law ran away.

The rumors and gossip not only crushed Old Man Li, but also crushed this woman who already lacked assertiveness.

These past few days, wherever she goes, people point and whisper about her.

Even the village's teenagers threw stones at her yard and called her son a "little thief."

She couldn't take it anymore, and she was even more afraid that her child would be branded as a "ship thief" and never be able to hold his head up in the village for the rest of his life.

While Old Man Li was shouting and cursing at the Wu family's door, she quickly packed up all the valuables in the house, took the child, and went back to her parents' home.

This already dilapidated courtyard is now completely empty.

Old Man Li slumped to the ground, staring at the empty house. The taut string in his mind snapped with a "snap".

The next morning, the villagers noticed that Old Man Li had changed.

He stopped shouting and cursing at the Wu family's door and stopped avoiding people.

His clothes were covered in mud, and he wandered around the village barefoot.

He would grin foolishly and approach anyone he saw, grabbing their arm in one go.

Have you seen my Daqiang?

"Daqiang isn't dead. He went to the city to make a lot of money and will be back in a big car soon to pick me up and let me enjoy life."

The villager who was caught was so frightened that he pushed him away and walked away cursing.

Old Man Li wasn't annoyed and continued to smile foolishly as he looked for the next person.

"Daqiang went to make big money...hehe..."

Seeing his miserable state, some villagers sighed, some shook their heads, but no one dared to step forward to sympathize with him.

At times like these, anyone who gets involved with the Li family is bound to suffer.

Chen Changgui looked at the old man Li who was walking by insanely and spat out a disgusted spit.

"That old man really knows how to cause trouble."

His mind is now preoccupied with how to preserve his "advanced village in typhoon resistance" record.

There's a madman wandering around the village every day. If someone from higher up comes to inspect and sees him like this, where will the village chief put his face?

Chen Changgui found the phone number of Old Man Li's youngest son and dialed it directly.

On the other end of the phone, the youngest son, Li Xiaoqiang, remained silent for a long time after hearing the village chief's words.

He had already heard about his family's situation from Old Man Li, but he felt ashamed and didn't want to get involved.

"If you don't take your father away, I'll have the police contact you. You'll be the one who loses face. Get him out of here and stop being an eyesore in the village."

That evening, Old Man Li was taken away.

They didn't even say goodbye to the villagers from beginning to end; they ran away as if their lives depended on it.

The Li family is now completely empty-handed.

Li Daqiang is dead, and they can't even retrieve his body.

The daughter-in-law ran away with her grandson.

The old man went mad and was taken away by his youngest son.

The family ended up broken up and separated.

The villagers all said it was retribution.

Wu Sui was squatting in the yard, deciding what to eat today.

Wu Gang returned from the dock, carrying two net bags of clams, his face full of emotion.

"Ah Sui, the Li family is completely finished."

"I heard from the villagers that his youngest son took him away, and he probably won't be coming back."

"You reap what you sow." Wu Sui didn't even raise his head. "Big brother, we just need to mind our own business. Other people's messes are none of our concern."

Just then, Wu Sui's cell phone suddenly rang.

He wiped his hands, took out his phone, and saw that it was the shipyard manager calling.

"Hello, is my boat all refurbished?" Wu Sui answered the phone, unable to contain his excitement.

"Boss Wu, the boat is all refurbished. When are you free to come and take it away?"

This is really good news; the typhoon has passed, and the boat is safe again.

Once the wind at sea subsides, they will be able to go out to sea again.

After hanging up the phone, Wu Sui picked up Ya Ya.

"Come on, honey, let's wash our hands and eat."

At lunchtime, the family sat together around the table.

Sister-in-law Wang Feng brought over a steaming bowl of mixed fish and cornbread.

Chen Xue cooked the clams and Shi Jiugong that her older brother brought back into a soup, and added a pot of steamed snails and shellfish, which was quite a feast.

"Sister-in-law, the shipyard called. The ship has been refurbished."

"Once the sea calms down a bit, we'll have to start working on both boats at the same time."

"You and your older brother should hurry back to your parents' home this afternoon and finalize the appointment with the person you're looking for."

Wang Feng's eyes lit up when she heard this.

"Wow, it's done so quickly?"

"Okay, your older brother and I will go this afternoon."

"My nephew from my maternal family is a very capable worker, but he just didn't have a good boss before."

She had already called to confirm the candidate, and was just waiting for Wu Sui to speak.

Wu Gang stood beside him, grinning sheepishly.

"Make sure you tell them not to slack off or try to cheat. The treatment Ah Sui gives you is unparalleled in the surrounding area."

Wang Feng rolled her eyes at him, annoyed: "Do you even need to tell me that?"

Wu Jianguo put down his chopsticks, picked up his wine glass, and took a sip.

"Second brother, I've been looking around the village these past few days and found two people for you."

Wu Sui quickly put down his chopsticks and poured his father a full glass of wine: "Dad, who did you call?"

"One of them is your Uncle Chen's son next door, Chen Yongqiang."

"Old Chen's little wooden boat can handle all the work by himself in the near sea. It's a waste of Yongqiang's talents to stay cooped up on the small boat all day."

Wu Sui nodded. He remembered Chen Yongqiang; he was a reliable worker, a good swimmer, and a man of few words.

"What about the other one?"

"The other one is you, Wu Lei."

Wu Jianguo picked up his wine glass again, somewhat wistfully.

"Ah Lei used to work on ocean-going fishing boats. He has a fishing license, and most importantly, he knows how to repair ships. He can fix any of the machines on ocean-going vessels that break down."

"But his wife is making a huge fuss, complaining that he disappears for half a year at a time when he goes out to sea, and she absolutely refuses to let him go."

"I have three children to support, so I've been doing odd jobs in town for the past few years."

"The family is living a..."

He shook his head as he spoke, then picked up his glass and downed it in one gulp.

Li Cuihua watched Ya Ya and Xiao Hu eat from the side and also started to speak.

"Sigh, Ah Lei and his wife didn't have it easy either. In order to have a son, they had to run around to avoid the one-child policy in previous years."

"Now that we've had a son, we're struggling to make ends meet. We have two daughters who are so thin they could be blown away by the wind."

Wu Sui nodded; he probably knew about Wu Lei's situation as well.

In their past life, the couple fought like guerrillas in their quest for a son.

It is said that the family's youngest son was born at sea.

If this were to happen in later generations, it would be unimaginable.

It's a miracle that both mother and child are safe and sound.

However, he couldn't say much about other people's affairs.

Someone who knows how to repair boats and has a boat license is a rare find.

"Dad, you have a really good eye." Wu Sui gave a thumbs up. "If Brother Lei can come, our new ship will finally have a backbone."

Wu Jianguo exhaled a smoke ring.

"He's a good man, but he's hard to get past his wife. Go there this afternoon, bring some gifts, and talk to her nicely."