1990, Reborn as a Beachcomber, From Rascal to Brilliant Guy

"Ah Shui, here you go. See if this is enough. If not, I'll ask around after we finish eating."

After a while, Lin Shuixian still hadn't returned, but the two brothers, Lin Chaosheng and Lin Haisheng, came back first. As soon as they entered the door, they threw two snakeskin bags in front of Lin Shuixian.

"What is this?"

Lin Shuisheng raised an eyebrow and reached out to open the snakeskin bag with some doubt.

Inside the burlap sack were dried seafood, a staple in every household in the area.

Examples of common dried squid, dried cuttlefish, dried octopus, dried mackerel, dried shad, dried anchovies, dried shrimp, dried mantis shrimp, dried oysters, dried mussels, dried scallops, dried clam meat, laver, kelp, and seaweed.

Other less common species include red-eyed silver carp, eel, bream, and dried white pomfret.

There was also some salted fish and a jar of squid paste, which were a perfect match for sweet potato porridge.

It can be said that, apart from relatively rare and precious dried abalone, dried sea cucumber, and fish maw, these items basically cover all the dried seafood products in their fishermen's homes.

Even if one were willing to spend the money, it would take more than one or two fishermen to gather all these varieties.

It's easy to imagine that Lin Chaosheng and Lin Haisheng must have run all over most of the village under the scorching sun.

"Big brother, second brother, thank you."

"Hey, hey, don't thank me yet. These things cost my brother and me a total of 126 yuan. You should pay me first."

Lin Chaosheng glared and stretched out his hand in front of Lin Shuisheng.

Lin Shuisheng looked at the hand, his eyes twitched slightly, then he stood up speechlessly, took out all his money from his pocket, and carefully calculated it.

After paying back the money last night, he had less than 500 yuan left.

He first gave Li Chanjuan 50 yuan for supplies, then spent another 130 yuan this morning on a basket of coconut snails, and then gave someone a red envelope at the county dock. He also just gave Lin Shuixian 20 yuan, leaving him with exactly 280 yuan.

He quickly counted out 126 yuan and handed it to Lin Chaosheng. Then, looking at the remaining 154 yuan in his hand, he frowned slightly.

With so little money, I feel completely insecure!

It seems we still need to go to the city as soon as possible and find someone to sell that poor-quality Melo pearl.

"Third brother, third brother, I've brought back the beer and soda!"

Just then, a burst of cheers and shouts suddenly came from outside the door.

Turning around, I saw Lin Shuixian carrying a large styrofoam box, sweating profusely as she walked back, followed by her little tagalong, Lin Mingtao, who stared intently at the styrofoam box and kept swallowing.

Lin Shuisheng chuckled inwardly and teased, "So you brought the person and the goods back together?"

"Of course! I'm so clever! This way, I don't have to worry about the soda getting hot and not tasting good when I bring it back, and I can even use it to freeze watermelon!"

Lin Shuixian raised her chin and smiled smugly.

"Alright, little brother, you knew your brothers were going to do something for you, so you prepared beer and soda in advance. It shows we didn't spoil you for nothing."

Lin Chaosheng reached out and patted Lin Shuisheng on the shoulder, nodding with a satisfied expression.

"Exactly! To get all that dried goods for you, we practically ran all over the village. Our throats are practically burning from the heat. It's not too much to ask for a few beers now, is it?"

Lin Haisheng stared at the styrofoam box, his throat tightening slightly.

"Stop talking nonsense, just help yourself if you want a drink!"

Lin Shuisheng glanced at his eldest and second eldest brothers and waved his hand somewhat irritably.

Upon hearing his words, Lin Chaosheng and Lin Haisheng rushed towards the styrofoam box that Lin Shuixian was holding without saying a word, which startled Lin Shuixian so much that she quickly put the styrofoam box down.

Soon, they each grabbed a bottle of chilled beer, bit off the cap with their teeth, took a big gulp, and immediately showed a look of great enjoyment on their faces.

Seeing this, Lin Shuixian and her nephew Lin Mingtao were not to be outdone. They each picked up a bottle of orange-flavored soda and drank it with great relish.

"Here, Grandma, have a bottle of soda to cool off!"

Lin Shuisheng took a bottle of soda, pried open the cap using the corner of the wall by the courtyard, and handed it to Huang Suzhen.

As for his sister-in-law, Su Meilan, she is currently pregnant and shouldn't drink anything cold, so he didn't take any.

"You drink it, you drink it, I don't like this!"

The old lady reached out and pushed the soda back to Lin Shuisheng.

"If you're not going to drink it, I can just pour it out!"

Lin Shuisheng stood up and pretended to go to the courtyard to pour out the soda.

"Hey, why are you so disobedient? Why did you take it and throw it away?"

Upon seeing this, the old lady hurriedly reached out and grabbed Lin Shuisheng, her face full of reproach.

"Then you should drink it!"

Lin Shuisheng shoved the soda into the old lady's hand, as if there was no room for negotiation.

"Okay, okay, I'll drink it, alright?"

The old lady gripped the cold bottle and glared at Lin Shuisheng with a hint of annoyance.

When she brought the bottle to her lips and took a small sip, it was obvious that her eyes immediately relaxed and a look of contentment appeared on her face.

"How is it? Delicious, right?"

Lin Shuisheng raised the corners of his mouth and chuckled as he teased.

"It's alright, it's sweet, but the price is too high."

The old lady nodded, looking at the soda in her hand, a hint of heartache flashing in her eyes.

"It's alright, it's not like we drink this every day. We can afford to buy it for your grandson every now and then."

Lin Shuisheng felt a surge of joy and gently patted the old lady's hand to comfort her.

"Ha! I guess I'm enjoying the blessings of having grandchildren!"

Upon hearing Lin Shuisheng's words, the old lady couldn't help but grin.

"Dad, can I have some soda?"

At this moment, Lin Chunjiao also ran over from the hall, looking at Lin Shuisheng with longing eyes.

"Sure!"

Lin Shuisheng was slightly taken aback, then quickly nodded, looking at his eldest son with a hint of heartache.

If it were someone else's child, like Lin Mingtao, they wouldn't be asking if they could have a soda; they would have already grabbed one themselves.

"Um!"

Lin Chunjiao's eyes lit up when she heard her father's words, and she ran over to the styrofoam box and grabbed a bottle of soda.

"Dad, can you help me open this?"

Upon hearing this, Lin Shuisheng didn't say anything, but quickly reached out and took the soda, opening the bottle cap with his teeth.

"Dad, you're amazing!"

Lin Chunjiao took the soda and looked at her father with admiration.

"Alright, take your time drinking!"

Lin Shuisheng felt a surge of joy. He reached out and patted his son's head, then took three bottles of soda from the styrofoam box, opened them by the courtyard, and delivered them to his mother-in-law, his own mother, and his second sister-in-law.

Lin Yaoguang glanced at the sodas in Chen Xiurong and Li Chanjuan's hands, then at Lin Shuisheng's empty hands, and his expression turned somewhat unpleasant.

What's wrong?

They all have it, but he doesn't, right?