Chapter 10

The next day, the village was still bustling with activity, with families mobilizing. Many people usually had odd jobs outside, but today they didn't go out. They weren't fools; just a bit of good luck in the sea could be better than working outside for a month.

The Wei family, the old village chief's family, and the Zhang Xueru family were also very busy. Tang Dafu and his two brothers came to the Wei family early in the morning with Zhang Xueru and her mother. They still served the garlic-flavored steamed scallops from last night, which were still fresh.

Tang Dafu and his two brothers were a bit envious when they learned about the cooperation plan between the Wei family and the Zhang family. It was a long-term money-making project! Unfortunately, their own family didn't have a girl of a similar age. Now, they were even more hopeful that Wei Hang could find a long-term and stable order.

After breakfast, everyone divided the tasks according to the original plan. Tang Dafu and Tang Dagui went to other villages to purchase, while Wei Lixin and Tang Dacai stayed in the village. Zhang Xueru's mother and Wei Hang's mother were responsible for purchasing scallops, with Wei Lan and Zhang Xueru assisting. Wei Hang had his own tasks, and everyone thought he was contacting the buyer, so they didn't assign him any specific work and let him act on his own.

"Are you going to town at noon?" Wei's father didn't know what this guy was up to.

Wei Hang nodded: "Yes! I ordered some things online yesterday, and they will be delivered at noon, but only to the town street."

Those diving tools were expedited items. For this, Wei Hang paid extra for shipping and repeatedly reminded the seller.

Hearing this, no one asked what he had bought, knowing that online shopping was a common thing for young people. After all, didn't Wei Hang get such a good order online? They marveled at how advanced technology was now, allowing them to buy things without leaving home.

In the morning, Wei Hang prepared to help his mother and others with the purchasing. Lifting and carrying tasks were more suitable for him. He also noticed that since he had fused with the mysterious sea pearl, his strength had increased significantly, and he could easily handle a hundred or two hundred pounds.

The purchasing location was naturally at the Wei family's house. Before Tang Dafu and the others left, someone brought the scallops they had collected the night before.

"Aunt Wu, you had a good harvest!" Wei Hang lifted the bucket, estimating it to be about thirty pounds.

He flipped through the scallops in the bucket and found many of them were the valuable Hua Gui Zhi Kong scallops. These scallops are more common in the South China Sea and are among the most expensive. Wei Hang had learned this information last night. In the cities, these scallops sell for about thirty yuan per pound. Of course, seafood prices vary in different cities and can fluctuate significantly.

The Hua Gui Zhi Kong scallops are easy to identify. Their shells are large and nearly round. The left shell is more convex, while the right shell is flatter. The two ears are unequal, with the front ear being larger and the back ear smaller. The most distinctive feature is the color of the shell surface, which can vary, appearing in light purple-brown, light red, yellow-brown, or date-red patterns.

The village woman was very happy. She had weighed the scallops at home, and they were thirty-six pounds, worth about 180 yuan. It wasn't that she didn't trust Wei Hang, but she was eager to know how much she could earn. She smiled: "I have more children, so I picked a bit more than others."

"Aunt Wu, the quality of your scallops is good. I can raise the price by one yuan per pound. Or, I can pick out these scallops and sell them separately, giving you ten yuan per pound." Wei Hang didn't want to take advantage of his fellow villagers.

The villagers also knew that this type of scallop was indeed more expensive and could sell for five yuan per pound in town. Since Wei Hang was buying them all at five yuan per pound, they didn't bother to pick them out. It would be a waste of effort to pick them out and take them to town for the same price.

Hearing Wei Hang's suggestion, the village woman was even more excited. She nodded quickly: "Okay, let's go with six yuan per pound! No need to make it so complicated."

Although she hadn't been educated, she could do simple arithmetic. Her valuable scallops were only about three to four pounds. If she picked them out, the price per pound would be higher, but the total would be a few yuan less. Those few yuan could be used to reward the children at home. Only with proper rewards would the children be motivated to help.

Wei Hang's mother and the others didn't blame him for making the decision on his own. They knew that although he was good to the villagers, he wouldn't do a losing business.

Wei Hang weighed the scallops and even took out a calculator to show the total. It wasn't that his mental arithmetic was poor, but he wanted to reassure the villagers. After all, for them, the machine was more accurate and wouldn't make mistakes.

"Here, 220 yuan!" Wei Hang didn't bother with the few yuan and gave her a round number.

"Oh, thank you, Xiao Hang! My sister-in-law won't have to worry about her life anymore." The village woman's last words were directed at Wei's mother. Since he had given her a few extra yuan and treated her well, it was only right to say a few flattering words.

With the money in hand, the village woman hurriedly left, not staying a moment longer. Earning money was the priority now. Last night, she had earned over 200 yuan, which was something she had never imagined before.

Immediately, Wei's mother began sorting the fresh scallops according to Wei Hang's method, then processing them and making dried scallops.

This was Wei Hang's first time doing it, but he had watched the process online and demonstrated it for everyone.

He held a scallop in his left hand with the right shell facing up, then used his right hand to insert a knife through the foot hole between the two shells, cutting the adductor muscle connected to the right shell. The shell would then open, and he removed the left shell. He then flipped the scallop to expose the flesh, removed the mantle and internal organs, and finally cut the adductor muscle from the left shell.

After removing the adductor muscle, he washed it with seawater and placed it in boiling seawater. The seawater was brought back by Wei's father early in the morning. Once the water boiled again, he took it out, removed the foot muscle and impurities, washed it again in seawater, and placed it on a rack to dry.

Once dried, it became the dried scallops sold in the market, a simple process. But after this treatment, the price of the scallops would skyrocket.

"It's not hard! Just dried scallops." Wei's mother and the others were surprised. Some people in the village had done this before but didn't realize it was dried scallops. At first, when they heard that the price was seventy to eighty yuan per pound, they never thought it was these things, assuming some spices or other treatments were needed.

"Exactly! Just dried scallops, as the name suggests, dried scallops!" Wei Hang nodded and smiled.

Many things in the world are like this. Before you understand them, they seem mysterious. But once you see them, you realize they are just common things around you, making you laugh and cry at the same time!

"Alright, we two will do it. You three will be responsible for purchasing outside!" Aunt Xu said. This work was much easier than making tofu, just a bit of skill.

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