Chapter 3

Having come up with an idea, Weihang immediately took out a scale and a rope to tie the two lobsters. As expected, they weighed a total of three catties and nine taels. Weihang’s mother was silently calculating how much they were worth—over four hundred yuan, which was equivalent to her husband’s three days of hard labor outside. She was considering whether to immediately notify her husband to come back and sell the two lobsters for peace of mind. If they were kept for too long, who knew if they might die? That would be a significant loss.

At this moment, a fresh figure ran back. Even before the person arrived, their voice could be heard.

"Brother, I heard you caught two big lobsters. Where are they?"

"Can’t a girl be a bit more quiet?" Weihang’s mother immediately scolded.

This was Weihang’s younger sister, Weilan. She wasn’t particularly beautiful, but she was quite pretty, and was currently in her second year of high school. Her academic performance was decent, and she was likely to get into a university, though probably not a prestigious one.

Weilan stuck out her tongue and followed her brother’s finger to a large bucket, where she saw the two lobsters, full of life, fighting each other. Their bluish-green bodies were as big as wrists, over thirty centimeters long, and their antennae were swaying back and forth.

"Great, we can have lobster for dinner tonight," Weilan said happily.

Weihang’s lips twitched, thinking to himself: No wonder we’re siblings! Our thoughts are so in sync, but it looks like your hopes will be dashed, little girl.

Sure enough, as soon as the girl finished speaking, Weihang’s mother tapped her on the head.

"What are you talking about eating? Such big lobsters will definitely have tough meat. When your father comes back, he’ll take them to town to sell, and buy half a roasted duck on the way back." Weihang’s mother knew she had to reward and comfort them, or they might rebel.

The two siblings were speechless, thinking to themselves: Mom, that’s a terrible excuse, right? Who says the bigger the lobster, the tougher the meat? The bigger the lobster, the more expensive it is, right?

Weihang took a few photos of the lobsters and then went into his room. He needed to post the information to see if anyone needed them. Although it was a bit troublesome, he could earn an extra hundred or two.

Weilan, the girl, was still excitedly watching the two lobsters fight. She even found a stick to play with them. When Weihang’s mother saw this, she couldn’t help but scold her again.

As soon as the information and photos were posted in the group, someone quickly responded, asking about the situation. Soon, the people who had been lurking in the group all came out, expressing their amazement. A few interested classmates even started bidding, showing that they weren’t short of money. Weihang knew that many of his classmates came from well-off families, and some had even started their own companies after graduation.

"Fatso, you glutton, do you have to be so ruthless? You’re even competing with us for two lobsters?"

In the end, the two lobsters were auctioned off to a fatso in the class for a total of 850 yuan. Of course, this price wasn’t too high. The fatso also mentioned that farmed lobsters in the market cost around 200 yuan, while wild ones usually cost 500 to 600 yuan per catty, and in hotels, they could cost over a thousand.

Since they were all classmates, Weihang couldn’t be too picky. He got the fatso’s address and promised to send them via courier. Soon, the bank notification came, and his account had 900 yuan more. The fatso, seeing Weihang’s promptness, even paid for the courier fee.

Just as the transaction was completed, a few more voices appeared in the group, expressing regret upon learning the situation. They hoped Weihang would remember to keep some for the old classmates if he caught more good stuff in the future. Weihang naturally agreed, as he had the same idea of selling seafood online, especially high-end seafood.

Weihang was just about to go out when his phone rang. It was his dorm mate.

"Hey! What’s up, Second?"

"What’s up? I heard you caught two pretty big lobsters. Do you have any more? You should have some sea crabs too, right? Bring some over, and I’ll pay you the supermarket price," said Chen Jianliang, the second in the dorm.

"Is that all? I’ll go look for you tomorrow. Don’t talk about money," Weihang immediately agreed. In the past, he wouldn’t have dared to make such a promise, but now, with the pearl, anything in the sea was easy to get.

Chen Jianliang quickly stopped him: "No, no! I need a lot, and I can’t let your family work for free. Besides, this stuff isn’t cheap. If it was just for my own craving, I wouldn’t bother talking about money. My cousin is getting married soon, and I want to get some fresh lobsters and sea crabs. They can’t be too small, or it would be embarrassing."

Weihang was silent for a moment, understanding that Second was thinking of him. Everyone in the dorm knew he was currently unemployed, and they were always trying to help him. Otherwise, why would he go through the trouble of buying seafood from afar when he could easily get it locally? As far as he knew, Second lived in Shenzhen, an international metropolis where any high-end ingredients could be found.

"Thanks, Second!"

"Alright, no need to be so formal. Family first. I’ll need them in a couple of days, so try to get as many as you can today and tomorrow. If it’s not enough, I’ll look around the area," Chen Jianliang said.

He knew that although the third in the dorm, Weihang, was the poorest, he was the most stubborn and principled. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have run to the Marine Bureau to be a messenger just because he was introduced to a job.

After hanging up, he found his father had arrived, surely notified by his mother.

"Good job, son. I’ll go to town and get half a roasted duck for you and your sister," Weihang’s father said, feeling happy. He had just returned to the village and felt incredibly pleased to hear others’ envious remarks.

"Brother, let’s go to the sea again tomorrow," Weilan said.

Weihang nodded: "Of course, I’ll go. I’ve already..."

Before he could finish, his mother interrupted: "No, you have to go to the Zhang family tomorrow. You told me that before."

Weihang’s father and Weilan looked at him with puzzled expressions, wondering which Zhang family it was. After all, there were many Zhang families in the village. Hmm, there were a few with unmarried daughters.

Seeing his sister’s mischievous smile, Weihang glared at her and explained to his mother, somewhat weakly: "Meeting up to chat doesn’t take a whole day. I’ll go in the morning, and the rest of the time, I need to go to the sea. I’ve already promised my classmate to catch some lobsters and sea crabs. Also, I’ve already sold these two. I’ll go out to send them via courier."

Hearing this, the others were slightly stunned, especially Weihang’s parents, who looked shocked. They wondered how he had sold them while staying in his room. Right, courier? Could it be online shopping?

"Selling online? How much? Did you get paid?"

Three questions bombarded Weihang. They were all fishermen and hadn’t seen much of the outside world, so they found online shopping a bit unreliable.

"Yes, I sold them. These two cost 900 yuan. The money is already in my account," Weihang nodded.

Upon hearing this, the other three in the Weihang family, including Weilan, were dumbfounded, their faces full of shock.

"How much? 900? Already paid?"

Everyone, remember to follow and vote! Thanks to Mingyao, Laotiegan Jiangnan Yizhainü, Joycf, Nai Cha de Wawa, and Meiyoudengji de Ai for their donations, and to Shichanyuan~Zui Chen~ for their support.

[AD begins]

[AD ends]