Веfоrе the hоur of Wеi, Ziyu arrived at Shashi Villаge and sаw a lаrgе crоwd gathеred оutside the village, all еagerlу watсhing her from afar.
“Hahaha, I told yоu all the уoung mаster would аrrivе оn time, but уоu wоuldn’t beliеve me!”
Shui Wа burst intо hеаrty laughter upоn spotting thе fаmiliаr mule сart, his whole bоdy rеlахing аs a wеight lifted from his hеart.
Мost of thе villagers wоrе coаrsе linеn сlothes, patсhеd over and over, with their trоusеrs rolled up high аnd thеir feеt bаre.
Sоme сhildrеn’s clоthes were too short, leaving their arms and legs exposed.
Only one elderly man wore a blue cotton shirt that was about sixty percent new, with rare cloth shoes on his feet.
…
“Whoa~”
As soon as the mule cart came to a stop, the villagers eagerly crowded around, but the old man gently scolded them.
“What kind of behavior is this? Step back, all of you. Don’t startle the young master.”
Ziyu jumped down from the mule cart and clasped her hands in greeting to the crowd. “I apologize for disturbing everyone with my visit.”
“No disturbance at all, no disturbance at all!”
The villagers were momentarily flustered by Ziyu’s politeness and nervously turned their eyes to the old man.
“Young master, this is Ran, the village chief of Shashi Village.
Later, we’ll all bring our goods to the chief’s house to be weighed. How does that sound?” Shui Wa proactively explained to Ziyu.
Such a significant event as someone coming to the village to purchase goods couldn’t be kept from the village chief. Besides, Ran was the only elderly scholar in their village.
“Then I’ll trouble Village Chief Ran. The tide should be receding soon, right?
I’d like to see what can be gathered after the tide goes out.”
Ziyu turned and lifted Xiao Luo down from the mule cart. The coarse salt inside the cart vanished the moment her hand touched it.
The naive Ziluo had been repeatedly warned not to reveal their secret, or he would never see his brother again.
This warning was deeply etched in Ziluo’s mind, and he habitually closed his eyes whenever something disappeared.
…
The fair and adorable little boy appeared before the villagers, instantly capturing the hearts of the women.
His seemingly simple but brand-new fine cotton clothes were embroidered with simple bamboo leaves on the cuffs, and a wide-brimmed hat covered his small head.
He stood in stark contrast to the group of ragged, dark-skinned children in the village, who stared at Xiao Luo with eyes full of envy.
These simple-hearted children felt only admiration and shyness, with no trace of jealousy. Ziyu couldn’t help but nod in approval of the good nature of the Shashi Village people.
“Good, let’s all go seafood foraging together. I’ll join in the fun today as well.”
With a wave of Village Chief Ran’s hand, the entire village, young and old, set out together.
After the tide receded, the beach revealed wide mudflats, shallow pits, and rocks, with stranded fish, shrimp, and crabs struggling to retreat.
Sea urchins, sea cucumbers, octopuses, abalones, crabs, blue shrimp, lobsters, stone nine lord fish, sea bass, mantis shrimp, moray eels, scallops, and more.
The variety was so overwhelming that Ziyu’s eyes grew dizzy. There were even brightly colored celestial fish left in the shallow pits.
No one even glanced at the palm-sized oysters clinging to the reefs. The villagers focused mainly on collecting larger fish.
Only shrimp as long as half an arm and crabs as big as a sea bowl were picked up, while the dark, unappealing sea cucumbers and sea urchins were completely ignored.
Not competing with the villagers, Ziyu carried a large bucket, and she and Ziluo each held an iron clamp, happily trailing behind to collect the seafood the others didn’t want.
From time to time, Ziyu secretly smuggled seafood into her dimensional space, as excited as a mouse that had fallen into a rice jar.
The villagers rushing ahead paid no attention to the actions of the two, focused solely on gathering more fish to sell for money.
Even the elderly Ran refused to fall behind. After the group swept through, they left behind what they deemed useless scattered across the ground.
…
Shui Wa, the fastest and most successful forager, approached Ziyu with his family of eight, carrying their haul in their hands and on their backs.
“Young master, the things you picked aren’t very tasty. Come take a look at what my family gathered—I’m sure you’ll be satisfied.”
Shui Wa was extremely confident in his family’s haul. Just the abalone alone were black gold double-ended abalone, and the blue shrimp weighed over three catties each.
“Uncle Shui Wa, the seafood here is incredibly abundant. I’ll take all of these.
Also, the shells on the reefs—the ones as big as a palm—I’ll buy them all.”
Ziyu was practically drooling. Fresh and delicious seafood, even boiled plain, was an absolute delight.
Rich in protein, it was far more nutritious than chicken, duck, or pork.
Moreover, it was completely free from industrial pollution. Ziyu even felt like staying here and never leaving.
“Young master, are you sure you want to buy those shells too? Won’t you be at a loss?”
Shui Wa worried that the young master didn’t understand the trade and might end up scolded for bringing back useless items. If that happened, who would come to their village to buy goods again?
The entire village relied on selling dried goods throughout the year to supplement their household income.
The land near the coast was barren and yielded little, and the annual harvest wasn’t even enough to cover taxes.
Many villagers never tasted white rice in their entire lives, relying instead on seafood to stave off hunger—though it never truly filled their stomachs.
Now, at last, a kind-hearted young master had come, willing to buy their goods at market price. For the villagers, this was a dream come true.
No one dared to spread the word, fearing it might attract merchants from Shangdu Prefecture who could pose a threat to the young master.
…
“Don’t worry! My family loves seafood, and there are many of us. These things won’t even last two days,” Ziyu said without batting an eye.
Seeing the items brought by Shui Wa’s family, which could truly be called premium, her eyes sparkled with delight.
It was a pity that the two eras were so far apart; otherwise, she would have loved to jump on the livestreaming trend.
She’d show those seafood foraging video hosts what truly impressive catches looked like, instead of the gimmicky stuff they often presented.
“In that case, I’m relieved. I’ll have my sons take the family to gather more.”
Shui Wa rubbed his hands together, grinning from ear to ear. His two adult sons didn’t need instructions—they led their wives and children to a new foraging spot.
Whoever gathered first would earn more money, and before they set out, their father had promised that the earnings from this trip would go to their respective families.
“Uncle Shui Wa, to be honest, I’m not very familiar with the prices of these things.
Could you help me assess them? After buying your village’s dried goods, I’d also like to purchase some chickens, ducks, and eggs.”
Shui Wa nodded in understanding. The young master before him clearly didn’t look like a merchant—perhaps he was from a prominent family sent out for training.
No wonder he dared to come to the coast alone with a child to buy goods. An ordinary family would never have such courage.
It could only be said that Ziyu had stumbled upon this place by chance, relying on her skills and boldness while remaining unaware of certain trade customs.
Shui Wa, helping with the assessment, naturally sold his family’s goods first. He introduced the prices to Ziyu one by one.
Large blue shrimp: twenty wen each. Black gold double-ended abalone: fifty wen each. Extra-large blue flower crabs: twenty wen each. Three-cattie red stone nine lord fish: one qian of silver…
Ziyu, who had been keeping count with iron clamps on the sand, nearly had a heart attack at the cheap price, choking on her own saliva and coughing uncontrollably.
“Young master, this price is already the lowest I can offer. If it’s not suitable, we can still negotiate,” Shui Wa said nervously.