But there are so many people; not only do you have to compete for them, but whether you can find good goods depends entirely on luck.
At the hour of the Ox, hearing the sound of the sea waves receding further away, Jiang Tang got up and hurried into the room, "A Yi, get up quickly, let's go to the seaside."
"Elder Sister, what time is it?"
Jiang Yi rubbed his sleepy eyes, not yet fully awake.
He had been exhausted these past few days, and with two patients at home, he hadn't dared to sleep soundly.
At this moment, he felt like he had only just laid down, and he closed his eyes again, feeling dazed.
"The hour of the Ox."
"Ah? Did something happen to Grandma?"
Jiang Yi woke up suddenly, thinking that if Elder Sister called him so early, it must be because Grandma's condition had worsened.
He didn't even bother to put on his shoes and ran barefoot to the next room.
"Grandma... Grandma, how are you?"
Before he even entered the room, his anxious voice reached inside.
"Grandma is fine."
Madam Feng's reply came from the darkness.
She couldn't sleep either, and she had heard the conversation next door clearly.
"Why did Elder Sister call me to get up?"
Jiang Yi touched his head, only then realizing he had been reckless.
"I meant that the tide has receded, and if we go Sea Gathering now, there should be quite a lot of good goods."
"But it's still dark, and we can't see the seafood, can we?"
Jiang Yi, like the other Villagers, was used to going out for Sea Gathering only after daybreak.
"If we wait until daybreak, there will be too many people to compete with, and the tide will rise before long. If we go now, we can return by daybreak.
By the time others go to pick them, we can take them to the Town to sell. The Restaurant will need goods then, and we won't be too late; once the Restaurant has collected enough, they won't take any more."
Jiang Tang's words made sense, and Jiang Yi felt it was feasible, though it was indeed difficult to see the seafood at night.
"Grandma, you rest well at home, A Yi and I will be back by daybreak."
"Alright, be careful. If you really cannot see, come back and wait until daybreak to go out," Madam Feng urged.
She felt guilty in her heart; it was all because she was useless and had implicated the children, leaving them to worry about their livelihood.
"Elder Sister, what are you doing?"
"Making torches. I hope they work and won't be extinguished by the sea breeze."
Jiang Tang tore up some old clothes into strips, wrapped them around two wooden sticks, poured a little lamp oil onto the strips, and lit them.
Seeing this made Jiang Yi's heart ache, and he quickly turned away.
When they were kicked out, he had only brought this Oil Lamp, and there was only this little bit of lamp oil left in the Lamp; he hadn't even been willing to use it.
Heartache was heartache, but he did not stop her.
The two of them each held a torch, brought the two Small knives used for Sea Gathering, carried two baskets on their backs, and each carried a Wooden bucket, stepping into the moonlight toward the Tidal Flats.
Perhaps Heaven pitied this pair of suffering siblings, as the sea breeze gradually weakened, like a light breeze teasing the flames to dance, yet it could not blow them out.
The tide quietly receded along the coastline, and the moist, bright sand grains revealed a crescent-like arc.
The waves retreated in layers, gradually revealing the Reef piles hidden under the water.
The dark green rock blocks had distinct edges, covered with wet moss and fine Shell fragments; some looked like crouching tigers, others like slanting sword peaks, glowing with a cold, moist light under the moonlight.
The Tidal Flats were soaked with water puddles of varying depths, reflecting the mottled shadows of the Reefs.
The sea breeze swept past with a salty, fishy scent, and the seawater that hadn't fully receded dripped between the rock crevices, shattering the tranquility of the night.
"Let's go, let's take a look on the Reef," Jiang Tang took the lead, the light of the torch casting a long shadow behind her.
Jiang Yi was brought back to his senses by Jiang Tang's voice; this was his first time seeing the tide recede so far.
Seeing Elder Sister walking away, he quickly chased after her.
At this moment, he was full of energy, and his sleepiness had long since receded with the tide.
As soon as Jiang Tang climbed onto the Reef, she saw a dense patch of wild barnacles.
She had seen them in modern times; although they had little meat, they were very expensive.
The flames danced happily with the sea breeze, as if cheering for the early risers.
She immediately squatted down and pried them up with her Small knife, with quite a lot of Oysters and Green mussels clustered nearby.
"Elder Sister, why are you prying these little things? There's too little meat, no one is willing to spend money to buy them."
Jiang Yi caught up and saw her burying her head in prying these little things.
"Such good things, and no one wants them?"
Jiang Tang didn't care whether others wanted them or not; since she had encountered them, she had to dig some up to take back and eat herself.
She had spent so much money buying them in her previous life and still hadn't had enough!
Jiang Yi didn't ask any more questions and turned to pry the Oysters nearby.
The Oysters were thick with meat, and the wealthy masters and Young Masters in Town loved to eat them; he had to pry more so he could exchange them for money to get medicine for Grandma.
Perhaps because this Reef was rarely visited, whether it was Green mussels, Oysters, or the wild barnacles despised by the Villagers, they all grew large and dense, covering the rock walls.
Jiang Tang had pried half a basket of barnacles and, seeing Jiang Yi busy with activity over there with his basket piled high with Oysters, she thought she would go down to the Tidal Flats to take a look.
"A Yi, you continue prying here, I'm going to the beach below to see if there are any other seafood," she urged, "If you hear the sound of the tide rising, come down immediately, do you understand?"
"Understood." Jiang Yi didn't even lift his head, his Small knife making a "click" sound as he pried off another palm-sized Oyster; the meat inside the shell was plump and tender, making him feel wonderful.
Jiang Tang saw him only focused on prying Oysters and knew he might not remember about the tide.
Forget it, when the tide rises later, I'll just come over and call him myself!
Jiang Tang climbed down the Reef and discovered a pair of King crabs in love hidden under a rock crevice.
The two crabs hooked their left claws with their right claws, as if whispering to each other, looking very affectionate.
What was even more strange was that the female crab's right claw was wearing something that sparkled like a ruby, glowing with a moist light under the moonlight.
"Oh my goodness! You two really know how to be romantic! Taking advantage of the dark night to come here for a date; why is a female crab wearing a ring? If you want to show off your affection, just show it off in my bucket, I don't mind."
She hadn't been in a relationship in her previous life, but she had eaten plenty of dog food sprinkled by her colleagues.
"This ring looks really rare, it shouldn't be too much to borrow it to take a look, right?"
She was reaching out to grab the female crab, and just as her finger touched the crab shell, the male crab beside it suddenly raised its large claw and "snap," it clamped onto her finger!
"Hiss—"
Jiang Tang gasped in pain, and Blood instantly welled up from her fingertips, a drop of Blood Bead falling exactly onto the female crab's ruby ring.
Jiang Tang was only focused on the pain in her finger and didn't notice that her Blood Bead had fallen onto the gemstone ring and instantly disappeared.
Next, a faint red light flashed from the ring, and an inexplicable Suction Force suddenly pulled at her. Jiang Tang subconsciously wanted to grab something nearby, but in her flustered state, she only grabbed the Wooden bucket beside her.
The next second, she and the bucket were dragged by that force, causing her to stagger, and everything in front of her went black.
When she opened her eyes again, Jiang Tang found herself in a strange Space.
Only a one-square-meter area in front of her was clearly visible, like a narrow passageway.
The surroundings were shrouded in thick Black mist, and she couldn't even see her own fingers.
The two King crabs were still tightly clamping her finger, and the male crab's left claw was still tightly pulling the female crab's right claw, looking as if they were determined not to separate.
Jiang Tang, however, seemed unable to feel the pain, as all her attention was captured by this eerie Space.
Where had this brought her?
"How do I get out? Open Sesame? Jade finger point the way? Great Sage, open the door quickly! Jade Emperor, please let me out..."
Jiang Tang recited all the spells she could think of, and even performed the cultivation hand gestures she had seen in TV dramas, but the Black mist in front of her remained motionless.
✦✦✦