As evening fell, Li Suisui realized that her whole family hadn’t eaten yet. She lit a small stove in the courtyard with Li Nian Nian and used the leftover fish soup from lunch to cook a pot of corn porridge. She also prepared a simple side dish of dandelion leaves.
The dandelions had been picked from the courtyard, and “preparing” them only meant sprinkling a bit of salt.
Speaking of salt, Li Suisui couldn’t help but complain. It wasn’t just gritty with sand; it also had a bitter, unpleasant taste—obviously unrefined.
When she asked Wang Xiulian, she learned that all the salt had been sun-dried from seawater by the family themselves, without any refining. Naturally—they didn’t know how.
But Li Suisui did!
Suddenly, an idea sparked in her mind: she could refine the salt and sell it.
However, reality immediately dashed her entrepreneurial hopes.
Wang Xiulian told her that ordinary commoners weren’t allowed to sell salt—only those authorized by the government could. If an ordinary person were caught, the punishment would be severe.
And just like that, her newly imagined business plan was crushed.
Well, if she couldn’t sell it, she could at least refine it for their own use. As for the business opportunity, she could think about it later. With the sea as her endless treasure trove, she wasn’t going to starve.
After dinner, Lin Guiying came to their house under the cover of darkness. She brought a basket of eggs and secretly slipped 200 copper coins to her father.
Since they had tidied up both rooms today, Li Suisui decided not to do the usual thing of the whole family crowding into one room.
She let Wang Xiulian and Li Erzhu sleep in one room, while she took Li Nian Nian to sleep in the other.
Whether it was the unfamiliar bed or worries on her mind, lying on the straw mattress, she couldn’t fall asleep. She tossed and turned until past midnight before finally drifting off.
Though she slept late, she woke up early the next day, even before dawn. Today she had a task: she was going to the shore to gather seafood.
Her rustling woke Wang Xiulian in the other room.
As Li Suisui stepped out, Wang Xiulian called to her.
“Suisui, why are you up so early?”
“Mother, I want to go to the shore to gather seafood.”
Having decided to integrate into this family, Li Suisui was determined to work hard, to live her life with her own two feet firmly on the ground.
“Wait, I’ll go with you.”
Wang Xiulian didn’t look well today, so Li Suisui didn’t want her to come along.
“Mother, you don’t look well either. You should stay home and rest. Your health is more important.”
“But I don’t feel at ease if you go alone.”
“There are plenty of people on the tidal flats—I won’t get into trouble. Besides, I’m not going to the dangerous spots.”
The children of the poor mature quickly, and Wang Xiulian heard Li Suisui’s reasoning. She didn’t object, especially since she was feeling slightly unwell herself, with a dull ache in her stomach.
Shigang Village was close to the sea—about half an hour’s walk.
By the time Li Suisui arrived, there were already many people scattered along the shore, all digging in the mud, searching for seafood. Some were locals; others had come from nearby villages.
Li Suisui’s eyes were drawn to the vast sea, and she stepped forward slowly, captivated.
Having been sick for the past three days, she hadn’t had a proper look at the sea. Now, seeing it clearly, she couldn’t help but marvel at its beauty.
The sky was just lightening, and the sun’s first rays shimmered across the waves, glinting like liquid gold.
It was stunning—truly breathtaking.
Li Dazhu was also out gathering seafood today, and the moment he looked up, he saw Li Suisui standing there, lost in thought.
He walked over. “Suisui, why are you just standing there? Get to work gathering seafood!”
Li Suisui panicked for a moment. “Hehe, Uncle, I’m going now!”
Li Dazhu sighed and poured his half-bucket of small fish and snails into the wooden bucket Li Suisui was holding.
“Uncle, no, I can do it myself…”
“This is for you. Take it. Be careful on the shore. I’ll go over there—call me if anything happens.”
“Okay, I understand.”
Looking at the seafood in the bucket, Li Suisui blushed slightly.
“Come on, Li Suisui, you can’t rely on charity. Labor is honorable, and happiness must be earned with your own hands.”
She bent over and began searching the tidal flats like the others.
But after a long while, her back ached, and she hadn’t found anything.
Then a passing woman reminded her that this area had already been searched. She should try elsewhere.
Li Suisui looked around. Everywhere was crowded—where could she go?
The distant sea… there were plenty of fish there. If only she could go into the water to catch them!
They say people who travel to another world always have a “golden touch,” but why didn’t she have one?
“God, give me one, please! Let me enjoy the perks of being a traveler!” she thought.
No sooner had she thought this than a strange sight appeared.
About two hundred meters away on the shore, a three-jin (about 1.5 kg) grouper had been stranded, flapping wildly.
Li Suisui thought she must be seeing things. She rubbed her eyes hard. When she looked again, the scene was the same.
Curiosity and excitement washed over her, and she ran toward the grouper.
“There really is a grouper! Quick, grab it!”
She hurriedly placed the fish into her wooden bucket, finally feeling at ease.
A wave of joy surged through her.
Her eyesight was amazing! In the dim morning light, she could clearly see something two hundred meters away.
Could this be the legendary “golden touch”?
She tried scanning the area again—but saw nothing.
Disappointed, she thought perhaps it was just a fluke.
Oh well—she was just an ordinary person. How could she possibly have extraordinary abilities?
Watching the grouper in the bucket, bubbles rising from its mouth, her mood lifted. According to the memories of the original owner, this fish could sell for 20–30 copper coins per jin. This one weighed three jin, so it could fetch 80–90 coins.
Currently, grain prices ranged from 3 to 20 coins, and their family usually ate the cheapest cornmeal, brown rice, or wheat bran.
Though 80–90 coins wasn’t a fortune, it could still buy a decent amount of food. Today’s trip had been worthwhile.
In a flash, she cheered again, hiding the grouper among the small fish and snails Li Dazhu had given her, then happily headed home.