Chapter Six: Gathering Shellfish at Low Tide with Xiaoman

Coming back to his senses, Du Yu suppressed the excitement in his heart and called over Wang Xiaowei.

Wang Xiaowei, who had never seen a crab of such size, couldn’t help but shout out in astonishment:

“What a huge green crab! Brother Yu, you’re amazing! I’ve never seen a crab this big in my life!”

Du Yu grinned and said, “You’ll get to see it every day from now on. Just get used to it.”

With that, Du Yu gently tossed the plump green crab into the bucket he had brought along.

“Host detected catching a green crab. Luck value +10.”

“Host detected catching a green crab. Luck value +10.”

…

One crab after another was stuffed into the bucket. Du Yu grew more and more enthusiastic with each catch, a surge of uncontrollable excitement welling up inside him. Watching the luck value in the system steadily climb, he felt overjoyed.

Wang Xiaowei stared in disbelief as Du Yu deftly grabbed the crabs by their claws, stuffing them one by one into the bucket, his mouth opening wider and wider, almost wider than the bucket itself.

“Brother Yu, were you doing this in your past life or something? So many green crabs— we’re going to get rich, hahahaha…”

Du Yu chuckled inwardly. “Your brother really did do this in his past life.”

“Brother Yu, look! Is that your sister-in-law? Why is she here too? And she’s carrying a bucket!”

Wang Xiaowei, sharp-eyed, pointed toward a figure in the distance and called out to Du Yu.

Du Yu glanced in the direction Wang Xiaowei indicated. It did seem to be his sister-in-law, dressed in fishing gear, boots on her feet, carrying a bucket just like theirs.

But it looked empty. What was she doing here? Come crab digging too? Shaking his head with a smile, Du Yu dismissed the thought.

None of my business.

In fact, Du Yu’s guess was right. But his sister-in-law wasn’t here for crabs; she was digging for razor clams. Yesterday, seeing Du Yu return to the village with a bucket full of clams, she had grown envious and today, like a pesky dog, she came to the same seaside spot Du Yu had been to.

Obviously, she had caught nothing.

His sister-in-law also noticed Du Yu and Wang Xiaowei and her gaze locked directly onto their bucket of green crabs, her eyes wide with disbelief.

Du Yu caught her gaze and guessed what was on her mind, a wave of disgust and helplessness rising within him.

No, sister-in-law, you’ve got the wrong target.

Silently pulling the still-confused Wang Xiaowei closer to his bucket, Du Yu prepared himself as his sister-in-law approached them.

“Hey, Du Yu, not a bad haul! That bucket’s full of green crabs. That must be worth a good amount. Your big brother treats you and your mother well, right? Share half the crabs with me to take home and try.”

She reached out to grab Du Yu’s bucket.

Du Yu’s expression turned cold. Without a word, he shifted the bucket further back, and Wang Xiaowei stepped forward as well.

“I think we’ve already split the family, haven’t we, sister-in-law? Since that’s the case, this bucket of crabs probably has nothing to do with you.”

Du Yu suppressed his anger, refusing to give her a chance to continue.

“You! Ungrateful brat!” His sister-in-law was momentarily speechless, unable to come up with a proper retort. She muttered a parting line and walked away, bucket empty and tail between her legs.

This little episode didn’t affect Du Yu’s momentum in earning luck points.

“Host detected catching a soft-shell green crab. Luck value +30.”

The system notification chimed.

Du Yu was slightly stunned—he hadn’t expected to find such a rare catch by the seaside.

Looking at the pale green crab, even Du Yu couldn’t help but silently pump his fist. Though small, this one was worth several hundred yuan in his past life!

The sun was now high overhead, its rays so fierce they made it hard to keep his eyes open.

Judging the time, Du Yu figured he had caught enough crabs and it was time to head home.

Wang Xiaowei carried a bucket brimming with top-quality green crabs. Du Yu recalled the old man he had bought orchid crabs from last time.

Luckily, he still had the man’s contact information, so Du Yu dialed the number.

“Hello, who’s this?” came a hoarse but robust voice from the other end.

“Hello, sir. I’m the young man who sold you the orchid crabs last time. I’ve just caught a bucket of prime green crabs. Do you need any?”

“Hm, I remember you! The orchid crab you sold me was quite good. You’ve got new stock so soon? Alright, I’ll send someone to pick them up tomorrow.”

“No need, sir. I can deliver them to you.”

The old man was momentarily surprised. This young man was serious!

Without further ado, he gave Du Yu an address and hung up.

Du Yu was pleased by the change in the old man’s tone.

He knew well that in 2002, concepts like delivery or courier services were still vague.

Being the first to tap into this service was undoubtedly all gain and no loss.

I’m going to be a big success! Du Yu clenched his fist in determination.

Watching Du Yu’s spirited resolve, the simple-minded Wang Xiaowei scratched his head.

“Brother Yu! Who were you just talking to on the phone? You sound so happy!”

“Hehe, you’ll find out tomorrow,” Du Yu teased, keeping it a secret.

“Brother promised you, tomorrow I’ll take you to the city to have some food you’ve never tried before. But for now, let’s go home for lunch.”

“Brother Yu, I still want to go to the Red Blossom Hair Salon. Please take me!”

“…Get lost!”

Soon, the two returned to the village. At the entrance, a few chatting middle-aged women saw Du Yu and the bucket that Wang Xiaowei carried. The crowd gathered, eyes wide with curiosity.

“Look, what’s that Wang the fool has in his bucket?”

“Dark green, looks like crabs!”

“Nonsense! No way those are crabs! Wang the fool can’t catch crabs!”

“Isn’t that Du Yu over there? Maybe it’s him who caught them?”

“No way those are crabs. Don’t I know whether Du Yu can catch crabs? I think it’s just a bucket of river stones!”

The one who said this was Du Yu’s sister-in-law. She said it without the slightest blush or hesitation, so serious that Wang Xiaowei almost believed the bucket was full of stones.

Thick-skinned as a city wall.

“That’s right, you’re an idiot! That’s just a dumb scholar who can’t even pass exams, and he’s catching crabs? First, sort out your family debts, hahahaha…”

“Hahahaha…”

The surrounding villagers laughed along.

Du Yu heard all this but paid no mind. He quickened his pace and gently stopped Wang Xiaowei from stepping forward to argue.

Wang Xiaowei was indignant. “Brother Yu! Sister-in-law is dragging them into this to insult you! They…”

Du Yu shot him a sharp look.

Wang Xiaowei immediately shrank back, silent.

Finding his friend’s reaction amusing, Du Yu held back his laughter and adopted a serious tone.

“Don’t pay them any mind. They like to watch from the sidelines and be jealous. Instead of wasting anger on others, it’s better to make yourself stronger.”

Having a second chance at life, Du Yu felt he had seen through many things. Now, he just wanted to do his own work well—to provide a good life for himself, his mother, and those around him. As for the idle gossip of others…

It was nothing.

Taking the bucket from Wang Xiaowei’s hands, the boy eagerly ran off. Du Yu smiled at his retreating figure.

This brother is easy to get along with—when he’s got something, he really shows it.

As Du Yu stepped through the door, he saw Li Chunhong cooking in the kitchen.

Looking at the thick black hair on his mother’s head, Du Yu felt a pang in his heart and softly said,

“Mom, I’m home.”

“Ah, good! Son, sit down and rest a bit. Dinner will be ready soon.”

Li Chunhong didn’t turn around, but the love in her voice overflowed.

After a hearty meal, Li Chunhong washed the dishes and went out to dig for razor clams again, while Du Yu retreated to his room.

He had long wanted to study the system carefully.