Volume 1, Chapter 18: There’s So Much on This Island? How Did I Not Notice?

If they were late, Xiao Hu’s second uncle would probably lose his temper.

The two of them were practically running along the beach, picking up seafood as they went. They glanced down; if they saw something, they grabbed it; if not, they moved on to another spot.

Ye Cheng felt more exhausted than ever before. He recalled how he had always failed the long-distance runs back in school, yet now he found himself running with such enthusiasm.

It seemed that university should adopt a similar system—paying students for passing their runs might just ensure everyone passes.

“Brother, we don’t have much time left. Let’s go,” Xiao Hu called out.

“Alright, let’s move.”

Each carried a woven plastic sack on their back and held an empty bucket in hand. They had no choice; if they ran any faster, the sea cucumbers might bounce right out.

Wang Haisheng had been waiting for nearly ten minutes and was growing impatient with the delay.

“Old Wang, are those relatives of yours reliable? If not, just give them a call,” the boss urged.

Wang Haisheng smiled awkwardly. “Qian, those two youngsters don’t have phones.”

Qian, being somewhat older, was speechless. Although phone bills weren’t cheap these days, not having a phone was rare.

Without phones, all they could do was wait. Bored, the two men cast their fishing lines again, since there was nothing else to do by the sea.

“Xiao Hu! Ah Cheng!” Wang Haisheng shouted from the shore, his voice carried by the sea breeze, but there was no response.

“Damn it, those two kids. Next time, I won’t bring them along,” Wang Haisheng muttered in frustration as he returned to the boat.

Just as he boarded, he saw two figures burst from the trees on the island, covered in leaves, shouting loudly, and carrying something strange on their backs.

Qian turned around at the noise and nearly fell over in fright. “Hurry, Old Wang, those are wild men, natives—they’re dangerous!”

“Natives?” Wang Haisheng’s mind conjured images of forest tribes wielding spears and making wild noises, legends even spoke of cannibals.

Another boss was equally frightened, urging Wang Haisheng to start the boat quickly.

Wang Haisheng’s legs felt weak. Damn, when did this place get natives? Did they register the floating population here?

He climbed into the driver’s seat and started the engine.

Seeing the boat start, the two figures ran even faster, shouting as they ran, “Uncle, uncle, don’t leave! It’s Xiao Hu!” “I’m Xiao Hu!”

Wang Haisheng was stunned. “Xiao Hu?”

He looked closely and realized it really was them.

His nephew and Ye Cheng were both covered with mud and leaves, emerging from the forest looking just like natives.

“What were you two doing? Found pirate treasure? Carrying a sack like that, you look like wild men,” Wang Haisheng scolded.

“Uncle, we were just gathering some seafood during the low tide,” Xiao Hu explained as he tossed the woven sack onto the boat and climbed aboard.

Ye Cheng followed, collapsing onto the deck, panting heavily, not wanting to say a word.

Damn, even during the Spring Festival rush, he had never run so fast; his lungs felt like they were on fire.

“Now that you’re here, let’s leave quickly. It’s getting late,” Qian urged.

Wang Haisheng responded and the boat slowly headed out to sea toward the village.

Seeing the large sacks, Wang Haisheng asked out of curiosity, “What did you catch? Mussels or scallops?”

Xiao Hu had learned to be shrewd and glanced at Ye Cheng first.

Ye Cheng said nothing, lighting a cigarette to catch his breath.

“Uncle, just some stuff from the shore,” Ye Cheng replied coolly.

“Let us see, we’re curious,” Qian said, moving closer.

“Here, take a look at our haul: sea bass, black bream. Not bad, right?” Qian opened his live fish tank, revealing four or five fish.

Sea bass and black bream were common fish, not very expensive but decent enough.

Qian was clearly pleased with his catch.

To a fisherman, price didn’t matter as much as having a good catch.

Qian’s companion opened his own tank, which also contained several fish of varying sizes.

“You two have great skills to catch so much,” Ye Cheng complimented.

“Haha, that’s because Old Wang took us to a good spot. The fish bite as soon as you get there,” Qian said happily.

“Come on, young fellows, show us what good stuff you’ve got. If there’s anything fresh, we’ll buy some and have a seafood feast,” Qian added.

Hearing the possibility of a sale, Ye Cheng’s heart stirred. Bypassing the middlemen meant better profits.

He gave Xiao Hu a look. Xiao Hu dug into the sack and pulled out a sea cucumber.

Qian looked surprised and took the sea cucumber, weighing it in his hand. “Not bad. This is wild sea cucumber, and quite large.”

“This is the small one,” Xiao Hu boasted proudly.

“How big are the others? Show us, we’ll buy some,” Qian's interest peaked.

Originally, they just wanted to admire the catch, but finding such treasures naturally excited them.

“Yeah, yeah, Qian doesn’t lack money. Bring it out; it won’t lessen your share,” Qian’s companion egged on.

“Xiao Hu, show the two bosses what you’ve got,” Ye Cheng said.

“Well then, here’s a tank. Pour it all out so we can see. No hiding anything,” Wang Haisheng chimed in eagerly.

With Ye Cheng’s encouragement, Xiao Hu didn’t hesitate. This was his second uncle’s boat, not a pirate ship, so there was no need to be shy.

He struggled to lift the sack, untied it, and dumped a whole bag of seafood into the tank with a splash.

“Holy crap! Abalone!”

“And razor clams, the king of clams!”

“Not bad, that abalone is huge!”

“Look at this razor clam—so plump!”

“This sea cucumber is even thicker than the one I had earlier. Damn, did you guys go rob the Dragon King’s treasure?” Qian couldn’t help but curse in amazement.

Wang Haisheng was dumbfounded. His nephews went to the shore to gather seafood?

Could it be they were wholesale suppliers now?

Qian and his companion crouched down, inspecting each item excitedly. Their own fish looked insignificant compared to this tank full of treasures.

“Young fellows, did you really gather all this yourselves?”

“Of course! My brother’s got even more. When we arrived on the island, there was nothing at all,” Xiao Hu said proudly.

“Qian, these are definitely wild, not farmed,” one of Qian’s companions whispered.

Wang Haisheng glanced at Ye Cheng’s sack, which was about the same size. “Xiao Hu, is there really this much on the island?”