CHAPTER 279: CHAPTER 276: LITTLE QINGYU, THE LUCKY KOI

"Mom, mom! Come and look, this conch is huge!" Little Qingyu shouted again.

The little one has an uncanny knack for spotting good finds, maybe due to her petite stature or her ’koi fish’ luck. She just discovered another conch.

Lin Wanwan stepped forward, looking at the conch as large as a soccer ball, picked it up, and suspected, "Such a big conch, might not have any meat left inside."

Sun Chuyao, who was protecting the mother and daughter nearby, exclaimed as soon as Lin Wanwan picked up the conch, "Oh my! Lady! Such luck, this is a coconut conch!"

"What’s special about this conch?" Lin Wanwan asked, not being a true seaside native. Her knowledge of marine life mainly came from the ’DK Nature Encyclopedia.’

She didn’t recognize the soccer ball-sized conch in front of her.

"Lady, this kind of coconut conch looks quite like a coconut, so in Qiong State, we call it a coconut conch," Sun Chuyao explained to Lin Wanwan. "Not only is its meat tasty, but there’s a chance it contains a Dragon Ball. If you find a Dragon Ball inside, it’s incredible luck."

Lin Wanwan piqued with curiosity, said, "Dragon Ball? There really are Dragon Balls in this world? Hurry and open it up and see."

"Alright!" Sun Chuyao took the coconut conch, pulled out the military knife strapped to his waist (a gift from Lin Wanwan), and pressed it into the conch meat, lifting upwards.

Sun Chuyao, who’s familiar with the docks, loves nothing more than cracking open the biggest conches to hunt for treasures inside.

If he could find one or two rare treasures, he could make a decent fortune. Five years ago, their Beggar Gang leader found a rice-sized oval Dragon Ball from a coconut conch and sold it for quite a sum.

Extracting the conch meat is quite simple for Sun Chuyao; with deft hands, he used the knife to pick up the conch meat, holding it still.

The shell is heavy, and the meat won’t dangle for long, soon separating the meat from the shell. As the shell fell onto the beach, Sun Chuyao quickly picked it up, tipped it into his palm, and two round beads dropped out.

"Ah! Two Dragon Balls! Quite big!"

Sun Chuyao shouted excitedly, extending his palm to show Lin Wanwan the two large orange beads with a diameter of about two centimeters.

"These are Dragon Balls," Lin Wanwan and Qingyu each took a Dragon Ball from Sun Chuyao’s hand, carefully observing.

The Dragon Balls had a porcelain-like brilliance, covered with flame patterns, appearing extraordinary, like priceless treasures.

"The little lady is truly favored by the Dragon King, such large and round Dragon Balls. I’ve spent a lifetime at sea, opened thousands of conches, and never seen such!" Sun Chuyao said, glancing at Lin Wanwan.

He already believed that some deity must have cast a spell to delight the little lady.

For the deities, what could be impossible!

Lin Wanwan gave the two Dragon Balls to Qingyu and then kissed her cheek, "My little Yu is truly a lucky koi, finding such a wonderful treasure with ease, amazing!"

Beside her, Yun Shang, Hong Yan, and others immediately joined Lin Wanwan in praising Qingyu.

With pride and delight, Qingyu, pulling Lin Wanwan, continued her search for treasures.

Quickly, the news spread on the beach that Qingyu had found a conch containing two Flame Dragon Pearls.

The sea filled with envy; such large Dragon Balls only appeared in legends, surely worth a fortune!

Truly the rich get richer, and the poor get poorer!

"The biggest hardships Qingyu faced were before she turned four; later, she’ll enjoy endless blessings."

"The child’s prominent forehead and eyebrows point to a life well cared for."

"The last time we found a Dragon Ball in a conch, it was this girl who picked it up, right?"

"Indeed, last time was the size of a grain of rice, yet Lin Guofu’s family earned quite a bit, didn’t they? Struck it rich, but they couldn’t treat this orphan well enough, pushing away their fortune."

Listening to others’ discussions, Lin Guofu’s family, gathering worthless clams and mussels on the beach, flushed red with embarrassment.

They wondered if perhaps this little brat was indeed incredibly fortunate, and it was because Lin Menglian’s couple couldn’t contain such luck, leading to their untimely death?

This idea had quite a following in Lin Family Manor, spreading quickly.

Who in the surrounding ten miles could deny Qingyu’s fortune?

Rejected by her aunt, she seemed destined for a grim fate but was soon taken in by Lin Family Manor’s True Phoenix, Lin Wanwan, and adopted as her daughter.

Since then, she enjoyed endless gourmet food and fine clothing.

This year, Lin Wanwan was granted the title of Village Lady of Le’an by the Saint, and Qingyu naturally gained status as the daughter of a Secondary Fifth Rank Village Lady.

In Mao County, who could compare to her nobility?

The seaside gathering continued until the sea started to wash over their ankles, and Lin Wanwan took the reluctant Qingyu home, walking on the village road paved with cobblestones, accompanied by the sound of wooden clogs.

Everyone carried wooden buckets and bamboo baskets, returning home with their haul.

Living by the sea, relying on the sea; as long as one was diligent, they’d never starve. There was always fish, shrimp, and shellfish to eat.

Back home, Lin Wanwan sorted today’s seaside catch with the household maids.

The maids didn’t care much for green crabs, nor did the clansmen, but Lin Wanwan and Qingyu liked them, so they kept four.

The remaining green crabs were tied with straw and planned to be sold in town—though more valuable in modern times, she’d sell some in town too, lest there’d be questions about the destination of sea goods she acquired from the clansmen.

If faced with Xiao Chong’s inquiries, she’d have no recourse but to evade.

There were still several baskets of sea melon seeds, at least a hundred pounds, along with the previous day’s acquisitions. When the clansmen sorted and delivered them, they could be sold to Jie Yuting in modern times.

This bass was fresh and could be sent to Xiao Chong; he loves fish.

Once these were sorted, Lin Wanwan took a small stool, sat in the courtyard, and used a tool to open the clams, where oyster meat hid inside.

Qingyu sat beside her with a small face, watching Lin Wanwan busy, occasionally stepping in to ’help’ and inadvertently creating mischief.

Most of these oysters could be sold to town nobles, with a few sent to modern Jie Yuting.

After distribution, Lin Wanwan felt great; these were her own seaside treasures, seeming particularly precious.

Just as she finished, the courtyard was filled with the voices of Sun Chuyao and the clan’s women.

No doubt, it was the women bringing collected sea goods for sale. Sun Chuyao, knowledgeable in sea products and dock trade, gradually took over these responsibilities from Yun Shang.