Lu Wuyai received a phone call in the morning; it was from the fat boss, Old Sun.

Old Sun asked him if he wanted to go out to sea, and if he had any good goods to deliver, promising to give him a fair price.

Lu Wuyai has many good products, including lobsters and yellow croakers, but he felt that Old Sun's small shop might not be able to serve them, so he wanted to see if there were any other suitable items.

He rowed his small sampan out to sea, drifting aimlessly on the water.

The small sampan was powered by his legs. Lu Wuyai swung his legs in the sea, absorbing water from the ocean, and propelling the boat forward.

The little count (dog) sat proudly at the bow of the boat, the sea breeze whipping his long white hair wildly across his forehead, occasionally obscuring the view of one eye, so he shook his head...

Lu Wuyai looked very submissive in the water; he looked like a dog.

The little Earl's (dog) white hair on his forehead grows exceptionally fast for some reason. Perhaps the fur on other parts of his body changes with the seasons. This white hair has never fallen out and continues to grow wildly.

However, considering that this tuft of hair has probably been accumulating for five or six years, it hasn't actually grown that fast.

He dived down to a rocky area on the seabed and found a large oyster, also known as a sea oyster.

This thing looks like a coral reef and is as big as an adult's palm. They gather in impressive groups.

Oysters prefer to live in hard seabed areas known as oyster beds, which are typically located in deep or shallow seawater or saline river estuaries.

Unlike fish and shrimp, oysters can be hermaphroditic. They can lay dozens of eggs at a time, which are then fertilized and hatched in the mantle. Finally, the larvae separate from the mother, settle on the seabed, and begin their lives.

In addition to these, they also do two other things in their lives: open and close their shells to hunt and reproduce. This farming and growth method determines that once an oyster farm is established, a large number of oysters will appear.

Now he came across an oyster farm. The water here wasn't deep, only seven or eight meters, and there were quite a few fishing boats coming and going.

This oyster bed hadn't been discovered for a long time. It's likely that people were used to thinking there were no fish in coastal waters, so they never searched the seabed. Leaving Lu Wuyai with such a chance to make money was a stroke of luck.

“Empiricism is essential.” Gu Yuxin shook her head, then took a hammer and a chisel from the boat and dived into the sea.

Wild oysters are highly valued. After all, they are an exceptionally nutritious seafood, often referred to as the "milk of the ocean." They are rich in protein and zinc, which are often lacking in the human body. Therefore, they can fetch a good price in the market.

On the oyster bed, numerous oysters slowly open and close their shells. Supported by their adductor muscles, they filter seawater and generate airflow in the water by vibrating the cilia on their gills.

In this way, water enters the gills, where suspended particles are trapped by mucus. The cilia and tentacles on the gills sort the particles according to their size. Small particles are food, while larger particles are waste; these are transported to the edge of the mantle and then expelled.

Gu Yuxin dived to the seabed, causing violent fluctuations in the water. Oysters are very sensitive to changes in the environment and will immediately close their shells.

Harvesting farmed oysters is simple; oyster farms are made of many sturdy nets and ropes, and eventually they are harvested.

But catching wild oysters is quite a challenge. They cling tightly to the rocks. If you're diving, you can only catch two or three at a time.

Lu Wuyai had no such worries. He inserted his chisel into a rock on the seabed and began chiseling at it.

The hammer is buoyant in the water, so it's inconvenient for him to exert force, and the effect is a little less, but compared to ordinary people, it's already very easy for him.

He held a hammer and chisel in his hand, and a net bag hung from his waist. He picked up each oyster he caught, loaded a batch, and then floated to the surface, lifting the net bag out of the water.

The rest is up to the little Earl (the dog). He'll carry the net bag in his mouth, climb onto the boat, and pull it up. This is a skill water dogs learn from puppyhood. They are great helpers to fishermen.

However, the little count (dog) hadn't been trained, so it didn't understand. Seeing Lu Wuyai hand it the net bag, it used its paw to push the net bag aside: No, I don't want to do this.

Lu Wuyai pointed at the small boat and said, "Lift it up, you have to pull it upwards, this won't work either. Isn't this natural?"

The little count (dog) looked completely bewildered as Li Muyang repeatedly made hand gestures. It licked its lips, swam back, climbed onto the boat, and then looked back at its owner.

Lu Wuyai waved his hand helplessly: "Come here, you're going back with this in your mouth. Why do you want to go back by yourself?"

When the little count (dog) saw him beckoning, it happily wagged its tail and swam over, then swam around him and licked his face.

"Alright, alright, I didn't ask you to come down and play," Lu Wuyai handed the net bag to it and stuffed it into its mouth. "Put this back in your mouth and get on the boat."

The little count (dog) pushed it away with its paw again. No, not that one...

I painstakingly taught the little count (dog) how to use a net bag. Working together, the dog and I pried open a huge pile of oysters.

Later, a small boat towing a sampan arrived in Hongyang City. Lu Wuyai paid 200 yuan for the towing fee and rowed the sampan to the sea area where the young chef, Old Sun, was located.

Many people were playing on the beach. Seeing Lu Wuyai rowing a boat with a water dog on board, some people were quite envious and took out their phones and cameras to take pictures.

When he arrived at the place where the young chef, Suntou, was, he rowed his boat to the shore. There were tourists on the beach, and one of them said enviously, "Dude, are you here to buy fish? You guys live a good life, enjoying the sea view and making money at the same time."

Lu Wuyai listened, shook his head with a wry smile, and said, "People come and go on the river, but they love the beauty of the perch, and watch a small boat wander in the wind and rain."

"What's the point?" That person didn't understand.

Lu Wuyai didn't explain. Those who understand will understand, and those who don't won't understand.

That's how life and work are. You only see the thief eating meat, but you don't see the thief getting beaten up.

Tourists interpreted his behavior as the demeanor of a fisherman, believing he possessed a free and unrestrained spirit, and thus envied him even more: "He's really stylish."

He called out to his grandson, who came out wiping his hands.

Upon seeing a boatload of oysters, Old Sun's eyes lit up, and he exclaimed, "Wild ones!"

Lu Wuyai patted the bow of the boat and said, "They're all wild; you can go see for yourself."

Anyone who lives by the sea knows that oysters don't need any feed; they survive by filtering plankton from the seawater, so there's no difference between farmed and wild oysters.

In reality, this is just a figure of speech. Oyster farming still requires feeding. The amount of plankton in a particular sea area is finite; the amount of oysters that can be fed solely by the plankton in that area is limited.

In marine aquaculture farms, the number of oysters in a single oyster farm is dozens of times that of wild oysters, and the density is extremely high.

To help them grow quickly, they must be fed. In this situation, there isn't enough natural plankton in the seawater, so it needs to be added.

When eating oysters, one is for nutrition and the other is for texture. Farmed oysters grow quickly, so their nutritional content is naturally low. The excessively fast growth rate also results in a poor texture, like dough, lacking chewiness.

The old man casually picked a few oysters and pried them open with a pry bar. Inside were tender, white and yellow meat with black edges. He took one out, popped it into his mouth, and nodded approvingly: "Well, how is it?"

Lu Wuyai said, "Just give it to me after you've seen it. Anyway, this isn't a one-time transaction."

The old man laughed loudly: "I'll give you the market price, fifteen yuan a pound, okay."

Lu Wuyai nodded: "Yes."

Oysters are generally not eaten by people who aren't couples or wealthy. They're just giant shells with rock-like outer shells on both sides. If you buy a pound of oysters, most of them are shells.

Wild oysters have thicker shells because they must defend themselves against predators, and they don't contain much in a pound.

Even so, wild oysters are still relatively expensive. During this season, you can buy two, three, or even four or five jin (1 kg) of regular oysters for 15 yuan, but you can only buy one jin (0.5 kg) of wild oysters, and they are very difficult to find in the market. If you do buy them, they are usually supplied directly to hotels, and then the hotels resell them.

Old Sun bought it at the market price, not the wholesale price, which shows he had a change of heart.

The boatload of oysters weighed 300 jin (150 catties), and the old man gave him 4,500 yuan.

Oysters should be eaten fresh, but they won't die out of water; they can be temporarily farmed in seawater. This batch of oysters is enough to last Old Sun's small shop for a few days.

Upon seeing him deliver a boatload of wild oysters, the restaurant owners nearby rushed over, handing him their business cards and small gifts.

"Hey bro, if you have any good products, give me a call."

"Are there any oysters tomorrow? Prepare 120 catties for me."

"Money is negotiable, brother. Fish, shrimp, crab shells—as long as they're wild, I'll eat them."

As people become wealthier, the number of foodies has increased dramatically, and people's attention to food has begun to rise, with wild seafood becoming increasingly popular.

Lu Wuyai put away the business card and smiled, "I'll call you, but you'll have to do it yourself. I won't be handing out any more."

He came here to make a name for himself, and it would be a waste of his time and energy to make him run around every time.

I bought some more things, then sailed the fishing boat back to Coconut Grove Village, and that's how the afternoon passed.

After Lu Wuyai went ashore, he met Liu Xiaole, the owner of a fisherman's inn. He said, "Hey, Yangzi, you've never been to school."

"Go to school. What school?" Lu Wuyai asked, puzzled.

Tang Congyang said, "Isn't school supposed to start in September? Mr. Lu felt that the school should be cleaned up in advance. This morning, the village committee used a loudspeaker to ask us to help clean the school."

Lu Wuyai frowned and said, "If you don't have money, don't go. The children who go to school aren't from our village."

Tang Congyang sneered and said, "Brother Yang, don't be angry with me. My baby is only two years old and not old enough to go to school yet. Besides, even if he were old enough, I would have to send him to the city. Is it okay for him to go to school in the village?"

Then, with a mischievous grin, he said, "Didn't you go too?"

Lu Wuyai choked up for a moment, then said, "I'll go right away."

The primary school is located on the mountainside of Dalong Mountain behind the village. It has a long history. It used to be a private school in the village, and later became a primary school. People from the surrounding three or five villages almost all graduated from here.

The location was chosen halfway up the mountain, based on feng shui considerations. The high mountain blocks negative winds, and facing the water ensures the flow of talent. Furthermore, the school is built against the mountain, so the students are taller than those on the ground.

Lu Wuyai knew it was useless; otherwise, Yelin Village Primary School wouldn't have produced a high-ranking official and a wealthy man over the years.

As he walked along the mountain path, the school came into view.

The school's iron gate faces the mountain road. It is about four or five meters wide and more than three meters high. The railings are rusty, and weeds grow all over the inside and outside.

On the screen walls on either side of the door, there was a line of blurred words. The writing was illegible due to the wind and rain, but Lu Wuyai knew what it said; he had already memorized it:

“The road is short, but I can’t miss it. The matter is small, but I can’t do anything about it.” He murmured, seeing only ruins.

Looking at this dilapidated campus, Lu Wuyai felt a sense of powerlessness.

With a school like this, how could the children possibly return to school? He had assumed the county had already allocated funds to renovate the school, but now it seemed the so-called "resumption of classes" was just a gimmick.

But at this moment, the campus was filled with life, with a few teenagers busy at work, led by Lu Wuyai.

Lu Wuyai was different now than when they first met. She had a cloth wrapped around her head as a headscarf, wore camouflage clothing, and work gloves. Her beautiful face was covered in dust. She still possessed the captivating charm she once had.

Upon seeing Lu Wuyai, Su Xi called out, "Uncle Yang, you've arrived."

Lu Wuyai turned around and smiled slightly, "Great, we have one more person."

Lu Wuyai said with a wry smile, "I'm sorry, I went to sea a long time ago and didn't know about this. Otherwise, I would have come to help sooner. By the way, you guys..."

"And me." Gu Yuxin, looking shy and disheveled, walked out of the window. He was shirtless, drenched in sweat, and looked like a mud figure.

Since he came to the school and didn't say anything, I have to help him pack.

But this time he was a little confused; the school was too dilapidated and too difficult to clean up.

This task shouldn't be done by a teacher leading students. He took out his phone and said, "Stop doing it. I'll call the island owner and find out what he means. When you go back to school, it'll be the same anyway. Isn't that obvious? You should rest, go back and wash up. I'll prepare dinner for you tonight."

When I called, it kept saying it was out of service area.

Gu Yuxin wiped the dust off her face and said, "There's no need to hit him. That old guy must have gone to sea, which means he won't be able to leave for a day. In any case, the leading number is never idle."

Lu Wuyai said, "Stop swearing in front of the children. Alright, let's go down the mountain to prepare dinner."

Lu Wuyai waved his hand and said, "First, help me clean up the back of the house. There's a lot of wood piled up there. I'm afraid it just rained heavily, and the dampness has attracted mosquitoes and bred too many bacteria and viruses."

The school was small, divided into a playground and buildings. The playground was on the east side, and the buildings were on the west side, separated by a wall with an archway.

The house is laid out in the shape of a field. The "十" (ten) in the Chinese character "天" (sky) represents two roads. The main road runs north-south. The north entrance to the road is the school gate, and to the south is a large screen wall depicting Comrade Lei Feng fighting against a strong wind with a submachine gun. Images of snow guard the boundary.

Then, with this road as the boundary, there are two rows of houses. The two rows on the west side are smaller, with the front row being teachers' dormitories and the back row being offices and meeting rooms.

There are two rows of classrooms on the east side of the road, with three rooms in each row. The six rooms together make up the six grades, and there is one class in each grade.

The wood was piled up behind the classroom. Lu Wuyai went over to take a look. Most of it was poplar and locust wood, and it had been piled up for many years.

It was dark and damp here, and it had just rained, so many mushrooms grew on the wood.

Mushrooms grow from tree bark. These caps vary in size, from six to seven centimeters long to as small as a fingernail. They have a smooth surface and protrude like a bamboo cap. The colors are light khaki and cream.

Upon seeing these mushrooms, Lu Wuyai said, "Let's get rid of these mushrooms first. Everyone be careful, they might be poisonous."

Lu Wuyai shook his head and said, "It's not poisonous. Not only is it not poisonous, these mushrooms are also delicious. Let's have dinner."

There are many trees and forests on Dalong Mountain, and wild mushrooms always grow there after rain. They call these mushrooms wild mushrooms, and they believe they are a type of straw mushroom.

However, after spending some time in Kyoto, Lu Wuyai felt that this mushroom was more like a famous type of fungus, namely the termite mushroom, which is famous in China, Japan, and Korea.

According to records, gallnuts are relatively rare in other regions. Lu Wuyai, after careful observation, now considers this to be "rare".

In particular, the presence of termite nests on these dead trees, with numerous termites climbing on them, further confirms that the mushrooms are chicken-shaped fungi.

As far as he knows, the termite cedar tree coexists with termites in nature. While building their nests, the termites also cultivate termite cedar mycelium, forming a shared ecosystem.

If this is indeed a termite mushroom, then the wood behind the house becomes extremely valuable. As long as the mycelium is preserved, there will be a continuous supply of termite mushrooms when conditions are right.

Termitomyces albuminosus is known as the "King of Mushrooms" because it is rich in nutrients and has a delicious flavor.

He personally picked all the mushrooms that grew, whether they were termite mushrooms or wild mushrooms, they were all delicious and precious ingredients.

After picking the mushrooms, he found a girl named Li Xiaodi and carefully held them up, saying, "Don't ruin them, we'll eat them tonight."

Lu Zhizi asked anxiously, "Is it really safe to eat?"

Lu Wuyai smiled and said, "You can ask later."

When wild mushrooms are found, these logs cannot be thrown away casually. Li Muyang asked Gu Yuxin to go back and push the cart. They carefully loaded the logs onto the cart, pushed it down the mountain, and placed it behind the wall of the old house.