"Oh my, there's a big snail!"
Wang Huiping muttered to herself as she reached out towards the snail.
The next second, just as she was about to touch the snail, Fu Wan yanked her hand away.
Wang Huiping looked at Fu Wan, puzzled.
"Wan, what's wrong?"
Fu Wan pointed to the conch shell with a serious expression.
"Sister-in-law, those snails are poisonous, they're conch snails!"
"What?! A cone snail?!"
Wang Huiping quickly withdrew her hand and took two steps back.
The conch shell that had just appeared large and plump in her eyes instantly transformed into an invitation to the gates of hell.
Oh dear, she just saw that this snail was so big and pretty, and thought that after picking it up and picking out the snail meat, the shell could be given to Fu Ling and Qin Mingzhu to play with.
I never even realized it was a cone snail!
Hearing the commotion, Ye Xiaocui and the others also looked over.
When Jiang Chunlan and Ye Xiaocui clearly saw the conch shell still clinging to the reef, they were both shocked.
"It really is a conch shell!"
"Oh dear, Huiping, you didn't touch that snail, did you? Cone snails are highly poisonous!"
Wang Huiping turned pale with fright and quickly shook her head.
"No, Awan grabbed me before I could react."
Ye Xiaocui and Jiang Chunlan patted their chests, still unsettled. Oh dear, thank goodness they didn't touch it, otherwise it would have been a real disaster.
Fu Ling and Qin Mingzhu curiously came over, and seeing that they were watching intently, Fu Wan took the opportunity to explain things to them.
"You must remember what it looks like. This is a cone snail. If you see it in the future, stay away from it and don't touch it."
Fu Ling and Qin Mingzhu nodded, seemingly understanding but not quite.
Cone snails, also known as cone snails, have conical shells that look somewhat like chicken hearts. They are pointed at the front, rounded at the back, and have protruding tips and barbs at the tail.
The surface of this snail is anything but simple, with irregular patterns and a vibrant mix of brown, red, and white.
Image of a chicken heart snail (image removed due to copyright infringement)
Cone snails are one of the most venomous snails. They are carnivorous, usually eating small insects and fish, and prefer to live under rocky reefs.
Their unique characteristic is using toxins to paralyze and kill their prey.
This snail contains toxins that can kill its prey and also harm predators. Its toxins are comparable to snake venom, and are complex, containing not only tetrodotoxin and unique cone snail toxins, but also many unnamed, unknown toxins.
Therefore, once stung by a cone snail and ingested with its venom, the consequences can range from limb amputation to death. If you encounter a cone snail with highly venomous venom glands, the venom from just one snail can kill dozens of people.
As Fu Wan spoke, she searched around.
She picked up a half-meter-long branch and poked the conch shell with it.
Sensing danger, the snail instantly elongated the end of its tail, and the barbs became almost visible to the naked eye.
"Damn, did you guys see those barbed hooks?"
Fu Liang felt a chill run down his spine, and goosebumps instantly rose all over his body.
I can't even imagine what would have happened if Fu Wan hadn't grabbed his wife. Those barbs are so sharp, even gloves probably wouldn't have been able to stop them.
If he gets stung by a snail... good heavens, he'll never have a wife!
"Ah Wan, thank you so much, our family owes you a life!"
Fu Liang thanked Fu Wan sincerely, and Wang Huiping quickly echoed his thanks.
She had recovered her senses by now. If Fu Wan hadn't pulled her back, she probably would have been stung by the snail.
"Ah Wan, I don't know how to thank you enough. If you ever need my help in the future, just let me know!"
Upon hearing this, Fu Wan waved her hand, noticing that Wang Huiping looked utterly shaken.
She comforted her, saying, "It's alright, sister-in-law. Luckily, we found it in time. Just wear thicker gloves and be careful when you're picking snails later."
There are few conch shells on the beach. These things usually like to live on the seabed at a depth of ten meters. This one today was probably brought up by the tide.
Wang Huiping nodded in agreement. The sudden appearance of the conch shell made the group of people who were vigorously pulling up the shells much more cautious.
Fu Liang simply stayed by his wife's side and helped her collect seafood.
Fu Ming picked snails for a while, but felt that it was too slow for one person to both turn over stones and pick up snails, so he thought for a moment and called Fu Wan over.
"Ah Wan, why don't we work together? I'll lift the stones, and you can pull them out."
Fu Wan rolled her eyes upon hearing this. Turning over stones is much faster than picking snails.
If she encounters a tight snail, she can spend a long time unscrewing it.
"No, when you lift the stones, also pick up a few snails."
Fu Ming nodded in agreement. Actually, he was also feeling bored and wanted to find some fun.
The brother and sister had just lifted two stones when Fu Wan spotted her target.
Sea cucumber!
A plump sea cucumber, about the length of a palm, was lying in the mud. Fu Wan quickly picked it up, and seeing that it was a good sea cucumber, she washed it and threw it into the bucket next to her.
Sea cucumbers are a delicacy; to put it simply, the value of this sea cucumber might not even compare to the value of a bowl of spicy snails next to it.
Fu Ming felt heartbroken. How come he didn't see any sea cucumbers when he was lifting the stones?
"Hey, I don't believe it!"
Fu Ming gritted his teeth and began frantically churning the rocks.
He didn't see any sea cucumbers, but he did catch two red flower crabs that seemed to be courting each other.
Not only that, there were two snails the size of a child's fist on the edge of the reef, which stunned Fu Wan.
"My goodness, this snail is huge! Could it be a spirit?"
When Ye Xiaocui heard Fu Wan call her name, she subconsciously looked up and saw the snails that Fu Wan had picked. She was so happy that she ran straight over.
"Isn't this a whelk? Oh my, how come there are whelks here?"
"Quick, quick, put them in the bucket! These two whelks probably weigh almost half a pound each!"
Upon hearing this, Fu Wan handed over the two snails, and at the same time, she didn't forget to give Ye Xiaocui a word of advice.
"Mom, put these whelks aside, we'll eat them ourselves later."
Ye Xiaocui paused upon hearing this, then said, "I understand! Such a big snail is definitely meant for our own consumption."
The old lady was stubborn, but she was actually a little guilty.
Before Fu Wan said this, she was actually planning to go back and sell it to Fu San.
She heard from her husband last night that their daughter and son had bought land in Shanghai and spent a lot of money.
Such expensive things as whelks must be sold to make money.
However, she couldn't persuade Fu Wan otherwise. As soon as Fu Wan spoke, she gave up her previous idea.
Fine, two whelks are only worth two yuan at most. If all else fails, she can get some more large yellow-mouthed snails to make up for the cost of the whelks.
As Ye Xiaocui was thinking to herself, she was about to continue picking the spicy snails when Fu Wan brought her another handful of snails after she had put them down and turned around.
Ye Xiaocui was shocked. Her gaze fell on the stone at Fu Wan's feet and saw that there were several snails!
Fu Ming was also busy digging these snails out of the mud and sand.
"Good heavens, how come there are so many whelks!"
"Hehe, Mom, stop asking, hurry up and pick them up!"
Fu Wan threw the snails into the basin, then hurriedly picked up the snails on the ground.
Actually, while Ye Xiaocui was still in a daze, Fu Ming and Fu Wan worked together to lift a huge rock.
When they lifted it up, the brother and sister were dumbfounded.
The area under the rocks is practically a snail nest; as far as the eye can see, it's teeming with snails!
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