Fu Wan took the giant clam shell in her hand to the nearby trench to wash it clean. When the mud and sand on the surface of the shell were washed away, a flawless giant clam shell appeared in front of them.
"What beautiful seashells!"
Fu Ming and the others couldn't help but exclaim, "Isn't it beautiful? The shell is pure white, with blood red and white edges that are clearly visible. Under the sunlight, it also has a faint luster."
Fortunately, it was just a giant clam shell that had been dead for who knows how long. If the spirit had brought a live giant clam, that would have been a real sin.
Giant clams are the world's largest bivalve mollusks, mainly distributed in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. They are often found in coral reefs near low tide in some tropical seas.
Fu Wan searched around the spot where Fu Ling had found the giant clam shell twice more, but did not find any other giant clams.
I guess this was washed ashore by the waves.
"Ah Wan, is this thing very valuable?"
Ye Jianguo saw that Fu Wan was protecting the large seashell so carefully; she hadn't been this careful with the abalone pearl earlier.
“Valuable? Uncle, it’s not about the value of the money.”
Seeing that Fu Ming and Fu Liang also looked blank, Fu Wan quickly explained it to them.
"Most giant clam shells are triangular like this, with a curved apex, like a wave. These shells have a pearly luster, and because of their beautiful color, the fine-textured parts are often cut off and made into gemstones."
"Then we're rich?!"
Fu Ming exclaimed in surprise. This seashell was as big as an adult's palm. If it was even more precious than an abalone pearl, he couldn't even imagine how much money it could fetch.
Fu Wan rolled her eyes at him, "If you sell giant clams today, you'll be stuck in jail tomorrow. These things are extremely precious; they're one of the country's scarce plant and animal resources. If everyone's thinking about buying and selling them, then the giant clams in the sea will suffer!"
“These things are not easy to grow. The one we have here will probably take quite a while to grow to this size.”
Fu Wan was unclear about the current government restrictions on giant clams, and now the shells she had were a hot potato.
"What should we do with this?"
It can't be sold or shown off; keeping it at home is like a ticking time bomb.
Now that so many people have seen that these giant clam shells are dead objects picked up from the beach, if someone reports them for catching and abusing nationally protected animals, they will have nowhere to argue their case.
"Let's ask Leader Zhao about this when we get back!"
He's a leader in the Fisheries Administration Bureau, so handing this over to him is the most suitable option.
Fu Laoda also agreed with the decision. Fu Wan carefully wrapped the giant clam shell with a piece of clothing she wasn't wearing. When she turned around, she saw her daughter squatting to the side with her lips pouting like a duck.
"What happened to our Lingling?"
Fu Ling felt a little wronged. "Why did Mom hide my seashells?"
Fu Wan then realized that she hadn't told her child that this thing wasn't an ordinary seashell, and quickly explained it to her daughter.
"Lingling, this seashell is no ordinary seashell. Our Lingling is amazing! This seashell is a protected species, and we must hand it over to the government."
"Mommy will go to the sea and pick out other pretty seashells for you later, okay?"
Fu Ling was easily appeased by Fu Wan. After all, she only liked the seashell because it was pretty. Now that Fu Wan said the seashell had to be handed over, she only vaguely understood.
"Then I'll go dig up some pretty seashells!"
"Go ahead, Mom will make you a seashell wind chime later."
"Yay!"
Fu Ling cheered and ran away. Fu Wan wiped the sweat from her forehead. Goodness, coaxing a child is really hard work.
She took the giant clam shell back to the boat and put it away. Standing at the stern, she saw Fu Ming and Fu Liang not far away, moving stones to look for crabs.
Since all the abalone had been dug up, Ye Xiaocui and Jiang Chunlan went to the beach to collect clams.
The sea breeze was still quite cool. Fu Wan saw her family members busy at work and sighed. This was probably the meaning of being reborn.
The weather was fine and sunny, and I was with my family.
All the gloom of the past life has been swept away.
As she gazed into the distance with a sigh, she unconsciously noticed a large expanse of reefs not far away covered with densely packed wild laver.
This reef is not far from where Fu Wan and her group had previously dug for abalone. Perhaps because they were distracted by the abalone and oysters, they didn't notice so much seaweed.
Now that Fu Wan is standing on the boat, she can see everything clearly because she is higher up.
The waves crashed against the rocks from time to time, and there was a lot of seaweed under the rocks, rising and falling with the waves.
"Mom, Auntie, there's so much seaweed over there!"
As Fu Wan disembarked, she called out to Ye Xiaocui and Jiang Chunlan.
Seaweed is a great food, and Fu Wan's whole family loves it. Sometimes when they don't know what to eat, they use seaweed to make soup or simply make a cold salad; it tastes delicious both times.
Laver also contains very high levels of vitamins and minerals, and Fu Wan has not harvested laver since her rebirth.
There was no other way; the children had stripped the beach near Fujia Village of all seaweed, let alone laver, and even the seaweed on the rocks had been completely plucked away.
Upon hearing Fu Wan's voice, Ye Xiaocui and Jiang Chunlan instinctively stood up and walked in the direction Fu Wan was heading.
Ye Jianguo went sea fishing with Boss Fu. Fu Ming, Fu Liang, and Ye Lin also heard Fu Wan's voice. They stopped looking for crabs and followed Ye Xiaocui and Jiang Chunlan toward the reef.
After Fu Wan disembarked, she pulled Fu Ling toward the seaweed reef. Because it was a bit far and the reef was difficult to walk on, Fu Wan carefully helped Fu Ling walk there.
Fu Ling followed suit, pulling on Fu Wan's arm with her little arms, and walked over step by step.
"It really is laver, and it looks like it's the first harvest of laver!"
When Ye Xiaocui and Jiang Chunlan saw the large patch of seaweed, they quickly squatted down and began to pick it.
Ye Lin was a little confused, as he had only ever eaten seaweed sold directly by the supply and marketing cooperative.
What is first-harvest laver?
Fu Wan happened to walk over and helped him clear up his doubts.
"The first harvest of laver is the laver that has grown for the first time and is harvested for the first time. Subsequent harvests are called the second and third harvests."
Laver grows very quickly; it can be harvested a second time about half a month after the first harvest. However, the first harvest of laver is the best of all laver varieties. It is not only exceptionally tender and has an excellent taste, but also considered the finest quality due to its low yield.
Fu Ming suddenly understood, but there was still something he didn't quite understand: "This... is called low yield?"
Looking at the large expanse of seaweed-covered rocks, which was probably almost half an acre in size, Fu Wan felt so embarrassed that she wanted to dig her toes into the ground.
"We're just lucky! We have so much laver. We'll take it back and dry it. I wonder how long it will last us!"
Selling seaweed directly isn't very profitable, and there's not much dried seaweed either. Usually, people take it home to dry and add it to their meals during busy farming seasons.
"There's so much seaweed, hurry up and pick it back to dry. Take advantage of the good sunshine these days, and once it's dried, I'll go to town and ask if anyone will buy it."
Sun Youcai, the bird's nest buyer from last time, is a good candidate!
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