Undeterred, Ming Dashan continued his search around Mingjing.
This girl is strange; Ming Dashan feels he won't lose out by following her.
Mingjing didn't say anything, and continued to crouch down and search, finally managing to pick up half a pound of clams after a long time.
She knew there probably wouldn't be anything good today, but half a pound of clams would still earn her a lot of points if she cooked a dish with them.
"Second Uncle, I'm going home. You can take your time picking up the trash," Mingjing said, carrying the bucket and preparing to walk back.
She estimated it was only 10:30, but since there was nothing there, she didn't want to waste time there and decided to go home and sleep.
On the way, Mingjing hummed a song, planning to go back and make stir-fried clams.
As she was thinking, a figure appeared at the intersection ahead, startling Mingjing.
"A ghost!"
“I am Zhang Fan!” Zhang Fan stopped and said with a grin, “Mingjing, my dad sent me to study in the city these days. I came back to see you today, Saturday.”
"Look at me? You must have seen too many beautiful women in the city and suddenly remembered that there's a country bumpkin like me, right?"
“Mingjing, you really misunderstood me that day. There was really nothing between Qian Jiu’er and me. She got sand in her eyes, and I just blew it out for her.”
"Oh, you need to breathe through your mouth to blow sand? The sand is blocking your trachea and you can't breathe? If you have nothing else to do, go back. I'm too lazy to waste my breath on you."
Don't loiter around my house anymore; I'm afraid people might misunderstand.
"Mingjing, I have something to say to you. Give me ten minutes. If you still won't forgive me after I've finished, I won't bother you anymore."
"Oh, then go ahead and tell me."
Mingjing looked impatient.
“There’s a pavilion over there, let’s sit down and talk,” Zhang Fan said, walking towards the pavilion.
The pavilion by the sea used to be a place where island sentries observed the sea conditions and stood guard. Later, the sentries moved away, and the pavilion became a place for fishermen to relax.
Sitting in the pavilion, with the sea breeze blowing gently, you can clearly see the dim lighthouse standing on the sea, and several fishing boats with lights on are slowly sailing out of the shore in the distance.
"Spit it out!" Mingjing sat opposite Zhang Fan, one foot on the chair, fiddling with the clams.
Zhang Fan frowned as he stared at Mingjing, feeling that something was off.
“Mingjing, I’ve really had enough of this in the city these days. So many girls are chasing after me, but I don’t like any of them. None of them are as pretty as you.”
"Oh, and then? Is that all you wanted to say?"
"Mingjing, you are the only one in my heart. I admit that I was immature back then and didn't know how to maintain a relationship with a girl. I swear I will change now."
Honestly, aren't you happy and excited to see me? Don't be angry anymore, I'll definitely come back to see you often in the future.
Zhang Fan's voice was gentle and soft, but Ming Jing got goosebumps just listening to it.
"Are you out of steam?" Mingjing rolled her eyes.
The original owner was beautiful and was best at flirting with the young men in the village, especially Zhang Fan, who was indeed good-looking and came from a wealthy and powerful family.
The original owner did like Zhang Fan quite a bit, but despite liking him, she never let Zhang Fan take advantage of her.
Instead, Zhang Fan was asked to bring things from home to the Ming family, which is why Zhang Ping disliked Ming Jing and felt that Ming Jing would eventually drain the Zhang family dry.
Zhang Fan was the only boy in the village to attend high school, and as the village chief's son, he was naturally popular, with Qian Jiu'er being his devoted fan.
When it comes to girls, Zhang Fan has always been neither proactive nor refusing, nor taking responsibility.
So when Mingjing came to Zhang Fan to ask for some Lego, she happened to run into Qian Jiu'er and Zhang Fan together, and the two were behaving intimately.
Mingjing felt betrayed and, in a fit of anger, went to sea with Ming Lao Er.
Zhang Ping also felt that Mingjing was delaying his son's college entrance examination, so he used his connections to send him to a high school in the city.
Mingjing stood up, picked up the bucket, and prepared to leave.
"Mingjing, wait a minute. I came here today to discuss with you whether we should arrange a marriage between our children. How about we get engaged after I finish my college entrance exam?"
"I know you went to school in mainland China and were born into a wealthy family, even if it's fake, I don't look down on you."
Mingjing was surprised, then sneered, "What kind of centipede dung and toad piss did you eat in the city? Did you lose your mind? I'd rather not marry you than marry someone else."
"Look at you, you're as skinny as a dried chicken. Even if you scraped your bones and shaved your flesh, you wouldn't weigh more than two ounces. You want to marry me? Wake up."
"If you want to get engaged, go find Qian Jiu'er. Oh, by the way, Mingzhu also likes you very much. Go find them."
"Mingjing! What's wrong with you? I mustered up the courage to say these words today. I'm serious. Go back and think it over carefully. Marry me, and you'll be secretly happy."
"Idiot! I think you shouldn't bother with your studies. You're not cut out for studying. You'd be better off coming back to fish with your dad and inheriting your family's rickety fishing boat. Don't bother me anymore."
"Mingjing! I gave you a chance, don't be ungrateful. My dad is the village chief, there are plenty of girls who want to marry me!"
"Idiot! Get out of here!"
Mingjing carried the bucket and strode away from the pavilion.
She couldn't understand how the original owner, who was quite good-looking, could have an ambiguous relationship with this guy, just for the sake of his family's possessions.
Mingjing carried the bucket back, stepping across a stretch of sand. The sand was soft under her feet, and she looked down.
Wow, this is a large jellyfish, quite big. It would be great for a cold salad.
We have snacks to go with our drinks today.
Mingjing took out an iron shovel from the fishing tackle shop, removed the lower half of the jellyfish, and buried it in sand.
Jellyfish skin is edible, but the jellyfish's internal organs are poisonous, and even if the jellyfish dies, it can still be fatal.
After harvesting the large jellyfish skin, Mingjing got up to leave, but her peripheral vision caught sight of a white seashell lying on a nearby rock.
Curious, she stepped forward, and using the streetlights, scraped the seashell with a shovel, then pried it off with the shovel.
Wow! Oysters! The size of a five-year-old's palm.
Looking around, Mingjing noticed that the surrounding rocks were covered with oysters, and this place was less than a kilometer away from yesterday.
Without a flashlight, Mingjing could see many oysters clinging to the rocks by the light. It was dark, and the beachcombing army hadn't arrived yet, so no one had discovered this place.
Mingjing took out the mobile phone hanging on his body and dialed Ming Dahai.
Such a good thing, why not ask family members for help? Would you let someone else benefit from it?
"Dad, have Mom and Mingyue come over. I've found something good. Remember to bring a big net, and also bring plenty of water bottles and wooden buckets."
Upon hearing this, Ming Dahai frowned. "What kind of thing needs a large net?"
"Oysters, bring a shovel!"
Ming Dahai sat in the courtyard. When he heard the other end of the phone hang up, he extinguished his pipe and got up to go inside.
"Mingyue, Yunmei, wake up! Mingjing has found something good at the beach again."
Sun Yunmei, who was dozing off, was jolted awake by the news. "What? The Sea Goddess is really good to us, sending things over every few days. What are they?"
"Oysters, get up! Bring the big net, water bottle, shovel, and a flashlight too."
Ming Dahai took out a leather apron hanging in the corner and put on rubber shoes.
On the other side, Sun Yunmei got up, dressed, and called Mingyue. Passing by a bright room, she saw the light was on and went in out of curiosity.
“The sea, all the bright things are gone,” she exclaimed, staring in astonishment.
Ming Dahai glanced at it and said indifferently, "It's the same whether he's here or not. Aren't daughters better than sons? Let's go, making money is the most important thing."
He was utterly disappointed in Mingliang. Now he thought that Mingjing being the pillar of the family wasn't so bad. He could find a son-in-law to live with him, and life would still go on.
With a bitter face, Sun Yunmei picked up her tools and followed Ming Dahai to the beach.
Mingjing, sitting on a rock by the sea, was prying open oysters with a shovel, still thinking that she had encountered a large shipment yesterday because she had done a good deed.
Why did we encounter so many oysters again today?
She pried an oyster off with a shovel and looked at it in her palm.
Um?
Small in size, with shallow grooves in the shell, it's a pearl oyster!
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