However, since they said they wanted to go beachcombing, she couldn't stop them. The sea wasn't under her control, so she could only take them along.
The mangrove mudflats have receded, and there are many trees and rocks there. Mingjing plans to look around here.
"Sister, let's go over there!" Mingyue pulled Mingjing towards the front of the mangrove forest.
“This sled is useful; it can be used to clear away leaves,” Mingliang said, handing the sled to Sun Jiaojiao.
A sled is a short tool for shoveling sand, which can uncover some moon shells and clams. It is also useful for turning over leaves and stones in the woods to drive away sea snakes.
"Oh my, a coconut crab!" the middle-aged woman behind me screamed.
"There's one!"
"Mingjing is so lucky. The Goddess of the Sea blesses her, and we also benefit from it."
"Gousheng, go and call your grandparents, aunt and uncle, and your cousin and second uncle over."
A group of villagers gathered in the mangrove forest, ignoring the mosquitoes and the prickling branches under their feet, and took off their shoes to wade in the mud, bending over to dig out leaves.
Sun Jiaojiao pouted and was pushed aside by a group of middle-aged women.
This group of people were as powerful as the Japanese invading a village. They searched through not only crab holes but also rat holes, leaving footprints everywhere. You'd think the crabs were supernatural beings.
Mingjing was pushed outside. She was also surprised that the Lucky Pill had already lost its effect, yet her meager luck points could still bring her a blue crab. It was a miracle.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that the mangrove forest was full of people, even Qian Jiu'er and Old Man Qian were mixed in with the crowd looking for seafood.
Mingyue was carrying a bucket when she saw a swimming crab. Just as she was about to step on it, Aunt Pang kicked her away and snatched it away.
“Let’s go take a look over there,” Mingjing sighed, carrying the bucket towards the shallows ahead.
"Sister, are we just going to give up on the swimming crabs? Are we just going to let them bully us?" Mingyue was unwilling and turned around to fight with the group of people for them.
"Forget it, look at these swimming crabs, they're pitifully small. Crabs are cheap now, so let's just leave them! Let's go ahead and see if there are any big ones."
Mingyue glanced at Aunt Pang's swimming crabs; they were indeed pitifully small, and all the swimming crabs in this area were like that—ten of them wouldn't even weigh half a pound.
It really doesn't seem worth wasting time here.
Mingjing arrived at the shallows and discovered a group of breathing holes there.
Razor clams!
"Quick, dig!" Mingyue happily squatted down, dug with a sand shovel, and a razor clam about the thickness of a thumb was unearthed.
"My goodness, this is huge!" The fat aunt suddenly appeared, startling the group of people.
“Mingjing, you’re a lucky star. There were no more crabs in that area after you left, and those crabs were too small to be worth much. Razor clams are much more valuable.”
"Everyone, come quick! There are king razor clams here!"
Aunt Pang turned around and called out, and a whole bunch of villagers rushed over.
Mingjing was so angry that she cursed under her breath, her teeth grinding. Were these people stinking bugs? She couldn't shake them off.
"Forget it, let's go home!"
Mingjing carried the bucket back, thinking it was time to put her plan into action.
"Sister, are we just going to give up like this?" Mingyue was furious, cursing those people in her heart for being sores on their feet and oozing pus from their mouths.
"Of course we can't give up. I've found a new way. Jiaojiao and Yanyan, you two go home and tell your parents..."
Mingjing and Sun Jiaojiao whispered a few words to each other and then went home.
As soon as Mingjing arrived at her doorstep, she saw a police car parked outside and Wang Yong squatting there smoking.
"Officer Wang, what brings you here?"
"Mingjing, did you instigate others to rob the Qian family yesterday?"
Upon hearing this, Mingjing immediately knew that this was Old Man Qian taking revenge on her.
"Officer Wang, Qian Jiu'er swindled my brother out of 30,000 yuan, or even more, under the guise of marriage. I was just taking back some of our family's belongings. Is that illegal?"
"Old Qian came to the police today and said that you instigated the villagers to rob his family's property and took away his savings. Is that true?"
Wang Yong extinguished his cigarette and stared at Mingjing with a solemn expression.
“Brother Wang, go ask the villagers and see if what I said is true. Everyone knows that the Qian family committed marriage fraud and cheated the Ming family out of their food and drink.”
"Mingjing, if you are convicted, you will be guilty of organizing robbery. You are the mastermind and will be sentenced. Talk it over properly."
"That's the truth. Everyone in the village knows the Qian family's character. They owe 30,000 yuan. I'm here to collect the debt. If they can't pay, what's wrong with paying them back with something?"
They gave us that motorcycle. If you don't believe me, ask everyone. They were all there that day.
Wang Yong was speechless. This did indeed sound like an economic dispute, and the amount involved wasn't large, so it was unlikely that a case would even be filed.
"I'll have to ask the villagers. I can't ignore someone who reported it. I'll just wait at home."
Wang Yong got into the car and left.
"Sister, what's going on? Are we going to get arrested?" Mingyue asked anxiously, pulling on Mingjing's arm.
Sun Yunmei and Ming Dahai carried their things home.
"Mingjing, why are you back so soon?"
"The beach has been taken over by those plague gods, there's nothing good there," Mingyue said, pouting as she recounted what had just happened, also mentioning the arrival of the police.
"How can this be considered robbery? We just want our money back," Ming Dahai said anxiously. "Should we go ask Brother Bai for help again?"
“Mom and Dad, it’s okay. He’s suing us for robbery, and I’ll su them for fraud. Neither of us can get away.”
Mingjing considered showing them leniency, but they were ungrateful.
She only got back half of that money; the remaining pots, pans, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar, and tea, when converted into money, amounted to tens of thousands.
She didn't want to be taken advantage of and let them benefit for nothing.
"Mingliang, you've caused this mess. Come with me to find Qian Jiu'er and resolve this matter."
"Sister, can you even resolve an argument?" Mingyue worried that if Old Man Qian resorted to force, no one could win.
Mingjing found it amusing. "Who wants to argue? I'm going to reason with people."
After saying that, the two left the house one after the other and headed straight for the Qian family's house.
With no Mingjing around and no seafood to collect, everyone walked back with long faces. Qian Jiu'er, carrying a wooden bucket, saw Mingjing at her doorstep from afar.
She turned to run, but Mingliang rushed forward to stop her.
"Stop right there! Where do you think you're going!"
Many of the returning villagers stopped to watch when they saw this scene.
Qian Jiu'er was so frightened by Mingliang grabbing her arm that she burst into tears.
"Mingliang, you're hurting me!"
In the past, Mingliang would have bowed and apologized and offered gifts, but now he just felt disgusted.
"Stop talking nonsense. You called the police and said we robbed your house? How dare you say that? Give me back the rest of your things!"
At this moment, Mingliang was like a fighting rooster, completely losing his usual gentle demeanor.
"You've robbed our house of everything, are you still not done?" Qian Jiu'er covered her face and cried, her body sobbing. "Mingjing, you can't bully people like this."
"Stop talking nonsense. I remember giving you a pearl. Give it back to me right now."
Mingliang had almost forgotten about Baozhu, but he remembered when he saw the pearls on Qian Jiu'er's neck.
"What abalone pearl? I don't know."
"The one on your neck, you've forgotten but everyone remembers, my dad touched two abalone pearls half a year ago, sold one, and I gave the other to you, everyone knows that."
This statement resonated with many people, who came forward to provide evidence.
When Mingliang gave Baozhu to Qian Jiu'er, Qian Jiu'er showed it off throughout the village, which aroused the jealousy of many people. Now that Mingliang is coming back, they feel at peace.
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