In the evening, a group of people gathered in an open space by the sea, but no one spoke.
Inside the circle, two men who looked like fishermen were squatting or kneeling, each wearing a thin metal sleeve with fingers attached.
One of the middle-aged men was holding the snake's head in one hand and using a pointed cup to extract the venom in the other.
The younger men helped him control the snake's body.
The sea snake struggled in vain, then spat out a pale yellow liquid from its mouth, which slowly flowed into the cup through its pointed beak.
A little further away from them, there were several wooden cages, each 1.5 meters long and wide, filled with thousands of brightly colored sea snakes.
Zuo Ling and Pei Nansheng sat leisurely on the tricycle, quietly watching them extract snake venom.
Two other men opened one side panel of the wooden cage, revealing a hole about the size of a cup. One of them then inserted a branch into the cage to drive away the snake.
Soon, a snake's head emerged from the hole. The person guarding the hole moved with lightning speed, clamping the snake's head and pulling out the snake, which was over a meter long.
The person who retrieved the snake also wore a specially made sleeve on his arm.
He didn't hand the sea snake over to the man who was extracting the venom, but waited until he finished before continuing to extract the venom.
It goes on and on, repeating endlessly.
Removing the poison was not only a technical task but also physically demanding; their hands were trembling before they had even removed a third of it.
There were several other people with them, but no one could replace them. It's likely that their skills weren't as good as the other two, so no one dared to take their place.
"Take a break, then you can get it later."
Being too tired could easily lead to accidents, so Pei Nansheng handed each of them a bottle of water and a compressed biscuit.
The two hesitated, not daring to take a bite.
Compressed biscuits are in high demand; a small piece can cost several contribution points. Fresh water is also scarce.
"Eat up, it's a free gift and not included in the weight."
They let out a long sigh of relief and smiled gratefully. They had been starving for a long time and were weak and powerless. They really couldn't hold on any longer.
Not only is it physically demanding, but it's also mentally stressful. There are venomous snakes everywhere, and if you're bitten, there's no chance of survival.
The others swallowed enviously, but no one said anything.
After a sip of water, I felt refreshed all over, and all my fatigue seemed to disappear.
You're lucky to be able to drink water from my spatial well.
A commotion broke out in the distant port as a large cargo ship docked, and many people cheered.
Zuo Ling narrowed her eyes. The cargo ship... looked familiar. Ah, it was them!
Pei Nansheng leaned closer and said, "It's been several months, why are you only arriving now?"
"Who knows?"
Zuo Lingmo didn't care when love would arrive.
Knowing that his younger sister still had unresolved issues, Pei Nansheng didn't say anything more.
The night was dark and the weather was getting cooler.
The group built a large fire, both for light and for warmth.
More than two hours later, all the snake venom was removed, totaling a little over 1.5 jin (approximately 750 grams).
It's truly remarkable that it took so many sea snakes to extract just 1.5 jin (approximately 0.75 kg) of venom!
The snake venom that Tan Guanghao brought must have been stored for a long time.
After settling the bill, the middle-aged man asked Pei Nansheng:
"Brother Pei, will you still be collecting snake venom in the future?"
They wanted to raise the sea snakes so they could extract venom again in twenty or thirty days.
However, they don't have much good food to feed the sea snakes, and it's estimated that after another two or three times, the sea snakes will be ruined.
Looking into the wooden cage, the sea snake, having had its venom removed, was listless, its ferocious appearance gone.
After thinking for a moment, he said, "I'll take it."
The group was delighted; they hoped Pei Nansheng could continue receiving the money, as it would provide them with a stable source of income.
"Do you accept transactions involving cat and wolf dog food? If so, you can give me an extra 10 jin."
10 more pounds!
The man was so excited he stammered, "Yes, yes, next time... we can have cats, wolves, dogs, or wolves too."
Cat food and dog food are made from grains, so what can't they eat?
Over the years, how many inedible things have they eaten?
I'm lucky if I have anything to eat, so why bother about whether it's nutritionally balanced? As long as it fills my stomach and is non-toxic, I'll put it all in my mouth.
Some people say you can't eat this or that, but if you starve them for two days, everything will taste delicious.
"Alright, come find me whenever you want to retrieve the poison."
"Okay, okay, okay."
They bowed and scraped as they saw Pei Nansheng and his sister off.
Before the people had gone far, the group couldn't contain their excitement, high-fiving and jumping for joy.
This is the first time in several years that I have received actual grain.
She was laughing, then she started crying. One person cried, and everyone else's eyes welled up with tears.
He muttered to himself, "It wasn't easy, it was so incredibly difficult."
They went through great lengths and faced life-or-death situations to get the compressed biscuits, and thankfully, with God's blessing, they finally returned safely.
He was worried that Pei Nansheng might not keep his word after bringing back the sea snake, but he finally felt relieved when he saw the compressed biscuits in the bag.
What happened next did not escape the perception of Zuo Ling and Pei Nansheng.
The group worked in a very organized manner and did a very good job. Giving them some benefits wouldn't be a bad idea.
Before I even got home, I heard dogs barking and wolves howling in the distance. My heart sank, and I sped up my ride.
"They're back, they're back."
A crowd had gathered in front of their house, and when they saw them return, they made way for them.
Qian Yu, He Guiqi is also here.
The two women came forward, one of them calling out, "Sister Zuo."
The other one is called "Sister".
Zuo Ling ignored them and looked into the courtyard. A Si was pinning someone down, and Gouzi was confronting two soldiers with sticks.
Seeing Zuo Ling return, Waterfall rushed over, grabbed Zuo Ling's trouser leg, pointed at the man being controlled by A Si, and whined and complained.
A soldier strikes first:
"Sister Zuo, you're finally back! Your dog and the wolf cub hurt someone. Make them let the person go!"
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