chapter 4 Diving for oysters

Dagny sashayed into the room and Cabin chimed in, "Big Chested Beauty, could you whip up something delicious?"

"What did you just call me?" Dagny turned to look at Cabin. It was the first time someone had called her that so blatantly.

"Just calling it like I see it. Is there a problem?"

"Oh, quit kidding around. If you've got something to say, say it. If not, quit fooling around!" Dagny blushed slightly. If it were anyone else making such remarks, she might have been offended, but in the face of this cheerful young man, she found herself strangely unbothered.

After tending to the melon vines in the yard, Cabin came back inside, only to be greeted by the smell of slightly burnt food. He saw Dagny, her face and nose smudged with soot, eyes watering from the smoke, hunched over the large cooking pot, attempting to start a fire. The egg pancakes in the pot were already emitting smoke.

Cabin quickly used a spatula to retrieve the egg pancakes. "Do you even know how to cook, sis? Are these dishes meant for human consumption?"

Dagny stood up and wiped away a tear with the back of her hand. Coughing, she retorted, "Who can't cook? It's just that I've never used such a large pot in my life. It's the 21st century, and your house doesn't even have a gas stove or an electric wok!"

Watching Dagny as she loaded the firewood and wiped away sweat, her face covered in grime, Cabin couldn't help but burst into laughter. "Alright, my little miss. From now on, I'll do the cooking, and you just need to stoke the fire."

While Dagny wasn't thrilled about it, she couldn't manage both cooking and tending the fire at the same time.

Cabin washed the pot and added fresh oil. The eggs sizzled in the bowl as he beat them vigorously with chopsticks. When the oil was hot, he poured the mixture into the pan. In no time, a golden, glossy egg pancake slid out, perfectly round.

Dagny couldn't help but envy him. "Cabin, have you trained as a chef?"

Cabin let out a long sigh. "Growing up, poor kids learn to fend for themselves."

During the meal, Cabin asked Dagny about her salary as the village head. Dagny held up two fingers, white as snow, for Cabin to see. He reached out and touched them. "Oh, these little hands are almost getting callouses."

"Stop staring at my hands. I meant it's a fixed salary of two thousand dollars a month, plus performance bonuses for doing well."

"Oh, so that'll last us a few days." Cabin remarked as he sipped his porridge.

Dagny's eyes widened. "What? You expect me to support you?"

Cabin said, "Temporarily. I've been behind in making money these past few years. But now I have the time. It won't be long before I'm earning more than you. When that happens, I'll be the one supporting you!"

His words might have been casual, but they held weight. Hearing "I'll support you" unexpectedly touched Dagny. Perhaps, at this age, what a girl yearned for most was the phrase "I'll take care of you." It seemed more tangible than "I love you." Otherwise, why would Stephen Chow's line "I'll support you" from his movies become such a classic, moving so many people?

In a moment of surprise, Dagny shook her head and laughed, "It's not just about saying it; you'll have to back it up with action!"

"Alright, I'll do just that!" Cabin grabbed a fishing basket and headed out, saying, "I'm off to catch some fish!"

Dagny shook her head. "It's just after high tide. Where are you going to catch fish? Everyone says Cabin's a drunkard and a layabout, and it seems they're not wrong!"

Cabin left the village, heading south. In just a few miles, he could already hear the crashing waves and feel the sea breeze on his face. Though he'd been single-mindedly focused on mastering the "God Formulas" in recent years, that didn't mean he hadn't considered how to make a living. Hushan Village, nestled between mountains and sea, was undoubtedly rich in resources. However, due to the rugged and inconvenient terrain, along with mountains obstructing the way, it remained poor and undeveloped.

But it was precisely because of this that both the seawater and the forest remained untainted. Many resources remained untouched.

Gazing at the boundless sea, connecting with the vast sky, his mind expanded greatly.

As the saying goes, "Rely on the mountain to sustain you, rely on the water to nourish you!"

Since no one had come to exploit the resources in this rural area, he decided to be a pioneer!

Looking at the azure sea and boundless sky, countless thoughts raced through his mind, forming a grand plan.

He kicked off his shoes and stepped onto the soft sand. Feeling its warmth, he made his way toward the rocky shore.

People here preferred tending to the saline alkali soil at home rather than going out to gather from the sea. They found the rough roads troublesome and didn't want to travel so far to sell their goods.

There was also the fact that they only picked the flat sandy areas to dig for clams, collecting shells and small shrimp.

He, on the other hand, was different. He specialized in rock climbing, scaling a treacherous peak to reach a secluded valley surrounded by mountains on three sides, with only one side facing the sea.

Here, one could find large oysters, small mussels, and even sea cucumbers.

The saying "fortune favors the bold" held—the harder the terrain, the better the treasures.

This stretch of beach, several kilometers long, had never been visited, making it a pristine area.

In the past, he hadn't had the time and didn't dare take too many things from here. As long as he had enough for his consumption, it sufficed.

Now, things were different. With the breakthrough in the Profound Gateway, his daily training time had shortened to just morning and night. This meant he had plenty of time to make money!

He lifted a rock, and out crawled crabs the size of plates. In a water pool, there were small sea turtles, jellyfish, and sea fish. Beneath a rock, he plucked out a plump oyster.

If he were to take all the things from this beach and sell them, how much money would he make?

With a boat, he could even venture into the sea for fishing.

At the moment, the tide hadn't receded yet. He simply took off all his clothes, and with a splash, jumped into the water. He submerged, feeling around in the sand.

With the sunlight directly overhead, it illuminated the water, providing a clear view underwater.

He dug out a few oysters from the sand. Oysters generally grow in shallow waters. Due to the limited suitable conditions for their growth, their numbers are fewer compared to other varieties, resulting in a higher economic value.

The topography here created an advantage—it was an untouched area, and he suspected that nobody had ever been here before.

If it weren't for Cabin's experience as a special forces soldier, his agility, and his skill in rock climbing, he wouldn't have come here.

He placed some crabs, sea cucumbers, and the larger oysters into the fish basket, and then dived back in.

Before the tide receded, the oysters he found underwater were even bigger than what he gathered from the shore.

However, staying in the sea for a long time wasn't comfortable. When he came up, his limbs were a bit numb, as if covered in a layer of sea salt, pure white.

It wasn't until evening, as the tide began to recede, that Cabin had filled his basket.

Most of it was high-quality. After the tide went out, he couldn't be bothered with the small clams and snails on the beach.

With the basket on his back, he climbed the rocks and slopes again.

In the past, he could only carry thirty to forty catties of seafood up while climbing. This time, he carried fifty to sixty cities at once. It seemed that with the breakthrough in the Profound Gateway, his strength had doubled!

By the time he returned to the village, it was nearly dark.

Approaching his front door, thinking that a woman was waiting for him at home, his heart was filled with a joy he hadn't felt before.