Chapter 27: A Whole Nest of Snow Clams!

In just a short while, Ye Yaodong had already found five rock crabs, six or seven sword shrimp, and a few mudskippers.

The best catch so far was still that large kuruma prawn.

He continued wandering around the shallow pools nearby when suddenly—

“Ah! Snow clams! Holy crap, it’s a whole nest!”

Nearsighted people were rare in this era.

Especially for someone like him who never studied, his eyesight was excellent.

From quite a distance away, he spotted several snow clams on the sand with their shells open and tentacles sticking out.

He immediately jogged over.

“It really is a whole nest!”

“What whole nest?”

Xiaoxiao, who wasn’t far away, turned around curiously when he heard the excited shout.

“Snow clams! I found a whole cluster of snow clams. They’re all sitting there with their mouths open and tentacles sticking out.”

Ye Yaodong squatted down and picked one up.

The moment it touched his hand, the shell snapped tightly shut.

He weighed it in his palm and grinned happily.

“They’re actually pretty big too. Jackpot! Jackpot!”

Thunk!

He tossed it into the bucket.

Xiaoxiao hurried over for a look.

“Holy shit, what kind of luck do you have? You found snow clams this big? And a whole bunch of them too…”

A’Zheng also ran over and peeked inside.

“Damn it, what dog shit luck did you step in? You already found this many rock crabs too? Look at mine—two sword shrimp, two mudskippers, and nothing else!”

“Same here! Mine’s even worse. I only got two mudskippers.”

Chen Wei, though farther away, lifted his bucket and shook it twice.

“It’s because your luck sucks!”

Ye Yaodong happily picked up the cluster of snow clams and tossed them all into the bucket one after another.

The repeated thunk thunk thunk sounds made everyone jealous.

“How many are there? They’re all huge too. These things are so satisfying to eat!”

He shook the bucket and estimated based on size.

Definitely over a jin.

“I forgot to count. Probably eighteen or nineteen? Definitely over a jin.”

“Dog shit luck! Move, move, move. This whole area belongs to me now. Go search somewhere else. My bucket’s still completely empty. Don’t you feel ashamed?”

A’Guang waved his long hook enviously and drove him aside, preparing to claim the entire area for himself.

Laughing, Ye Yaodong moved a few steps away.

“Hahaha! So that’s why you’ve been so quiet. Turns out your bucket’s empty and you’ve got no confidence.”

“Get lost! I’m claiming this side. Go somewhere else and let me change my luck.”

“I think your bad luck comes from your name. Pei Guang… sounds like ‘lose everything.’ Empty pockets, bad fortune, nothing going smoothly. Don’t you realize you lose more often than you win whenever you gamble? Yesterday was a rare exception. And honestly, all these years, nothing else has gone smoothly for you either.”

This time he spoke seriously.

A’Guang’s luck truly had always been terrible.

After moving to Zhoushan in his previous life, they occasionally kept in touch over the phone.

And every time he heard from him, it was always:

Whatever he did, he lost money.

Only after turning forty did someone advise him to change his name and see if it might improve his luck.

Unexpectedly, after changing it, everything really started going smoothly.

Within a few years, he’d paid off all his debts and even bought a house for his son to get married.

Ye Yaodong felt he really should remind him.

Better to believe than not.

People from rural areas in this era were all somewhat superstitious anyway.

A’Guang stroked his chin.

“Now that you mention it, I also think my name isn’t very good.”

“How about changing it to A’Wang? Hahahaha~”

“Haha! That actually sounds good!”

“No way. If he changes it to A’Wang and becomes too lucky, he’ll win every card game. I’ll lose the pants off me!”

“Right, right! Can’t call him A’Wang. Too lucky is no good either. Change it to something else. Not too lucky!”

Everyone burst into laughter, taking turns teasing him.

“Get lost and do your own work!”

A’Guang glared at his terrible friends.

“Or you could change your name to Pei Shun! Smooth sailing in everything, good fortune all around!”

Ye Yaodong laughed as he walked into the area A’Guang had searched earlier.

In his previous life, A’Guang had indeed changed his name to Pei Shun.

“Hey, Pei Shun actually sounds pretty good. Easy to say too, and the meaning’s nice.”

A’Guang was visibly tempted.

“There really is something mysterious about naming. People say it affects your fate, luck, and future. Aren’t fortune tellers nowadays always calculating birth charts and Eight Trigrams for newborns? I’ve got a copy of the I Ching at home. Want me to lend it to you? Better safe than sorry.”

A’Guang stared at A’Zheng in surprise.

“What’s the I Ching? You have that? Planning to become a fortune teller?”

“Tch. I accidentally found it at home. There’s also a pressure-point martial arts manual. Could’ve been passed down by my ancestors! Want to practice? Maybe you’ll become martial arts masters!”

“Holy crap, so your ancestors might not only have been fortune tellers, but wandering martial arts heroes too? Do you have the Sunflower Manual? The Evil-Repelling Sword Manual?”

“Want to practice it? I can recite it for you. ‘To master this skill, one must first castrate oneself.’ I don’t mind helping you out! Should we use a woodcutting axe? A dull one would let your little bird stay around a bit longer.”

“You already castrated yourself, didn’t you? That’s why you still haven’t married. Damn, your dad only has one son and you actually gave up your bird?”

“What little bird? You’re the one who got castrated! Mine’s a big bird!”

…

While they joked and messed around, Ye Yaodong suddenly noticed a fish tail with black-gray spots sticking out beneath a nearby large rock.

He quickly interrupted them.

“Holy crap, come look under this big rock. Is that tail from a grouper?”

“Where? Where?”

A’Guang excitedly ran over and lay flat to peer under the rock.

“Damn, it’s a tiger grouper! I just circled around this rock earlier. How come I didn’t see it?”

“Told you already, your luck sucks. Move aside. I’m gonna poke it with the fire poker and see if I can force it out. Can’t catch it while it’s wedged under the rock.”

Ye Yaodong was thrilled.

A tiger grouper!

That was premium loot!

The others crowded around again, unable to stop complaining.

“How come every good thing ends up with you? A’Guang searched around here forever and didn’t find a thing!”

“Maybe my luck finally turned around?”

Or maybe things reversed after reaching the extreme?

After all, he’d been so unlucky he literally fell into the sea while peeing and died.

Now that he’d been reborn, perhaps all the bad luck had dispersed and his fortune exploded instead?

A’Wei patted A’Guang on the shoulder.

“When your dad comes back, hurry and change your name.”

A’Guang looked utterly depressed.

He really had searched around this rock earlier.

He’d even felt there should be something hidden there.

But he never saw any fish come out.

Then the moment he heard Dongzi mention finding a whole nest of snow clams, he’d run over immediately.

And now the second Dongzi arrived here, he instantly discovered a grouper.

What the hell kind of rotten luck was this?

(End of Chapter)