Fu Mingyu was reminded of his own family.
Yeah, his luck really was terrible.
If he’d had any luck, he wouldn’t have had the misfortune of ending up with a scumbag father, a wicked stepmother, and a stepbrother.
If he’d had any luck, he wouldn’t have been kidnapped on his way to school, dragged to such a distant place, and handpicked from all those children to be used as a hostage against the navy.
If it hadn’t been for Yun Jiao, he probably would be dead.
At this thought, Fu Mingyu glanced at Yun Jiao.
’Maybe I do have my lucky moments after all.’
After shucking a little less than half a bucket of oysters, Yun Jiao had found twelve pearls herself.
Most were irregularly shaped and small. Only three were relatively round and lustrous, both milky white and over 8mm in size.
Besides these three, which could sell for a decent price, the rest were probably worthless.
Yun Linhai found five pearls, with only one over 8mm. Yun Linhe found three, and one of his was also of good quality, just a bit small.
They had opened about fifty-something oysters to get this much meat and this many pearls. All things considered, the percentage of oysters with pearls was quite high.
Who knows how many years these oysters had been growing on the island.
As for Fu Mingyu... never mind, let’s not talk about it.
Shucking oysters was hard work. With his small frame and limited strength, Fu Mingyu only managed to open a few before he couldn’t continue. He hadn’t found a single pearl, either. After that, he just gave up.
His attitude was good, though. He didn’t complain or get angry, instead just taking his camera and snapping pictures everywhere.
"Alright."
Yun Jiao clapped her hands, looking at the oyster meat with satisfaction. This should be enough for the Whale Shark to have a taste.
Feeding the Whale Shark until it was full was impossible. It was so huge that to fill it up, they’d have to spend the entire day doing nothing but shucking oysters for it.
But Yun Jiao had no intention of being such a sucker.
She called the Whale Shark over.
The Whale Shark circled their boat slowly twice, then Yun Jiao lifted the bucket and tossed the contents into the sea a short distance away.
The Whale Shark swam over, opened its mouth beneath the oysters, and took a huge gulp.
Its massive mouth sucked everything nearby right into it.
Their boat wasn’t too far away and was violently rocked by the suction, getting pulled a short distance closer.
Watching a Whale Shark eat from this close was pretty thrilling.
’Yummy, I like it~’
Whale Sharks normally eat small fish and shrimp. The oyster meat was boneless and delicious. It was the first time it had ever eaten something like this, and it immediately conveyed its feelings to Yun Jiao.
Yun Jiao was satisfied. ’As long as it likes it.’
"I’ll come play with you again next time."
It was getting late. After saying goodbye to the Whale Shark, they had to hurry back to the island to shuck more oysters.
This time, Yun Jiao didn’t bother with fishing. She just grabbed her shovel and got to work.
She was strong, so she was fast at prying the oysters from the rocks.
At first, Fu Mingyu thought that even though Yun Jiao was strong, he was a boy and shouldn’t fall too far behind. So, he rolled up his sleeves and worked with all his might.
But after a while, his face went slack and his eyes glazed over with exhaustion.
’Why was I even trying to compete? I’m such an idiot, I have no idea what my own limits are!’
’So tired... My arms are so sore... I can’t lift them anymore.’
*giving-up-on-life.jpg*
Fu Mingyu’s expression was a perfect and vivid match.
"Hahaha... Xiao Fu, you can’t go on like this. You’re too out of shape."
Fu Mingyu pressed his lips together.
Even though he was still a kid, he felt frustrated.
Yun Linhai said with a laugh, "You should eat more to build yourself up when you get back. You’re way too skinny. Look at my Jiaojiao—she eats two big bowls every meal, and she’s still so little. She’ll eat even more when she gets older."
Yun Jiao puffed out her chest proudly. That’s right, she was a big eater!
*proud-little-fish.jpg*
Fu Mingyu murmured, "The more you eat, the stronger you get?"
Alright, he’d remember that.
After hauling three trips of oysters, it was getting late and time for them to head back.
It had been another great haul today.
On their way back, the killer whales, which they hadn’t seen all day, finally appeared.
At that moment, Yun Jiao was sitting at the stern of the boat, singing with her bare feet dangling.
It was the first time Fu Mingyu had heard such a song. It had no lyrics, but the sound was so beautiful it sent a tremor through his heart and made his scalp tingle.
Yun Jiao’s speaking voice was already lovely, but he never expected her singing voice to be even more beautiful.
It was an absolute feast for the ears!
"WOOOO~ WOOOO~"
Under the setting sun, the call of a killer whale echoed back from the distance.
Yun Jiao’s singing and the killer whale’s calls intertwined, creating a beautiful duet.
Seeing the killer whale swimming toward them, a smile appeared on the little girl’s delicate and pretty face as she sat at the stern.
It was a pure, clean smile, so beautiful it was almost mesmerizing.
Fu Mingyu realized he really, really liked seeing Yun Jiao smile.
Because her smile allowed him to feel that emotion called happiness, too.
"Dad, I’m going to play with the killer whales."
"Go on, go on. Don’t go to the bottom of the sea, now. It’s time to head home."
Yun Jiao replied in her clear, bright voice, "I know."
With that, she dove straight into the sea.
The little girl swam freely through the clear, azure water.
"Fu Mingyu, do you want to play with the killer whales?"
Fu Mingyu shook his head. "When I learn how to swim, I’ll come find you then."
"Okay! And you should learn to dive, not just swim. Then the killer whales and I can take you to see the bottom of the sea. It’s super pretty down there—fish of all colors, shrimp, big crabs, and coral..."
She stopped talking to Fu Mingyu when the killer whale reached her.
"Let’s go~"
Riding the killer whale, Yun Jiao "raced" through the sea with the reckless abandon of someone who feared nothing and was ready to fight anyone who dared to cross her.
But this recklessness wasn’t off-putting; on the contrary, it was incredibly vibrant and full of life.
Fu Mingyu said nothing, just kept taking pictures.
On this trip, he used up all the camera film he had brought with him.
As they neared the coast, Yun Jiao fed the killer whales some oysters—not much, just a piece or two of oyster meat for each one.
"Goodbye, I’ll come play with you again next time."
Once she was back on the boat, Yun Linhai expertly wrapped her in a towel.
"We’re almost at the pier. Jiaojiao, you and Xiao Fu should head back first."
Yun Jiao nodded while sipping some water. "The oysters aren’t for sale," she stressed.
"Alright, alright... we won’t sell them."
There were pearls inside the oysters, and the pearls were worth much more than the oysters themselves.
The boat docked at the pier, and Yun Jiao left with Fu Mingyu. Their boat was quickly surrounded.
Ah Wang walked up, beaming, while others curiously looked on to see what good things the family had brought in today.
Yun Linhai and Yun Linhe started by moving the fish out.
The sight of all those big fish made people’s eyes turn red with envy.
Ah Wang’s face lit up with a smile. He knew it—his cousins’ luck at sea was the best!
The fish catch wasn’t huge today, and compared to the hauls Yun Jiao had brought up from the seabed before, it wasn’t particularly rare.
And finally, there was a boat full of oysters.
"Did you guys find an oyster colony?"
Yun Linhai and Yun Linhe just laughed and dodged the question.
"Bro, about these oysters..."
Yun Linhe quickly cut in, "The oysters aren’t for sale."
"Our family is keeping them for ourselves."
"There are so many. Can your family really eat them all?"
Yun Linhe said, "We have a big family. Whatever we can’t finish, we’ll sun-dry into dried oysters. They’re great for adding flavor when you’re cooking."
Yun Wang nodded. Oysters weren’t anything that rare; people who foraged on the beach often found them, just not in such large quantities.
Er... and not this big or this plump, either.
The peak season for plump oysters was already over, but as he looked at these, they seemed just as good as the ones from the best time of year.