Returning with a Full Load

"Hmm? Someone beat me to it?"

Liang He's expression changed abruptly, and he looked somewhat dazed.

Since he had begun harvesting clams, he had always been the one to snatch from others. When had anyone ever snatched from him?

And this was when he held such an overwhelming advantage!

He steadied his gaze, his eyes piercing through layer upon layer of lake water as they fell upon Hong Ming, as though trying to see what sort of extraordinary person he was.

Yet he quickly realized that the person before him was quite unfamiliar. He had never seen him before.

"A newcomer?"

Liang He secretly wondered, then immediately denied it. How could a newcomer possess such ability?

Though astonished, he did not dwell on it. Seeing that Hong Ming had already secured the pearl clam, he turned and left.

If his skills fell short, then no amount of talking would change anything. Rather than waste time, he might as well find more pearl clams.

Not far away, Hong Ming noticed Liang He leaving, but paid it no mind.

If he had previously been wary of Liang He trying to snatch from him, now he was not worried in the slightest.

What had just happened was enough to prove that, with the Water Proficiency Trait, his underwater skills had already surpassed the other man's.

If Liang He wanted to snatch from him, he would first have to see whether he had the ability to catch up.

After marveling once more at the power of Traits, Hong Ming did not waste any time and continued harvesting clams.

This was the basic quality of a veteran: not rejoicing over past gains, nor grieving over present losses, with nothing but clam harvesting on his mind.

Especially now that he had tasted success, Hong Ming was even more motivated, harvesting with full concentration.

The earlier pearl clam seemed to have made a good start. After that, Hong Ming's clam harvesting went quite smoothly.

He encountered a pearl clam almost every ten breaths. In less than a hundred breaths, he had already harvested seven pearl clams.

Along the way, he also captured quite a few Traits, though most were ordinary.

Traits like Undercurrent Perception and Swimming Fish Tail Flick had once been somewhat useful to him, but now they had become something lying by the roadside.

Everything they possessed was contained within Water Proficiency, and with even better effects!

His breath-holding soon reached its limit, so Hong Ming did not dare be greedy. He used both hands to part the lake's surface.

Sun Dazhuang had long been waiting anxiously on the boat. This time, Hong Ming had stayed underwater even longer than before—so long that Sun Dazhuang had begun to fear something had happened to him.

Only when he saw Hong Ming emerge amid a stream of bubbles did the stone hanging over his heart finally fall.

"Hong Ming, did something happen? Why were you down there for so long this time?"

After pulling Hong Ming onto the boat, Sun Dazhuang asked curiously.

Hong Ming shook his head. "Nothing, Brother Sun. Harvesting the pearl clams held me up for a while."

"Oh? You harvested pearl clams? How many did you get?" Sun Dazhuang froze for a moment. From Hong Ming's tone, it sounded as if he had harvested quite a few.

He was somewhat dismissive inwardly, thinking that the clams Hong Ming had gathered were probably all cheap little ones.

For a newcomer harvesting clams, even finding clams at all was already decent. To find good clams required extremely high luck and skill.

However, as Hong Ming took out the pearl clams one by one, Sun Dazhuang's expression gradually changed.

Especially when he saw the final large pearl clam, his eyes suddenly widened. "Th-this, you harvested this?"

"Mm, I got lucky." Hong Ming casually replied as he wiped away the water droplets.

Lucky?

Sun Dazhuang's mouth twitched.

If he had not personally brought Hong Ming along and known his capabilities, he would have suspected that Hong Ming was deliberately making a fool of him.

Could the word "lucky" alone explain harvesting so many medium and small clams? And even this large pearl clam?

That luck was simply too inconceivable!

Yet aside from that, there seemed to be no other explanation.

He quickly accepted reality. No matter what, the more pearl clams Hong Ming harvested, the more he would earn.

"Hurry and see how many pearls are inside," Sun Dazhuang urged.

Hong Ming did as he said. It took him quite a while before he managed to pry a crack open in the tightly sealed hard shell.

Through the crack, they could vaguely see a gleaming white shine. Once the shell was fully opened, the sight within immediately brightened both men's eyes.

Beneath the plump, tender clam meat lay a pearl curled up inside, as large as a longan seed.

The pearl was round and well-formed, smooth and full, its color lustrous white with a faint milky-yellow halo.

The only flaw was that it seemed to contain some tiny impurities, adding a trace of regret to what should have been perfect quality.

The same regret appeared in Sun Dazhuang's voice. "It's a mid-grade Clam Pearl!"

With just one glance, he judged the pearl's quality. He was somewhat disappointed. Without those impurities, this pearl would have been a high-grade Clam Pearl!

The difference between high-grade and mid-grade Clam Pearls was not merely a difference in wording, but a difference as vast as heaven and earth in price.

The price gap between the two was often several times, even ten times or more!

Regret was regret, but overall, he was still satisfied.

Compared with the meager gains he usually got when bringing newcomers, he could at least make a small profit this time. The trip had not been in vain.

"This kid has talent!"

Sun Dazhuang glanced at Hong Ming, who was fiddling with the other pearl clams, and silently gave his assessment.

He then joined in. Before long, he had removed all the remaining Clam Pearls. Whether in quality or size, these were clearly inferior to the mid-grade Clam Pearl.

After counting them, aside from that mid-grade Clam Pearl, they had harvested twelve small pearls in total, generally low-grade or below.

For the time that followed, Sun Dazhuang led Hong Ming from place to place, continuing to harvest clams.

Hong Ming's good luck seemed to have vanished. He did not harvest another mid-grade Clam Pearl, though he frequently gathered small pearl clams.

Half an hour later, Sun Dazhuang looked at the sky and said, "It's getting late. Let's head back."

Hong Ming naturally had no objections. The two ended this round of clam harvesting, rowed the boat back to the lakeshore, then took the pearls to the nearby Fishery Market, where the Chen Family had a shop specifically for buying Clam Pearls.

In truth, Hong Ming could have sold them himself. After paying a certain fee, he could obtain a stall, but that would have taken quite a bit of time and effort.

Moreover, he had not harvested many Clam Pearls this time. Selling them from a stall would have cost more than it gained, so he simply followed Sun Dazhuang's suggestion and sold them directly to the Chen Family.

The Chen Family's price was slightly lower than the market rate, but it saved him time, so overall, it was not a loss.

The two soon arrived at the Fishery Market, found the shop Sun Dazhuang often visited, and displayed their Clam Pearls.

"What a pity. Without the impurities, I could offer one tael of silver. Now, I can only offer one qian of silver!" The shopkeeper examined the mid-grade Clam Pearl and said with some regret.

Those words brought another flicker of regret to Sun Dazhuang's face.

Hong Ming, however, looked surprised. He had not expected the price difference between the two to be so great—tenfold, in fact.

"Doesn't that mean that if I can harvest a high-grade pearl clam in the future, I'll be guaranteed at least one tael of silver?"

At that thought, Hong Ming's heart surged, as though he had glimpsed a path toward settling his enormous debt.

Haste makes waste. He did not rush for quick success, taking several deep breaths to regain his calm.

High-grade Clam Pearls were rare. They were not so easily found.

But he believed that with the two Traits, Water Proficiency and Clam Harvesting Expert, this was merely the beginning.

As he gained more Traits and his craft improved, there would be limitless possibilities ahead!

After the price of the mid-grade Clam Pearl was appraised, the remaining small pearls were basically worthless and were bundled together for twenty copper coins.

In the end, this clam-harvesting trip earned a total of one hundred and twenty copper coins.

Sun Dazhuang took half, and the rest went to Hong Ming.

Including what he had earned before, Hong Ming had made one hundred and sixty copper coins in total, far surpassing ordinary earnings.

However, the greatest gain today was undoubtedly the two Traits, which had laid the foundation for his exploration of the underwater world.

"If every day could be like this, with both Traits and wealth flourishing, I'd be willing even if I broke through to Bright Force tomorrow!"

At this moment, Hong Ming understood Qin Hao and became Qin Hao.