After several women swayed their slender snake-like waists and gracefully turned away, A Man disgustedly glared at their retreating figures and let out a cold snort.
"Sister, don't worry. Uncle Su is back. With him around, nothing will go wrong in the village. I'll take care of the family with Granny Sun. We'll surely keep Mianmian safe."
She puffed out her chest, looking as if facing a great enemy. This made Li Ying can't help but smile.
"A Man, I really need your help. But you have to come on board with me this time."
"I'm taking Mianmian and Maomao with me this time."
A Man never expected her to say such words. She was stunned for a moment.
"Sister?"
God knows what those women were up to!
Even though Maomao was nimble and cunning, and Mianmian always managed to turn danger into safety, but...
Li Ying shook her head.
Lin, the imperial inspector, had held a high position steadily for more than a decade. He was a scheming old fox. How could he be easily deceived with just a few words?
She had laid out many baits, but the old fox still didn't show up on his own initiative.
So, this current scheme had to be half true and half false, full of twists and turns, to lure him into the trap.
She had to let Qing Liu and the others witness the magic of the conch pearls with their own eyes, and see the feasibility of large-scale conch pearl cultivation. Only when there was a glimmer of hope could they deceive this greedy official who wouldn't act without certainty.
She had already thought it through clearly. The little red snails in the space were still too young and insignificant. In the end, she had to take Maomao to find a larger natural snail habitat and rely on her lucky daughter Mianmian's good fortune to take a gamble.
She had asked Zhang Lu and several experienced old fishermen. She heard that in the early years, the villagers had accidentally caught some relatively large snails. Their shells were sharp, the meat was quite tough, with patterns and mucus. It was very difficult to take the meat out of the shells for consumption, so no one bothered to catch them on purpose.
Hearing this description, Li Ying was already somewhat certain in her heart. Judging from the climate of the fishing village, these large snails were most likely the so-called "coconut snails" in later generations, the very mother shells that could produce natural conch pearls that she had been longing to find!
It was imperative to go out to sea and find the coconut snail group. She hadn't taken any hasty actions before. On the one hand, the New Year was approaching, and people tended to be lazy. She also didn't want to delay the reunion of the villagers in the fishing village. On the other hand, Lu Xunguang wasn't in the village. If she left, it would be difficult for A Man to handle any unexpected situations.
But now that Su Buchi had come back to help, she had nothing to worry about. Naturally, she was eager to give it a try.
A Man listened to her explain her thoughts one by one, and immediately nodded without hesitation.
Li Ying tickled her precious daughter and gently held her little hand, whispering, "Baby, if everything goes smoothly this time, mommy and you will get a lot of silver!"
Mianmian blinked her eyes and babbled "mommy". No one knew if she understood or not, but she giggled.
Li Ying also steamed a Wenchang chicken flatteringly. She carefully picked out the chicken bones and placed the meat in front of Maomao.
The little civet cat stretched out its nose and sniffed. It immediately understood her intention. In its little cat eyes like glass beads, there was undisguised contempt for her flattery. But its fluffy little tail still swept around her feet, showing obvious affection.
The group packed their things and bid farewell to Granny Sun, saying that they were just taking Mianmian out to enjoy the beautiful sea view.
Granny Sun knew that Li Ying hadn't seen Lu Xunguang for a long time. She must be feeling somewhat depressed. Although she vaguely felt that something was amiss, seeing that there were many villagers on the boat and A Man was accompanying them, she nodded in agreement.
Mianmian nestled obediently in her mother's arms. Occasionally, she ate a few pieces of the date paste cake that Li Ying had prepared for her. It was sweet, soft, and easy to swallow. She didn't cry or make a fuss.
Maomao seemed quite excited. It nimbly climbed up the mast and sat proudly on the very top. Its fluffy fur was blown by the sea breeze into a fluffy dandelion.
Li Ying looked at it, looking like a self - satisfied cat captain, and couldn't help laughing.
The cat captain's tail was like a navigation mark. Following the direction it pointed, they soon reached a deep - sea area.
Maomao jumped off the mast and made a "gurgling" sound in its throat. Obviously, it meant that this was the destination of this trip.
Zhang Lu and several other boatmen were already used to dealing with this spiritual little cat. Without saying a word, they cast the trawl net.
The boatmen sang work songs and pulled the trawl net hard. Soon, in the cabin, Qing Liu rubbed her sleepy eyes and led several women up slowly.
"Boss Li, what's this...?"
She pretended to be woken up from a deep sleep. She even washed off her makeup, removed her hairpins and rings, and only wore her inner clothes. She really did a perfect job.
Li Ying raised her eyebrows. Just then, she saw a pair of tasseled earrings hanging on her plump earlobes.
She wasn't in a hurry to expose her. She just said in a deep voice, "We should be able to get a good harvest here."
Qing Liu and the others wrapped their clothes tighter. With curious looks on their faces, they looked out at the pitch - black sea.
However, after waiting for a long time, all Zhang Lu pulled up was an empty net.
"A Ying, this..."
Zhang Lu looked embarrassed and shrugged awkwardly.
It was really strange! How could they come back empty - handed for no reason?
Li Ying just smiled slightly. Instead, she became more certain in her heart.
Coconut snails usually like to live on the seabed, preying on small shellfish, and even small fish and shrimps. When they reproduce, they will lay their eggs on the seabed rocks.
The empty trawl net actually confirmed her speculation.
She whispered a few words to Zhu'er. Zhu'er was an excellent swimmer. In the past, she had been used to diving for pearls. This little depth of water was naturally no problem for her.
She changed her clothes, put on the flippers that Li Ying had prepared, tied a long rope around her waist, took a deep breath, and then jumped into the water without hesitation!
Qing Liu and the others stared eagerly at the place where Zhu'er had dived.
A moment later, she surfaced. There was an uncontrollable look of joy in her eyes.
"Sister Li, it's done!"
"Just as you said, there are countless small snails living on the seabed, and there are also some snail eggs that haven't hatched yet!"
After she got on the boat, Li Ying quickly took a thick cloak and wrapped her up tightly.
Although the fishing village was warm, the night sea breeze was still a bit cold. It would be bad if she caught a cold.
Zhu'er wiped the dripping sea water from her hair and opened her hand. There was a small coconut snail in her palm. Although it wasn't fully grown yet, there were already patterns on the snail meat.