Chapter 251: Tide-Chasing
Vivian Lowell was a little surprised to see the green pearl.
She had never seen a pearl of this color before. She’d only heard that pearls came in colors other than white, but she had never seen one herself.
And Finn had actually found a green one.
"I found it just now while I was snorkeling. I saw a shell, so I went over to take a look. Vance Wyatt told me that this kind of shell might contain a pearl, so I opened it."
"And sure enough, there was! Boss, is it beautiful? I want to give it to you! You can do whatever you want with it; I don’t mind!"
Hearing Finn say he wanted to give her the pearl, Vivian Lowell disagreed. "A dark green pearl is incredibly valuable. I can’t accept this gift from you."
"Finn, since you found it, you should keep it safe. We’re going to continue beachcombing in a bit. Maybe we’ll find more, right?"
"If we find more later, you can give me one then! I can’t accept this one."
Vivian Lowell understood Finn’s intentions.
Finn must have felt that he could learn a lot from coming out with her, and on top of that, Vivian Lowell had taken very good care of him back at the company.
𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂
Because of this, it was understandable that Finn was grateful for Vivian Lowell’s kindness and wanted to repay her.
But she still couldn’t accept it!
It was too valuable!
"This..." Seeing Vivian Lowell refuse, Finn felt helpless and subconsciously glanced back at Vance Wyatt. Vance said, "It’s alright, Finn. Mrs. Faulkner is right."
"If you want to thank Mrs. Faulkner, there are many things you can give her. Aren’t we here to go beachcombing today? Our lunch depends entirely on what we find right now!"
"You need to put in more effort and try to get Mrs. Faulkner more and better seafood, right?"
When Finn heard that, he thought it made sense. Filled with renewed energy, he went to ask the boatman when the tide would be low.
The boatman looked at his phone, then at the water level, which had already receded quite a bit. He said, "It’s about time. You can head over now."
"Remember what I said and be sure to come back before the time I gave you. The tide comes in fast, so don’t linger, or there could be an accident!"
"Okay."
Everyone agreed, then put on their special beachcombing waders that looked like overalls connected to rain boots, pulled on their gloves, and waded into the water.
The weather was a bit hot.
Even though Vivian Lowell was wearing a hat as she walked through the water, she could feel sweat beading on her forehead. Thankfully, the coolness radiating from her legs and feet kept her feeling relatively comfortable.
Most of the rocks and coral reefs near the small island were now exposed above the water.
Vivian Lowell remembered the beachcombing videos she had watched the previous night and started flipping over rocks one by one, looking for crabs, oysters, and other things hiding underneath.
Vivian Lowell was very lucky.
Under the very first rock she moved, she found a crab—a huge flower crab at that!
"There’s one! There’s one!"
Vivian Lowell shouted excitedly and was about to reach out and grab the crab!
But... crabs have eight legs. Even though they can only scuttle sideways, they move incredibly fast. Before Vivian Lowell could even extend her hand, the crab had already scurried into a crevice between other rocks.
It vanished inside in an instant, and Vivian Lowell couldn’t see it anymore.
"..."
Seeing this, Vivian Lowell went over and moved the rock the crab had crawled under. When she found nothing there, not a trace of the crab, she realized how naive she had been.
"That crab actually got away!"
Vivian Lowell said with a pout. Just then, Julian Faulkner came over. His eyesight was, for some reason, ridiculously sharp.
He had actually spotted the crab that slipped away from Vivian Lowell. With the tip of the hook in his hand, he stabbed directly into the crab’s body!
A crab’s shell was indeed hard, but it was nothing in the face of professional beachcombing tools.
After Julian Faulkner pierced the crab’s shell, he lifted the hook, handed it to Vivian Lowell, and said, "It ran over here."
"This crab has probably lived around here for a long time; it knows its escape routes. It’s normal that you couldn’t catch it. Next time, remember not to use your hands."
"This type of flower crab has very strong pincers. Since you’ve never caught a crab before, if you accidentally get your hand pinched, it will hurt a lot, even with gloves on."
Vivian Lowell swallowed hard.
She hadn’t expected Julian Faulkner to be so skilled. She had clearly asked him before, and he’d said he had never been beachcombing, yet he acted like a seasoned pro!
’Is this the result of doing all your homework in advance?’
’As expected of Julian Faulkner, he’s amazing!’
Vivian Lowell couldn’t help but want to give Julian Faulkner a thumbs-up. A little sheepishly, she tossed the still-thrashing crab into her bucket, rubbed the back of her head, and said, "I didn’t expect to be so lucky either."
"I saw a big crab under the very first rock I moved, so I wasn’t prepared."
"Julian Faulkner, you’re amazing! You truly live up to your reputation as the President Faulkner who strikes fear into the hearts of everyone in Aethelburg. With you being this well-prepared, anyone who wants to negotiate business with you must be completely routed!"
After speaking, Vivian Lowell looked at Julian Faulkner earnestly.
Julian Faulkner stood under the sun, his figure tall and slender, his expression as serene as a calm sky. It was as if nothing could happen that he hadn’t already anticipated, and he would always have a solution.
He exuded the aura of a true king!
Vivian Lowell suddenly recalled something Vance Wyatt had told her before. Someone had wanted to negotiate with Julian Faulkner and tried to trick him by hiding some information beforehand!
But how could Julian Faulkner be so easily deceived?
Julian Faulkner uncovered all the information the other party had hidden. During the negotiation, he used it as leverage and made them pay a bloody price!
No wonder.
People said it wasn’t easy for Julian Faulkner to achieve so much at such a young age, but who knew that his success was built upon a foundation of immense effort?
"It’s not quite like that."
For once, Julian Faulkner was being modest. He looked at Vivian Lowell gently, a hint of adoration in his eyes, and reached out to smooth a few stray strands of hair at her temple.
When Julian Faulkner’s hand brushed against Vivian Lowell’s cheek, she felt a jolt, a tingly numbness that made her heart flutter.
Vivian Lowell found it magical.
She and Julian Faulkner... she wasn’t sure if they were a match made in heaven, but whenever they were together, it felt like they generated a special magnetic field that sent ripples through her heart.
"There we go."
After the two of them gazed "lovingly" at each other for a moment, Julian Faulkner took Vivian Lowell’s hand, pointed to a large rock ahead, and said, "Look."
"I think there’s an oyster over there. Let’s go take a look."
"An oyster? Where? Let me get it this time!"
Vivian Lowell chuckled. She was confident when it came to oysters. They loved to cling to rocks, and you could pry them off with a hook. They were among the easiest to deal with.
You just needed good eyesight to tell the difference between an oyster and a rock.
After all, the oysters had been on these tidal flats for a long time, and with algae growing on them, they could look a lot like rocks.
Especially a certain type called a "stone oyster," which looks almost identical to a rock, making it extremely difficult to distinguish!
And, uh, Vivian Lowell almost couldn’t spot it.
She stared at the spot Julian Faulkner pointed to for a long time, straining her eyes, before she finally found the oyster he was talking about!
She spotted the small barnacles living on the oyster’s shell.
"Here!"
Vivian Lowell immediately used her hook to pry off the palm-sized oyster. She held it up and waved it in front of her; the oyster was almost big enough to cover her entire face.
"It must be so plump and juicy!"
Vivian Lowell was already looking forward to grilling the oysters. She would definitely sprinkle them with garlic sauce and chopped chilies to make spicy grilled oysters!
"Mm, let’s hope so."
Julian Faulkner smiled faintly. He poked around nearby with his hook a few times, and in an instant, several smaller oysters were all collected by him.
!!?
Vivian Lowell was dumbfounded.
She had just looked over those exact spots and hadn’t found anything. How could there have been so many oysters hiding there?
They weren’t as big as the one she had just found, but still...
’After all, the only reason I found that big oyster was because Julian Faulkner pointed it out in the first place!’
"Julian Faulkner, you... why don’t you go look somewhere else for a bit? Let me search here by myself! This time, I want to rely on my own strength!"
Julian Faulkner nodded, but he still seemed a little worried. Before leaving with his bucket, he reminded her, "Then remember to be careful."
"There are a lot of rocks here. Test your footing before you take a step, and make sure it’s solid. Don’t fall. If anything happens, call me over immediately."
"Okay," Vivian Lowell promised obediently.
Julian Faulkner thought for another moment, then asked, "By the way, is there anything you’d like to eat? I want to... try to find more of the things you like."
"I want to eat..."
Vivian Lowell considered it, then decided to give Julian Faulkner a challenge. With a sly smile, she said playfully, "Eel, of course!"
"Grilled eel is delicious, especially fresh eel! Julian Faulkner, you’re so amazing, you can definitely make this wish come true for me, right?"
"..." Julian Faulkner saw the mischievous glint in Vivian Lowell’s eyes.
He was clearly helpless against her. He just nodded in agreement and turned to leave.
Seeing Julian Faulkner go, Vivian Lowell resolved to make a big haul!
「Half an hour later.」
Vivian Lowell had found two oysters, five mussels, and two crabs.
Vivian Lowell considered this a rather bountiful harvest. Of course, she had been quite lucky, because the mussels she found were actually a whole family.
Uh, it was a family of five, all hiding under the same big rock. Vivian Lowell happened to spot them and caught them all in one go!
The oysters, however, she had found on her own.
After her recent experience, Vivian Lowell had learned a few tricks for telling oysters apart from rocks in the crevices, and she had managed to find two of them.
The two crabs were also a lucky find while she was looking for oysters.
These two crabs were very dumb. They just froze for a moment when she flipped the rock over, completely unlike that first, very clever flower crab!
These two were slow runners, so Vivian Lowell caught them both!
Now, Vivian Lowell returned to the sandy beach, wanting to see if she could find some Manila clams, Clams, or Moon Shells to take back, along with some seaweed and jellyfish!
Cold-dressed seaweed and jellyfish were the best, sprinkled with cilantro. In the summer, they were the perfect side dish for congee!
As for the Manila clams...
They had prepared tin foil, so they could make foil-baked Manila clams when they got back to shore. Grilling the Clams just like the oysters would also be delicious.
But as for Moon Shells, Vivian Lowell had never eaten them and didn’t know how to prepare them. She knew, however, that the experienced Mr. Drake would definitely have a way to handle Moon Shells!
Full of confidence, Vivian Lowell arrived at the beach and discovered lots of breathing holes in the sand.
Some of the holes were even continuously bubbling. Overjoyed, Vivian Lowell ran straight toward them, grabbed her shovel, and started digging!
The first breathing hole she dug up revealed a tiny crab. She wasn’t sure if it was a flower-patterned crab or a female crab, but it was very small.
Vivian Lowell didn’t like eating such small crabs.
’They don’t seem to have much roe and have very little meat. Better to put them back in the sea and let them fatten up before eating them!’
"You’re free!"
Vivian Lowell tossed the two small crabs she had found hiding in the sand back into the water and continued digging.
This time, Vivian Lowell’s luck was good. The spot she dug up had Manila clams. They weren’t big, but Vivian Lowell loved to eat them, so she gathered them all up.
The only pity was...
She still hadn’t found the legendary Cat’s Eye Snails, Moon Shells, or Clams!
"Where are they?"
Vivian Lowell muttered. Just then, Mr. Drake emerged from a corner, carrying his bucket. Seeing Vivian Lowell’s troubled expression, he came over and asked, "Vivian, what’s wrong?"
"You look a bit down."
"I’m looking for Moon Shells, Cat’s Eye Snails, and Clams!" Vivian Lowell said, a bit annoyed. "I’ve dug up so many breathing holes, but I haven’t found any!"
"Oh, I see. As for Moon Shells and Cat’s Eye Snails, I know where to find some."
Mr. Drake said with a chuckle and started leading the way. Vivian Lowell followed right behind him to search.
Not far ahead, the ground was indeed covered with numerous breathing holes. It seemed many sea creatures were hiding in the sand here, but who knew what they were!
"There are Clams over here, but they’re small ones, not Clam Kings. The small ones are also called bamboo-clams. They’re tiny and don’t grow any bigger. There isn’t much meat on them."
"Clam Kings aren’t that easy to find this season. If you want to eat them, I can help you look."
As Mr. Drake spoke, he started digging.
Vivian Lowell was just about to nod when she noticed Mr. Drake’s bucket was completely full!
It was mostly crabs, but underneath were also plenty of snails, Clams, and other shellfish. At the very bottom, there were even sea shrimp and an eel!
Oh my god!
The things Vivian Lowell most wanted to catch while beachcombing had all been found by Mr. Drake!
"Mr. Drake, can you even catch shrimp while beachcombing?"
Vivian Lowell was amazed.
Mr. Drake laughed at that. He took a shrimp-fishing rod out of his backpack to show Vivian Lowell and said, "I caught too many things all at once earlier."
"I saw the bucket was full and figured I couldn’t carry any more, so I just sat on a nearby rock and did some shrimp and fish angling. I didn’t expect to actually catch so much."
"..."
’Caught too many things, bucket’s full, can’t carry any more, didn’t expect to catch so much.’
Vivian Lowell once again felt the vast gap between people!
But it didn’t matter. This time, when Vivian Lowell dug open a hole, she was stunned to find a Clam King inside!
Vivian Lowell’s shovel had nicked the Clam King’s siphon. The startled creature was now frantically digging into the sand to escape.
"It’s getting away!"
Vivian Lowell’s eyes widened, and she hurriedly continued to dig.
Seeing this, Mr. Drake immediately stopped her. "Digging like that won’t work; you’re going in the wrong direction. Look, it’s burrowing this way."
After speaking, Mr. Drake even drew a guide line directly on the sand’s surface and began digging along and below it.
Vivian Lowell was a bit skeptical.
She had been digging straight down from the opening. She hadn’t considered that a Clam might turn as it burrowed.
The spot Mr. Drake was digging now was in a completely different direction from where she had been digging!
Facts proved that Mr. Drake was indeed a man with rich beachcombing experience. After digging for only a short while, he really did find that fleeing Clam King.
The Clam King’s siphon was gone, but it was still very agile. When Mr. Drake picked it up, it even tried to abandon its shell and flee, but it didn’t get the chance.
Vivian Lowell just heard a PLOP, and the Clam King was dropped into Mr. Drake’s bucket.
Looking at her own "empty" bucket, Vivian Lowell wanted to sigh.
She had originally thought her catch wasn’t too shabby, but compared to Mr. Drake, the difference was just too huge!
She almost suspected that Mr. Drake’s bucketful of catch was enough to feed several people.
In any case, her own small haul was definitely not even enough for herself.
"It’s okay."
Mr. Drake seemed to notice Vivian Lowell was a bit down. He kindly comforted her, "The first step is always the hardest. Just keep trying. I’ll teach you how to make the guide line."
"Okay."
Vivian Lowell agreed and followed Mr. Drake to continue catching Clams.
Vivian Lowell was a fast learner.
She learned how to make the guide line, and after a few tries—and paying the price of "smashing" a Clam King—she finally managed to catch one properly.
Ugh, she knew how to draw the guide line, but she still wasn’t sure how much force to use with the shovel. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have smashed the Clam King. What a pity, what a pity!