贤

Bottom cowrie radical — simplified from 貝, a pictograph of a cowrie shell used as ancient currency. The indexing radical of 贤; carries 'wealth, value'. A 贤 person is one of worth, desirable in the way that wealth is desirable. Same family: 财 (riches), 货 (goods), 贵 (precious), 贸 (trade). 贤 is worth that counts beyond coin.

Top 又 — the right-hand pictograph, standalone 2 strokes. Here it absorbs an extra 2 strokes that are the simplified residue of 臣 (kneeling official, originally a watchful eye). The traditional 賢 stacked 臣 (watching) + 又 (working hand) above 貝, giving 'a worthy person who watches and works'. Reform fused 臣 down to a 2-stroke marker.