Ye's mother had opened one herself, so it was no longer surprising and she just watched with a smile.
Mrs. Ye, Mrs. Ye II and Lin Xiuqing were all surprised, and the three of them gathered around and came forward.
There was a milky white bead on the edge of the plump oyster meat. Ye Yaodong didn't touch it and let them take a look at it first.
He was also very happy. He didn't expect that one would pop out after opening more than 20 flowers. The diameter of this flower was about 8 mm.
“It really exists!”
“Is this old and valuable?”
Ye Yaodong took out the pearl and handed it to Lin Xiuqing before saying, "Not necessarily. It depends on the color and roundness. I can't tell, but it is definitely better than the Danshui pearls on the market. Keep it for now!"
Seawater pearls are different from freshwater pearls. Most of them are perfectly round in shape. They are bred in the sea. They feel more delicate and are cooler and more moisturizing.
Generally, the shapes of freshwater pearls are irregular, including flat, oval, concave and convex. They feel astringent to the touch. Poor quality freshwater pearls can be used to grind pearl powder, but seawater pearls cannot be used because they have nuclei.
Seawater pearls also contain more organic matter, trace elements, and minerals in a more comprehensive manner. Moreover, the natural production of seawater pearls is more suitable for the human body's mechanism and can absorb toxins in the human body.
The two sisters-in-law were so envious that they looked at the pearls in Lin Xiuqing's hands with greedy eyes.
"If I can't sell it for money, at least I can wear it myself, right? That's great."
"On the fifteenth day of the month, are you going to go to the isolated island to fish in the sea again? Shall we go with you?" After saying this, Mrs. Ye looked at him hopefully.
Mrs. Ye also wants to go.
Mother Ye was also very interested. "How about Dongzi, if you go there next time, tell us and we will go with you. No matter if it's valuable or not, it would be good to bring back more things."
Headache!
It's fine to go on an adventure with friends, but if you take the women at home, you can only find a small island with an exposed beach, and you have to be very careful when climbing on the rocks.
trouble!
It’s okay for a few of them to fall down, it’s no big deal if they fall into the sea, but now it’s a headache for them to lead a group of women.
"Mom, you've said it before. The rocks are very slippery and the wind is strong. If you're not careful, you'll be easily thrown into the sea by the waves. Even at low tide, you can't guarantee safety. Even though I always bring back a lot of goods, it's still quite risky. Think about it carefully. You can go if you want."
If he wanted to go, he could only try to find an island with higher terrain.
There are only a few small isolated islands around, and we have visited most of the nearby ones. We need to look for the others and check them out. If that doesn't work, just take them to the islands they have been to before. The islands we visited at the beginning were quite safe, and there must be goods there.
The reefs at the dock in their village are visited by people every few days, and they can always find something to look for.
"Let's go and have a look. We just need to be careful." Ye's mother had not originally thought of taking risks, but this time Ye Huimei returned with a full load, and she even opened a pearl with her own hands.
The goods Dongzi brought back the previous times were all worthless ones with shells. She didn't ask how much the individual ones that could be sold were worth. How could she have such a direct impact this time
"Okay then, I'll tell you when I go."
You can't go with friends but not with family.
Mrs. Ye Dasao and Mrs. Ye Ersao were also happy.
Lin Xiuqing touched her belly with some regret. Given her current condition, even if she wanted to go, he probably wouldn't take her.
"Do you want me to help you open it? Otherwise, you don't know how long it will take to open such a bag?" Mrs. Ye was ready to take action.
Lin Xiuqing smiled and said, "Wait a minute, let's go have breakfast first. We all got up late today, so let's continue after we finish eating, okay?"
"Okay, then let's tidy up the house first."
Ye's mother stayed for a long time and left only when the conversation was almost over.
The couple talked excitedly while eating.
"I didn't expect that you opened another one just a moment ago. This is the first time I've seen it."
"Maybe I'll let you open one later."
Lin Xiuqing smiled and said, "How can it be so simple? It will appear as soon as I say it."
"It's hard to say. These oysters have probably grown for many years."
As Ye Yaodong spoke, he opened one of the freshly steamed oysters, dipped it in soy sauce and vinegar, and put it directly into his mouth.
Although it’s not as fragrant as minced garlic, it’s delicious enough on its own.
Oysters are a gas station for men and a beauty salon for women.
He ate three in a row before stopping. Seeing Lin Xiuqing pick up one and was about to open it, he was about to help her open it, but she refused.
"I want to open it myself. What if there are pearls again?"
"Okay, I'll give it to you."
There is no doubt that this was just her imagination. When it was opened, there was only a lot of oyster meat. She just said it casually and didn't expect it to be opened easily and put into her mouth with just a little sauce.
"Get some scrambled eggs this afternoon... huh?"
Lin Xiuqing had just taken two bites when she felt something foreign in her mouth. She rolled it with her tongue and immediately felt what it was. She spat it out in surprise.
Ye Yaodong was also surprised. Is this possible
"Ah, it was actually hidden in the meat, and I almost bit it."
Lin Xiuqing looked at the pearl in her hand with joy and couldn't help feeling lucky that she had just touched it with her tongue and then stopped it in time. Otherwise, if she had bitten it like Ye Ersao and left a mark, it would have been her turn to cry.
"show me."
Ye Yaodong took the pearl in his hand and looked at it carefully. It was intact, flawless, and round and smooth.
"Take out the one I just gave you and compare it."
"It seems like this one will be a little bigger?"
"Yes, a little..."
The couple watched there excitedly, not paying any attention to the two children. The two clever ones took advantage of their inattention and grabbed half of a fried cake each in one hand, and stopped eating the rice and just ate the fried cakes.
After Lin Xiuqing was happy and put the pearls away, she saw the two of them had their hands and mouths full of oil, and the oil was falling all over the table.
She cursed a few more times, feeling both amused and helpless, and the two of them just ran away from the table.
When they got up in the morning, each of them took one to eat. She was worried that if they ate the whole one, they would not have the porridge to eat, so she only took one and cut it in half for them to share, and cut the remaining two in half to go with the rice.
I didn’t expect that they would just take it and run away. You two brats! I’ll catch you and beat you up when I have free time!
"Well, if you eat, then eat. If you don't eat, you will eat naturally when you are hungry at noon. You won't starve to death. And you don't have to feed him. Just eat by himself."
Lin Xiuqing rolled her eyes at him and said, "You are the one who seduced them. How can they grow taller if they don't eat?"
"The nutrients are all in the vegetables. It has nothing to do with the rice, right?"
"Who said that? If you don't eat, you won't feel full no matter how much food you eat."
"They will eat when they are hungry. Eat quickly and we will continue. There are still many pearls waiting for you."
The couple ate faster, and as soon as they finished their meal, they couldn't wait to open the oysters without even washing the dishes.
When the two sisters-in-law saw them start working, they couldn't wait to come over to help. Even the second brother Ye, who had just returned from working in the fields, joined the team to open oysters after hearing about it.
Xiaoxiao and Azheng came running over excitedly soon after and said that they each had opened five, Fatty had opened three, and with the one he got on the island yesterday, Fatty had four in total.
These words gave him great confidence. He already had four in his hand, so how could he be worse than them
The team opening oysters grew larger. After a whole morning, amid everyone's constant exclamations, all the oysters were finally opened, filling three large basins with oyster meat.
Of course, the harvest was also fruitful. Lin Xiuqing specially took a small bowl to hold the pearls. The round and smooth pearls in it looked particularly pleasing to the eye.
"How many are there quickly?"
Everyone gathered there, very excited.
She picked up the small bowl and started counting excitedly, "One, two, three... eight, nine... There are nine here!"
"Two more opened this morning, and two yesterday, 13 in total!"
"Fuck, so much? You get more than us no matter what you do!" Ah Zheng looked envious.
Xiaoxiao was so envious that she didn't know what to say, "Awesome!"
Mrs. Ye and the others also looked on with envy.
Ye Yaodong smiled and ignored them. He just said to Lin Xiuqing, "Take it back to the house first and put it away. Clean up here for me."
"Um."
"Do you want to sell it for money, Dongzi?"
"Ah?" Ye Yaodong looked at Xiao Xiao in surprise, "Are you going to sell it for money?"
"That's what I think. If I don't sell it, why do I keep it in my hand? Do I wear it? Don't you think it's a waste? It's more practical to exchange it for money."
Ah Zheng also nodded, "Yeah, why don't we sell it for money? Money is the most real thing."
Ye Yaodong thought for a while before saying, "Forget it, you guys can sell it, I'll deal with it when I'm short of money."
There is no need to spend a lot of money now. Wild saltwater pearls are still relatively rare. In the future, only farmed saltwater pearls will be available on the market.
He still wanted to leave it to his wife as it was a good thing. If he sold it, it would be gone. What woman doesn’t like jewelry? It would be more meaningful if he opened it himself.
Moreover, this thing retains its value. As prices rise in the years to come, things of good quality will only become more and more valuable.
"You really don't want to sell it?"
"I don't have much money on hand for now. Why don't you take it to the store and ask how much it is worth? If you don't have much, you'd better keep it for now. It's only been a few years since the reform and opening up, and your financial situation is limited. It will definitely be better in a few years."
Xiao Xiao spread her hands and said, "Okay, let's ask first. If it's cheap, keep it. If it's valuable, sell it."
"We're going to collect traps and go fishing this afternoon. Do you want to go?"
"Go ahead. I just got a bunch of hooks from my father-in-law and plan to go fishing this afternoon."
"Release the line? Longline fishing?" Ye Yaodong looked at A Zheng in surprise.
The longline fishing operation is called "setting out the line" in the area around them, where the line refers to the special fishing line.
This is a traditional fishing technique. A main line is released from the boat into the sea. A certain number of branch lines are tied to the main line at certain intervals. A fish hook with bait is tied to the end of each branch line. Sinking stones and buoys are tied to the head and tail of each basket line to control the main line and branch lines in the water at a specific depth, thereby luring adult fish in a specific water layer.
Longline fishing has a limit. Generally, the fish hooks used are relatively large, which can only catch large fish. Even if small fish can eat the bait, they will not take the hook.
This fishing method is a bit old, but in this era, it is quite common and is a traditional fishing method.
However, the fishing methods in their village are mainly trap nets, Korean nets, and trawl nets. Ye Yaodong has only seen longline fishing before, but is not familiar with it.
Ah Zheng nodded, "Yes, let's try longline fishing in the sea."
"Then you have to prepare this in advance. I heard it's quite troublesome. You need to tie the hook, organize the fishing line, hang the bait and other steps before going out to sea."
"My wife is cooking at home. After we finish eating, the tide will come in and we will probably be able to go out to sea soon."
"Okay, let's go together. I'll take a look at this longline fishing and observe it."
Xiao Xiao also interrupted and said, "I heard that this fishing method only catches big fish, not small fish."
"That's right. No one in our village uses this fishing method. Let me try it first. My father-in-law said it works very well."
"You married a good wife!"
"Hahaha, a son-in-law is half a son. Doesn't your father-in-law send you fruits every few days?"
"You come and I go."