Now it’s okay to have water on your body, but in the past, pearl divers usually go down shirtless. If they are bitten by poisonous sea snakes and cannot be rescued immediately, they will lose their lives soon. Poisonous jellyfish is erratic. If you are stung by it, there is no effective medicine to treat it. The wound is red, swollen and festered, and the pain is unbearable. Severe cases can also be life-threatening.
In addition, the opportunity for the pearl divers to shake the rope on the bottom of the sea and the speed at which the people on the boat pull the rope should also be well coordinated. If it was a little slower, the pearl diver might be suffocated until his seven orifices bleed to death.
The dangers of pearl divers are not limited to these. Sometimes people on the boat find that the rope becomes lighter, and when they pull up the rope, they find that there is no one on it, only the broken end of the rope remains, which means that the pearl divers have been swept away by the undercurrent. , or disappeared into the vortex of the seabed...
No wonder Yu Xiaolian was so worried when Zhuang Xiaomo insisted on participating in the pearl hunting competition!
At present, Zhuang Xiaomo's luck is still good. He went up and down several times in a row and picked up a lot of pearl shells that looked good. By noon, he had almost picked up this small "bead pool". In the afternoon, they changed another place, and they also gained a little.
When returning to the voyage, most of the pearl fishing boats were empty, and many pearl divers from other places hadn't completed the step of scouting. Zhuang Xiaomo and the others had already started picking pearls one step ahead.
Picking pearls from pearl oysters can be done at home or on the spot. Zhu Junyang is not afraid of someone cheating, as long as he can contribute the top pearls, bonuses and junior official positions he needs, he will not feel bad at all.
While picking pearls, Yu Xiaocao and her friends approached and surrounded Zhuang Xiaomo and the others with three layers inside and three layers outside. Wild pearl oysters have about the same chance of getting pearls as winning the jackpot. After opening the first few openings, they were all empty, and those young ladies and young masters from the capital who came up excitedly all pouted and left in disappointment.
Yu Xiaocao was still squatting next to a pile of pearl oysters, picking and pulling pearl oysters of different sizes. Yu Wanqing took a small bench and sat beside her, watching Zhuang Xiaomo open the shells one by one, disappointed again and again. This little fan girl of Yu Xiaocao said anxiously: "Brother Mo, let Sister Yu drive a few for you to try, she has always been very lucky!"
This little girl, seeing that Xiaolian and Xiaocao both called him "Brother Little Mo", also followed the good advice, she didn't have any pretensions of the eldest daughter of the capital, but she admired Zhuang Xiaomo's method of picking pearls.
Yu Xiaocao was caught off guard by her, and after being stunned for a moment, she couldn't laugh or cry and said: "What does this have to do with luck? Could it be that if someone else opened it, a pearl would appear out of thin air if I opened it?"
Yu Wanqing said bluntly: "It is impossible that there are no pearls in this pile of pearl shells. The ones chosen by others have no pearls. Sister Yu is lucky, and she will definitely pick one with pearls!!"
Xiaobutianshi came to life at this time, it scanned the pile of pearls with its own aura, and said with a little distaste: [The kid surnamed Zhuang is really unlucky, most of the piles he picked up were rubbish. There are fluctuations of aura in several of them.]
In the eyes of practitioners, jewels belong to heaven and earth treasures, and they can perceive the slight spiritual fluctuations inside. The greater the fluctuation of aura, the higher the preciousness.
In a corner that everyone couldn't see, Xiaobutianshi transformed into that palm-sized, golden cat, and came to Xiaocao's side with haughty and elegant steps. Yu Xiaocao smoothly carried it into her arms and hugged it. According to Xiaobutianshi's reminder, under the expectant or mocking eyes of everyone, she stretched out her hand to a small, ugly-looking pearl oyster.
Yu Wanqing was anxious for her on the side: "Sister Yu, take the biggest one! Isn't the older the pearl oyster, the more likely it will produce pearls? The one you took is so small, even if there are pearls in it, it won't be too big .”
Xiaocao was also puzzled by Yu Wanqing's worry. But Xiaobutianshi said with certainty that the aura fluctuations in this pearl oyster were relatively the largest. She has never doubted Xiaobutianshi's words.
Throw the pearl shell to Zhuang Xiaomo, motioning him to open it. Seeing her determined expression, everyone cast their expectant eyes on the pearl shell in Zhuang Xiaomo's hand.
The pearl oyster was quickly pried open, and in a conspicuous position inside the shell, a pearl the size of a thumbnail shone faintly and softly in the afterglow of the evening.
"Wow! There are really pearls! Xiaocao, you are so powerful, you can even open a pearl if you take a pearl oyster in your hand!! How did you do it?" He Wanning rushed over, holding the opened one. Pearl oyster, looking carefully at the round and beautiful pearl. It turned out that pearls were born from this little ugly shell!
Her question is what everyone wants to know. In the eyes of everyone, Yu Xiaocao said leisurely: "It's nothing, it's just intuition!"
"Cut! Xiaocao, you are so boring!!" Everyone pouted at her answer.
Yu Xiaocao spread her hands: "Okay! In the dark, it seems that someone is guiding me. Among the many shells, I caught sight of this humble pearl oyster. My hand stretched out involuntarily. Looking at the unattractive shell, there seems to be a voice in my head telling me: Here are pearls, here are pearls... "
"Tsk tsk! You can change your career to storytelling!!" The expressions of disdain on the faces of several men became more obvious. There were suppressed smiles on the faces of the little girls, obviously no one believed her statement. Yu Xiaocao shrugged, it was indeed Xiaobutianshi who had been telling her in her mind that this pearl oyster has pearls? No one believes the truth these days!
Xiao Butianshi complained: [It's you who told the truth so falsely that people can't believe it!]
Yu Xiaocao held her breath, and opened six pearls of different sizes in a row, and then, under the incredulous eyes of everyone, Shi Shiran left. Among the dozens of pearl oysters left, not a single pearl was recovered. Everyone felt that it was unreal, could it be that Xiaocao's intuition was so accurate, and she never failed
"Tell me honestly! Are you a little fairy from the sky descending to earth?" He Wanning approached mysteriously, lowering her voice, as if she was afraid that others would hear her.
Yu Xiaocao gave her a big roll of eyes: "Sister He, have you read too many fairy tales? Fairies descend to earth? I can turn stones into gold!! Dongshan Village is backed by mountains and faces the sea. Why don't you doubt that I'm from the mountains?" Was it transformed into a ghost? Or did the dragon girl in the sea come ashore to play?"
Her voice was not loud, but it was enough to be heard by Yu Wanqing and the others. All the men, big and small, could not help but smile, and the little girls also laughed and joked about He Wanning's whimsy.
Yu Wanqing blinked her big eyes, nodded seriously, and said, "It's very possible! Sister Yu's swimming skills are so good, and she can dive for a long time, and she can communicate and be friends with little dolphins. Sister Yu, your previous life Maybe it’s the little dragon girl!!”
Yu Xiaocao couldn't help but smile, pinched the little girl's face, and said with a smile: "You say yes! Who knows what happened in the previous life! Maybe our sister Wan Qing was a very beautiful little fairy in the previous life, and was killed by the Jade Emperor. Your daughter is jealous of your beauty, that’s why in this life, you have lived alone with acne and low self-esteem for more than ten years. It was not until I met the daughter of the Sea Dragon King that I solved the curse on you and let you break out of the cocoon and be reborn !"
"That's right! It's very likely that's the case!! Sister Yu, do you have any memories of your previous life? What was the Dragon Palace like?" Yu Wanqing, a stupid girl, actually believed it, making all the sisters laugh Nor is it, and neither is Qi.
In the next few days, Zhuang Xiaomo harvested every day, but none of the pearls he produced could surpass the one that was the size of the little thumbnail on the first day. However, he was not discouraged, and went out early and returned late every day to continue his great career of pearl hunting.
More and more pearl hunters came from all over the world. Although they came late, the pearl fishing competition still had more than ten days to end. Pearl hunting depends on skill and luck. As long as you have the opportunity to participate, you may be able to There is a harvest!
The pearl-diving contest was going on in an orderly manner, although there were dangers in the middle, they were all resolved by experienced pearl-divers in a thrilling manner.
The competition is still going on, and the young ladies from Beijing have already written letters to remind them several times. Especially Yu Wanqing, who was young and seldom went out. Even though she was accompanied by her elder brother, Madam Yu was worried and urged several times.
The little girls who wanted to wait until the end of the competition to see the results, and the people sent by their families, asked three times and four times, if they didn't go back, it would be unreasonable. Although I really didn't want to leave in my heart, I still reluctantly embarked on the return journey. Brother Ning Donghuan, who came over, also followed back for one reason or another.
When Xiaocao saw them off, He Wanning and Ning Donghuan urged them repeatedly: When the competition has the result, they must write to tell them.
After sending away a group of dozens of people, Dongshan Village finally calmed down. Since these young masters and ladies from the capital came, the villagers of Dongshan Village have been more careful in their words and deeds, for fear that their words and actions will offend these wealthy children from the capital. In the hearts of ordinary people, children born in official families are so arrogant.
Every time dozens of people came and went in and out of Dongshan Village, the villagers only dared to watch from a distance, and even Yu Xiaocao's good sisters seldom joined them. Zhou Shanhu, who has a generous personality, went to Xiaocao's house a few times. Although he seldom talked to those officials, he felt that they were not as difficult to get along with as the villagers said.
After sending away those high-spirited young masters and ladies in fresh clothes and angry horses, Dongshan Village has returned to its former tranquility. Except for the occasional talk about how free and unrestrained these people are, they are like a gust of wind, after which there is no news.