Galactic Garbage Station

Chapter 108: Ambergris

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Su Jing took the big white thing and turned it over and over. It looked like a plain-looking "stone" mixed with white and gray. Its surface was densely covered with "bee eyes". It was as big as four bricks, but very small. It's light, about two or three pounds, like a pumice stone. The surface is wet and smells fishy.

Su Jing stared at it for a long time. The more she looked, the brighter her eyes became. Her expression was full of disbelief. Why did this white thing look so much like the legendary ambergris. As the name suggests, ambergris should be fragrant, but it is after drying, and it has a fishy smell when wet.

Ambergris is undoubtedly a treasure. It can not only be used as a valuable traditional Chinese medicine, but also as a fixative. It is a precious raw material sought after by perfume manufacturers, and its price is more expensive than gold. Because it is expensive and still floats on the sea, it is also known as "floating gold on the sea."

In ancient times, people believed that ambergris was formed from the saliva of "dragons" in the sea when they were sleeping. It dripped into the sea water and solidified over time. With the progress of the times, natural mysteries have been revealed one after another. Everyone thinks that the idea that ambergris is the saliva of a "dragon" is unscientific, so various conjectures have arisen: some say it is the eruption of a submarine volcano. It is formed; some say it is caused by bird droppings floating into the water on the island and weathered for a long time; some say it is beeswax, which is formed after a long period of floating in the sea; some say it is a special kind of wax. fungi.

But later it was discovered that ambergris is the excrement of sperm whales. Sperm whales are the largest among the toothed whales. The maximum length of males is 23 meters and the length of females is 17 meters. They feed on squid, octopus, etc., but Squids and octopuses have tough horny jaws and radulas in their mouths, which are difficult to digest. When a sperm whale swallows a large mollusk, the jaws and radulas accumulate in the gastrointestinal tract, stimulating the intestines, and the intestines secrete a special The waxy substance wraps up the remains of food, slowly forming ambergris.

The ambergris discharged into the sea is initially light black, which is worthless. Under the influence of sea water, after more than ten years, it gradually turns into brown, gray, light gray, and finally white. The white ambergris has the best quality. It needs to be soaked in SH water for hundreds of years to wash out all the impurities before it can become the top grade ambergris.

"Xiaohu, you didn't really get me a piece of the finest white ambergris, did you?" Su Jing couldn't believe it. She carefully held the white thing with her hands as if she had found a treasure, for fear of breaking it.

"This was found near the big-headed monster." The killer whale called out.

"Big-headed monster... Could it be the sperm whale?" Su Jing was stunned. The head of a sperm whale accounts for one-quarter to one-third of its body. It can indeed be regarded as a big-headed monster. Sperm whales are huge and ferocious. They can also be regarded as the overlord of the sea. However, compared to the killer whale, it is a bit weaker. If anything can invade the sperm whale's activity area, it must be the killer whale.

"Ask Shen Hong. Although this old fox can be a cheat sometimes, his professional knowledge is excellent. He should know more about ambergris." Su Jing immediately called Shen Hong, but the other party didn't answer.

Su Jing thought that Shen Hong might be temporarily busy, so she took a few photos of the white objects, and also took a few photos of the "Bamboo and Stone Pictures". She edited a text and sent it to Shen Hong to let him see it first. It's not too late to send it back to Wanbao Auction House.

Unexpectedly, not long after the photo was sent, Shen Hong called back, his tone full of excitement: "You said you took the photo, your own bamboo and stone pictures and ambergris?"

"Yes." Su Jing said.

"Are you at home? I'll go over to your place later." Shen Hong said excitedly. At the same time, he felt very envious and jealous. Why did all the treasures end up at Su Jing's place? This is so unfair. What he never expected was that the bamboo and stone picture was bought from him yesterday, and it only cost one thousand yuan.

"I will go to Wanbao Auction House in a day or two at most. You don't need to come over. You can tell me first whether this painting is genuine and whether this white thing is ambergris. If so, how much is it worth?" How much?" Su Jing asked.

"How can I tell just by looking at the photo? But it seems that the bamboo and stone picture is probably the original work of Zheng Banqiao, and it should be worth more than one million. The white object is also likely to be ambergris. The best ambergris with such a color, It is estimated that the price is more than one thousand yuan per gram, and your dried piece is about two kilograms, which is at least one million. Of course, if you meet a collector you like, then it will not be calculated by the gram." Shen Hong replied.

Su Jing's eyes lit up after hearing this. The bamboo and stone pictures were indeed worth millions, and the ambergris was indeed expensive. Moreover, with Shen Hong's character, the price he mentioned is definitely relatively conservative, which means that he may be able to add a lot more to the one million. Of course, the premise is that the bamboo and stone pictures are authentic and the ambergris is also authentic. If it is If it is fake, it is estimated to be almost worthless and fall from heaven to hell in an instant.

"I haven't seen the actual object or tested it, so I can't make an accurate judgment. When will you come over... I have something to do right now. How about I go over to your house later to help you firm up." Shen Hong looked impatient. , obviously he was moved again after seeing the treasure.

"This... Okay." For Su Jing, going to Wanbao Auction House for appraisal is not much different from doing it at home. Appraisal at home may be more secure, at least in her own territory.

"I'll be over as soon as I finish the things at hand. You must not do anything to damage the ambergris." After speaking, Shen Hong hung up the phone.

"What's so exciting?" asked an old man next to Shen Hong.

"Take a look." Shen Hong handed over the picture on his phone.

"Pictures of bamboo and stone! Ambergris!" The old man's eyes suddenly lit up. In fact, the pictures of bamboo and stone were not bad. He had seen a few authentic ones, so he was not so surprised. The key point is that ambergris of such quality is really rare. He said, "Let's quickly identify these things, and then hurry over. Some people don't know how to pretend to understand, and they test randomly, and the result is damage to the baby."

"Well, hurry up." Shen Hong nodded.

After Su Jing hung up the phone, she did not stay at home and wait for Shen Hong. She asked the killer whale: "Xiaohu, just now you said you found this thing near the big-headed monster's territory. Can you still see the big-headed monster when you go to sea now?"

"You can see, they're still over there," the killer whale shouted.

"Come on, take me to take a look." Su Jing put the white object into the storage room at home, then put on her swimsuit, diving goggles, and the camera she bought a few days ago that can shoot underwater. Out to sea on a killer whale.

Firstly, I want to see the legendary sperm whale with my own eyes, and secondly, if what the killer whale brings back is really ambergris, it would be worth going nearby to see if there is any more. This matter should be done sooner rather than later. After waiting for a long time, even if there is ambergris, I don’t know where it has drifted.

After dozens of meters out to sea, Su Jing suddenly realized the safety issue. What if she was attacked by a sperm whale? After all, the tiger cub is still young and cannot be a match for the adult sperm whale. But then I thought about it. Sperm whales rarely hunt on the sea surface. They like to eat molluscs such as squid and octopus. Moreover, sperm whales cannot swim as fast as killer whales. The worst thing is not to get too close. If there is any problem, turn around and run away immediately.

Su Jing plucked up the courage and was led by the killer whale to swim quickly to the outer sea.

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