"Forget it." Zhuo Shao smiled, "We are just going down to try our luck. We don't expect to really catch pearls. Fishing for pearls in such a large ocean is probably no less difficult than fishing for a needle under the sea."
"Who said that? I have never seen a needle at the bottom of the sea, but I don't know how many pearls we have fished out." Xiang Yang said with a smile.
Zhuo Shao was stunned. "What? Have you ever fished out pearls from the bottom of the sea?"
Xiang Yang nodded affirmatively, "In fact, pearls are not as rare as you think, nor as valuable as you think. Most pearls are actually worthless. Only a small number of pearls with perfect quality and large size are worth some money."
“Pearls with dull luster and substandard size are usually only worth a few dollars each,” Chen Qingsheng also explained.
In the eyes of those who do not often come into contact with pearls, pearls are synonymous with treasures, and they must be very valuable.
Actually, it is not.
Like Wu Shiwen, he used to be in the pearl oyster gambling business.
Among the pearl oysters that Xiang Yang provided him, on average, one out of every three to five would contain a pearl.
Once a pearl oyster produces pearls, the number is at least counted in a few or even dozens.
In this way, Wu Shiwen only sold a pearl oyster for one or two hundred yuan, and he felt he was making a profit.
The reason is that most pearls are really worthless.
Of course, it is true that pearl oysters are very profitable. After all, Wu Shiwen has bought a big ship relying on the pearl oyster business.
"If you are interested, you can go down and look for those empty clam shells later. After some clams die, the meat inside rots, but the pearls remain. Looking for dead clam shells is much more efficient than fishing living clams out of the sea like you do." Xiang Yang said with a smile.
Zhuo Shao nodded quickly, "I'll go down and take a look now."
Xiang Yang quickly grabbed Zhuo Shao and said, "Wait, drink some water first, then rest on the deck for a while, and then go down after you have recovered your strength."
After a period of rest, everyone on the boat finally recovered their strength.
Not only Zhuo Shao and his companions, but even the crew members on the ship, were eager to go to the bottom of the sea.
In everyone's opinion, this sea area is truly a Feng Shui treasure land. Turborins can be seen everywhere, and occasionally some valuable seafood can be found.
This time, Zhuo Shao listened to Xiang Yang's advice and no longer specifically caught the living pearl oysters. He specifically picked the dead ones.
Xiang Yang noticed the actions of Zhuo Shao and the other two, but did not say anything.
When it comes to things like pearls, the uncertainty of whether they are valuable or not is really too great.
Instead of spending his time looking for pearls, Xiang Yang might as well use the time to swim quickly under the sea and find some rare marine fish.
But Mr. Zhuo, Boss Lin and the other two all enjoyed it very much.
They carefully searched the seabed for empty clam shells, broke them open and looked for pearls inside.
There are still a large number of pearl oysters in this sea area. After all, this is a kind of marine creature that reproduces very quickly. In this sea area where there is only turbot, which is not a very strong marine predator, the pearl oysters have enough living space.
Soon, Zhuo Shao and his friends really found a clam shell that contained pearls.
It was a pearl oyster that was slightly larger than an adult man's palm. It had been dead for a long time, but its shell was still well preserved.
Zhuo Shao used all his strength to dig away the sea sand around the clam shell and pried it open. Then, a bunch of pearls emitting glittering gems fell out of the clam shell.
Zhuo Shao was stunned at first, then he was ecstatic, and hurriedly and carefully picked up all the pearls.
When they got on the boat, Zhuo Shao quickly found Xiang Yang and said excitedly, "Boss Xiang, we found the pearl."
"Oh, really? How many have you found? How is the quality?" Xiang Yang asked.
"Look." Major General Zhuo handed a tea box to Xiang Yang.
Xiang Yang opened the box and immediately smiled. "Yes, they are indeed pearls. Although they are worthless, they have a nice color, which proves that they are still relatively moist. You can take them back and grind them into pearl powder. This is the top-level beauty and skin care product."
Zhuo Shao was anxious. He said anxiously, "How can they be worthless? These are all pearls. Look at their colors, so beautiful, and their shapes are so diverse."
"They are beautiful because they are all natural pearls. Natural pearls are more beautiful than cultured pearls. However, these pearls are just ordinary white pearls. The most important thing is that they are not big. The largest one is only about three or four millimeters. Such pearls are not valuable at all." Xiang Yang said.
Xu Fang also said: "More importantly, the shapes of these pearls are all irregular and bizarre. Pearls are beautiful when they are round and full. Look at these pearls you have. Which one is round and plump?"
If the pearls are cultured, each one is about the same size and very round. The price of the pearls is naturally determined by which one is more lustrous. Those with more beautiful luster will naturally be more expensive.
But if it is a natural pearl oyster, the judging criteria will be different.
Every natural pearl is lustrous, so the criteria for valuation become color, size, and roundness.
Such as golden pearls and black pearls, which are naturally the best among natural pearls.
Those irregularly shaped white pearls naturally become the raw materials for pearl powder.
"Anyway, these pearls were fished out by me from the bottom of the sea. They have different values and meanings. Boss Xiang, please give me an estimate of their price. I will pay you half of the money. I will keep these pearls for myself and will go home later." Zhuo Shao said with a treasure.
Xiang Yang immediately smiled and shook his head, saying: "If you like these pearls, then take them. No need to pay. These pearls are really worthless. Except for this one which is about three millimeters in size and relatively round in shape, which is worth about ten yuan, the rest are worth less than twenty yuan in total."
"Ah? Are they really that cheap?" Zhuo Shao immediately became suspicious. "I know these pearls are not round, but I have dozens of them here. If you say they are not worth twenty yuan in total, that's a bit too much."
Xiang Yang smiled and shook his head, "Master Zhuo, these pearls of yours should all have been found in the same clam shell, right?"
Zhuo Shao nodded, "Yes, that's right, I found these in an empty clam shell."
"That's it. There are dozens of pearls in a clam shell. How valuable do you expect these pearls to be?" Xiang Yang asked back.