Back To the Small Fishing Village In 1982 - Chapter 57

Chapter 57: The Melo Pearl

Lin Xiuqing crouched down to look as well, staring for quite a while before speaking: “Will the snail meat really come out like this? How long does it need to hang? If I had known, we should have borrowed the weight too, so we could weigh this snail.”

“It doesn’t matter whether we weigh it or not, what’s most important is whether there’s a treasure inside. This conch is probably about 3-4 jin (1.5-2 kg), let’s just hang it for a while!”

She could only wait patiently, wondering what treasure could be inside the snail. Her husband was being so mysterious about it.

Ye Yaodong lowered the scale hook, and after quite a while, the conch shell fell onto the beach, with the snail meat hanging springy on the scale hook.

But at this point, no one cared about how big or springy the snail meat was. The moment the conch shell fell onto the beach, Lin Xiuqing’s eyes lit up as she picked it up, looking at the spiral part with one eye open and one eye closed.

Ye Yaodong nervously asked, “Is there anything inside?”

“Orange-colored! There really is something inside!”

Lin Xiuqing widened her eyes, also delighted. When she first saw the waves wash it up, she thought it was just an empty shell without meat.

“Holy shit!”

He became excited instantly, took the shell from her hands and turned it over. A smooth, ceramic-like orange-red pearl dropped right into his hand!

“Hahaha~ We’ve struck it rich~”

Seeing how happy he was, Lin Xiuqing knew it must be very valuable and excitedly asked, “What kind of pearl is this? I’ve never seen anything like it!”

Ye Yaodong held up the pearl, grinning so wide his mouth nearly reached his ears, “It’s a Melo pearl! Have you heard of it? There’s only a one-in-thousands chance of finding a Melo pearl in these snails.”

“What’s a Melo pearl? Is it a type of pearl?”

“It’s worth more than regular pearls. When a pearl is found in these conches, it’s called a Melo pearl, also known as ‘Dragon Pearl’ or ‘Flame Pearl.’ They come in orange-red, orange-yellow, yellow, and near-white colors. Some Melo pearls have flame-like patterns on them, and they can be irregular, oval, or round in shape, with round ones being the most valuable.”

“Our pearl has flame patterns on it!”

“Yes,” Ye Yaodong’s eyes crinkled with joy, “This one is considered a premium Melo pearl, it looks even bigger than a two-fen coin!”

In this era, a two-fen coin was about 21 millimeters in diameter. He estimated this pearl was larger than a two-fen coin but slightly smaller than a five-fen coin, which was 24 millimeters in diameter.

They really had struck it rich!

Lin Xiuqing was overjoyed, “When we get back, let’s compare it with the coins. Coming out today was really the right choice!”

This was the second time she’d said these words, showing just how happy she was.

He looked smug, “Now you know I was right all along!”

“Yes, yes, yes. Only you would come to the beach during a typhoon. Who else in the village would dare? Aren’t you afraid of being swept away by the waves!”

“They’re all cowards. Typhoons bring surprises. As long as there are big waves, the beach yields more than during high tide.”

“So how much money can we get for this pearl? Where should we go to sell it?”

Uh… this question stumped him a bit. He really wasn’t sure how much this pearl would be worth at this time…

Influenced by traditional Chinese dragon culture, collectors had always regarded Melo pearls as “Dragon Pearls,” giving them sacred symbolic meaning and considering them royal jewels.

From what he’d heard in his previous life, these were valued in tens of thousands of US dollars, but he wasn’t sure about now, considering how productivity was still behind and people had just solved their basic survival needs.

He frowned, “I only know this pearl is very, very expensive, but I can’t say exactly how much it’s worth. The jewelry shops in our town and county definitely won’t be able to appraise it, and even if they could, they wouldn’t offer a good price. The city… probably won’t work either, we might need to go to the provincial capital!”

“Ah? We need to go to the provincial capital? That far?” Lin Xiuqing was dumbfounded. Was this pearl really that extraordinary?

Ye Yaodong also felt it was troublesome. After thinking for a while, he suggested, “We’re not really short on money right now, and we’re getting by fine. Why don’t we keep this pearl and keep this luck with us? After all, it is a ‘Dragon Pearl,’ maybe it’ll bring our family smooth sailing and good fortune!”

Lin Xiuqing pondered and thought it made sense. They were doing okay now, and if it was really that valuable, selling it would mean relatives and friends would find out and there would be endless requests for loans. They wouldn’t know peace anymore.

In their rural area, half the village was related or friends. People would come asking for money for their children’s education or medical expenses – what could they do?

If they didn’t help… they’d be called heartless. These were all relatives and friends in need, and they had money but wouldn’t help.

If they did help… people might not even be grateful, and those who didn’t get help would hold grudges…

They’d be caught between a rock and a hard place!

Better to keep it for now. It was a ‘Dragon Pearl’ after all, it could bring good fortune to the family. If they ever really needed money and couldn’t get by, they could sell it then.

Plus… she secretly glanced at her husband. What if having money made him worse than before, more lazy and indulgent?

She’d heard too many gossips about men changing when they got money. He’d just started showing some improvement these past few days, better not sell it.

In just a moment, Lin Xiuqing’s thoughts had gone through many twists and turns.

“Mm-hmm!” She nodded, “What you say makes sense. We’re getting by fine now, and finding this ‘Dragon Pearl’ is our good fortune. Let’s keep this luck with us, to bless our family with smooth sailing at sea and abundant harvests.”

“Let’s keep this pearl between just us, don’t tell anyone else.”

“I understand!”

Ye Yaodong handed her the Melo pearl, “You keep it, lock it up well when we get home.”

Lin Xiuqing took the pearl, smiling gently. That he would entrust something so valuable to her without hesitation gave her a satisfying sense of being trusted, and she couldn’t help but give him an extra glance.

“What? Suddenly realizing how handsome your husband is?”

She smiled and pushed him, “Stop joking around, let’s look around some more and see if we can find anything else?”

Ye Yaodong fell sitting on the beach from her push, but wasn’t annoyed. He got up smiling and followed behind her, “Got a precious jewel and you don’t want to reward me?”

Lin Xiuqing gave him a side glance, “Husband and wife are one, what’s wrong with me keeping it? Besides, you seem to have forgotten, I was the one who found this snail… Ah, right, don’t forget to take the conch shell, let’s keep it as a memento.”

“Got it, the shell’s in the sack, and the meat’s still hanging on the scale. You take it with the scale, we’ll stir-fry it tonight, extra food for extra luck.”

“Mm.”

He pestered her again, getting close, “Since you found the snail, how about I reward you instead?”

“No thanks, I refuse. I’m more practical, just find more seafood to reward me.”

“I’d work hard to find seafood anyway, that can’t count as a reward… Come on, let me give you my reward…”

“Go away… why are you so annoying…”