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Chapter 179: The Unlucky Tea Caihua
Chapter 179: The Unlucky Tea Caihua
The meal was shared between the two families. After the Guangzong Yaozu brothers finished eating, they put down their bowls and disappeared without a trace, running off to play in some corner. Only Zhou Chengxin and Tea Caihua remained.
Tea Caihua had just finished washing the dishes when she heard Zhou Fu's words and exclaimed in surprise, "What do you mean by opening a pearl?"
Had they found another pearl oyster?
Zhou Chengxin glared at her, "Do you want to announce it on the radio station?"
Tea Caihua quickly covered her mouth.
Zhou Mu said, "Xia Xia found another pearl oyster at the seabed today. We picked some, and Ah Xin also collected a bagful. Don't go spreading it around."
Tea Caihua nodded quickly; she wasn't stupid!
She had just been too excited and momentarily lost control of her volume.
Pearls! Her family had also found a pearl oyster. Could they buy a large ship now too?
Zhou Fu didn't say a word and went to look for tools.
Jiang Xia didn't even glance at Tea Caihua and said to Zhou Fu, "Dad, get some wood. I'll cut a few small pieces."
Zhou Fu was puzzled, "Why cut wood?"
Jiang Xia explained, "This time, when we open the pearl oysters, let's try not to pry them all open. Let's see if we can extract the pearls without killing the oysters. Then we'll try to put these oysters back in the sea to see if they can survive."
Pearl oysters can live up to thirty years, and during this time, they can continuously form pearls.
Tea Caihua almost rolled her eyes at this. If it weren't for Zhou Chengxin's icy gaze, she would have! Removing the pearl would damage the oyster's flesh. With the flesh cut off, how could the oyster survive? Moreover, without prying it open, how could they know if there was a pearl inside? How would they extract the pearl?
Yet, Zhou Chengxin asked, "How do we do it?"
Jiang Xia replied, "First, cut a few small pieces of wood. I'll show you how in a moment."
Zhou Fu went to the kitchen, grabbed a kitchen knife, an ax, some wood, and a cutting board, and asked, "How do I cut it?"
Jiang Xia took a kitchen knife and a piece of wood. She split the wood into a small rectangular block and then shaved one end at an angle, not too sharp. The wood would be used to wedge into the pearl oyster, and the pointed end made it easier to insert.
By wedging it in this way, they could create a small crack in the pearl oyster, and then carefully extract the pearl from this opening.
If the wound on the pearl oyster wasn't too large during the extraction, it could still survive.
After all, it was a living organism with self-healing abilities.
Jiang Xia cut one piece of wood, and Zhou Fu and Zhou Chengxin quickly followed suit, finishing their pieces almost immediately.
They were used to carpentry work.
Then, Jiang Xia took a small knife and carefully pried open the oyster, inserting the prepared piece of wood to hold it open.
"Mom, do we have new chopsticks or bamboo skewers?"
"Yes! I'll get them," Zhou Mu replied. After the family split, Zhou Mu would buy new tableware at the town market during her free time.
Zhou Mu found some new bamboo chopsticks and skewers, which Jiang Xia cleaned and sterilized with boiling water. Then, using the rounded end of a chopstick, she gently pressed on the oyster's flesh, quickly reaching the round, hard pearl inside.
Without tools like tweezers, Jiang Xia could only use a bamboo skewer to carefully pry open the oyster's flesh and extract the pearl. The entire process aimed to minimize the wound on the pearl, keeping it neat and tidy, avoiding any ragged edges.
The process took over ten minutes, and Tea Caihua was getting anxious watching. But when Jiang Xia picked out a golden pearl, Tea Caihua couldn't help but feel envious again, "This pearl is so beautiful! It's like a golden pearl!"
Jiang Xia took a look and agreed that it was indeed good. It was 8mm, with a nice color, and the flaws didn't detract from its beauty.
Jiang Xia placed the pearl in the bowl in front of her and said to Zhou Fu, Zhou Mu, and Zhou Chengxin, "This is how you open it. Try to keep the wound on the pearl small and neat, making it easier for it to heal."
Tea Caihua immediately picked up a pearl oyster from her family's bag, "I want to try too!"
Zhou Chengxin reminded her, "Be careful not to kill the pearl."
"I know!" Tea Caihua replied irritably.
Although she thought it was impossible for the oyster to survive, what if it did?
How could she not feel regret?
When it came to money, Tea Caihua was always cautious.
Zhou Fu: "Xia Xia, give me and your mother two pearl oysters."
Jiang Xia handed them two oysters.
Zhou Fu began to open the oysters with great anticipation, moving carefully and silently chanting in his heart, "Big, round, and perfect! Big, round, and perfect..."
Tea Caihua also carefully pried open one of the oysters and then imitated Jiang Xia's actions to search for the pearl! She used chopsticks to carefully probe for half a day but didn't feel any pearls.
Unable to hold back, she asked Zhou Chengxin, "You try."
Zhou Chengxin took it and carefully searched for a while before confirming, "No pearl."
Tea Caihua: "..."
Why was she so unlucky?
Zhou Fu had already found a pearl and glanced at their oysters, "Not even one at this age?"
Zhou Chengxin shook his head, "No."
Tea Caihua didn't believe it, "I'll try another one."
Zhou Fu: "..."
Did this wasteful and unlucky woman have no self-awareness at all?
She dared to open another one?
As it turned out, Tea Caihua was indeed unlucky, and this time, she didn't find any pearls either! But Zhou Fu and Zhou Mu opened theirs and found pearls!
The pearls were not small, around 5mm and 6mm in size, with good color and minimal flaws.
Jiang Xia even opened a large white pearl, about 9mm.
8mm seawater pearls were already rare, and those above 9mm were even more so.
Jiang Xia's pearls kept getting bigger, making Tea Caihua envious. Could it be that her luck was truly inferior to Jiang Xia's?
She didn't believe it and continued to open more!
Again, there was nothing! She felt like crying!
Even Zhou Chengxin was afraid of her and directly said, "You shouldn't touch them!"
After opening so many without finding a single pearl, it was clear that her luck was terrible!
Zhou Fu: "Yes, Ah Hua, don't open any more! Your luck is terrible, and you have no financial fortune. Don't waste these pearl oysters!"
Tea Caihua was unhappy after hearing this. She refused to admit that she had bad luck and couldn't help but say, "If it's there, it's there, and if it's not, it's not. What does it have to do with my luck?"
She couldn't help but say to Zhou Chengxin, "Why do you always pick the ones without pearls?"
Zhou Chengxin didn't bother to respond and picked up an oyster to open it, only to find a pearl! Tea Caihua closed her mouth.
However, the pearl he found was only about 4mm in size, the smallest so far, and it had the most flaws.
But Tea Caihua was still happy. At least she had found one, and she quickly picked up another oyster and handed it to Zhou Chengxin, "Keep going! Keep going! Your luck is better!"
Zhou Chengxin couldn't hold back, "Can you please not touch them?"
Tea Caihua: "..."
"I'm just handing it to you, I didn't open it! Can't I even touch it?"
"Nothing good comes from the things you touch."
Tea Caihua felt truly wronged, "You're making me sound like a plague bringer!"
Zhou Chengxin didn't say anything, implying agreement.
Tea Caihua was exasperated, "Then you open it and see if there's one! Who knows, maybe I touched it, and this time, a big one will come out!"
But again, there was nothing!
Tea Caihua: "!!!"
Zhou Chengxin took another pearl oyster and opened it, finding another pearl. It was white, with a good luster, a slight flaw, and about 6mm in size, larger than the previous one.
Zhou Fu took a look and asked, "How is it?"
Zhou Chengxin smiled, "Not bad! There are hardly any flaws. The quality of the pearls from these oysters is high."
Tea Caihua was delighted, and the pearls were getting bigger! In her excitement, she picked up another pearl oyster and handed it to Zhou Chengxin.
Zhou Chengxin: "..."
She could open it herself!
She didn't believe she was so unlucky that she couldn't find even one pearl! But again, there was nothing!!!
Why was Jiang Xia's luck so good?
She couldn't help but look at Jiang Xia, and her eyes widened! Tea Caihua's expression was like that of a soldier on the battlefield, pierced by a thousand arrows, dying with unclosed eyes.
Indeed, she felt like her heart had suffered ten thousand points of damage!
What kind of luck did Jiang Xia have?
(End of Chapter)
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