Chapter 128: The Multicolored Pearl Clam

Chapter 128: The Multicolored Pearl Clam

"Xi Yue, did you draw this? What is it?" Cold Qing Autumn curiously picked up the notebook.

"Oh, it's a piece of clamshell. I'm thinking of designing it into a small ornament."

"Clamshell piece? What kind of piece?" Cold Qing Autumn asked excitedly, "Can I take a look?"

"Sure." After all, the director-grandfather is not an outsider.

Leng Xi Yue went into the bedroom and generously showed Cold Qing Autumn the five pieces.

"Isn't this what I was supposed to appraise?" Cold Qing Autumn curiously held the pieces, observing them repeatedly before asking, "Xi Yue, where did you find these treasures?"

"I picked them up by the river." Leng Xi Yue said.

"By the river? Which river?" Cold Qing Autumn grew more excited.

Hearing this, Leng Xi Yue knew these clamshells must be valuable. Given that the director-grandfather is very interested in archaeology, he should be able to discern the value of the clamshell pieces.

"Director-grandfather, can you determine the age of this clam?"

"I couldn't do it before, but now that my eyesight is back, I definitely can." After carefully inspecting each piece of the clamshell and shining light on it for a long time, Leng Qingqiu confidently declared, "Seventy-seven thousand years."

What? Seventy-seven thousand years! Leng Xi Yue couldn't believe it. Had that clam really lived so long?

If that was the case, then the spiritual pearl inside her must also possess seventy-seven thousand years of spiritual power.

"Director Grandpa, how did you determine its age? Can you teach me?" Leng Xi Yue eagerly wanted to learn this knowledge.

Leng Qingqiu picked up one of the pieces, "This type of clam is a very rare ancient organism called the Multicolored Pearl Clam, extinct for over fifty million years. They prefer living in riverbed or river-bottom caves. At birth, the shell is gray with many rings on the back, each ring representing its age.

Every year, a red ring appears on its shell, every ten years an orange one forms; every hundred years a golden ring, every thousand years a green ring, and every ten thousand years a purple ring appears.

On this piece, there are seven purple and seven green rings, and countless red, orange, and gold rings, indicating it lived for at least seventy-seven thousand years."

Multicolored Pearl Clam, seventy-seven thousand years! It was Leng Xi Yue's first time hearing such a shocking explanation. After examining the clamshell closely, she asked in disbelief, "Director Grandpa, how can you tell there are seven purple and seven green rings? I can't see them."

Leng Qingqiu chuckled, "Because you haven't studied it. Ordinary people can only see the age of a Multicolored Pearl Clam from the patterns on the back of a complete shell. Archaeologists have their techniques."

As he placed the clamshell piece under the light, he said, "Xi Yue, take another look now. Do you see anything new?"

Curiously looking, Leng Xi Yue was astonished to see that when the clamshell piece was held up to the light, it projected the image of a complete clamshell, just like the one she had seen underwater. All its colors were vividly displayed.

It turns out Director Grandpa determined the clam's age through light. Leng Xi Yue felt she had learned so much today.

Given the clam's longevity, its shell must possess extraordinary effects, perhaps even offering disease prevention and longevity. She wondered if Gong Xin Yi's family doctor had analyzed its components.

Just then, Leng Qingqiu mentioned, "According to historical records, the Multicolored Pearl Clam is considered a lucky and sacred creature in the water, capable of averting disasters and evil. With it present, river waters will not overflow. Its pearls have miraculous effects, not only providing illumination, repelling water, and warding off evil but also curing diseases and healing wounds. Whoever possesses it could achieve immortality."