Chapter 50 What Are Pearls?

Chapter 50 What Are Pearls?

Luo Qiong Niu held his breath and tiptoed to the large rock Xingxing had pointed at.

His friends also became tense, huddling together.

Luo Qiong Niu slowly lifted the rock Xingxing had chosen.

Beneath it were only a few moss-covered stones—nothing else.

Not even a tiny crab as small as a fingernail.

Although Luo Qiong Niu was somewhat disappointed, he wasn't too disheartened.

After all, they had flipped many rocks without finding any larger crabs.

Xingxing was just an adorable three-year-old girl; if she were truly that lucky, she would have been enshrined in a temple long ago!

Luo Qiong Niu didn't say anything, but his friends started murmuring:

"My grandma heard that this little girl picked a very valuable Heartburn Grass and sold it for four taels of silver! These days, she's been going into the mountains a lot with others to find that Heartburn Grass..."

"My mom heard about it too! She went looking but found nothing in the mountains!"

"It was probably just luck!"

As they whispered among themselves, Xingxing looked at Luo Qiong Niu, slightly embarrassed. Before he could speak, Luo Qiong Niu reassured her: "It's okay! We're just doing this for fun! It doesn't matter if we don't find anything! Really, it's fine!"

He then dragged his friends away, worried that Xingxing might feel awkward.

Xingxing tilted her head.

Although she thought this Luo family brother was a bit strange, she could sense his kindness towards her.

He must be a good person!

Gui Geer clicked his tongue and muttered, "I think they're a bit off."

Liu Ge'er still clung tightly to the fat-headed fish. "Don't mind them. Let's go home and raise the fish."

Gui Geer and Xingxing nodded in agreement.

Just as Xingxing was about to leave, something glinted in the sunlight, catching her eye.

Curious, she turned around and saw something beneath the rock they had lifted, partially covered by smaller stones.

"Third Brother, wait a moment." Xingxing called out, squatting down and using her small hands to move the rocks near the stream.

Gui Geer hurried over to help.

Together, they moved several rocks and unearthed a clam the size of a palm!

"Wow, it's so big!" Xingxing exclaimed, examining it curiously, treating it like a new toy.

"We can keep this with the fish and add it to soup later; it will make the broth very flavorful," Liu Ge'er said. "Let's go home."

Xingxing nodded eagerly, holding the large clam and happily followed her brothers back home.

...

In the Yu family courtyard.

Su Rouer calmed herself and returned to sewing shoe soles.

Her embroidery skills were average, but she was quite skilled at making shoes.

Previously, she had looked down on her sisters-in-law making money from needlework to support the household. Now, however, she wanted to earn some silver through her own labor.

Ju Geer, still concerned about his mother, played with a slingshot made by his fourth uncle, drawing circles on the ground and shooting pebbles.

Liu Ge'er entered the house carrying the big fish, and Ju Geer happened to be picking up pebbles. Looking up, he saw his third brother with a huge fish!

Ju Geer was stunned!

First, he felt a bit regretful, thinking how fun it must have been to catch such a big fish! He missed out!

Then he became excited, knowing they would have fish to eat again!

Gui Geer, somewhat boasting, said, "How about that? Xingxing found it, and I helped Third Brother catch it!"

Ju Geer nodded vigorously. "Take me next time!"

"Sure thing!" Gui Geer agreed, then shouted into the house, "Mom, Grandma, come see! We caught a huge fish!"

Wei Pozi and Bai Xiaofeng came out upon hearing the commotion. Seeing Liu Ge'er holding a massive fat-headed fish, both were astonished!

Bai Xiaofeng couldn't stop smiling.

Oh, her two sons were really capable!

"Mom, do we have a big basin?" Liu Ge'er asked, his arms tired from holding the fish. "We should put this fish in a basin for a couple of days until Aunt comes back, and then we can make fish soup."

Bai Xiaofeng nodded repeatedly. "Yes, yes, wait a moment. I'll get a basin from the kitchen."

Once the half-dead fish was placed in the basin, it quickly regained its vitality, swimming around with its tail flicking.

The children were relieved.

Wei Pozi was so delighted she didn't know what to say. "Where did you catch such a big fish?"

Gui Geer chattered on, "It was in that little stream! We tried for so long but couldn't catch a single one. Later, it was Xingxing who found this silly fat-head carp that had gotten itself stuck in a hole. Liu Ge'er and I quickly grabbed it."

Could it be like that?

Bai Xiaofeng listened with amusement!

"Xingxing is truly a lucky charm!" Bai Xiaofeng couldn't help but exclaim.

Xingxing was a bit shy but held up the large freshwater mussel she had found to show Wei Pozi and Bai Xiaofeng. "Grandma, Second Aunt, look, Xingxing also found this!"

"Oh, our Xingxing is amazing! What a big mussel!" Wei Pozi hugged Xingxing and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

Xingxing laughed, both happy and bashful.

Ju Geer suddenly had an idea and came over to look. "Grandma, I heard that mussels have pearls inside. Does this one have any?"

Wei Pozi chuckled. "Pearls are rare treasures; how easy do you think they are to find?"

"What's a pearl?" Xingxing tilted her head, asking Ju Geer curiously.

Ju Geer gestured, unsure how to describe it to Xingxing: "It's a small white bead!"

Liu Ge'er added from the side, "Pearls are smooth and white, very rare, and beautiful. I heard someone once found a pearl as big as a chicken's eye in a mussel and sold it for a lot of money... But we rarely come across them."

Xingxing listened with wide-eyed wonder, placing the large mussel on the ground and picking up a thin stick to poke at it from left to right. "I wonder if there's a pearl inside?"

Ju Geer squatted down next to Xingxing, acting like a little adult: "Didn't you hear what Third Brother said? They're very rare; how could there be a pearl so easily?"

"Oh." Xingxing continued poking the mussel shell, still very curious. "I've never seen a pearl before!"

Wei Pozi decided to humor them. "Let me open it up and see."

But the mussel was sizable, and its shell was tightly closed. Wei Pozi struggled for a while before finally prying it open.

As soon as she did, Wei Pozi was stunned.

There was indeed a bulge where the flesh was wrapped around...

Could it be that there really was a pearl inside?

Wei Pozi found it hard to believe, her hand trembling slightly, almost losing her grip on the knife used to pry open the mussel!