What Does This Flame Pattern Look Like?

Jiang Xia quickly walked over to Zhou Chenglei. "Are you opening the conches?"

"Mm." Zhou Chenglei carefully placed the two conches on the ground, then went to the utility room to find some tools.

When Mother Zhou saw the two enormous things on the ground, she exclaimed in surprise, "Oh my, what kind of conches are these? They're huge! And they're quite beautiful, too. Why didn't you sell them just now? Shells this pretty should be worth some money."

The Orangutan Sea Chrysanthemum Clam's shell was about the same color as a coconut shell, except it was covered in white spikes of varying lengths. Just looking at it, one could tell it was not to be trifled with.

The Emperor Tang Guan Conch was white, decorated with brownish spots. It was spiny as well, but its spikes were not as sharp as those of the Orangutan Sea Chrysanthemum Clam. Nor was it completely impossible to handle like the latter. Its spikes were there, but they felt somewhat blunt.

Father Zhou had just come out after taking a bath. He took one look, immediately set down his bucket, and walked over. "Sell them? Sell what?! This conch is an Emperor Tang Guan Conch, and this one is an Orangutan Sea Chrysanthemum Clam. Something this big might have pearls in it! Which one of you two found them?"

Zhou Chenglei said, "Jiang Xia found them."

Father Zhou: "..."

Jiang Xia again?

"Xiao Xia, your luck at sea is unbelievable!"

Jiang Xia smiled. "I'm just a blind cat that happened to run into a dead mouse."

As soon as Mother Zhou heard that they might contain pearls, she urged them, "Then hurry up and open them!"

Tian Caihua came in carrying a basket of vegetables and casually asked, "What blind cat and dead mouse? What are you opening?"

She had gone to the Vegetable Garden to pick cucumbers for the children to eat as fruit. The cucumbers had grown well this year, and there were plenty of them. If they did not eat them soon, they would become old, so she had brought over a basket.

Then Tian Caihua saw the two enormous things on the ground. Her eyes widened. "What kind of conches are these? Fourth Sister-in-law, did you find them?"

Jiang Xia could not hide them even if she wanted to. Who would have thought Tian Caihua would come back right after leaving?

Mother Zhou said proudly, "Other than Xiao Xia, who else in our family has that kind of luck at sea? Your father says this one is an Emperor Tang Guan Conch and the other is some kind of chrysanthemum clam. They might have pearls in them. A'Lei, hurry and open them to see if there are any pearls."

Tian Caihua felt sour again. What kind of luck did Jiang Xia have at sea? Unable to hold back, she said, "This conch does look big, but I saw the one Da Hai's family found before—the one that had a pearl inside. It was even bigger than this one. This one is so small. Who knows whether it has one?"

Mother Zhou glared at her. "Ptui, ptui, ptui... You jinx! If you don't know how to speak, then keep your mouth shut!"

The Orangutan Sea Chrysanthemum Clam was covered in spines. Wearing gloves, Zhou Chenglei struggled for quite some time before finally prying open its shell. A white, UFO-shaped pearl emerged from the clam meat! Tian Caihua: "..."

What kind of luck was this? She had casually picked up some spiky thing, and it had actually produced a pearl? Although Jiang Xia had known from the beginning that there was a pearl inside, she still could not help feeling pleasantly surprised. "This pearl is pretty big."

Zhou Chenglei picked up the pearl, washed it in the salt water in the bowl, and only then handed it to Jiang Xia.

Jiang Xia took it and examined it.

The Orangutan Sea Chrysanthemum Clam's pearl was white. It had little luster and was not very smooth or round, possessing only a faint sheen. Its luster was far inferior to that of an ordinary white pearl. However, this pearl was larger than a suit button, and most importantly, its patterns had actually formed something resembling a Camellia! Lying in her palm, it looked just like a fully bloomed white camellia—elegant and understated.

Even with its lack of luster, a pearl with a pattern like this was valuable! If it could make it into an international auction, someone from a certain brand would probably pay a high price for it!

Tian Caihua glanced at it. "A pearl is a pearl, and it's certainly big enough, but it has way too many flaws. It doesn't have any luster at all. I'm afraid it isn't worth much. What a pity!"

Not every pearl was valuable.

Mother Zhou was also somewhat disappointed. How could such a large pearl be lacking in that rich, lustrous glow? Otherwise, it would have been worth a fortune! Jiang Xia said, "If it can't be sold for much, then we'll keep it. It's a natural pearl, a gift from nature. Even if it isn't expensive, it can still guard the house!"

Father Zhou also could not stand listening to his eldest daughter-in-law's ominous words. No matter what, finding a pearl was incredibly good luck.

So he said, "Jiang Xia is right. The old folks used to say that a flawless pearl could ward off evil spirits. If it can't be sold, then keep it at home to guard the house. A pearl this big can keep the whole family safe and sound."

The corners of Tian Caihua's mouth twitched. She wanted to say, Could one pearl really guard the house and keep everyone safe? If that were true, everyone in the world would be safe and blessed. But in the end, she said nothing, lest she anger her parents-in-law.

Tian Caihua said, "With Fourth Sister-in-law's amazing luck, maybe this conch has a pearl in it too. Fourth Brother, hurry and open it to see."

Zhou Chenglei wanted to smash the conch shell open, but Jiang Xia felt that such a large shell could be made into a work of art, and it was quite beautiful besides. She hurriedly stopped him. "Is there any way to get the conch meat out without smashing the shell?"

Father Zhou immediately brought over an iron hook.

Zhou Chenglei put in some effort before finally using the iron hook to pull out a large lump of conch meat.

Mother Zhou said, "Look carefully and see if there's a pearl."

Zhou Chenglei carefully searched through the conch meat.

The whole family gathered around him, watching his movements without blinking.

Tian Caihua's heart rose into her throat. They had already found one pearl. Could they really be this lucky?

Suddenly, Zhou Chenglei's movements stopped.

Tian Caihua's heart skipped a beat.

No way?

Zhou Chenglei pinched the conch meat, and a golden-yellow, perfectly round pearl the size of a fingernail emerged between his fingers.

Father Zhou's eyes lit up. "You can tell at a glance that this pearl is valuable."

Tian Caihua: "!!!"

Mother Zhou said excitedly, "This pearl is beautiful! It looks like a gold pearl, and it's so smooth. It looks like it doesn't have any flaws?"

Ninety-nine percent of purely natural wild pearls had flaws. Finding a pearl without even the slightest flaw was truly heaven's favor, as if the heavens were helping you strike it rich.

Zhou Chenglei washed it in the salt water before handing it to Jiang Xia. "There aren't any real flaws. That little spot doesn't count."

Jiang Xia was reaching out to take it when Tian Caihua could not resist reaching over to snatch it. "Let me see!"

Zhou Chenglei avoided her hand and handed it to Jiang Xia.

Jiang Xia reached out and took it.

Tian Caihua pursed her lips and silently withdrew her hand. What's so special about it? It's not as if I've never seen one before!

A few years ago, she had also found a Pearl Oyster and opened it to find two pearls.

Jiang Xia ignored her and lowered her head to study the pearl in her hand.

It was a golden-yellow pearl with a touch of orange Flame Pattern. Its shape was excellent, perfectly round, with a soft, full luster and an abundance of that rich, lustrous glow.

"This pearl is much better than the last one. It's round and big. If it didn't have any flaws, it would be worth at least a hundred or so yuan." Mother Zhou watched from the side, her voice filled with delight.

Jiang Xia rotated the pearl in her hand. "There's a small flaw."

Tian Caihua also noticed the tiny black spot on it. "It's grown so beautifully, so how could it still have even a tiny flaw? Otherwise, it would have been worth so much more!"

Jiang Xia said nothing. She carefully examined the patterns on the pearl. Suddenly, she tugged on Zhou Chenglei's clothes. "Zhou Chenglei, what does the Flame Pattern on this pearl look like?"

Jiang Xia could not keep the excitement out of her voice.