Before she even got home, Feng Ye saw that the road outside the yard was covered with dried fish.
Rows of bamboo curtains were neatly arranged, leaving only enough space for one person to pass through.
The same applies inside the courtyard.
"Why are you alone? Where are your son and the others?"
Feng Ye walked into the courtyard carrying a snakeskin bag and saw that only Ye Qingling was sitting in a daze at the entrance of the main room. He casually asked her a question.
"Mother and sister-in-law went to Aunt Ling's house to dry fish, and the three younger ones went with them."
Why didn't you go?
Upon hearing this, Ye Qingling rolled her eyes and said irritably, "They've all left. Who's going to take care of the workers when they come to eat? Are they expected to take care of themselves?"
Feng Ye smiled awkwardly: "Yes, it was my carelessness that made me foolish."
Ye Qingling looked at the snakeskin bag he had just put down and asked curiously, "Did you go fishing?"
"I originally went to check the wave conditions, but I took a walk along the shore while I was there."
"What did you find?"
"Most of them are clams and snails, but there's something good about them."
Feng Ye proudly took the conch shell out of the snakeskin bag and handed it to her, asking, "Is it big?"
"Wow, it's huge! I've never seen such a big snail before, except for coconut snails."
Ye Qingling took it with delight and kept flipping through it.
“These snails are already quite large, with the longest reaching 60 or 70 centimeters. Ours is over 40 centimeters.”
"What kind of snail is this?"
She looked delighted and weighed it in her hand. "It looks a bit like a conch shell, long but not heavy, but much prettier than a conch shell."
"The conch shell is named for the pattern on its shell that resembles a phoenix tail."
"A conch shell? What a beautiful name. It's so pretty, must it be valuable?"
"Of course, the conch is the top of the four famous conches and one of the most precious sea snails. It also has a certain chance of producing pearls."
Pearls produced by conches are called conch pearls, or simply conch pearls, and their English name is conch pearl.
There are many varieties of sea snails, but not all sea snails can produce offspring; only a small number of varieties have a chance of producing offspring.
The conch is one of them.
The formation process of conch pearls is similar to that of kidney stones in humans, and they cannot be artificially cultivated.
The only way to obtain conch pearls is through a marine worm burrowing into the body of the conch and secreting calcium.
These pearls are usually only a few carats, and those over ten carats are extremely rare.
Moreover, only one pearl can be found among 50,000 conch shells, and only 20%–30% of the pearls can be processed into jewelry.
This further illustrates the rarity and preciousness of conch pearls.
"Is this snail so famous? Shall we smash it open and see if there are any pearls inside?"
Upon hearing this, Ye Qingling's eyes lit up immediately, as she thought of the Melody Pearl she had treasured.
"Such a beautiful shell, you don't want it anymore? Its shell is very precious, and some people even collect it."
"They are indeed very beautiful, but do people actually collect these conch shells?"
"Of course, one of the main characteristics of the four famous conch shells is their bright and beautiful colors, unique patterns and shapes, which give them extremely high ornamental value. Moreover, they are relatively rare, which makes them sought after by collectors."
“Since we can keep it, we should definitely keep the shell,” Ye Qingling nodded. “Then we’ll dig out the meat.”
"Aren't you going to sell them? Conch shells are very expensive."
Feng Ye teased her on purpose.
Ye Qingling looked conflicted and hesitated before asking, "The precious thing about this snail is its shell, right? The snail meat probably isn't worth much, is it?"
"Although the snail meat tastes good, it is not worth mentioning compared to the snail shell."
"What else is there to say? Of course we have to dig out the meat and take a look, just in case there are pearls..."
Ye Qingling had a silly grin on her face.
"Fine, do whatever you want."
Seeing Ye Qingling's excited expression, Feng Ye shook his head, but a sense of anticipation also welled up in his heart.
After all, who doesn't love an unexpected surprise?
"How do I get the snail meat out? Do I hang it up like a coconut snail?"
"Just boil it in water."
"That's so simple?"
"You think it's difficult? Most sea snails can be boiled and the meat extracted, but coconut snails can too."
Ye Qingling said "Oh," and then asked, "Is this the only conch shell? Are there any other good things?"
"Isn't this one conch enough?" Feng Ye opened the snakeskin bag. "The rest are all kinds of clams and common snails, as well as some small fish and shrimp."
"Let's leave these for now and talk about them later. I'll go cook them first."
Ye Qingling excitedly went to the kitchen to boil water.
Feng Ye followed him inside, fetched some water to wash his hands, and said, "I'm going to eat first. I'm going out to sea with A-Can to cast a net a couple of times later."
"Didn't you say a typhoon was coming? Why are we still going out to sea? Isn't that too dangerous?"
Ye Qingling was somewhat worried.
"It's alright, we know what we're doing. If the waves get too big, we'll come back right away."
Ye Qingling nodded, but was still a little worried: "Then you must be careful, don't make me worry."
"Don't worry, it's not like we're the only boat out at sea. Many boats have gone out to haul in their nets, so there won't be any danger. Besides, we're just trawl in coastal waters, we won't go too far."
"Okay, then please be careful and stay safe."
Feng Ye smiled and said, "I understand, you can rest assured."
Just as he finished eating and put down his chopsticks, the whelks were almost cooked.
Feng Ye picked up his chopsticks again and took the conch shells out of the pot to cool.
After a while, the temperature of the shell dropped.
He held the snail shell down with one hand, inserted chopsticks into the opening, and carefully picked out the snail meat by rotating it.
He pointed to the snail meat: "Shall you do it, or should I?"
"I'll do it, I'll do it..."
"Then be careful, it's a little hot."
"Okay, I know, stop nagging."
Ye Qingling impatiently reached for the snail meat, starting by pinching the yellow part at the tail.
When she pinched the junction of the yellow meat and the snail meat, she felt a hard foreign object and her face lit up with joy.
"There really is!"
"It actually came out! Quick, take it out and let us see!" Feng Ye urged.
Ye Qingling carefully removed the hard object from the snail meat.
Upon seeing it, Feng Ye's eyes widened instantly: "Absolutely stunning!"
Conch pearls come in a wide range of colors, including pink, orange, gold, brown, and even white.
Most conch pearls are oval in shape, while perfectly round conch pearls are relatively rare.
It is particularly worth mentioning that pink conch pearls are the most desirable.
Pink conch beads, especially those with iridescent and flame-like patterns, are particularly precious and beautiful.
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