"Everyone, let's eat. We'll take care of the rest ourselves." Mingjing stopped, her fingers stiff and uncomfortable.
"I'll finish it," Sun Yang said enthusiastically.
Seeing that Sun Yang hadn't moved, they felt embarrassed to leave and stayed for a short while until all the abalone had been opened.
"Ninety-three pieces," Ming Lei said, slurping up his seaweed soup.
"Aunt, Mom, keep these, we'll make jewelry from them."
Mingjing picked out four less desirable abalone pearls and laid them out in her palm, then gave two larger ones to Zhang Qiao.
"Aunt, here, take this and make it into a pendant or a ring. It's compensation for the bracelet I broke last time."
Zhang Qiao tried to refuse, but Mingjing stuffed the things into her hands.
"Mom, here, take this. Put it with the oyster pearls from last time to make pendants and earrings. I'll keep these two red ones, just in case I get a promotion."
Mingjing then took out two small pearls and gave them to Sun Yunmei.
Ming Dahai originally wanted to say a few more words, but since he had already given it away, he was too embarrassed to ask for it back.
Zhang Qiao gave the beads to her two daughters, one for each of them, as they were still young and best suited to wear pearls. Sun Yunmei planned to keep them and save them up until she had a whole string of them.
"Finally finished. Let's eat. After dinner, Auntie should go back to sleep." Mingjing put away the pearls, washed her hands, and sat down at the dining table.
After finishing their meal, Sun Yang left, and Mingjing began tidying up the yard.
While processing the abalone, I also processed the abalone meat, making a whole big basin full, with abalone shells piled up everywhere. Actually, these things are Chinese medicine.
In traditional Chinese medicine, abalone shell is used to treat dizziness and vertigo, and to clear the liver and improve eyesight. It is found in every household by the sea, but not many people know that this stuff can be sold.
Mingjing collected several sacks of abalone shells and piled them in the corner, planning to take them to a traditional Chinese medicine clinic to inquire about their price when she had time.
Back in the house, Mingjing put the two red beads in a separate jar, turned over, and went to sleep.
At dawn, just as the sky was beginning to brighten, Mingjing rode his motorcycle to town with abalone shells and whelks. The whelks were only a sackful, so they weren't heavy to carry on the motorcycle.
I filled up my tank at a gas station.
"Mingjing?" Dong Li, who was standing next to him, also stopped his car and joined the queue.
"Uncle Dong," Mingjing turned her head and glanced at Dong Li in the car, "Uncle Dong, where are you going?"
"Going to the city for a friend's child's first birthday celebration. Where are you going? Don't ride your motorcycle. If you're going to the city, I'll take you. Gas is quite expensive."
In coastal areas, people place great importance on the "first birthday celebration" (抓周宴), believing it will foreshadow the child's future, especially for boys. Attendees usually give gifts, but they generally don't make much money from it.
When Minglei was born, they held a first birthday celebration where he grabbed a seal. I wonder if he'll be stamping people's seals or pigs' seals in the future.
They didn't receive many gifts and even lost several hundred.
"I have to go to the printing factory over there..."
"It's on my way, so you can park your bike in front of my seafood restaurant. It's rare to see a girl riding one. What are you carrying?"
"I was just about to go up ahead to sell these whelks to you."
"Okay, let's go back and take a look."
Mingjing rode his motorcycle back to the entrance of the seafood restaurant. The whelks were all the same size, and weighed 98.6 jin.
"Wheel snails are cheap now, I'll give you five yuan a pound, that'll be four hundred and ninety-three yuan and sixty cents in total."
Dong Li pressed the calculator and readily took out his money. Ming Jing was too lazy to count it and stuffed it all into her pocket. Afterwards, she followed Dong Li to the printing factory with the abalone shell and beads.
On the way, Dong Li felt bored and took the initiative to ask, "What are you going to the printing factory for?"
"Oh, I put some flyers on the shelves but haven't picked them up yet," Mingjing said casually, remembering the abalone from yesterday. "Uncle Dong, do you know what the price of abalone is now?"
When Dong Li heard about Bao Zhu, his eyes changed. "That thing is valuable, but it varies in size and quality. I've never seen a particularly famous Bao Zhu."
"How much is the red one?"
How big?
"It's about the size of a fingernail, very pretty, and very round."
Upon hearing her words, Dong Li pulled the car over to the side of the road. "You brought it with you?"
"Hmm," Mingjing nodded, took out her small bag, and pulled out a jar. "Are these red and pink ones valuable?"
Dong Li was startled by this action and paused, "So many?"
He examined the two abalone pearls closely. "These two are so beautiful and so big? The price and style are both excellent. Mingjing, you're so lucky."
"It's not just about risking your life. Yesterday we dug up seven or eight hundred pounds of abalone, and these two were the best-looking ones."
"That's not bad either. Some people can't even open one abalone out of ten thousand. Abalone is very valuable. Aren't you afraid of losing money?"
Mingjing shook his head. "Fortune favors the bold. If there's really no fortune, consider this my treat to the villagers."
Are you sure you've sold them all?
Dong Li has been collecting seafood for so many years, and he must have handled one or two abalone pearls, but this is the first time he has seen so many.
Unlike other types of pearls, abalone pearls are not only rare but also valuable. They are generally used as accessories, and some people even eat them, claiming they are good for beauty and health.
"Otherwise, but you'll have to find an expert for this. So hurry up and get it done, and I'll take you to my friend. She specializes in these kinds of things."
Dong Li stared intently at the jar of pearls, his mind once again casting a shadow of optimism on Mingjing.
"What about your first birthday party?"
"It's alright, he's a friend of a friend. If he misses it, it's fine."
No friend is more important than family. This is his future daughter-in-law, the family's breadwinner. No matter how busy he is, he has to take care of her.
"Thank you very much, Uncle Dong."
Dong Li laughed and said, "We're all old friends, no need to be so polite. By the way, Mingjing, I heard that there's been a real estate speculation craze recently. You're from the inland, do you know what's going on?"
Mingjing thought about it. The houses were practically given away for free, and there was no limit to how many she could buy. If she could recruit more people to buy more houses, she could do so.
Isn't that the landlady?
However, buying a house is not the most important thing now; buying land is. A good piece of land can fetch a considerable amount of money, and that's how most real estate developers made their fortunes.
“Uncle Dong, we will always need to live in a house. As the population grows, housing will definitely become a necessity. If you are interested, you can buy more land.”
"In the future, whether you want to buy land or build a house, it will be valuable."
The real estate market has been hot all year, and stocks have doubled or tripled. Mingjing just doesn't have enough money on hand, otherwise he would have bought several plots of land.
After chatting for a while, the two arrived at the printing factory. Mingjing brought out a stack of small advertisements and flyers, and also held a large billboard in her hand.
"Mingjing, are you also thinking of getting into real estate?" Dong Li thought, intrigued.
This girl is lucky; if you follow her, you might really make a fortune.
"No, this is for my sister-in-law. She's bored at home, so I suggested she try selling houses," Mingjing said as she got into the car to look at the small advertisements.
It looks quite professional.
"I'll take you to the city first, find a place to stop, and then come back to pick you up after I've given you the gift."
"Then let's go to the biggest Chinese medicine clinic. I'll sell the abalone shells first."
Dong Li had heard that abalone shells were a traditional Chinese medicine, and there weren't many people selling them. Knowing that Mingjing was very observant, he didn't ask any more questions and drove straight to the city.
The car drove to the TCM clinic in the city. Mingjing watched Dong Li's car leave before carrying the abalone shell into the clinic.
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