Chapter 555. Reincarnation of the Dragon Kings Daughter? (1/2)
Now that people wore swimsuits, it was better. In the past, pearl divers usually swam in the ocean pretty much naked. If they were bitten by a venomous sea snake and couldn’t be rescued in time, they often lost their lives. Venomous jellyfish often floated in the seas as well. If a diver got injured by their tentacles, there weren’t any good medications to be had to treat their injuries. The wound would then fester and rot and cause extreme pain to the victim. Those who were unlucky and had more severe wounds could also die.
In addition, the pearl divers who were in the water needed to have good cooperation with the people remaining on the boat. That way, as soon as they shook the rope tethering them to the boat, the people aboard would respond. If the people on the boat were too slow to react, the divers may end up dead in the water from suffocation.
These weren’t the only dangers that the divers had to look out for. Sometimes, the people on the boat would reel in the rope and find it severed without a person on the end. This usually meant that the pearl diver had already been swept away by the underwater currents or perhaps had disappeared into an underwater whirlpool…
It was no wonder that Yu Xiaolian was so worried that Zhuang Xiaomo had insisted on participating in this pearl diving competition!
As of now, Zhuang Xiaomo’s luck wasn’t too bad. He had dove down and come back up multiple times, picking up quite a few nice-looking pearl oysters in the process. At lunchtime, he had pretty much gathered all of the pearl oysters in this ‘pearl pond’. In the afternoon, his group went to a different location and they also had a decent small haul in the end.
When they went back to shore, the vast majority of pearl diving boats came back completely empty. Many of the pearl divers from other areas who had come to participate didn’t even finish exploring the waters while Zhuang Xiaomo and his group had already gotten to the step of opening up their pearl oysters.
The pearls obtained from the pearl oysters could either be taken home to be submitted later or given right there for the competition. Zhu Junyang wasn’t afraid that anyone might try to commit fraud. As long as the competition was able to produce superior grade pearls, he didn’t care about the cash reward or tiny official position.
When it was time to open up the pearl oysters, Yu Xiaocao and her cohort of friends all gathered around until Zhuang Xiaomo and his group were surrounded by three layers of people. The probability of finding a pearl in a wild pearl oyster was about the same odds of winning a large raffle. The first few that were opened were all empty. Thus, those young ladies and young masters from the capital started off very excited and then ended up leaving in disappointment with their lips curled.
Yu Xiaocao, on the other hand, continued to squat next to the pile of pearl oysters and casually ran her hand through them. Yu Wanqing took a small stool and sat next to her as she watched Zhuang Xiaomo continuously open the oysters and be disappointed by them. This ‘little fangirl’ of Yu Xiaocao’s anxiously said, “Older Brother Xiaomo, you should have Older Sister Xiaocao open a few and see. Her luck has always been very good!”
This young maiden also began to call Zhuang Xiaomo as “Older Brother Xiaomo’ after following Xiaolian’s and Xiaocao’s examples. She didn’t have the least bit of airs or arrogance of a young miss from the capital. In fact, she seemed to admire Zhuang Xiaomo’s pearl diving abilities quite a bit.
Yu Xiaocao was startled by her unexpected suggestion and blanked out for a bit before she replied in good humor, “What does this have to do with luck? Do you think I’d be able to magically make an oyster have a pearl if I opened one versus another person?”
Yu Wanqing remarked in a righteous manner, “I’m sure there must be some pearls in this pile of oysters. Other people may not be selecting the right ones, but Older Sister Yu’s luck has always been good. I’m sure the one that you pick will have a pearl in it!”
At this time, the little divine stone had come out of hibernation and used its powers to scan the pile of pearl oysters. It remarked in a voice with a hint of disdain, [This fellow surnamed Zhuang is pretty unlucky. He picked up a bunch of trash and there are only a few oysters here that have an inkling of spiritual energy.]
In the eyes of those who cultivated, jewels and pearls were considered treasures of the earth and sky. Consequently, they could feel a bit of energy coming off of these precious items. The more energy they felt, the larger the item was, and the more valuable it was.
In a corner that was out of sight of everyone else, the little divine stone materialized into its glimmering golden kitten form that was no larger than the palm of a person’s hand. It sauntered over to Xiaocao in an arrogant and graceful manner. Yu Xiaocao picked it up and held it as she searched through the pearl oysters. Following the little divine stone’s prompts, she reached her hand out to a small and wretched looking pearl oyster under the expectant and ridiculing gazes of the others.
Yu Wanqing became anxious for her, “Older Sister Yu, you should pick the largest one! Aren’t the older pearl oysters more likely to produce pearls? The one you picked is so small. Even if it had a pearl in it, it wouldn't be very big.”
Xiaocao also didn’t quite understand the choice, so she could sympathize with Yu Wanqing’s feelings. However, the little divine stone was very adamant that this pearl oyster was emitting the strongest aura of energy. She had never doubted the little divine stone’s judgements.
She threw the oyster to Zhuang Xiaomo, hinting that he should open it. Everyone saw that she looked calm and confident and immediately transferred their excited gazes over to Zhuang Xiaomo and the oyster in his hand.
The pearl oyster was very quickly pried open and it revealed a shimmering pearl, about the size of the joint on the pinky finger, conspicuously cradled in the middle. Under the fading light of the evening, it glittered gently and emitted a small glow.
“Wow! There really is a pearl! Xiaocao, you’re too awesome. You just casually picked up a pearl oyster but it had a pearl inside!! How did you do it?” He Wanning rushed over and clasped the oyster that had just been opened, inspecting the round and beautiful pearl inside. Apparently pearls could be found in these tiny and ugly pearl oysters!
She had asked the question that everyone else had thought. Under the shining gazes of the others, Yu Xiaocao hesitated for a long time before she finally said, “It's nothing, just my intuition that’s all!”