Chapter 162: with translation of chapter title

「A Cheng has come, sit down first, these oysters I've prepared are almost done, they'll be ready soon. 」Jiang Yunxiang walked out from the house.

「A Cheng, how's your health today? How does going to sea feel? 」Ye Guowei pulled Ye Cheng to sit down, his face full of concern as he sized Ye Cheng up and down, making Ye Cheng feel uneasy all over.

He was still worried about offending the Sea Dragon King.

「Big brother, I've said it several times, I'm fine, I'm fine, look, I went out to sea today and I'm doing well, and there are so many oysters. 」

「The oysters are here! 」Jiang Yunxiang called out, bringing the steaming oysters to the table.

Dou Dou also came over to sit, although he grew up by the sea, seafood isn't something he gets to eat often.

「Sister-in-law, do you have soy sauce and chili? Fix me a dipping bowl. 」Ye Cheng eyed the pot of oysters, already unable to wait, and he and Dou Dou, one big and one small, four eyes all stared inside.

「Yes, yes, I've prepared it for you. 」Jiang Yunxiang brought over the dipping bowl, scallion, ginger, garlic plus soy sauce, one for each person.

「I'm digging in! 」Ye Cheng grabbed the dipping bowl and directly took one out of the pressure cooker with his hand.

Just steamed, still hot, Ye Cheng blew on it a few times before pulling the meat out with chopsticks; the slightly discolored oyster meat wobbled heavily on the chopsticks. Ye Cheng dipped it in a bit of sauce, took a light bite, and a burst of juice filled his mouth—so tender.

「Mmm, delicious, really delicious, big brother, sister-in-law, eat up. 」Ye Cheng said while his hand already snatched a second one; opposite him, Dou Dou wasn't to be outdone, enduring the heat to pull out a slightly smaller one.

「Don't rush, there's still half left over there; this pot's too small to steam it all. 」Jiang Yunxiang said with a laugh.

Ye Guowei also prepared one, took a bite, nodded, and said, "This batch of oysters is good, just in season."

「Of course, it doesn't matter who prepared them. 」

Ye Cheng picked up the second one and took a bite, suddenly feeling something hard; he initially thought it was the oyster shell.

He didn't expect that when he spat it out and looked, it was actually a small, irregularly round white stone, about the size of a pinky finger.

「Brother, what is this? 」Ye Cheng looked at the stone, feeling a sense of familiarity, but couldn't say what it was.

Ye Guowei picked it up and examined it, his expression tightening, "Looks like an oyster pearl, Yunxiang, take a look."

「An oyster pearl? No way, that's something rare to see. 」Jiang Yunxiang took the bead over and examined it closely, her eyes full of doubt.

Ye Cheng then asked curiously, "Big brother, what is an oyster pearl? Is it also a pearl?"

Ye Guowei nodded, "Well, an oyster pearl is a pearl produced inside an oyster; it's said that only one in 200,000 oysters has an oyster pearl, making it quite rare."

This was the first time Ye Cheng had heard of it; before, he'd only heard that pearls are in shells, and nowadays there are even live streams of opening pearls.

But he'd never heard of pearls inside oysters; even after eating so many grilled oysters at night-market stalls, he'd never heard of anyone finding an oyster pearl while eating.

Jiang Yunxiang looked at it for a while, nodded, and handed the bead back to Ye Cheng, "It should be an oyster pearl; I've heard it's worth quite a bit."

Ye Cheng picked it up and examined it closely; it was indeed pearl material, but the shape was irregular and the luster couldn't compare to a pearl—purely from an ornamental standpoint, it's definitely inferior to a pearl.

But just now big brother said only one in 200,000, so it's relatively rare; maybe the price could go up.

「Big brother, let's see if there are any more in here. 」Ye Cheng pointed to the oysters in the pot.

Just as he was saying that, Dou Dou opposite him exclaimed and spat out a white oyster pearl from his mouth.

Ye Cheng picked it up and looked—sure enough, it was another oyster pearl.

Now that's that—everyone lost all interest in eating; each picked up an oyster, cut it open with a knife, and began searching.

However, in the whole pot they only found three, not particularly large, and of average quality.

「Sister-in-law, what about the oysters that haven't been cooked yet? 」Ye Cheng suddenly reminded.

「They're in the kitchen; I'll go get them. 」Jiang Yunxiang sprang up nimbly and placed a basin of the remaining oysters directly on the table.

The three of them no longer cared about cleanliness, grabbed three pairs of scissors, and started opening the oysters right on the table like blind boxes.

Ye Cheng chose the biggest one to pry open; as soon as he opened it, he saw the oyster meat looked a bit different, with several protruding lumps of flesh.

He gently cut open the protrusion, and a white, spherical oyster pearl emerged; this one was somewhat large, about the size of Ye Cheng's thumb, with a good shape and a smooth surface.

Ye Cheng excitedly sliced open the other lumps as well—sure enough, they were all oyster pearls; just this single oyster contained ten oyster pearls.

How much suffering this child must have endured in life.

Ye Cheng found some oyster pearls on his side, Ye Guowei also found two, Jiang Yunxiang two; added together, this pot of oysters yielded a total of seventeen oyster pearls.

Among them, three were of relatively better quality and larger size, while the others were all elongated.

「A Cheng, take these and sell them. 」Ye Guowei handed all the oyster pearls to Ye Cheng.

「Sure, I'll find someone to try selling them; I don't know how much they'll fetch, but once we have the money we'll split it fifty-fifty as a family. 」

Ye Cheng was thinking of selling them and giving half to his older brother, but Ye Guowei and Jiang Yunxiang disagreed,

「We have enough money; you just keep them for yourself. 」

「Yeah, these oysters you got yourself; you can just sell them yourself. 」

Seeing the two insist, Ye Cheng didn't press the matter either; mainly he wasn't sure how much this thing could sell for, so he planned to go find Old Zhao tomorrow to ask—this guy has wild connections.

The oysters can't be eaten anymore; the meat's been mashed to pulp, so Jiang Yunxiang collected them, intending to simmer some oyster oil.

Oyster oil is what you get from simmering oysters; it's very fresh, and adding a bit when stir-frying dishes can enhance the flavor.

After tidying up, Jiang Yunxiang fried another egg; otherwise the meal wouldn't be edible.

After finishing the meal, Ye Cheng wrapped the oyster pearls in paper and headed home.

After returning, Ye Cheng pulled out Old Zhao's number, called; after a few rings it connected, with a loud, noisy background—clearly he was in the midst of a lively nightlife.

「A Cheng, how come you have time to call me again? Wanna come hang out? Hahaha. 」

Ye Cheng checked the time—it was just past eight, and Old Zhao was already a bit high from drinking, his tongue swollen.

「Your kind of nightlife doesn't suit an old man like me; you young people enjoy it yourselves, I have something to ask you. 」

「Damn, you're calling yourself an old man—how old are you? 」Old Zhao's side quieted a bit, then said, "Go on, is it about selling fish again? I notice you only call me when you want to sell fish; can't you just come drink with your brother?"

「I need to make money to support my family, unlike you; I'm just asking one thing: does anyone in Donghai Shi buy oyster pearls? 」

「What thing? 」

「Oyster pearls, the pearls inside oysters. 」Ye Cheng repeated it.