Chapter 216: Ambergris

After showing off the gems, Yun Jiao took out the three Black Shells.

"What kind of shell is this? We’ve never seen one around here."

Yun Jiao nodded. "The killer whale brought them from a very distant place."

’There should be pearls inside.’

Her eyes sparkling, she used a small knife to pry open the pearl mother shell, revealing the flesh inside and... a pearl.

Her fingers fumbled around inside, and she quickly found a round, hard object. It was a pearl, no doubt about it.

The moment she took the pearl out, gasps of astonishment erupted all around.

"Th-this... A pearl!"

And it wasn’t small, either.

It was a Black Pearl, but not pure black.

After being washed and placed in her hand, everyone could clearly see the Black Pearl shimmering with a profound, deep green luster.

The pearl was about 10mm, perfectly round and full. Its luster was the best they had ever seen.

The oyster pearls they had found before looked like cheap imitations next to this one.

"It’s gorgeous. Absolutely beautiful."

When it came to appreciating pearls, most women had a better eye for their beauty than men.

"A Black Pearl... I’m an old man, and I’ve never even heard of such a thing. Back in the old days, this would probably be something only the Emperor and the nobility could afford."

Even though they lived by the sea, Sea Pearls were incredibly rare.

Even the famously renowned Dongzhu were just freshwater pearls.

Compared to saltwater clams and conches, pearls produced by freshwater mussels were far more common.

Then there were the Nanzhu.

In ancient times, there was a popular profession called the Pearl Gatherer, who would dive into the deep sea to harvest these kinds of Sea Pearls.

However, there were no large-scale beds of pearl mother shells in their area.

Yun Jiao quite liked this Black Pearl. She thought about asking the killer whale where it brought them from another day, to see if she could go along and snag some more mother shells.

"Quick, check if there are any in the other Black Shells!"

Now, everyone was full of anticipation for the remaining two pearl mother shells.

Unfortunately, this type of mother shell only contained one pearl each.

Of the two remaining Black Shells, only one had a pearl.

And it was even bigger than the first one.

It was 12mm, also shimmering with a deep green luster, but this pearl had a slight flaw.

But the flaw couldn’t hide its brilliance; the small imperfection didn’t detract from the pearl’s beauty.

Seeing how much her mother and aunt liked them, Yun Jiao placed the pearls directly in their hands so they could admire them to their hearts’ content.

While she liked them too, she wasn’t particularly surprised.

After all, she had seen tens of thousands of pearls, and the most beautiful of all were Jue Pearls.

Jue Pearls were the source of a Merfolk’s energy. They were the size of a ping-pong ball and could truly glow on their own.

Moreover, that light was very good for the human body, possessing the ability to heal illnesses and extend one’s lifespan.

Besides those, there were mermaid tears, which could help one sleep.

A Merfolk’s weeping created pearls, and Yun Jiao herself had collected quite a few of her own mermaid tears.

In the world of her previous life, the two best kinds of pearls came from Merfolk.

So, while she liked these pearls, she didn’t find them breathtakingly surprising.

Her fondness was purely due to the Merfolk’s inherent love for gems and pearls acting up.

"They really are beautiful."

Evidently, the women of the family adored them as well.

Yun Jiao pondered what she could find to store these two pearls.

’There are still too few pearls. When the weather gets warmer and my father and the others go out to sea, I’ll go with them. I won’t just look for fish; I have to find some pearl-producing mother shells too.’

’I need to find gems, too.’

’Lots and lots of them!’

The next day, Yun Chenbei brought over the wooden shelf he had built according to Yun Jiao’s request.

It was disassembled.

Mr. Mu came over with him. The two of them went into Yun Jiao’s room and started hammering and banging away.

Yun Jiao put down her book and strolled around them, her small hands clasped behind her back.

She was trailed by several furry tails.

As Mr. Mu assembled the shelf, the two dogs kept getting in the way, making him so mad his mustache bristled.

Then, Yun Jiao, who was idly cracking melon seeds on the side, was kicked out of the room along with the dogs, the cat, the rabbit, and the sea turtle.

The door was slammed shut with a BANG.

Yun Jiao’s cheeks puffed out in a pout.

’This is my room!’

She crouched down and grabbed the two dogs by their ears. "This is all your fault!"

Nearly half a year had passed, and the two dogs had grown quite a bit.

The two dogs had Chow Chow blood, making them chubby with thick fur.

Combined with their parents’ good genes and the fact that Yun Jiao fed them well, they had grown exceptionally sturdy.

They were now a little taller than her waist.

Yun Jiao didn’t leave; she just waited outside the room.

She ate her snacks and would occasionally toss a bite to the two dogs and Cat Boss.

When the shelf was finally ready, Yun Jiao eagerly ran inside to take a look.

’I love it.’

A dark red with an antique hue, a design that fit snugly against the wall, with staggered yet beautiful wooden compartments.

As happy as a puppy, Yun Jiao circled the wooden shelf, then eagerly dragged a wooden box out from under her bed, ready to display her collection one by one.

Mr. Mu chuckled teasingly. "This old man wants to see just what treasures you’ve collected that require a custom-built display shelf."

He walked over with his hands behind his back, only to see Yun Jiao on her stomach, dragging another grayish-white object out from under the bed.

Mr. Mu glanced over. ’Heh... a piece of broken rock...’

’Wait!’

’Why does that thing look so familiar?’

"Wait!"

He practically shouted.

Yun Chenbei, who was helping his sister tidy up, was startled by the outburst.

He looked at his master in confusion, wondering what all the fuss was about.

"Y-y-you... Where did you get this?!"

"Step aside, let me see, let me see."

Yun Jiao blinked. "I found it."

Mr. Mu leaned in, looking at and sniffing the grayish-white stone, muttering to himself from time to time.

Yun Chenbei and Yun Jiao squatted to the side, staring at him.

"Grandpa Mu, what is this?"

Mr. Mu asked, "You don’t know?"

Yun Jiao shook her head. "Nope."

"You collected it without knowing what it was?" Mr. Mu was even more shocked when he saw her innocent little expression.

Yun Jiao scratched her head, her face a picture of pure innocence. "I just felt like this rock looked a little strange and had a weird smell, so I collected it."

Mr. Mu: "..."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk... What kind of luck do you have?"

"This thing is a huge treasure. Ever heard of ambergris?"

Before Yun Jiao could react, Yun Chenbei’s eyes went wide.

Mr. Mu continued, "To think you’d stumble upon such a huge piece of ambergris by sheer chance without even knowing what it was. This stuff is incredibly expensive!"

Yun Jiao asked, "What’s ambergris?"

"It’s a secretion from a Sperm Whale. After drifting in the sea for decades, or even centuries, it becomes true ambergris. The white kind is the best quality. Your piece is so big, and only a small part is grayish-white; most of it is white. A piece this size is enough for you to buy several houses in the Capital."

At first, Yun Jiao was rather disgusted to hear that this thing was a Sperm Whale’s secretion, but after hearing the rest, her disgust vanished instantly.

’Even though I don’t know how much a house in the Capital costs, this thing must be worth a lot of money!’