“Holy cow, there’s a pearl in this conch! And it’s huge and perfectly round!”
The owner saw the melo pearl, grabbed it to examine it, then rinsed it under the tap before handing it to Lin Yang.
“Little brother, you’re really lucky, there’s a pearl inside.”
It wasn't until Lin Yang held the melo pearl in his hand that his heart settled. Fortunately, the owner didn't recognize the melo pearl, thinking it was just a regular pearl with better quality.
Otherwise, it wouldn't have been so easy to get the melo pearl.
The owner turned back to continue processing the conch meat, laughing as he said,
“A pearl this big, this round, and this shiny is worth at least a thousand. It’s like getting a free coconut conch and still making a profit.”
Lin Yang smiled in response, hoping the owner would finish processing the conch meat quickly so he could leave with his things.
After the troublesome old man left the shop, many customers returned to select seafood, and quite a few new customers also came in.
Many people had witnessed the discovery of a pearl inside the coconut conch.
Everyone marveled at Lin Yang’s good luck, their envy clearly visible in their eyes.
“If I had known there was a pearl inside that conch, I would have bought it. I’ve wanted to eat coconut conch for a long time, but the price was too expensive, so I couldn’t bring myself to buy it.”
“The little brother was also lucky. If it weren’t for that person causing trouble just now, how could this pearl have fallen into his hands?”
“This is what they call, ‘What is meant to be yours will eventually be yours; what is not meant to be yours, do not force it.’”
…
The troublesome old man had only left the shop, not gone far.
Hearing that a high-quality pearl had been found inside the conch, his face turned red with anger.
“Damn it, I put in so much effort, and in the end, he benefited!”
…
Lin Yang smiled as he listened to the discussions around him. What would these people think if they knew that the pearl just now was a melo pearl and not an ordinary pearl?
The value of a melo pearl and a regular pearl is vastly different.
Since pearl farming became possible, the price of pearls plummeted.
But melo pearls are different; they are extremely rare, and those with good quality command even higher prices.
The one in his hand was worth over a million.
The melo pearl felt smooth and slippery in his hand, somewhat like holding a glass marble.
However, the texture was completely different. A pearl the size of a quail egg felt substantial and heavy in his hand.
Lin Yang held the pearl up to the light, carefully examining it to ensure it wasn't damaged before safely putting it away.
“Little brother, that pearl just now was quite good quality. Would you be willing to sell it to me?”
While waiting for the owner to process the conch meat, a middle-aged man stepped out from the crowd and asked Lin Yang to buy it.
“No.”
Lin Yang flatly refused.
The middle-aged man wore a Chinese tunic suit on top and Western trousers below, his hair neatly combed, and a pair of glasses perched on his nose, making him look like an intellectual.
Lin Yang felt that he must have recognized the melo pearl. Seeing that he was young and hadn't shown much excitement when he got the melo pearl, he probably thought that he, like the owner, mistook the melo pearl for a regular pearl.
That's why he wanted to buy it at a low price and make a huge profit.
“Little brother, don’t be so quick to refuse. My wife has a strong preference for pearls. Normally, a pearl of this quality would be worth at most 1,000 yuan. I’ll offer 2,000. What do you think?”
“Not for sale!”
Lin Yang didn't want to waste words with such a person. If he really were a naive fool who didn't know about melo pearls, he would have definitely fallen for his trick.
“Little brother, why are you so ungrateful? If my wife didn’t like it, I wouldn’t bother wasting my breath on you. You people from the lower class are just insatiable. I’ve offered double the price, and you’re still not satisfied.”
“Since you said yourself that a pearl of this quality is worth at most 1,000 yuan, then why would you offer double the price to buy the one in my hand? Are you burning money?”
“You! You…”
The middle-aged man was rendered speechless by Lin Yang’s retort and glared at him fiercely.
“Holy cow, a melo pearl! What came out just now was a melo pearl!”
Just then, a sudden exclamation came from the crowd.
Following the sound, a young man in his twenties was seen staring wide-eyed at his phone screen.
“So the pearl found inside the conch isn’t a pearl, but a melo pearl! There’s only a one in fifty thousand chance of a conch growing a melo pearl! That luck is just too incredible!”
“Holy cow!”
At the cash register, the owner slapped his forehead.
“How could I forget about this? It’s definitely a melo pearl! The price difference between a melo pearl and a regular pearl is huge. A carload of pearls might not even be worth one melo pearl! Little brother, luckily you didn’t sell it to him for 2,000 yuan, or you would have lost a fortune!”
melo pearl—many people were hearing this name for the first time.
Seeing the owner so shocked, saying that a carload of pearls couldn't even compare to one melo pearl, they all took out their phones to search.
“Oh my goodness, one once sold for an exorbitant price of over ten million at an auction!”
“One carat is worth over twenty thousand dollars, which is more than ten times the price of a diamond!”
“It used to be a treasure only owned by royalty, no wonder it’s so valuable.”
“Little brother, your luck is too good! If I had known there was a melo pearl inside, I would have bought that coconut conch!”
…
After everyone learned the value of the melo pearl, they quickly realized why the middle-aged man wanted to buy it for 2,000 yuan and cast disdainful glances at him.
“That’s too unethical, trying to trick the young man.”
“He’s an adult, and he’s still bullying a child.”
“It’s a good thing the little brother didn’t fall for it, otherwise, he’d regret it to tears.”
…
The middle-aged man, being pointed at and whispered about, felt his face burn with shame. He immediately took off running, squeezing into the crowd and disappearing.
By this time, the conch meat had also been processed.
Lin Yang took the conch meat and left even faster than he had arrived.
He carried a bag of conch meat, walking through the wet market, and realized that in just a few minutes, what had happened at the seafood shop had already spread throughout the entire market.
“Did you see the group message? A melo pearl was found in a coconut conch at Xiaoqiang’s vegetable shop. I heard one is worth at least several hundred thousand!”
“Of course, I know! I was just in the shop watching the commotion. At first, everyone thought it was a pearl, and someone even offered 2,000 yuan to buy it. Luckily, that young man didn’t sell it; if it were me, I would have sold it long ago.”
“If you ask me, that young man recognized it as a melo pearl early on, but he didn’t want to make a big fuss about it, which is why he didn’t say anything.”
“If that’s true, then he has remarkable self-control for someone so young.”
…
Whenever Lin Yang heard such comments, he felt people’s gazes landing on him.
He couldn't help but quicken his pace even more.
“Bang!”
Suddenly, he felt a heavy blow to his chest, like an iron hammer striking him.
“Ouch, aren’t you watching where you’re going?!”
“I’m sorry.”
Lin Yang was stunned for a moment before realizing what had happened.
He had been walking too fast, looking down, and hadn’t seen where he was going, colliding with a long-haired girl.
Her head had hit his chest bone.
“Hiss…”
The girl gasped, rubbing her forehead, and said irritably,
“It’s fine, it’s fine. Just be careful next time.”
“Thank you.”
Lin Yang apologized and walked around her, continuing on his way.
“Lin Yang! It’s you!”
Lin Yang looked back and saw the girl he had just bumped into calling him.
The girl had delicate features, fair and smooth skin, long black hair, and wore a pink tracksuit, looking very youthful and radiant.
Lin Yang searched his memory, but there was no such beautiful woman in his mind.
But if he didn't know her, how would she know his name?
“You are…?”
“Chen Qingqing! Your middle school deskmate, don’t you remember?”
“Chen Qingqing?”
One of the pieces of information the system gave him today was about Chen Qingqing, wasn't it? As long as he interacted with her, he could trigger a critical hit and get a high-value piece of information.
He had initially wondered who this person was, and now he had run into her.
He originally didn't have many memories of this name, but when she mentioned being a middle school classmate, he had an impression.
If he remembered correctly, Chen Qingqing had only been his classmate for one semester before transferring, and he hadn't seen her since.
He hadn't expected that nearly ten years later, she would still remember him.
“So it’s you! I didn’t expect you to be so beautiful now; I didn’t recognize you for a moment.”
“Haha, you haven’t changed much; you’re still as handsome as before.”