380: White butterfly shell

"As expected, it has to be you! Little Snow, you're amazing!"

Yang Qi quickly offered a word of flattery, making Bai Xue giggle. Coaxing his wife wasn't a shameful thing!

Even though Bai Xue knew Yang Qi was just trying to make her happy, she was still delighted; receiving praise from her husband was the most important thing.

"Little Snow, let's go diving!"

Two hours later, Yang Qi suggested.

"Sure! Let's go, let's go."

Bai Xue pulled Yang Qi to the Rest Cabin to change into swimsuits. This time it was just the two of them, so there was no need to be discreet, and they didn't even need to put on wetsuits.

Soon, the two were in their swimsuits, with Diving Knives strapped to their thighs and spearguns on their backs. They each tied several mesh bags to their waists and jumped into the sea.

Naturally, they wore headlamps because Bai Xue also brought an underwater camera.

"Let's go."

Yang Qi took Bai Xue's hand and dove underwater. At a depth of twenty to thirty meters, with the help of their fins, they quickly reached the seabed.

Seeing Bai Xue take out the camera, Yang Qi knew she wanted to take photos, so he dove off to the side.

Watching the schools of fish constantly passing by, Yang Qi felt helpless; during the day, the fish were too alert and active, making it too difficult to catch them by hand.

Indeed, when the fish saw the two people suddenly appear, they swarmed and vanished without a trace.

Only some larger schools of fish were a bit bolder, but they also slowly swam away. Bai Xue had to chase after the schools to get her photos.

Yang Qi gave up on catching fish for the moment and looked around for any large Abalone or Sea snail.

Sure enough, he found several Large Whelk not far away. Yang Qi stuffed them into his mesh bag without the slightest effort.

"Hmm? There's Lobster!"

Yang Qi saw five or six Lobster antennae poking out from a reef crevice. Since he'd seen them, there was no way he'd let them go.

He reached out with both hands toward the Lobster and gripped tightly. As the Lobster struggled, a cloud of murky sand rose from the crevice.

As he pulled hard with both hands, at least four or five Lobsters flashed past his feet and escaped. It seemed to be a Lobster nest.

Looking at the three Lobsters struggling in his hands, he could only helplessly put them into the mesh bag.

He saw Lobsters several more times during the process, but because those crevices were connected, they would flee from the other side when startled by him.

Therefore, his harvest was meager.

However, he gathered plenty of Sea snail and Scallops, and occasionally caught a few sea fish hiding in the crevices.

Unknowingly, Yang Qi had left the twenty to thirty-meter area. No need to ask how he knew; the surrounding light had clearly dimmed significantly.

Fortunately, he still had night vision underwater and could see the Sea snail and Scallops appearing on the seabed from time to time.

Soon, he had filled two mesh bags with his harvest. In deeper waters, the Sea snail were larger and more numerous.

Suddenly, Yang Qi noticed many different Scallops on the seabed ahead. The outer surface of the shells was brownish-tan with several black-brown radial lines.

He had never seen this kind of Scallop, which was larger than his palm, so he swam over and picked up five or six to put in his mesh bag. Finally, the third mesh bag was also full.

As a result, he floated back to the surface and saw that he was already nearly a hundred meters away from the "setting sail".

While he was swimming toward the "setting sail", he saw Bai Xue surface not far away.

"Little Snow."

Bai Xue gave Yang Qi a sweet smile, and they waited until Yang Qi swam over to her before boarding the boat together.

"Hubby, you're amazing! So many Scallops!"

Bai Xue loved eating Scallops, so every time Yang Qi went diving, he tried to bring some back for her. She was already used to it, but today he had brought back significantly more.

"Yeah, there are quite a few of these large Scallops underwater,"

Yang Qi said, pointing to the Scallops he had picked up later.

"Hmm? These Scallops don't seem ordinary. Oh, these are wild 'White Butterfly Shell'."

Bai Xue said after looking closely at the Scallops.

"Pearl oysters? They produce pearls?"

Yang Qi asked curiously.

"That's right, these produce pearls, and they're wild. Have you heard of 'South Sea Pearls'? That's what they produce."

"Nowadays, because there's so much farming, ordinary pearls aren't worth much. However, pearls produced by the White Butterfly Shell are highly valued because they are not only large but also have a great luster."

"They are both precious ornaments and valuable medicinal ingredients. They are hot items in both domestic and international pearl markets."

The shell surface of the White Butterfly Shell is mostly brownish-tan, with tightly packed scales at the apex, while the scales at the rear edge are more loose.

Inside the shell is a thick layer of mother-of-pearl, which is silver-white, while the edges are golden-yellow or yellow-brown horn.

The shell of the White Butterfly Shell is a raw material for medicine. The pearls cultivated from it are not only large but also have a fine luster. They are both precious ornaments and valuable medicinal ingredients, known as the 'King of Kings of Pearls'.

The color and shape of its shell are also very unique. The mother-of-pearl layer is thick and has a beautiful luster, making it a high-quality material for craftsmanship. It can be used to carve various exquisite ornamental crafts.

The meat of the White Butterfly Shell is delicious and nutritious, known as a banquet delicacy. It can be said that the entire body is a treasure. Because of this, the White Butterfly Shell is hailed as the 'Pearl Treasure'.

"The three most expensive colors for White Butterfly Shell pearls are pure white (silver-white), gold, and pink. These are the best of the best. Once they reach a certain size, they reach collection grade."

"Have you heard of Australian White? It's the pure white pearl produced by White Butterfly Shell in the northwestern waters of Australia. The ones from our area, including Indonesia and the Philippines, are called South Sea White Pearls."

Yang Qi nodded after listening, then had a sudden thought and asked:

"Since there are White Butterfly Shell, are there also black butterfly shells?"

"Of course! The specialty of Tahiti in French Polynesia, within the South China Sea, is the black pearl from the black butterfly shell."

"Tahitian black pearls are exceptionally precious and enjoy the reputation of 'Queen of Pearls' and 'Pearl of Queens'."

Bai Xue was like an ocean encyclopedia; when she spoke about her expertise, she spoke eloquently.

"Then let's pick out these White Butterfly Shell and see if we can find any top-grade pearls later,"

Yang Qi suggested, his eyes lighting up.

"Okay, let's open them and see. Plus, the meat of the White Butterfly Shell is particularly delicious. I'm in for a treat, thanks hubby. Mwah!"

Bai Xue said happily.

Subsequently, the two of them picked out those six or seven White Butterfly Shell and kept all the other mollusks in the small Live Well.

Bai Xue took out a small knife and taught Yang Qi how to use clever force to pry open the Scallops. Yang Qi opened a White Butterfly Shell and found that the interior was indeed silver-white with golden-yellow edges, very beautiful.

She started searching for pearls herself and, to her surprise, actually found a perfectly round white pearl about ten millimeters in size.

"This pearl is quite good, but usually, only perfectly round ones between 15 and 20 millimeters are considered top-grade,"

Bai Xue explained.

"Then let's keep opening them. We'll save the large, top-grade ones for a pendant for you, and the small ones for a necklace."