381: South Sea White Pearl

Yang Qi spoke, but his hands didn't stop. In a short while, he had opened all six or seven White Butterfly Shells.

Unexpectedly, his luck was overflowing, and he obtained five pure white pearls in total. One of them was estimated to be over 16 millimeters in diameter, perfectly round and lustrous like jade.

This was because he specifically picked the largest ones, ensuring a high pearl yield.

"Hehehe, good luck, Bai Xue, keep these for now. Let's go over there and get more White Butterfly Shells. This time, we'll only pick the large ones."

"Okay, hubby, I'll find something to hold the pearls. You cut the meat from these White Butterfly Shells and put them in the refrigerator."

Bai Xue nodded and turned to the kitchen to get a basin for the pearls.

Next, Yang Qi directly piloted the fishing boat to the water surface where he had just discovered the White Butterfly Shells. He looked down and saw that the water depth here was about seventy meters.

The two held hands and dived to the seabed again. This time, they didn't even pick up giant conches, directly choosing the large White Butterfly Shells.

Bai Xue was very happy to see White Butterfly Shells nestled in the sand on the seabed from time to time.

Even though they only picked the large ones, there were too many White Butterfly Shells, and it didn't take long to fill four large mesh bags.

Yang Qi pointed upwards, and the two surfaced back to the setting sail. This time, they brought up over seventy White Butterfly Shells, but they weren't in a hurry to pry open the Scallops.

Instead, they poured all these White Butterfly Shells into a corner of the deck. Then, they immediately went into the water again.

They went up and down four times like this, bringing up a total of over two hundred and sixty large White Butterfly Shells.

They advanced another sixty meters along the deep sea, where the water depth had already reached over one hundred and thirty meters.

Yang Qi looked back at the deep sea, hesitated for a moment, and shook his head with some uncertainty. The next moment, he still took Bai Xue and surfaced back to the water.

Yang Qi took two bottles of red bull, opened them, and handed one to Bai Xue.

The two drank their beverages while looking at the mountain of White Butterfly Shells piled in a corner of the deck. They exchanged glances and both smiled.

"Hubby, should we open the White Butterfly Shells first, or cook dinner first?"

Bai Xue looked up at Yang Qi.

Yang Qi looked at Bai Xue, who was like a white swan, and caressed her flawless face, saying dotingly:

"You go take a shower first. I'll open twenty more, and then there will be enough meat for one dish."

"Hehehe, hubby, why are you so good to me?"

Bai Xue hugged Yang Qi, acting spoiled.

"If I'm not good to you, who should I be good to? Go on! Be good!"

Yang Qi patted Bai Xue's smooth back. After he gained his ability, he wasn't afraid of the sun, and it was strange that Bai Xue was naturally immune; no matter how much she tanned now, she wouldn't get dark.

However, prolonged sun exposure could still cause sunburn, so they would still apply sunscreen and wear sun-protective clothing when fishing.

As Bai Xue entered the Rest Cabin, Yang Qi randomly opened about twenty more White Butterfly Shells and obtained fourteen more pearls. There were two premium pearls over 15 millimeters, one of which was even golden, and the other was pure white.

Yang Qi cut all the meat from these White Butterfly Shells and soaked them in light saltwater. Later, he could make a stir-fried scallion dish for Bai Xue.

Thus, the lavish dinner gained another dish of scallions stir-fried with shell meat. It was indeed incredibly tender, far surpassing ordinary Scallop meat.

"Hubby, we can keep some of the thicker White Butterfly Shells. When we go home and have time, we can carve them into handicrafts, like hairpins, pendants, and so on."

Bai Xue picked up a piece of White Butterfly Shell meat and fed it to Yang Qi.

"Okay, no wonder I felt these shells were particularly hard and thick."

Yang Qi nodded and said.

After dinner, they rested for a while, then began to pry open the remaining two hundred-plus White Butterfly Shells.

"Wow, hubby, I found a huge premium one, golden, and it feels like it's over 18 millimeters!"

Soon, Yang Qi's voice came again:

"Bai Xue, look how big this one of mine is, almost 20 millimeters, right? Pure white and flawless!"

"Really? Let me see. Hmm, yours is even bigger. We'll make it into a pendant and give it to your mom, my mother-in-law. Hehehe."

Bai Xue took the large pearl and examined it carefully.

"You should keep this one yourself! I know my mom; she likes golden ones."

Yang Qi said without lifting his head.

"So can I interpret that as you saying mom is vulgar? Hehehe."

Bai Xue had a sly smile.

"You little rascal, you want to go back and tell on me! Be careful, I'll punish you with family rules tonight!"

Yang Qi feigned a stern look.

"Come on! I'm ready anytime, anywhere! Welcome, hubby, to punish me!"

Bai Xue's eyes were like silk, and her voice was coquettish, as if she was seducing him.

"Monster, quickly put away your divine abilities!"

Who says female drivers can't drive? When a female driver starts driving, it's a highway all the way!

Amidst the couple's playful banter, over two hours passed, and the remaining two hundred and forty-plus White Butterfly Shells were all opened.

A total of two hundred and seventy-three White Butterfly Shells yielded two hundred and five pearls.

By visual estimation, there were forty-six premium pearls over 15 millimeters, consisting of twenty-seven pure white ones, eleven golden ones, and eight pink ones. Each one was crystal clear, lustrous, and perfectly round.

Bai Xue happily poured pure water, washed them two or three times, and then put all these pearls away.

"Hubby, are we still going to collect White Butterfly Shells?"

Yang Qi thought for a moment and said:

"Let's not, we've gotten so many, that's enough. There aren't too many large ones left below. In ten years, we'll come back, and if these White Butterfly Shells are still there, we'll do another round."

"Okay, I'll listen to you!"

Bai Xue naturally supported his decision unconditionally.

Next, the two started fishing again, focusing on leisure and companionship. Whether they caught fish or not didn't matter; they ate fruit and chatted.

If a fish bit, they'd push the Electric Reel switch; if no fish bit, they'd sit there, not wanting to move.

This was only their first day in the Zhongsha Islands, so they would take it slow, no rush!

"Hubby, our boat should be fine stopping here, right?"

Bai Xue suddenly asked.

"Don't worry, this sea area has always belonged to our country. The Philippines, those clowns, used to occupy many of our islands and even coveted Scarborough Shoal."

"With the rapid development of our country's navy and air force in recent years, we can now deter these petty individuals."

"Our Coast Guard ships conduct regular patrols and rights protection law enforcement actions in the waters near Scarborough Shoal."

"Moreover, the PLA Southern Theater Command regularly organizes combat readiness patrols in the waters near Scarborough Shoal, covering territorial seas, airspace, and surrounding areas."

"The Philippines' past actions of arbitrarily detaining our fishing boats in the Scarborough Shoal waters, I believe, will never return."

"I heard that Scarborough Shoal is already undergoing land reclamation, and infrastructure such as an airport and a dock are being built."

"Our current location isn't very far from Scarborough Shoal. If anything happens, we'll head that way."