"The Pearl Contest not only features pearls cultivated on our Penglang Island but also attracts pearls from other regions for the competition."
"As long as you can win the contest, you'll not only get the gambling prize but also the pearls inside the clam shells..."
Zhu Lulu chatted away to Xu Qingqing and the others, introducing the origin and rules of the Pearl Contest.
Xu Qingqing was so fascinated that she became even more eager to see if the system could be used in the pearl - gambling.
Moreover, Xu Qingqing remembered the grandpa of the naughty kid who had boasted about winning the championship again. If she had the chance, she must deflate his arrogance.
She would let them know that the world wasn't that easy to navigate.
The Pearl Contest was held in the Penglang Island Aquatic Products Trading Market. Many people had traveled specifically for this pearl - selecting event.
The market was packed with people, and the noise was deafening.
The host of the organizer was standing on the stage, introducing the game rules to everyone. In front of him were more than 40 baskets of clam shells, all the contestants for today's pearl - gambling.
"Now, let me announce that the annual Pearl - Gambling Contest officially begins!"
As the host announced the start of the contest, the travelers below all burst into cheers.
Zhu Lulu led Xu Qingqing and the others to the VIP platform on the second floor of the aquatic products farm. The space was more spacious than that on the first floor, and the view was better.
Standing on the second floor, Xu Qingqing saw the grandpa of the naughty kid pushing through the crowd like a child, shoving the people in front of him aside until he reached the front of the hosting stage.
The other travelers he pushed aside glared at him and silently cursed him for his rudeness.
Next, the staff pushed the clam shells from the hosting stage for the travelers below to see clearly.
Zhu Lulu was worried that Xu Qingqing and the others might not understand the types of pearls, so she whispered to them to popularize the relevant knowledge about pearls.
"The pearl clams coming up now are all freshwater pearl clams. Pearls are divided into seawater and freshwater pearls. Of course, it's not only clam shells that can produce pearls; conches can too..."
Xu Qingqing listened to Zhu Lulu's popularization with great interest and nodded silently.
She didn't expect there to be so much knowledge about pearl clams. After all the pearl clams had been numbered and displayed in front of the travelers.
Everyone could then vote for the pearl clam they thought had the best - quality pearls inside.
Xu Qingqing tried to open the system and use its scanning function to scan the pearl clams on the first floor.
Suddenly, Xu Qingqing's vision was covered by a fluorescent red light, and white dots appeared in the red light.
Xu Qingqing guessed in her heart that the white dots should be the pearls inside the clam shells, and the fluorescent red was the meat inside the clam shells.
She didn't expect the system to have an X - ray function, allowing her to see the pearls inside the clam shells.
Xu Qingqing scanned many times. She originally wanted to choose the biggest pearl scanned by the system, but in the fluorescent red light, she saw a small dot that seemed like a dancing flame, appearing and disappearing in front of her eyes.
Xu Qingqing turned off the scanning function of the system and looked down at the water tank on the first floor that held the pearl - producing shells. She found the conch with the pearl that seemed to be dancing like a flame.
Xu Qingqing remembered that Zhu Lulu had just told her that not only pearl clams but also conches could produce pearls.
A trace of hesitation flashed through Xu Qingqing's mind. She wasn't sure what the pearls in the conch were like. After all, it was all red, without a single bit of white.
If there was nothing inside and it was just the meat in the conch that had gone bad, then she would have missed out on a big pearl.
But Xu Qingqing couldn't suppress her curiosity and sense of adventure. She wanted to see clearly what was really inside the conch.
Xu Qingqing frowned, not knowing how to choose.
Meanwhile, Lu Chuanbai and the two kids had already made their choices. The two kids didn't know how to choose pearl clams and just chose the clam shells they thought were the prettiest.
Lu Chuanbai had chosen pearls before. Relying on his excellent eyesight, he chose the pearl clam with the biggest pearl scanned by the system.
Lu Chuanbai gently patted Xu Qingqing's shoulder to remind her to make a choice. Xu Qingqing pouted in distress and spoke in a soft voice.
"Ugh, I don't know how to choose. I want to choose the pearl clam you chose, but I also want to choose that orange conch."
Hearing that she wanted to choose the orange conch, Zhu Lulu quickly waved her hand and reminded Xu Qingqing.
"Miss Xu, you mustn't choose that orange conch."
"Why?" Xu Qingqing looked at Zhu Lulu in confusion.
Zhu Lulu explained in detail: "Its name is the coconut volute. The pearls it produces are called melo pearls, which are usually orange with flame patterns on them."
Hearing this, Xu Qingqing thought of the flame pattern she had seen in the system and couldn't help but be a little tempted.
But Zhu Lulu's tone changed, and there was a hint of seriousness in her voice.
"But this only happens occasionally. Opening a coconut volute is completely a matter of luck. In the previous contests, someone chose a coconut volute, and not only was there no pearl inside, but the meat also smelled bad."
"So you have to choose carefully."
Hearing this, Xu Qingqing hesitated again. Choosing the coconut volute was risky.
Xu Qingqing bit her lip and looked up at Lu Chuanbai. "How much money did you bet?"
Lu Chuanbai's eyes were gentle as he reached out to smooth the wrinkles between Xu Qingqing's eyebrows and told her to relax. "Don't worry so much. Just choose what you like."
"Exactly how much did you bet?"
"Just 5,000 yuan."
"That's so much!"
Xu Qingqing pouted. If she really made the wrong choice, she might lose a lot of money.
Xu Qingqing worried for a long time and finally made up her mind.
Since she had made the decision, then she would choose. Archaeology required a spirit of adventure.
"I'll choose the coconut volute." Xu Qingqing's calm and deep voice rang out.
Hearing this, Zhu Lulu let out a long sigh but didn't try to stop her anymore. She just let Xu Qingqing hand the sign with her chosen number to the staff.
The travelers below were complimenting each other. Someone recognized the grandpa of the naughty kid as the champion of the previous contest and greeted him.
"Aren't you Zhuang Zhoushan, the champion of the previous contest? I didn't expect you to participate in this contest too."
"Boss Zhuang is participating in the contest again. With your sharp eyes, you'll surely win the championship again this year, right?"
"Boss Zhuang has a discerning eye. He surely will."
Zhuang Zhoushan, the grandpa of the naughty kid, was extremely proud of the compliments. He saw the number of people who had chosen different numbers on the big screen on the hosting stage.
When he saw that only one person had chosen the 14th coconut volute, Zhuang Zhoushan laughed sarcastically.
"There's actually a fool who chose number 14. Number 14 is a coconut volute. It's not safe at all."
Hearing Zhuang Zhoushan's voice, everyone looked at the water tank of number 14 and saw a conch with a rust - like color lying quietly in the clear water. It didn't look appealing at all.
The people who had just flattered Zhuang Zhoushan all nodded in agreement.
"Boss Zhuang is right. This conch is so ugly in color. There's absolutely no way there's a pearl inside."