"These Dongzhu pearls are as small as rice grains. They're useless and not suitable for any important occasion," said Zhuang Zhoushan.
The travelers nodded in agreement, believing his words and deciding not to choose the freshwater Dongzhu pearls.
Xu Qingqing scanned the pearl oysters in the tank with her system again. To her surprise, the pearls inside the freshwater oysters were not as small as Zhuang Zhoushan had claimed. Instead, they were plump and well - defined.
"How could this be? I was told the resources were depleted and the pearls were as small as rice grains," Xu Qingqing whispered to the system.
The system replied seriously, "The freshwater pearl oysters have been tampered with. The pearl farmers carved stones into round shapes and inserted them into the oysters, then put them back into the freshwater to grow naturally."
Xu Qingqing nodded, having learned something new.
Because Xu Qingqing had previously selected the Melo pearl, Lu Chuanbai left the decision of choosing pearl oysters to her. Xu Qingqing immediately bought all the numbers of the freshwater pearl oysters.
Zhu Lulu wanted to dissuade her, but then she remembered Xu Qingqing's different choice last time. So she reluctantly kept her mouth shut.
Influenced by Zhuang Zhoushan's words, the travelers all chose the seawater pearl oysters instead of the freshwater ones. Zhuang Zhoushan, however, played it safe. He spent half of his money on seawater oysters and the other half on freshwater ones. As for those who were influenced by his words, he didn't care at all. He even thought they were stupid.
The oyster - opening staff came out again. The seawater pearls were indeed as the host had described, worthy of being presented to the emperor. But the pearls from the seemingly worthless freshwater oysters were plump, round, and gentle, emitting a faint luster.
Especially, the largest pearl was found in one of the freshwater oysters that Zhuang Zhoushan had chosen. It was smooth and glowed with a faint purple light, just like the most precious treasure of the Dragon King.
After all the oysters were opened, and it was revealed that the largest pearl came from a freshwater oyster, everyone felt deceived by Zhuang Zhoushan. If it weren't for his words, they wouldn't have made the wrong choice!
But Zhuang Zhoushan was extremely proud. He shouted loudly, "Great! I've chosen the largest pearl again!"
Those who had flattered Zhuang Zhoushan earlier were furious when they realized that he had said the freshwater oysters were bad but still chosen them. They tore off their false flattery.
"Zhuang Zhoushan, how could you deceive us? You told us to choose the seawater oysters, but you chose the freshwater ones yourself! You did it on purpose to mislead us!"
"Yes, Zhuang Zhoushan. We even called you Boss Zhuang, but you've been scheming against us!"
The crowd blamed Zhuang Zhoushan one after another.
There were too many people who had chosen the seawater oysters, so the share of the profit would be small for each person. On the other hand, there were very few people who had chosen the freshwater oysters. Xu Qingqing was the only one who had chosen all of them, so she would surely get the biggest share.
In the end, when the dividends were distributed, Xu Qingqing became the envy of everyone. She won the championship of this pearl competition, getting both money and pearls.
Zhuang Zhoushan, who had been confident that he would win the championship again, was pulling out his hair in frustration. He knew he had met a real expert this time.
Xu Qingqing felt relieved after defeating Zhuang Zhoushan. She hoped this would teach the bear - child's family a lesson.
The first stop of the trip on Penglang Island ended successfully. Then Zhu Lulu took Xu Qingqing and the others to a Thai restaurant on the island.
The Tom Yum Soup in the Thai restaurant suited Xu Qingqing's taste very much. She ate a lot, and her stomach felt warm.
After the meal, Zhu Lulu led them to the beach for a walk to digest the food.
This beach was free and open to the public. There were many people enjoying their vacations there.
The golden sunlight shone on the soft sand, which was a bit hot to step on. The salty sea breeze blew Xu Qingqing's hair and lifted the brim of her sun hat.
Xu Qingqing and Lu Chuanbai walked hand in hand on the beach, taking off their shoes. The two children ran on the beach, their little feet stepping on the white waves, and their innocent and lively laughter filled the air.
Although this beach was free, it was maintained and cleaned by the staff of Lu Chuanbai's resort. To save manpower, there were many signs on the beach reminding people not to litter.
However, there were still some inconsiderate people who ignored these signs and littered everywhere - the bear - child's family.
The bear - child's family was having a picnic on a red blanket on the beach. After they finished their snacks, they just let the bags fly away with the wind.
What was even worse, after the bear - child finished his sausage, he buried the bamboo skewer in the sand with the sharp end pointing upwards.
There were people running everywhere on the beach. If someone accidentally stepped on the sharp end of the skewer, they might get their feet injured.
Xu Qingqing was immediately filled with anger when she saw this. Her good mood vanished.
"This child is so naughty! How could he bury the bamboo skewers in the sand? It's dangerous!"
Lu Chuanbai frowned, and there was a hint of displeasure in his long, phoenix - like eyes.
He provided this free beach so that the tourists could have a good time and forget their troubles. But this family was creating a safety hazard!
Xu Qingqing and Lu Chuanbai walked angrily towards the bear - child's family. Lu Chuanbai's voice was cold and stern.
"Who gave you the right to litter and bury bamboo skewers in the sand?"
When the bear - child's father saw that it was Lu Chuanbai again, he showed a look of impatience. The glaring sunlight shone on his face, and he squinted at Lu Chuanbai.
"Why are you always meddling in other people's business? This isn't your beach. Get out of here!"
Lu Chuanbai replied confidently, "This is my beach. I have the responsibility to manage you illiterates."
The bear - child's parents thought Lu Chuanbai was just boasting. When they heard him call them illiterates, they stood up and argued with him.
"Who are you calling illiterate? I think you're the illiterate one, and your whole family is illiterate!"
"Aren't you ashamed? This beach belongs to President Lu of the Lu Group!"
Seeing that the woman beside Lu Chuanbai was the champion of the pearl competition, Zhuang Zhoushan, who was still feeling dissatisfied, joined his son and daughter - in - law in scolding Lu Chuanbai.
Lu Chuanbai thought they were hopeless barbarians. He told Zhu Lulu to call the person in charge and let them handle this matter.
Xu Qingqing bent down to pull out the bamboo skewers from the sand one by one. But the bear - child actually kicked at Xu Qingqing, trying to stop her.