Chapter 336: Opening the Big Yellow Snail

Li Changle and his party moved to the next room, waited for the two sisters-in-law to come over, closed the door, drew the curtains, and took out the seven pieces of jade hidden in the bucket one by one and placed them on the ground.

Mother Li touched the red jadeite, then the lavender one, and couldn't help but exclaimed, "Mom, how can there be such beautiful stones?"

"That's right, Ah Hua, look, this piece of green is so refreshing and beautiful." Grandma Chen touched this and then that, feeling that she couldn't take her eyes off it.

Zhou Ruonan was more experienced. "Mother, these stones should be jade. I have seen them at Li's Gold Shop, but they are not as beautiful and transparent as these."

Mrs. Li touched the red jadeite and said, "So this is jade. I've only seen ladies wearing it on the stage!"

Mrs. Li carefully touched the colorless and transparent piece and said, "My God, this piece looks like glass. Where did it come from?"

"Ah Le found it when he was fishing for sea urchins." Brother Li lowered his voice and told the others about the discovery of the sunken ship. "It's very strange. I couldn't find it no matter how hard I looked. But Ah Le found it."

Brother Li nodded and said, "Ah Le is lucky, otherwise my uncle's family wouldn't have come to him to buy a boat together."

Li Changle squatted down and patted a piece of emerald green jade, and said to Li's mother and others with a smile: "This emerald green one is suitable for you all to wear.

The day after tomorrow we will go into the city and make a bracelet for each of you. We will use the remaining scraps to buy some gold and make some cloves and rings for you.

Let’s learn from the old ladies and ladies in the opera and wear a set of jewelry.”

Li's mother was so happy that she couldn't close her mouth. "I am satisfied that you have this intention. Why should I wear this thing at my age? I can just beat them."

Grandma Chen wiped her tears with joy, "That's right, I am already buried in the earth, but I am satisfied to see Ah Wei become a useful person in my life."

Zhou Ruonan's sister-in-law also shook her head, "We don't want it either. It's such a valuable thing. If it gets lost or damaged, we will be heartbroken!"

Father Li looked at his wife who had been frugal for the family all her life, and now that the family was well-off, it was time to buy one or two pieces of jewelry. He said happily:
"How much money can a piece of stone that is not used for food or use be worth! The children are thoughtful, so you should listen to them and make a set for each of you. Wear it during festivals to show off your wealth."

After hearing this, Brother Li laughed and said, "Dad, Ah Le said..."

"Second brother!" Li Changle hurriedly pulled him aside, "Dad is right. No matter how beautiful it is, it is just a piece of stone, not gold. How much can it be worth? Just buy one set for each family."

Li's mother and Chen's grandmother were reluctant to part with the money. "We still need to buy gold, which will cost a lot of money..."

"Mother, grandmother," Li Changle looked at the two with a smile, "Gold can also be used as money. Buy some and put it aside for festivals. It will be so luxurious to wear it outside.

When the time comes, when people ask you who bought it for you, you can just say, I don’t want it, my eldest grandson insisted on buying it for me, and several sons and daughters-in-law insisted on buying it for me…”

Li's mother slapped him in anger, "You little bastard, you've been doing this for so long and now you want us to help you promote your brand! (To save face)"

Grandma Chen was so happy, "Oh my, this naughty boy, he made me laugh to death..."

"He's the one I'm talking about!" Li's mother said with a chuckle, and everyone in the room followed suit.

Zhou Ruonan and her sisters-in-law were laughing so hard that they were trembling with joy. They felt that this day was as sweet as honey.

When Li Changle saw Zhou Ruonan smiling like a flower and her parents were so happy that they couldn't stop smiling, all the tiredness in her body disappeared instantly.

"Ahem!" Father Li cleared his throat, suppressed his laughter and said to Li Changle and his brothers, "We don't know whether this thing is valuable or not, so find a safe place to put it.

Don’t let the children see it. If they think it’s cute and someone sees it when they take it out to play, it will be troublesome.”

Grandma Chen nodded repeatedly, "Yes, children are ignorant, so don't tell them things that they shouldn't know. We can't learn from the Wang family's style, where they would stick money on their foreheads if they have it. We should be like snails, hiding our meat in our stomachs."

"Grandma is right. Put the things away and go to the next room to open the beads." Several people hurriedly packed the stones into sacks, put them in a wooden box, dragged them away and stuffed them under the bed.

"Oh my!" Mrs. Li smiled so hard that her teeth were showing and she covered her mouth and whispered, "I've seen the treasures over here, and there are more treasures waiting to be opened over there."

"I don't know if there are any beads yet!"

Li Changle didn't care at all. "I picked them up anyway. If I don't have it this time, I'll pick it up and open it next time. It will open sooner or later."

Chen Yongwei turned his head and looked at him, "Brother, I don't think there's any hope this time. You said the same thing when we opened the yellow snail last time, but we didn't get anything."

Li Changle scratched his head, "Did I say that?"

"That's what you said." Zhou Ruonan also said.

"What I said now is not working. When I picked up those two big yellow snails, I said that these ones were big and must have beads." Li Changle said, shaking his head.

Father Li rolled his eyes at him and said, "You are just a ship captain, not the emperor. You will know whether the emperor has spoken or not."

"My father is right. Let's go and open the screwdriver!"

Everyone went to the next door laughing and joking. Brother Li brought over a few iron hooks for hanging dried fish and hung several large yellow snails on a bamboo pole tied to the wall, waiting for the snail meat to come out and look for the beads.

Seeing that the water in the two large pots had already boiled, Li's mother added hot water for Li Changle and his sons to take a bath. They continued to boil hot water for the children and adults to take a bath as well.

The grandfathers carried the hot water buckets to the kitchen, where Father Li built a small house with stones for the family to take showers. After the family's life got better, they bought some soap, but they still used soap nuts to wash their hair.

Pure natural ones are good to use, but they need to be soaked for two days before each use, and then pounded and boiled, which is a bit troublesome.

Li Changle rubbed soap on the loofah several times and scrubbed his body from top to bottom.

You know what, natural ones are better, much better than those bath scrubs used in later generations.

"I'm so tired! Tomorrow morning I'm going to sleep until the sun rises over the mountain." Li Changle covered his head with a towel, sat against the wall, closed his eyes, and fell asleep immediately.

"Don't even think about sleeping until the sun goes up." Brother Li handed him the clothes with a smile, "Uncle Kun is still waiting for you to go and see the house!"

After hearing this, Father Li turned around and asked, "Have you found your sister's shop?"

"Found it, Uncle Kun said..." Li Changle told his father and eldest brother what had happened.

When Father Li heard him say that he was planning to buy a house again, he felt that his third son’s carefree nature could not be changed. “You can’t just keep money in your hands. As long as you have a little money, you want to spend it.”

"Dad, I'm buying some property. Besides, it will be useful for my sister's seafood business." Li Changle understood that the old man was afraid of poverty, so whenever he had some money, he would save it just in case.

"Dad, Uncle Kun and Boss Gu are both big businessmen. They see things in the long term better than we do. We ourselves have no vision, so it's right to listen to these capable people." Second Brother Li helped to persuade.

Brother Li nodded, "I also think what Uncle Kun said makes sense. If there is a suitable one in the future, I would also like to buy it."

When Li's father saw that his elder brother also said this, he sighed and said, "It's not that I don't want to buy it for you, but I'm afraid that in the future it will be like before, with no permission for this or that, and the money will be wasted."

Li Changle thought for a moment and comforted him, "Uncle Kun said that Boss Gu has someone above him. They have already inquired about it and they said that the future policies will only be better and will not go back to the way they were before."

"You have to be careful." Father Li whispered, "When you have some spare money in the future, you should buy some gold and silver and hide them.

Have you seen how many different kinds of banknotes were changed in the old days? In the end, only these two can be used as money at any time. "

"We'll buy it when we have money." Li Changle said with a smile, "Dad, when I go to Lucheng this time, will I buy you a gold necklace?"

"Huatou, you are old, why are you wearing a gold chain?"

"A gold chain is like saving money."

"That's not necessary. Wait until you earn a few hundred thousand and want to honor me." Father Li put on his clothes happily. "Okay, let's go see if the snail meat is out."

When they returned to the kitchen, Chen Yongwei excitedly shouted to them, "Brother, hurry up! The snail meat is about to fall out."

Li Changle strode into the house and saw that more than half of the meat of a large yellow snail hanging on an iron hook had fallen out. He grabbed the snail shell, grasped the iron hook and pulled it out, and a large piece of snail meat fell out of the shell.

Zhou Ruonan and her sisters-in-law came over and asked, "Hurry up and check if there is anything in the shell?"

Li Changle picked up the shell and shook it a few times. He leaned in to take a look, but saw nothing. "No!"

Zhou Ruonan thought of the scene of opening an oyster and said, "Pinch the snail meat, the pearls are hidden inside the snail meat."

"Hmm!" Li Changle picked up the snail meat and started to squeeze it. "Neither is there."

"Brother, the biggest piece is out." Chen Yongwei happily put the snail shell and snail meat into the wooden basin, "Hurry up and look for it, the other two are about to fall out."

"Let me try my luck!" Brother Li picked up the shell and shook it twice, then shook his head in frustration, "No."

Father Li shook his head and said, "It's not that easy to find. When I was in the production team, we caught so many big yellow snails, but we didn't get a single pearl."

"You think everyone is as honest as you. You don't even know when someone opens the pearls and hides them."

Mother Li picked up the snail meat and carefully kneaded it. Suddenly, she looked up at the others excitedly and said, "Got it! I felt something small and hard."

Everyone got excited and said, "Hurry up and take a look at it."

"Oh oh!" Li's mother pinched the snail meat and used force to pick out an oval bean-sized bead. She wiped it on her apron, pinched it on her fingertips and showed it to everyone.

It's small, bright, and yellow, and it looks really pretty.

"Oh my god! There are really beads!" Zhou Ruonan's sister-in-law exclaimed.

“Hard work pays off, and we are finally open!”

Li Changle rubbed his hands excitedly, took it and looked at it. Although the beads were not big, you could see the flame-like patterns under the light.

The tiny bead was passed around in everyone's hands, and everyone said it was more beautiful than an oyster bead.

(End of this chapter)

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