The mere mention of "Dragon Pearl" instantly made everyone present suck in a sharp breath.
The Dragon Pearl was a tribute for the emperor. How could ordinary people like them ever get their hands on such a rare item?
Li Ying quietly observed the expressions of Qing Liu and the others. A look of wild elation flashed across her face as she deliberately raised her voice.
"Great! Hurry, let's go back to the village quickly! As long as we present this Dragon Pearl to the emperor, our village will surely prosper from now on! Just the rewards will ensure that the villagers will have no worries about food and clothing for the rest of their lives. Why should we toil day and night anymore?"
She spoke without thinking, but then, as if suddenly remembering something, she nervously covered her mouth, cutting off the words that were about to come out.
"No! We mustn't let a single word of today's matter leak out. As the saying goes, one should not show off one's wealth. If we attract the covetous eyes of villains, all our future glory and wealth will be in vain!"
Her slow - witted and belated appearance made a hint of disdain flash across Qing Liu's eyes.
She watched as Li Ying carefully placed the "Dragon Pearl" into an exquisite brocade box and hid it close to her body. Meanwhile, she had already come up with a plan in her mind.
Li Ying didn't waste any more time. After the group quickly filled their stomachs, they rushed straight back to the fishing village.
Once she entered the house, she only exchanged a few polite words with Granny Sun before pleading tiredness. She entrusted Mianmian to Granny Sun's care, closed the door to her room, and fell asleep fully clothed.
Qing Liu was hiding not far away, observing her every move. When Granny Sun carried Mianmian to the village entrance to bask in the sun and the house was empty, she quietly emerged from her hiding place and headed straight for Li Ying's bedroom without hesitation.
Li Ying had already hidden the conch pearl she obtained today, along with the one sent by Zhang Lu, in her space. No matter how hard Qing Liu searched, she was bound to find nothing.
She faintly heard the sound of footsteps outside the door and saw a graceful figure swaying in front of the window lattice. She quickly took out the sea pearl she had been cultivating in the space, stuffed it into the brocade box, and closed her eyes to pretend to be asleep.
Sure enough, Qing Liu's coquettish voice sounded outside the door.
"Boss Li, are you asleep?"
"Boss Li, I'm really grateful for your care these days. Seeing how tired you were on the boat, I took the liberty of cooking some soothing sweet soup for you..."
Hearing no response from the room, Qing Liu steadied her nerves and then softly said in a sugary voice, "Boss Li, then I'll come in..."
She pushed open the door, put down the tray in her hand, and walked straight towards Li Ying on the couch.
"Boss Li? Li Ying?"
Qing Liu called out tentatively twice more. Only when she was sure that Li Ying was really fast asleep did she gain the courage to stretch out her hands dyed with balsam flower juice and reach straight into Li Ying's bosom.
"Qing Liu, what are you doing here?"
A Man's voice suddenly sounded outside the door. Qing Liu was startled. She quickly turned around, and while pretending to tidy up Li Ying's collar, she forced a smile.
"So it's Miss A Man. I came to deliver the soothing soup. Seeing that Boss Li didn't cover the quilt properly, I just helped her straighten it out..."
She knew that A Man didn't like her, so her smile was very forced. The hand holding the brocade box unconsciously hid behind her back. She didn't even dare to take a deep breath, afraid of showing any signs of her misdeed.
A Man sized her up suspiciously from head to toe. After a long while, she finally waved her hand in annoyance.
"Leave the sweet soup. You can go now. I'll take care of everything for my elder sister here."
Qing Liu took a deep breath, quickly curtsied, and fled in a hurry.
Only when she was really far away did Li Ying sit up and smile at A Man. "Is she gone?"
A Man nodded.
"She's gone."
Li Ying looked at the cold sweet soup in the bowl, and the smile in her eyes deepened.
Qing Liu had been biding her time for many days. Now that she had finally got what she wanted, and then was scared by A Man, she was already like a frightened bird.
"Elder sister, will that Imperial Commissioner Lin really take the bait?"
A Man lowered her voice and sat beside Li Ying. A hint of worry flashed across her face.
Li Ying casually took out a few more boxes from the dressing table. When she opened them, there were many orange and pink beads of various sizes inside.
These were the sea pearls she had cultivated in the space.
The pearl layer, which usually took several months to form, had grown a brand - new, lustrous layer in just a few days.
It was already strange enough that she had this mysterious "space". So Li Ying didn't bother to figure out why the growth rate of the pearl quality had multiplied several times. She just accepted it as a special ability of the space and was quite happy about it.
In the past few days, whenever she had free time, she would lock herself in the room and try to dye the sea pearls.
After several attempts, she finally succeeded. However, although these dyed "conch pearls" were indeed shiny, they were far inferior to the real "Dragon Pearl".
Looking at Qing Liu's back as she rushed to claim credit and receive rewards, Li Ying said calmly, "Next, we just need to wait for the opportunity."
On the boat, it was not convenient for her to expose herself, so she didn't see clearly from afar. Moreover, now that Qing Liu had a guilty conscience, she would surely want to send out the "Dragon Pearl" as soon as possible. She was really a fool.
As for Imperial Commissioner Lin, even if he noticed that the "Dragon Pearl" was not as amazing as the rumors said, he had also heard about the new business of cultivating coconut conches. He would surely be tempted and want to get a share of the pie.
He was already trapped in the game.
Li Ying narrowed her eyes. She was really looking forward to this Imperial Commissioner Lin's visit.
Coconut conches were different from ordinary red conch pearl shells. They couldn't just be put into the sea to feed and reproduce freely. They needed to be regularly fed with various shellfish and small fish by humans.
This was a significant expense.
To obtain the pearls, the shells had to be broken and the conches killed. Naturally, these coconut conches couldn't be discarded.
Cooking them into dishes and selling them to the tourists in the resort was the best option.
"Open coconut conches to find priceless Dragon Pearls" was the selling point she had thought of from the very beginning.
That was also why she had tried different conch meat dishes on the boat, just to listen to the diners' reactions in advance.
However, if this was the case, the cultivation of coconut conches could not be sustainable. New conch seedlings had to be continuously invested, and a benign cycle without too much human intervention could not be formed.
If she wanted to make this new business thrive, the amount of silver needed would not be a small sum.
Most of the money she had saved after a year of hard work had already been invested in the reconstruction of the fishing village. This "fool" who would bring silver to her was surely Imperial Commissioner Lin.
Li Ying made up her mind and calmly poured herself a cup of green tea.
Everything was ready. All she needed was an opportunity.