The twilight, like a sheet of thin gauze, slowly cloaked the murky little river at the entrance of the village. The second brother and fourth brother walked one behind the other carrying a burlap sack on their shoulders. The coarse, rough hemp rope chafed their shoulders until they were red, yet their steps carried a touch of joy. The “clatter-clatter” rattling inside the sack was the sound of the river mussels knocking against each other, their heavy weight bending the two boys’ waists a bit.
“Eldest Sister! Look how many we caught!” the second brother shouted the moment he entered the courtyard gate, plunking the burlap sack onto the ground. The dust that kicked up was mixed with the fishy stench of river water. The eldest sister was squatting by the stove selecting vegetables; hearing the commotion, she looked up and spotted the bulging sack, her brows furrowing first. “You went to catch these again? The shells are too hard, and extracting the meat takes half the day.” Despite her complaining words, a glimmer of anticipation flashed through the depths of her eyes. Once river mussel meat was thoroughly stewed, it would be so delicious that one’s eyebrows could fall off. If they were willing to slice a few pieces of cured meat into it, that broth would be savory to the bone. Any leftovers poured for the pigs would make them nuzzle the trough for a couple more bites, putting on fat incredibly fast.
She set down the Chinese cabbage in her hands and wiped her hands on her apron. “If you want to eat them, chop the shells yourself. I still have to light the fire to simmer the rice.” The autumn grain had just been harvested, and combined with their parents doing grueling manual labor dredging the river, the rice the eldest sister cooked for dinner—while called rice—was actually just a bit thicker than porridge. Having finished speaking, she turned around and entered the kitchen. The firewood inside the earthen stove “crackled,” reflecting a cozy warmth onto her cheeks.
To the side, Lixia had long been swallowing her saliva out of craving, her tongue still retaining the savory taste from the last time Mother Yuan stewed river mussel soup. She remembered that occasion when Mother used a few pieces of cured meat she had been reluctant to eat, stewing them together with the river mussel meat for half the day. The broth was stewed until it was milky white. At first, she had been afraid of the fishy smell and didn’t dare taste it, but after taking a single sip, she found it heavenly. That savory richness was even more authentic than the various seafood soups she had drunk in high-end restaurants in her past life; even the radishes in the soup were thoroughly soaked with flavor, and she drank two large bowls in one breath.
“I’ll do the chopping!” The second brother rolled up his sleeves and snatched the sickle from behind the door, its blade gleaming with a cold light. Squatting beside the burlap sack, he selected the largest river mussel and pinned it down. Aiming the tip of the sickle blade at the seam of the mussel shell, he exerted force with a “heave.” With a crisp “crack” sound, a seam was chopped into the hard shell. The fourth brother quickly crowded over, hooking his fingers into the seam to pry outward. Exerting every ounce of his strength, he finally pried the shell open, revealing the tender white mussel meat inside, which still bore glistening mucus.
Just as Lixia was about to walk over to help tear the mussel meat, a familiar “ding~” suddenly rang out in her ears. That sound could only be heard by her, carrying the distinct mechanical tone of the system: “Dear customer, your random lottery opportunity has been activated. Do you choose to draw now? Select ‘yes’ for yes, select ‘no’ for no.”
Over these past years, she had drawn from the system quite a number of times, and she had long since trained herself to remain unmoved by either favor or disgrace. Calmly, she reached out and tapped “yes.”
“Congratulations! You have obtained five hundred pearls. These pearls are natural freshwater pearls. Would you like to deposit them into the lottery system?”
The moment the system’s voice fell, Lixia’s brain went “buzz,” as if fireworks were exploding inside it—she could go to school now!
Tears nearly welled up, but she quickly blinked them away and swiftly tapped “yes.” Looking at the image of the pearls on the system interface, she clenched her fists, rolled up her sleeves, and walked briskly over to the fourth brother’s side. “Fourth brother, I’ll help you tear the mussel meat!”
Just then, the footsteps of their parents came from the courtyard entrance. Father Yuan and Mother Yuan carried the bamboo poles used for river dredging on their shoulders, their bodies stained with speckles of mud and their faces completely filled with exhaustion. Having dredged river mud for an entire day, they could hardly straighten their waists. Hearing the commotion, the eldest sister quickly emerged from the kitchen to clear the table, bringing the steamed sweet potatoes and stir-fried shredded pumpkin to the table.
A thought stirred in Lixia’s mind. Her finger tapped inside the system, and a perfectly round pearl gleaming with a translucent white luster appeared in her palm. Taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention, she rubbed it against the river mussel meat that the fourth brother had just pried open, letting the pearl get coated in a bit of mucus. Then, she purposely raised her voice, shouting in a somewhat bewildered tone, “Oh dear, what is this?”
The fourth brother was looking down tearing the mussel meat; hearing his sister’s voice, he looked up and instantly spotted the bead in her palm. Crowding closer, he squinted his eyes to look. “What is this? Why is this bead so bright?” He reached out wanting to touch it, but was afraid of damaging it, his finger hovering in midair, not daring to move.
Lixia pretended not to understand, clutching the pearl as she ran to the kitchen door. Mother Yuan was squatting by the water basin washing her hands, the thick mud on her hands churning into murky muddy water in the basin, while Father Yuan stood beside her waiting. “Dad, Mom, look what this is!” Lixia held up the pearl, her voice filled with curiosity.
Father Yuan and Mother Yuan looked up at the same time. Seeing the pearl in their daughter’s palm, both of them froze for a moment. Father Yuan took the pearl into his own palm and looked closely—the bead was perfectly round, feeling smooth and warm to the touch, and it gleamed with a faint pearlescent luster. When he was a child, he had heard the old folks in the village mention that this was a pearl, and it could be sold for a lot of money. “This is a pearl, isn’t it?” He turned his head to ask Mother Yuan, his tone carrying a bit of uncertainty. Then he looked at Lixia. “Fifth child, where did this bead come from?”
“It was just dug out from inside the river mussel shell.” Lixia opened her large eyes wide, a face full of innocence, and even the curve of her lips was just right, acting exactly as if it were real.
How could Father Yuan and Mother Yuan still be in the mood to wash their hands? Mother Yuan quickly wiped her hands and crowded over to look at the pearl, while Father Yuan turned around and shouted toward the yard, “Second boy, fourth boy! Hurry up and chop open all the river mussels to look for pearls!”
The second brother and fourth brother were both stunned. Once they reacted, they quickly dumped all the river mussels from the burlap sack onto the ground, and river mussels of various sizes piled across the floor. Father Yuan did not forget to instruct, “You are not allowed to speak of this matter to outsiders! If others find out, we can forget about catching river mussels ever again!” The four children all nodded vigorously, their eyes filled with excitement.
Lixia squatted on the ground along with them, pretending to dig through the river mussels. Taking advantage of when no one was paying attention, she retrieved another pearl from the system, hiding it in the gap between her fingers. Waiting until she dug into the fourth river mussel, she purposely let out an “ah” sound: “I found another one!”
Father Yuan and Mother Yuan quickly crowded over to look. Seeing the second pearl in her palm, Mother Yuan couldn’t help but pull Lixia’s hand over and pat her head. “Our fifth child truly possesses good fortune; even these pearls run straight into your hands!” Father Yuan also smiled and nodded, his gaze toward Lixia carrying a few more hints of gratification.
Not long after, the fourth brother suddenly cried out, “I found one too! I found a pearl too!” He held up the pearl in his hand, so excited his face turned red. Lixia crowded over to look. After all, the one the fourth brother found was a real river mussel pearl; it was an oval-shaped pearl, its color slightly dimmer than her two, and its luster wasn’t as bright, but it was indeed a natural freshwater pearl.
“Good! Good!” Father Yuan smiled so wide his mouth couldn’t close, and he could hardly grip the sickle in his hand.
The family busied themselves until the sky turned slightly dark before they finally finished digging through the entire sack of river mussels. Lixia had “found” three pearls in total, and the fourth brother had found one, adding up to four pearls. Although it wasn’t many, to this dirt-poor household, it was already an enormous surprise.
Father Yuan wrapped the four pearls away with extreme care using a piece of cloth, placed them into the cabinet in the room, and then solemnly said to the four children, “Tomorrow, you all continue to go to the riverside to gather river mussels. Right now is the river dredging period, so there are many river mussels in the river; perhaps we can find more pearls. Remember, no matter who asks, you cannot speak of our finding pearls, understand?”
“Understood!” The five children answered in unison, their voices filled with anticipation. Looking at her father’s retreating figure, Lixia quietly thought in her heart: Once the pearls are sold, she would propose going to school.