Snap!
Lucas flipped open the box lid. Inside was a vernier caliper. The main scale was in millimeters, perfect for measuring pearls. After all, every extra millimeter in a pearl's size completely changed its price.
"Annie, test it out," Lucas said, handing the caliper to the fox-ear girl. He had taught the people in the castle how to use it last night after bringing it from Earth. "Yes." Annie said, taking the caliper. She squatted down, picked up the largest pearl, and began to measure it. "This pearl is seven millimeters."
"This one is five millimeters, this one is three millimeters…" Annie quickly finished measuring the pearls and recorded the sizes on a piece of paper. The smallest one was three millimeters.
"To… to be able to measure so precisely," Bryan said, astonished.
"My Lord, how are these pearls sold?" Joe asked quickly. He wanted to buy the largest pearl.
"The price is determined by the pearl's size, roundness, and luster," Lucas said faintly, his dark eyes narrowing slightly. "Take this seven-millimeter pearl, for example. The starting price is at least fifty silver coins."
The pearls produced by wild mussels weren't very large. They weren't artificially cultivated, so they were generally around seven to eight millimeters in size. This was the conclusion Lucas had reached after opening over a hundred of them yesterday.
As for pearls over ten millimeters, they were quite rare. The price for one would start at no less than ten gold coins.
"Fifty silver coins?" Joe nodded. That price was the market rate, fair and not much more expensive than other pearls.
"A six-millimeter pearl is only twenty silver coins…" Lucas briefly introduced the pricing for the pearls.
"My Lord, I'll buy all of these," Bryan said quickly. His clothing store business had been booming recently, and he had made a good sum of money.
"Mr. Bryan, you can't be so greedy! I want to buy three pearls too."
"Me too! Please sell me one five-millimeter pearl."
The merchants on the scene were not happy and started clamoring to buy pearls, afraid they would miss out if they didn't speak up.
"Everyone, please listen to me," Lucas said, holding up his hands. After the crowd quieted down, he spoke. "I still have over a hundred pearls here, they're on the second floor. Those of you who are interested can go upstairs to pick them out later."
"That's great! In that case, I won't fight for these. Mr. Bryan, please, go ahead."
"Yes, since there are more pearls, let's not hurt our relationship over this."
The merchants backed away sheepishly, giving the floor to Bryan as if to say "I'm not competing with you," which made Bryan roll his eyes in exasperation.
"My Lord, may I ask if all these barrels are filled with these pearl mussels?" Joe asked, raising an eyebrow. He was suddenly interested in the mussels themselves.
"Yes, these are all filled with pearl mussels," Lucas said flatly. He had ordered people to dig these up yesterday.
Yesterday, Lucas had issued a gag order regarding the source of the mussels, and their harvesting was also conducted in complete secrecy.
"Then would it be possible for me to open one? Of course, I can pay for it," Joe said seriously.
"My Lord, I want to try too," Bryan chimed in.
"Alright, the pearl mussels in these barrels are for all of you to open yourselves," Lucas said with a wave of his hand, a smile playing on his lips. "Each of these barrels has a different price for the mussels inside. For example, this barrel next to me, one mussel costs ten silver coins. As for whether you get a pearl, well, that depends on your luck."
Yesterday, Lucas had found some information on Earth and could now roughly distinguish which mussels contained pearls. As for the size of the pearls, that really depended on luck.
The first mussel opened today was also one that Lucas had arranged to be placed there beforehand, all for the performance, and all for one purpose: pearl gambling.
"This…" Joe hesitated. One mussel for ten silver coins. If he opened one with a pearl, it would be a guaranteed profit, and a big one at that. But if he opened one with no pearl, it would be a devastating loss. This was exactly like gambling.
"Of course, there are cheaper ones over there. One for only five silver coins, and another for one silver coin," Lucas said, pointing to the large barrels in the corner of the hall. "There are even cheaper ones for just five hundred copper coins. But naturally, the lower the price, the lower the chance of opening a pearl."
He had only placed a few pearl-bearing mussels in each barrel; the vast majority were empty. This way, he was guaranteed to make a profit, not lose. As for the off chance someone opened a high-quality pearl, that was a matter of luck and not really within his calculations.
"Isn't this too exciting? If you buy a mussel with no pearls, won't you be heartbroken for a long time?"
"But if you buy one and open a pearl, that's a massive profit!"
"My heart is weak, I can't play such a thrilling game."
"This is completely down to luck. If you pick the right one, you'll make a huge fortune."
"..."
The scene immediately erupted in discussion, but everyone's eyes kept glancing towards the barrels. Many were already tempted; they all wanted to try their luck.
"Oh, and the barrels over there are even more expensive. One mussel costs fifty silver coins, and the chance of getting a pearl is much higher," Lucas said, pointing to three large barrels in the center of the hall.
"This…" Everyone present was shocked. This was too much, wasn't it? Fifty silver coins for a single mussel.
"If you can open a big pearl, you'll really make a fortune. Gentlemen, won't you give it a try?" Lucas chuckled.
He wasn't in a hurry. In any case, it was a sure-win situation for him. No, it was pure profit. Regardless of whether anyone bought the mussels or not, he could just open the majority of the pearl-bearing ones himself, even if he could only identify three or four out of every ten.
"My Lord, I want to buy one ten-silver-coin mussel," Joe was the first to speak up. How could he not experience something so exciting?
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