On a summer afternoon in 1995, the back kitchen of a well-known restaurant in the old town of Yueyang was filled with the aroma of seafood. 26-year-old Xiao Yang, who has been a chef here for five years, is busy processing a new batch of live seafood.
"Ding-" The blade struck on the blue and white snail shell, and in an instant, a small crack appeared, and Xiao Yang Xi inertly probed with the tip of the knife, and with a light prie, the shell opened. He was about to take out the snail inside, but he was stunned - it was a rare pink conch!
Xiaoyang put down the knife and picked up the conch to look at it carefully. This was the first time he had seen the legendary pink conch, and he couldn't help but be a little surprised and excited. He couldn't help but wonder if there was something unusual about this rare conch.
When Xiaoyang picked up the kitchen knife and cut open the flesh of the pink conch, he found two yellow "stones" with regular shapes inside.
He hurriedly rinsed them with a hose and found that the surface of the two "stones" was smooth and transparent, and they exuded a charming brilliance under the lamp, which was very beautiful.
Xiao Yang tried to split them with a knife, but he didn't move. This made him even more curious, so he secretly put it in his coat pocket and took it home.
That night, Xiaoyang tried to study these two "stones" in various ways, but failed. His wife suggested keeping them in the box as ornaments, so Xiaoyang treasured them.
7 years have passed, and Xiaoyang has forgotten about it. Until one day in 2002, he saw a report on television about a rare conch pearl found in Indonesian waters. The conch pearl in the picture is very similar to the two "stones" he found seven years ago.
This made him suddenly realize that what he picked up back then might be an extremely rare and expensive natural conch pearl!
Xiao Yang excitedly took out the box that had been sealed for a long time, and the two "stones" inside were still crystal clear. He decided to take it to the testing center.
He was ecstatic to see that these were indeed two extremely precious natural conch pearls, one 8.8 grams and the other 5.5 grams, of the highest quality. Their appearance is simply a blessing from heaven!
In order to sell it at a good price as soon as possible, Xiaoyang asked around for information on this. However, due to the lack of knowledge in the industry about such a rare treasure, several intermediaries he has found have not been able to give a suitable offer.
After hitting a wall in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Hong Kong, Xiaoyang almost gave up. His wife persuaded him to keep it as a collector's item, but Xiaoyang insisted on finding a buyer.
After years of perseverance, Xiaoyang finally met a wealthy buyer from Southeast Asia at a famous jewelry fair in Bangkok in 2016. The buyer took a fancy to the two rare conch pearls carried by Xiaoyang at a glance, and immediately quoted an astonishing price - 1.4 million yuan!
"I'm offering 1.4 million, and I hope you will consider my offer. These two conch pearls are so rare and beautiful, and I have waited for many years to wait for such a good color. 1.4 million, I guarantee that I can't find a second one that can offer such a price. The buyer's fluent Chinese made Xiaoyang excited.
1.4 million yuan is an astronomical amount for Xiaoyang. He pondered for a moment, then nodded and sold the two pearls that made him what he is today to the buyer. Xiaoyang knew that this opportunity was too rare, he had already spent too much effort on this road, and it was time to change his mind.
After getting a huge amount of money, Xiaoyang resolutely decided to return to his hometown Yueyang to start a business. He used the money to open an exquisite Chinese restaurant, which is very distinctive in terms of environment and cuisine, and is loved by the locals.
Today, Xiaoyang has become a well-known restaurant owner in Yueyang. Every time he thinks of the two "gems" he got by chance 20 years ago, which made him where he is today, Xiaoyang can't help but sigh that the wonderful turning point in life is so unpredictable.
In life, we should not miss out on rare opportunities due to negligence. If Xiaoyang had sold the conch pearl in the first place, his life trajectory might have been rewritten long ago.
But he didn't give up, persevered for many years and finally waited for the best result. This shows that as long as you have a unique vision and perseverance, you still have a chance to reverse your fate. We should always maintain a positive attitude and believe that opportunities will eventually favor those who work hard.