While waiting for my lye collected, I still have some hour before lunchtime. my eyes stared at seaweed that dried near my tent. Ah right, it would be better if I take some more seaweed to bring to the castle. So I strip off my clothes except for my pant, bring a sack, and start diving again in the sea. This time, besides the site that has seaweeds grows, I explore a little further. This time I found some scallops in the place I exploring, which automatically get into my sack. Tonight my dinner will be seafood again.
The seaweeds that I've collected start to piled again in the shore. Since this already nearing lunch time, I take the last dive to a bit further and deeper. The sunlight is already getting dimmer in this area because of its depth. But when I see what lies near rocks and corals, my heart beating faster. It's some large oysters lie there peacefully. Although the chance of natural pearl occurrences are low, different from the modern era where pearl oyster can be cultivated to create a pearl, I'm still feeling happy to see that. Even if there's no pearl inside, I can insert something to trigger the oyster to create the pearl for future purpose. This oyster definitely not something to eat.
Since the time needed to collect these oysters is quite long, I must come to resurface several times before I could collect the oysters there. I put these oysters in the bucket filled with seawater after I come ashore to keep them alive. With a small and thin knife, I carefully open one oyster from the oysters that I collected just now. And just as I expected, there's no pearl inside. After putting a grain to trigger the pearl coating process, I return the oyster back to the bucket and take another oyster. The second oyster also empty, and so do the third, and the forth, and the fifth. On the sixth oyster, there's a small pearl already constructed inside but not worth to take, so I return the oyster back to bucket. On the seventh oyster from about dozen oysters that I've collected actually I already have no hope to find any pearl at all. but still, I open the oyster and peek what inside the oyster.
This time after peeking inside the oyster, I almost forget to breathe because what I've seen inside quite shocking. There's a pearl inside the oyster! A big one like a pebble! Moreover, the color, its black!
I found a black pearl, a very rare pearl! My hands start to shake because of joy. Carefully, I put down the oyster and take a deep breath to calm myself. After taking a few deep breaths, I can calm myself and my hand no longer shaking. This founding incites my spirit that almost down in searching the pearl. Slowly I open the oyster to retrieve the earl from inside and put a grain of sand to re-incite the pearl making process. Finally, from dozen oysters that I've collected, I found 2 white pearls and 1 black pearls. I put those pearl carefully inside cloth sack because the pearl is sensitive to acids because its composition made from calcium bicarbonate.
After keeping the pearl in a safe place, I returning the oyster back to the sea again. I hope in a few years later I can find them again with a pearl inside their clamshell. After putting the seaweed that I collected today in drying place, I come to the emergency kitchen to have a lunch. Surprisingly, today lunch is a tempura dish. So I ask Craig where he got the fish to make tempura,
"Craig, I thought last night we already cook all the fish we caught last night?"
"Yes, master Henry, but after we finish eating and cleaning the cooking utensil, some firewatcher crew back to the old pier to fishing again. These fishes are those that they caught last night"
I nodded after hearing his explanation. It seems this beach has a potential for fisheries too. That's good because if this area not suitable to raise cattle like cow, goat or sheep, they still get meat intake from fish and other seafood ingredients.
After finishing my lunch, I take Claude to inspect the maple sap collection. We bring a barrel to collect the sap and bring it back to the camp. The result actually a bit disappointing me because we do not even get half a barrel filled. But it's understandable because we're not tapping many trees, so little gain is normal. Claude seems noticed that I a bit dejected after seeing the result
"Henry, you look disappointed. Aren't this gain quite much?"
"This sap is still needed to cook before getting the sweetness like sugar. For 4 gallons sap, it's only can produce 1-gallon liquid that as sweet as sugar. Most water inside the sap will evaporates during cooking"
"So little? Is that mean from today gain it only can make about one glass or one cup?"
"Yes, that's why after second supply come you must take some men to make more tapping on this trees"
"Don't worry Henry, I will do as your order"
"Okay, let's get back to the camp. It's will be dusk soon"
So we back to the camp, and separate to our own tent. I checking on the ashes extracting barrel and pour more water into it. When I see the lye result in earthen jar container, it's already almost full, which mean in short time I will start to make that thing.