Chapter 135 - 136: Buying Jewelry
While they were whispering amongst themselves, the stone Ancient Wen Heng had casually picked was cut open. It was only a fist-sized, bean-green jade, suitable for making small pendants. Even so, the Shopkeeper bought it for ten taels of Silver.
"You bought this for five taels of Silver. Even after the cutting fee, you still made a profit of over four taels." Zhou Ping’s eyes gleamed as he looked at the stone in his hands with even greater anticipation.
"It was just a lucky break. After all, no one knows what’s inside these stones," Ancient Wen Heng said. He didn’t want his senior brother to get obsessed, so he felt it was necessary to temper his expectations.
The quality of the second stone was even better, approaching that of an ice-grade jade. "Young man, are you selling this stone?"
Ancient Wen Heng nodded. ’Jin Qianqian has many pieces far better than this; she wouldn’t think twice about it. I might as well trade it openly for some Silver Taels.’
"This stone is quite good, and it’s as big as a baby’s head. I’ll offer 300 taels. What do you say?"
"350 taels!" A merchant who had been sequestered in a private room rushed out. Though they hadn’t been outside, their attendants had been keeping a close eye on the proceedings.
With someone else bidding, the scene instantly grew lively. People added five taels here and ten taels there, and the price quickly shot up to 500 taels before the bidding stopped.
Seeing Ancient Wen Heng achieve a legendary hundred-fold return, both Deng Yuanhang and Zhou Ping’s eyes shone with excitement as they eagerly eyed the two remaining raw stones.
However, what followed was not so miraculous. One stone turned out to be just mottled rock no matter how it was cut, while the other was riddled with cracks—a complete bust.
Seeing Ancient Wen Heng’s success, Deng Yuanhang and Zhou Ping grew eager. They each went up, paid the fee for stone cutting, and crouched down to watch in anticipation.
Just then, Manager Luo walked over. "Sir, we have other raw stones. Would you care to take a look?"
Ancient Wen Heng, knowing it was best to quit while he was ahead, shook his head. "This is my first time cutting stones. To have this kind of result is already incredible luck. I can’t push it."
A flash of appreciation crossed Manager Luo’s eyes. ’In this stone-gambling yard, I’ve seen far too many people lose their minds.’ "Very well. If you need anything, just say the word. I can give you a discount."
’After all, this customer’s success has indirectly brought me a lot of business. The people who were just watching have now bought their own stones and are lining up to have them cut.’
Deng Yuanhang had also picked four stones. His luck was decent—he cut out a piece of ice-grade jade with floral patterns. Though it wasn’t large, it still sold for over a hundred taels.
Zhou Ping’s luck wasn’t nearly as good. He got one bean-green piece that just barely covered its cost, but he was still out the money for the cutting fee.
"Want to try another two?" Deng Yuanhang couldn’t help but suggest, seeing his friend looking dejected.
But Zhou Ping shook his head. "No, let’s not. Like Wenheng said on the way here, we should cut our losses. At least we learned something new today, so it wasn’t a total waste.
It’s getting late. We should go back and get some rest."
Deng Yuanhang was about to say something more, but Ancient Wen Heng stopped him with a shake of his head. He then said with a smile, "I can’t do that. We’ve been here so long my stomach’s starting to growl. We need to find a good place to fill our bellies, or they’ll be raising a ruckus all night."
"You’re right," Deng Yuanhang realized, slapping his chest. "I made a tidy profit today. This one’s on me."
Ancient Wen Heng slung his arms over both their shoulders as they walked out. "And you say that with a straight face? Who made more? Is it that hard to admit you lost to me?"
"Now, you listen here..."
The merchants left in the courtyard couldn’t help but smile knowingly when they heard the banter. Compared to the people who lost their gambles and made a scene, or those who had become utterly possessed by it all, they much preferred to witness a moment like this.
「The next morning.」
Ancient Wen Heng rolled his head to stretch his neck, then pushed open the window to watch the pedestrians passing by below.
He felt for the silver notes in his pocket, put on the down-padded jacket Jin Qianqian had specially made for him, and turned to head out.
"Waiter, if my two companions wake up, please tell them I stepped out for a bit. I’ll be back soon."
The waiter quickly agreed. He still remembered this top-ranking scholar, so he was especially attentive.
He walked into a jewelry shop and saw a clerk bustling about, cleaning the place. Ancient Wen Heng cleared his throat to let the clerk know a customer had arrived.
"Welcome, sir. What can I help you with today?"
Ancient Wen Heng walked over and looked at a display of silver jewelry, his brow furrowing slightly. "Is this all you have?"
The clerk smiled. "This way, sir."
He led Ancient Wen Heng to the second floor. "Over here we have our complete sets, as well as some styles that just came in. Please, have a look.
May I ask who you’re buying for?"
After a quick look, Ancient Wen Heng pointed to one of the sets. He was particularly pleased with its simple necklace, which featured a jadeite pendant. The matching golden hairpin was also adorned with the same kind of jadeite. ’The way they complement each other... it would look beautiful on Qianqian.’
"You have a wonderful eye, sir. Our master craftsman just finished this set. The price is a little steep, though. Will that be an issue?"
Ancient Wen Heng asked, "How much?"
"The Shopkeeper has already set the price: a firm 108 taels."
The clerk carefully watched Ancient Wen Heng’s expression before adding meekly, "That’s the absolute lowest, I’m afraid."
Ancient Wen Heng pulled out a brocade bag and took out two silver notes. "Wrap it up for me."
"Right away!" The clerk took the silver notes. "Would you care to look at anything else, sir? We have other pieces. As long as they aren’t new arrivals, I can give you a discount."
Ancient Wen Heng shook his head. ’In this life, I’ll only ever buy jewelry for Qianqian. I have no interest in buying it for anyone else.’
The clerk knew not to press the issue. He quickly gave Ancient Wen Heng his change in broken silver, packed the jewelry in a box, and respectfully saw him out.
’I’ve already made a big sale so early in the morning. The Shopkeeper is sure to praise me when he gets here.’
Humming a tune, he went back to cleaning, never imagining that instead of the praise he eagerly awaited, he would get a harsh scolding.
No sooner had Ancient Wen Heng left than the Shopkeeper returned. The clerk eagerly hurried over to show off his achievement for the morning.
"You what? You sold that new set from upstairs?" the Shopkeeper exclaimed, his voice lacking any of the praise the clerk had anticipated.
"That’s right. Didn’t you tell us all the price yesterday? A young gentleman came in today and fell in love with it, so I sold it to him."
"Were you even listening yesterday? Didn’t I say afterward that the set was reserved? You took it upon yourself to sell it—now how are we supposed to explain this to the customer?" The Shopkeeper was so frantic he stomped his foot. ’This isn’t someone we can afford to offend!’