Zombie Bodyguard
Chapter 392 - 391: The Struggle for the Finest Jade

Chapter 392: Chapter 391: The Struggle for the Finest Jade

"I understand," Qian Fula nodded and then turned to the crowd, "Please wait a moment, I’ll be right back."

After he spoke, Qian Fula walked inside and hurried upstairs. Lin Tian of course knew what he was about to do—he was going to bring out some high-grade goods, otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to hold the fort.

Failing to hold the fort would have serious consequences. Take the Bai Family, for example, without a treasure to anchor their reputation, they’d definitely be the butt of jokes from the customers and their reputation would suffer.

"Lin Tian, what if he manages to bring out top-grade jadeite?" Xiao Manxue quietly asked Lin Tian.

"If he brings it out, then he brings it out. We’ll just have to play it by ear. Besides, do you think top-grade jadeite is that easy to come by? Sure, it’s on the market but it’s like a fleeting blossom, usually showing up at auctions. Almost no store in Xikou City would have it. And if the Bai Family had top-grade jadeite, they would certainly display it in their Jinghua City store, which is in the Imperial Capital—a much more strategic location," Lin Tian analyzed calmly, not the least bit worried.

"It seems like you’ve already calculated everything. With a brain like yours, it’s hard for you to even make a single mistake, isn’t it?" Miss teased him, looking amused, though it was unclear whether it was praise or mockery.

Who says I haven’t made a mistake? The last time your sister tore my underwear and saw everything clearly, I took a huge loss, Lin Tian thought resentfully, completely disagreeing with Miss’s statement.

As they talked, a few minutes passed, and just when the customers were starting to grow impatient, Qian Fula finally appeared. He was holding a beautifully crafted square box that looked quite antiquated, somewhat like a red sandalwood box.

The red sandalwood box was carved with delicate patterns on its surface, making it resemble the sort of jewelry box that would be used by a wealthy ancient girl. The box alone attracted everyone’s attention, especially the women in the store.

Men are visual creatures, but women are even more so. Seeing such an artistically appealing jewelry box, they would want to own it, even if it were empty.

Lin Tian couldn’t help but admit that the people from the Bai Family really knew how to package things. He thought about the ancient story of buying the casket and returning the pearls, where a merchant from Chu used a beautiful box to sell pearls, and the people of Zheng bought the box but returned the pearls to him.

Almost everyone modernly says that the buyers did not make wise choices, preferring the secondary item over the primary one. But after seeing this red sandalwood box, Lin Tian suddenly had a new thought. In the ancient story of buying the casket and returning the pearls, the box must have been carved from very precious wood, it’s value far exceeding that of a pearl, which is why the buyer from Zheng wasn’t foolish.

Qian Fula, seeing the customers’ gazes, was very pleased with the effect. Although what he was holding was only a red sandalwood imitation, a lot of effort had gone into the carving.

"Manager Qian, is what’s inside the box high-grade jadeite? Hurry up and show us," a customer who couldn’t wait asked eagerly to see what kind of jadeite was held in such a beautiful box.

"Heh, I need to correct our guest’s statement. This isn’t just high-grade jadeite, but top-grade jadeite," Qian Fula said with a chuckle as he walked up to the counter and placed the wooden box on the table.

"Top-grade jadeite?" the crowd exclaimed in surprise. This was big news. If a store had top-grade jadeite, news of it would spread quickly throughout the entire Jewelry and Gemstone Industry.

Could it be such a coincidence? Does Jinghua City not require a treasure to anchor their store? Or is it possible that the Bai Family has a plethora of top-grade jadeite? Lin Tian and Xiao Manxue exchanged glances, both seeing confusion in the other’s eyes.

"Seeing is believing, and there’s no point in me going on about it. You’ll understand once you’ve seen it for yourself." Qian Fula didn’t waste any more words and took out an antique key from his person, inserting it into the lock hole of the red sandalwood box.

With a "click", the sound of unlocking echoed, and Qian Fula slowly opened the box. Indeed, this box really was a replica of an antique jewelry box, and when opened, it revealed three layers.

The bottom layer was divided into two small compartments, each holding a type of jewelry—earrings, rings—while the middle layer held a pair of bracelets, and the top layer a necklace. It turned out to be a complete set of jewelry!

Each piece of jewelry was crafted using jadeite combined with platinum, and what was most astonishing was that the jadeite seemed to be of the finest quality, a vibrant green that glistened under the light, as if imbued with the life force of green.

"Imperial Green of the glass type! Am I seeing this right, it really is!" Someone exclaimed genuinely in awe.

"I don’t know, I’ve never seen it before. It should be, though, right? This jewelry looks like the kind described in books." Another person responded uncertainly.

The guests immediately began discussing amongst themselves, none having ever seen fine jadeite, but that didn’t stop them from using their imagination. They compared the set of jewelry with the descriptions in books and concluded that fine jadeite must look like this.

Before the box was opened, Lin Tian had also thought it would contain fine jadeite, but now that he looked, he felt relieved. The jadeite on this set of jewelry was undoubtedly Emperor Green, but the quality was not of the glass type; it was merely high ice type.

Although it was only one grade lower, the value was vastly different. If the high ice type Emperor Green jadeite jewelry in the red sandalwood box was worth two hundred million, then a glass type Emperor Green jadeite set would not simply be double the price—five hundred million might not even suffice to purchase it.

Miss carefully inspected it for a while, then frowned. She reached into her pocket as if to grasp something, and eventually looked at Lin Tian, implying that he must have noticed something.

"Manager Qian, are you sure this is fine jadeite, and not just high-quality jadeite?" Lin Tian deliberately looked at him with puzzlement and asked.

The guests, having just witnessed Lin Tian’s expertise in appraising jade, especially those wealthy ladies, had great respect for him. So, hearing his query, they all turned their attention back to Qian Fula, hoping he would provide compelling evidence to corroborate his claim.

"This gentleman hasn’t seen fine jadeite, so his doubt is understandable," Qian Fula glanced at Lin Tian, his tone seemingly generous, but the people there were no fools and caught the implication in his words—he was suggesting Lin Tian lacked experience and sophistication.

Miss frowned slightly, feeling displeased. Even though Qian Fula did not know Lin Tian, he knew her and was aware that the three of them had come together. Such remarks were clearly disrespectful to the Xiao Family.

She wanted to step forward and speak out, asserting Lin Tian’s identity. His reputation in the Jewelry and Gemstone Industry was soaring. Simply clarifying his standing would be equivalent to a harsh slap in the face for Qian Fula, who had dared to say a master of the trade lacked sophistication!

Miss, though often perverse, still protected Lin Tian in front of others. However, Lin Tian stopped her with his hand and gently shook his head, urging her to be patient. Then, he signaled for Qian Fula to continue.

Seeing Lin Tian not daring to speak, Qian Fula thought he had been intimidated and spoke with increased confidence, "Look, this set of jewelry comes with an appraisal certificate. So, what we have here is a guaranteed glass type Imperial Green jadeite set!"

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