Chapter 617 - 7: The Strange Shopkeeper
The girl next to the cash register saw the young man who inexplicably walked into the store was genuinely interested in antiques, so she put down the book in her hand, got up, glanced at it, and softly quoted a price.
"That one you’re looking at is Golden Hetian Jade, priced per gram, 650 yuan per gram; figure out the total yourself!"
Is this how you do business?
Chen Zhou thought to himself, examining the jade ornament in the display case for a while, estimating it to weigh at least 100 grams, which would cost sixty to seventy thousand yuan.
If it had been before the challenge, even if he liked the jade, he wouldn’t have had any choice but to walk away from the hefty price.
But times have changed, and with over seven hundred thousand in his pocket, he could afford to speak confidently.
Without hesitation, Chen Zhou pulled out his phone.
"Take it out; I’ll buy this piece of jade. Where do I pay?"
After quoting the price, the girl had sat back down, picked up her book again, and, upon hearing Chen Zhou’s words, widened her eyes in surprise.
"Are you really buying it?"
"Why, is it a display-only piece?"
It was the first time Chen Zhou had seen business conducted like this, pointing at the Golden Hetian Jade dog in the showcase as he asked.
Before he finished speaking, the girl sitting deep inside the shop had already gotten up and walked over, questioning him as she walked.
"You really dare to buy things without knowing a thing about antiques?"
While talking, she had already reached behind the display case, taking out the small dog decoration from the lit showcase.
Out of the spotlight, into the shop’s dim interior, the jade piece with its originally golden and lustrous color suddenly looked much drier, as if it had lost its sheen.
"Hey, do you know what Hetian Jade is?"
Holding the piece, she looked up at Chen Zhou, as if finding some rare creature.
"No idea, why do you ask?"
This strange girl’s barrage of questions left Chen Zhou confused, he just saw something he liked and had the money to spend on it, never thinking buying something could be so troublesome.
"You don’t know anything, yet you dare to buy? Spoiled with money, huh?"
The girl placed the decoration in front of Chen Zhou, showing him the details of the bright yellow jade stone.
"Let me teach you: natural jade stones come in varying shades, it’s impossible for a piece to be uniformly yellow like this one.
Moreover, true golden Hetian Jade is rarer than imperial green jadeite, and could never be priced only over six hundred; even ordinary yellow-skinned jade wouldn’t be this cheap.
Books say, dry yellow jade is superior, followed by mutton-fat jade. Just wanting to buy some dry yellow jade material better than mutton-fat for over sixty thousand?"
It was the first time Chen Zhou encountered a store owner so eager to educate someone, thinking to himself that he wasn’t here for an antique appraisal session, so where did she get all this information.
"Are you saying you quoted too low, this jade is far beyond that price, right?"
"I give up, you still don’t get it?
What I mean is this jade isn’t Golden Hetian Jade at all, it’s not worth that much money, buying it would mean you were fooled, got it?"
After finishing, seeing Chen Zhou silent, Feng Yingxuan thought he still didn’t understand and added.
"Let me make it clearer, this piece is Russian Jade, and it’s dyed; aside from its carving, there’s nothing valuable about it, worth at most 300 yuan, you spending sixty thousand is just a huge rip-off.
No offense, but the way you dress doesn’t scream rich, it’s hard saving money, why spend so extravagantly.
Even when buying gifts for elders, you can’t just buy anything you see, the antique trade is tricky, and you’re wading in so fearlessly?"
With that, Feng Yingxuan tossed the jade onto the glass showcase table, spinning the gleaming piece as if expressing her exasperation.
Watching the spinning jade like a top, and with the young girl behind the showcase speaking in an elder-like tone "educating" him, Chen Zhou scratched his head, momentarily speechless.
"Wow, where in the world is business done like this; encountering a plump sheep and not shearing it, but telling the sheep where to find grass instead.
Isn’t there a saying in the antique business, three years without a customer, but one deal can last three years, if people did business like her, wouldn’t even the biggest stores go under."
...
"Boss, is this really your shop?"
Feng Yingxuan’s words completely extinguished Chen Zhou’s intent to purchase the jade piece, though it did spark his curiosity.
"Of course this is my shop, I even carved this piece of jade myself! My family’s dog looks just like it."
Feng Yingxuan proudly lifted her head, waved her hand dismissively.
"What’s the point in telling you all this, you’re a novice who doesn’t understand appreciating antiques.
Remember not to spend money on things you don’t understand in the future, encountering me was your good luck, if you shop elsewhere, they’d gouge you hard."
"Do you know antiques well?"
"I have a little knowledge, definitely better than you novice."
"Do you know anything about ancient coins, can you appraise them?"
"How did you know I’m studying this?"
Feng Yingxuan swiftly turned, leaving the showcase, and went to the cash register to pick up the book she had been reading, with the cover boldly displaying "History of Chinese Currency".
"See that?"
Showing the book cover to Chen Zhou, Feng Yingxuan scrutinized the customer, already labeled a "big fool," asking in suspicion.
"Don’t tell me, you just bought some ancient coins from another shop, and want me to take a look..."
"Not bought from another shop, they’re inherited."
With their shops on the same street, Chen Zhou knew even if this girl could authenticate coins, to avoid affecting relationships with fellow merchants, she wouldn’t dare to speak out.