Chapter 116: Black Ash

  Chu Chen looked at Chu Yulan's behavior and felt a bit strange, but since she didn't want to say anything, Chu Chen didn't ask any more questions. He suggested: "You can tell me again when you remember, let's go get the medicine."

  Chu Yulan saw that Chu Chen didn't ask much, and she immediately felt a sense of relief in her heart. However, her inner self was no longer as calm as it used to be. Her current behavior, whether right or wrong, this question kept haunting her inner self, making her feel extremely painful and conflicted.

  Chu Chen went to the pharmacy to pick up his medicine and get an injection, then returned to the hotel with Chu Yulan.

  The next day, Chu Chen got up early and checked the wound on his palm. To his surprise, it was almost healed. This made him both surprised and relieved that it wasn't his left hand that was injured.

  After washing up, Chu Chen opened the door and saw that everyone else's doors were still closed, and there was no movement inside, they should all be sleeping.

  It's actually normal, others don't have superpowers like Chu Chen, yesterday spent so much time selecting wool, then encountered that thing, and the next day was still energetic. So Chu Chen walked out of the hotel alone, planning to have breakfast and stroll around nearby.

  After walking a few steps, Chu Chen arrived at a breakfast stall and ordered a bowl of local specialty "er si".

  Erkuai is one of the characteristic snacks in Dian Nan, mainly made from glutinous rice. The main way to eat Erkuai is similar to another characteristic snack in Dian Nan, Mixian, but they have a big difference in taste. Mixian is smooth and refreshing, while Erkuai is soft and fragrant. Erkuai evolved from Erkuan, which was cut into thin strips to become Erkuai. Due to their different shapes, Erkuai and Erkuan also have different tastes when eaten.

  The noodles here can be served with a choice of soups, including pork, beef and sausage. Chu Chen chose the beef soup, cooked the noodles and put them in the soup, then guests could add their own seasonings as desired.

  Chu Chen had never eaten rice noodles before, and with so many seasonings on the table, he didn't know how to put them in, so he simply chose not to put any. He thought it shouldn't make a difference when eating.

  Chu Chen hadn't eaten a few mouthfuls, the boss saw it and reminded him: "You can't do this, it's not good to eat without seasoning, bring your bowl over and I'll help you add some."

  Chu Chen hastily passed the bowl over, then the boss helped him add seasonings. After Chu Chen tried it, the flavor was indeed different and extremely delicious, for a time making his appetite open wide, and he ended up eating three large bowls in one sitting.

  Yingjiang, the county town is not big, and the population is not large, only tens of thousands of people. You can walk wherever you want to go, and for farther places, just take a taxi. However, Chu Chen didn't see any public buses.

  Life here is very leisurely, and the shops usually open late and close early. Chuxuan gets up early, and most of the shops are still closed, only a few wool and jewelry stores are open. And whenever she sees an open shop door, Chuxuan will walk in with a smile to take a look.

  However, what disappointed Chu Chen was that although this place had a natural advantage in the jade market, the quality of the finished jade products in the store were somewhat disappointing. There were not many ice-type jades, let alone glass-type ones, and what's more, there were even many C-grade goods on sale.

  Jade accessories sold on the market are generally divided into two categories: natural and artificially treated products. These two categories are further divided into A, B, and C goods. The differences between these three types of goods are quite large, and their prices also vary greatly.

  A货 refers to natural, unprocessed genuine goods. A货 retains its natural color and texture, whether it is stone or other materials, and has value for preservation and collection.

  B-goods refer to jade that has undergone dyeing treatment through strong acid corrosion, high-pressure injection or laser and other methods. For example, some jade products have good quality and sufficient water head, but there are black spots or other impurities inside, which greatly affect the appreciation value and reduce the value. Therefore, through various means, they are transformed into uniform, transparent and flawless top-grade goods.

  C-jade refers to jade that has been artificially colored. The method involves using high temperature and pressure to infuse dye into originally colorless jade, making it partially or entirely green or purple, thereby increasing its value. However, the color will fade and become dull over time.

  Although B and C goods look beautiful at first glance, they are fake after all. The disguise is easy to remove. If you use a magnifying glass, color filter, or spotlight to observe carefully, you can still distinguish between true and false.

  For example, B goods have filled with adhesive glue, visible features at the contact place and small bubbles in the glue. C goods have unnatural color, often with blue or yellow components, dull gloss, and uneven color, no color root can be seen.

  Although Chu Chen dislikes both B-goods and semi-fake C-goods, some consumers still like them because of their cheap price, bright colors and fashion. After all, truly high-end jade is too expensive and rare, only suitable for high-end consumer groups to buy.

  Although he had visited several jade jewelry stores, he didn't find anything that caught his eye, so Chu Chen's original plan to help Wu Shu buy a few souvenirs fell through. However, he unexpectedly gained a piece of black wool fabric.

  Hei Wusha was no longer unfamiliar to Chu Chen, but unfortunately, none of them were good enough for speculation. No wonder Hei Wusha had the reputation of "ten speculations and nine failures" in the jade stone industry, many jade merchants had fallen into trouble because of it.

  It was unexpected that Chu Chen bought this piece of black wool, previously he had been to a woolen goods store and walked around in circles without finding any interesting wool, but just as he was about to leave, he accidentally kicked this piece of black wool.

  The black wool was not large, only about 2.6 kilograms, and it was also very ordinary, with a dull black color that didn't stand out at all. Chu Chen wasn't planning on paying attention to it, but the boss said this piece of material was from Lao Pa's place, which suddenly piqued his interest.

  In the Hei Wu Sha, only Lao Pa Gan and Nan Qi's products are easy to solve. The two places produce hot-selling goods. Lao Pa Gan's Hei Wu Sha looks as black as coal, with a layer of wax shell on its surface, called "black wax shell".

  Wax shell refers to a thin layer of sticky substance applied on the sand shell, with colors including red wax shell, white wax shell, black wax shell and yellow wax shell. Wax shells can only be seen on a small number of block bodies that have been excavated, such as Padangshi in Laochang area, Heijiangshi in Houjiang area, Tianjipishi, and Mohanshi in Xiaochang area.

  Not all wool with a wax coating is good, but generally they are well-developed, have a stable composition and rarely mutate.

  However, the wax shell on this piece of black wool has been removed by the boss, so Chuyan can't tell if it's old Pardan from the wax shell. The wool looks like an old breed, even if it's not old Pardan, it should be from the old pasture area.

  Moreover, although this piece of black sand did not show any good performance, Chu Chen leaned in and found that Bao Jue had a reaction, which suddenly made him overjoyed. However, after careful observation, it was still the same as before, without seeing any loose flowers or python patterns.

  Chu Chen originally wanted to use his ability, but thinking of the woolen goods he bought yesterday that still needed his ability to appraise, he decided to ask about the price of this piece of black agate first.

  "How much is this piece of obsidian, boss?"

  The boss looked at Chu Chen's appearance and estimated that he was a newcomer, so he smiled and said: "Little brother, after all, it's the old black sand of La Pa, I won't say much, how about 4,000 yuan?"

  Black agate is expensive due to its large production volume, with prices varying greatly. The cheapest ones cost around one or two hundred yuan per kilogram, while the better ones can cost tens of thousands of yuan. Although old Pa's black agate is in high demand, it still needs to be of good quality. This piece of black agate doesn't have any outstanding features, yet it costs almost four thousand yuan for less than three kilograms, which is simply daylight robbery.

  Chu Chen shook his head and said, "Boss, not every piece of Hei Wusha can increase in value, right? Do you think this kind of Hei Wusha is worth the price? If you're selling it sincerely, I'll give you 600 yuan."

  "Six hundred? How is that possible? I can't even make a profit with six hundred!" The boss said, but he wasn't angry, because this price was actually his bottom line. This made him realize that the young man in front of him was actually an old hand.

  Chu Chen saw that the boss didn't say no, so he knew there was a chance and said: "Boss, I'm really willing to buy it. You just name a reasonable price. You also know that Hei Wusha is a big gambler. If the price isn't right, I'd rather buy a few clothes for myself."

  "If you really want it, two thousand!"

  "Seven hundred!"

  Sixteen hundred

  "Eight hundred!"

  "Fourteen hundred!"

  "Boss, a flat price of one thousand yuan. If you sell it, then sell it; if not, then forget it!" After saying that, Chu Chen made as if to leave.

  The boss saw this and hastily said: "Little brother, you're too ruthless, add a bit more!"

  Chu Chen still shook his head, and the boss hastily said: "Alright, this piece of fabric is yours!"

  Chu Chen smiled and handed the bill to the boss, took a newspaper with one hand and wrapped up the woolen goods, leaving the store in a pleasant mood.

  When he returned to the inn, Chu Chen saw that everyone else was already up and having breakfast.

  Chu Yulan saw Chu Chen come in and said with concern: "Brother Chu, you're really something. You were injured yesterday and didn't rest well, but early this morning you ran out again!"

  Chu Chen smiled and said, "This little injury is nothing. When I was a kid, I fell and got a big hole in my arm, but I just bandaged it casually and went to school."

  "Ah!"

  "Chu Ge, are you okay?" Wen Yuting asked in surprise.

  Chu Yulan smiled and said: "Yu Ting, if Chu Ge had something going on, would he still be standing here?"

  Wen Yuting also realized she had asked a silly question and felt a bit embarrassed, sticking out her tongue.

  "Xiao Chu, what's in your hand? Is it wool?" Liu Zhiqing asked.

  "Yes, I was just strolling around and saw a piece of black wool fabric that looked okay, so I bought it." Chu Chen said as he put the fabric on the ground and unfolded the newspaper.