Chapter Twenty-Four: Purchasing the Jade Ring

  Zhao Lei smiled and nodded slightly.

  Wang Xiaoli curiously looked at the few pieces of ancient jade that the shop owner took out, while Liu Yiyang initially did not point out the one he wanted, but instead drew a circle with his hand and directly circled a pile, making it seem like he casually picked up a batch of things and then selected the one he liked best from among them.

  The advantage of doing so is that no one knows he has been eyeing that treasure from the very beginning.

  The shop owner took out a total of seven pieces of jade, ranging from large to small. Among them was a largest piece of jade pendant, but the workmanship was rough and damaged, and the quality of the jade did not look good, it didn't seem like anything valuable.

  Zhao Lei and Wang Xiaoli also noticed these few pieces of jade.

  "How much does all this cost?"

  Liu Yi Yang pointed with his hand, and in an instant, he had circled all seven pieces again. He looked as if he really liked jade carvings, not even caring about the craftsmanship, as long as they caught his eye, he wanted to take them down.

  There are seven items in total, with different sizes and materials, so the prices will definitely be different too.

  The shop owner's eyes gleamed with excitement as he smiled and said, "These few items are all relatively cheap. This one is three hundred, this one is seven hundred... these two are a bit more expensive, the jade pendant is three thousand five hundred, and the jade disc is seven thousand!"

  The shop owner quickly quoted the prices of all the jade articles, and Liu Yiyang's heart was suddenly hammered, and he hastily lowered his head.

  He lowered his head, trying to conceal the shock in his eyes. The red spiritual energy that had emerged for almost four minutes was from that jade pendant that started at a price of 3,500. If its value was really only 3,500, it would be impossible for it to emit so much spiritual energy.

  Several tens of thousands versus three thousand five hundred, these two numbers are too far apart. Even if Liu Yi Yang's mentality is usually okay, he won't be able to keep it up this time.

  The shop owner saw Liu Yi Yang lower his head, and the smile on his face grew even stronger. He thought that Liu Yi Yang was lowering his head to calculate, thinking of bargaining or how to buy these things. The shop owner was a clever person, having seen many customers before. Although he couldn't be 100% accurate, he could still tell which ones were genuinely interested in buying something and which ones were just coming in to take a look and join the commotion.

  Zhao Lei and Wang Xiaoli both looked down at several pieces of jade, after a while, Zhao Lei gently shook his head.

  These pieces of jade are not very good and have some hard injuries. In his opinion, they are not worth the price that the store owner said. The store owner has raised the price too high.

  After a while, Liu Yi Yang also lifted his head, and his eyes had already regained their brightness.

  "This one, will you sell it for 3,000?"

  Liu Yi Yang casually picked up the jade pendant and asked softly, his eyes still fixed on the nearby jade disc, giving people a feeling that he didn't attach much importance to this jade pendant.

  Yu Huang is a semi-circular jade instrument and an important component of ancient sets of jade instruments.

  Some ancient films, especially those of the Spring and Autumn Periods and the Warring States Period as well as the Qin and Han Dynasties, feature characters wearing a string of jade pendants around their waists. This type of adornment is not just one piece of jade but rather a set, with the jade ring being one part of the jade suit.

  In addition to the yu huang, there is also the yu heng. The character "heng" in yu heng is pronounced as "heng" with a horizontal tone. This type of jade artifact is also semi-circular in shape and very similar to the yu huang. The difference lies in the opening, one facing inward and the other outward.

  These two jades are important components of various jade sets.

  Liu Yi Yang held the jade pendant, but his eyes were fixed on the jade disc. The shop owner smiled again and nodded gently: "It seems that young brother is a true jade lover, very refreshing, three thousand is just three thousand, let's consider it as making friends!"

  The shop owner agreed, and Liu Yi Yang then focused his attention on Yu Huan, his heart beating faster again.

  This is a very long jade pendant, with a distance of over 20 centimeters between the two sides. On top, it has dragon cloud patterns and one side has a very dark color, which looks like jadeite, but somehow it doesn't look comfortable no matter how you look at it.

  "Okay, I'll take 3,000, can I use a credit card?"

  After a while, Liu Yi Yang finally nodded lightly, as if he had made up his mind after thinking for a long time.

  "Yi Yang, don't you want to reconsider?"

  Seeing Liu Yi Yang really wanted to buy the jade pendant, Zhao Wei didn't care that the shop owner was still beside them and hastily pulled Liu Yi Yang's arm to walk aside, quietly reminding him.

  He is the head of this group and will be responsible for everyone.

  Three thousand yuan is just a drop in the bucket for those bosses who love antiques and collecting, but for these student enthusiasts it's a considerable expense.

  These two days, they didn't have much contact, but Zhao Wei had a certain understanding of Liu Yi Yang, knowing that he wasn't like Wang Xiao Li, who came from a very good family and wouldn't care about money even if she bought something wrong. Zhao Wei was worried that Liu Yi Yang would be careless with his spending and get cheated by others.

  Wang Xiaoli didn't say anything but nodded slightly, with a hint of worry in her eyes.

  Her family is wealthy, but no one's money comes from the wind. At this time, she and Zhao Lei have the same idea, both thinking that Liu Yi Yang should not buy this jade pendant, which means they both agree that this jade pendant is not worth three thousand yuan, so they come to remind him.

  The shop owner saw Liu Yi Yang being dragged away, and the corner of his eyebrow twitched involuntarily, but remembering that the three had come together and there were still things they wanted to buy beside them, he endured it and didn't say a word.

  "Yiyang, have you noticed that the color of that jade pendant is off? It looks like it's been stained on. And there's a clear crack on one corner of the pendant. Did you notice? I suspect this is a later imitation of an ancient jade piece, and it can't be too old, at most from the late Qing or Republican period!"

  Seeing Liu Yi Yang didn't speak, Zhao Lei simply told him the reason directly.

  What he said was that the color of the jade is actually black, but it's very rare to see such a distinct protrusion on this black color, which looks like a fake. Moreover, the crack pattern he mentioned is a diagonal mark on both sides of the jade pendant, which looks very mismatched. Zhao Lei specifically pointed out that this is likely not a genuine Qin, Han or Warring States dynasty jade artifact, but rather a replica from the late Qing or Republican period.

  Historically, during the late Qing and Republican periods, there was a period of extremely hot collecting craze, with a booming market, which brought about negative effects such as an increase in counterfeiters. At that time, jade artifacts from the Spring and Autumn Periods, Warring States Period, and even the Qin and Han Dynasties were highly sought after, leading to the emergence of specialized manufacturers of fake ancient jades.

  Counterfeiting is not a patent of modern people, it has been around for a long time.

  Since it's a fake, it must not be the real thing. The materials used are also general. Even if this jade pendant is an old item, it's not worth 3,000 yuan now. At most, it's only worth one or two thousand. Spending 3,000 to buy something like this is obviously being cheated. This is why Zhao Lei brought him over.

  "Zhang, do you think this is a replica from the late Qing or early Republic period? It's not worth three thousand?" Liu Yiyang raised his head, his eyes still shining with an unusual light.

  "Yes, it must have been back then, not worth this price!"

  Zhao Lei nodded heavily. He had been attending the antique club for three years, and although he couldn't be called an expert, after learning with people around him for so long, he had developed some discerning eyes.

  The jade pendant in front of me has an ancient fragrance and color, with a very strong antique flavor. It doesn't seem to be a modern rough imitation, but it's also impossible to be a genuine product from a long time ago. The most likely possibility is that it's a replica from the late Qing or Republic of China period. In fact, there are still many imitations from that era preserved in society today.

  "Thanks, Uncle Zhao, but it's really a relic from the Warring States period and can't be bought for 3,000 yuan. I really like this jade pendant, and when you like something, its value doesn't matter!"

  Liu Yi Yang smiled lightly and thanked Zhao Yue before turning around to face the counter and taking out his bank card.

  This made Liu Yi Yang finally understand why such a piece of jade was placed among a large pile of jades, making it look very inconspicuous.

  It's clear that the owner of this shop and Zhao Wei think alike, both taking this jade piece as a replica from the late Qing or Republic period. Since it's a replica, the price won't be high, the material is ordinary, and there's no special craftsmanship, so even if you die trying to sell it, this kind of replica would only fetch around 2,000 yuan. Modern jade pieces are constantly appreciating in value, but that doesn't mean all jade will appreciate.

  Carving, modeling, history, culture, all have a profound impact on the price of ancient jade.

  For this type of Qing dynasty and Republic of China imitation ancient jade, the ones with better craftsmanship can still be worth some money. If the craftsmanship is average and there are obvious defects, the price will be very ordinary. Not to mention a few thousand yuan, even several hundred or tens of yuan are very common.

  With this in mind, Liu Yi Yang didn't need to dwell on the issue of money anymore. The most important thing was that he had to get his hands on the item first. He trusted his own judgment.

  When Liu Yi Yang took out his bank card, the shop owner's smile grew even wider, and his eyes narrowed into a slit.

  The card swipe was completed quickly, and the store owner took out an exquisite box for Liu Yi Yang to pack this jade pendant. This deal made him a small profit, and he was naturally very happy and generously gave away a nice box.

  Seeing Liu Yi Yang complete the transaction with a swipe of his card, Zhao Lei could only sigh and shake his head. He had already warned him, but Liu Yi Yang insisted on buying it, and there was nothing he could do about it.

  Fortunately, this thing is not a modern fake, and it's worth more because it's the real deal. It just cost a bit more than it should have.

  "Do you want to take another look and see if there's anything else you like?"

  The shop owner handed over the receipt and the box with the jade pendant to Liu Yi Yang, and asked with a smile.

  He now looks at Liu Yi Yang's eyes as if he is looking at a big fat sheep, he has determined that Liu Yi Yang is a young man who truly likes jade, and thinks about whether he can make several more deals. Liu Yi Yang pays so readily, making several more deals means he can earn several more.

  "No, this one is enough, thank you!"

  Taking over the box, Liu Yi Yang also revealed a brilliant smile, his heartbeat speeding up again.

  He just recalled many books he had read before, although not much was understood, but the origin of this jade pendant could be guessed roughly. If all this is true, then he really made a fortune this time.

  As for how to verify the authenticity of this jade pendant, Liu Yi Yang didn't have any worries at all. The teacher Ye from Xuan Ya Zhai was a famous appraiser after all, and asking him for help would definitely be no problem.

  "Zhao Lei, sorry about that, I'm late!"

  Just after the transaction was completed, a crisp sound came from outside, and Zhao Lei and his two companions all turned their heads around. The deputy director of Guwan Society, Gu Jiyue, was walking in from outside.

  Gu Jiyue was in charge of their group. If they were unsure about something, they would contact Gu Jiyue. Earlier, Wang Xiaoli had taken a liking to a copper mirror, which wasn't cheap either. Zhao Lei didn't have much confidence in Wang Xiaoli's judgment, so he specifically contacted her and asked her to come over and take a look. That was when Gu Jiyue appeared here.