Hearing Yu Feibai’s voice, Wang Guan snapped back to attention, felt the aura of the jade in his hand subside, and immediately let go. With a flurry of thoughts, he tested the waters: “This must be Hetian jade, right?”
“Sharp eyes,” Yu Feibai praised. “My jade is genuine Hetian pebble jade. Too bad it’s only at the ‘photon white’ level; it hasn’t reached the level of mutton-fat jade.”
“Just a wild guess,” Wang Guan said, appearing very modest.
Pebble jade, as it’s known, refers to jade material that weathered and broke off the Kunlun Mountains in ancient times, then was shaped into an oval form through constant scouring and erosion by river currents. It is not only rare but also of excellent quality, making it extremely expensive.
In truth, Wang Guan had been blindly guessing. He reasoned that any stone capable of inspiring a rich young man like Yu Feibai to show off could hardly be ordinary.
Among China’s famous jades, the most renowned are Hetian jade, Xiuyan jade, and Dushan jade. Of these, Hetian jade reigns supreme, hailed as the King of Jades.
In terms of both price and quality, it should best suit the tastes of these second-generation heirs and young masters.
As expected, Wang Guan’s probing attempt immediately hit the mark.
At that moment, Yu Feibai, whom Wang Guan already mentally categorized as a spoiled dandy, was excitedly continuing, “I bought this piece of pebble jade three years ago for one hundred thousand yuan. It’s already appreciated by tens of thousands…”
“So, you could say you got a bargain then.”
Seeming to understand Yu Feibai’s sentiment, Wang Guan chuckled and offered a compliment, which instantly made Yu Feibai beam with obvious delight.
“Bargain? I just bought it because I liked it at the time,” Yu Feibai laughed heartily. “But looking back, jade prices have been climbing steadily these past few years, and there’s still potential for collection and appreciation—it’s an investment. I’m thinking of heading to Yangzhou again soon to pick up a few more pieces to play with.”
“Doesn’t the ‘Porcelain Capital’ have a jade market? Why bother going all the way to Yangzhou?” Wang Guan seemed puzzled.
“Brother, that’s where you lack insight.”
Yu Feibai, adopting a somewhat didactic tone, steered the car down the highway while expounding freely: “The saying goes: Hetian for the stone, Yangzhou for the craft. No matter how fine the raw jade, it requires masterful carving to become priceless. Yangzhou City hosts many master jade carvers, so fine jade from all over is sent there, naturally forming a large-scale jade trading hub. Where there are more goods, you can unearth treasures.”
“Besides, there are far too many counterfeits and shoddy goods these days. The jade market in the Porcelain Capital is a mixed bag, still finding its footing. Don’t laugh, but I’ve been fooled a few times myself.”
Yu Feibai spoke with righteous indignation: “Those unscrupulous vendors dared to use quartz, pebbles, and the like, coloring them to fool me! What’s even more infuriating is that I wonder if some professional appraisal agencies have had their brains kicked by a donkey. They actually classify Russian jade material and white jade from Korea as Hetian jade.”
“So, a lot of what is called Hetian jade on the market is actually Russian or Qinghai material. Yet, the certificates label it as Hetian jade. Selling inferior products as superior goods to cheat the public and reap massive profits—it’s utter bullsh*t…”
Growing agitated, Yu Feibai slapped the steering wheel and let loose a string of curses.
Wang Guan deeply agreed; in this day and age, it wasn't just antiques and jewelry—even basic necessities like rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar had fakes, which was depressing. Anyone who hadn't been burned by counterfeit goods could hardly claim to be Chinese.
Beep beep…
Just then, Yu Feibai’s phone chimed with a text message, jarring him back to the business at hand.
“Ha, I got carried away. Back to the main topic.” Yu Feibai offered an embarrassed smile and asked, “My friend says let’s be straightforward. You name your price. If he agrees, we finalize it and save the hassle.”
“Then, how about two million?” Wang Guan said with a smile.
“What…” Yu Feibai gasped. His hand twitched, and he stomped the accelerator by mistake, nearly slamming on the brakes on the highway. As the car swerved, it drifted off course. Fortunately, at this time of day, the suburban road was empty, narrowly avoiding an accident.
Even so, Wang Guan was startled and couldn’t help but say, “Mr. Yu, could you please focus on driving?”
“My apologies.”
Yu Feibai gave a contrite smile, adjusted his speed, but still sounded astonished. “Two million, really?”
Wang Guan nodded and asked with a smile, “What, is the price too high?”
“Not high. Too low.”
Yu Feibai glanced at Wang Guan seriously. “I don’t believe you don’t know its worth. Besides, Uncle De just said this Qingbai bowl is valued between two and three million, and you quoted the minimum…”
“Two million isn't low. I’d probably never earn that much in a lifetime working a regular job.” Wang Guan laughed at himself wryly. “Furthermore, I bought this Qingbai bowl for an extremely low price. Transferring it for two million means I’m earning quite a multiplier on the difference. One must be content; you can’t be too greedy. Ultimately, I’m the one profiting.”
In fact, after considering it for so long, Wang Guan had made up his mind, which was why he named that seemingly ‘modest’ price. Of course, he knew he could have asked for three million, or even higher.
But Wang Guan didn’t want to appear solely profit-driven. Buying something for 300 and reselling it for two million was already pushing the boundary of being unscrupulous; asking for another million on top of that would border on being utterly wicked.
Thus, Wang Guan remained an ordinary citizen, not a true businessman willing to discard all ethics for profit and demand an unbelievable sky-high price.
“Content…”
At that moment, the expression in Yu Feibai’s eyes shifted. He suddenly smiled. “Now, I’m starting to believe you genuinely intended to give the piece to Elder Qian.”
Wang Guan smiled but said nothing in response.
A person who has spent two years navigating society cannot be entirely without cunning. Genuinely intending to give the Qingbai bowl to Elder Qian as a gift? Perhaps! Yet, examining his inner motives, he wasn't entirely free of self-serving thoughts.
After all, establishing a connection with someone like Elder Qian would bring him considerable benefits. Wang Guan also knew that anyone, upon learning the preciousness of the Qingbai bowl, would be unable to accept such a gift calmly. The facts proved this; when he offered it, Elder Qian immediately and firmly refused.
All of that—whether intentional or unintentional on Wang Guan’s part—was past, and he didn't wish to revisit it.
Yu Feibai was discreet and asked no further questions. Stopping at a traffic light, he quickly composed a text message, sending Wang Guan’s quoted price to his friend, then stomped the accelerator and sped toward the Jigu Zhai antique shop.
On the road, Yu Feibai’s friend sent several text messages, but he ignored them all.
Ten minutes later, upon arriving in front of Jigu Zhai, Yu Feibai finally pulled out his phone to reply to them one by one. After a brief exchange with his friend, he looked up and laughed. “Brother, my friend doesn’t want to take advantage of you either. How about 2.7 million?”
“Uh…”
This time, it was Wang Guan who was stunned into silence.
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