Then he spotted the three things in Jiang Chan’s hands. Seeing the dust on them and her grimy palms, the shopkeeper had no desire to touch the objects himself.
He glanced at the bald brush, the coverless copybook, and the dusty gray brick, then put on an expression suggesting she was getting a tremendous bargain. “Tell you what, I’m in a good mood today, so I won’t haggle. One thousand yuan for all three. Take them away.”
Jiang Chan was far too shrewd for that. She tapped the counter. “Are you deliberately trying to cheat me because I look young? These things were sitting in that corner under a mountain of dust. If I hadn’t dug them out, you might not have sold them in another three years. And you want a thousand yuan for the lot?”
Her words came quickly. “Look at this brush. It’s practically bald. I’ll have to spend more money replacing the tip when I get home. You think this is worth three hundred and thirty-three yuan?”
She was not finished. Picking up the coverless copybook, she gave it a shake, sending a cloud of dust across the counter. The shopkeeper immediately covered his nose and mouth.
“I could buy a copybook like this at a bookstore for a dozen yuan or so. This one doesn’t even have a cover, and you’re charging that much? I could buy more than twenty ordinary ones for that price.”
“As for the brick, I just thought it looked interesting and picked it up as an extra. Most people wouldn’t even glance at it. I’m only a poor student, and you want to charge me all that?”
Left speechless, the shopkeeper spoke awkwardly. He had only started with an outrageous asking price. How had he ended up facing someone so good at arguing?
“Alright, little miss, tell me what you’re willing to pay.” With so many customers and business going well today, he also wanted to get her on her way quickly.
Jiang Chan’s eyes darted. “One hundred yuan. Final offer.”
The shopkeeper could accept that price, but he still had to protest. “That’s far too little. You’ve knocked so much off at once. Am I supposed to stay in business?”
Jiang Chan knew he would not agree that easily. Beneath the glass counter, she noticed a jade gourd. It was not particularly translucent, but it was small and cute.
She pointed at it. “That jade gourd doesn’t look very translucent. It was probably made from offcuts, wasn’t it? How about this? I’ll give a little. Throw in the jade gourd, and I’ll pay two hundred yuan.”
The shopkeeper shook his head vigorously. “No, that won’t do. The jade gourd alone is at least a hundred and fifty.”
Jiang Chan readily followed his lead. “Alright, then I’ll give you two hundred and fifty?”
The older customers watching them all laughed, and even the shopkeeper could not suppress a smile. “Who are you calling an idiot? No, we need an auspicious number at least. Tell you what, final price: two hundred and eighty-eight!”
Jiang Chan slapped the counter. “Deal!”
After paying by card, Jiang Chan put the brush and copybook in her backpack. As for the brick inkstone, she carefully wrapped it in a plastic bag the shopkeeper kindly provided and placed it in an inner compartment.
Watching her handle it so cautiously, a thought occurred to the shopkeeper. Had this girl recognized it as an antique?
But a moment later, he shook his head and laughed at his own imagination. When he first brought these items in, he had already had an expert examine them. If any had been antiques, he would have picked them out long ago. How could this little girl have found a bargain?
Perhaps she was just another person who had heard stories of people getting rich from overlooked treasures. Brushing aside his faint unease, the shopkeeper returned to bargaining with his customers and soon forgot all about Jiang Chan.
Having acquired the old inkstone as she had hoped, Jiang Chan was in a much better mood. It was only around three in the afternoon, and the sunshine was pleasantly warm.
She strolled slowly through Old Street with her backpack on. Suddenly, she remembered something she had heard. Didn’t antique streets also have places for gambling on rough jade?
Despite living several lifetimes, Jiang Chan had never actually seen anyone gamble on stones. Besides, she wanted to find out whether Xiao Jin’s treasure-hunting ability really had followed her into this world.
Just as she needed it, an opportunity appeared. Two people ahead were talking.
“Old Qiu’s shop got a new shipment this morning. Shall we go have a look?”
“Really? Old Shen, you always hear about these things before I do.” The tall, thin man laughed. Jiang Chan pricked up her ears. A new shipment? Could it be what she was thinking of?
“Old Qiu went to a lot of expense to get this batch of rough stones. If we go now, we should get first pick of the good material. Good rough is getting harder and harder to find these days.” The man called Old Shen was plump and looked like a smiling Maitreya Buddha.
“Exactly. Outsiders all say our jewelry companies make huge profits, but isn’t it only the high-end jewelry that really pays? If we cut open a stone and find good jade, we’ll make a tidy sum.”
The two talked quietly as they walked. Jiang Chan glanced at them. Both were smartly dressed in suits and leather shoes and looked like company managers.
From their conversation, she guessed they were indeed talking about rough jadeite. She slowly followed behind, making sure not to lose them while staying far enough back to avoid attracting their notice.
After leading her down a street, they entered a shop on the corner. Its sign was simple, just the single character for “Stone.” Jiang Chan stood there rubbing her chin. The owner was rather interesting.
That one word really did sum it up. Whether rough stones or stones with their jade exposed, weren’t they all still stones? The only difference was their value. The door stood ajar, and Jiang Chan pushed it open and went inside.
A shop assistant immediately came over to greet her.
“Hello. We’re only serving regular customers today.”
The implication was that Jiang Chan was not one of them, and the assistant was politely asking her to leave.
Remembering the conversation she had just overheard, Jiang Chan replied with perfect confidence. “I came with Uncle Shen. He and a tall, thin uncle came in first. I’m small and have short legs, so I fell a few steps behind.”
The assistant looked at her and abandoned his attempt to turn her away.
“Then please have a look around. Just call me if you need anything.”
Jiang Chan was only too glad not to have him following her. Her main purpose was to find out whether she had the ability to sense treasures. Actually gambling on stones came second.
She simply waved a hand and began wandering around the shop. Seeing that she was behaving herself, the assistant said no more and went back to work elsewhere. He still had to clean the newly arrived rough stones and put them on display. He was busy too.
The farther Jiang Chan walked into the shop, the more her heart churned with excitement. What was she seeing? All these stones were giving off different kinds of light, some deeper in color and some paler.
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