Chapter 560: Chapter 559: A Gamble on Judgment

"Yu Yuan Workshop!"

After getting out of the car and walking for a bit, Yan Feifan was sizing up the gold-lacquered mahogany sign above the door, which had a weathered, historic feel, when he heard several shouts.

"Mrs. Zeng!"

"Mrs. Ni!"

Yan Feifan looked toward the sound and saw three trendy-looking young people—two men and a woman, none older than twenty-one or twenty-two—jogging toward them.

The first thing Yan Feifan noticed about the trio was their hair. The woman’s was dyed gray, while the two men sported red and purple hair, respectively.

Judging by their hair alone, Yan Feifan understood why they hung out with Zeng Ni.

’They’re all rebellious youths, chasing novelty and the unconventional!’

"Feifan, let me introduce you. This is Xu Yanhai, Sun Xuenong, and Shang Xiaorong. They’re like little brothers and a sister to me; we’ve been hanging out for years. We’re thick as thieves!"

Zeng Ni then pointed to Xu Yanhai, the one with purple hair. "He’s the one who hooked us up with the music studio to analyze that rain sound."

Then, she introduced Yan Feifan to them. "This is the incredibly skilled Mr. Yan Feifan I was telling you guys about."

"You guys can just call him Mr. Yan!"

The trio was quite polite, each respectfully calling him "Mr. Yan."

Yan Feifan nodded at them in response.

Just then, Zeng Ni waved a hand toward the entrance of Yu Yuan Workshop and declared with a grin, "It’s time to show them what we’ve got."

"Feifan, let’s go!"

Seeing her swaggering, puffed-up demeanor, Yan Feifan was at a loss for words. ’This whole trip feels a bit sketchy,’ he thought.

’But since I’m already here, I can’t very well back out now.’

He started walking, following Zeng Ni into Yu Yuan Workshop, flanked by Duan Yu and her two new "brothers" and one "sister."

The shop’s facade was antique and traditional, but the interior was uniformly modern.

The lighting was bright, illuminating clear glass counters that displayed piece after piece of jadeite jewelry.

The staff were all handsome men and beautiful women dressed in tailored suits.

It gave Yan Feifan the impression of a very legitimate, professionally run jewelry store.

This put his mind at ease considerably.

Zeng Ni led Yan Feifan and the others straight through the first floor and up the stairs to the second. There, they entered a reception room filled with mahogany furniture.

Zeng Ni sat down with an air of authority and said to a beautiful female employee in a business suit who had followed them in, "Bring out the best gemstone rings you have."

"And get your Manager Han in here."

"Please wait a moment, Miss Zeng and our other honored guests!" The employee gave a slight bow and excused herself before leaving.

Soon, two more employees came in, bringing them tea and several kinds of delicate snacks.

Two or three minutes later, a beautiful, graceful woman in her thirties walked in, flanked by two male employees. She wore a cheongsam, and her hair was styled in a bun.

"Miss Zeng, it’s been a long time."

After the greeting, the woman in the cheongsam shifted her gaze to Yan Feifan. She asked tentatively, "Miss Zeng, you’ve brought a new friend with you today. Might I ask his name?"

"I’m Han Jue, the manager of this shop."

Yan Feifan met her gaze and introduced himself, "Yan Feifan, from Binhai. I’d like to take a look at some gemstone rings."

"Oh, so it’s Mr. Yan!"

Han Jue sat down gracefully across from them and chuckled. "If you’re looking for gemstone rings, you’ve certainly come to the right place."

"I can’t claim our jadeite gemstones are the best in the entire country, but they are certainly among the finest."

As she spoke, one of the male employees placed a small, locked briefcase on the mahogany coffee table in front of them.

When the case was opened, a dazzling array of colors filled Yan Feifan’s vision, so captivating he couldn’t look away.

On the black velvet lining, five cabochons—some round, some oval, all about the size of a peanut—were arranged.

Two were a deep, rich green, in slightly different shades. The other three were red, purple, and yellow.

"Mr. Yan, these five are our store’s finest jadeite cabochons in terms of quality and color."

Manager Han noticed Zeng Ni and her friends staring intently at the stones. "I’m sure you can all see their superior quality at a glance," she continued, "so I won’t waste words stating the obvious."

"Please, take your time and admire them."

Yan Feifan put on the white silk gloves they provided, picked up a round jadeite cabochon of a deep, vibrant green, and examined it closely.

"How much is this?"

Han Jue replied softly, "Mr. Yan, you have a wonderful eye. You’ve picked out the very best one."

"This is an Imperial Green jadeite cabochon, the most coveted type of all. This piece is priced at eight million, eight hundred thousand."

Despite Yan Feifan’s strong composure, the price nearly made his hand tremble.

’Damn it,’ he thought. ’It’s just a little peanut-sized rock. It can’t cure diseases; it’s just pretty, and it costs nearly ten million.’

’For that price, you could buy a very nice apartment in downtown Binhai.’

"Is that the final price?" Yan Feifan asked, finding it hard to believe.

Han Jue gave a faint smile. "Mr. Yan, you’re an honored guest of Miss Zeng. We’ve naturally quoted you our firm price."

"Besides, anyone with the means to purchase a gem of this quality is no ordinary person. We wouldn’t dare quote arbitrary prices to such clients."

Yan Feifan murmured a soft "oh" and picked up the purple cabochon.

"And this one?"

"That is Imperial Violet jadeite, also quite rare. Six million, eight hundred thousand," Manager Han explained in a soft voice.

Yan Feifan nodded, set down the purple cabochon, and looked up. "Zeng Ni told me you have some kind of deal where you can buy things for a tenth of the price?"

Han Jue gave a knowing smile. "That promotion is still active. It’s a gamble, a test of judgment and luck."

"I must remind you, Mr. Yan, that participants cannot be professionals from the jewelry industry, nor are you permitted to bring any kind of appraisal instruments or similar tools."

Yan Feifan chuckled. "I’m a surgeon by trade. I assume that’s within the rules?"

Han Jue nodded. "A doctor is perfectly fine, of course."

"So, Mr. Yan, which cabochons have you selected?"

Yan Feifan pointed to the green and purple cabochons he had just handled. "I’ll take these two."

"You’re buying two?"

Zeng Ni asked, puzzled, then a gossipy expression spread across her face. "Feifan, are you getting one for another girl besides Su Ye?"

"Who? That Song Yi girl?"

Yan Feifan shot her a glare. "What are you babbling about? It’s for my sister."

"I know my sister. If I don’t get one for her this time, she’ll find creative ways to nag me about it for the next six months."

"Oh," Zeng Ni said, then immediately added in a pleading tone, "Feifan, could you buy a bracelet for me, too?"

"Buy it for you?" Yan Feifan asked, not understanding.

Han Jue spoke up to explain. "Mr. Yan, our store has a rule for the one-tenth-price promotion: each person may only participate three times, for a maximum of three items."

"Miss Zeng has already participated three times."

Yan Feifan said, "Oh." ’So the shop knows how to set limits,’ he thought, ’to keep people from getting in over their heads.’

"Alright, I’ll buy the bracelet for you."

Zeng Ni was ecstatic. "Manager Han," she exclaimed, "bring out that ’full green’ bracelet I was looking at last time..."

"No, bring out the Imperial Green one."

"Right away, Miss Zeng!"

Han Jue gestured to the employee behind her, and her gaze once again turned to Yan Feifan.

"Mr. Yan, you’ll need to pay the one-tenth price up front. The jadeite cabochons are priced at eight million eight hundred thousand and six million eight hundred thousand, respectively. The jadeite bracelet is priced at twelve million eight hundred thousand."

"The total you need to pay is two million, eight hundred and forty thousand."

"You may carefully examine each of the three items you’ve selected for up to one hour."

As she finished speaking, the employee who had left returned with another locked briefcase, opening it to display several exquisite bracelets to Yan Feifan’s group.

At a nod from Zeng Ni, Yan Feifan picked up a vibrantly green bracelet, glanced at it for a moment, and set it back down.

"Manager Han, I’m done looking."

"Let’s transfer the payment and get this gamble started."

"So soon?"

Han Jue looked astonished. She couldn’t help but remind him, "Mr. Yan, you can take more time. There’s no rush."

"This is nearly three million you’re paying."

Yan Feifan gave a faint, knowing smile. "Manager Han, for me, a few seconds is no different from an hour."

"Let’s begin. No need to waste time..."

If you find any errors ( Ads popup, ads redirect, broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.