Chapter 14 Selling Sea Pearls

Yunzhou Prefecture is the largest prefecture in the southern part of Dayue State and the most important transportation hub. It is equivalent to a modern prefecture-level city, with well-developed transportation, a large number of businesses, and a bustling city.

Jiang Yuyan was awakened by the noisy voices before noon. She had to sigh that the soundproofing of this ancient inn was really poor.

Xiao Yuanyan got up early, and after getting himself ready, he began his daily morning routine, serving tea and water, and helping her get dressed, very attentive.

Jiang Yuyan watched his movements with sparkling eyes. This man looked serious, but he served her personally, tenderly and considerately. Although she was also a rich lady in modern times, she became independent early because she lived under the care of others. Unexpectedly, she became useless after traveling to ancient times.

But she really likes the feeling of being loved. How wonderful it is for two people to live like this, you love me and I love you, and we are grateful and don't take it for granted. Only in this way can we love each other in a sweet and loving way.

Jiang Yuyan, who had her head and face wrapped tightly and felt her eyesight had dropped to 0.8, let Xiao Yuanyan lead her. They went to Yunlai Street, the busiest street in the city. At the end of the street was a jewelry store with a very good business, named "Qionghualou".

"Wait for me to wear it, fill my ears with white, and top it with jade~" Jiang Yuyan stared at the plaque and smiled. It seems that it mainly sells jade ornaments, which is just right for Xiao Yuanyan to pick a few!

As soon as the two entered, a waiter came to greet them politely. The waiters in Qionghualou were well-trained, and although the others were excited to see a beautiful woman walk in, they behaved themselves and only glanced at her from the corner of their eyes occasionally.

Jiang Yuyan was dazzled by the dazzling array of headgear. Although the production of the ancients was backward, their aesthetic taste was online, their minds were ingenious, and even the inlay and carving techniques were extraordinary, full of craftsman's wisdom.

Jiang Yuyan admired it for a while, then she remembered that she was short of money. So she tentatively asked a clerk who looked more stable, "Excuse me, can I call your shopkeeper? I have something to discuss with you."

The woman's voice was soft and sweet. The waiter who was asked blushed, nodded repeatedly, said "Please wait a moment", and walked quickly to the back hall.

Jiang Yuyan waited for a while, and then she heard a sound of footsteps. She looked in the direction of the sound and saw the curtain leading to the back hall being opened by a white hand.

The owner of the palm is a young man holding a jade fan and wearing a royal blue brocade robe. His long hair is half tied up and a hollow carved white jade hairpin is inserted. He looks noble even though he is not yet a grown-up. His expression is relaxed, his peach blossom eyes are romantic and affectionate, and his red lips are neither thick nor thin, and slightly raised. What a good smile!

"Who is looking for me?" the man asked with a smile, but his eyes were precisely fixed on Jiang Yuyan.

"Are you the owner of this Qionghua Tower?"

"Miss, you've come at the right time. This is our boss Xie!" The guy leading the way said cheerfully.

"Oh? That's even better! I have something, I wonder if your store will accept it?" Jiang Yuyan said briskly, took out an earring and quickly showed it, "This is a sea pearl, the color, brightness, and roundness are all top-notch."

The man narrowed his beautiful eyes, looked at the beads attentively, then curled his lips, folded the jade fan into a beautiful flower, and said cheerfully: "Take it! I wonder how many beads like this the girl has?"

"Why don't we find a quiet place to talk in detail?" Jiang Yuyan knew that wealth should not be shown off.

"Okay, both of you please follow me!"

Unexpectedly, this inner courtyard was a different world. After the three of them passed through a moon gate and walked along a small path, they saw an elegant room with bamboo curtains hanging on it.

"Thank you Jingyu."

The man bowed before sitting down. His eyebrows were still smiling, like a crescent moon.

Jiang Yuyan and Xiao Yuanyan also returned the greeting and gave their names.

Xie Jingyu looked young, but he was very mature when talking about business. The two sea pearls in Jiang Yuyan's earrings were the largest and of the best quality. The necklace was a double-layer sea pearl necklace, but the quality was not perfect, and it only won in quantity.

Jiang Yuyan heard Xiao Yuanyan say that one bead could be sold for more than a thousand taels, but Xie Jingyu shook his head, "If this bead is flawless, it could be sold for more than a thousand taels, but now that it has been made into earrings, I can only keep it as an ornament."

Jiang Yuyan knew this. If it was intact, it could be auctioned as a rare item, but now it can only be sold as an ordinary luxury item, and its value retention has dropped a lot.

"Then how much do you think one is?"

"I think Miss Jiang is kind, so I'll give you a fair price. How about five hundred taels for each earring? One thousand taels for a pair." Xie Jingyu waved his fan, picked up the necklace and said, "As for this one... so many sea pearls are used to make a necklace... we have never seen this kind of jewelry before, and it looks like it can be sold at a high price. But the quality of the pearls is not as good as that of the earrings. I'll give you a total of twenty-five thousand taels for this necklace, how about it?"

Although it was far from the priceless value as described in the legend, Jiang Yuyan felt that what Xie Jingyu said was generally reasonable. This price would have been a huge sum of money in ancient times, and she was satisfied.

She glanced at Xiao Yuanyan through the veil, and Xiao Yuanyan squeezed her hand and nodded slightly.

Watching the two people's little movements, Xie Jingyu closed the jade fan in his hand and hit it on his palm again and again.

"Don't worry, Miss Jiang. The price I give you will definitely be the highest in the whole city!"

Jiang Yuyan immediately decided, "Then the total is twenty-six thousand taels. I will buy some things from your store later, can you give me a discount?"

Xie Jingyu gently waved the jade fan, his eyes moving, and his pair of peach blossom eyes smiled seductively, "If you can take off this veil, I will make friends with you. I am always generous to my friends! After all, I can't be so ignorant of my friends' faces, right?"

"..." Jiang Yuyan was dazzled by that look. Seeing his flirtatious look, she secretly complained, "This man is so frivolous!"

Xiao Yuanyan frowned, feeling a sense of crisis. He looked at Xie Jingyu with a cold look.

Xie Jingyu seemed unaware. Last night, he was drinking with a few people from the Chamber of Commerce in Yunxiang Tower. When he opened the window, he saw a window of the inn next door open, with a fair little face exposed outside, soft and elegant, pure and beautiful.

He watched her for as long as she opened the window. When he rested at night, he seemed to have a beautiful dream of the goddess Wushan. He was so obsessed with it that he could never forget it. He felt that the person in front of him was the woman in the inn.

Jiang Yuyan couldn't lose, and she wanted to make friends with him. She was very good at making friends with him, and it was hard to find such a fool. She took off her veil and face scarf, and blinked her eyes, which had just seen clearly.

"Patta" The sound of a jade fan falling suddenly rang out.

Xie Jingyu's heartbeat quickened and his eyes widened. It was indeed her! She was wearing a duck egg green dress today, and she looked like a lotus in June, simple and pure. Her skin was white and transparent, and her face was radiant, even more beautiful than that night. Thinking of the beautiful dream he had, Xie Jingyu blushed slightly, and the corners of his eyes were even redder.

He coughed twice and said, "Then Miss Jiang, go and choose the headwear you need. I will give you the best price."

"Thank you very much!" Jiang Yuyan's eyes were bright and she smiled happily.

"..." Looking at the interaction between the two, Xiao Yuanyan had an unfriendly expression on his face, and he meticulously covered her head again.

"By the way, can your store make custom jewelry?" The three of them talked as they walked back.

"We have many skilled craftsmen in our family, of course!" said Xie Jingyu.

"That's good!"

Jiang Yuyan picked out a top-quality jade pendant with a green bamboo carving in the store. She also picked out a plain jade hairpin, took out the design of the same silver ring, the design of the wristband, and the broken diamonds, and asked Xie Jingyu to help her make them.

Xie Jingyu watched her actions the whole time and was amazed. Jiang Yuyan wrote beautiful small characters, even he himself felt inferior to her.

He had attended flower-viewing banquets held by the rich and powerful in Beijing, and had seen the calligraphy of Li Ruyun, the so-called most talented woman in Beijing. But now, it seemed that her calligraphy was just so-so, and there was a world of difference between her and this woman. Then, when he looked at her designs, they were vivid and clearly marked. It was obvious that she had a solid foundation.

I really don't know which family this lady is from? Xie Jingyu pondered in his heart, looking at her with undisguised eagerness.

Xiao Yuanyan turned sideways and blocked his gaze.

"Ayan, these four pieces are for you as a betrothal gift. Do you like them?" Jiang Yuyan was quite pleased after finalizing the details with the craftsmen in the store.

Xiao Yuanyan felt relieved and smiled gently, "I like it," with uncontrollable pride and joy in his words.

Xie Jingyu curled his lips slightly. When he heard the woman say that these were all betrothal gifts to Xiao Yuanyan, his heart was filled with sourness. How could a man of average appearance be so favored by such a beautiful and talented woman?

Jiang Yuyan thought about getting married soon, so she picked two sets of headwear for herself, one set was golden and shiny, for her wedding. The other set was fresh and elegant, for daily use. She only wore a headband now, without even a hairpin. This was considered buying everything. Gold ornaments and jade pendants were expensive, and the labor for custom-made ones was not cheap either. Xie Jingyu finally charged two thousand taels, which was indeed a big discount.

“How long does it take to make it to order?”

"About seven days."

"That won't work. We have to leave tomorrow." Jiang Yuyan said anxiously.

"We can deliver it to your house." Xie Jingyu said.

"Yunzhou Prefecture is too far away from Qingxi Village in Qingxi Town. Can it be delivered?" Jiang Yuyan asked doubtfully.

"...." Xie Jingyu responded instantly: "Yes, I can."

Jiang Yuyan happily left her detailed address, took the remaining 24,000 taels of silver and said goodbye to Xie Jingyu.

Xie Jingyu wanted to keep her, but Xiao Yuanyan looked at her deeply. The two looked at each other, as if there was a collision of fire.

Xie Jingyu turned his head away first, smiling and watching the two leave.

However, when Jiang Yuyan received the goods ten days later, she finally understood what Xie Jingyu meant by "can be delivered".