The shop was dimly lit, with a gleaming glass counter displaying all sorts of old items: jade bracelets, rings, snuff bottles, and strings of copper coins.
The saleswoman was a woman in her forties. When she saw someone come in, she raised her eyelids slightly but wasn't very enthusiastic.
Things here are expensive; we might not be able to open for business for ten days or half a month at a time.
The mother and daughter slowly looked around the counter.
Zhou Shuhua looked carefully, pointing at this and looking at that through the glass, but she didn't seem to like any of them particularly.
Lei Yuhua was still thinking about the strong woman, and was somewhat absent-minded, her eyes wandering.
Just as the two were about to leave and headed towards the door, Zhou Shuhua's gaze inadvertently swept over an inconspicuous counter in the corner.
Her steps froze, as if something had grabbed her tightly!
"etc!"
Her voice trembled slightly as she grabbed her daughter's arm and pointed to an inconspicuous jade pendant in the corner.
"Yuhua, look at that! That one!"
Lei Yuhua looked in the direction her mother was pointing.
It was a small jade pendant, with an antique style, carved with the common auspicious pattern, lying on a dusty gray cloth.
She didn't see anything unusual: "What's wrong, Mom? This...it's pretty ordinary."
Zhou Shuhua seemed not to hear, and rushed to the counter, her face almost pressed against the glass, her eyes fixed on the jade, her breathing becoming rapid.
"Comrade! Comrade! Please... please take this jade pendant out so I can take a look! Quickly! Take it out now!"
She was so anxious that she kept banging on the glass counter, and her voice became distorted.
The sales clerk was startled by her appearance, frowned, and reluctantly walked over.
Seeing that something was off about her, but she didn't seem to be broke, he muttered "crazy" and slowly unlocked the cabinet. He put on white gloves, carefully took out the jade pendant, and placed it on the velvet cloth on the counter.
"See? Be careful!"
As soon as the jade pendant was taken out, Zhou Shuhua practically pounced on it and grabbed it in her hand!
The warm, cool touch sent a shiver through her body.
Immediately afterwards, with trembling hands, she suddenly pulled a red string warmed by her body heat from the collar of her close-fitting clothes. A jade pendant that was almost identical to the one on the string was tied to it!
"Yuhua! Look! Look! Aren't they exactly the same!"
She pressed the two jade pendants tightly side by side onto the velvet cloth and pushed them in front of her daughter and the salesperson.
Under the light, the texture, size, and patterns of the two jade pendants are clearly revealed.
The same jade material, the same carving technique, and even the warm luster accumulated over time are exactly the same!
Tears welled up in Zhou Shuhua's eyes as she spoke emotionally.
"Does it look like it? Does it look like it??"
"This...this is something my parents specially made for me and your uncle when I was little! Look at the pattern, the patina, this is Jianbang's piece! He's not dead! He's still alive!"
Lei Yuhua's heart skipped a beat. She knew her uncle's death had always been a source of heartache for her mother, but she still couldn't believe it:
"Mom! Uncle... he's been gone for so many years! This jade pendant looks old; many families used to have them. Could it be... just a coincidence?"
"happen?"
Zhou Shuhua suddenly raised her head, her eyes bloodshot, and pointed her finger forcefully at a spot on the jade pendant in the display case. Her voice became shrill.
"No, no, no, absolutely not!"
Her fingers trembled violently as she forcefully pointed to one corner of her jade pendant, then eagerly pointed to the same spot on the jade pendant she had just taken out.
"Look here! Here! When your uncle was little, he was naughty and fell down a tree. The corner of his jade pendant hit a rock! A small piece was chipped off! It has a small gap, doesn't it look like a heart shape? Look! Right here! Two pieces of jade! Exactly the same gap! I would never mistake them!"
She still remembers that after the jade pendant broke, her younger brother was beaten so badly by their mother that his buttocks were bruised, and it was she who secretly ran over in the middle of the night to apply medicine to his buttocks.
The sales clerk also leaned closer for a closer look, and upon seeing the perfectly accurate heart-shaped notch, a look of surprise appeared on her face. She muttered to herself:
"Wow, it really is! They bumped into each other exactly the same time? That's such a coincidence..."
Lei Yuhua's heart pounded wildly. If this jade pendant truly belonged to her uncle Zhou Jianbang, then...
She immediately turned to the sales clerk and asked eagerly:
"Comrade! Excuse me, where did this jade pendant come from? Who consigned it for sale?"
The sales clerk lifted her eyelids slightly and said slowly:
"For items sold on consignment, we must keep the customer's information confidential; that's the rule. We can't disclose it."
Zhou Shuhua panicked upon hearing this, her voice pleading:
"Comrade! Comrade, please have mercy! This jade pendant is related to my long-lost younger brother! We are not bad people! Look, this is my military dependent certificate!"
She frantically pulled a small red book out of her pocket.
"Please, tell us! We'll buy it! We'll buy this jade pendant! We'll pay any price! Just let us know privately after you've bought it, and we'll give you a bonus! We'll be very grateful!"
She was incoherent, tears welling up in her eyes.
The sales clerk glanced at the military dependent certificate in Zhou Shuhua's hand, then at the anxious expressions of the mother and daughter, which didn't seem fake, and hesitated for a moment.
She lowered her voice: "This jade pendant...it's not cheap. It's old jade, and the person consigning it is asking for five hundred yuan! You really want to buy it? If you do, I'll tell you what I know."
"Buy! We'll buy!"
Zhou Shuhua spoke decisively. She took out her wallet, which contained only thirty-four yuan in change. She quickly turned to Lei Yuhua.
"Yuhua, hurry! Your home is nearby! Go home and get the money! Take as much as you have! If it's not enough... if it's not enough, go ask your dad! Go now! Mom's here watching over things!"
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