Yunling's eyes lit up. The white jade surface was extremely smooth and translucent, as white and soft as a pear blossom. She quickly stepped forward and took a closer look. Although there were fine marks from the jade-cutting sand, it did not affect its texture at all.
"This white jade is white and warm to the touch; it is of the highest quality. Young master, you truly have a good eye."
Yunling was happy and took the tea that Lu Yinghuai handed her. She gulped it down, which relieved the greasiness from the roujiamo she had just eaten, and made her feel much more relaxed.
Good things followed quickly; another piece of raw stone was also polished open, revealing a yellow side. This yellow was quite unique; the color was neither too dark nor too light, but rather a color between golden osmanthus and silver osmanthus. Yunling liked it at first sight.
Cai Dongjia's words of praise followed immediately.
"This color is great. Although it's not the highest grade of yellow jade, it has very few impurities, and the color is smooth and translucent. It's really good."
Yunling was already fond of this jade, and Cai Dongjia's words resonated with her, so she naturally agreed, nodding her head nonstop.
The remaining three rough stones were successively unearthed. Two were warm and lustrous white jade, and the other was jasper. This jasper was extremely smooth, with a greenish hue and a very fine texture, with a waxy luster. Although it was not top-grade jasper, it was still a fine piece of jade.
Yunling was very satisfied. She was already content to have found these five good jade stones. After all, she wasn't waiting in the mine to snatch the first raw stones. Moreover, there were many people there who knew how to appreciate raw stones, so the probability of top-quality stones flowing into the market was really like gold falling from the sky.
"Where did the young master find so many good raw stones? I'd love to follow along and pick them up too."
"Well, I'm not afraid of being laughed at by my employer, but I also picked it up by riding on other people's coattails. If I couldn't pick it up, I would just steal it. That's all. There was no other way."
Upon hearing this, Cai Dongjia immediately knew it was just an excuse. Oh well, it's normal for them not to want to talk about something that can make money, and he wouldn't force them.
"I wonder if the young master has decided what style of jade ornament he wants to have made?"
"Yes, I've already drawn them."
Yunling walked back to the tea room and took out all the sketches. Jade bracelets, jade pendants, jade thumb rings, jade beads, and jade plaques were all presented on the paper. Cai Dongjia's pupils widened slightly, and he felt even more that Yunling came from an extraordinary background.
Not to mention the sons of the third branch of the Lu family following behind, and so many precious raw stones, even the painting skills are second to none. Especially the Guanyin and Buddha statues, the lines are smooth, lifelike and vivid. If it weren't for many years of painting experience, it would be impossible to paint such good images.
Cai Dongjia rubbed his palms vigorously on his robe, as if trying to wipe away all the dirt from his hands, before carefully taking the sketch from him.
"Alright, alright, alright, I just wonder what the young master plans to do with these five pieces of jade."
"The employer knows more about this than I do, so let the employer make the arrangements. I will settle the polishing fee with the employer later."
Cai Dongjia nodded repeatedly in agreement. He would definitely think carefully about how to properly arrange these five raw stones and do his best to do so.
**
When they came out of the shop, it was already completely dark. The group got into a carriage and headed straight for Zhouqiao.
The Zhou Bridge was bustling with activity today, still teeming with people. Tang Ling, being quite tactful, did not walk alongside Yun Ling.
Instead, he followed behind Yunling, walking alongside Zifu behind Lu Yinghuai, and occasionally widened the distance in front of him, so as to give Lu Yinghuai and Yunling a chance to be alone together.
Lu Yinghuai's face was beaming with joy, and he seized every opportunity amidst the crowded throng to get close to Yunling.
"Second Brother is truly capable. He only bought five rough stones, yet all five are precious jade stones. I am truly impressed. How did he choose them? I hope you can give me some pointers."
Yunling felt that the man's words were somewhat sarcastic, but she couldn't respond carelessly, lest he dig up details and probe too deeply, which would be counterproductive for her. Therefore, she replied:
"This is all thanks to the good stone given by the owner of the hot spring valley. Since I knew that there was jade in that kind of stone and that kind of shape, I used it as a reference to choose. It just so happened that there was a person who knew jade traveling with me who helped me to distinguish it. So I was able to pick out the treasure naturally. Otherwise, how could I have such ability on my own?"
Lu Yinghuai gave a meaningful "oh".
"But I think my second brother is very capable. I originally thought he couldn't ride a horse, but he is a first-class horseman. Just his handsome leaping and spiking move is enough to make me think about it for a long time."
"So when my second brother said he didn't understand raw stones or jade, I became suspicious and secretly thought that he not only understood raw stones and jade, but was also an expert in this field..."
When Lu Yinghuai finished speaking, he stared intently at Yun Ling's face. He didn't want to miss any of the little girl's expressions. Unfortunately, his plan was about to fail.
Yunling had been flustered ever since he mentioned horseback riding. She had a feeling he was going to say something next, so she pretended to be calm and accepted the small fried dough twists that the vendor offered as a sample. She ate the twists with great effort, trying not to let her facial muscles relax in order to show the right expression.
"Hey, these mini twisted dough sticks are pretty tasty, why don't you try some?"
Before Lu Yinghuai could respond, Yunling shoved one into his mouth, then bought a whole bag of other things, ready to stuff something into his mouth at any moment.
"So that you won't doubt this and that, and end up thinking I'm some kind of god in heaven or some kind of monster on earth who not only knows about jade but also eats people."
Yunling made a face at him, and before she knew it, a small twisted dough stick was stuffed into her mouth. When she came to her senses, she saw Lu Yinghuai grinning mischievously, looking quite wicked.
She couldn't resist and stomped on his foot before swaggering away, looking quite dashing.
Lu Yinghuai was quite happy to flirt with Yunling, and ignoring the pain in his toe, he quickly caught up. However, Zifu behind him was somewhat confused.
"Your wife is too hot-tempered. Why does she resort to kicking people when she can't win an argument?"
Tang Ling was extremely unhappy about anyone speaking ill of Yun Ling, and she retorted coldly:
“My lady is not irritable at all. It must be that your husband said something unpleasant. Hey, my lady has not even complained that your husband is in the way of her shoes, but you are turning around and accusing my lady of stepping on people. What kind of person are you, talking so incoherently?”
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
