When Yuan Qi left Xiangli Mansion, Xiangli Youming insisted on seeing her off.
"Okay, but I'm going to buy some things today. Will you come with me?"
Xiangli Youming lowered his eyes and thought for a moment. Shopping was a woman's business, and it probably wouldn't be appropriate for him to go. However, he had never bought anything before, so it wouldn't hurt to experience it.
He nodded and said, "What do you want to buy? The Xiangli family owns many properties; there's bound to be something you'd like to buy."
Yuan Qi was not happy. Was he trying to get business for his own family? Why let the good stuff go to outsiders?
She pouted, looking rather unhappy.
Xiangli Youming didn't know what he had said wrong, and he felt that women's minds were indeed hard to fathom.
Yuan Qi snorted, pouted, and got into his carriage.
"I want to buy Kunlun jade. Can you take me to a jewelry store?" Actually, she wasn't very familiar with the shops in Kyoto. She mostly visited shops that sold yellow paper and cinnabar, and didn't know much about anything else.
Xiangli Youming is exceptionally talented and is being groomed as an heir. Although he rarely visits his family's shops, it doesn't mean he's unaware of what shops his family owns.
He remembered a name: "Let's go to Phoenix Tower. I remember Phoenix Tower sells jade and jewelry."
Phoenix Tower is a top-tier jewelry and jade building with five floors. The exterior of the top floor features a lifelike sculpture of a phoenix spreading its wings, making it a landmark building that can be seen from afar.
When the two children entered the shop, the shop assistants all wanted to kick them out, but when they saw the jade pendant on Xiangli Youming's waist, none of them dared to have such thoughts.
The waiter informed the manager.
A middle-aged man ran out and said very obsequiously, "Greetings, Young Master Jiu. Are you here to check the accounts? Isn't it a bit early to check the accounts before the end of the month?"
Xiangli Youming naturally knew that he disliked getting entangled with others, so he asked directly, "Do you have Kunlun jade?"
The middle-aged man was the manager of Phoenix Pavilion, named Fu Yan. Fu Yan was taken aback: "Kunlun jade, yes, please come upstairs, Master Jiu."
Xiangli Youming gave a faint "hmm," then grabbed Fu Yan's hand and tugged at it for a moment.
Fu Yan's expression changed slightly. Was Ninth Master trying to lose everything?
When Yuan Qi went upstairs, he noticed the layout of the Phoenix Tower, which was very much in line with feng shui principles.
Kunlun jade is a type of jade, named after the Kunlun Mountains where it originates. It possesses a unique spiritual energy, is scarce, and difficult to mine, making it expensive. However, it is indeed a top choice for crafting jade talismans.
Fu Yan noticed that Yuan Qi was dressed in a pomegranate red ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), with only a jade hairpin in her hair. Having handled countless jade artifacts, he could tell at a glance that the jade hairpin in Yuan Qi's hair was no ordinary item. Moreover, although the girl's attire was not extravagant, her appearance was stunning.
Could it be that the Ninth Master has taken a liking to her and is even asking him for a 90% discount?
"This Kunlun jade is rare and expensive..." Fu Yan started talking non-stop, habitually introducing the goods he was selling.
Xiangli Youming coughed lightly, and Fu Yan immediately understood what he meant, slapping his own mouth: "It's not that expensive..."
The Kunlun jade is placed on the fifth floor, a place rarely visited by customers, for one simple reason: the items here are exceptionally expensive.
"I want the raw stone," Yuan Qi suddenly said, sensing the unique spiritual energy of Kunlun jade.
"What does the young lady plan to use it for? How big do you want it? I'll pick out a suitable piece for you." Fu Yan was inwardly wistful. Even at a 10% discount, did this little girl have that much silver? Was Ninth Master trying to give it away for free? How was he going to explain this to the head of the family?
Yuan Qi felt that the question was not unreasonable, so he answered truthfully: "I want to make eight jade talismans."
She gestured to indicate the size, and Fu Yan immediately understood: "Please wait a moment, sir."
He turned and went behind the counter, looked at a row of stones for a while, and picked out a rough stone about half a foot square. A small piece of the stone had been cut off, revealing the green inside. He carefully moved it over: "How about this one?"
His heart was bleeding. Kunlun jade is already expensive, and with such a large piece, how much would the owner have to lose?
Hopefully, this little girl thinks it's too big or can't afford it... Oh well, if she really can't afford it, Little Ninth Master will probably have to ask her to lower the price.
Yuan Qi recognized the jade. She stood on tiptoe and examined it: "This is it. Cut it to the size I told you. I'll take as many pieces as you can get."
She estimated she could get about ten pieces, and the remaining scraps shouldn't be wasted; she could make some pendants or amulets, which could sell for a good price.
Fu Yan smiled broadly, but tears were welling up inside: "Young lady, this raw stone costs 100,000 taels of silver, and the processing fee will be another 10,000 taels. Should we have your family pay for it?"
“No need, I have silver.” Yuan Qi took out the small box that Xianglimu had given him earlier and gently pushed it over. “Count how much is inside. If it’s not enough, I’ll get you more.”
This was the first time Fu Yan had encountered a young girl buying such an expensive item. He was unsure of himself, worried that if he sold it, the girl's family might return it.
"Little girl, it's best to have an adult in your family buy something so expensive!"
Xiangli Youming was annoyed: "This is money she earned herself, there's no need for the adults in her family to know. Hurry up, what are you babbling about?"
Fu Yan knew that Xiangli Youming was notoriously short-tempered and prone to killing, so he immediately dared not say another word and quickly called over a waiter and gave him some instructions.
Only then did he open the small box to count the money.
"Young lady, the total is 80,000 taels, but you're still short 30,000 taels." His heart was bleeding. He was losing a lot of money. He had never bought Kunlun jade like this before. At most, a wealthy family would sell a bracelet, or at most a pair of bracelets, or a jade hairpin, which would cost 30,000 or 40,000 taels.
Such a large piece would normally cost at least a million taels of silver. Young Master Jiu, you're trying to kill me! How am I going to explain this to my master?
No, he still had to inform the head of the family: "Young Master Jiu, young sir, you two should pool your money first. I'll go to the back and give the order that you absolutely mustn't cut it badly."
“Um…” Yuan Qi pondered whether she had enough silver notes in her cloth bag. She didn’t have time to pay attention to Fu Yan and started searching carefully in her cloth bag.
In a short while, he produced several stacks of silver notes, each worth one hundred taels.
"Let me count for you," Xiangli Youming volunteered.
The two counted the silver notes over and over, and found that the pile actually contained more than 30,000 taels of silver.
Yuan Qi smiled contentedly: "I told you it was about right, it really is enough."
Xiangli Youming was also pleased: "Even if it's not enough, I'll help you make up the difference."
Before long, Fu Yan returned from behind.
Yuan Qi smiled and said, "The shopkeeper's kindness will surely bring good fortune in the future." She knew very well the market price of Kunlun jade; he was selling it to her at a significant discount, and she couldn't be ungrateful.
She took out a jade amulet from her cloth bag and handed it to Fu Yan with both hands: "This is for you. It can ward off evil spirits and disasters."
Fu Yan was a little confused. He didn't want it at first, but Little Ninth Master's eyes could kill, so he took it with both hands. A stream of light flashed by, and the runes on it lit up briefly before going out.
He knew this was no ordinary item.
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