Although the antique industry has always emphasized a clear exchange of money and goods with no further questions asked, if someone encounters a boss who deliberately tries to cheat them, naturally no one will want to do business with them again.
After all, nobody's money comes from nowhere.
Therefore, Hu Yuan and his two companions solved this problem for their boss, which was the greatest help the boss could receive.
"Boss, I think your string of beads is quite nice. Although it's not made of any precious wood, it looks like it's been around for a while. Name your price."
Taking advantage of the boss's good mood, Hu Yuan immediately picked up a string of wooden beads next to him and chuckled.
The boss and everyone present were stunned. They were using this trick again?
The abacus we just saw was said to be made of Hainan rosewood, so is there something strange about these beads this time?
To avoid being taken advantage of, the shop owner didn't answer immediately. Instead, he carefully examined the string of beads, and the other customers also gathered around to examine them closely.
But no one could figure out why.
"Brother, you've helped me a lot today, and I'm not one to be completely heartless. This bead was originally priced at 30,000, but I'll give it to you for 10,000, okay?"
Unable to see anything wrong, the boss could only try raising the price a little and see how Hu Yuan would react.
"It is a bit expensive, but I really like it. As the saying goes, 'A thousand pieces of gold cannot buy what I like,' so I won't haggle. But I think this jade pendant is quite nice, so how about you keep it as a bonus?"
Hu Yuan frowned, making the shopkeeper think he didn't want it anymore, then changed the subject and picked up the jade pendant next to him.
The jade pendant is pure white, less than five centimeters in size, and has no carved patterns.
Although jade is valuable, not all jade is worth anything. This is just a very ordinary piece of jade, and the quality is really average. Even if it were real, it would only be worth a thousand or two thousand yuan at most.
"Well... okay."
The boss hesitated for a moment, but eventually agreed.
For him, today was incredibly lucky; this income of nearly 120,000 was a stroke of good fortune he hadn't experienced in many years.
Moreover, if this deal is done, then he has done three big deals in front of everyone, and even Hainan rosewood products have appeared in his shop.
If word gets out, not only will today's business increase further, but things are likely to remain stable for the foreseeable future.
"Thank you, boss. Please wrap it up for me."
However, even Old Zhong frowned at the thing Hu Yuan bought, unable to understand what trick he was playing.
"Why keep carrying this junk? Just throw it away."
After leaving the shop, Old Hu glanced at the string of beads in Hu Yuan's hand and said...
"How could something bought for 10,000 yuan be junk? It's such a waste to just throw it away."
Before Hu Yuan could throw it out, Hai Lanmingxue spoke up anxiously.
"What he wants to buy is not this bead, but a jade pendant."
Old Zhong smiled helplessly.
People like Hu Yuan, who try to scam extras, can only fool small business owners; truly smart people won't fall for it.
"What do you mean? Is that jade pendant very valuable?"
Hailan Mingxue was completely baffled, having no idea what kind of riddle the two were playing.
"Actually, I'd also like to hear your explanation of what makes this jade pendant worth ten thousand."
Even Professor Zhong suddenly raised this question with a sense of bewilderment.
Because this jade pendant is really too ordinary.
"Old Zhong, this has been altered using the jade-wrapping-jade technique, so I suspect there must be a valuable treasure inside, otherwise there would be no need to go to such lengths to process it."
Hu Yuan held the jade pendant high in the sunlight and chuckled.
Old Zhong suddenly realized what was going on; he hadn't dared to think of it before.
Because this situation of jade encasing jade is extremely rare.
The so-called "jade-wrapped-jade" refers to using another type of jade to wrap a fully carved and exquisite object inside. In this way, unless the outer layer is broken, no one would know what the inner layer is.
If the technique of wrapping jade in jade is perfected, no one can tell the difference, and there is no way to identify it.
The reason why Hu Yuan could see through the jade pendant was because the craftsman's skills were not yet refined enough.
A true master can carve a similar pattern onto the outer layer of jade, thus misleading the viewer.
But this one was clearly not that impressive; he simply wrapped the item up as a seemingly ordinary jade pendant.
Secondly, there are some problems with the outer layer of jade. It is not uniform in thickness, and in some places it is too thin, so you can see it when you hold it up to the sunlight. You can see what's inside.
If the appraiser is unaware of the term "jade encased in jade," they might simply assume it's an impurity inside the jade.
Even if you know about this method, you generally wouldn't dare to think about it.
Because there are so few people who know this skill, it's impossible for more than five people to exist in any dynasty.
"There's such a way to play this game? The antique business is really quite complex."
Hailan Mingxue was as shocked as if she had seen a ghost.
"Yes, but because of the craftsman's skill deficiency and the fact that the jade pendant is too thin, it is easy to damage the contents if the jade pendant is forcibly opened."
This has become the biggest problem for Hu Yuan now.
"Give it to me, and I'll find a craftsman to break it open for you, bit by bit."
Mr. Zhong was also very excited; this was the first time in his life he had ever seen something like this.
Hu Yuan naturally trusted Elder Zhong, so he handed the jade token over to him without worry.
As for what might be found inside, and its exact value, no one can say for sure yet.
"I heard that the Huo family has found imperial green jadeite in their jade gambling business. Let's hurry over and join in the fun."
As the three were chatting and laughing, someone suddenly rushed past them.
Hearing these people talk about gambling on stones, Hu Yuan immediately became interested.
At such a large antique exchange, there will definitely be people doing the jade gambling business, but the quality of the stones that appear is hard to say.
If I could get an Imperial Green from it, that would be really great.
Hu Yuan immediately followed.
Old Zhong shook his head helplessly. In his opinion, this was all a trick played by those opportunistic people.
Hu Yuan must desperately need to make money.
For an antique connoisseur like him, the only thing he's ever interested in is antiques; he usually disdains things like gambling on stones.
However, since Hu Yuan had already followed, he had no choice but to follow as well.
Hailan Mingxue was quite excited, because she had heard the term "stone gambling" more than once, but she had never actually seen a real stone gambling scene before. Now that she had the opportunity, she was naturally happy.
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