Imperial Treasure
Chapter 322 - 230 Purple Sand Jewelry

Chapter 322: Chapter 230 Purple Sand Jewelry

It wasn’t long after Sui Yi and the others had left that the Goat Head Freak standing at The Gate finally narrowed his elongated eyes, their murky depths growing deeper. He turned to remove the goat skull, walked inside without lingering, and headed straight for the inner room.

Before long, the filthy and foul-smelling place within the inner room was joined by another shadow.

A person stepped over the monsters on the floor, kicking them fiercely, and soon after someone had just entered from the doorway, a faint dialogue ensued.

"You rarely visit me, yet you released that bastard, did you come to pick a fight with me or with that girl?"

"What do you think?"

"Humph, you, always bold and ruthless, are actually suggesting I back down from a little girl?"

"Underestimate her, and you will regret it"

"So far, no one has made me regret anything. At most, I’ll add her name to the goat skull.... Having said that, what brings you here this time?"

"To strike a deal"

"What kind of deal?"

"A deal in human lives"

There was silence in between, followed by a heh-heh laugh, "This deal is quite interesting... Alright, Niuli, you’re too loud and uttery stinky, how could you have stood staying here before... Let’s go outside to talk"

It was clear that even before Sui Yi had been in the secret room, there was someone else inside that partition, watching everything!

————————

"We’re here," Zou Xueqin seemed to know the place well and reminded everyone with those words. Everyone looked up to see across the street, a store occupying an immense circular area.

Its decoration was unmistakably that of a jewelry store.

The area was more than ten times that of the Sui Tang Square.

Sui Yi noted the bright purple and gold lettering on the signboard—Purple Sand Jewelry Store.

The name was somewhat interesting.

To people like Sui Yi and the rest engaged in such business, Purple Sand Jewelry Store was unsurprised, and soon someone came to welcome them, straightforwardly quoting a price.

The specific cost of jade cutting was calculated based on the consumption of blades used and included a service fee...

Elder Tang glanced at the patrolling security guards outside the store and inquired about the price of hiring protection... and, of course, the most important aspect was whether such an insurance agreement held any legal validity.

"That depends on how much insurance you purchase from us. We also have to assess the risk factor... As for the legal validity, you can be assured on that count. All our security staff come from Tian’an Security Company, which is officially recognized. The agreements signed do have official legal effect..." The manager spoke deftly and articulately. Elder Tang and the others nodded but did not immediately agree to hire.

It still all depended on whether they could cut out any jade. Otherwise, it would just be money wasted.

"Come on, let’s cut this small piece first... Sui Yi, you can leave your large one for the end," Elder Tang and the others did not like the idea of a large rough stone ruining everyone’s mood if it were cut badly, and so they were somewhat anxious.

Sui Yi naturally had no objections, but his attention wasn’t placed on the jade cutting. Instead, he walked around the store, sizing it up.

The store was large, divided into several sections. Seven or eight-tenths of the area was for sales, with the rest allocated for in-store jewelry setting, craft customization, and the like. There were already plenty of well-dressed ladies and businessmen waiting at these custom counters. When they saw Sui Yi and co. enter, they showed an interest in watching the spectacle, as waiting for their own jewelry to be completed was quite time-consuming, and it was more entertaining to watch the jade cutting...

The jade cutting was clearly taking place in the inner room, where the open door was vast enough to allow three pushcarts to pass in and out. As the crowd surged forward to catch the excitement, Sui Yi hung back, observing the display cases. Most of the jewelry on display was of high caliber, with many pieces of fine jade priced in the millions, particularly eye-catching was the Red Jadeite bracelet before her.

Upon noticing Sui Yi, a person of clearly exceptional taste, a sales associate approached to give an introduction, "Miss, this piece is the latest addition to Purple Sand Jewelry’s collection, called Red Phoenix. It is superb Red Jade, extremely rare. As you can see, its design is both stylish and striking, yet it retains an air of classical elegance, particularly well-suited to someone of your stature..."

It’s true that beauty has its perks, especially with a tall and slender figure. The saleswoman, used to seeing fat, greasy hands cramming beautiful jewelry onto their wrists—a sight that always made her feel like severing those hands—was both envious and eager at the view of the delicate, pale hand before her, as if sculpted from moonlight.

"Superb Red Jade?" Sui Yi, having read some reference books, was aware that top-quality Blood Jade was on par with Emperor Green, its color as deep as blood, a type of jade that could dazzle and enchant. However, the piece of Red Jade before her seemed...

"It looks to be only about seventy percent the full color. Can that still be considered Red Jade?" asked Sui Yi. Her tone was neither sharp nor harsh, just mild and genuinely inquisitive, which made the sales associate pause awkwardly, realizing she was dealing with a connoisseur. Someone who could spot the true condition of the jade at a glance had to know their stuff. The sales associate corrected her attitude and replied with a slight smile, "Miss, you really have an eye for quality. Indeed, it is seventy percent full color. However, it’s been a long time since we’ve seen Red Jade with eighty percent full color. In our jewelry industry, as long as it reaches seventy percent, it’s recognized as Red Jade. As for being top-quality... wouldn’t you agree that such a piece deserves the distinction?"

Those in sales are often smooth talkers, and in the luxury jewelry industry, the demands placed on sales staff are exceptionally high. Don’t be fooled into thinking they’re just standing there selling things; many high-end jewelry store sales associates have bachelor’s degrees, speak English to at least a level six standard, and some even specialize in the jewelry industry. They must not only look presentable but also exude a certain presence.

The standards are so high, they could rival the selection process for flight attendants. Sales associates in Purple Sand Store, in particular, were each strikingly beautiful...

This one before him was soft-spoken, with a hint of a Jiangnan accent, arguably the most outstanding sales associate there.

Sui Yi gave her a glance before looking down at the price tag beneath the Red Jade—15.99 million?

The price was anything but cheap!

This was the most expensive piece of jade Sui Yi had ever seen in person. After all, it was already a finished piece of jewelry, embellished with a top-quality Gold carving of a Golden Phoenix, and the radiant red color shimmering like a swath of red clouds in the sky, with a Golden Phoenix spreading its wings and soaring majestically, almost intoxicating to behold...

Sui Yi noticed many well-to-do ladies staring fixedly at the display case...

Jewelry and jade are two different concepts...

Thinking about her own store, Sui Yi gained new insights into shop management. Just then, a manager suddenly burst out from the jade cutting room, shouting directly at the beautiful sales associate, "Ye Han, go set off a string of firecrackers outside... the price has gone up!"

Whenever jade cutting revealed green, and jadeite was discovered, it was a matter of luck. Often fireworks would be lit, and if there was a big gain, there definitely needed to be a celebration, even if the jadeite wasn’t one’s own. It was enough to bring honor to one’s face and a touch of fortune...This custom was prevalent in the circle, no matter which Jade Cutting Place one was at, and given that the location was steeped in such cultural customs, people naturally placed great importance on it. The manager’s face was all smiles, clearly delighted at the prospect that the shop’s business would thrive. The customers in the store at that moment also wanted to chase after the colorful prospects and good fortune, eagerly rushing into the Jade Cutting Place to see for themselves.

After calling for Ye Han who was next to Sui Yi, the manager obviously spotted Sui Yi as well and said with a smile, "Miss, your elders have discovered jadeite. They asked me to call you in..."

Sui Yi had not been sure that it was Elder Tang and the others who had found the jadeite because the Jade Cutting Place inside seemed quite large, and there must have been others cutting jade as well. Upon being called by the manager, she nodded and walked in.

Upon entering, she realized that the space was indeed vast, almost half the size of a football field, with more than a dozen large jade cutting machines set up and hundreds of people cutting jade or watching the excitement.

At that moment, there were four or five dozen uniformed security guards patrolling with batons, and right then, around ten guards were gathered in one spot.

Most people were also heading towards that spot, shouting as they ran. Sui Yi walked beside the manager and saw Elder Tang and the others.

"Ha, Sui Yi, you’ve come!" Elder Tang said with a smile blooming like a chrysanthemum, waving and shouting, "Your rough stone has surged in value! Come and look!"

Mine? Sui Yi remembered that the smallest piece was to be cut first...

With Elder Tang calling out, the surrounding onlookers immediately took notice, quickly making way for Sui Yi, who stepped forward and glanced at the jadeite being wiped on the machine. Four clear windows had been cut, revealing seven to eight parts of a bright jade color. It was the pale Blue Water Type that Sui Yi had taken a liking to and had Elder Tang purchase. Now the size was indeed as big as a cantaloupe. Under the bright indoor lighting, it displayed a bluish-green color. Its greatest advantage was having few impurities, which enhanced its quality significantly. In fact, these people were more enthused about this piece of Blue Jade than Sui Yi, who held very high standards and was not very familiar with the current jewelry market, so some differences were to be expected.

However, listening to the conversations of these people, Sui Yi also understood that jade was jade, and in fact, green is the true hue of jade. Other colors like red, yellow, blue, etc., are called jadeite. Although green is regarded as the most authentic, with the dawn of a new era, many in the younger generation have developed a preference for unusual colors of jadeite, which in recent years has influenced the market for these stones, especially Red Jade, which has become even more popular than Green Jade but is much rarer and hence very pricey.

"It’s Blue Jade, and although its transparency isn’t extremely high and doesn’t reach the Ice Type, it’s still quite good... Looking at this size, it’s enough to carve out three or four bracelets and a dozen pendants..."

"Isn’t it just? This is of no small value. Hey, young lady, is this clear stone yours? Where did you buy it? What good luck!"

To the curiosity and envy of the merchants, Sui Yi turned to Elder Tang, "This piece is yours... have you forgotten?" (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it at qidian.com with your recommendation votes and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)