水蜜桃实验室

The antiques and jade articles on the second floor were no longer all placed within large display cabinets like on the first floor. Nearly every item in the second-floor collection had its dedicated bulletproof tempered glass cover, each of which was worth at least tens of thousands of yuan.

The covers were made from Yan Country’s most advanced bulletproof tempered glass, and below them, the toughest titanium alloy locks were added. Even if a master thief were to come in, breaking through this protective cover would take quite some effort.

As Xu Fan wandered around the second floor, he didn’t find anything to his liking and was about to shake his head in disappointment and leave when he suddenly caught sight of a glass display case at the very end of the second floor, which still held more than a dozen jade articles.

These jade articles obviously did not have the same value as the ones with individual protective covers on the second floor; they seemed to be discount promotion products and were all placed in this glass case.

Xu Fan’s gaze was immediately attracted to one of them.

It was a necklace carved from white jade, with the chain made of platinum and the pendant a round piece the size of a coin with a hole in the middle, strung by the platinum chain.

The most peculiar thing was a strand of emerald green marbling on the pendant, which spoiled the entirely white jade pendant’s sanctity and beauty, making it seem somewhat incongruous.

If the jade pendant on this necklace were purely white, then the value of the necklace would certainly afford it an individual display case. Unfortunately, the streak of green ruined much of the white jade’s beauty, leading this necklace to be placed in the promotional discount area.

Upon seeing this necklace, Xu Fan’s eyes lit up with a slight movement, which he quickly concealed.

“Please open this cabinet for me,” Xu Fan said to the Hanfu-clad beauty saleswoman behind him, pointing at the display case.

“Certainly, sir. Please wait a moment,” the Hanfu-clad beauty replied softly, moving her earpiece and speaking into it, “Send me the keys to the second floor promotional area display case. A customer wants to look at the merchandise inside.”

After speaking, the Hanfu girl gave Xu Fan another sweet smile and said, “The keys will be here shortly.”

“Mm,” Xu Fan nodded slightly, then continued to look at the necklace inside the display case.

In the office of Zangyu Tower’s president on the third floor, sat an old man with a ring of white beard, glasses, and a sprightly demeanor. This person was the boss of Zangyu Tower and the richest man in Yulou Ancient Town, the antique master Wang Fangtong.

Wang Fangtong, too, had an intercom for the store and, upon hearing the message from the second floor, turned with a hint of interest towards the monitoring screen beside him.

In the second-floor promotional display cabinet, there were more than a dozen jade articles of roughly the same quality, but they were slightly flawed and thus could not fetch a high price. Hearing that someone specifically wanted one of them, he became curious about which one the customer would choose.

In the video, another Hanfu-clad girl quickly made her way to the second floor and handed a bunch of keys to the salesgirl next to Xu Fan.

The salesgirl picked the corresponding key, approached the cabinet, clicked the lock open, and gently swung the door open.

Xu Fan also walked over, reached out, and picked up the necklace with the jade pendant that he had been looking at.

Looking at the necklace in his hand, Xu Fan’s lips curled into a slight smile.

The necklace was warm and gentle to the touch, exuding a refreshingly sweet aroma; however, its shape was also terribly plain—a round pendant with a hole drilled through it, strung on a cord.

Moreover, on the immaculate white jade pendant, there was a trace of emerald green, which would have been acceptable if the green were more pronounced—more of it would have resulted in a “Jade Cabbage” with white and green contrast. But with just a sliver of green, it did nothing to compose an image but instead made the entire pendant seem flawed. It was like a clean bowl of milk suddenly tainted by a strand of hair, quite displeasing to look at.

Moreover, this jade pendant was clearly aged, covered with a thin layer of patina, proving it was an ancient artifact. It’s just that the platinum necklace had been added later.

If it weren’t for the fact that the jade pendant was genuine ancient jade, even with its simple shape and the flaw on it, let alone being displayed on the second floor of Zangyu Tower, it probably would’ve attracted little attention even on the first floor.

But this jade pendant was not cheaply priced. Even at the discounted promotional price, it was still listed at 288,000 yuan. In the second floor, there were many jade pieces with better quality and craftsmanship than this pendant, and so it was that anyone who came up to the second floor would lose interest upon seeing its price.

The jade pendant had been displayed here for a year, and nobody had ever taken a close look at it. Basically, anyone would ignore it after seeing its color and price.

Zhao Dong might not be a treasure appraisal expert, but having been born and raised in Yulou Ancient Town for such a long time and having encountered numerous jade articles, when he saw Xu Fan gently playing with the jade pendant in his hand, he kindly reminded him, “This jade appears to be ancient, but the design is too simplistic, not worth the price at all.”

Upon hearing Zhao Dong’s words, Xu Fan slowly shook his head and said with an enigmatic tone, “What’s wrong with simplicity? Indiscriminate carving without understanding the ‘jade core’ can damage the ‘jade marrow.’ It’s better not to carve at all.”

“Jade core, jade marrow? I’ve never heard of those,” Zhao Dong said, a bit bewildered as he asked Xu Fan. He had lived in Yulou Ancient Town for many years and had only heard terms like ‘ice type,’ ‘seed material,’ ‘tint color,’ and such jargon, never about jade core and jade marrow, so he was completely confused by Xu Fan’s words.

“Even if I explained, you wouldn’t understand. In any case, I have taken a liking to this item,” Xu Fan said, slightly curling his lips in a satisfied smile and twirling the jade pendant necklace in his hand towards Zhao Dong.

Zhao Dong quickly nodded. Whatever the terminology was, as long as the boss gave the word, that was all that mattered. He was ready to pay for whatever Xu Fan fancied.

Xu Fan paid no mind to Zhao Dong’s expression but gently touched the jade pendant with his fingers, as if sensing something.