It is estimated that this piece of jadeite with an oily green color was not suitable for making other things due to its shape, so it was made into this Guanyin statue.
Zhou Xuan glanced at it, then put it back on the glass counter and said calmly, "Okay, Miss, please wrap it up for me!"
Zhou Xuan's action didn't seem like he was going to buy it, and he spoke very casually. Xiao Lin didn't even realize what was going on. No one would think that Zhou Xuan and Wei Xiaoyu would want this item, especially since they hadn't even mentioned the price. It was over 16,000 yuan, equivalent to half a year's salary for her. Had she misjudged him? Was this rough-looking man actually a tycoon?
He really didn't look like a rich man. Not only did he not look like one, but his clothes, his facial expressions, and even the woman with him all didn't resemble a wealthy person at all.
Fang Dacheng reacted quickly; after all, he was the boss. He laughed and said, "Xiaolin, pack it up in the box. Xiaojuan, write out the order. Sir, please sit down here and wait a moment. It will be ready soon!"
Fang Dacheng was overjoyed. He hadn't expected to close such a big deal today. The initial investment of 16,680 yuan was only 1,600 yuan. After deducting the 5% profit share he would give to Fang Xiaolin, which was about 700 yuan, he would still have a profit of about 13,000 yuan. This was quite a good income.
Volume 1, Chapter 350: The Highly Profitable Oily Green Jade
In gold shops or antique stores like Fangdacheng, the income of all saleswomen is basically calculated based on a base salary plus commission. The base salary is not very high; except for large brand stores, the base salary is generally set quite low. Their main income comes from sales commissions. They are generally aware that among all the goods, platinum, white gold, and jadeite have the highest profit margins, while gold has the lowest.
Because there's not much profit margin on gold, and its price is similar to international market prices, the only difference between gold jewelry and other items in the store is the labor cost. Therefore, the commission for sales staff is very low. For example, with gold jewelry priced at 1,000 yuan, the store's profit won't exceed 50 yuan, while the salesperson's commission is only 1%, which is about 50 cents. Selling gold jewelry priced at 4,000 or 5,000 yuan only yields a few yuan, or at most 10 yuan. However, platinum and white gold are higher because of their higher profit margins. The store's profit can be between 20% and 40%, and the salesperson's commission is between 2% and 3%. Selling 2,000 yuan worth of jewelry yields at least 500 or 600 yuan in profit, and the salesperson can earn 20 or 30 yuan in commission. It's common for a skilled salesperson to sell tens of thousands of yuan worth of jewelry a day, often earning several hundred yuan in commission.
The most profitable items are actually jadeite pieces. This is mainly because the country has relatively few regulations in this area, and it has only become popular in the last ten or twenty years. In addition, since the production area is not in China, there are many loopholes that dealers can exploit. Most consumers do not understand this, and wealthy people don't care.
If a piece of ordinary jade jewelry costs 1,000 yuan to produce, it will be priced at 10,000 yuan or even higher. The commission that the shop owner gives to the employees is also higher, reaching more than 5%. For some items with extremely high selling prices, the commission may even be converted into a percentage. Taking the same price of goods, a piece of jade worth 2,000 yuan will have a profit of 1,700 or 1,800 yuan, while the employee's commission will be around 100 yuan. If a piece of jade worth around 10,000 yuan is sold, the employee can get a commission of around 1,000 yuan. Therefore, in any store, the most popular thing for the employees is to promote jade.
The boss also encourages the shop assistants to sell more jade pieces, as his profit margin is relatively the highest. So when a customer goes to a gold shop, the saleswoman will first recommend jade pieces, then platinum and white gold, and lastly gold. If you can buy jade jewelry, she will persuade you to buy jade jewelry; if not, she will tell you to buy platinum or white gold, guaranteeing that jade is the best, beneficial to health, and can retain and increase its value.
Of course, it's undeniable that high-quality jade will appreciate in value, because jadeite mining is so rampant these days that a piece of high-quality jadeite rough can fetch tens of millions internationally. However, this has nothing to do with buying ordinary jade pieces. Usually, you can spend thousands, tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands of yuan and still not be able to buy good jade. For example, the bracelet in Fangdacheng store that costs 760,000 yuan is only worth about 10,000 yuan in reality. If you buy it, you will definitely lose money, no matter how much it appreciates, it won't increase to hundreds of thousands of yuan.
Wei Xiaoyu couldn't tell the difference between antiques or the quality of these jade pieces. Since Zhou Xuan wanted to buy them, she naturally wouldn't stop him and sat down next to him without saying a word.
Fang Dacheng wanted to flatter Zhou Xuan, saying he had good taste and bought something nice, or that it was a good and valuable gift for his wife. However, he wasn't sure if Wei Xiaoyu was his wife. If it was for his wife, he would have let her try it on and give his opinion. But Zhou Xuan hadn't suggested that Wei Xiaoyu try it on, and Wei Xiaoyu herself didn't say anything, as if it were none of her business. Whether Zhou Xuan bought it for her or for his mistress or someone else, it was strange that they weren't a couple. They were of average appearance and similar age. If they weren't a couple, why would they be traveling together?
Usually, when a man goes out to have fun, he's definitely bringing his mistress. Men, as long as they have money and are willing to spend it, have plenty of beautiful women. But this man is strange; he brought out such an ordinary-looking woman. Who else could it be but his wife? But if it is his wife, his expression doesn't seem like it. No woman can tolerate her husband buying things for another woman!
The experienced Fang Dacheng couldn't figure out what was going on. He just chuckled awkwardly a few times and quickly called the shop assistant to make tea. A customer who could earn him ten thousand yuan was worth serving tea to.
Zhou Xuan then said, "Boss, I don't have cash, I can only pay by card. You can only process the order if I can pay by card. If you can't pay by card, I can't buy it now and I'll have to withdraw the money and come back later!"
"Sure, sure!" Fang Dacheng nodded quickly with a smile. "We have a POS machine in our store, so we accept card payments!"
At the counter, Fang Xiaolin packed the Guanyin statue in a small brocade box, and another girl filled out the order. Fang Dacheng personally took it and handed it to Zhou Xuan. It cost 16,680 yuan. Zhou Xuan snorted inwardly. This Fang Dacheng is too greedy!
However, Zhou Xuan would not show that expression on his face. He just smiled and took the brocade box and receipt, stuffed them into his pocket without even looking at them, and then casually asked, "Boss, I noticed that you have more genuine items here than other stores. I went to many stores before I finally found this one!"
Fang Dacheng chuckled and said, "Yes, yes, the most important thing in my business is integrity. Since you've seen so many shops, you must understand. My shop sells only genuine products. We don't sell fakes. We don't do anything unethical!"
Hearing Fang Dacheng speak with such righteous indignation, Fang Xiaolin and the other female shop assistant looked at each other, lowered their heads, and laughed, but dared not utter a sound, and were also keeping their backs to the other side.
Zhou Xuanbing's aura was palpable, and their expressions naturally couldn't be hidden from him. Besides, how could this jade Guanyin possibly escape his notice?
Fang Dacheng was extremely pleased with himself. He had seen plenty of laymen like Zhou Xuan who thought they knew a little bit about the subject. A few words of flattery and praise would make them think they were on top of the world and then they would spend more money. Heh heh, what a load of bull!
However, it was still a bit of a surprise. I didn't expect that someone with such an unremarkable appearance would actually buy this Guanyin statue for more than 16,000 yuan without making a fuss. It really shows that you can't judge a book by its cover!
Zhou Xuan smiled and said, "Yes, yes, I see you have a lot of good stuff here, but not many of them are to my liking. Do you have... that one?"
As Zhou Xuan spoke, he gestured with his hands to illustrate the action of digging from underground.
Fang Dacheng paused for a moment, then mentally re-evaluated Zhou Xuan, made a quick assessment, and then chuckled, "Sir, what do you want? Hehe, take a look at the things on my shelf, they're all quite good!"
“Boss, hehe, let’s be frank.” Zhou Xuan chuckled and said, “Those things you have don’t meet my standards. As for whether they’re good or bad, let’s not go into that. I’ll just say this: if you have any and the price is right, I’ll buy them immediately, as many as I want!”
Zhou Xuan's words weren't particularly forceful, but to the average person they sounded like boasting. To say "no limit on the quantity" when it comes to antiques—that's incredibly arrogant! Those unfamiliar with the field wouldn't know, but those in the know understand. Even millionaires wouldn't dare say something like that. Antiques can range from a few thousand to tens of thousands, or even millions, tens of millions, or even hundreds of millions. To say "no limit on the quantity" is something only a truly exceptional person can do.
Zhou Xuan spoke casually, but Fang Dacheng felt a tremor in his heart. He was a little uncertain. If he really was a big buyer, then if he could make a few big deals, he would earn much more than what he had in the shop. The shop's income was extremely generous for ordinary people, but for someone like Fang Dacheng who had seen a lot of money, it was just enough to make ends meet.
After being framed by Zhou Xuan, Fang Dacheng was depressed for a time. Later, Chen Sanyan, out of consideration for his brother-in-law, gave him 500,000 yuan and told him to come to Jiangbei to open a shop. He said that how much he earned in the future would be up to him and that he would never give him money again.
Fang Dawang certainly didn't dare to act recklessly anymore. With the 500,000 yuan, he opened a small antique shop, mainly dealing in jade. After deducting all expenses such as rent and labor, he still earned 30,000 to 40,000 yuan a month, which was enough to make a living. But he couldn't live like he did under Chen Sanyan. Now he drives a Hyundai worth 90,000 yuan, and he can't be as extravagant as before.
But Zhou Xuan's casual words just now made Fang Dacheng's heart pound. If he could close a big deal worth over a million, he would earn at least 20% or 30%, which would be 200,000 or 300,000. If it was more, he would earn even more. But even if it was only around a million, it would still be a large income, equivalent to half a year's income in his shop. However, since he opened his shop here, he had never encountered such a big deal.
However, he also suspected Zhou Xuan's identity. He knew exactly what Zhou Xuan was up to, because the things he was selling were counterfeit, not genuine, which was why the profit was so high. However, the counterfeit goods were made to look real, and the cost of one item was 200,000 yuan. But he had to pay that cost himself. And because they were fakes, he had to be careful. Besides, if he took them for real, it would be prohibited by the state, and there would be problems if he was investigated. So he had to be extremely careful.
Seeing Fang Dacheng's suspicious look, Zhou Xuan said no more. He took out his wallet, took out his bank card, swiped it at the PO, signed his name, and then turned to Wei Xiaoyu and said, "Xiaoyu, let's go, let's go back!"
Wei Xiaoyu nodded silently, stood up, and followed Zhou Xuan out of the store.
Fang Dacheng hesitated for a moment, and seeing Zhou Xuan and the other person walk to the door without hesitation, he finally couldn't help but call out, "Sir, sir, please wait a moment, wait a moment!"
Zhou Xuan stopped and turned to look at Fang Dacheng.
Fang Dacheng went up to him with a smile and said, "Sir, please come in and sit down so we can talk slowly, slowly, slowly!"
Zhou Xuan smiled slightly at Wei Xiaoyu, took her hand, and said with a smile, "Then let's chat!"
Fang Dacheng welcomed Zhou Xuan and the other person into the shop again. After they sat down, he immediately instructed Fang Xiaolin, "Xiaolin, go inside and bring out my top-grade black Pu'er tea to brew!"
While Fang Dacheng was talking to Fang Xiaolin and no one else was paying attention to him, Zhou Xuan immediately reached into his pocket, grabbed the jade Guanyin he had just bought, and used his ice energy to transform and absorb it. Then he smiled at Fang Dacheng and said, "Boss, before we talk about these things, I just remembered something. I have an item I want to sell. I wonder if you would be interested in taking a look?"
Fang Dacheng's heart skipped a beat!
**Damn it, did he call back a conman? I was trying to swindle him out of money, but the moment he got back, without saying a word, his first question was whether I wanted to buy his stuff. Did he think he could scam me out of over ten thousand yuan? No way! I'm the one who's always swindling people... Damn it, if I hadn't been scammed by that damned Zhou Xuan, I wouldn't be in this mess now. If it weren't for him, I'd be driving a nice car, dating pretty girls, and living a happy life. I wouldn't be struggling to make money like this now!
If Zhou Xuan hadn't just spent over 16,000 yuan on a Guanyin statue, Fang Dacheng would have almost kicked Zhou Xuan and Wei Xiaoyu out of the store immediately. But since he had made a profit of over 10,000 yuan from them, he managed to restrain himself and chuckled, "Sir, do you want to buy or sell?"
When Zhou Xuan said he wanted to sell something, Fang Dacheng didn't even want to look at it. This kind of thing was just throwing out some bait first, and then catching a big fish. It's a pity that Fang Dacheng was a master of playing tricks on others. He wouldn't let others play tricks on him.
Zhou Xuan naturally understood what this guy was thinking, and said calmly, "Of course I'll buy good stuff, but it has to be something that catches my eye. Hehe, to be honest, I don't even look at ordinary stuff. Do you have anything special?"
Zhou Xuan stared at Fang Dacheng with a mocking look and said, "Take this one of mine for example. To be honest, I wouldn't even want to show it to you. I don't know if your stores can afford that price. I doubt it!"