Zhuang Rui couldn't stand the two flirting and coughed a few times. To be honest, he was still a pure virgin who had never been with a woman, and this made him feel conflicted whenever he thought about it.
"Uh, stop with the nonsense. My younger brother wants to buy some jewelry. Which store do you think is suitable?"
Ouyang Jun glanced at the time; it was almost 9 o'clock. He figured he'd buy the things and then head to the airport, which would be just about the right time. Without further ado, he started the car.
"I don't want to buy beads..."
"Let's go to Qin Ruilin, it's a higher-class place and less crowded..."
Before Zhuang Rui could finish speaking, Xu Qing interrupted him. It was his fault for not making things clear beforehand. If he wasn't going to buy jewelry, what was he going to do at the jewelry store? Was he going to rob it?
Ouyang Jun drove directly to Qin Ruilin Jewelry Store in the bustling Xidan area. After parking the car and going inside, he found that there were indeed very few people. In the huge store, which was several hundred square meters in size, there were no customers except for the store staff and security guards.
The staff at this jewelry store were very professional. When the big star took off his sunglasses, they didn't make a fuss, but instead dutifully introduced the store's most prized pieces to the group. In their minds, a celebrity like him should naturally buy the best.
Zhuang Rui checked the time and realized he still had enough. He was also impatient to listen to the introductions from those people, so he simply left Ouyang Jun and the big star and started wandering around the store by himself.
"Is this Qin Xuanbing's family's restaurant?"
At the entrance, Zhuang Rui saw a gold plaque hanging on the wall with a detailed introduction to Qin Ruilin Jewelry Store. Seeing that the jewelry store's headquarters were in Hong Kong, Zhuang Rui understood a bit. What a coincidence!
"Brother, if you want to buy jewelry, why are you running to the door? Come here, I've found one I like, it would be perfect for your aunt. I also picked out a necklace for my little sister. Come take a look."
Zhuang Rui was lost in thought when he heard Ouyang Jun shouting, so he quickly went over.
Ouyang Jun chose a jadeite bangle for Zhuang's mother. The quality was quite good, reaching the icy type, with fine green floating patterns inside. It was an icy type bangle with floating patterns, which was very dazzling and beautiful under the light. After looking at the price, it was marked as 1.18 million.
This left Zhuang Rui speechless. It wasn't that he couldn't afford it; he had sold this kind of material by the kilogram before. However, the price was more than 300,000 yuan higher than he had expected. It seemed that this famous storefront was quick to rip people off.
Looking at the jewelry that Ouyang Jun had chosen for his older sister, it was a pair of openwork pearl-shaped earrings, also made of jadeite, set in platinum. The jadeite was of high-quality icy green. The price tag next to it was 380,000 yuan. For such a small piece, Zhuang Rui probably wasted several times more material when he cut the stone.
Seeing Ouyang Jun's look that said he'd pay as long as Ouyang Jun nodded, Zhuang Rui scratched his head and said helplessly, "Fourth Brother, I already said I'm not here to buy jewelry. I just want to buy a few empty jewelry boxes. I have a few items that I need to wrap up."
"You have your own jewelry? Can it be better than this? Alright, don't be polite with your fourth brother, just choose these two pieces as gifts for my aunt and little sister."
Ouyang Jun didn't quite believe Zhuang Rui's words. Any item here would cost over 100,000, definitely more valuable than Zhuang Rui's own things.
"Yes, sir. The jewelry boxes we use are custom-made and not sold separately. They may not even fit the size and specifications of your jewelry."
When the shop assistants nearby heard that Zhuang Rui wanted to buy a jewelry box, they looked a little dismissive, but they were all professionally trained and spoke very politely.
Chapter 282 Buying the Box (Part 2)
"But... I really don't need your jewelry..."
Zhuang Rui was somewhat helpless. He only wanted to buy a few jewelry boxes of similar size. If he were to buy the million-dollar jade along with it, wouldn't that be like buying the box and returning the pearl? Only a fool would do that.
"Alright, brother, stop talking. Can't I, as the nephew, buy things for my aunt? Miss, I'll take these two items. Please keep them safe for me..."
Ouyang Jun assumed Zhuang Rui was embarrassed, so he took out his card as he spoke, preparing to swipe it to pay the bill.
"Fourth Brother, no, wait a minute..."
Zhuang Rui was now anxious. In his eyes, the jadeite here was only mid-to-high-end quality. In other words, Zhuang Rui didn't even look down on it, and the price was ridiculously high. As an industry insider in the jadeite business, it would be embarrassing to spend money on this stuff.
"Miss, could you come here for a moment? Could you please take this jewelry... out of the box so I can take a look?"
Zhuang Rui stopped Ouyang Jun from paying the bill, then walked to the counter selling pendants, pointed to one of the jade pendants, and beckoned the shop assistant over.
"No, that's not it. I already said I wanted to see the box..."
Whether intentionally or unintentionally, the shop assistant simply took out the pendant. Zhuang Rui was a little annoyed. Wasn't this forcing him to take out his own things? They would only embarrass themselves later.
Zhuang Rui put the backpack on the counter, took out the box that Old Master Gu had given him, took out a Maitreya Buddha pendant and a pair of earrings, and said to the shop assistant, "I already said that I have my own jade. I just want to choose a few boxes for packaging. If you don't sell them separately, I can go to other jewelry stores."
"Hey bro, you actually have something of your own. Alright, let's buy the box then."
When Ouyang Jun saw Zhuang Rui take out the pendant, he realized that his little brother was not joking. He turned to the shop assistant and said, "Your shop's service motto is to satisfy all reasonable customer requests, right? Go check the size of that pendant and find a few boxes."
"Okay, sir, please wait a moment..."
Putting aside Ouyang Jun's inherent air of authority, just seeing the famous Xu Ming nestled close to him, how could any shop assistant not have a sense of propriety? They immediately abandoned any mention of not selling jewelry boxes separately. They reached out to take the jade from Zhuang Rui's hand, preparing to measure its size so they could choose the appropriate box.
Be careful not to fall.
Zhuang Rui placed the pendant on the counter with some unease. The pendant wasn't tied with a cord yet, and if it were accidentally broken, he could afford the financial loss, but where could he find another piece of imperial green jadeite?
There weren't many people in the jewelry store that morning, and several sales clerks gathered around, wanting to see what grade of jade Zhuang Rui had brought out.
For these young girls, facing exquisite jewelry that doesn't belong to them every day is a kind of sorrow, just like the mint workers who can see and touch the jewelry but can't take it with them. However, these girls do have a good eye for jewelry since they deal with it all day long.
A round-faced girl touched Zhuang Rui's pendant, then gave him a disdainful look and whispered to the girl who had just served Zhuang Rui, "Sister Xia, this...this looks so fake! Where can you find jade like this?"
"Don't talk nonsense, if you don't understand, don't speak..."
Sister Xia turned around and scolded him. However, she was also a little unsure whether the jade was real or fake. In any case, she had never seen jade with such pure texture and color before. Not only was the texture almost transparent, but the green color was so rich that it was hard to look away.
Sister Xia has worked in this shop for three years, rising from sales clerk to supervisor. She has handled countless jadeite sales, but she has never seen jadeite jewelry that exudes such enchanting charm.
"Dude, is that thing made of glass?"
Ouyang Jun also came over, grabbed the Maitreya Buddha pendant in his hand, examined it carefully for a long time, and then said something that made Zhuang Rui both laugh and cry.
Although Ouyang Jun often accompanied women to buy jewelry, he knew too little about the professional knowledge involved. When he saw this pure pendant without a single flaw, his first thought was that it was made of glass.
"You just love to talk nonsense. How could something Xiao Zhuang took out be made of glass..."
The big star took the item from Ouyang Jun's hand and looked at it for a while. His face was full of surprise and doubt. If this thing was really made of jade, what grade would it be? He had never seen anything like it before.
"Xiao Zhao, go and call Manager Wu over..."
Sister Xia turned her head and whispered some instructions, then continued to pick out boxes to package the pendants for Zhuang Rui.
"It's glass, but add 'seed' to make it glass type."
Zhuang Rui scratched his head helplessly. Top-grade imperial green jadeite was described as glass, even though there was only a one-word difference, its value was worlds apart.
"Glassy type? What's that?"
Ouyang Jun frowned. He wasn't familiar with this industry and didn't really know the terminology, but Xia Jie beside him was different; her mouth was agape as she stared at Zhuang Rui in astonishment.
"Sir, please...please put your things away first..."
Sister Xia didn't care that the pendant was in the big star's hands. She almost snatched it from the star's hand and placed it on the counter along with the earrings. This item had been passed through her hands. If it really was glass-type jadeite as Zhuang Rui said, she wouldn't be able to afford to pay for it if it broke.
"Is glass-type jadeite very valuable?"
Seeing the shop assistant's appearance, Ouyang Jun turned to the big star and asked in a low voice.
"I've heard that glass-type jadeite is the highest quality. I also have a glass-type jadeite bangle, but the color isn't as beautiful as this one."
The big star does know quite a bit about jadeite. She used to endorse jewelry, so she naturally knows a bit about it. However, she's not qualified to identify jadeite herself.
How much is it worth?
Ouyang Jun's voice lowered even further.
“My bracelet cost three million, but the color is nowhere near as good as this one.”
The big star's words made Ouyang Jun grin from ear to ear. It turned out his little cousin wasn't short of money, but rather just incredibly wealthy. According to Xu Qing, those few pieces of jewelry must be worth at least several million.
"This is our store manager, Mr. Wu..."
At this moment, a middle-aged man in his forties walked over. Sister Xia introduced him to Zhuang Rui and the others. The middle-aged man nodded politely to them, but his eyes were drawn to the pendant and earrings on the counter. This made the big star feel a little embarrassed. In the past, no matter where she went, men's eyes would always be on her first.
"Xiao Zhang, what's going on here? Is this gentleman here to sell?"
A hint of joy appeared in Store Manager Wu's eyes; his knowledge far surpassed that of this supervisor. After examining the pendant for over a minute, he had essentially determined the material used in its creation.
"No, this gentleman wants to buy a few boxes to package these two jade ornaments."
Xia Jie's words brought a look of disappointment to Manager Wu's face. He could tell that the jade ornament in his hand was not only made of top-quality material, but the carving was also the work of a master. Manager Wu had thought that Zhuang Rui was here to sell it, and he had already made up his mind to buy it no matter what.
"It's not two items, it's five. There are three Maitreya Buddha pendants and two pairs of earrings. Please prepare five jewelry boxes."
Zhuang Rui chimed in from the side.
"Sir, please come inside and have a seat. I'll have someone help you choose a suitable box."
Upon hearing that Zhuang Rui had several more of these items, Manager Wu's eyes lit up again. It seemed that this matter could still be discussed.
Upon entering the VIP room of the jewelry store, tea was quickly served. After a moment's hesitation, Manager Wu said to Zhuang Rui, "Sir, could you please show me your other pieces as well?"
Zhuang Rui nodded, took the box out of his backpack, and handed it over.
"Exquisite, absolutely exquisite! I've never seen jade of this quality even abroad. This must have been carved from a single piece of jadeite rough, right?"
Shop manager Wu fiddled with the pendants, looking quite fond of them. After carefully placing them back in the box, he looked up and said, "Sir, would you be willing to sell us one of these pendants or earrings? Name your price..."
"You'd just buy it anywhere? I'd offer five million for a pendant and you'd still buy it?"
Ouyang Jun made a joke from the side.
Upon hearing this, Manager Wu's eyes lit up, and he said, "Five million? I can make the decision to buy it."
Ouyang Jun's eyes widened immediately. He hadn't expected that someone would pick up on his casual remark, especially since it wasn't his.
"I'm sorry, I'm giving these items to my family. And the pendant was personally carved by Master Gu Tianfeng, five million, hehe..."
Zhuang Rui shook his head and politely declined Manager Wu's offer. Given the current soaring prices in the jade market, the craftsmanship and material alone would cost more than five million.
"We can discuss the price further..."
"Manager Wu, there's no need to discuss this further. I know Ms. Qin Xuanbing from your company. If it's not a gift for a family member, selling you one is fine. We can talk about it another time."
Before Manager Wu could finish speaking, Zhuang Rui interrupted him. He checked the time and realized it was almost time to get to the airport, so he didn't want to dawdle any longer.
"You know the young lady?"
Store Manager Wu, being from Hong Kong, naturally knew Qin Xuanbing. He couldn't help but re-evaluate Zhuang Rui, sighing inwardly. These mainland tycoons are truly low-key. If all Hong Kong people were like this, who knows who Cheung Tze-keung would have kidnapped.
Chapter 283 The Knot in My Heart (Part 1)
"Yes, Miss Qin and I are very good friends. We've kept in touch. She's still in England. By the way, my name is Zhuang Rui."
Zhuang Rui's words dispelled Wu's doubts. He was sent to Beijing from the Hong Kong company headquarters, so he was naturally very familiar with the company's current design director, Miss Qin, and knew that she was designing a batch of jewelry for the British royal family.
"Alright, these boxes are just right. Manager Wu, how much do you need? I'll buy these."
While they were talking, Sister Xia had already selected five suitable jewelry boxes and delivered them to the VIP room. Zhuang Rui put several pendants and earrings into them one by one.