Chapter 34: Gold and Silver in Turbulent Times, Antiquities in an Age of Prosperity

"This jade pendant is truly beautiful! How much for one, shopkeeper?"

Young women seem to possess an extraordinary obsession with jewelry. However, the jade on the stall before them was indeed exquisite. Whether it was the craftsmanship, the surface luster, or the patterns, everything gave off an impression of high quality. Liu Bamei’s large eyes sparkled as she looked at them, unable to tear her gaze away.

Chen Jie stood to the side, feeling a natural sense of affinity after hearing the stall owner’s sincere words earlier. Since he had been diligently practicing his cultivation over the past few days, his mental state had steadily reached the "Contemplation" realm, allowing him to perceive the state of others with great keenness. The man’s face looked honest and simple; he did not appear to be the cunning type.

"Shopkeeper, your stall looks very well-stocked. Why is it all jade? Do you not have anything else?" Chen Jie asked with a faint smile.

The stall was indeed filled with a vast array of jade, all appearing quite refined. There were pendants, bracelets, and ornaments! Although Chen Jie had watched many "Zixuan Treasure Appraisal" livestreams, he mostly watched them for entertainment. When it came to jade and jadeite, he only understood the most superficial basics. To be honest, even if someone handed him a bracelet made from a beer bottle, he wouldn't be able to tell if it were genuine jade or not. Jade was a tricky business.

Still, Chen Jie felt a spark of interest in the pieces on this stall. Was it fake? He didn't know. But in this street, this was the only stall selling jade.

Hearing Chen Jie’s question, the stall owner smiled honestly and pointed to the Guanyin pendant that had caught Liu Bamei’s eye. "Young brother, a lot of the items here truly did come out of the imperial palace. Take this Guanyin pendant, for instance—both its carving and its form are the work of a master. If you two are interested, the price is negotiable!"

Chen Jie ignored the owner's chatter and focused on the jade before him. A moment later, he shook his head. "Shopkeeper, these things of yours look quite nice, and the craftsmanship is indeed delicate; they must be from well-known artisans. However, I have no interest in jade, and I don't understand the trade. I think I’ll pass."

In truth, jade jewelry was not popular in this world. At least, Chen Jie had walked around Ximen Street several times and had never seen a shop dedicated to selling jade. Its value was far inferior to gold and silver jewelry. In chaotic times, gold and silver are king; in prosperous times, antiques are favored! Recently, so much jade jewelry had been flowing out of the Great Qian Dynasty’s palace simply because it was not considered very valuable. Gold and silver were the hard currency! Chen Jie lacked the channels to sell jade; even if he bought it, it would be difficult to convert into cash.

The key was that he was an outsider to the industry and had no idea if these items were worth anything elsewhere. He had no hobby for collecting such things, and if they couldn't be turned into money, they were just a pile of stones.

The stall owner smiled, not pressing Chen Jie to buy, and said, "No worries! These jades aren't worth much anyway. If they were truly valuable, I wouldn't be selling them at a street stall. To be honest, a lot of these were brought out by palace maids to be sold. There is fighting in the coastal regions, and news from the palace travels fast. I’ve heard that the coming situation looks ominous for our Great Qian; the Western powers have already gathered at the port of Tianjin, and it’s possible these Westerners will march on the capital! The maids are selling these off just to scrape together some money for protection."

Chen Jie was stunned. Damn! Was the situation really that dire?

Chen Jie called out to Liu Bamei, intending to leave, but seeing her lingering reluctance, he looked back at the jade. It had to be said, these pieces looked crystal clear and very beautiful. Suddenly, Chen Jie remembered the Blood Dragon Jade pendant in his own mind. He searched through the pile for a moment but found nothing identical to it.

"How much for this Guanyin pendant?" Chen Jie asked casually, seeing how much Liu Bamei liked it.

"Since you like it, how about three hundred wen? I can’t go any lower. It’s only because of the war outside that it’s this cheap; in normal times, you wouldn't even dream of getting it for less than five hundred!" The stall owner pointed to the pendant Liu Bamei liked, then lowered his voice. "This entire batch of jade was sold to me by palace maids! I won’t lie to you, I never expected the war in the East Sea to be such a crushing defeat, and jade has suddenly become so hard to sell. I haven't sold a single piece in days!"

"If you really want it, I can lower the price. I don't even need to make a profit—I'll sell the whole lot to you. How about that?"

Chen Jie frowned slightly, noting that the man did not look like he was lying. If these were indeed from the palace, they were likely surplus stock that some prince or princess had secretly ordered their maids to sell. Of course, it was also very possible that they were all fakes meant to swindle people!

"How much for the whole lot?" Although Chen Jie had little interest in jade, he had to admit they were beautiful. If they weren't expensive, they would make decent gifts to take back to his own world. At the very least, they didn't look like plastic or glass.

"Fifty silver dollars!?" The stall owner hesitated before whispering.

Chen Jie grabbed Liu Bamei and turned to leave. "Keep them for yourself and sell them slowly. I won't bother you anymore!"

Just a moment ago, he had thought the stall owner was an honest, simple man. Damn! He had misjudged him. That guy was a shark. The Guanyin pendant Liu Bamei liked most was the best of the lot, and it was priced at only three hundred wen. Now, with over a hundred pieces in total, the price hadn't dropped at all; instead, he was asking for fifty silver dollars. Was he trying to treat him like a fool?

"Young brother, don't go! I have more here—look at these bracelets. These are top-tier Imperial Green jadeite!" The stall owner shouted in a panic as he saw Chen Jie walking away. "I can lower the price. How about forty-eight silver dollars for the whole lot? I really can't go any lower. I have to eat, too; I didn't get these for cheap!"

Chen Jie stopped and glanced at a bag the stall owner had placed on the ground. Including those, there were nearly two hundred pieces of jade. There were dozens of pairs of bracelets, and they looked quite good—some even had vibrant green hues.

Chen Jie turned back to the stall and touched the jade; it felt cool to the touch. Whether it was real jadeite or not, he decided to take the risk. It was only forty-eight silver dollars—less than ten thousand yuan—so even if he couldn't get rich, it wouldn't bankrupt him.

"Fine, pack it up, I'll take it all! Be careful, don't break them; I won't pay for broken goods!"

Chen Jie didn't know if he had overpaid. Regardless, even if they weren't valuable, they would make fine gifts to take back.

"Alright! Just a moment!" The stall owner, seemingly eager to offload the goods, nearly jumped for joy upon hearing that Chen Jie wanted the whole lot. He hurriedly found some rags and carefully wrapped the jade in cotton batting.

Half an hour later, he packed all the jade into a large bag and handed it to Chen Jie. Chen Jie took out forty-eight silver dollars and handed them to the stall owner, letting him inspect the payment.

"Shopkeeper, if more jade flows out of the palace in the future, feel free to collect it! As long as the goods are genuine, I’ll definitely be back for more." With the transaction complete, Chen Jie spoke casually.

He already had a channel for earning money through medicinal herbs, but he couldn't easily flood the market with them. If "wild ginseng" appeared in bulk, it would easily invite unwanted attention. Therefore, he needed multiple streams of income. The jade trade could serve as another one. Although he didn't understand the trade, as long as the goods were cheap enough and he could find a reliable source, there was profit to be made.