Translator: TipToe
When the sales clerk saw the young man ignore him, he became even more incensed. He then called out towards the entrance of the store, “Security, please bring this troublesome man out!”
Zhao Xingchen took his eyes off the jade token, then looked at the salesman coldly and said, “What did I do wrong? Is this how your Jade Emporium conducts business?”
The sales clerk coldly snorted and said: “We only entertain customers of high standing. Those who aren’t well-dressed and come to create trouble aren’t welcome here! Besides, your attitude just now was very disrespectful to Master Zhang! In fact, you should be apologizing to Master Zhang this instant!”
Master Zhang glanced at Zhao Xingchen carrying in his eyes a trace of disdain. He thought, “Such a small figure isn’t worth my anger.” Master Zhang then casually waved his hand as he said, “Let it be! He’s just an ignorant child.”
The sales clerk quickly bowed towards Master Zhang then turned to Zhao Xingchen and said, “The Master doesn’t care about you, but I’m telling you, you should quickly leave this place!”
“Don’t spout nonsense, otherwise Lao Tzu shall bring you death!” The security guard came and attempted to grab Zhao Xingchen’s shoulder, but found that he wasn’t able to grab anything. The eyes of the old man in traditional Chinese attire shrank. He had seen that at the instant that the security guard’s finger touched the young man’s shoulder, the young man had quickly shrunk back, avoiding the security guard’s grasp.
(Note: Information on Lao Tzu, a.k.a. Lao Zi, can be viewed on Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laozi. TL;DR He’s viewed to be a supreme deity. idrk how he got here…)
This young man isn’t simple! The old man in the traditional Chinese attire immediately said to everyone, “Stay your hand!” Then, the old man signaled the security guard to withdraw, turning towards the young man, he said with a smile, “Young brother, do you have some understanding of jade?”
“Nope!” Zhao Xingchen shrugged his shoulders and answered simply.
Secretary Shen frowned, staring at Zhao Xingchen, he said, “Then why were you spouting nonsense here? Do you not know who is standing right before you? Not even mentioning Master Zhang, who’s a well-known treasure expert throughout China, Miss Qin, who has been selling jewelry for ten years, would be more knowledgeable than you on this topic.”
“Ignorant!” Zhao Xingchen didn’t even bother to look at her.
Secretary Shen was so angry that she wanted to tear the boy up with her teeth! Who was she? She was the secretary of Old Xu. Even the mayor of Gui City had to treat her with care. She would never have expected that some random homeless bum would actually look down on her.
Master Zhang looked at Zhao Xingchen and said: “Did you just say that we’re ignorant? You are ignorant! Do you know who I am? I, Zhang Qunshan, has been in the jewelry and antique industry for 30 years. I can distinguish whether something is a true jade or a false jade at a glance. Not to mention this Wanshan Province, even if we were talking about the entire country, no one would dare say that I am not an expert in my field. Yet at this moment, you dare question my authority, don’t you even dare say that I’m bullying the weak, for you were the one to provoke me. I shall not let you off for this!”
Master Zhang pointed at the jade token which was currently held by Secretary Shen and said to Zhao Xingchen, “This jade token is full of elegance and luster. Old Xu would only be wearing it to protect his body, how could the jade result in his death? You ignorant child who keeps making irresponsible remarks, I’m starting to think that you only came here to make a mess in my shop! However, I dare say that you are unqualified to do that!”
Everyone in the Jade Emporium now looked at Zhao Xingchen with disdain. All of them seeing him as just another ignorant kid. As they thought more and more about it, they seemed to conclude that poor people, like Zhao Xingchen, just wanted to attract the attention of the wealthy who make a lot of money. As, if the wealthy were to give just a bit of the money they had to these poor people, those poor people would be able to eat and drink to their heart’s content for quite a while.
With regards to how everyone was thinking of him, Zhao Xingchen paid it no heed. Turning his head towards Secretary Shen, he pointed at the jade token in her hand and said, “Keep it well!” Secretary Shen’s eyebrows creased, and as she was about to refuse, Zhao Xingchen suddenly burst out into an imposing manner rendering her unable to say a word.
Master Zhang’s eyes widened. He had wanted to say something, but when his eyes met with Zhao Xingchen’s, he suddenly felt an immense pressure coming straight at him, making it so that his knees went soft and he almost ended up kneeling on the ground.
They no longer saw him as some poor homeless boy in ragged clothing. Rather, they could only see a man who stood at a point above all beings, watching everything come and go over the passage of time!
‘How dare you try to go against me, shut your eyes this instant!’
Old Xu experienced the same thing as those around him and quickly shut his eyes. Zhao Xingchen, using his forefinger, gently rubbed Old Xu and Master Zhang’s eyelids and said to them, “Open your eyes!”
When the two old men opened their eyes, they saw that something strange seemed to be happening to the jade token held by Secretary Shen. There seemed to be a trace of blood on the token that they had not noticed before. Soon, the entirety of the token had turned blood red. As they looked more closely, there seemed to be a human figure trapped within the token, madly attempting to get out.
Old Xu involuntarily cried out, “What is that?!”
Master Zhang lost himself and ended up shouting, “How is this possible?!”
Seeing the two old men losing themselves, Secretary Shen got taken aback. As if holding a time bomb, her hand trembled, the jade token ended up slipping out of her hand!
As they watched the million-yuan jade token fly in the air, the sales clerks were all frightened and screamed. However, a hand suddenly appeared as the jade token was mid-flight, and caught the jade token. The hand tightly grasping the jade token.
Zhao Xingchen gently stroked the jade token, feeling the spirit that resided within it. He coldly stared at Old Xu and Master Zhang but did not say anything more. However, for Master Zhang, that stare was like a fierce slap to his face!
Master Zhang seemed to had just aged 10 years. He deeply bowed towards Zhao Xingchen and said: “Zhang Qunshan has reached the age of 56 in vain. I have eyes, yet failed to recognize Mount Tai. I hope that you may pardon me for my offense!”
(Note:
The rest of the people in the shop were only able to watch as one of the most respected treasure experts all over China acted so respectful to a young man, a vagrant no less. All of those people could only stand there stunned as they realized how ignorant they actually were.
On the side, Old Xu’s eyes glistened as he heartily laughed at what just took place and said: “Haha, this was truly an eye-opener! Hey, it could even be said that you’re now my benefactor! If it were not for your intervention, this jade token could have resulted in endangering my life. However, it seems that this should not have any effect on benefactor, so I will simply gift it to you. Benefactor, will you accept?”
Originally, Zhao Xingchen had come to this place to get the jade token no matter what, so he didn’t bother acting polite. He kept the jade token and said, “Okay, I’ll be taking you up on your offer. My name is Zhao Xingchen. Old Xu, you need not call me benefactor, just call me by my name.” Master Zhang did not mean to bring any harm upon you, just that there is a secret to this jade token that ordinary people would not be able to see. Therefore, Old Xu inviting Master Zhang to help you buy jade wasn’t a bad idea.
“In front of our predecessors, we truly can’t afford to call ourselves masters!” Master Zhang slightly blushed as he listened to Zhao Xingchen’s words, his face showing gratitude.
As Zhao Xingchen was about to exit the Jade Emporium, Secretary Shen had come running after him. Her attitude vastly different from before as she handed Zhao Xingchen a card as she said to him, “If you come across any troubles in the future, just call this number!”
Zhao Xingchen’s eyebrows rose, then he nodded to Old Xu as he kept the card in his pocket and finally left the Jade Emporium.
