Chapter 4 - The Other Half of the Golden Toad Jade Pendant

When the few of us were finally discharged from the hospital, the girls had already prepared a grand feast at the Liuyun Shop to celebrate our return. That night, the drinking competition started all over again.

To our utter astonishment, Hu Yue'er drank alcohol as if it were mere water. With a casual gulp, she would polish off an entire bottle of white liquor. After a few hours, apart from Hu Yue'er, not a single person was left sitting upright; everyone else was either under the table or hugging the trash cans, fast asleep.

By the following day, the rest of us finally got back to work.

That morning, not long after the doors of the Liuyun Shop opened, Xu Xiuxiu walked in accompanied by a man in his forties.

Xu Xiuxiu greeted me and gestured to the man beside her. "This is our boss. If you have treasures to sell, just let him take a look."

The man looked around cautiously, turning his head back and forth with extreme nervousness, as if terrified of being discovered. Seeing his demeanor, I immediately knew that whatever he intended to sell had an extraordinary origin and was likely looted from an ancient tomb.

In this day and age, countless people went grave robbing to unearth buried treasures, and the number of cultural relics smuggled and sold to foreigners was staggering. Many domestic artifacts, once sold abroad, could never be recovered. The golden rule of our Liuyun Shop was simple: we would never sell antiques and porcelain to foreigners.

The man walked up to me, and I could clearly see that something wrapped in red cloth was tightly bundled inside his oversized coat.

Noticing his tension, I stood behind the counter and said, "Mister, if you want to sell something, just take it out and show me. It is completely safe here."

Hearing this, the man cast a cautious glance at me, stepped closer, and lowered his voice. "Do you buy underground burial artifacts here?"

My pupils constricted slightly at those words. My guess had indeed been correct. I nodded and said, "Since I keep my doors open for business, of course I buy them. Take it out and let me have a look first."

Even so, the man remained uneasy, repeatedly glancing back at the entrance as if dreading anyone else walking in.

Seeing this, I turned to Xu Xiuxiu. "Xiuxiu, keep an eye on the front. I'll take this gentleman upstairs."

Xu Xiuxiu nodded, and I turned to the man. "Mister, let's go upstairs to examine it." With a sideways turn, I gestured toward the stairs.

Only then did the man look relieved. Judging by his behavior, this should have been his first time robbing a tomb and his first time trying to fence his loot, which explained why he was so jittery.

I led the man straight to the third floor. Xu Tian was tidying up the room there at the moment. Hu Yue'er had stayed overnight with Gao Feng and had not yet returned, while Li Kun was inside a room watching television.

The main hall was situated quite far from our living quarters. The man looked around and, upon spotting Xu Tian, cast another wary glance at me.

I reassured him, "This is the other boss of the Liuyun Shop. You don't need to worry."

With that, I waved at Xu Tian. "Old Xu, this gentleman has a treasure to sell. Come take a look."

Xu Tian nodded. "Alright, I'm coming over."

He put down what he was holding and walked straight toward us. I slid to the side, vacating my seat for him.

In this trade, the biggest taboo during a transaction is having too many people present. Crowds make the seller anxious, and bystanders must remain silent so as not to fluster the parties involved.

Xu Tian nodded at the man. "Mister, please take it out and let's see."

The man looked back at me, and seeing me nod, he finally relaxed and slowly unwrapped the red cloth from inside his coat.

As he unfolded the fabric, he revealed a small red box.

Opening the box slightly, he took out a blue porcelain vase and a thumb-sized, completely emerald-green circular jade pendant.

At the sight of these two items, Xu Tian first reached into a drawer to put on a pair of white gloves, then picked up a magnifying glass to inspect them carefully.

After a few minutes, Xu Tian looked at the porcelain vase on the table and said, "Mister, if I'm not mistaken, this item was unearthed very recently. It still carries a faint earthy smell mixed with a trace of decay."

The man remained silent, simply staring at Xu Tian, apparently unwilling to answer.

Xu Tian continued, "This vase dates back to the Western Han Dynasty. However, it was anciently used for holding fresh flowers, and its volume is quite small. Most importantly, there is damage on the vase."

Pointing to the rim of the vase on the table, Xu Tian said, "A chip has been knocked off right here, but judging from my examination just now, this damage happened quite recently."

Hearing this, the man let out a sigh. "Yes, I actually broke this myself not long ago."

Xu Tian nodded. "If this piece were undamaged, I could have offered you seven or eight hundred yuan. After all, it's a Western Han artifact and a rather rare treasure. But since it's damaged, it isn't worth much anymore."

The man nodded, gritted his teeth, and asked, "Then how much are you offering for this vase?"

Without hesitation, Xu Tian replied, "One hundred and fifty yuan at most."

Hearing this price, I felt a jolt of surprise. I hadn't expected the value to drop so drastically due to the damage.

The man let out a soft sigh. Xu Tian added, "Don't doubt my price. If you aren't satisfied, you can go ask around at other shops. Mine is probably the only one willing to give you a hundred and fifty yuan; ninety percent of the others would only offer you one hundred."

At this, the man nodded and said, "A hundred and fifty it is, then. Now, please take a look at this jade piece. It was brought out together with the vase."

With that, the man took out the thumb-sized jade pendant from the box.

Seeing such a tiny pendant, Xu Tian frowned slightly. "This jade piece is a bit too small—smaller than a thumb. It must be a fragment of a larger object."

Placing the pendant on the table, Xu Tian leaned in to inspect it closely. After a moment, his expression suddenly shifted. He turned to me with a grave look and said, "Old Liu, come take a look."

Noticing his reaction, I walked over, and Xu Tian gestured for me to examine the pendant on the table.

I nodded, picked up the magnifying glass, and lifted the pendant to inspect it thoroughly.

The pendant was a translucent emerald green and felt minuscule in the palm of my hand. Through the magnifying glass, my expression grew equally serious.

On the front surface of this circular jade pendant was carved a golden head. Upon closer inspection, the golden head turned out to be the upper portion of a golden toad.

The moment I recognized the golden toad's head, it suddenly clicked: the center of the jade pendant we had acquired a few days ago had a circular missing piece—precisely the missing portion of the toad's head.

Realizing this, I placed the pendant back on the table, stepped back a few paces, and Xu Tian nodded at the man, signaling him to wait a moment.

I walked to the back, reached into my tunic, pulled out the six-clawed golden toad jade pendant we already possessed, and examined it carefully. The missing section of our pendant matched the exact shape and size of the pendant I had just been holding.

A sharp intake of breath escaped my lips. I thought to myself that this coincidence was utterly absurd. We had obtained the incomplete pendant just days ago, and right upon opening our doors today, we ran into the exact missing piece.

Could this really be the power of supreme fortune at work? I marveled inwardly.

Tucking the pendant back into my robe, I walked over to Xu Tian and gave him a subtle nod. Recognizing the gesture, Xu Tian nodded back in understanding.

Turning to the man, Xu Tian said, "Mister, this item of yours is not from the Western Han Dynasty. Since we run an honest business, we won't deceive you. This jade pendant dates from the Northern Song Dynasty. However, this piece is meant to be part of a set; if it were combined with its missing counterpart, it would be worth a small fortune."

Hearing this, the man grew uncertain again and asked, "How much is this piece worth then?"

Xu Tian calculated for a moment and said, "How about this: I'll buy your jade pendant for three hundred yuan. What do you say?"

We expected the man to haggle for a higher price, but to our surprise, he simply nodded and agreed decisively, "It's twice the price of the vase. Deal!"

A surge of hidden joy washed over us. Three hundred yuan was indeed a generous offer, but had we not desperately needed this specific fragment, the standalone piece would likely have been worth less than a hundred.

After the man left, Li Kun walked over. I promptly retrieved the six-clawed golden toad jade pendant from my tunic and handed it to Xu Tian.

Xu Tian took the pendant and slotted the newly acquired piece into the vacant space. Before our very eyes, the jade pendant fit seamlessly, and with the two parts joined together, the pendant in Xu Tian's hand became entirely whole once more.