166 I Don’t Want It
Jobs looked at it and said to Vivian, “This raw stone does look good, but I feel that the color of the light from the window is a little strange. However, under the light, the green is light on the outside and dark on the inside. No matter how I look at it, it’s a good material. I can only say that it’s an intuition.”
Jobs thought for a moment. “There have been counterfeits on the market recently. I was worried about this when I came here. I even told them about it. I hope everyone will be more alert.”
Vivian’s first reaction when she heard this was that she must have encountered a scammer. Recalling the old man’s reaction just now, she said softly, “When we were studying this raw gemstone, the old man was very calm.”
Vivi pretended to glance at the old man casually. “Look at his clothes. He does look like an old farmer, but the way he talked about the material was very experienced. He seemed more like an expert in the Jade trade. Also, his hands don’t look like he’s doing farm work.”
“But if he’s really from the industry, why was he so cautious and dressed up? In any case, his actions made me feel a little conflicted. I’ve sought a few of the experts just now and they all thought it was good. They kept saying that if the price was right, I should quickly make a move and that there was a high chance of a good cut, but I still felt that something was wrong. This was bought for more than 100000 Yuan, not just 10 yuan.”
Jobs looked at the old man out of the corner of his eye and felt that Vivian’s analysis made sense. He pondered for a moment and said, “I’ve heard of a case of forgery before. It’s called the outer layer of the Jade that didn’t perform well. The weathered layer is crushed first, and then some quartz sand is stuck to the surface of the raw Jade with glue. It’s equivalent to making a new layer of skin. I’m not sure if this is a forgery unless you can cut it open to see.”
The old man saw that the two of them had been talking for a while, so he urged them again. Vivian asked casually, “Uncle, where did you get this raw stone?”
The old man replied impatiently, “I got it by accident. Do you want it or not? If you don’t want it, many people will want it. It’s not easy for this kind of jade to have this green color.”
Vivian’s lips curled up slightly. “Not for the time being.”
The old man just wanted to force Vivian to make a decision quickly, so that she would not waste his time. But he did not expect Vivian to decide not to take it so quickly.
However, the old man was only stunned for a moment. Although his expression was not very good, he said something. After taking the stone back, he left in a hurry without looking back, nor did he look for the other jewelers’ stalls.
Vivian saw the old man’s strange behavior and squinted her eyes in the direction he had disappeared. But she remembered she had not accepted his goods, so it was better to be less curious. After all, they were in a foreign country.
Vivian turned to look at Jobs and continued the topic. “I’ve only heard that finished jewelry can be faked. I didn’t expect that even raw stones can be faked!”
“This is very rare,” Jobs said with a smile. “In the past two years, two of the people I know in the industry fell for it. That’s when I realized that fraud is so rampant these days. For raw gemstones that I’m suspicious of, I’ll mostly trust my intuition and choose not to buy them. Although my intuition isn’t 100% accurate, it has indeed helped me avoid a lot of traps.”
Vivian nodded, and when it was close to noon, two bodyguards brought the lunch Fanny had made from the hotel to the market.
Since working outside was not a luxury, Vivian had specifically told Fanny to prepare a simple enough portion. For lunch, there were only sandwiches, mashed potatoes, and apple pie, and a large pot of coffee was prepared for everyone to drink.
When everyone returned to the stall and was ready to eat, Vivian stood up and said, “From now on, lunch will be this simple. But we’re going back to the hotel for dinner, so everyone has to bear with it and enjoy it tonight.”
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