Chapter 128: Overnight, 128 became a millionaire.
Moreover, this face also looked noticeably less like that of a rich young master.
Ye Jiu clasped his hands, “Shopkeeper, may I have a word in private?”
As connoisseurs, the moment Ye Jiu asked such a question, the Shopkeeper guessed that the item the young master sought to sell was either illicit or extremely valuable.
However, the Shopkeeper did not make any unfounded remarks. Instead, he gestured towards a room, “If that’s the case, please, young master, step into the inner room.”
The Jewelry Shop was frequented mostly by noble ladies, which was why there were private rooms set up at the back for madams and young ladies to select jewelry.
Ye Jiu followed the Shopkeeper to the private room at the back, and then he took out the item he had been carrying, “To speak frankly, Shopkeeper, this is an ancestral treasure handed down to me. But due to recent financial difficulties, I’m compelled to convert it into Silver Coin for household expenses. I’d appreciate it if you could take a look.”
Although Ye Jiu had chosen his clothes as inconspicuously as possible, to the discerning eye, his attire would still be deemed suitable only for a poor person.
Hence, the Shopkeeper originally thought that even if this young master came to sell something, it would at most be gold or silver items, or at the rarest, jade ornaments.
Little did he expect, the young master instantly produced a pearl the size of half a pigeon’s egg, startling the Shopkeeper so much he almost lost his balance.
Getting up in haste, the Shopkeeper approached Ye Jiu, carefully taking the pearl from his hands, and scrutinizing it for a long while before he confirmed it was authentic.
In that moment, the Shopkeeper was exceedingly excited, “My surname is Lin, and if the young master doesn’t mind, you can call me Uncle Lin or Shopkeeper Lin. May I know how to address you?”
“My surname is Ye; I am the ninth in my family, so if Uncle Lin doesn’t mind, you can just call me Xiaoji,” said Ye Jiu, giving a different version of his name.
Someone capable of presenting such a treasure was not someone Shopkeeper Lin dared to casually befriend.
After inspecting the pearl in his hands once more, Shopkeeper Lin spoke, “The pearl the young master brought is massive and smooth, a rarity in this world, and calling it a treasure is no exaggeration.” Then, with some difficulty, Shopkeeper Lin continued, “However… my shop has limited funds, and I can only offer two thousand taels at the moment. If the young master can afford to wait a few days, allowing me to report to the owner, the offer will not be less than three thousand taels at the very least.”
Shopkeeper Lin’s words were greatly inflated—in the business world, no one was free from cunning. As the person in charge of the shop, he naturally had to consider his own interests and those of the shop.
Such a large pearl could potentially sell for several times the purchase price. However, these were things he could not possibly disclose to Ye Jiu.
Meanwhile, Ye Jiu was equally astonished.
Ye Jiu had lived in this world for ten years now. Although he seldom left home, he still had some common sense.
According to the purchasing power of this era, one coin was roughly equivalent to one yuan in his previous life.
Thus, even though he had known that such a large pearl would not come cheap, he thought it would be worth, at most, a few hundred taels. He had not expected it to be worth two or three thousand taels.
Please forgive his ignorance, for he had been poor in his last life too and had not seen much of the world.
Nevertheless, the feeling of suddenly becoming a millionaire was incomparably exhilarating.
After some contemplation, Ye Jiu decided to sell it right away.
Although waiting a few days might have earned an extra thousand taels, now that the object was exposed, it was best to sell it immediately, lest it attracted unwanted attention and potentially led to complications.