Reborn As Super Heiress

Chapter 320: Chapter 317 Accidental Encounter

The saying goes, ”A wise man does not stand under a dangerous wall”. People in the jade gambling circle all know that deception and bragging are inevitable. If you want to gamble on stones, it’s all about skill, and if you drill a hole through it, you can only blame your lack of expertise, not others.

But what Ji Kun did was a bit against the rules; indeed, hindering someone’s financial prospects is not ethical, no wonder the Wei District merchant turned against him.

So when Ji Kun asked this question, Huo Sining immediately laughed, ”Do not do unto others what you don’t want others to do unto you. Teacher Ji, knowing that playing with fire can burn oneself, why then hinder someone’s financial prospects? With your experience, you must know the consequences of such actions.”

Ji Kun heard the disagreement in Huo Sining’s words and burst into laughter. This time, his laughter sounded much more sincere than before. Still laughing, he looked at Huo Sining and explained:

”Well, that’s true. But they all came to me for help; I couldn’t just refuse. I have my temper too, and the thing I hate most is these deceitful practices.”

If someone else had said this, Huo Sining would have never believed it, but hearing it from Ji Kun made him believe it quite a bit.

These days, most experts and professors are not early risers without profit, and unless there’s money to be made, they won’t get involved in deceitful practices. It’s rare to find someone like Ji Kun, who won’t stand for any sand in his eyes.

Huo Sining already harbored no dislike for Ji Kun, and hearing this only made him admire the man more.

This person was like his name, full of integrity; a sheer aura of righteousness always made him seem like a true gentleman, which was completely different from the experts and professors Huo Sining had in mind.

Huo Sining’s smile became genuine as he said, ”Mr. Ji, you are highly talented. I’ve only seen you appraise treasures on TV before, not knowing that you also have such a deep study of Hetian Jade.”

Ji Kun was not surprised. When Huo Sining had previously blurted out ’Mr. Ji’ during a moment of danger, Ji Kun realized that the young girl recognized him, so he did not humble himself:

”During my years studying for my graduate and doctoral degrees in Yan Garden, I concentrated precisely on Hetian Jade. I wouldn’t say I have a very deep study, but at least I know more than the average person.”

In Ji Kun’s words lay a subtle meaning, as he felt that just now Su Qingqing and Huo Sining had saved his life. He couldn’t quite say ’thank you’ outright, so he had to express his gratitude through his actions.

He knew that Huo Sining was a novice when it came to Hetian Jade, or else she wouldn’t have followed him earlier.

In Ji Kun’s opinion, having already hinted at his deep understanding of Hetian Jade, most people would certainly ask for his help in appraising it.

If Huo Sining were to make such a request, he would certainly agree, as a way to repay the life-saving favor he had just received from her and Su Qingqing.

However, to Ji Kun’s surprise, after hearing his words, Huo Sining just smiled and said nothing.

Ji Kun was not inclined to teach, so seeing Huo Sining’s reaction, he prepared to take his leave. Unexpectedly, his phone suddenly rang. Seeing the caller ID, he laughed and said, ”My friend has come to pick me up; I’m afraid we can’t go together for a while.”

As he spoke, he answered the phone, and a man’s voice came through, ”Ji Kun, where are you? Didn’t I tell you to just wait there? Why don’t you listen to instructions, you rascal?”

The smile stayed on Ji Kun’s face, ”Sorry, Ouyang, because there’s a market here, I took a whim to have a look. Have you found your people?”

”Found them. We’ll be setting off in a little while. You’re at the market, right? Okay, I’ll come over to you!”

On the other end, the phone call had been hung up, and Ji Kun looked towards Huo Sining, ”I’ll be leaving with my friend in a bit, what kind of Hetian Jade are you looking to select? Perhaps I could help you choose a few?”

Ji Kun didn’t want to leave empty-handed; after thinking it over, he decided to return the favor to Huo Sining and Su Qingqing.

Huo Sining did not respond, but Su Qingqing’s face lit up with joy, ”Sure, sure, having Teacher Ji assist us would be wonderful, it would save us from blindly fumbling around, not knowing where to start.”

Going with the flow, Su Qingqing readily agreed, and Ji Kun, without refusal, wandered with several people and squatting in front of a stall, he picked up a piece of material and said:

”In identifying Hetian Seed Jade, assessing the maturity of the seed jade is also extremely important, because the degree of maturity is a vital standard for judging the quality and price of a piece of Hetian Jade.”

”Some Hetian Jade is only worth a few dozen yuan per gram, while others can sell for thousands per gram, and the reason lies in the maturity of the seed material.”

Su Qingqing was puzzled, ”Maturity? Is this similar to jadeite, like with Chicken Oil Yellow, but with the difference between ’cotton fleece’ and ’glass-type’ jadeite?”

Ji Kun actually laughed, ”Your analogy is only barely appropriate. Jadeite is judged just by looking at ’kind and water,’ but the knowledge within Hetian Jade is far more obscure and complicated.”

”Newcomers to the field usually can’t fully grasp the concept of maturity right away, they need to learn to see whiteness first, then fineness, density, gradually understand the water lines and greasy luster. Only after mastering these can one appraise the maturity of the material. It’s only with a certain grasp of maturity that one truly progresses beyond being a novice.”

Upon hearing this, Su Qingqing was flabbergasted, ”It’s that difficult?”

No wonder Professor Xie didn’t want her to study jade, claiming it was too complex and that with her current level she was far from capable of grasping it. Su Qingqing had initially felt indignant, thinking that Professor Xie was looking down on her, but now it seemed she had misunderstood.

Ji Kun nodded, pointing to the piece of material in his hand and continued with a smile, ”To choose a material, you need to clearly look at several indicators: purity, fineness, density, and the degree of inclusion.”

”As for purity, I need not go into detail. Since you know about jadeite, you should understand that only flawless jade is valuable.”

”Regarding the latter three indicators, when combined, they represent the concept of maturity I mentioned earlier. A good piece of material must have good fineness, density, and a degree of inclusion. Only when these three indicators are met can it be considered truly mature material.”

”Like this piece in my hand, its fineness and density are very good, but what it lacks is the degree of inclusion; it’s just a tender piece. Such a material is too raw, and its price won’t rise.”

Ji Kun spoke rapidly, his professional jargon was abundant, but it wasn’t overwhelming or opaque. In particular, the magnetic quality of his voice was quite enjoyable, not just for Su Qingqing’s group but also for the many others gathered around the stall who came to buy jade and were now listening to his explanation.

Someone in the back nodded with a sudden realization, ”No wonder those Wei District People always say this piece of material is five hundred years old, that one is five thousand years old; so this is what they mean.”

Huo Sining thought to himself, this Ji Kun really was impressive. Just a few casual explanations could enlighten people significantly, giving them a sense of sudden clarity. No wonder CCTV had invited him to serve as an expert on the Treasure Appraisal program.

Ji Kun picked up another piece from the stall and was about to go into more detail on the concepts of water lines and greasy luster when someone squeezed through the crowd, patted his shoulder, and called out, ”Hey kid, what are you doing here? You’ve been hard to find!”

When Huo Sining heard this familiar voice, he subconsciously looked up and, upon seeing the newcomer, was taken aback.