Sweet Nostalgia of the 80s

Chapter 1242: Chapter 1442: Definitely Not Mediocre

In the afternoon, the Jade Store was sparsely populated.

Once in a while, one or two customers would come to glance around and then leave; the store owner, bored to death, sat behind the counter dozing off.

An Hao walked in, and several salesclerks approached her, asking what she needed.

She waved her hand lightly and walked straight towards the owner sitting behind the counter, gently knocking on the glass surface: ”Owner.”

The store owner rubbed his sleepy eyes and stretched lazily as he stood up, ”What do you need? How can I help you?”

This old store had been handed down for a hundred years, maintaining this customer-service philosophy since the Republic of China era.

This philosophy would continue to be passed down, and in the twentieth century and even later, this customer-first philosophy would be carried forward and expanded.

No matter whether you bought something or not, the owner’s smile never faded—a far cry better than the employees of many state-run stores these days.

”Owner, I heard you are very skilled in jade appraisal and particularly fair, and I just happen to have a family heirloom jade bracelet that I hope you can appraise,” An Hao said as she slid the bracelet off her wrist and handed it over.

”One moment, please.” The store owner wiped his reading glasses with the corner of his shirt, put them on, and carefully took the bracelet from An Hao’s hands. A gleam of sharp light momentarily flashed across his eyes before it vanished.

An Hao observed the owner’s eyes and expressions closely. Although his reputation was good within the industry, she still had to be extremely cautious since he was a merchant.

As the old saying goes, there’s no business without deceit!

”Good stuff! This jade’s quality is quite decent,” the store owner said excitedly as he caressed the bracelet, raising it to examine under the afternoon sunlight. It was luminous and moist, very sleek. Then, he tapped it gently with the back of his fingers, listening to the bracelet emitting a crisp ringing sound, ethereally clear, definitely a rare top-quality jadeite.

Indeed, this was a type of jade—the jadeite bracelet.

”How good is it?” An Hao only knew the piece was good, but she had no idea how good it actually was.

”Better than regular jade,” the owner said as he turned it back and forth in his hands, examining it several more times.

During this time, a female customer who had been lingering in the store came over and stood next to An Hao, her eyes fixating on the jade bracelet in the store owner’s hands, her pupils constricting sharply as her eyes suddenly brightened.

”Owner, may I take a look at this bracelet?”

An Hao turned to glance at the woman, who appeared to be in her mid to late twenties, well-dressed, with a delicate complexion and an extraordinary demeanor.

Just from her appearance, An Hao felt this woman was definitely not ordinary!

The store owner, having encountered a once-in-a-century bracelet, intended to keep it for his private collection to be handed down, saw this female customer’s refined style and appropriate conversation and knew she had some background.

However, the woman’s shocked and astonishing gaze when she had seen the bracelet made the store owner wary, fearing she too might know her way around, perhaps knowing as much or more than he did.

”This... I’m afraid I can’t decide that...” the owner said as he clasped the bracelet tightly in his hand, as if fearing someone might snatch it away.

This subtle movement was noticed by An Hao, and she began to have her doubts.