Seven Miles
Second floor of the Square Porcelain.
A human figure suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
The sounds of vehicles, shouting, unloading goods, and the rolling shutters opening and closing filled Fang Zheng's ears, causing him to feel dazed.
"It really feels like a dream..."
Opening the curtains and looking at the modern society before him, the past thirty-six hours truly seemed like a dream.
The stark contrast between the Otherworld and modern society transformed into turbulent emotions, impacting his consciousness.
"This side is still better!"
Exhaling deeply, Fang Zheng removed the heavy burden from his body.
In the Otherworld, unfamiliar with the environment, he was always tense, not daring to relax even a little. Once back, he felt a sense of relief.
The familiar environment always provides a sense of security.
He checked the time.
Thirty-six hours in the Otherworld had passed, while just over seventeen hours had passed in modern society, clearly not a one-to-two ratio.
One: The time ratio between the two worlds is not one-to-two. Due to insufficient samples, it is still uncertain whether the time ratio is always like this.
Two: Although the Otherworld is not a chaotic era, it's still not very safe. Fierce bandits roam outside the city and are bold enough to raid execution sites.
The city is relatively better but still requires caution.
Three: From a brief investigation, resources are scarce in the Otherworld. Clothing and food are quite expensive, making life difficult for ordinary people, but housing isn't costly.
The residence on Xieliu Street is already considered a large house, selling for no more than thirty taels. A regular house in the city can be acquired for over ten taels.
A broker's assistant earns six or seven taels a year, saving half after expenses, and can afford a house in three to four years.
Ordinary people don't have a broker's income, but most families have two earners, and with a few years of hard work, they can also buy a house.
Four: The Otherworld has Martial Arts!
Real Martial Arts, though not capable of destroying the heavens and earth, seem to have a high limit, and top experts are said to be capable of fighting a hundred or even a thousand people.
It definitely falls within the extraordinary category!
Five: To be investigated...
Putting down the pen, rubbing his slightly sore face, Fang Zheng sighed softly:
"Most other things are okay, but the worst part is that world doesn't have toilet paper, you actually have to use bamboo sticks!"
"And they even reuse the bamboo sticks!"
Thinking of the bamboo sticks inserted into the mud walls of the latrine, the surface yellowed and blackened, used by who knows how many people, made him feel uneasy.
He secretly resolved that the next time he traveled there, no matter what else he brought, he definitely had to bring toilet paper!
After spending a day and a half in the Otherworld, constantly on edge, Fang Zheng relaxed upon returning, briefly summarizing his thoughts before washing up and going to sleep.
He slept until the next day.
*
*
*
Elder Lu, dressed in a Zhongshan suit, rotated the Old Mountain Sandalwood Buddha Beads in his hand as he strolled into the shop, greeting the person inside cleaning:
"Xiao Fang, busy with something?"
"Elder Lu." Fang Zheng looked up, put down the broom, dusted off his hands, and walked over to greet him:
"You've arrived."
"Master Zheng, you're here too."
Another person followed Elder Lu, dressed in a suit, with bright eyes, a well-known jade merchant in Seven Miles, Zheng Yubo.
In recent years, live streaming and short videos have become popular, and Zheng Yubo was one of the earliest jade merchants to venture into this field, known for appraising treasures.
Now, with hundreds of thousands of followers on a single app, he's leveraged this popularity to grow his jade business significantly.
In just a few years, he has amassed more than ten million in assets starting as a small appraiser, and in Seven Miles, he's a household name.
Zheng Yubo laughed and said, "I heard Brother Fang here has a few jade bracelets to sell, so I came uninvited, hope I'm not intruding?"
"Not at all." Fang Zheng shook his head:
"Please have a seat, both of you."
He then prepared tea and poured water, bringing over a wooden box, saying:
"This morning I went to the Purple Qi Pavilion to visit Elder Lu, but no one was there, so I troubled both of you to come here instead. My apologies, my apologies."
"Wasn't feeling well, went to the hospital for a checkup, wasn't at the shop." Elder Lu rubbed his back:
"I came right after I got the call."
"Is Elder Lu alright?"
"Getting old, usual ailments, nothing major." Elder Lu looked at the wooden box and asked:
"Is this the stuff that Boss Fang left behind?"
"Yes." Fang Zheng nodded:
"I don't know much about Jade Artifacts, so I'd like to ask you both to take a look, and if you could give me an appraisal, that would be ideal."
Opening the box, inside were three bracelets and two jade pendants, all wrapped in red silk.
Naturally, these items were not Fang Jian's inheritance but were artifacts Fang Zheng brought from the Otherworld, using his uncle's name to make them easier to sell.
"Oh!"
Upon seeing them, Elder Lu's eyes shifted slightly. He wiped his hands with a handkerchief before picking up one of the jade pendants for a closer look.
After a moment, he looked at Zheng Yubo:
"Flower Green Jadeite."
"Yes," Zheng Yubo said:
"It's a waxy-based Flower Green Jadeite. Flower Green Jadeite is mid to low range in jade, but a jade pendant of this quality is quite rare."
"Hmm." Elder Lu nodded slowly.
The shop had various tools for detailed observation, so examining them wasn't difficult.
"What do you two think?" Fang Zheng asked curiously:
"How much could this sell for?"
"Hmm..." Elder Lu thought for a moment and said:
"Mid to high four figures!"
Zheng Yubo nodded in agreement.
In Jade Artifact parlance, one, two, three are called small, four, five, six are called mid, seven, eight, nine are called high, followed by the number of digits.
High four figures mean starting with seven, eight, or nine, in the thousands.
A few thousand dollars.
Keeping a straight face, Fang Zheng felt slightly disappointed in his heart.
A few thousand dollars is not insignificant, but expecting to get rich overnight is out of the question, and jadeite isn't cheap in the Otherworld either.
Gu'an County is just a county, without many luxury goods to flip.
"This one is nice, water jadeite." Elder Lu picked up another jade pendant and said:
"It's clear water."
Jadeite is categorized into glass, ice, and water jadeite based on transparency, with clear water and purple water being the best in water jadeite.
Zheng Yubo estimated the price:
"Small five figures!"
As an internet celebrity, he appraises hundreds of jade artifacts daily and usually provides an estimate, making him more professional than Elder Lu in this regard.
Picking up a bracelet, the two just glanced at it and shook their heads.
"White-based green, average quality, just a few tens of dollars."
Uh...
Fang Zheng looked disappointed as he had spent several taels on it, making it a loss-making purchase.
"These two are good."
Zheng Yubo held the last two bracelets up to the sunlight, squinting closely.
The light reflected off the bracelets, showing a transparent and beautiful ice-type luster, fitting the jelly-like, glowing qualities, classified as top-grade.
"Indeed." Elder Lu spoke from the side:
"The key is, the lines on this pair are almost identical, truly rare."
"Yes." Zheng Yubo nodded:
"If sold individually, mid five figures would be about right, but sold as a pair, they could fetch mid six figures. I have a follower who's been looking for a pair of top-quality bracelets for himself and his girlfriend."
"I think this pair would be perfect."
"Brother Fang, are you willing to sell them? I'll offer four hundred thousand!"
Four hundred thousand!
Fang Zheng's heart raced, and his breath quickened.
Elder Lu remained silent, thinking four hundred thousand was slightly high, but jade bracelets are not solely about the quality.
There are other considerations.
If matched with the right buyer, prices could double easily.
Some people are willing to pay tens or hundreds of thousands for watches or bags, and naturally, others are willing to buy jade bracelets.
"Ring ring ring..."
"Excuse me for a moment," Fang Zheng picked up the phone:
"I need to take this call."
He walked to the back and answered the call, and a familiar voice came through.
"Monk, later I'm bringing two ladies to Seven Miles. You know the area well, come and accompany us, and introduce a decent restaurant as well."
Monk was Fang Zheng's nickname, only used by those familiar with him.