Chapter 132 - Choosing Presents, Not As Fun As Sister-In-Law
Chapter 132: Choosing Presents, Not As Fun As Sister-In-Law
After Song Fengwan relayed Duan Linbai’s words to Qiao Xiyan, she took out a catalog from a car’s glove box. Inside the catalog were detailed illustrations of flora and fauna.
Since there were already many jade wares on the market with traditional Buddhist plants or flower designs, people had to create outstanding designs to stand out among the crowd. This was why the Qiao family chose to make each product by hand.
They first had to sketch out the design onto the jade, then roughly carve out the outline before using a smaller tool to create the details. There were many things people had to pay attention to in the jade carving process.
“Wanwan, do you know when Third Master Fu’s birthday is?” Qiao Xiyan asked as he steered the car into an antique marketplace and found a parking lot according to the road signs.
“Is his birthday coming up?” Song Fengwan closed the catalog.
“Uncle Nian brought it up yesterday. By his tone, it seems like his birthday hasn’t passed yet.”
Song Fengwan frowned. I’ve never heard anyone mention it.
“If it’s close, we have to celebrate in some way. This is one of the larger antique marketplaces in the north. Let’s take a look around here.” Qiao Xiyan had already parked the car.
Song Fengwan carefully stored the catalog away and got out of the car. The cold winds rushed at her, making her shiver.
***
The antique marketplace was full of dazzling treasures. Pearl and jade artifacts were all over, making it hard to take in everything at once. But people unfamiliar with antiques couldn’t determine their authenticity and tended to end up suffering losses.
Song Fengwan had been to an antique marketplace in Suzhou before. That place had been there for centuries, so many antiques and porcelain wares were sold there. Meanwhile, the antique marketplace here sold mainly pearls and jade. There were also many people fiddling with a Wenwan walnut in their hand.
“In the past, the children of a Manchu bannerman family liked fiddling with walnuts while taking walks. Now, it has become a trend in the north.” People from the south didn’t have this habit.
While explaining, Qiao Xiyan led her into a small alley and walked straight into a shop. It was very crowded and noisy. These people were mostly here for new raw jade stones.
“Cousin, I’ll go take a look around. Call me when you’re done.” She didn’t know much about these things and would only be squeezed around if she went into the shop.
“Alright, don’t go too far.” This was a regulated antique marketplace with security guards on patrol, so she couldn’t possibly get lost.
Qiao Xiyan went straight into the shop while Song Fengwan wandered around. She wanted to secretly buy Fu Chen a prayer bead bracelet to compensate him since a certain someone kept threatening her with it.
“Young lady, are you buying a prayer bead bracelet for someone?” The boss greeted her with a smile. Since most young ladies liked colorful and modern designs, and seeing how she was browsing through the old-fashioned ones, he guessed that the prayer bead bracelet was for someone else. “Look at this one. It’s made from purple sandalwood, and the quality is guaranteed. If you like it, I’ll sell it to you cheaper.”
Song Fengwan smiled bitterly. Although she didn’t know much about antiques, she knew that it was fake.
“How much is this?” She picked up a prayer bead bracelet made from agarwood.
The boss stared at her for a moment. He knew clearly whether his goods were real or fake. Among the pile, only the agarwood prayer bead bracelet was actually worth some money.
He originally thought that this young lady had chosen the higher-quality bracelet by coincidence. But the moment she picked up a high-quality hibiscus stone from his stall, he knew that she could judge the quality of these goods.
“Young lady, are you an expert?”
“No, someone in my family is, so I learned a bit. Can I pay using my phone?”
“Sure.” The boss took out the QR code and handed it to her.
After paying, Song Fengwan put the goods away and bought a candied hawthorn along the way. While eating it, she went back to find Qiao Xiyan. She squatted at the door for a long time. It was only when it was approaching one o’clock did Qiao Xiyan come out with a bag. He had the expression of having found a treasure.
***
After eating at a nearby restaurant, they hurried back.
What happened next left Song Fengwan dumbfounded. Cousin actually made me hug a rock.
It was a raw jade stone that hadn’t even undergone polishing yet. It was a ten-pound stone that was chilling to the bone, yet he wanted her to hold it in her arms?
“I’m afraid of it being tossed around and bumping into things. I’ll feel at ease with you holding it,” Qiao Xiyan said matter-of-factly.
“You can put it in the trunk or in the backseat…” Although the stone was wrapped, she could still feel its sharp edges. It was uncomfortable.
“I’m afraid it’ll topple.”
Song Fengwan was furious but could only resign to hugging this damned stone.
She was so angry that she posted about it on her Moments and complained about her cousin mistreating her for the sake of a stone.
Duan Linbai liked it and went to show it off in a group chat with a few close friends.
Little White Dragon in the Waves: [I’ve realized that Third Fu’s little wife is really cute.]
sdfghjk235: [You’ve seen her?]
Duan Linbai was speechless. Why is he so lazy? His username is just a bunch of random characters. It’s so annoying. [Eldest Nephew, do you want to see what she looks like? She’s going to be your Third Aunt in the future.]
The person with the random username didn’t say anything.
Duan Linbai frowned. The people in this group chat don’t like to chat. It’s not easy to find someone who will reply to me, so how can I let him go so easily?
[Don’t you want to know who she is? Her age? Her appearance?]
[Aren’t you afraid that Third Fu has found you a very young aunt? What if she’s more than ten years younger than you and still underage. Are you going to address her as Third Aunt? Aren’t you just the slightest bit curious about her background?]
Still, no one answered.
[Sigh, you just don’t know how much fun this Little Sister-in-Law is.]
sdfghjk235: [You’re saying: It’s not as fun as Sister-in-Law]
Duan Linbai: “…”
He was dumbfounded.
sdfghjk235: [I’ve already sent a screenshot to Third Uncle.]
Duan Linbai exploded in anger. F*ck! When did I say that it’s not as fun as Sister-in-Law?! This pair of uncle and nephew are f*cking vicious! They’re going to kill me!
***
When Fu Chen received the screenshot, the sun was already setting. He lowered his head and chuckled while silently marking another strike under Duan Linbai’s name in his heart.
He looked down at his watch. According to Qiao Xiyan, they should be back soon.
He raised his leg and kicked Fu Xinhan, who was sleeping on the carpet.
“Let’s go. I’ll take you out for a walk.”
Fu Xinhan was still half asleep and had a blank look on his face. The weather is too cold. I really don’t want to go out.
He yawned and got ready to lie down and continue sleeping.
“You’re not going?” A deep voice sounded.
Fu Xinhan jumped up from the ground, ran to Fu Chen’s feet, and rolled around. It’s already hard enough to be a dog, and being the Fu family’s dog is even harder.
But being Fu Chen’s dog is the hardest!