Chapter 588

Before Cen Dachuan stood three long tables pushed together, laden with a dazzling array of imported goods.

Just the assorted gemstones filled three trays.

It could be called the most eye-catching stall on this entire street.

If not for being overwhelmed by too many enthusiastic greetings along the way, Pan Yun would have reached here sooner.

She stepped forward and bent to select among the gemstones, varying in size and color.

Unpolished gemstones looked unimpressive; the largest in their hands was barely the size of a thumb, and once trimmed and polished…

Pan Yun's eyes brightened slightly—now that was a decent size.

A satisfied smile naturally spread across Pan Yun's face.

Tao Yanbai and the other two grinned broadly; this trip had brought profit beyond just people—good, very good.

Cen Dachuan had been watching their expressions closely; seeing the four look pleased, he too smiled, glancing at Qu Le, who was glancing left and right.

Cen Dachuan frowned slightly—definitely a petty thief; even buying something, his eyes darted everywhere, clearly insincere.

In contrast, his little aunt, though spoiled, had steady eyes—clearly raised to be willful, but her character was sound.

Cen Dachuan softened two degrees toward Pan Yun, thinking girls needed gemstones for dowries, and pushed all three trays forward: "Young Lady, pick whatever you like—if unsatisfied, I have better."

"Big Brother Dachuan…" Cen Yuan muttered, how could you reveal your best stock so quickly?

Pan Yun seemed unconcerned, picking through the tray's gems while urging: "Hurry and bring them out—I'll take them all if they're good."

Cen Dachuan pulled a cloth bag from his robe, grabbed an empty bowl, and poured the contents of the bag into it.

Seven or eight red and blue gemstones tumbled together, filling the bowl completely.

Pan Yun raised an eyebrow—these were fine goods; even one of these stones was worth more than everything else on this stall combined.

Seeing Miao Zhen and Miao He also came closer.

Pan Yun swiftly glanced at Qu Le, plucked out eight gemstones, laid them in a row, and said: "Name your price."

Cen Dachuan, impressed by her directness, replied: "Eighty taels per stone."

Pan Yun: "Done!"

The people behind Cen Dachuan widened their eyes; villagers gathered around, their faces alight with excitement.

Pan Yun swept her finger in a circle, pointing to the smaller stones in the three trays: "What about these?"

Cen Dachuan said: "If the Young Lady finds them acceptable, the smallest tray is one copper coin per stone, this middle tray one tael per stone, and these slightly larger ones, two taels per stone."

"Good," Pan Yun nodded. "I'll take them all."

Unlike her earlier haggling with others, when Pan Yun spoke herself, she was remarkably generous.

Miao Zhen and Miao He behind her made no objections, merely stepping forward to count the gemstones in the trays.

After counting, Miao Zhen pulled out a bundle of silver notes and paid.

Qu Le couldn't help staring—those were his money!!!

Cen Dachuan and the others watched intently as Miao Zhen held the money.

Miao Zhen handed the money to Cen Dachuan.

Cen Dachuan counted it, confirmed it was correct, and passed it to Cen Yuan.

Cen Yuan glanced at it, verified it was genuine silver notes—from a major bank—and his face lit up: "Big Brother Dachuan, it's real!"

Cen Dachuan smiled. Cen Sheng was right—this was indeed a major customer. Then he saw Qu Le and frowned again—what a useless nephew.

Miao Zhen and Miao He packed the gemstones into several cloth bags; Pan Yun took the chance to ask Cen Dachuan: "Are these all the gemstones you have? Any better ones? Or even others like these eight?"

Qu Le immediately stepped forward to advise: "Little Aunt, you've bought enough already. Didn't you say you'd lend me a thousand taels to start a business?"

"I won't withhold your loan—I'm getting married and want to buy a few more gemstones for jewelry, what's wrong with that?"

"Isn't this enough for jewelry?" Qu Le counted on his fingers: "The rest of the money must go for silk, timber, gold and silver ornaments—you can't spend it all on gemstones."

"I love gemstones!" Pan Yun said. "Besides, I won't use them all—my daughter can use them later. Gemstones don't spoil."

"You'd be better off buying gold—these imported gemstones are hard to liquidate…"

"Do I need to liquidate them?" Pan Yun said haughtily. "If I'm short, I'll just ask Father for more. My family won't stint on my jewelry."

Her sheer extravagance made even Cen Dachuan look at Qu Le with pity.

One had no shortage of money for jewelry; the other couldn't even afford capital to start a business.

!

Pan Yun tilted her chin and asked Cen Dachuan: "Do you have any more of these large gemstones?"

Before Cen Dachuan could answer, Cen Yuan spoke first: "We do!"

Cen Dachuan glanced at him.

Cen Yuan leaned close and whispered: "Big Brother, we rarely get a big customer like this—why not sell the gemstones from Fan Family Village too? They priced them low—we can make a profit on the difference."

Cen Dachuan frowned.

Cen Yuan whispered: "The villagers need to pay summer taxes soon; after June, a big wind might come—we need more food, water, and medicine…"

Cen Dachuan remembered the annual gales, his expression softened, and after a moment's thought, he told Pan Yun: "There's one more bag of gemstones, but I can't get them until two days from now."

Pan Yun waved her round fan dismissively: "This place is filthy and chaotic—I don't want to stay here. How do these compare to those eight?"

"No worse than them."

"Fine," Pan Yun said. "I'm leaving today and will stay in the county town for two days. I'll wait until the day after tomorrow. Bring the gemstones to the Peaceful Inn—I'll pay well if they're good."

Cen Dachuan frowned at the idea of going to the county town: "I don't enter the city."

Pan Yun frowned, clearly annoyed by his fussiness.

Qu Le immediately said: "Little Aunt, Little Aunt, I can run errands for you!"

He added: "I'll bring you the gemstones the day after tomorrow and pick up more goods to bring back—about that thousand taels…"

"Understood. I'll lend it to you. Then come the day after tomorrow and help me collect the gemstones."

Only then did Cen Dachuan lower his guard, and a smile rose to his face again. "Fine, then we'll trade at the Cen family in two days."

If the trade was the day after tomorrow, then they had to get the gemstone back before then.

To give herself some breathing room, Pan Yun turned and walked off; the moment she left, Cen Dachuan handed the stall over to the men under him and took Cen Yuan straight out of the village.

"Last time we just finished a quarrel with the Fan family estate, so today no matter what we have to drink a round. We've got the gemstone, we'll come back tomorrow." Cen Dachuan calculated the time as he walked, and said to Cen Yuan, "You're sharp—stay alert then, don't forget to remind me of the time and the price."

Cen Yuan agreed in one breath.

The moment they stepped out of the village, Qu Le came back right behind them and reported: "They've left the village."

Pan Yun immediately set down her bowl and said softly, "Pack up, we're leaving now." (End of chapter)