Looking around, there were at least nearly a hundred people at the vast construction site. In a place like this, could you really find jade?

I couldn’t help but sigh, regretting that I hadn’t asked for more specifics earlier.

“Ouch!”

A sixty-year-old man leapt into my line of sight.

The old man seemed to have tripped over an iron pipe and almost fell to the ground.

Seeing this, I immediately went over to help him up. “Grandpa, are you alright?”

The old man let out a breath, still a bit shaken. “I’m fine, I’m fine.”

“Let me help you out.”

“Young man, thank you so much. Sigh, when you get old, your legs just don’t work like they used to.”

“A construction site is the most dangerous place. You really need to be careful. By the way, what brings you here? If you’re buying a house, there should be a sales office outside, right?”

“Oh, don’t mention it. I’m not here to buy a house. Just now, my daughter-in-law brought the kid here to play in the sand, and happened to see a few migrant workers dig up a piece of jade from underground. My daughter-in-law took a photo with her phone. When I looked at it at home, the quality of the stone seemed pretty good, so I came over to ask about it.”

I was stunned for a moment. “…Did you buy the stone?”

“I offered a hundred, but they wouldn’t sell. I don’t really know much about stones, so I didn’t dare to offer more.” The old man leaned on his cane and pointed with his chin at a few people near a tower crane. “…Those guys over there.”

After seeing the old man off, I turned back, suppressing my excitement, and walked over to the three migrant workers squatting on the ground resting. “I heard you guys dug up a piece of jade? Can I take a look?”

The three looked at me. The worker in gray, who was closest to me, reached into his pocket and took out an object, showing it in his palm.

I bent down to take a closer look, and couldn’t help but twitch the corner of my eye. “Could you turn it over for me?”

It was a piece of greenish-white jade, more precisely, what people in the trade usually call a “Ming-Qing plaque.” The plaque was about four centimeters high and two centimeters wide, finely crafted, with a smooth and delicate texture. The front was carved with hollowed-out flowers and plants, while the back had a simple, natural figure carved into it. At the top of the jade plaque, a nearly broken red string was threaded through a small hole. Judging by the condition of the string, the plaque probably hadn’t been buried for very long.

Having worked in the collectibles circle for a while, I’d picked up a thing or two.

I chose my words carefully and looked up to ask, “How much are you asking?”

“What? Asking for leave?”

“Oh, I mean, how much would you sell it for?”

The three exchanged glances. The gray-clad worker, with a heavy accent, said, “At least five hundred.”

I gave a wry smile. “Could you go a bit lower?” My family had to budget every month, so before going out, I hadn’t wanted to ask my parents for money. I only had a little over a hundred on me, which wasn’t enough.

“How much do you want to offer?”

“I have about…” I wasn’t good at lying, so I opened my wallet and, right in front of them, took out all my money, one bill at a time. “I have one hundred and eighty-five yuan. If that’s okay, we have a deal. If not, I really don’t have any more.”

“That’s too little, not selling, not selling.” They shook their heads firmly.

Not wanting to give up this rare opportunity, I hesitated for a moment, then took off my mechanical watch, worth about two hundred yuan, from my wrist. “If I add this watch, would that work?”

The watch was bought by my mom two years ago with New Year’s money from my grandma’s family.

The three of them whispered among themselves, then finally took the money and the watch, and handed the jade plaque to me.

Chapter 4 【Emily Walker】

Sitting on the subway home, I played with the jade plaque, feeling its smooth warmth with my thumb, unable to put it down.

From what I knew, there was no absolute real or fake when it came to Ming-Qing plaques—just a difference between new and old craftsmanship. This plaque had a free-flowing artistic style, the lines were smooth and not at all stiff or dull. Hmm, it should be old craftsmanship, an item from the Ming or Qing period. But as for its exact market value, I wasn’t a professional, so I didn’t dare make a rash judgment. Anyway, in past years at a few small auctions in Beijing and Shanghai, the price of old Ming-Qing plaques fluctuated between ten thousand and several hundred thousand yuan.

When you’re well-fed and warm, you start to think about other things—true collecting is a rich person’s game. Right now, I wasn’t at that level.

Thinking it over, I could only sell the jade plaque and use it to make more money.

After leaving the subway station, I passed by the Qianmen KFC. The sky was gloomy, with a patch of dark clouds overhead, as if it was about to rain. I quickly picked up my pace, cut through the alley, and returned to my family’s siheyuan. Using our Galanz microwave, which had been repaired several times, I quickly heated up some leftovers. By the time I’d filled my stomach, fine raindrops had started to fall, pitter-pattering down. It was a light rain, but this kind of rain was the most persistent—once it started, it could last all day.

“Looks like I’ll have to deliver umbrellas again. Sigh, these weather forecasts nowadays…”

I shook my head, rummaged through my parents’ room for two umbrellas, took one and left one, then headed out to catch a bus to Zhushikou, transferred to Route 57, and arrived at my mom’s workplace—Maliandao Tea Street. My mom worked in the finance department on the third floor of the tea market. I knocked on the door, handed the umbrella to my mom, who was doing the accounts, greeted each of her colleagues—this aunt, that auntie—one by one, and then took my leave.

Just as I reached the elevator, I saw a mature woman walking this way from a distance.