I smacked my lips, pinched the two corners of the square cloth under the pile of walnuts, and wrapped it up. “Boss, don’t sell them yet, let’s discuss something.”

Complaints erupted all around.

“Hey, what are you doing? I’m still picking!”

“Yeah, who are you to say stop selling and just stop?”

The seller was also displeased: “What do you mean?”

I spoke gently: “Look, with this many walnuts, you might not even sell them all in a week. How about selling them to me at a lower price?”

The boss’s expression changed: “How many do you want?”

“I’ll take them all!”

The boss was stunned for a while, looked at me: “I got three hundred in total, sold a little over ten pairs, so there are, hmm, about two hundred sixty or seventy left. If you take them all, I’ll give them to you for thirteen hundred—no, twelve hundred.”

The passersby all looked at me strangely, not understanding what I was up to.

I didn’t haggle: “Deal. But I don’t have cash on me. You pack up all the walnuts first, and we’ll go to the bank together to get the money.”

“Young man, let me ask you something.” The boss was very surprised: “Are you planning to take them to Panjiayuan to sell?”

I shook my head and laughed: “No, I’m planning to play with them myself.”

Speaking of Panjiayuan, it reminded me of something.

I have sixteen thousand yuan on hand now. If I can find some cloned walnuts to sell, I’ll have enough funds to participate in the stone gambling at Panjiayuan in a few days. Actually, it’s rare to see stone gambling in Beijing. Even if there is, the jadeite rough that makes its way from Myanmar and Yunnan to the Beijing market is just the leftovers others didn’t want. Not only are they small, but the chance of finding jadeite in them is almost zero—in fact, you could say it’s impossible.

But who would have thought that from this batch of “junk rough,” a piece of “ice jadeite,” second only to “glass jadeite,” would be found.

The more I thought about it, the itchier I felt, almost wishing I could fly to Panjiayuan right now and wait for that day to come.

Chapter 12 【Am I Flirty?】

Hugging a big, colorful plastic bag commonly used by migrant workers coming to Beijing, I looked like a laborer just off the train at the West Railway Station, standing at my doorstep for ages, not daring to go in. The concept of crickets is a bit vague, so they might not count as collectibles, but walnut handicrafts are different—they’re bona fide collectibles.

My dad had just strictly forbidden me from touching antiques. If he saw me bringing home hundreds of walnuts, wouldn’t he beat me with a stick?

I paced outside the yard for a long time, listening carefully for any sounds inside. Only after making sure no one was there did I push open the gate, quickly wheel my bike in, park it in a corner, and quietly carry the walnuts back to my own little room. Usually, my parents watch TV at night and rarely come to my room. But I still locked the door, and with a clatter, dumped all the walnuts onto the bed.

Sitting on the bamboo mat, I picked through the walnuts one by one, comparing them.

One hour...

Two hours...

Knock, knock, knock—someone seemed to be at the door.

My body instantly tensed up. In a panic, I pulled the thin blanket at the foot of the bed over the walnuts, took a deep breath, and asked who it was. The reply was Emily Walker’s drunken voice, her tongue a bit thick. I relaxed, slipped on my bamboo slippers, and went to unlock the door.

A strong smell of alcohol rushed in. I instinctively pressed my finger to my nostril.

Emily Walker looked like she’d had quite a bit to drink, her whole body exuding a seductive charm, a bit like a little enchantress. She was still wearing the sexy outfit from earlier, but now, under her black low-rise denim shorts, she had on a pair of sheer flesh-colored pantyhose, almost white. Carrying a big bottle of Red Star Erguotou in her right hand, she entered the room, blinked at the bulge on my bed, and said, “Oh, hiding a beauty in your golden house, huh? Hehe, then I won’t disturb you?”

I locked the door, gave an awkward laugh, and lifted the blanket: “Just walnuts. My parents don’t let me collect things—they’d scold me if they saw.”

“Really?” Emily Walker looked at me with a bright smile. “With all that knowledge in your little head, it’d be a shame not to collect things. Don’t worry, I won’t tell Sister Green or Bro Brooks.” She found a spot to sit, took a small sip of baijiu, “Little James, how should I thank you?”

“Thank me?” I didn’t react for a moment.

“Yeah, I just got back from a client’s place. Guess what? He said that during his hard times, he especially loved the Jade Rabbit among orchids, but couldn’t afford it—he could only look from afar at the flower market to satisfy his craving. Later, after he made it big, he was too busy with his company to have time for flowers. So, when he saw my pot of orchids, he genuinely loved it. After we got to know each other, before I left, he placed several big orders and said he’d work with us long-term in the future. Hehe, so tell me, shouldn’t I thank you?”

“No need to be so polite.” I rubbed my nose. “Just a lucky coincidence.”

Her cheeks were flushed from the alcohol. She wiped the fine sweat from her collarbone with the back of her hand. “I have to show my appreciation somehow, or I’ll feel bad asking you for help picking gifts in the future.”