Selling Jade

Lin Maoxian smiled. "I wouldn't go so far as to say I'm asking for special treatment. I just heard your shop was one of the more famous jade dealers in the area, and I'm in urgent need of money, so I took the liberty of coming by."

"Not at all, Mr. Lin. We're honored to have you here. There's no need to call it a bother. Please, come inside." Inoue Nakao led Lin Maoxian toward the reception room.

Meanwhile, at the Mouri Detective Agency in Beika Town, Tokyo.

A young woman opened the door and peered through the crack. A middle-aged man had clearly had too much to drink. Empty beer cans littered the area beside him, and he was now sprawled across the table, fast asleep. She closed the door and headed out.

She hadn't taken more than a few steps when the door suddenly opened. A little boy wearing a pair of old-fashioned glasses looked at the young woman and asked, "Where are you going, Ran?"

Seeing him, Ran Mouri patted her chest. "Conan! It's you. You scared me."

Conan continued, "Are you going to see a movie? I want to come too."

"Shh! Keep your voice down. Don't wake Dad." Ran bent down and smiled. "It's a date. I'm going on a date with Shinichi."

Conan smiled. "A date? You're going on a date with big brother Shinichi?"

Ran smiled. "That's right. If Dad knew I was going on a date with Shinichi, he'd get really mad, so don't tell him about it, okay?"

"So you're going on a date with big brother Shinichi! All right, be careful on your way there." With that, he turned and headed back into the room.

"Okay, see you!" The young woman waved with a smile.

Conan thought with a smile, So that's what this girl Ran is up to—she's going on a date with Shinichi. Ah!! Going on a date with Shinichi? But I'm Shinichi! If she's not going on a date with me, then who is she meeting? She's all dressed up, and who could she be going to see that made her lie to me? I'd better follow her and find out who she's meeting.

In the reception room at the Jade Pavilion, Lin Maoxian and Inoue Nakao sat facing each other.

I'll have to bargain hard in a moment. No matter how good it is, I have to get the price down. That was what Inoue Nakao was thinking, but he said, "Mr. Lin, since you're here to sell jade, could you let me examine it?"

"Of course." Lin Maoxian handed over the jade he had prepared earlier.

"Won't you have a specialist examine it, Mr. Inoue?"

"No need to go to that trouble. I've actually been in this business for decades, and I also serve as the company's appraiser." Inoue Nakao took the jade. He touched it and found it cool and smooth, then nodded. He held it up toward the light and saw that its color was clear, with green distributed evenly across it. He then licked the jade with the tip of his tongue; it felt slightly rough. Next, he dropped a bead of water onto it from the teacup on the table. The water quickly formed a droplet on the jade and took a long time to disperse. He was already certain it was genuine, but still took out his toolbox. He placed the jade beneath a magnifying glass and examined it, mainly checking for cracks. Jade without cracks was of the finest quality, while cracked jade was inferior. Even genuine jade lost much of its value if it had cracks; the more numerous and noticeable the cracks, the lower its value. He inspected it closely. Its surface was smooth, without a single crack. It was a fine piece of jade.

Inoue Nakao looked up and set down the jade in his hand. "This is genuine jade, and a fine piece at that. If I'm not mistaken, it's an emerald—also known as Imperial Green. Its color is rich and deep, and its texture is fine and flawless, with a regal air. In ancient times, it was reserved for the imperial family and rarely circulated outside the palace. Fine pieces do turn up at auctions from time to time, but they're exceptionally rare and very valuable."

Lin Maoxian smiled. "It seems Mr. Inoue really is an expert who knows his jade. This piece is not only a valuable collectible, jade is also good for one's health. If I weren't in urgent need of money, I wouldn't be willing to part with it."

The ancients considered jade beautiful to wear, and said that while gold had a price, jade was priceless. Jade lay buried underground for thousands or even hundreds of millions of years, and contained many mineral elements. That was why people often said that people nourished jade and jade nourished people. If someone was in good health and wore jade for a long time, their body could nourish the jade, making its luster and brilliance grow better and brighter. If someone was in poor health and wore jade over time, the minerals in it could gradually be absorbed by the body and have a health-promoting effect. For instance, women usually wore jade bracelets on their left wrists because they were good for the heart. A jade pillow was said to make the mind sharper; ancient emperors liked using jade pillows, and even long-lived Chinese emperors of old had used them for years. The Compendium of Materia Medica also described jade's health benefits.

Since ancient times, China had been renowned as the "Land of Jade." The ancients treasured jade and wore it as precious adornment. Ancient medical texts called jade "the finest of stones, sweet in taste, mild in nature, and nontoxic," and claimed that it was the substance best able to store and nourish the body's vital energy. They believed that sucking on or holding jade in the mouth, in combination with saliva, could "generate fluids and quench thirst, dispel heat in the stomach, ease vexation, nourish the heart and lungs, soothe the throat, and nourish the hair." Thus, jade was used not only for jewelry, ornaments, and decoration, but also to promote health. Emperors and imperial consorts throughout the ages had relied on jade for their well-being. Emperor Huizong of Song was obsessed with jade, while Yang Guifei held jade in her mouth to ward off the summer heat.

Modern science had confirmed the principles behind jade's health benefits. Chemical analysis showed that jade contained trace elements beneficial to the human body, including zinc, magnesium, iron, copper, selenium, chromium, manganese, and cobalt. Wearing jade allowed these trace elements to be absorbed through the skin, activating cells and improving the body's immune function. This explained the traditional Chinese medicine saying, "Some illnesses cannot be cured with medicine, yet wearing jade regularly can cure them." Long-term, gentle massage from wearing a jade bracelet could not only passively relieve blurred vision, but also replenish vital energy and nourish the spirit.

Inoue Nakao smiled. "This is certainly a fine piece of jade. First, let me thank you, Mr. Lin, for being willing to part with such a treasure. How much are you asking for it?"

Lin Maoxian said, "A friend once offered me a high price for it, but I wouldn't sell. How much are you able to offer?"

Inoue Nakao ventured, "How about twenty million yen?"

"Twenty million yen? That's only one million yuan. Mr. Inoue, you must be joking. If your company isn't interested in buying this jade, you can just say so. I won't take up any more of your time." As he spoke, he stood up and pretended he was about to leave.

Inoue Nakao hurried to his feet and grabbed his hand. "No, no. We're very interested in buying it. If the price is too low, we can negotiate."

Lin Maoxian sat back down with a smile. "All right, since your company is interested, give me another offer. But let's not make jokes like that again, shall we?"

Inoue Nakao hurriedly replied, "Of course, of course." Since this guy knows his way around a deal, he won't be easy to fool. I'll just have to offer the going price. Still, thinking of all that money slipping away made his heart ache.

"Then how about one hundred million yen? What do you think?"

Hearing that the second offer was ten times the first, Lin Maoxian thought, You old bastard think you can cheat me out of my money? Take a look at yourself. I've got no less experience than you. Forget it—I'd better get this over with and take the money. A loss is a loss.

"One hundred million is too low. Add another ten million, and we have a deal. That's my absolute lowest price." Lin Maoxian deliberately put on a stern face.

Inoue Nakao had been about to say more, but after looking at Lin Maoxian's expression, he replied, "All right, then. We'll settle at one hundred and ten million yen."

If I didn't have something to take care of right now, I'd never let you make money off me. He thought that, but said, "Here are my documents. Give me one hundred thousand yen in cash first. As for the rest, use my documents to open a bank account for me and transfer the full balance into it. Also, buy me a mobile phone."

Inoue Nakao said, "No problem. We can take care of all that within thirty minutes. Do you have a particular brand of phone in mind?"

Lin Maoxian said, "Not really. As long as it has all the necessary features, that's fine."

"All right. Please wait here for a while. I'll have everything ready for you shortly. I'll tell my staff to get on it."

"Sure, go ahead." Lin Maoxian casually replied as he watched Inoue Nakao leave. But his thoughts were elsewhere. Based on what he had learned so far, completing Main Mission One would be easy. He could simply ask at any police station or find a taxi. But Mission Two would only be released after he completed Mission One, so he needed to prepare for it. And would he really be satisfied with just completing Mission Two? Given his personality, he'd make the most of this first world, where the mission difficulty was only Easy, and have a proper adventure. But wherever he went, he would need money to get things done. With this money, it would be much easier to handle things.

Twenty minutes later, Inoue Nakao came back in, holding an envelope in one hand and some documents in the other. "Mr. Lin, here's one hundred thousand in cash. I've transferred the rest to your bank card. Here's the phone you asked for, along with your documents." As he spoke, he handed Lin Maoxian everything he was carrying.

Lin Maoxian took the documents first and examined them carefully before putting them away. He took the phone and pressed a few buttons, then slipped it into his pocket. As for the envelope, he casually put it away.

"Excellent. It's been a pleasure doing business with your company. I'll be on my way." With that, he headed out.

Watching Lin Maoxian leave, Inoue Nakao thought that he had made some money from the deal, but compared with the money that guy had, it was only a small sum. Should I find someone and pull off a job? I'll have to think this over carefully.