Worthless Secondhand Goods

"Mom, may you live a long life, enjoy endless blessings, and stay forever young."

Yang Gang and Cheng Lin held out an open box to Yang Su and offered their wishes in unison.

"Thank you, dears. I wish you both well too." Yang Su could hardly take her eyes off the Jadeite Ring. She picked it up and slipped it onto her finger.

The ring had been custom-made and fit perfectly.

"It's beautiful. Go on, take your seats!" Yang Su turned her hand this way and that, admiring it from every angle. She almost wanted to take her hand off and pass it around for everyone to see.

"It's our turn!" Cheng Dongxue tugged Zhang Yang's arm.

Only then did Lin Xiaofei release Zhang Yang's arm. She stayed where she was and watched him and Cheng Dongxue go over to offer their birthday wishes.

"Mom, happy birthday. May you stay healthy, and may everything go your way."

"Mother-in-law, may you live a long life, and may all your wishes come true."

The couple had never rehearsed, so each said something different. Their wishes were remarkably down-to-earth, too.

"Hahaha..."

The room burst into laughter at Zhang Yang's birthday wish.

Zhang Yang said nothing. He knew everyone saw him as a common man. And when a common man did anything, it was bound to seem vulgar and invite ridicule.

Yang Su had no time to laugh at him. Her gaze was fixed on the White Jade Hairpin inside the Small Rosewood Box.

At first glance, the White Jade Hairpin looked plain and unremarkable, the sort of trinket Yang Su would never notice. Its jade was of exceptional quality, but Yang Su cared only about appearances and outdoing others. She could not tell good white jade from bad.

"Hah. So it's just a secondhand White Jade Hairpin!"

Xia Shiying, who had been watching from the side, could not resist speaking up. He clearly thought little of the hairpin. It looked far too ordinary, even old-fashioned.

"Exactly. It looks cheap enough already, and it's secondhand."

Cheng Dongyu looked down her nose at Zhang Yang's gift.

"It cost—"

"Cost what? How much could a secondhand thing cost? The box is rather nice, though. It would do for storing jewelry. If only it were bigger."

Cheng Dongxue had wanted to explain and make things clear before her eldest sister embarrassed herself. But Cheng Dongyu rudely cut her off again and kept taking digs at Zhang Yang.

"Sis, that's enough. Whatever it cost, whether it's valuable or not, it's still a gift from Zhang Yang. Besides, he hardly has any money!"

Cheng Lin spoke up at the right moment to say something fair.

"She's right. That's enough," Yang Gang added. "Zhang Yang just hasn't had an opportunity. If one comes along and he makes the most of it, I'm sure things won't stay this way."

Of the three Cheng sisters, the eldest, Cheng Dongyu, had married well and lived the most comfortably. But that might not always be so. Xia Shiying worked for someone else, after all.

Yang Gang had started his own business. The road was difficult, but he could already see hope ahead. Before long, he might be the wealthiest of them all.

Yet even in his position, Yang Gang did not look down on Zhang Yang. Instead, he found a tactful way to encourage him. Zhang Yang felt terrific.

He stood to the side with a grin, as though the person everyone was discussing had nothing to do with him.

"Cheng Lin, Yang Gang, why do you keep taking Zhang Yang's side? Perhaps you're partly responsible for how he turned out. How will he ever succeed if no one pushes him?"

Cheng Dongyu made it sound as though she only wanted what was best for Zhang Yang. It was like seating students according to their grades and pretending that putting the worst performers at the back would somehow make their marks soar.

"We're not taking anyone's side. We're just being fair," Yang Gang replied politely. "I don't object to you pushing him, but perhaps you should think about whether you're going about it the right way."

"Second Sister, Eldest Sister, stop arguing. You don't think much of Zhang Yang, and that's fine. But he bought Mom's birthday gift himself, and it wasn't cheap."

Cheng Dongxue could not bear to see her two sisters argue over Zhang Yang at their mother's birthday celebration.

"Heh. Zhang Yang bought it himself? Then I knew it couldn't have cost much."

So Cheng Dongxue had not even paid for it. That told Cheng Dongyu all she needed to know about how much the gift could have cost.

Zhang Yang had no job, and Cheng Dongxue gave him his spending money. Even he was astonished at how badly he had gotten by before.

"This isn't about money!" Cheng Lin was now wholeheartedly defending Zhang Yang. She made a point of glancing at Yang Su; what she said next was meant for her, too.

"Eldest Sister, you have money. You spent two hundred thousand on a Gold-Inlaid Jade Bangle, but that's probably less than a tenth of what you have. Zhang Yang is different. He may have spent every cent he had on this White Jade Hairpin. Whatever the amount, he still deserves respect."

Cheng Lin could not stand it anymore. Whenever they had the chance, her eldest sister and brother-in-law tore into Zhang Yang, as though reducing him to nothing would make them look better.

"Cheng Lin's right," Yang Gang said. "You're always comparing yourself with Zhang Yang. Is that the only way you can feel accomplished? You're measuring your height against dwarfs. Even if you're taller, you're still a dwarf."

"Clap, clap..."

Though the others disliked Zhang Yang too and had mocked and bullied him themselves, Cheng Lin and Yang Gang's words stunned them. There was a truth to what they had said that commanded respect.

Cheng Dongyu and Xia Shiying had clearly been stung. Yang Su could no longer stand watching, so she spoke up.

"The White Jade Hairpin isn't much to look at, but never mind. At least they didn't come empty-handed. Dongyu, there's no need for you two to keep arguing with them. Let's sit down and eat."

Yang Su only wanted to spare Cheng Dongyu and her husband further embarrassment and stop the situation from getting out of hand.

Zhang Yang held the White Jade Hairpin, waiting for someone with a discerning eye to take a look. No one did.

Everyone said Zhang Yang's White Jade Hairpin was a worthless secondhand item. Cheng Hai stepped closer, picked it up, and examined it.

"The jade itself is quite good, and it seems to have developed a patina. It's old enough to count as an antique. It's just too ordinary."

After turning the White Jade Hairpin over in his hand, Cheng Hai tossed it back into the Small Rosewood Box.

At least Cheng Hai had learned something from all the money he had spent studying antiques: he had correctly identified the hairpin as one.

If Cheng Hai had studied it carefully, he might have noticed something more. But he had already decided Zhang Yang was a man who lived off his wife, so he could not believe Zhang Yang would buy Yang Su an expensive birthday present.

Just then, a man past fifty emerged from the crowd and narrowed his eyes at the White Jade Hairpin in the Small Rosewood Box.

"Hiss..."

Zhang Yang frowned. He had been hoping someone who knew its worth would appear. Seeing the sharp gleam in the older man's narrowed eyes, he knew he had found one.