A Jewelry Deal Without Paperwork

Since Fang Fang oversaw the jewelry business, she naturally knew how to appraise it. Otherwise, the losses would have ruined her long ago, and she would never have risen to department manager.

"Please see yourselves out," Manager Fang said, standing up. She paid no heed to Cheng Hai and Yang Su's shock and confusion.

Yang Su could not accept it. "Impossible," she murmured. "Impossible. She couldn't have lied to me."

"Why not? What do you know about jewelry?" Cheng Hai snapped. Someone like Yang Su only cared about keeping up appearances and satisfying her vanity. She couldn't tell quality from junk.

"What do we do?" Yang Su was stunned. She had gone too far this time. She might have cost them their company and her future life as a wealthy wife.

"We'll get another appraisal." Cheng Hai had regained some composure. First, they had to establish whether the necklace was real.

They left the pawn company in a panic. Gone was the arrogance they had arrived with. They slunk out like drowned rats, unable even to hold their heads up.

Gong City was a major city, with jewelry shops almost everywhere. But they visited several jewelers and gold shops in succession, and every appraisal gave the same answer: fake.

"Fake!" Cheng Hai fumed.

Yang Su was crushed too. She had never imagined a necklace bought through someone she knew could be fake. She had trusted Xu Ai so much.

"The necklace is fake, but it's only the sapphire that's fake. Sorry for the trouble, but could you give us an estimate? How much is it worth?" Cheng Hai finally accepted it. Then he thought of Zhang Yang.

Zhang Yang was an unremarkable man, the live-in son-in-law Cheng Hai mocked as useless almost every day. Yet he had spotted the problem with the necklace just by looking at it.

Zhang Yang had warned them, but Cheng Hai had paid no attention. Even if Zhang Yang had told him today that the necklace was fake, he would not have believed him.

Now Cheng Hai believed him.

Yang Su's thoughts went in another direction. At least no one had exposed it at the birthday banquet. She would never have lived down the humiliation.

The jewelry shop owner weighed the necklace in his hand, then smiled. "Fifty or sixty thousand yuan at most. For a precise figure, I'd have to pry out these pieces of glass."

"What... glass?" Cheng Hai was even more shocked. Someone had dared to pass off blue glass as sapphire. The seller must have been certain Yang Su couldn't tell the difference.

The earlier appraisers had spared Cheng Hai and Yang Su the embarrassment of learning that the sapphire was glass. But when Cheng Hai asked what the necklace was worth, the shop owner assumed he meant to sell it and answered honestly.

"Glass? That bastard..." Yang Su trembled with anger. How dare Xu Ai sell her a fake?

"Sorry, we can't sell it yet. We need to confront the seller." Cheng Hai snatched back the necklace.

Yang Su had treasured it. Now it was just an ordinary piece of jewelry.

"Then let's go confront her!" Yang Su seethed. Xu Ai had made a fool of her. It was humiliating.

Cheng Hai said nothing. He suddenly pictured himself out on the streets. With a spendthrift wife like Yang Su, any fortune would run out eventually.

Too angry to speak, Cheng Hai headed straight home.

The smell of cooking filled the kitchen, accompanied by Zhang Yang's humming.

Lin Xiaofei was helping in the kitchen. When she heard someone come home, she stepped out to greet them.

"Uncle, Auntie, you're back just in time. Lunch is almost ready," Lin Xiaofei said.

Lin Xiaofei saw the frustration and anger on their faces, then glanced back toward the kitchen. It looked as though Zhang Yang was about to be mocked and berated again. How else would they vent their anger?

"Lunch is ready!"

Zhang Yang came out carrying a steaming bowl and called to them with a smile. Cheng Dongxue was not back yet, so he glanced at the clock on the wall. She should be getting off work and coming home around now.

Ding-dong...

Just then, the doorbell rang, followed by the sound of a key turning in the lock. Cheng Dongxue was home.

"Hey, honey, lunch is ready!" Zhang Yang called again.

"Zhang Yang, the Sapphire Necklace is fake. Are you happy now?" Yang Su did not fly into a rage or point in his face. Instead, she kept her voice level as she asked.

Cheng Hai watched Zhang Yang, waiting for his answer.

"How do you know the Sapphire Necklace is fake? You believed my judgment?" Zhang Yang was stunned. There was no way Cheng Hai and Yang Su would believe him unless they had asked someone else to appraise it.

"What necklace is fake?" Cheng Dongxue asked, completely lost.

Yang Su held back her anger, too ashamed to speak.

Cheng Hai pointed at Yang Su and told Cheng Dongxue, "The Sapphire Necklace your mother bought for over three million yuan. We had it appraised. It's fake—worth only a few tens of thousands."

"What?"

Cheng Dongxue was shocked too. She frowned and studied her parents' faces. Both had turned a sickly purple. It was true.

"Let me see." Cheng Dongxue set down her bag, took the necklace from her mother's bag, and held it up, turning it this way and that.

"Yes, it's glass," Cheng Dongxue said with a frown.

Anger simmered inside Yang Su. She wanted to ask how Cheng Dongxue could tell, but she was too embarrassed.

"Who appraised it?" Cheng Dongxue asked. Why had they suddenly decided to have the Sapphire Necklace appraised? She wondered whether someone had switched it during the appraisal.

"A pawn company in Gong City, and several jewelry and gold shops. They all reached the same conclusion. It's fake." Cheng Hai lowered his head. He felt miserable, with nowhere to vent the anger burning inside him.

"A pawn company? Why did you suddenly go there for an appraisal?" Cheng Dongxue was even more puzzled. She tossed the necklace back into the bag and sat down at the table.

"The company's facing a cash crisis. We're short more than five million yuan. Your mother used that money to buy the necklace, and now it's gone. We thought we could pawn it, but..." Cheng Hai trailed off and lowered his head, still furious.

"Used company money? Am I the only one who's done that? Haven't you been swindled too? All those antiques you bought—didn't you lose money on them?" Yang Su snapped. Her frustration poured out all at once, turning to anger that she took out on Cheng Hai.

For once, she directed that anger at someone other than Zhang Yang.

"Who sold you the necklace?" Cheng Dongxue remained calm. Arguing would solve nothing. They needed to find the money and deal with Cheng Company's financial crisis.

"Your Aunt Xu helped me buy it. Three and a half million yuan!" Yang Su shot back.

The "Aunt Xu" Yang Su meant was her close friend Xu Ai, whom she had always trusted.

"Mom, do you have a receipt? An appraisal certificate?" Cheng Dongxue was thinking of taking legal action, but they needed enough evidence. Without it, even a court could not help them.

"Ah..." Yang Su stared upward in surprise.

Nothing more needed to be said. The answer was written on Yang Su's stunned face. She had trusted Xu Ai so completely that she had never had the necklace appraised. She had no certificate, and, more absurdly, no receipt. She had simply handed over the money and taken the necklace.