"One each." Li Yichen set three egg-sized pieces of seed jade on the desk.
"What are these? Pebbles? They're so tiny." All three immediately looked unimpressed. "You went all the way to the Western Regions and brought back a few of these? If I'd known, I would've taken you to the little grove behind campus."
"What would we go to the grove for?" Li Yichen genuinely had no idea what they meant.
Yang Weifeng rolled his eyes at him, then said smugly, "Clearly, you've never been there. Yuanyuan and I go all the time... man... it's so private... just thinking about it gets me excited..."
Li Yichen was speechless. "Stop right there... any more and this won't be suitable for kids..."
"Oh..." Yang Weifeng finally caught on, then continued, "There's a path paved with pebbles in there, and they're way bigger than yours. If you like them, I'll pry a few out for you next time I go."
"Number Four went to the trouble of bringing them back. It's the thought that counts. They'd be pretty good for cracking walnuts, too." Sun Kai casually pulled a bag of walnuts out from under his bed.
"My mom sent these. Eat some and give your brains a boost." As Sun Kai spoke, he grabbed a handful and put them on the desk. Then he picked up a piece of seed jade and brought it down on a walnut.
With a crack, the walnut shattered.
He popped the kernel into his mouth and said, "You know, this actually works pretty well."
"Let me try." Yang Weifeng and Zhang Yong each picked up a piece and started cracking walnuts.
"Ignorance really is terrifying." Watching the Hetian jade he had so carefully selected reduced to walnut crackers, Li Yichen couldn't help shaking his head.
Then