The Jadeite That Frightened the Family

Wei Donglai didn't laugh at his mother and the others. He patiently explained it to them.

"Jadeite isn't just green. It can also be red, yellow, blue, white, black, and so on. Jadeite is also divided into several grades based on its texture, translucency, and color..."

"This Buddha pendant should be the relatively rare lavender jadeite. As for how translucent it is, that means it has good texture and translucency."

"The jadeite bracelets you saw before probably weren't as fine or translucent, which is why they weren't so clear. Hold this Buddha pendant up to the light. Doesn't it look like there's water sloshing around inside?"

The three of them copied Wei Donglai, dangling the Buddha pendant against the glow of the setting sun. The pendant seemed even more beautiful in the sunlight.

"Then is this thing worth a lot?"

Li Yue'e asked a rather crass question, and both her daughters-in-law immediately turned their attention to him. It was what they wanted to ask too.

Wei Donglai nodded. "It's worth a lot, but I can't say exactly how much."

"Could it be worth a thousand?"

Chen Fengying named a figure she already thought was enormous.

Wei Donglai shook his head. "More than that."

Their hearts all began to beat a little faster.

Li Yue'e cautiously named a price. "It couldn't be worth ten thousand, could it?"

"It should be!"

Wei Donglai knew this jadeite Guanyin was probably top-grade material. In later years, it could have fetched several million.

Even though it was only 1982, it was still worth far more than ten thousand.

He didn't say any more than that because he was afraid the figure would be too much for them to take.

To these three simple fishing-village women, ten thousand was already the ceiling.

On hearing that the Buddha pendant was worth ten thousand, Chen Fengying hurriedly passed it to Xue Li beside her.

Some things were beautiful, but once they became too valuable, they became hot to the touch.

Xue Li didn't understand how something so valuable had suddenly ended up in her hands, and she nearly cried from anxiety.

Holding her breath, she tried to pass it steadily to her mother-in-law, but her hands still began to tremble despite herself.

Li Yue'e had seen something of the world, at least. Terrified that her daughter-in-law would drop it, she quickly took it from her.

The moment she took it, Xue Li felt she could breathe freely again.

"Donglai, you need to keep this somewhere safe."

"Mom, keep it and wear it. Men wear Guanyin and women wear Buddha, so it's just right for you."

Li Yue'e shook her head like a pellet drum. "If I lost something this valuable, I'd cry myself to death."

Wei Donglai didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "But this thing was made to be worn."

"I'm not wearing it, anyway. Having it around my neck would make my heart race."

As she spoke, Li Yue'e seemed to think of something and instantly pulled back her outstretched hand.

"No, you can't keep it at your place either. If a thief got in, that would be a terrible loss. I'll keep it safe for you for now."

"You can just keep it! What's mine is yours, isn't it?"

"I won't take advantage of you like that. Once you get a wife, I'll give it to her for safekeeping. With something this valuable in my care, I won't even be able to sleep well."

Seeing his mother acting so nervously, Wei Donglai was already beginning to regret telling her what it was worth.

He would have been better off saying it was cheap crystal, so she could at least have some peace of mind.

After watching his mother carefully wrap it up and take it into her room, Wei Donglai gestured toward his father with his chin.

"Dad, this was yours..."

Before he could finish, Wei Guoqing cut him off. "You paid for it, and you found it when you smashed the Buddha statue. You deal with it yourself. Leave me out of it."

Seeing his father act as though it had nothing to do with him, Wei Donglai didn't know what to say.

When Li Yue'e came out again, the statue was no longer in her hands. She had apparently hidden it away.

She then instructed everyone, "Don't tell anyone else about this. If people find out how we got it, there'll probably be a whole pile of trouble."

Everyone nodded in agreement without a word. This had to stay buried in their hearts.

Although Li Yue'e had found the thing too hot to handle earlier, she now had to admire her son's heaven-defying luck.

He had bumped into a Buddha statue, paid five yuan for it, and then smashed it open to find something so precious. It simply defied reason.

The others clearly had the same thought, and the way they looked at Wei Donglai had changed somewhat.

"Hey, don't look at me like that."

Li Yue'e let out a long sigh. "Donglai, from now on, remember to burn more paper offerings for the ancestors at Qingming and Chongyang."

Wei Guoqing thought it over and added, "Mm, kowtow a couple more times too."

Wei Donglai was at a loss for words. "Fine, I'll listen to you. Whatever you say."

"Weren't you going to stop by Guowang's place? It's getting late, so you'd better head over."

His father's words reminded Wei Donglai of it. The Buddha pendant had almost driven it from his mind.

"Then I'll get going. I'll come over again tomorrow morning."

With that, Wei Donglai hurried off toward Li Guowang's place.

On the way, he made a point of stopping at the village entrance shop to buy a bottle of liquor.

When he arrived at Li Guowang's house, Li Guowang was weaving a trap in the courtyard.

Seeing how small it was, Wei Donglai knew it was meant for catching mudskippers.

After chatting with Li Guowang, he learned that Li Guowang had still been catching eel gobies today, but his haul had been pitiful. That was why he had decided to make some traps and catch mudskippers too, expanding his business, so to speak.

This only strengthened Wei Donglai's resolve to go out to sea.

When foraging along the shore, any profitable activity would become known to everyone in less than two days, and the whole crowd would come marching over to claim a slice of the cake.

Only out at sea would it be easier to keep any secrets hidden.

Surely they wouldn't chase him out to sea.

Wei Donglai then explained why he had come.

When Li Guowang heard that he had already found a boat ready to use, he couldn't help marveling at how lucky he was.

Normally, how could anyone get a boat so quickly without waiting ten days or half a month?

After Li Guowang readily agreed, Wei Donglai politely declined his invitation to stay for dinner. They arranged a time to meet the next day, and Wei Donglai took his leave.

By the time he got home, it was almost five o'clock.

Perhaps he was a little tired from all the walking today. Wei Donglai had only meant to lie down and rest his eyes for a while, but before he knew it, he had fallen asleep.

He didn't know how long had passed before a knock at the door made him get up in a daze.

He opened the door to find a pretty young woman standing there. It was none other than Xu Qingqing.

"Sister Qing, what is it?"

"I saw you come back pretty early, and I didn't know whether you'd eaten. If you haven't, come over to my place and have a bite."

After his nap, Wei Donglai felt as though his stomach was a little emptier.

He nodded. "Sure, I'll come over and eat something."

When he saw the red fish he had salted a while ago hanging under the eaves, Wei Donglai reached up and took it down.

"Sister Qing, let's cook this red fish tonight too. It's been several days, so it should be about done curing."

"No need. I only cooked what you brought yesterday today, so there are already plenty of dishes for tonight. Save that red fish for yourself tomorrow."