NOVEL NEXT Chapter 180: Chapter 180
It was Friday again.
This was the third time Ganyu had left work early.
When Huixin walked into the empty office, she was convinced that Senior Ganyu must have found someone special.
When Ganyu arrived at Xia's small shop, it was already closed for the day.
Everyone was sitting together, eating fruit desserts while discussing Granny Ping's upcoming birthday next week.
"Sister Ganyu!" Yaoyao called out loudly.
Ganyu smiled gently and asked, "Did you all finish work earlier today?"
Xia Zhi nodded and smiled, "Yes, since it gets dark earlier now, we changed closing time to five o'clock."
Ganyu paused briefly when she heard Mr. Xia's voice.
She wondered if it was just her imagination, but after not hearing his voice for a week, why did it seem to sound so much more pleasant?
"This is Diona, our new employee."
"And this is Shenhe's senior sister, Miss Ganyu."
Diona and Ganyu exchanged greetings.
Zhu Zi thoughtfully served Ganyu a bowl of fruit dessert with coconut milk.
Ganyu expressed her thanks and sat down to taste it, feeling somewhat emotional while enjoying the delicious treat.
Since becoming the Qixing Secretary, Yuehai Pavilion had never changed its working hours.
Though even if they did change the hours, it wouldn't make much difference to her – she'd still have to work overtime when needed.
Ganyu put down her small spoon and asked curiously, "What were you all discussing just now?"
"Granny Ping's birthday is next Thursday, and we're thinking about what gifts would be suitable."
"Yaoyao wants to give Master a beautiful jade bracelet!"
She often saw many ladies around her master's age at Yuehai Pavilion wearing beautiful jade bracelets, so she wanted to give one to her master too.
Children are innocent – when they see something nice, they often say they'll buy it for adults when they grow up.
But Yaoyao was different from others – she actually had money.
Her part-time job salary from last month plus her saved allowance amounted to almost 20,000 Mora.
Ganyu knew about this and nodded, "Jade items indeed make excellent gifts, but high-quality jade can be very expensive. Last month, a glazed lily ornament at Mingxing Jewelry was auctioned for 30 million Mora."
Diona and Zhu Zi were shocked: "30 million!? That's so much Mora!"
The people from Mondstadt and Inazuma thought the people of Liyue were incredibly wealthy!
Ganyu smiled and said, "Well, that was because Ningguang of the Qixing was involved."
Everyone immediately felt admiration for that wealthy lady.
Except for Shenhe.
Shenhe simply had no particular desire for money. She quietly served herself another bowl of fruit dessert. To her, 30 million Mora wasn't as precious as a bowl of dessert made by the boss himself.
Yaoyao looked troubled, realizing her savings might not be enough.
Xia Zhi's expression became peculiar.
"Boss, what's wrong?"
"Actually, that glaze lily ornament... I was the one who sold it to Mingxing Jewelry."
"!!!"
"Boss, how much did you sell it for?"
"10 million."
"That's a lot! No, wait! That's so cheap! Boss, you lost big time!"
"I wouldn't say I lost anything. It wasn't an auction, and the price was reasonable. With that money, I was able to buy this shop."
Everyone's admiration immediately shifted from the wealthy lady to their boss.
Zhu Zi seemed to remember something and held up the tanuki jade pendant hanging at her waist, asking dazedly, "This one was also carved by the boss, could it sell for 30 million too?"
"You're thinking too much. The quality of your jade isn't good enough, it won't sell for that much."
"Oh..."
"However, if you find someone knowledgeable who really likes it, it might sell for a few million."
"!"
After all, it was a perfect piece carefully carved by a master craftsman.
Upon hearing this, Zhu Zi suddenly felt the weight of the cute little tanuki become incredibly heavy.
She had been walking around with something worth several million Mora hanging at her waist these days. What if it got scratched or damaged somewhere!
Her monthly salary was 20,000 Mora, only 240,000 a year – not even enough to pay for this tanuki's tail!
Xia Zhi laughed, "Speaking of which, I have a feasible idea. While finished jade items are indeed expensive, Yaoyao doesn't need to go for those. You could buy raw jade, and I can help with the carving."
Yaoyao's eyes lit up: "Thank you, big brother!"
The little girl was delighted, loving her big brother even more!
"Of course, better quality raw jade isn't cheap either, but you can buy uncut stones – those are very affordable."
"Boss, is it like the stones we bought last time?"
"Yes."
"Doesn't that depend on luck?"
"Well, we have Miss Ganyu here."
"Oh, right!"
Diona, who had just joined recently, hadn't witnessed Ganyu's incredible luck firsthand, but she had heard from Senior Zhu Zi about her terrifying dominance at card games. She couldn't help but give Ganyu a few extra glances out of curiosity.
After dinner, everyone went to Jade Shop together.
The kindly shop owner stood at the entrance, immediately recognizing these three customers who had visited his shop some days ago.
Xia Zhi's black glasses and Shenhe's frightening strength had left a deep impression on him. He remembered these three were first-time stone gamblers who bought three pieces – one large and two small – but didn't have them cut open then, taking them home instead. He wondered if they had found any jade inside.
"Welcome back, honored customers!"
"Mm."
"Are you here to try your luck again? I trust you found something good last time!"
"Last time? It was alright. Today we're bringing our friend to take a look."
"Ah! Please, feel free to browse!"
Xia Zhi turned to Ganyu: "Miss Ganyu, go ahead."
Ganyu hesitated, saying softly, "I really don't know anything about stones."
Xia Zhi smiled, "That's fine, just pick a larger stone. I trust your luck."
Ganyu lacked confidence: "What if there's nothing inside?"
"Then we'll buy another one."
"..."
Yaoyao supported this: "That's right, Yaoyao has money! We can buy several!"
Ganyu shook her head helplessly and walked into the store. After wandering among the raw stones for a while and looking for a long time, she finally picked one.
Xia Zhi, who had been observing with his "god's eye perspective," felt his eye twitch slightly.
With his expertise in geo sensing, he could already tell that this stone Ganyu had randomly chosen was actually the highest quality piece in the store.
Though the jade hidden inside wasn't as large as the snow-white jade he had chosen last time, it was even rarer. As expected of one blessed with good fortune, truly terrifying.
"Owner, how much is this one?"
"3,000 Mora."
Yaoyao paid very grown-up-like.
"Would you like to have it cut open, honored customer?"
"No need."
Ganyu shook her head and similarly picked up the raw stone from the ground with one hand.
The shop owner fell silent watching this.
Why did all these seemingly delicate and beautiful young ladies have such incredible strength?
Walking on the road, Ganyu was still worried: "What if there's no jade inside?"
Xia Zhi shook his head: "You should be thinking, what if there is jade inside? How will Yaoyao thank Sister Ganyu?"
The little girl immediately said: "I'll give Sister Ganyu a jade bracelet too!"
Xia Zhi smiled gently, thinking Yaoyao was just too adorable.
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