Chapter 17: A Real-Life Version of "Buying the Box but Returning the Pearl

Xiaomei couldn't figure it out: where on earth did she get all those good things?!

The doubt in her heart caused Xiaomei to halt her departure. After a moment's thought, she went to a milk tea shop diagonally across from the pawnshop, ordered a cup of milk tea, and waited.

When Xiao Yingchun knocked and entered, Dai Hengxin was boiling water to prepare tea.

The moment he saw her enter, he immediately stood up to greet her: "You're here?"

Xiao Yingchun nodded with a smile: "No need for formalities."

Having shared a meal together, they were much closer than before.

As Xiao Yingchun took her seat, Dai Hengxin went to lock the pawnshop door, not forgetting to explain: "You are my only VIP guest this morning. I'll lock the door first to avoid any interruptions."

Xiao Yingchun glanced at the transparent glass door and nodded in understanding.

By the time Dai Hengxin sat down, Xiao Yingchun had already proactively taken out the jewelry box inlaid with gold, silver wire, and mother-of-pearl.

The moment Dai Hengxin saw that box, his eyes went wide!

He first pulled the window shades over the street-facing glass, and then turned on all the lights.

Once he finished his preparations, Dai Hengxin sat back down, pursed his lips, carefully put on gloves, and reached out to hold the box.

Xiao Yingchun was startled by his solemn manner: "What's wrong? Is this box very valuable?"

The moment he picked up the box, he reacted: "Is there something inside this box?"

Xiao Yingchun nodded: "Yes..."

Dai Hengxin became excited: "How could you put things inside this box? If the box gets scratched, its value will be greatly diminished..."

As he spoke, Dai Hengxin set the box back down and carefully opened it, preparing to take the contents out.

When the box opened, he froze: it was filled to the brim with jewelry!

Dai Hengxin's heart raced like it had a motor installed, thumping so hard it nearly jumped out of his throat.

"All of this..."

Xiao Yingchun nodded: "I just wanted you to help me see if these are actually valuable, and how much they are worth..."

Who knew he would go crazy just looking at the jewelry box?

Dai Hengxin sat dazed for a while, shook his head, and first retrieved a large velvet-lined tray from under a nearby table.

He carefully took the pieces of jewelry out of the box one by one and placed them in the tray.

When the tray was full, he silently went to get a second tray.

A moment later, looking at the empty jewelry box and the two trays of jewelry, Dai Hengxin was at a loss for words.

After suppressing himself for a moment, he couldn't hold back: "Miss Xiao, may I make a suggestion?"

"Go ahead," Xiao Yingchun gestured with her hand.

"In the future, could you please cherish things like this and store them in categorized boxes? Stowing them all together like this is bad for these treasures..."

It wasn't just bad; it was practically sacrilege!

When he saw a fresh scratch on one of the gold hairpins just now, his heart had bled!

Xiao Yingchun nodded belatedly: "I'll definitely pay attention next time."

Dai Hengxin glanced at her, then glanced at her again: *Forget it, she probably didn't take it to heart.*

Dai Hengxin first pushed the two trays aside, then picked up the jewelry box, smelling it, touching it, and examining it with a magnifying glass. After studying it for a long time, his expression turned serious.

"Do you know what this object is?"

Xiao Yingchun asked cautiously: "A jewelry box?"

Dai Hengxin nodded solemnly: "It is a jewelry box, yes, but the craftsmanship and materials of this piece are top-tier!"

"It's made of agarwood with mother-of-pearl inlay and gold and silver wire. The mother-of-pearl jewelry box that went through Christie's auction wasn't as exquisite or as large as this, and it still fetched twenty million."

Xiao Yingchun's mouth slowly widened, unable to close for a long time: *Twenty million for a box?*

If she sold this thing, would she be sentenced to prison?!

The fear in her heart manifested on her face. Seeing this, Dai Hengxin quickly stopped himself.

"Miss Xiao? What's wrong?"

"I... I only asked you to look at it for me. I don't intend to sell it. That's not illegal, right?" Xiao Yingchun asked very cautiously.

Dai Hengxin realized and gave a light chuckle: "Of course it's not illegal. However, do not show this to anyone else."

"Ordinary people seeing something this precious will inevitably harbor wicked intentions."

Xiao Yingchun breathed a sigh of relief and gave an almost guaranteed response: "Okay! I definitely won't show anyone else!"

Dai Hengxin nodded: "Then do you still need me to explain it to you?"

Xiao Yingchun nodded: "Yes, please go ahead."

Dai Hengxin then proceeded with a long, professional explanation, making the item sound like a peerless treasure from heaven and earth, before finally reaching a conclusion.

"If this item were to go up for auction, I'm afraid it wouldn't be any cheaper than that one."

Xiao Yingchun nodded, then pointed to the jewelry: "What about these?"

Dai Hengxin brought the two trays over and pointed to several pieces in one of them.

"These few... are a set. You can see the patterns are the same, and they are inlaid with pearls and gemstones. Although the craftsmanship is quite good, the actual price won't be very high."

"This set is worth less than a million."

"The remaining pieces, combined, are only worth about a million or so."

Xiao Yingchun was dumbfounded: *A modern version of 'buying the casket instead of the pearls'?!*

The box was more valuable than the treasures inside?

She swallowed with some difficulty: "Well, then, I think I'll just take them back."

By now, Dai Hengxin's rationality had returned. He went to the cabinet and pulled out several velvet jewelry boxes.

"Don't put these pieces of jewelry back in that box. I'll give you some boxes; store them separately."

Xiao Yingchun nodded weakly: "Okay."

Dai Hengxin originally intended to let Xiao Yingchun pack them herself, but seeing her bewildered expression, he knew she certainly didn't know how to properly protect antique-level jewelry.

Deciding to go all the way, he simply helped her secure the jewelry in the boxes before handing them over to her.

Xiao Yingchun foolishly stuffed the boxes into her backpack.

Dai Hengxin looked at the agarwood jewelry box inlaid with gold, silver, and mother-of-pearl. Ultimately, he couldn't bear to see it left unprotected, so he took out a large outer box and placed the jewelry box inside.

However, this meant it would no longer fit in Xiao Yingchun's backpack.

Dai Hengxin then took out a sports duffel bag, placed the box inside, and said: "I'll walk you back in a moment. Keep it safe yourself."

"Okay."

After tidying everything up, Dai Hengxin looked at Xiao Yingchun's backpack and asked casually: "Is there anything else you want to look at?"

Xiao Yingchun thought for a moment and asked: "Do you still accept gold ingots? Like the last one."

Dai Hengxin swallowed: "I do."

Xiao Yingchun pulled four clumps of toilet paper from her backpack and placed them cautiously on the table, adding in a low voice: "I didn't smash them, and I didn't use force."

Dai Hengxin: "..."

He opened one of the clumps. Sure enough, it was a ten-tael gold ingot.

Resisting the urge to say "Holy crap," Dai Hengxin opened the other three clumps of toilet paper.

Four ten-tael gold ingots, exactly like the last time.

Dai Hengxin didn't even reach for them: "Do you mind if I call my uncle over?"

Xiao Yingchun nodded: "As you wish. Either way is fine with me."

The student was going to call in a big shot again.

After all, it was a business worth millions; calling for backup was understandable...