Divine Eye Appraisal: Starting with a Lucky Pickup of a Beautiful CEO's Family Heirloom

After Qin Fei left, Jianzhen Pavilion became quiet.

Wen Zhaoye locked the account book back in the hidden compartment, stood up, and stretched.

The wooden plaque on the wall still hangs there, and the afternoon sunlight shines in at an angle, making the three characters "Jianzhen Pavilion" appear to be edged with gold.

He was just about to close the door and go to the hospital to see his grandmother when his phone rang.

It is Yu Tinglan.

Are you free tonight?

"have."

"I'll pick you up at your shop at six o'clock. Let's go for a walk along the river."

"OK."

Wen Zhaoye hung up the phone and glanced at the clock on the wall. It was past 5:30.

He thought for a moment, then locked the door and went downstairs without changing his clothes, still wearing the gray jacket.

At six o'clock sharp, Yu Tinglan's car stopped right downstairs at Jianzhen Pavilion.

A black Audi, understated yet exuding stability.

She was wearing a light gray trench coat today, and waved to him from the car door. Wen Zhaoye walked over, opened the car door, and got in.

The two didn't speak as they drove towards the river. The river embankment in Jiangcheng was well-maintained, with a red rubberized walkway along the river and willow trees planted on both sides, their branches swaying in the wind.

Yu Tinglan parked her car in the river embankment parking lot, got out, and walked ahead. Wen Zhaoye followed behind her, and the two walked along the river embankment for about two hundred meters. Yu Tinglan spoke first.

"I've heard about the ban." Wen Zhaoye didn't reply, waiting for her to continue.

"The Yu family still has some influence in the provincial capital," Yu Tinglan said without looking at him, her eyes fixed on the river. "I can put in a good word for you and tell them not to go too far."

Wen Zhaoye stopped in his tracks. "What are the conditions?"

Yu Tinglan also stopped and turned around to look at him.

"No conditions," she said. "Just consider it my opinion of you."

Wen Zhaoye stared at her for a few seconds and said, "President Yu, we haven't known each other for very long, and you already think so highly of me?"

Yu Tinglan smiled, a faint smile, like a thin layer of mist on the river surface.

"I could tell from the moment Yu Mantang was framed," she said. "Not everyone has eyes like yours."

Wen Zhaoye remained silent.

Yu Tinglan took a brown paper bag out of her bag and handed it to him.

"What is this thing?"

"Look."

Wen Zhaoye took it, opened the paper bag, and inside was an invitation and a densely packed list of attendees.

The 17th Provincial Capital Jadeite Gambling Conference.

The invitation was very formal, with gold lettering, and was jointly signed by the Provincial Antique Association and the Sihai Chamber of Commerce.

He turned to the third page of the conference participant list, and his finger stopped.

The name Qian Bohong was printed on the first line of the special guest column.

Wen Zhaoye stared at those three words for a long time, then put the document away and returned it to the paper bag.

Thanks.

Yu Tinglan looked at the river and said, "No need to thank me. You'll have to see him sooner or later when you go to the provincial capital."

"I know."

"It's always better to know in advance that he'll be there than to arrive and find him there."

Wen Zhaoye tucked the paper bag under his arm and nodded: "You're right."

The two stood by the river, and the wind blew, causing the hem of Yu Tinglan's trench coat to flutter.

She adjusted her collar and asked, "When are you planning to go?"

"next month."

"So, how do you plan to deal with the ban over the next month?"

"Keep going," Wen Zhaoye said. "If they don't accept my assessment, I'll take on jobs that others wouldn't dare to take."

"Is it something others wouldn't dare take?" "It's a difficult case. If I'm unsure about it or don't dare to examine it, I'll look at it as soon as it's brought to me."

Yu Tinglan turned to look at him, a hint of surprise in her eyes. "Aren't you afraid they'll cause you trouble again?"

"What's there to be afraid of?" Wen Zhaoye said. "I survived Bao Dequan's clutches, why would I be afraid of a blacklist?"

Yu Tinglan didn't speak, but just looked at the river and the corners of her mouth curled up slightly.

After a moment of silence, Yu Tinglan said, "Let's go, it's getting windy."

The two turned and walked back.

When they reached the car, Yu Tinglan opened the door, turned around and said to him, "Call me if anything happens."

Wen Zhaoye said, "Okay."

Yu Tinglan got into the car, started the engine, and the car slowly drove out of the parking lot.

Wen Zhaoye stood there, watching her black Audi disappear at the end of the river embankment, then looked down at the brown paper bag in his hand.

Qian Bohong.

He recalled what Sun Bo'an had said—"He endorsed the Lin family's appraisals; in that chain of interests, anyone who gets in his way dies."

He tucked the paper bag away and turned to walk towards Jianzhen Pavilion.

After walking a few steps, I heard someone shout from the end of the river embankment: "Hey!"

When Wen Zhaoye looked up, he saw Qin Fei standing at the end of the river embankment, holding a plastic bag in her hand and waving it at him.

"You haven't left yet?" Wen Zhaoye walked over.

"I just got off work and was passing by," Qin Fei said. She was wearing a dark blue windbreaker, the zipper not fully zipped up, with a section of her white T-shirt peeking out from the neckline. "I saw you standing here talking, so I didn't come over to bother you."

"I came here after you left."

She handed over the plastic bag in her hand: "I brought you some hot soy milk."

Wen Zhaoye took the plastic bag, which contained three cups of hot soy milk.

"You bought three drinks, did you know there were three of us?" "You, Yu Tinglan, and one is mine," Qin Fei said. "Who knew you'd leave right after you finished talking? You got Yu's drink for free."

Wen Zhaoye smiled, took out a cup of soy milk from the bag, inserted a straw and took a sip. The hot soy milk went down his throat and warmed his stomach.

Qin Fei also took a glass, leaned against the railing of the river embankment, took a sip, and asked, "What did Yu Tinglan say to you just now?"

"She gave me an invitation to the provincial capital's jade gambling convention."

"The provincial capital's jade gambling convention?" Qin Fei turned to look at him. "Will Qian Bohong be going too?"

How did you know?

"I guessed," Qin Fei said. "He lives in the provincial capital most of the year, so he definitely has to attend a jade gambling convention of this scale."

Wen Zhaoye didn't say anything, and took another sip of soy milk.

Qin Fei looked at the river and asked, "Are you planning to go?"

"Go." "Then go."

"Aren't you going to stop me?"

"Why should I stop you?" Qin Fei turned to look at him. "You're not a three-year-old. Go where you're supposed to go, see who you're supposed to see."

Wen Zhaoye didn't speak, looking down at the soy milk cup in his hand.

Qin Fei took another sip and said, "But remember, when you get to the provincial capital, don't try to handle everything alone. If anything happens, call."

"You're not from the provincial capital, what's the point of calling you?"

Qin Fei paused for a moment, then smiled: "You're right."

After laughing, she finished the rest of her soy milk in one gulp, threw the cup into the nearby trash can, and clapped her hands.

"I'll be going now, I have to go to work tomorrow."

"Um."

Qin Fei turned and walked a few steps, then turned back and said, "I'll keep your blacklist for you. When you come back from the provincial capital, I'll show it to you and let you see how you turned things around."

After saying that, she left, her figure receding further and further into the distance under the streetlights.

Wen Zhaoye stood on the riverbank, watching her figure disappear, then glanced down at the brown paper bag in his hand and the invitation to the provincial capital's jade gambling conference. The streetlights came on, casting dappled light on the river's surface.

He took a sip of the warm soy milk, then turned and walked back.

As he walked, he suddenly remembered something—Yu Tinglan said, "The Yu family still has some influence in the provincial capital," and Qin Fei said, "Call me if anything happens." These two people, one the president of Yu Family Jewelry and the other the deputy captain of the city's criminal investigation team, were both trying to help him.

He stopped and looked back at the road he had come from.

The streetlights along the riverbank lit up one after another, forming a ribbon of light that stretched into the distance in the twilight.

The direction of the provincial capital is at the end of that strip of light.

He took a deep breath, finished the rest of his soy milk, threw the cup into the trash can, and strode towards Jianzhen Pavilion.