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

When Wen Zhaoye returned to Jiangcheng, it was almost dark.

He didn't go directly to Jianzhen Pavilion, but went back to his grandmother's house first. The jasmine flowers in the old house's courtyard were still blooming. His grandmother was sitting on a small stool by the door, picking vegetables. When she saw him return, she paused for a moment, then smiled. "Didn't you say you were going to stay in the provincial capital for a few more days?"

"It's all done." Wen Zhaoye squatted down and helped his grandmother carry the vegetable basket into the house. "Bao Dequan was sentenced to fifteen years." His grandmother paused in her work, then continued picking vegetables without saying a word. After a long while, she finally said, "The matter of the bracelet is settled too."

Wen Zhaoye knew that the "bracelet" she was referring to was the B-grade bracelet that Bao Dequan had bought back for two hundred yuan. His grandmother had bought it for two hundred thousand yuan, and he had found it in Bao Dequan's ledger for two hundred yuan. After that, the bracelet never appeared again.

"Grandma, where's the bracelet?"

Grandma paused for a moment while picking vegetables, then put them down, stood up, turned around, and went into the inner room.

Wen Zhaoye followed behind her, watching her walk to the bedside, lift the pillow, and pull out a red cloth bundle from underneath. The red cloth was old and faded, with frayed edges, and still held the warmth of her grandmother's hands.

She placed the red cloth bundle on the table and opened it.

Inside was the bracelet, broken in two. Wen Zhaoye looked at the two pieces of jade, and felt as if something had struck his heart; he couldn't tell if it was pain or a lump in his throat. He reached out and picked up one piece, running his fingers along the broken edge.

His divine eye automatically displayed pale gold text: "Quartzite, Grade B, acid-washed and resin-filled, color-treated. True value: approximately two hundred yuan." He already knew this result, but seeing it with his own eyes still made his chest tighten. His grandmother had spent two hundred and eighty thousand yuan, saving up for half her life, only to receive a fake. But he didn't say anything, he just turned the bracelet over and looked at the inside.

Then he froze. Two tiny characters were engraved on the inside of the bracelet, so small that they were almost invisible if you didn't look closely—"Tian Kuo".

Wen Zhaoye's fingers stopped. The two characters "Tian Kuo" were deeply engraved, stroke by stroke, as if they had been painstakingly chiseled out with something sharp. The handwriting was not very neat, a little crooked, but each stroke was forceful, revealing an indescribable seriousness. He looked up at his grandmother.

Grandma had already sat back down on the small stool by the door and continued picking vegetables, seemingly unaware of what he was looking at.

"Grandma..." Wen Zhaoye's voice was a little hoarse, "There are words on the inside of this bracelet."

Grandma paused for a moment, then continued picking the vegetables, without looking up. "I know." "You know?"

"I watched your dad carve it when he gave it to me." Grandma's tone was calm, as if she were talking about something very ordinary. "That day was the 23rd of the twelfth lunar month, almost Chinese New Year. Your dad was squatting by the stove, carving it bit by bit with an awl. I asked him why he was carving it, and he said, 'Mom, if someone takes this from me later, you'll still recognize it as a gift from him.'"

Wen Zhaoye held the broken piece of jade, his fingers tracing the two characters "Tian Kuo" back and forth, a feeling he couldn't quite describe welling up inside him.

"Grandma, this thing is fake," he finally said.

"I know," Grandma said. "I've known for a long time."

Wen Zhaoye was stunned. "Three years ago, the day your father passed away, I took the bracelet to the jade market to have someone look at it. That person said it was a B-grade item, worthless, at most worth two hundred yuan." Grandma put down the vegetables in her hand, looked up at the old locust tree in the yard, "I didn't tell you, nor did I tell your father. I don't know where he got the money to buy this, but I know he was sincere. His hands were trembling when he gave it to me."

Wen Zhaoye didn't speak, but simply held the two pieces of jade tightly in his hand. "Grandma, can I keep this bracelet?"

Grandma glanced at him, her eyes holding a wisdom unique to the elderly: "What do you need it for?"

"I want to keep it."

Grandma was silent for a moment, then nodded: "Then keep it. It'll just be a treasured possession here." Wen Zhaoye took out a clean piece of red cloth from the cabinet, carefully wrapped the two pieces of jade, pressed them down with his hand, and put them into the inner pocket of his coat. Just as he put the red cloth away, footsteps came from the courtyard.

"Is Aunt Zhou home?" It was Sun Bo'an's voice.

Wen Zhaoye went out and saw Sun Bo'an standing at the gate of the courtyard, carrying a bag of fruit in one hand and a roll of blueprints in the other.

"Uncle, what brings you here?"

"Come see your grandma." Sun Bo'an handed the fruit to Wen Zhaoye, then nodded to his grandma sitting by the door picking vegetables. "Aunt Zhou, how are you feeling?" "I'm fine," Grandma said with a smile. "Little Sun, have a seat, I'll get you some tea." "Don't bother, Auntie, I don't drink tea." Sun Bo'an sat down on the bamboo chair in the yard, then spread the roll of drawings on the table. "I'm here to talk to Zhaoye. I had the renovation team make a few changes to the Jianzhen Pavilion's renovation plan; please take a look."

Wen Zhaoye squatted down in front of the blueprints, and Sun Bo'an pointed to several changes and explained why they were necessary. Wen Zhaoye listened, but his gaze involuntarily drifted to the red cloth bag in his pocket.

Sun Bo'an spoke for a while, then noticed Wen Zhaoye's distraction and stopped. "What's wrong? Something on your mind?" Wen Zhaoye paused for a moment, then took out the red cloth bag from his pocket, opened it, and revealed two pieces of broken jade.

"Uncle, take a look at this."

Sun Bo'an took a piece of broken jade, brought it close to his eyes to examine it, and then turned it over to look at the inside. When he saw the two characters "Tian Kuo" (meaning "vast sky"), his expression changed.

"This is……"

"It's my dad's," Wen Zhaoye said. "He gave it to my grandma back then."

Sun Bo'an held the broken piece of jade, his fingers tracing the two characters "Tian Kuo" (meaning "vast sky"), then looked up at Wen Zhaoye, his gaze filled with a complex expression. "How old were you when your father... passed away?"

"Seven years old," Wen Zhaoye said. "He told me that if someone asked me what my surname was, I should say it was Zhou, not Wen."

Sun Bo'an remained silent for a moment, then returned the broken jade to him. "Then don't say anything for now," he said. "You'll say it when you're ready."

Wen Zhaoye carefully put the broken jade pieces back into his pocket.

"Uncle, how much do you know about my father's situation?"

Sun Bo'an looked at him, remained silent for a long time, and then shook his head: "Not much. I only know that he was a good person, someone who didn't want to implicate anyone."

He stood up and patted Wen Zhaoye on the shoulder: "Some things can't be rushed. You'll know when the time is right."

Wen Zhaoye didn't ask any further questions, but simply nodded.

Sun Bo'an said a few more words about the renovation, then stood up to say goodbye. As he reached the door, he glanced back at Wen Zhaoye, his gaze lingering on the pocket of his coat for a moment, before turning and leaving.

Wen Zhaoye stood in the courtyard, watching him disappear into the alleyway.

The phone rang.

It's Qin Fei.

"I heard you're back?" Her voice sounded a little tired.

"Just got home," Wen Zhaoye said. "What's the latest on Bao Dequan's case?"

"It's been transferred to the procuratorate, and the prosecution will be initiated as early as next week," Qin Fei said. "Bao Hu's case has also been concluded; he was charged with falsifying medical documents, and he'll probably have to serve two years in prison."

"Thanks for your hard work."

"It's nothing." Qin Fei paused for a moment, then said, "By the way, about that thing you mentioned in the provincial capital... about your father's matter, is there any progress?"

Wen Zhaoye held his phone in one hand and squeezed the red cloth bag in his pocket with the other; the fabric felt rough and real.

"Yes," he said. "I discovered something today."

"What is it?"

"A bracelet," Wen Zhaoye said. "It was left to my grandmother by my father. His name is engraved on the inside."

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone, then Qin Fei said, "Is there anything I can help you investigate?"

"Not for now," Wen Zhaoye said. "I'll let you know when we need it."

"Okay," Qin Fei said. "Then you should get some rest. I'll come to the store to find you tomorrow."

"it is good."

After hanging up the phone, Wen Zhaoye put the phone back in his pocket, then took out the red cloth bag, opened it, and looked at the two pieces of broken jade.

Sunlight slanted in from the west, illuminating the broken edge and reflecting a faint glow. He stared at the two pieces of jade, his gaze lingering on the two characters "Tian Kuo" (meaning "vast sky"), his fingers gently stroking them.

"dad."

He said something softly, then carefully wrapped the red cloth bag and put it back in his coat pocket.

He turned and went back inside. Grandma was still picking vegetables at the door. When she saw him come in, she didn't even look up, but just said, "If your dad saw you like this, he'd be so happy."

Wen Zhaoye squatted down, took the vegetables from her hands, and helped her pick them. "Grandma, what kind of person is my dad?" Grandma was silent for a moment, then said, "A fool."

"A fool?"

"He was so foolish as to give away his best things to others, keeping nothing for himself," Grandma said. "The bracelet he gave me, even though it was fake, he spent an entire afternoon carving it by the stove, his hands were frozen. Tell me, isn't that foolish?"

Wen Zhaoye didn't say anything, but just kept his head down and continued picking vegetables.

The courtyard was quiet, with only the crunching sound of people picking vegetables and the rustling of leaves in the wind.

The sun had already set, but a lingering orange-red glow remained on the horizon.

After finishing picking the vegetables, Wen Zhaoye stood up and patted the dirt off his hands.

"Grandma, I'm going to the shop tomorrow and will be back for dinner tonight."

"Okay," Grandma said. "I'll make you braised pork." Wen Zhaoye smiled, went into the inner room, sat down on the edge of the bed, took out the red cloth bag, and placed it in his palm.

He didn't open it, but simply held it, feeling the shape of the two pieces of jade beneath the fabric.

The cut was very sharp, and it hurt his palm. But he didn't let go.

The jade was cool, but his palm was warm.