Wine-scented Beauty

Chapter Sixty-Eight: A Keen Eye for Talent

"Boss, come out here!" she roared, and the people inside couldn't take it anymore and shouted back in exasperation.

"What are you doing, trying to cause trouble or something! No one's dead, and you're going to drive me to my death."

Even on tiptoe, Ji Meiqing couldn't reach the counter, so she could only bang on it desperately.

"What's wrong? Pawning or ransom?" The shopkeeper glanced at her, then continued shaving his teeth, showing no concern for Ji Meiqing's purpose.

Ignoring that attitude, she took out the necklace from her bosom and said seriously, "Let me see, when did this happen!"

The shopkeeper glanced at it, his eyes glued to it, and he picked it up with both hands as if afraid of getting it dirty.

"It's beautiful," he exclaimed.

Ji Meiqing remained expressionless. "When was this done? Who created this technique? Do you know anything about it?"

"This..." He looked around, and finally used a tool to pry off a small piece of the gem. Even with a tool, it took some effort to ensure the necklace wasn't damaged and the gem remained intact.

After examining it for a long time, he still couldn't come to a conclusion. Ji Meiqing was getting anxious and urged him to take a look quickly.

"This...this is something we can't authenticate...this kind of setting technique is simply impossible to achieve!" The shopkeeper was also helpless and pushed the necklace back. "Besides, we don't specialize in jewel appraisal here. We only look at the age and the authenticity of these pieces. For the rest, you can go to a hardware store to check."

"Oh." She took back the necklace with considerable disappointment.

The shopkeeper then said mysteriously, "You'd better not show this necklace to others easily. I think it's exceptionally well-made, although I can't tell much about it. But the owner of this necklace must be either rich or noble."

"Thank you." Ji Meiqing left with the necklace. After being in the dark for so long, she was still a little disoriented back in the sunlight. She covered her eyes with her fingers and it took her a while to recover.

The streets were bustling with people. Ji Meiqing glanced at both sides several times before continuing to walk forward. She only stopped when she reached the fork in the road.

She looked around for a while, then went inside. The shopkeeper, seeing her enter, immediately sent a servant to introduce her.

"Are you preparing a dowry, young lady? We recently got a new set of jewelry here, would you like to take a look?" the servant said with great enthusiasm, spittle flying everywhere.

Ji Meiqing ignored him and went to the counter to take out the necklace she was holding and put it in front of him. "Let me see who made this necklace."

The shopkeeper was taken aback, but still picked up the necklace on the table and examined it carefully.

"This... I don't know. I can't tell..." He hesitated, but his hand still wouldn't leave the gemstone on the necklace. Ji Meiqing took it, put it away, and left.

The people in the jewelry store didn't know either... This necklace probably doesn't belong here anymore, and they don't even know if the owner is still around.

Looking at the endless street in the distance, Ji Meiqing sighed and turned back.

Having come out empty-handed, Ji Meiqing had no choice but to head back. Before the sun grew too strong, she hurried home.

Even after getting home, I was still drenched in sweat. My bra felt sticky inside.

Lu Yu emerged from his room, his face grim. For some reason, Lu Yu's emotions lately... were always a mix of anger and calm; he had lost all joy.

"Brother Lu, what's wrong with you?"

"Did you hire new workers?" he asked.

Ji Meiqing nodded in agreement, but was somewhat puzzled by his thoughts, "Is there something wrong with them?"

"Don't we already have enough people? Why do we need to find more?"

"I want to expand my business, but I don't have enough staff."

Lu Yu had nothing to say. He glanced at her and then went back to his room to sulk. Ji Meiqing looked at him and suddenly felt it was necessary to have a heart-to-heart talk with him.

She walked into Lu Yu's room and stopped abruptly when she saw him sitting there.

"What is it?" he asked coldly, without turning his head.

Ji Meiqing mustered her courage and said, "Brother Lu, I think we should have a serious talk."

Lu Yu remained silent. After watching him for a while, she walked over to his side and asked directly, "You've been acting very strangely lately, Brother Lu. What happened to you?"

"No," he denied immediately, but his mind was on Ji Meiqing.

Ji Meiqing kept looking at him, then sighed, "I don't know what's wrong with you... Have you encountered some problem... Otherwise... Why have you been acting like a different person lately... Brother Lu... I'm scared."

"I'm fine." His expression finally softened a bit, no longer as cold as before.

Ji Meiqing shook her head. "I admit I overstepped my bounds, Brother Lu. If you encounter any problems, just tell me directly. If you have any complaints about me, just say so, and I'll try my best to correct them."

"I am fine."

Ji Meiqing sighed, not knowing what to say. Lu Yu was good in every way, but he liked to keep his thoughts to himself and not tell others.

"Is it Xiao Cui?" Ji Meiqing guessed, and seeing his expressionless face, she added, "You haven't visited her much these past few days. Did you two have another fight?"

"No," he said, then, fearing that Ji Meiqing might misunderstand, he explained, "Xiao Cui and I are just siblings."

“…I know.” Ji Meiqing looked at his face and squatted down in front of him with a very serious expression, asking, “Then what exactly is wrong with you?”

"I'm fine. You go ahead and do your work." He was also getting a little fed up. Being asked questions like this, yet unable to say anything, and ashamed to express himself, was somewhat puzzling.

He really wasn't doing anything wrong, he was just jealous. But Ji Meiqing couldn't know this. Whenever he saw Ji Meiqing... he felt a strange emotion, like... he liked having her around, but he didn't like her constantly asking questions, it annoyed him.

Ji Meiqing stared at him for a long time before finally leaving the room with no choice.

I had hoped to have a proper talk, but now he keeps repeating the same few words, and all my plans have fallen through.

Ji Meiqing couldn't help but look back one last time, but in the end she still left.

The kitchen had long been restored to its original state. She washed the rice, lit the fire, and started cooking to prepare lunch.

Perhaps influenced by Lu Yu, Ji Meiqing stared blankly at the blazing firewood, lost in thought for no apparent reason.

Looking at the leaping flames in front of her, she suddenly thought of Lu Yu.