Chapter 1330 - 1327: I Have a Jade Bracelet
Zi Ruoxi let out a faint bitter smile. She closed the brocade box, picked up her LV handbag, and stepped out the door on high heels.
...
Zi Ruoxi saw a sign for a pawnshop named "Ruili Pawn Shop" and paced around it twice, still hesitating. At last, her face darkened, and she finally walked into the pawnshop. As she stepped inside, at the front of the hall was a row of counters displaying various antique items, with a few counters on the left where several staff members were looking at computers.
At this moment, a staff member looked up and saw her, immediately sending a smile her way. Zi Ruoxi reciprocated with a polite smile, though she felt somewhat embarrassed. The staff member in uniform walked over to her.
"Hello, Miss, is this your first time here?" asked the man in a blue uniform, tall and slim, with a clean face and a bright smile, judging by his professional demeanor.
"Yes." Zi Ruoxi replied, looking at the person in front of her.
"Is there anything I can help you with?" The other person continued as he saw Zi Ruoxi seemed doubtful, flashing his signature smile once again. He continued speaking eloquently, "Miss, are you looking to pawn gold or jewelry accessories?"
Having never been to such a place, Zi Ruoxi was initially indecisive. Hearing the question, she instinctively gritted her teeth.
"I have a jade bracelet. I want to pawn it." Zi Ruoxi said in a low voice. Saying this, she took the brocade box out of her LV handbag and handed it to him.
The other person opened the brocade box, his eyes lighting up instantly. It really was a jade bracelet — full and smooth, gleaming green, with a fluid design, a fine piece of art.
"Miss, please wait a moment, I’ll take it to the counter for appraisal." The man replied politely.
"Okay." Zi Ruoxi replied. She then saw him stride over to a counter, open the door, sit down at a specific spot, and use a very special instrument to examine the jade bracelet.
After a while, the man returned to her with the jade bracelet.
"Miss, after the appraisal, your jade bracelet is genuine, and we can take it, but..." The man smiled slyly without finishing.
"But what, just say it straight." Zi Ruoxi asked with curiosity.
"Here’s the thing, we rarely take jade items here. The global economy is sluggish now, and in the pawn business, we mostly take popular items, such as gold, gold bars, gold jewelry, watches, and similar items." The man said, then took out a card from his pocket and handed it to her, "I’m Manager Fang, ’Gold in ’Fang’, ’Everything Goes Smoothly in ’Fang’. Please feel free to reach out to me if you have similar needs in the future. We are here to serve you wholeheartedly!"
This advertisement effect was indeed smoothly executed!
Zi Ruoxi took the business card, glanced at it, and then put it in her palm.
"Manager Fang, I understand what you mean, and I don’t want to beat around the bush. If it weren’t a matter of urgency, I wouldn’t come to pawn it." Zi Ruoxi said plainly. She was really unwilling to drag it out further.
"Alright then, since you’re being so straightforward, it’s 500,000 dollars. That’s the highest price we can offer; you can consider it." Manager Fang said with a friendly smile. In business, he always greeted people with a smile, speaking skillfully, achieving the greatest deals at the lowest cost.
Only 500,000 dollars?
Zi Ruoxi was evidently somewhat disappointed. Her big eyes also showed an expression of uncertainty.
Seeing Zi Ruoxi’s hesitant attitude, Manager Fang squinted his eyes.
"Miss, this price is very reasonable. When we take your collateral items, the cash can be given to you immediately. This is an advantage that no other pawnshop can match; others might delay a few days before paying. Unlike us, who are professionally skilled." Manager Fang said with a chuckle, then continued, "If you repay the principal and interest within thirty days, you can redeem the collateral item. However, let me explain one point: If the time exceeds a month, we have the right to sell the collateral item."
Thinking about the immediate cash availability, Zi Ruoxi finally nodded in agreement, seeing this person always greeting her with a smile. If she didn’t pawn here, she would feel some guilt; all said, a pawn is a pawn, so just do it here.
Once the decision was made, the other party didn’t say any more and immediately took out the pawn agreement for Zi Ruoxi. Zi Ruoxi took a look at the document, scanned it from top to bottom, found no major issues, and signed it. That way, she pawned the gift Qiao Junlie gave for 500,000 dollars.
Concerning the shop’s statement about redeeming it in a month, Zi Ruoxi didn’t intend to do it. She hadn’t even thought about redeeming it. Especially in such a short time, how could she gather money for that matter? Now, the most important thing is to quickly pay the surgery fee.
After completing all the formalities, Zi Ruoxi left the pawnshop. Holding the 500,000 dollars she received, she felt slightly at ease, but it still wasn’t enough! Even adding the 80,000 dollars, it was just 130,000 dollars in total, still a significant gap from 300,000.
Zi Ruoxi thought deeply, feeling utterly helpless. Concerning raising money, she hadn’t had the heart to eat for a day, and furthermore, thought of Qiao Muyun going to partake in black market racing to raise money, which led to his injury...
Thinking about it, she regretted why she didn’t stop him then and why she had to be so selfish. Perhaps at the time, she really had selfish motives, hoping that if Qiao Muyun won, all problems would be resolved, and she wouldn’t have to worry so much.
But things didn’t go as wished. The more one wants to achieve, the harder the fall, leading to nothing gained.
If I had stopped him sooner, if we had thought of other ways to raise money together, perhaps it would have been better. Anything is better than a lone effort. Now there’s not even anyone to discuss things with.
Brother Qiao Muyun, he’s still in the hospital, unsure how he’s doing?
Brother Qiao Muyun, I’m sorry, sorry, it’s Zi Ruoxi’s fault; I was too selfish, and that’s why you took such a risk.
Zi Ruoxi thought and thought, unknowingly sitting on the stone bench by the road and falling asleep.
When Zi Ruoxi woke up, it was already dusk, and evening had quietly arrived.
"... So fast, a whole day has passed." Zi Ruoxi murmured to herself. She didn’t expect to fall asleep on the road. She then sat up straight and took her phone out of the LV handbag, wanting to check the exact time, and saw a string of missed calls. Apparently, she had been too tired earlier, falling asleep deeply, not even hearing the phone ring.
The number was very familiar; it was Qiao Junlie’s.
But she really didn’t want to answer. This person was too strong-willed.