I was afraid that Cheng Xiaohu would start to get jealous again, so I hurriedly picked up the jade bracelet, held it in my hand and looked at it carefully.
I didn't look carefully when I put it in the box, thinking it was very expensive. It was only after I took a closer look that I discovered the clues.
This is indeed a jade bracelet and it is not fake, but the quality is so poor that it cannot even be considered a defective product.
I didn’t want to expose Patriarch Liu on the spot, so I put down the bracelet and asked Patriarch Liu: “Patriarch Liu, this bracelet looks very beautiful, didn’t it cost a lot of money?”
"That's not true. Authentic Burmese jade costs tens of thousands."
When he heard tens of thousands, Cheng Xiaohu's eyes brightened even more, and you could even see his Adam's apple squirming.
I smiled miserably and said, "Does Patriarch Liu have any misunderstanding about Burmese jade?"
"How do you say this?" Patriarch Liu narrowed his eyes and looked at me.
I turned to Cheng Lu and said, "Lulu, go and find me a rope. It needs to be thinner, preferably thread."
Cheng Lu nodded, then ran back to the room to find me a ball of thread. I took out one piece of thread and dropped the bracelet.
They all looked at me blankly, and I immediately picked up the chopsticks and said, "It is said that authentic Burmese jade will make a crisp sound when struck, and a dull sound when struck otherwise. Patriarch Liu, do you know?"
"How do I know this? I bought it at a counter anyway, so it's definitely not a copycat."
"Isn't that right? We'll find out once we see it."
As I said that, I lightly tapped the jade bracelet with my crotch, and the sound it made was indeed dull.
This sound made Patriarch Liu's expression become more and more embarrassed. I immediately put down the bracelet and said with a smile: "Patriarch Liu, you are probably being deceived!"
Patriarch Liu's expression was extremely embarrassing, and he stammered: "Is this possible? How do you know that you can distinguish between true and false?"
I smiled and said, "I happen to understand. I don't know why. If Patriarch Liu thinks what I said is false, then you can take it back for verification. If it is true, I will come to you in person to apologize."
Patriarch Liu took the bracelet back with an embarrassed expression, and had no choice but to change the topic and said: "It's okay, maybe I was cheated, but it doesn't matter another day, I'm bringing Liu Jian to propose marriage, so I won't bother you today."
"Clan Chief Liu, walk slowly!" I waved to him, not intending to see him off.
Cheng Xiaohu naturally got up and sent them out. I was still sitting on the chair. I didn't want to respect him. I just didn't find him to settle the score.
After Cheng Xiaohu saw off Patriarch Liu, he returned to the house and asked me: "Da Shan, how do you know that the bracelet is fake? How did you tell?"
"It's not ugly. You can tell by looking at the color. A good-quality jadeite bracelet is a little dark green. The brighter the color, the better. Also, the weight. His one is too light, so it's obviously a fake."
Cheng Xiaohu was confused after hearing this, and asked with squinted eyes: "Then what did you mean by tapping with chopsticks just now?"
"This is also a way to distinguish authenticity. Use a rope to hang the bracelet without holding it with your hands, and then tap the bracelet lightly with something. If the sound is crisp, it is authentic."
Cheng Xiaohu and Cheng Lu looked at me in disbelief and asked in unison: "How do you know this?"
I shrugged and replied, "I don't know either, I just know."
The two of them were even more confused. In fact, I was quite confused as well. I didn’t even know why I knew so much.
At this time, Cheng Lu said to Cheng Xiaohu: "Brother, I don't want to marry Patriarch Liu's son. Don't marry me to him."
Cheng Xiaohu sighed and said, "But I am the head of the Liu clan! It's pretty good that he can think highly of us."
I answered: "Brother Xiaohu, you need to change your thinking! Does Patriarch Liu think he is superior to others?"
"Yes! Our place has been like this for decades. Being able to marry into the patriarch's family is a blessing that has been cultivated for several generations!"
I smiled bitterly and said, "Fart! I tell you, his surname is Liu, and he won't be able to play the piano for a few days."
Cheng Xiaohu looked confused and said, "What do you mean?"
I felt that I had said a bit too much, so I waved my hand and said, "It's okay. Anyway, don't think he is awesome. We are no longer a feudal society. Everyone is equal."
Cheng Xiaohu stopped talking. After he returned to the room, Cheng Lu curled her lips and looked pitiful.
I reached out and touched her head and comforted her: "It's okay Lulu, I'm here, don't be afraid."
"Well, thank you, Brother Dashan."
"Thank me for what I did. You are my sister, so of course I have to be nice to you."
I feel that Cheng Xiaohu is still a little uncomfortable. Although he is not a bad person in nature, he cannot change his love for money.
But I still trust him, because no matter what, he cares 100% about Cheng Lu and will not betray Cheng Lu for money.
At noon the next day, I received a call from Jiang Tao as soon as I came back from the fields.
He told me that he came to the village to look for me. As soon as he arrived at the entrance of the village, I hurried to the entrance to meet him.
He came alone, and he didn't let Patriarch Liu and Patriarch Zhou know that he came to me simply, not for work.
I took him walking in the fields, letting him see the growth of our fruit seedlings, and introducing him to all the varieties of fruit seedlings.
After walking around, he asked me to go to the canteen to buy a bottle of liquor and some peanuts to go with the wine, and then we went to the top of the mountain together.
We found a flat stone on the top of the mountain, sat on the ground, and planned to have a few drinks here.
At the foot of the mountain in front of you are acres of fruit trees, neatly arranged in rows. It’s really spectacular when you look at it.
In addition, it is lunch time now, and the chimneys of some farmers' homes are emitting smoke, which looks very picturesque.
Jiang Tao and I just stared at the great river and mountains in front of us, peeling peanuts and drinking some wine.
He sighed to me: "Have you seen it? The land under our feet is so magnificent."
I nodded and agreed, "It's indeed beautiful from this place."
He turned to look at me and said with a smile: "This is all your credit. Before you broke the land boundaries, most of this place was wasteland. How could there be such a spectacular scene now."
I smiled lightly. At the beginning, I just wanted everyone in the village to live a good life, but I didn’t want to go that far.
After Jiang Tao and I had a drink, he sighed again and said: "But the resistance is really great. There are always people who are jealous and there are always people who are against it."
I heard from his complaint that he had been unhappy at work recently, so I asked: "County Magistrate Jiang, can you share with me what's on your mind?"
He shook his head and sighed again: "We have already discussed the tourism project you came to talk to me about yesterday."
When I heard him say this, I understood, and then I sighed: "You didn't agree at the meeting, right?"
He nodded and suddenly laughed, but it was a bitter smile that was uglier than crying.
I felt very sad, so I picked up the paper cup and said to him, "I don't want to worry about it anymore. We have wine today and will get drunk today."
After drinking together, he took a long breath and said: "The resistance was too great. Most people at the meeting rejected this proposal. Only three or four people in my team agreed. It's useless."
I handed him a cigarette and didn't want to talk about it anymore.
But he took the cigarette, with a firm expression on his face, and waved his hand: "But we have to do it, we have to do it!"