Chapter 60: Tenfold Compensation

"Manager, just give me a patch of space. I'm going to pay the rent anyway. If I sell all these stones and reveal precious treasures, it will only add luster to your Treasure Pavilion and Skysight!" Luo Yunhe could tell the other party was hesitating.

"Fine! But let me make one thing clear first: it must be explicitly noted that your stones do not belong to my shop. After all, your stones genuinely do not look like they contain any good merchandise, and I certainly don't want to bring any unnecessary trouble upon our establishment because of you!"

What a lack of discernment! Luo Yunhe muttered inwardly.

However, she readily agreed to the conditions proposed by the man.

After the two parties signed an agreement, the man in green found an open spot for Luo Yunhe. Although the location wasn't particularly good and the area wasn't very large, Luo Yunhe was already extremely satisfied.

She arranged her stones there one by one, piling them into a small mound, and placed a sign on top of the stones.

The content was very simple: premium goods at reasonable prices; fail to cut a treasure, and receive a tenfold refund.

After writing her sign, Luo Yunhe placed it directly in a prominent position in front of her stall.

To her surprise, as soon as she set up the sign, it immediately caught the attention of the clerks inside the Treasure Pavilion.

These clerks gathered around, staring at the sign with expressions of shock and disbelief on their faces.

They whispered to themselves: "This young girl has some serious nerve!"

"How dare she put up a sign like this here? She really knows nothing of the immensity of heaven and earth!"

They simply couldn't fathom how a girl who looked barely in her teens could be so arrogant.

The clerks in the Treasure Pavilion began whispering and chatting amongst themselves.

As time passed, the number of customers inside the Treasure Pavilion grew, and the bustling crowd milled back and forth.

Meanwhile, the clerk who had been reprimarded by the manager kept his eyes firmly fixed on Luo Yunhe's stall. Feeling resentful, he was convinced that the worthless stones Luo Yunhe displayed could never yield any treasures.

What made him even angrier was that because of this very incident, he had been scolded by the manager early in the morning, making him feel utterly wronged.

The more he thought about it, the angrier he became, and he decided to teach Luo Yunhe a lesson.

With a sly glint in his eye, an idea came to him.

He strolled leisurely over to Luo Yunhe's stall, looked at the stones before him, and then glanced at the sign.

"Tenfold compensation? Do you even have that kind of money to pay out?"

Luo Yunhe looked at the clerk, who was clearly there to pick a fight, but she remained completely unfazed.

"Since I wrote down tenfold compensation, I am certainly capable of delivering on it!"

"Alright! You wrote this and said it yourself. If you can't cut a good treasure out of this, you'll have to pay tenfold compensation!"

"No problem!"

"Come, everyone, take a look! She said that if her stones don't yield any treasures, she will compensate ten times the original price! All of you must serve as my witnesses!"

At his shout, the people around all gathered around. Looking at the pile of stones on the ground—which clearly looked like ordinary rocks picked up from the wayside rather than minerals excavated from a mine—they shook their heads and sighed. They felt that this young girl was simply young, hot-tempered, and completely ignorant of the rules of the jade trade.

Besides, how could stones like these possibly produce treasures? She was just using such gimmicks to attract attention. If she couldn't afford the tenfold compensation when the time came, she would utterly humiliate herself.

Amidst the discussion of the crowd, the clerk wore an evil smile as he began picking through the stones, eventually selecting one that felt comfortable in his hand and asking for its price.

Luo Yunhe was equally unyielding: "All my stones are thirty taels each!"

Hearing this, the clerk’s face showed surprise, followed immediately by a look of disdain. He thought to himself that this young girl certainly dared to demand exorbitant prices, yet he still asked with a feigned air of interest, "Are you sure all these stones are thirty taels of silver each?"

Luo Yunhe nodded and said, "Of course. If you think it's too expensive, you can buy elsewhere."

The clerk sneered upon hearing this: "Thirty taels. If there's nothing inside, you'll have to compensate me three hundred taels. Are you sure?"

"I am sure!" Luo Yunhe replied without a moment's hesitation.

"This is just an ordinary stone with no value at all. Young girl, you mustn't act on impulse! Thirty taels compensating three hundred taels—that's an astronomical sum! Judging by your appearance, you don't look like you have three hundred taels of silver to your name!"

"Indeed! You mustn't act on impulse. Besides, you have so many stones here; if you really lose, how much will you end up paying?"

"Everyone, since I have already put up my sign, I am naturally extremely confident in my goods. Might as well tell you, every single one of my stones can yield treasures, and of superior quality at that. Thirty taels is even underpricing them!"

His boastful words left the stone-gambling patrons in the crowd falling silent. Although his claims remained to be verified, none of them dared to step forward.

The clerk laughed triumphantly, mocking Luo Yunhe: "Hahaha, it seems the heavens are helping me earn these three hundred taels of silver today. Little girl, just wait to pay me those three hundred taels!"

Luo Yunhe smiled faintly, completely unprovoked by the clerk's words, and said calmly, "Is that so? Then let us wait and see."

After paying Luo Yunhe thirty taels of silver, the clerk took the stone and headed toward the cutting room.

Because it was purchased through stone gambling, the cutting room was open to the public, allowing everyone to witness the scene inside.

The clerk carried the stone inside.

Stone cutting in ancient times differed from the twenty-first century. Lacking advanced technology, their sole method of cutting was wire cutting.

This was a technique that had been used since the Neolithic period. People held the ends of animal skins or ropes in their hands, pulling them back and forth over the jade material while applying abrasive jade sand to the cut, utilizing the hardness and friction of the sand to slice through the jade.

Once the veteran craftsman secured the stone, he prepared to cut it directly down the middle.

Watching them use such a method to cut the stone, Luo Yunhe could not help but shake her head in helpless resignation.

She knew precisely where the treasure within the stone was located. If cut according to their method, a portion of the treasure would inevitably be damaged and lost.

This would be equivalent to waste. Had it been cut using her method, the contents could have been extracted entirely intact and flawless.

However, since the stone belonged to the clerk, she had no obligation to remind him. After all, he was far too arrogant, and a lesson was precisely what he needed.