Priceless Baby: 101 Bedside Stories

“This is topaz.” It was a beautiful topaz. A three-carat topaz was worth about a hundred thousand. Twenty thousand would not be overboard, but only people who loved collecting would agree on that price. If it was natural sapphire, it would be a steal for only twenty thousand, unless if it was synthetic sapphire.

People nearby crowded around. Someone bought a sapphire. When he heard that it was a topaz, he was shocked.

“Hi, isn’t this natural sapphire? I just bought a two-carat one.”

The boss exclaimed, “Sir, don’t listen to some random person speaking off the cuff. She doesn’t have any jewelry on, how could she tell real from fake? She’s pretending to know.”

The crowd looked at Shen Qianshu. Sure enough, she had no jewelry on and dressed very simply. For a moment, they thought that she was definitely speaking off the cuff.

“This is topaz,” Shen Qianshu said. “The simplest way to differentiate natural sapphire is to shine it under sunlight. From different angles, the jewels will give off different shades of blue. I looked at it from several angles, but they were all of the same color. Furthermore, this piece is extremely transparent and clear. Unless it is synthetic sapphire, it will not be this clear. Due to geological changes and cohesion underground for thousands of years, there is bound to be some crystallization. This rock has longitudinal lines, which is unique to topaz. Therefore, this is definitely not natural sapphire.”

“Y-You…” the boss shook angrily as he pointed at Shen Qianshu. He never thought that the little girl would know so much and even be able to differentiate sapphire from topaz without any equipment.

Li Zhiyuan clapped and said, “Qianshu’s great. Qianshu, you’re great.”

Shen Qianshu thought of Tong Hua’s constant praise for her and felt like laughing.

Seeing that Shen Qianshu was speaking with evidence, the crowd began to believe in her. Yet, the boss did not want to give in. He insisted, “What nonsense? Where did you learn that nonsense? How can you tell based on just these little bits of evidence?”

Shen Qianshu said, “Alright. In other words, I can’t tell if this is real or fake. But it definitely looks different from the sapphires I have appraised before.”

“I have my appraisal from Gubelin!” the boss yelled.

“You mean the gem lab in our city?’

“Yeah!”

“Well, what a coincidence. Who appraised it for you? I happen to be an appraiser at Gubelin.” Shen Qianshu took out her evidence and waved it in front of him. She then put it away and smiled as she stared at the boss.

Both the boss and the crowd were speechless.

“We want a refund! Refund!” Customers who had bought the jewel demanded refunds. Many people rushed in.

A Gubelin appraiser was about the same as a mirror of jewels. They were walking appraisals.

This already had nothing to do with Shen Qianshu.

Shen Qianshu and Li Zhiyuan left, and she pondered. Li Zhiyuan asked, “You just spoke up for the public, why do you seem so preoccupied?”

In his eyes, the Shen Qianshu that argued with the boss was very attractive.

“I’m thinking about that topaz,” Shen Qianshu replied.

“Why?” Li Zhiyuan asked. He could not understand.

“With our bare eyes, it is hard to tell if the topaz was real or fake. If it was real, it’s value is about a hundred thousand. If he sold it at two hundred, there’s nothing much we can say if customers are willing to pay. But…” Shen Qianshu thought about it and continued, “What if it was fake?”

“What could be done? Would anyone spend another few hundreds thousand to get an appraisal for it?”