bookbashuk Chapter 434 Making a "Nothing to Do" Sign for the Children
Chapter 434 Making a "Nothing to Do" Sign for the Children
As long as they don't squander their current wealth, it's virtually impossible for them to lose it all.
If the children are willing to try, then let them give it a shot!
Once the Lunar New Year was over, the once bustling manor instantly fell silent.
The elders took the children back to the capital, and the children gradually returned to school. In the huge manor, only Shen Li and her husbands, plus a little boy named Huanhuan, remained.
Shen Li gradually developed her own hobby—collecting all kinds of antique jewelry.
Whether it's a renowned designer's heirloom from Country F, or a richly colored ruby or sapphire, if it catches her eye, she'll always find a way to acquire it.
She transformed the other half of the fourth floor into a private collection room, and specially selected a lot of raw jade stones, which were arranged in a staggered manner, making the entire collection room even more elegant and stylish.
Seeing Shen Li's infatuation, Lu Cheng felt both heartache and pampering. He decided to clear out the space next to the wine cabinet in the first-floor restaurant and specially designed a row of custom cabinets to store her jadeite rough stones.
He knew Shen Li's abilities well, and he also knew that these seemingly ordinary stones must contain valuable items inside, and were definitely not just empty shells.
Upon seeing this, Shen Li's eyebrows curved into a smile, and she happily arranged the raw stones one by one.
Regardless of the size of the rough stones, each one is a carefully selected treasure, without any ambiguity.
Although Lu Zhou didn't understand why Shen Li liked these cold, hard stones, he never asked and always silently respected her preferences.
Lu Cheng, seeing her poring over the raw stones every day, finally spoke up and asked, "Should I hire a skilled sculptor to turn these stones into jewelry for you?"
Shen Li's eyes lit up, and she immediately nodded in agreement: "Okay!"
She already had a plan in mind: first, make a peace charm or a good luck charm for each of the children, then have them blessed and consecrated to protect them throughout their lives.
A few days later, a carving master named Master Zheng moved into the manor.
When Shen Li placed a heavy piece of jadeite rough in front of him, Master Zheng was stunned.
His craftsmanship is always expensive. When ordinary people ask him to carve, they bring ready-made, high-quality jade materials. I've never seen anyone bring a raw stone directly to him.
If the rough stone is hollow or of extremely poor quality, then all his efforts will have been wasted.
But then I thought, this family is obviously rich and powerful, so they don't need this little bit of money.
What troubled him even more was that he was only responsible for carving and never for opening windows in the raw stones—that is, cutting open the surface of the raw stone to check the jade material inside.
Master Zheng thought to himself that the mistress of the house was probably foolish and rich, but then he thought that since it wasn't his own money being spent, he might as well go along with his employer's wishes.
Left with no other choice, Master Zheng could only pick up his tools and slowly open a window in the raw stone.
What frustrated him even more was that Shen Li was standing beside him when he opened the window, occasionally offering a few words of advice.
This infuriated Mr. Zheng, but since the other party was his employer, he could only grit his teeth and bear it, secretly comforting himself that it was better to avoid trouble.
But to his surprise, as soon as he carefully peeled back a small piece of the outer layer, a flash of shock crossed his eyes, and he couldn't help but exclaim in a low voice, "What a piece! It's absolutely superb!"
Shen Li remained calm and said softly, "It's alright, we'll take it slowly. Just open it according to the directions I just mentioned, and don't damage the jade inside."
At that moment, Master Zheng's dissatisfaction with Shen Li vanished instantly.
Throughout his life, he carved countless pieces of jade. His obsession with good materials was like a discerning eye finding a fine horse. He was filled with joy and appreciation, and had no time to care about anything else.
In the days that followed, Mr. Zheng became increasingly cautious, opening the window little by little throughout the entire process.
I dared not be careless in the slightest, and even less dared to cut the skin easily.
—This jade has a special texture; cutting off the outer layer rashly would definitely result in waste.
Wasting a little bit of ordinary jade wouldn't be a problem, but this material was a rare, high-grade imperial green glass-type jade.
Even the slightest waste would be a great pity.
Master Zheng held his breath and operated with utmost care throughout, afraid that a single mistake would ruin this rare and precious material.
When the entire piece of jade was fully revealed, he looked at the clear, flawless imperial green and couldn't help but exclaim, "Wow, this material is truly perfect!"
"It's flawless, with pure colors; if it were made into a complete set of jewelry, its market value would be at least two hundred million!"
Although this piece of material is rare, Shen Li has no shortage of this kind of material.
It's fine to use it for other things later.
Let's make something for the children first.
But as soon as he finished speaking, Shen Li spoke up, her tone as casual as if she were talking about a trivial matter: "No need to make a whole set, just make four 'nothingness' plaques, three larger ones and one smaller one. I'll draw a pattern for you to see later. Then, make a bracelet with the extras, and some rings, necklaces, or other small ornaments."
Master Zheng immediately became anxious and hurriedly advised, "Madam, this won't do! Such fine imperial green jade is such a waste to make just a pendant! With this material, you could at least make a pair of bracelets, and with some beads, a complete set of jewelry. It would not only be more beautiful but also more valuable!"
Shen Li gently shook her head, her tone firm yet gentle: "No need, just do as I say."
Looking at her resolute expression, Master Zheng sighed helplessly.
He thought to himself: "As expected, rich people are capricious. Such rare and fine material, they just use it to make a peace amulet. If it were someone else, they would never be willing to do that."
A month has passed in the blink of an eye, and the four "nothing to do" signs are finally finished.
The three men's "Nothing to Worry" plaques are of moderate thickness, with a warm and smooth texture and a faint imperial green sheen.
Huanhuan's women's "Nothing to Worry" pendant is slightly smaller, with a circle of tiny diamonds inlaid around the edge and a slightly larger diamond set at the top, making it exquisite and cute.
Considering that the children would grow up, Shen Li specifically asked Master Zheng to make them to adult sizes.
The one Huanhuan is wearing is a little too small for now, so we have to put it away properly and wait until she's older before she can wear it again.
Shen Li didn't waste the remaining jade material. She had Master Zheng make several different styles of rings—one each for Shen's mother, Lu's mother, and her grandmother, one for Xiao Nan, and kept three for herself, as well as a small and exquisite bracelet.
By the time all of this was done, the imperial green jadeite had been almost completely used up, leaving only some small, fragmented pieces.
Shen Li simply gave all the small scraps to Master Zheng.
Master Zheng was both surprised and delighted, holding the scraps of material with great affection.
—Although it's just scraps, it's still a high-grade imperial green jadeite of the glassy variety.
Even the broken pieces are far more valuable than the ordinary jade he usually handles. These broken pieces alone are worth far more than his monthly wages.