The Spirit of Gourmet

Chapter 334 The Origin of the Jade Pendant

Steamed sea bass is here!

With Qin Lang's shout, the steaming dishes, carrying the rich and fresh aroma of sea bass, instantly ignited the enthusiasm of everyone at the table.

Placing the steamed sea bass among the other various dishes, Qin Lang smiled and looked at everyone, "Dinner is ready."

"Wait, did you forget something?" Cao Dongdong scratched his head, looking at the plates of delicious-looking food in front of him. "Where are the chopsticks!"

"Oh right." Qin Lang slapped his forehead, casually took out a pair of chopsticks, and distributed them to everyone present. "Come on, I almost forgot."

Are you afraid we'll start eating before all the dishes are served?

Everyone couldn't help but grumble inwardly, but then they immediately reached for the various dishes they had been craving without hesitation.

Since the Golden Lake perch had become Xiao Cai's new little brother, Qin Lang naturally had no intention of eating it. As compensation, he bought a perch of equally good quality, along with other dishes, and the meal was quite satisfying for everyone.

"I'm full~" Ren Xi patted her round belly, a satisfied look on her face. "I feel like all the bad mood from not winning the competition has disappeared."

“Indeed.” Zhang Yi nodded in agreement, then suddenly realized he shouldn’t have echoed Ren Xi, and snorted, “We tied with your Donghu team this year, we’ll have to compete again next year!”

"I'm available anytime!" Ren Xi glanced at him sideways.

"You two really are a pair of sworn enemies." Qin Lang shook his head with a wry smile, then his expression became slightly more serious as he returned to the main topic.

"Ren Xi, may I see your jade pendant?"

When Qin Lang sank the anti-jumping team's fishing boat at the Fishing Boat Festival, he caught a glimpse of the jade pendant around Ren Xi's neck. He immediately felt that it looked familiar and was very similar to the one in the landscape painting.

But after only a quick glance, Qin Lang himself couldn't be sure.

He invited the two of them this time, hoping to verify this point as well.

"A jade pendant?" Ren Xi was taken aback for a moment, then carefully took out the jade pendant hidden in her clothes. "Is this what you mean?"

"Yes." Qin Lang nodded emphatically. This time, he saw more details and the feeling of familiarity became even clearer.

"Where did you get this jade pendant?"

“This was passed down to me by my grandmother.” Ren Xi carefully took off the jade pendant. “It’s the only keepsake she gave me before she passed away.”

“But why have I never seen you wear it before?” Zhao Qian couldn’t help but ask.

She had been helping Qin Lang search for the whereabouts of the jade pendant, never expecting that it would be related to her best friend!
"Because I wasn't wearing it before." Ren Xi's eyes dimmed slightly as she slowly recounted her story with her grandmother under everyone's gaze.

After listening, everyone suddenly realized what had happened.

Ren Xi took off the jade pendant when she was very young, and she was no longer wearing it when she met Zhao Qian, so Zhao Qian naturally didn't know that.

Unexpectedly, by a twist of fate, Ren Xi put on the jade pendant that was very important to her again, which brought the clues to light.

"Could I borrow it to compare?" Qin Lang reached out and took the jade pendant from Ren Xi, then took out the hand-drawn picture from his pocket and opened it.

The jade pendant corresponds perfectly to the largest fragment in the hand-drawn jade pendant; there is no difference between the two.

"It really is!" Cao Dongdong's eyes widened. "This is too much of a coincidence. Does that mean we can find the other fragments too?"

Qin Lang pondered for a moment, then looked at Ren Xi again, "Have you seen any other similar jade pendant fragments?"

“No.” Ren Xi shook her head, looking at the hand-drawn picture in Qin Lang’s hand. “This is also the first time I’ve seen the complete jade pendant in the painting.”

"Excuse me," Zhang Yi, who had been silent until now, suddenly spoke up, "Could I take a look at this painting?"

"Here you go." Qin Lang handed the hand-drawn sketch to Zhang Yi, who examined it carefully before his expression turned strange. "This fragment is in my house."

As he spoke, he pointed to a part of the complete jade pendant.

The jade pendant is divided into four parts, and the part Zhang Yi was referring to is the part opposite to the part of Ren Xi's jade pendant.

Everyone looked surprised.

What a coincidence...?

"You have fragments in your house too?" Ren Xi stared wide-eyed at Zhang Yi. "Could it be that one of your elders broke my grandmother's jade pendant?"

"No wonder my dad doesn't like your dad!"

Zhang Yi: "..."

“It’s not even certain whether this jade pendant is yours!” Zhang Yi glared at Ren Xi, his expression darkening. “The jade pendant fragment in my house was something my grandfather held tightly in his hand when he passed away. It was his most treasured possession. How could it possibly be stolen from your house?”

"Maybe it was your grandma who stole my grandpa's things!"

"You're talking nonsense!" Ren Xi slammed her hand on the table and stood up abruptly. "How could my grandma do such a thing?"

“My grandfather doesn’t know either!” Zhang Yi also stood up, glaring angrily at Ren Xi, not to be outdone.

"Stop arguing, stop arguing." Qin Lang quickly pulled the two of them back. "I think there must be another reason for this, so you two should calm down."

He looked at the two of them, a thoughtful expression in his eyes.

“I remember you said before that the conflict between your two families was a continuation of the older generation. In other words, the conflict between the two families is because Zhang Yi’s grandfather and Ren Xi’s grandmother had a conflict.”

“Yes.” Ren Xi nodded. “That’s right.”

"That's roughly the idea." Zhang Yi nodded in agreement, then added, "Of course, it's also true that I don't like Ren Xi."

"I don't like you either!" Ren Xi couldn't help but glare at Zhang Yi.

Seeing that the two seemed about to start arguing again, Qin Lang interrupted them with a wry smile, "Do you know why those two have a conflict?"

Upon hearing this question, both of them shook their heads.

Clearly, they were unaware of the specific reasons for the conflict.

Qin Lang nodded thoughtfully.

It seems that the jade pendant must have a deep connection with the two deceased elders. If we could find out about the conflict back then, we might have a chance to find the remaining two parts of the jade pendant.

Of course, finding just the jade pendant is probably not enough.

The jade pendant fragments hold great significance for both the Zhang and Ren families, who have deep-seated conflicts. Persuading them to lend the jade pendant and ultimately reunite it in front of the tombstone will not be easy.

However, that's something to consider after you've found all the jade pendants.

Thinking of this, Qin Lang couldn't help but ask again to confirm, "You really haven't seen the other two jade pendant fragments?"

“No,” Zhang Yi spoke first. “My father guessed that reuniting the jade pendants might have been my grandfather’s last wish before he passed away, so he was also looking for other jade pendant fragments.”

At this point, he couldn't help but glance at Ren Xi.

If his father finds out that one of the fragments is in Ren Xi's possession...

(End of this chapter)