Complete chapter, the first & second updates in 2023 \(^0^)/
“This jade was the one I took a fancy to first.”
Before Zhang Zifan opened his mouth, Bai Ling had picked up the stone from the stone pile. According to the hidden rules of the stone gambling circle, when Bai Ling checked the stone’s quality and decided whether to buy it, others could not interfere.
What’s more, Bai Ling decided to buy this stone when she picked it up, so why would she give it to Zhang Zifan?
Mr. Huo, the old man who introduced Zhang Zifan this time, hurried forward to stop him after looking at the other party’s reckless behavior, as if it was the other party’s first time participating in stone gambling, and did not understand the rules.
“Since this stone is what the girl likes, Zifan, you can choose other stones.”
In Mr. Huo’s opinion, two hundred pieces of stone were unworthy to gamble. The Zhang family was wealthy, so it was absolutely unnecessary to grab a piece of waste stone with a girl who looked like a student.
The people who could come here today were all famous people. Although this little girl dressed in ordinary clothes, who knew which family junior she came from? It would be troublesome if you beat the younger one and got the older one.
“I really like this stone. Let’s do it like this. I’ll pay 20,000 yuan. Please cede it to me.”
In front of Jiang Qiao, Zhang Zifan was gentle and courteous, but his temperament was hard to change. No matter how noble his dress was, he was not a noble. The comfortably off life in the past six months made him haughtier and more willful, and his unconcealed arrogance.
Mr. Huo had witnessed Zhang Zifan purchase valuable antiques at low prices and admired the other party’s ability very much. It was inevitable for him to be a little proud of this youth, and he could tolerate it.
Jiang Qiao was on the point of death. She was not satisfied with the marriage arranged by her grandparents and seeing Zhang Zifan throwing money at others, she just felt disgusted. Her fair and beautiful face increasingly became as cold as ice and frost.
“I also fancy this stone.”
Bai Ling’s eyes were increasingly brighter. That was it! Last time, this stupid rich-second generation kept asking for the price. As a result, the jade hairpin was a treasure. Now it seemed that there must be something good in this stone.
Unknowingly, Bai Ling had such a strange self-confidence.
“50,000, this price is enough to buy a better stone.”
Zhang Zifan frowned. He was bound to win this stone.
The protagonist located countless treasures in the novel. Zhang Zifan remembered the site to find the specific things, which was also the priceless jadeite with Icy Jadeite with Imperial Jade quality hidden in front of him.
There was a detail describing the scene of the male protagonist finding Imperial Jade in several novel chapters. It was also because the jade came out of the pile of waste rocks for two hundred yuan. It made the male protagonist famous in the stone gambling circle after the antique one.
He remembered that the jadeite found by the male protagonist was the largest in the two hundred yuan pile of stones, and it was the square next to the watermelon-like stone. Regardless of the stone’s flawed appearance, except for the thin outer layer of leather, the inside was full of high-grade Icy Jadeite. The jadeite with such high purity, color, and size was extremely rare. It got auctioned on the spot for a sky-high price of more than 38 million.
Zhang Zifan was now just a wealthy young master who was still studying in college and had his share of free stocks and pocket money among the light-colored collar family. He could spend one or two million, but tens of millions would be too stretched.
He had picked up some valuable antiques at low prices and continued to make money in the past six months, but he spent more. He thought buying that piece of jade today would relieve his financial pressure, but who knew someone would take the lead? So no matter what, Zhang Zifan wanted to grab that piece of jade.
“Sorry, we chose this stone first. According to the rules, this stone is also ours no matter how high your price is.”
Yan Chu protected Bai Ling behind him and spoke to Zhang Zifan.
Although he had not had direct contact with this space-time destroyer in the past six months, he had been paying attention silently to the other party’s actions. After all, his second task is to make the original self’s former harem live peacefully. If this space-time destroyer initiated the idea of replacing the original self, wouldn’t his second task be a failure?
Fortunately, the other party did not seem very attractive to girls. Several contacts with Long Ruofei and others were unsuccessful.
“Not enough? I will offer 100,000.”
Zhang Zifan looked at the man in front of him, who seemed to be more handsome than himself, and was very disdainful. What were the rules? Only the rich were qualified to set the rules. Seeing what clothes and shoes he wore, he did not look like the young master of a wealthy family.
“Who brought this person? Do you not know the rules?”
Because a group of people was in a stalemate, many people gathered here and hated Zhang Zifan after understanding the causes and consequences of the matter.
If the stone gambling was a famous brand or a secret auction, it was permissible for many people to take a fancy to the same stone and be allowed to compete with each other. Now every stone was marked with a price, and it would make people impatient to do this.
Immediately, a jeweler stood up to speak for Bai Ling.
“I don’t have much here, but I have plenty of good materials. Why don’t you look at other stones, sir?”
Zhang Zhi dragged Hao Dafu, Zhang Zhi’s uncle, from the other side. She was scared her friends would get bullied by a rooster in her uncle’s territory.
He always stretched his neck, raised his head high, squinted at people, and looked smug. Zhang Zhi could not think of other familiar animals except for the rooster.
For the businessman, treating people kindly could attract wealth and treasure. Although he was upset that Zhang Zifan was making trouble in his territory and made himself ashamed in front of his niece, Hao Dafu immediately focused on reconciliation.
“You are the boss here. She hasn’t paid for the stone yet. I will pay 200,000 yuan for it. Is it high enough?”
The businessman loved money in Zhang Zifan’s view. He had doubled the amount of 200 pieces of stone by 1,000 times, so he must be overjoyed.
If someone familiar with Hao Dafu was here at this time, they should be able to see that although he was smiling now, he was already angry.
Hao Dafu had been in the jade business for numerous years and had never been so humiliated in the whole jewelry raw material circle. Who brought this fool?
“Zifan, Boss Hao doesn’t have that rule here. Since all jade materials have marked prices, if there is a buyer, no matter how high the price is, it won’t be easy to sell.”
Mr. Huo’s face was unsightly. It was actually his face that he lost since he was the one who invited Zhang Zifan.
He used to think that even though this kid was arrogant, he was also somewhat talented and could be cultivated as a young force in the antique circle. But the other party had a temper that did not read people’s meaningful glances. Sooner or later, he would cause big trouble. It was better to clarify their relationship.
“I’ll offer one or two million, and if Miss is willing to offer such a price, I’ll give it up.”
In Zhang Zifan’s previous life, he was sick of other people’s meaningful glances, from the workshop director and the workmates, who had no right to despise himself. But in this life, after he became a wealthy man and got the sky-defying cheat, Zhang Zifan did not want to wrong himself anymore.
There were always multiple cannon fodder characters on the protagonist’s road to success. Zhang Zifan thought that the fat man in front of him and those people pointing at him were those cannon fodder who rarely showed up.
“Sir, I don’t welcome you here. Please leave.”
Hao Dafu’s face was increasingly serious. He made a gesture to Zhang Zifan to ask him to leave.
If he, Hao Dafu, really compromised for two million today, he would have smashed his business reputation. Unless he did not want to hang out in the stone gambling circle, it was absolutely impossible to help Zhang Zifan break the rules of the stone gambling circle.
“Boss Hao, for my sake, forgive Zifan this time, it’s his first contact with this circle, and he hasn’t figured out many rules. I will talk about him.”
Mr. Huo really did not want to talk to this stubborn young man, but he invited him here. If he really got kicked out, he was afraid he would not have the face to appear in this circle again.
Those present today were all the dignitaries in the jewelry circle. Zhang Zifan’s behavior offended more than half of the people by throwing money at others. Let’s talk about it after he took over the Zhang family.
Jiang Qiao did not speak during the whole process. She just secretly looked at her fiancé, who became a joke. She hoped that Hao Dafu could drive Zhang Zifan out so she could have more confidence when getting rid of this marriage contract that she did not accept.
Her eyes flicked across Bai Ling and Yan Chu, who was protecting her in an inconspicuous protective posture, and she could see that they seemed to be an ordinary young couple.
Jiang Qiao’s eyes flashed a trace of envy and self-mockery. Such sincere feelings were really a luxury for people like her.
If Zhang Zifan was worthwhile, she might also be willing to compromise with the other party to increase her influence in the Jiang family. However, this man had become increasingly brainless during these days, leaving behind the great foundation of the Zhang family, indulging in the so-called simple antiques. She did not see the other party making any significant achievements. She could find two or three pieces of antiques a month, and the total price was the same as their pocket money for a month or two.
Furthermore, the person Jiang Qiao sent to watch Zhang Zifan reported that the other party frequently went to particular “entertainment venues” in the past six months. Looking at the other party’s affectionate performances in front of her, an act she had to do, Jiang Qiao was a little sick.
The eldest lady of the Qinglong gang had already come to warn her that if she saw her no-good fiancé and let him harass her again, she would break his third leg.
Jiang Qiao hoped that this day would come soon so that the family would reconsider whether it would bring enough benefits to the Jiang family to let her marry the Zhang family’s son, who was doomed to have no children.
Zhang Zifan never thought that Hao Dafu would directly ask him to leave. Did he know who he was?
“Since Mr. Huo has pleaded for him, then I will forgive him this time, but if he breaks the rules of my stone gambling house again, don’t blame me, Hao Dafu, for not being considerate.”
Mr. Huo’s reputation in the stone gambling industry was mediocre, but he was still well-known in the antique circle. When the other party pleaded for mercy, Hao Dafu was also not good at making things go to extremes.
That was more than 30 million yuan. Zhang Zifan wanted to talk again in heartache, but Mr. Huo hurriedly pulled him aside, not giving him a chance to speak again.
“Enough, there are so many stones here. Why do you cling to a stone that the little girl has already taken a fancy to? With so many people present, do you want to leave the impression that you bully others and don’t know the rules?”
Mr. Huo spoke to Zhang Zifan with a headache. Looking at his dissatisfied face, he lost his patience and appreciation for him even more.
After being told by the other party, Zhang Zifan also realized that his performance was too obvious. He might also arouse suspicion from others once that stone produced green. Although he was still unwilling, he still endured it.
But this time, he completely remembered the two faces of Yan Chu and Bai Ling. The previous 180,000 yuan, the suddenly-became-rich-childe Zhang did not pay much attention to that. This time, it was more than 30 million yuan, which made Zhang Zifan feel heartache.
“Little Ling, it was scary just now, right? Don’t worry. You don’t need to say anything else. In this domain, I can still make decisions. As long as you don’t violate the rules of the stone gambling circle, you can boldly have fun.”
Hao Dafu felt quite embarrassed. His niece’s friend met such a fool the first time they came to play. They would think that all those who gamble with stones were trash.
“Uncle Hao, we can’t take this stone for nothing. You also said that there are rules for stone gambling circles. If we don’t pay, we may cause trouble again.”
The selected gambling stones were all paid on the spot, the cash swiped at will. Yan Chu instantly took out two hundred yuan and handed it to the accountant next to Hao Dafu.
Following Yan Chu’s gaze, Hao Dafu also saw Zhang Zifan staring at the stone in Bai Ling’s hand with burning eyes. He immediately became more tired of that trash. Who on earth raised such an out-of-tune and unreliable person?
“Well, Uncle Hao also won’t be polite to you.”
He also knew that it was more appropriate to collect the two hundred yuan now, and he would ask his niece to return the money at that time if there was no jade.
“Uncle, I’ll pay too.”
Zhang Zhi also joined in the fun. She chose the gourd-shaped stone that Bai Ling had tangled up just now and handed the two hundred yuan to her uncle with a jump.
“This little girl.”
Hao Dafu did not know whether to laugh or cry, so he handed the money to the accountant. Anyway, he would give her a little more pocket money when the moment came.
“Uncle, hurry up and take us to cut this stone. I have a hunch that there will be green inside.”
Zhang Zhi was so excited. Hao Dafu did not want to shock her, so he asked his master craftsman to examine this piece of jade and stone. It was all leftovers from jade cutting and some extremely poor-quality materials. Even if it turned out green, it was the worst kind of Glutinous Rice Jadeite or Peas Jadeite, with most of them stones.
Zhang Zhi did not care, this was her first time betting on stones, and she was looking forward to it.
The people who watched the fight over the stone just now saw that Bai Ling was going to open the jade in her hands, and they all crowded around curiously. Although this was a jade that was not highly gambleable, there was a fool willing to spend two million on it just now to grab this block of material, which was enough to make this piece of jade have the attraction that other jade materials do not have.
They wanted to see what kind of jade could be out of the jade Zhang Zifan wanted just now.
“Miss, how do you plan to cut this jade?”
The jade material the size of a football was not small. The stone carving master asked Bai Ling to draw a cutting line.
“Can you cut the stone like that gentleman just now?”
Bai Ling thought of the person who removed the stone before she where the stone carving master ground it with another tool. It seemed that the damage to the jade was relatively small. It was also her first time playing this, so she was unsure what to say.
Grinding was very time-consuming, and it was unnecessary for the 200 yuan waste. But Bai Ling was brought by Boss Hao Dafu, so the stone carving master did not say anything. He took the tools and started to grind the stone.
“It’s green, this transparency, high-quality Icy Jadeite.”
The tool made a small hole in the stone shell in just a few minutes. The stone carving master’s eyes were very sharp. He immediately stopped when he saw the green, poured water on that side, and picked up the flashlight to shine inside.
The green light flashed in the hearts of all the onlookers.
Only Zhang Zifan’s face was an apparent pain among so many people. Jiang Qiao inadvertently noticed this scene and hid doubts in her heart.
Zhang Zifan’s behavior seemed to be that he knew what was in the jade material. Very fishy.
Jiang Qiao wondered if she was overthinking, but this question was tucked away in her heart.
“High-quality Icy Jadeite of the imperial green. I haven’t seen such good transparency for many years. Even if it’s just a piece the size of a fingernail, you’ll make a lot of money, little girl.”
All the jewelers were excited. They came here not only to gamble on stones but also to purchase high-quality jade unearthed by others to provide supplies for their own jewelry stores.
Over the years, high-end jade materials had become less and less, and there was hardly a piece of high-quality Icy Jadeite materials, so its existence was worth vying for.
“I’ll offer one million, little girl. You’ve already made a lot of money. If you cut it down, you won’t be able to sell it at this price.”
A window just opened up, and the possibility of uncertainty was very high, but someone made a bid to lobby Bai Ling immediately.
“You are too timid. The young man over there just wanted to spend two million to buy this jade. I want to bet three million.”
A group of jade merchants competed to open their mouths, pushing the price to 4.5 million. It was already a fair price for jade similar to semi-gambling raw material.
“Yan Chu.”
Bai Ling had never been such a great master before. If she did not cut down, she would get 4.5 million yuan. If she cut down and it broke, she would probably get more than 100,000 yuan.
Unable to make a decision, she looked nervously at Yan Chu.
“If you want to sell it, you can sell it. If you don’t want to sell it, let’s cut it down. If it breaks down, the size of the jade exposed now is enough to make a pair of rings, just enough to be our engagement rings.”
Yan Chu held Bai Ling’s hand to let her relax, “Think about it, we bought this for 200 yuan, and even if it broke, we still earned a pair of rings, which is also a happy thing.”
His open-minded attitude made many onlookers look sideways. In the circle of stone gambling, there were not a few people who were red-eyed and bankrupt. There were indeed few people like the other party who understated a jade material worth several million.
Was the other party born rich and powerful that he did not care about four or five million?
But looking at the other party’s dress and the behavior of his little girlfriend just now, he did not look like a rich man.
Among them, Hao Dafu understood Yan Chu the best. He had heard from his niece that she was a friend who had a boyfriend with parental approval. He also knew about the other party’s family.
Thinking about his mentality at the other party’s age, Hao Dafu felt that Yan Chu was a capable individual in-made. At least in terms of mood, there was something he could learn from.
“Then cut it down. I want to cut it all out.”
With Yan Chu’s consolation, Bai Ling immediately felt much more relaxed. Although it would be hard to avoid facing the gap between millions and hundreds of thousands, as Yan Chu said, considering they bought the jade for 200 yuan, it did not seem so sad.
Besides, with Zhang Zifan’s previous performance, Bai Ling had great confidence in this piece of jade.
She felt that Zhang Zifan might be the lucky star who gave her money.
Many waiting jewelers on the sidelines felt that Bai Ling’s idea of wanting to cut everything was quite good. The money she earned was not as much as the bet, but at least there was no risk. What she gained was the difference between the craftsmanship fee and the resale price. As the saying goes, gold was valuable, and jade was priceless6gold was valuable, and jade was pricelesscan be read as "gold was expensive, but knowledge was priceless". It was the high-quality Icy Jadeite of Imperial Jade, and it was possible to double it several times when it met a buyer who liked it.
“It’s incredible.”
As the jade’s outer surface ground away bit by bit, everyone’s mouths grew bigger and bigger, and they were stunned by this jadeite that only had a layer of stone on the surface but was full of jade inside.
The jade was a circle smaller than its prototype. It exuded a warm and translucent luster without any blemishes. It was as green as a green jade spring and looked like it could become water anytime. Such a good jade material had been unseen for more than ten years. It was actually hidden in the jade pile of 200 yuan.
No one knew whether Hao Dafu was so regretful, but he was still very stable on the surface.
“Twenty million.”
“Twenty-two million.”
The jewelers bid one after another, and many even picked up their mobile phones to call the company’s real masters, or the finance department, to see how much liquidity the company could withdraw. They were all desirous of this piece of jade.
“Twenty-eight million.”
“Thirty million.”
The quotations were shouted out one by one. Bai Ling felt that her heart, which had been tense following the stone grinding just now, was about to jump out of her throat even more.
Thirty million, how many zeros were there behind? Her mind was a mess.
“Thirty-five million.”
“Thirty-six million.”
“36.5 million.”
The higher the amount, the fewer people would add, and the more cautious the price would be each time. In the end, only two internationally renowned jewelry companies were bidding.
“37 million.”
This price was the highest expense that L Company could offer. Some time ago, the company imported a batch of jade materials from Myanmar, and there was not much cash left for this purchase. For this rare piece of jade, they were afraid to lose.
“38 million.”
As expected, another company also called out its own additional offer when the budget was running out and ended the bidding.
Since Yan Chu took on the responsibility of making lunch for the two of them, Jin Xiujuan asked her son to apply for a bank card. Yan Chu and Bai Ling’s food money was in that card for easy access. Therefore, over 30 million yuan was transferred to Yan Chu’s account for the first time.
After that, Zhang Zhi’s little gourd also produced jade material, but it was not as good as Bai Ling’s. It was between Icy Jadeite and Peas Jadeite. The jade material was not very big, but it got sold for 20,000 yuan.
A multi-million jade stone came out from the 200 yuan waste. The people present were crazy. They wanted to wrap up all the jade in the factory, hoping to produce better jade materials.
Hao Dafu felt a little distressed about the imperial jade that ran away from his eyes, but he was also glad that his jade material was confirmed. As soon as he added and subtracted, he was not so sad.
The factory building became lively now, and the sound of jade materials cutting was heard all the time. People were walking everywhere, afraid of being late, and the good stones got picked out.
Zhang Zifan had been thinking hard on the spot, but suddenly, inexplicable panic flashed in his eyes.
He remembered the familiar name of Yan Chu. Wasn’t this the male protagonist in the novel? He took away the other party’s abilities, so why did he appear here and take the jade that made him famous?
Zhang Zifan’s eyes locked on Yan Chu, and his body could not help shaking.
Was the protagonist’s aura so powerful that he had a golden finger he did not know? No, he had to go back and investigate this man carefully.
Ignoring the fiancée he was pursuing, Zhang Zifan ran away and left Jiang Qiao at the stone gambling venue.
