Things are different now.
Back then, Li Zhonglou had a terrible impression of the Antique Association, so much so that he boasted publicly that his first act as会长 would be to disband the association.
At that time, he was not as troubled as he is now, and he spoke with unrestrained confidence.
But now, things have changed. The whereabouts of his father, the exact location of Shi Bōqióng, and the attack on Lü Yúnxù forced him to re-evaluate his position.
No matter how bad the Antique Association was, it still had its uses.
"Follow me," the young secretary led Li Zhonglou through a series of twists and turns to a storeroom at the end of the second floor.
As soon as the door opened, they saw a room full of raw jadeite.
All of them were completely wrapped and bound with yellow tape, their contents hidden.
This kind of material is called "sealed roughs" in northern Myanmar, and it is even more unpredictable than gambling stones. It is packaged directly from the mine and transported to China in containers.
No one was allowed to inspect it privately during transit.
Li Zhonglou's brows flashed with a red light, and as he scanned the room, his eyes shot out a cold glint: "You good-for-nothing Lu Weishen, trying to pull a fast one with the old Burmese..."
"Trying to use this pile of garbage to harm me, but you don't know that you're lifting a rock only to drop it on your own foot!"
Nine out of ten of these roughs were ordinary cement-grade, and even those that reached the glutinous variety were few.
They were essentially kilogram-grade materials.
Although his knowledge of jadeite was not as extensive as his knowledge of antiques, it still belonged to the category of precious stones, and he had studied it diligently.
He even studied under a master sculptor for two years to understand the properties of jade.
Although his skills were average, he had a thorough understanding of the nature of jade and stone.
Others could not see through these sealed roughs, but they could not escape his heavenly eyes.
Who was Lu Weishen?
The former president of the Qin Province Antique Association, a renowned figure in the antique world nationwide.
Even if he knew nothing about jadeite, he would not have spent over three hundred and eighty million yuan to buy this pile of discarded stones.
This happened more than three months ago. Of course, it was not aimed at him. Besides lining his own pockets, there was only one explanation: that he had swapped the original stones with kilogram-grade materials in these three days.
It was a blatant move against him, yet it left no trace.
An old fox!
He knew from the beginning that Lu Weishen had ill intentions. On the surface, it was because Wu Zhengjiang was stepping down, but in secret, he probably wished to send him to prison.
"Go and notify all members above the director level to be here for a meeting within two hours," Li Zhonglou instructed the secretary calmly. "Especially Lin Ao, he must be present."
Lu Weishen had fled, leaving his disciple to take the fall.
Since Lu Weishen was ruthless, he would make Lin Ao pay the price!
As the saying goes, a new official has three fires to burn.
If he didn't burn others, and others tried to burn him, he wouldn't be polite.
Soon, quite a few people had gathered in the conference room.
The Antique Association was much larger than Li Zhonglou had anticipated. There were seventeen directors like Cao Zhi.
There were two vice presidents. One was Lin Ao, and the other was the retired Old Qin, whose position had remained vacant out of respect.
When most of the people had arrived, Li Zhonglou, too lazy to call roll, simply threw the report to Lin Ao. "Vice President Lin, please read this statement to everyone."
Lin Ao's eyelids twitched, and he picked up the account book and glanced at it.
A hint of smugness rose in his eyes.
These past three days, neither he nor Lu Weishen had been idle. To drive Li Zhonglou away, they had set up a grand scheme.
It was this batch of raw jadeite.
Seeing Li Zhonglou calling everyone for a meeting, he knew that Li Zhonglou had fallen into their trap.
With a fake smile, he said, "Isn't it clearly written here? This is an investment made to expand the association's scope, and the directors present have also voted on it."
"It is true that a batch of raw jadeite was imported from northern Myanmar three months ago. Each piece has a number and is stored in the warehouse."
"I believe President Li has already personally inspected it?"
He was confident.
After all, they were sealed roughs, and the numbers were written on the packaging. In the operations over the past three nights, they had been completely swapped.
Li Zhonglou, alone, could not possibly detect it.
By the end of the year, if he couldn't organize a private auction, it would mean he lacked the ability, and then they would unanimously vote to kick him out.
If he somehow managed to hold a private auction, those bosses were not fools. As soon as they opened the sealed roughs, they would immediately know that those stones were kilogram-grade waste.
By then, Li Zhonglou would have been in power in the association for some time, and they would directly pin the blame for the swap on him.
He would have no way to clear his name, even if he jumped into the Yellow River.
Lin Ao considered the scheme flawless.
"It is precisely because I took a look that I have asked everyone to come and confirm." Li Zhonglou had been waiting for him to say these words.
He had been wondering how to subdue these directors, but he never expected that Lu Weishen and his disciple, besides the position of president, had given him such a great gift.
It was truly like a pillow delivered when one was drowsy.
"We have all confirmed it. No problem. It's up to President Li how you want to proceed," Lin Ao said proudly.
The other directors also chimed in, agreeing with Lin Ao's statement.
Li Zhonglou nodded, his smile gradually fading.
After taking back the report, his expression turned grim, and he coldly shouted, "Lin Ao, you have embezzled association property, amounting to over three hundred and eighty million yuan."
"Do you know how serious a crime that is?"
His words caused Lin Ao's expression to freeze instantly.
With a look of shock, he slammed the table and retorted, "What are you talking about? When did I ever steal association property?"
"Li Zhonglou, I warn you, don't think you can slander me just because you're the president."
"You must take responsibility for your words!"
His anger immediately drew support from many directors who were close to him.
"President Li's words lack any substance. How could Vice President Lin steal association property?"
"The new president is trying to eliminate dissent. It's unexpected that after President Lu left, someone like this would take advantage of the situation. The association won't last long."
"Didn't he used to clamor to disband the association? Now he's acting high and mighty. What a petty man who's gotten his way!"
...
Various accusations were made without regard for Li Zhonglou.
Lin Ao was exceedingly smug. Although his master was gone, this association was still their association.
Li Zhonglou, an appointed president, was nothing.
Did he have any authority?
"Are you finished speaking?" Li Zhonglou wasn't in a hurry. He waited for everyone to finish their accusations before slowly saying, "If you're done, then prick up your ears and listen to me."
Then, he gestured to the directors and shouted, "You are all idiots with low IQs!"
His words made the directors jump up in anger.
"Li Zhonglou, how dare you curse people?"
"It's a kindness for me to call you that. You've been sold, and you're still helping them count the money. If I don't curse you, I fear you won't come to your senses!" Li Zhonglou's face remained unchanged as he stared at Lin Ao and asked coldly, "I ask you, how was President Lu's appraisal skill?"
Everyone looked at each other, not knowing what Li Zhonglou was up to.
Why was he calling them idiots and then suddenly turning to President Lu?
"Nonsense, my master is a nationally renowned antique master. His appraisal skills are well-known. What right do you have as a junior to doubt him?" Lin Ao's voice became agitated when Lu Weishen was mentioned.
"Did I say I doubted him?" Li Zhonglou smiled sarcastically. "Since Lu Weishen has good appraisal skills, isn't his investment more reliable?"
"At least he should have a deep understanding of jadeite, right? The sealed roughs he imported shouldn't be kilogram-grade materials!"
His words struck Lin Ao like a bolt from the blue, his heart trembling as if struck by lightning.
His expression froze, his eyes bulging, and his soul scattered.
"Li Zhonglou, what do you mean?" some directors asked, not understanding, and shouted in accusation.
"What I mean is something Vice President Lin should answer. Under the guise of investing three hundred and eighty million in raw jadeite to earn money for the association and for everyone at the year-end private auction," Li Zhonglou's gaze was like a knife, piercing Lin Ao as he said, "in reality, you embezzled the funds, with at least three hundred and seventy-nine million of the three hundred and eighty million ending up in your own pocket."
"I have already inspected the sealed roughs in the warehouse. They are purely kilogram-grade materials!"
"There isn't even a single piece that can reach the glutinous ice grade, let alone colored stones. They are simply a pile of garbage!"
Li Zhonglou no longer concealed the truth, directly stating it.
Lin Ao's eyes bulged, his heart trembled, and his expression was one of extreme horror.
He couldn't believe how Li Zhonglou could tell that they were kilogram-grade materials. They were all sealed!
Even an immortal couldn't have opened all the packages and examined them so quickly.
He was bluffing him.
Yes, he must be bluffing!
As Lin Ao thought this, his face slowly recovered, and he braced himself to deny it. "You're talking nonsense. Do you take all the directors for fools?"
"How could I have embezzled funds? Those materials were the sealed roughs my master imported, and no one has touched them since they arrived!"
"On what basis do you claim they are kilogram-grade?"
"They are all packaged. Do you have X-ray vision?"
His rebuttal made many directors nod, thinking he had a point.
However, two directors frowned, feeling that something was not right.
"I do have X-ray vision," Li Zhonglou said with a slight smile, startling everyone. "With just one glance, I know that all the materials in that warehouse are kilogram-grade."
Upon hearing this, everyone showed looks of disdain and mockery.
Li Zhonglou took in everyone's expressions, not surprised at all.
Ordinary people were so slow to realize things. He was clearly telling the truth, but they refused to believe it.
Instead, they readily believed lies.
No wonder those capitalists could harvest leeks so easily.
However, he wanted their disbelief. This way, he had a legitimate excuse to expose the trick of Lin Ao and his disciple in front of everyone.
He immediately stood up and shouted, "You don't believe me? Let's go to the warehouse together and verify them one by one."
"Lin Ao, embezzling three hundred and eighty million yuan is enough for you to wash your backside and spend a lifetime in prison!"
After speaking, he walked out directly.
Lin Ao's face instantly turned pale, and he broke out in a cold sweat, standing there as if his soul had left his body.
Li Zhonglou was actually taking these directors to inspect the goods.
It was over...
These directors also had some discernment. How could they not distinguish between kilogram-grade and premium-grade materials?
At that moment, Lin Ao's mind was in chaos, and his hatred surged: "Li Zhonglou, you bastard, how dare you turn the tables on me? I will never rest until I'm out of this!"
He didn't dare to stay in the association any longer. As everyone went upstairs, he bolted and ran.