I watched Kui's retreating back, feeling a pang of sympathy. He seemed as if he were made of iron, never knowing fatigue. In reality, I knew he was truly exhausted, but he pushed himself to hide it from us.
I summoned the head of security and the leader from Qing Ge's side, asking them to come to the stage. I briefed them on the night's security duties.
Tonight would be relatively relaxed. The valuable raw jade and most of the covered rough stones had already been sold. What remained was of little value and in small quantities. The highlight pieces, those with opened windows and a few larger rough stones, were merely for show. The bulk of the high-value fine pieces had been presented today. I assessed that Crown Prince had abandoned his disruption plans. Principal Sun, despite repeatedly sending people, had achieved nothing. Wu Guodong and two others were still being held here, so I doubted he would send more reinforcements.
Therefore, I instructed them to leave enough personnel for vigilance and to rotate for rest.
Just then, my walkie-talkie crackled with Wen Siqiang's call, asking me to hurry to the first floor of the administrative building for an urgent matter.
I quickly told the two of them to mobilize personnel, sending some to the administrative building and reinforcing perimeter patrols with the rest.
It seemed my assessment was not entirely accurate; there must be a situation.
I jogged towards the administrative building. There was a distance of about five to six hundred meters between the main venue and the administrative building. I ran a bit too fast and was out of breath. I paused at the entrance for a moment before walking into the lobby.
Wen Siqiang was waiting for me in the lobby. He didn't know I had gone out and assumed I was upstairs.
I asked him what was wrong. He said Zhou Yingying had just called, saying two people sent by Wu Guodong were at her place, claiming to need to discuss urgent matters with Principal Sun. Principal Sun had not yet returned to his office, so Zhou Yingying had discreetly called me. She suspected these two people were related to us.
So that's what it was. The most likely scenario was that they were here to demand the release of the people we were holding. But why only two of them? What justification or conditions would they have to ask for their release?
Even with Principal Sun, two people wouldn't have the authority to force us to release them.
Or perhaps, there would be additional conditions?
I told Wen Siqiang, "Find a place to keep these two men secure. As long as they can't see them, they'll have no leverage. Let them propose any conditions; we will refuse all of them!"
Wen Siqiang acknowledged and went to handle it. I checked the time; it was already late at night. Principal Sun's failure to return to the administrative building at this hour struck me as odd.
Could he have another place to stay, or perhaps another woman?
I turned and headed upstairs. Their request to retrieve people was a good thing; it would allow me to learn more about Wu Guodong.
I was just fretting about not finding a breakthrough, and now they had come knocking on my door.
I didn't return to my own office, as it was occupied by Lan Ya and the others. If Wu Guodong's people were to arrive, this place would be unsuitable.
I pushed open the door to Brother Bao's office. The room was empty; Brother Bao had likely gone home.
This would do. I sat in Brother Bao's chair. The chair was a bit too wide, and I felt lost in it, unable to fill it.
Brother Bao was taller than me and a bit overweight. Only someone of his build would look fitting in it.
At that moment, the phone rang again. It was Wen Siqiang. He said Zhou Yingying had called again, reporting that Principal Sun was bringing those two people over to us.
I hadn't expected them to actually be looking for us, and even less so that Principal Sun himself would accompany them.
This was truly a case of a bizarre father picking up his bizarre child from school, taking the bizarre to its peak.
He, Principal Sun, had paid a hefty sum to have them come and disrupt me. Now that his men had been caught and detained, he shamelessly came to demand their release. What did he take us for? Mere clay dolls to be molded at will?
I instructed Wen Siqiang to wait downstairs, to escort them to Brother Bao's office when they arrived, and I would wait for them in the office.
I used the walkie-talkie to notify the head of security, ordering a hundred security guards to line the entrance of the administrative building in two rows. When they entered, they were not to make any noise and were to escort them upstairs.
I seized this opportunity to call Brother Bao and briefly explained the situation. He asked if I wanted him to return. I told him to go back and rest, that I could handle this myself, and that he should go back with peace of mind.
Brother Bao said nothing, then after a moment, asked me to call him again if anything happened, and he would rush back at any time.
I acknowledged him and reiterated that he should go back and rest. He had handled such significant matters during the day. Now, these were just two negotiators. Even if Principal Sun accompanied them, it wouldn't cause any significant ripple.
After a while, I heard footsteps in the hallway outside. The door opened, and Wen Siqiang brought Principal Sun and two strangers.
Without a doubt, these two were Wu Guodong's men.
Each of them held a package. They were momentarily stunned when they saw me. They likely found me much younger than they had imagined, and unexpected to be facing such a young person.
It would be quite embarrassing to admit this.
They carefully placed the packages on the table, opened one corner, and said, "This is the apology gold from our General. Each package contains four hundred grams, totaling eight hundred grams. We hope Mr. Li will accept it."
I didn't stand up. I glanced at them. Eight hundred grams of gold was a substantial amount for most people. At the current price, it was at least 150 yuan per gram, making this gold worth at least over a hundred thousand yuan if cashed out.
Fifty to sixty thousand yuan for one person, a mere subordinate of his, was quite a high price.
I could see Wu Guodong's thoughtfulness. He was a good general, and his care for his soldiers was rare.
However, he was mistaken in my eyes. A person's worth cannot be measured by money or gold.
I had conceived of writing this book for a long time. In 2010, I stayed in Tengchong for several months, and that's when I began to understand jade.
Jade is beautiful, exquisitely beautiful. The lobby of the Xiangxie Hotel where we stayed had a jade carving weighing over a ton, which was truly awe-inspiring and spectacular.
The jade art pieces in the exhibition hall were even more captivating, a feast for the eyes.
It was then that I suddenly fell in love with jade. Whenever I had free time, I would visit the jade market, though most of the time I just browsed and admired.
Sometimes, I would also buy a small item or two, just to indulge the sensation.
Jade can be addictive, especially jade gambling. It is truly a path to ruin or riches, a path to rags with a single cut. Such events unfolded daily in the jade gambling city.
As the book describes, most stones do not yield great surprises. Being able to extract even a hint of color is considered good. Yet, people, holding onto dreams of striking it rich, continuously seek the next opportunity.
I have written about the experience of one person striving in this industry. I hope everyone will simply read it as a story. If it offers any enlightenment or help, I will be content.
The book has been released. I have been uploading it gradually since the end of last month, meeting the requirements for release. From now on, there will be locked chapters. If you feel this book is still worth reading, I hope you will spend a few thousand coins to support the author. I wouldn't know the hardship of writing a book otherwise; it is a difficult task, consuming one's mind and demanding daily updates, creating immense pressure.
I once missed the last high-speed train of the day due to writing, forcing me to cancel my ticket and travel the next day. This led to much criticism, with people saying I had become a bookworm.
While sitting in the waiting room, I failed to hear the boarding announcement, and by the time I realized it, the train was long gone.
There are many other interesting anecdotes during the writing process that I will share gradually. In short, I hope for everyone's support. Please write more reviews. Your support is the driving force behind my continued writing.