"Those who should treat, must treat. Age is no excuse for not treating.
I wonder which old lady it is?" Guo Xuyang said with a smile.
"A dog's mouth can't spit out ivory. Can you speak properly? Don't speak if you can't." Jiang Qixin scolded with a laugh.
"Are you perhaps chasing a younger woman, like an old ox eating tender grass?"
"We met at a banquet. She's in her thirties and an actress, with an intellectual beauty. We chatted a few times, hit it off, and decided to be together."
"Doesn't she know what you do?"
"I haven't told her. I only said I used to be in business and am mostly retired from managing affairs now."
"Aren't you afraid she'll say you deceived her when she finds out later?"
"We have specific times to see each other, where she stays with me for a few days when she's not busy. The rest of the time, she has to be on set filming with her crew."
"Which company is she with?"
"I didn't ask. Why inquire so much?"
"Shouldn't you care more about the woman you're with?"
"Worrying too much ages you. This situation we're in is good."
"Then what does she want from you?"
"Perhaps she just likes my appearance."
"Impossible. Women like men for either money, status, or looks. You don't have the advantage in looks, but you have it greatly in money and status."
"I think you brat want to be beaten. You're not comfortable unless you mock me a little, are you?"
"I'm analyzing for you, and I have to be honest. She must know what you do, otherwise, it wouldn't be such a coincidence."
"What do you mean? Are you suggesting she was sent to approach me?"
"I didn't say that. Haven't you thought about investigating her background?"
"I think she's a good person and haven't thought in that direction at all. Since you mentioned it, I'll have someone investigate." Jiang Qixin said, picking up the phone and dialing. "Arrange for someone to check Liu Fengqin's details. Her ID number is..."
"Mr. Jiang, go call the people. I'll bring the stones out. Have them calculate the bill, and we'll take them directly." Guo Xuyang said as Jiang Qixin hung up the phone.
"There should be someone in charge here. I'll go take a look." Jiang Qixin said, turning and walking out.
The six stones that Guo Xuyang had taken a liking to all contained top-grade jadeite. Three were Imperial Green, two were High Ice Red Jade, and one even had the shape of Guanyin bestowing children. He planned to give Jiang Qixin two Imperial Greens and one High Ice Red Jade. Each of these three stones weighed about ten kilograms, yielding roughly twenty kilograms of raw material, more than enough to craft three sets of jewelry.
"Yangzi, the people are here. Have you found the stones?" Jiang Qixin followed by a short man and two young men, the short one pushing a cart.
"Found them. It's these six." Guo Xuyang kicked the stones at his feet.
"Just these few?" the short man who followed them said suddenly upon seeing the small stones Guo Xuyang had chosen.
"What? Are they not enough?" Jiang Qixin looked up at the two men.
"I'm so sorry, my colleague didn't mean anything by it." The taller man quickly apologized.
"He meant that if it's just these few, you could carry them directly and there'd be no need for a cart."
"You carry them? These stones may not look big, but they're heavy. If you could carry them, why would we call you?" Guo Xuyang retorted, knowing this was an example of a shop taking advantage of customers.
"I apologize on his behalf. Please don't be angry, sirs. We'll take them out for you now." The taller man, seeing Guo Xuyang's directness, quickly apologized. They were reluctant to do such small jobs, as they wouldn't receive much of a tip.
"Load them up. First, let's see how much they weigh, and then we'll have someone cut one for us." Jiang Qixin said. He was doing this deliberately, mainly to provoke them because of the short man's impolite remark. He trusted that any stone Guo Xuyang fancied would be at least High Ice grade. This wasn't blind confidence; Guo Xuyang's previous stone selections had consistently been top-grade.
The group proceeded to the payment counter, weighed the stones, and paid. The total cost was 1.16 million, paid by Guo Xuyang. The reason for weighing and charging by weight was that the selected materials were not large and their appearance was not particularly appealing.
"Yangzi, recommend one for me to cut." Jiang Qixin said, looking at Guo Xuyang.
"If it's cut, it's yours." Guo Xuyang replied.
"You're not short of money, so I can accept this 'gift' with a clear conscience," Jiang Qixin said.
"Alright then, these three are mine. Those three are yours, and you can cut whichever one you want." Guo Xuyang gestured with his hand.
"Then I'll cut this one." Jiang Qixin pointed to one of the stones. Guo Xuyang glanced at it, recognizing it as an Imperial Green, and nodded in agreement.
"You watch them cut the stone here. I'll have someone send these out."
"Go ahead. Do I need to prepare red envelopes?"
"What do you think? I won't be coming back for a while. You can take your cut stone yourself. I'll wait for you in the car."
"We're going for a meal later. Just put the stone in the car." Jiang Qixin said.
"I don't feel comfortable with that. What if someone smashes the car?" Guo Xuyang said with a smile before signaling the short man to push the cart out.
"Where do they cut stones?" Jiang Qixin asked the taller man.
"We can cut them in the room next door," the taller man quickly replied. He noticed that although the man in front of him wasn't striking in appearance, he possessed a commanding presence. He certainly didn't want to cause trouble. The place was sparsely populated at the moment, with more shop employees than customers in the large hall. If they were to neglect a customer and receive a complaint, it wouldn't be worth it. He led Jiang Qixin to the stone cutting room.
A stone cutter took the stone, secured it in the cutting box, and then switched on the power. A piercing sound immediately filled the room. Because the stone was relatively small, it was cut quickly. This was a test cut, as the condition of the stone's interior was unknown. Skilled cutters usually made a test cut first; if nothing showed, they would make a central cut and split it in half.
"Congratulations, boss, a big profit!" the stone cutter shouted loudly upon opening the box. This test window was a bit large, scraping off a significant amount of jadeite. However, the entire window was a vibrant, dazzling green.
"Is this Imperial Green?" Jiang Qixin couldn't believe his eyes. He hadn't expected to cut Imperial Green by casually picking a stone. Judging by its appearance, the raw material inside was substantial, easily enough to yield five or six bracelet blanks.
"I didn't bring much today. Please accept this for the brothers to have some tea." Jiang Qixin casually took out several banknotes from his bag and handed them to the stone cutter and the taller man.
"Thank you, thank you, boss." The taller man quickly said, expressing his gratitude. He hadn't expected the man in front of him to be so skillful as to cut an Imperial Green. No wonder the young man earlier mentioned worrying about someone smashing their car. If he had known which car it was, he wouldn't have smashed it; he would have directly contacted a tow truck to take it away. After all, there were still five more stones like this waiting to be cut.
[Author's Aside]: This book has three updates today. Please continue to follow along, esteemed readers. Cast your free silver votes, and let's all have fun together.