"Mom, I can vouch for Yangzi, she's not lying," Li Minxi said from the side.
"He picked out several pieces of material for me in the capital, which earned me hundreds of millions. Later, I invested in his jade company and got a lot of money. It earned much more than my film and television group."
"Mom, I really didn't lie to you. They all invested in the company to varying degrees, otherwise, why would I tell you they are all shareholders?"
"I'll believe you for now. You said Ilona is due next month?"
"The doctor says it's soon. Ilona needs to exercise more, the fetus is a bit big. You should stay. You can accompany Ilona for a walk by the artificial lake, and chat with my aunt and uncle. When Ilona gives birth, you can help take care of the baby."
"I see, you just want me to stay and be a nanny."
"Mom, there are so many sisters here, we won't let you be a nanny," Li Minxi said.
Wu Shangqing looked at Guo Yiyu and said, "Alright, I promise to stay. Your father has to go back."
"Dad, you don't have to go back either. You'll be home alone with no one to cook or do laundry for you. You can stay and help me look at those stones," Guo Xuyang said, turning to Guo Yiyu.
"What stones?" Guo Yiyu asked.
"Rough jade. The jade pieces were cut from those stones."
"I really haven't paid attention to what kind of stones they are. Where are they?"
Seeing his father's interest, Guo Xuyang said, "In the villa on the west side. I'll take you to see them."
"Great. Let's go see them now," Guo Yiyu said, standing up.
Wu Shangqing, Xu Wenli, and Guo Yixiang also stood up, all wanting to see what these valuable stones looked like.
So, everyone followed Xiao Yun to the villa on the west side.
Xiao Yun led everyone through the underground passage of the villa to the bottom of the swimming pool, and then took an elevator to the storage area where the rough stones were kept.
"These are all rough stones purchased from Ruili. The jade inside varies in quality, from high ice to glutinous varieties. The main color is green, but there are also red, yellow, and purple, with some having up to six or seven colors." Guo Xuyang introduced the rough stones to his parents as they walked.
"Yangzi, are there any glass-like imperial green jade like the ones Xiaoxi mentioned?" Xu Wenli asked.
"Glass-like imperial green jade is rare and hard to come by. That's why it's so expensive."
"I see your mother's jewelry set must have used quite a lot of glass-like imperial green jade material, right?"
"These jewelry pieces require about five kilograms of material. The necklace is particularly material-intensive. Mom, Dad, Uncle, Aunt, since you're here, please choose a stone to play with."
"Are there jade pieces in all of these?" Xu Wenli asked, eager to try.
"More or less? It also depends on your luck."
"Then I'll choose one," Xu Wenli said, picking a rough stone weighing about ten kilograms with black skin.
It had to be said that her luck was indeed good. It was an ice-type spring-colored jade, which could be carved into a decorative piece.
"Xiao Yun, arrange for someone to help Auntie cut it. Today, everyone gets one stone, let's see how lucky you are. If you want to keep it, you can take it with you. If not, let President Wu appraise it and have Xiao Yun transfer the money to you directly." He said, calling Wu Youzhi.
"President Wu, are you busy? Not yet? Why are you so slow? Come to the villa on the west side. Come directly from upstairs. Call Brother Hui and Fatty. I'm picking stones with Mom and Dad down here. One per person, you guys come over. Okay, we'll wait for you."
While they were talking, everyone had picked a stone.
"Mom, which one did you pick?" Guo Xuyang asked.
"There, this one, how about it?" Wu Shangqing said, tapping the stone at his feet, which weighed about five kilograms. The material inside was a high-ice imperial green, but the piece was small, less than three kilograms.
"It should be good. Put it aside, and the stone-cutting master will help you cut it later. Just remember the number on it."
"The stone-cutting masters are on their way, it'll take a while," Xiao Yun said, leaning over.
"Not here yet? Why has everyone left?"
"Now, our stone-cutting masters are temporarily transferred from President Wu's store. This place mainly has security personnel working twenty-four hours a day. Anyone who needs material needs to call us three days in advance, and we'll prepare it. There's usually nothing going on here, so we don't have these people stationed here permanently. Coming four or five times a month is enough. There's no need to keep idle people."
"I see. That's good."
As the two were talking, the stone-cutting masters arrived. It was Old Li from President Wu's store, with a young man in his twenties.
"President Guo, President Xiao, we're here," Old Li greeted them.
"Master Li, you came in person. Please help cut these stones, thank you for your trouble," Guo Xuyang said.
"No problem, President Guo. This is my nephew, Li Gan," Old Li introduced. "With his help, it should be quick."
"Then we'll trouble you. Xiao Yun, take them to the stone-cutting room."
Everyone carried a stone and followed Xiao Yun to the stone-cutting room.
This was the first time Guo Xuyang had seen Old Li cut stones. He took the stone from Xu Wenli, looked at the skin, drew a line, and handed it to Li Gan.
It had to be said that Old Li indeed had skill. The line perfectly avoided the material inside, only scraping a little. It neither damaged the material inside nor prevented them from seeing its condition. He was truly a master. If Guo Xuyang didn't have his special ability, he would have cut it in half, and this piece of material would not have been able to be made into a decorative piece.
The two worked efficiently, one drawing lines, the other cutting.
"Master Li, please extract these four pieces first," Guo Xuyang pointed to the four stones in front. They belonged to his parents and his aunt and uncle. Although the stone-cutting equipment downstairs was advanced, it was a confined space, and there was still dust and noise. Guo Xuyang wanted Old Li to extract the stones for the four elders first, and then the others could come down to pick them up according to their numbers.
"Okay, President Guo. Please wait." Old Li pushed the rough stones with drawn lines to Li Gan, and focused on cutting.
About an hour later, all four rough stones were cut.
"This is stone cutting?" Guo Yiyu asked.
"Yes. What did you think?"
"I heard stone cutting was very exciting, but this is nothing."
"Dad, what do you mean by exciting?"
"It's about transforming the ordinary into the extraordinary. A seemingly unremarkable stone can sell for a sky-high price after being cut," Guo Yiyu said.
"Aren't you doing exactly that now?" Guo Xuyang smiled.
"I don't feel it."
"You don't feel it? President Wu, can you help my dad see how much his jade is worth?"