The exhibition concluded, leading to the final selection round.
This round required participants to submit their entries to the organizers. The submitted works would then be displayed together for multiple experts to appraise. Ultimately, the "Gemstone-level" works of the exhibition would be selected, and the winners would represent the city at the provincial exhibition.
Su Fan brought "Great Sun Tathagata" and "Dragon Soaring Phoenix Dancing" to the stage.
Dong Qimai, standing nearby, chuckled. He had secretly visited Jiang Hongwei beforehand to check on their entries, only to discover they had even better jade. This irked him.
It was all because of Su Fan that he had come to fear Jiang Hongwei. He had been so confident of winning this exhibition, but Su Fan's sudden appearance had ruined his plans.
Fortunately, he had gone to Myanmar and obtained another piece of jade of the same quality from Su Fan, which greatly boosted his confidence. Coupled with his own master-level carver, he was sure of taking first place.
However, he never expected Su Fan to have even higher quality jade, which made him furious. After all his hard work, he had still been outclassed by Su Fan.
Filled with resentment, Dong Qimai harbored malicious intentions when Jiang Hongwei went to the restroom.
Seeing no one around, he used a carving knife from his own shop to damage the pair of jade bracelets.
Now, without the jade bracelets, the winner was surely him!
Su Fan glanced at Dong Qimai and shook his head with a smile.
Some people didn't know what they were about to face, yet they were still smiling.
"There are a total of fifteen entries for this exhibition. Now, we invite Teacher Xu Fangyuan and four experts from the Archaeology Department of Southeast University to the stage for appraisal," the host said, looking at the script.
Following that, the elderly experts took the stage.
Su Fan recognized one of them – Elder Xu, who had helped him out of a tight spot before and authenticated his emerald.
The submitted works were placed on waist-high pedestals on the stage for easy viewing.
Dong Qimai's works were placed towards the front, and the experts' attention was immediately drawn to them.
"This quality, this carving! It's simply perfect!"
"Indeed, flawless jade, masterfully crafted. Truly a rare treasure."
Elder Xu nodded.
Dong Qimai immediately showed a confident smile. Hearing Elder Xu's praise, he knew there was no longer any suspense.
Dong Qimai looked provocatively at Jiang Hongwei, who now wore a worried expression.
Although both were emeralds, Jiang Hongwei knew there was a gap between him and Dong Qimai. He lacked Dong Qimai's confidence, and his carver was not as skilled as Dong Qimai's.
Was he going to lose?
Jiang Hongwei felt very uncertain.
He glanced at Su Fan, who remained expressionless, showing no signs of worry.
Sigh.
Jiang Hongwei sighed. Perhaps Su Fan simply didn't see the problem, which was why he wasn't worried. He didn't understand the difference between master carvers.
Although Dong Qimai's works caused quite a stir, Elder Xu and the others, being seasoned experts, merely glanced at them for a moment before moving on.
As Xu Fangyuan and the others moved further down the line, Jiang Hongwei's heart pounded in his chest. Their works were next.
"Hmm? What is this?"
Elder Xu suddenly paused as he reached the end.
"Whose work is this?"
Elder Xu asked, pointing to the last pedestal.
"It's from Hongfan Jewelry," the host replied after checking.
"Hongfan Jewelry? Never heard of it. Is anyone from Hongfan Jewelry present?" Elder Xu asked, looking at the audience.
Dong Qimai's heart sank. He had a bad feeling.
Su Fan raised his hand.
"Elder Xu, it's mine and Boss Jiang's," Su Fan said with a smile.
"Oh? It's you. No wonder," Elder Xu said, his surprise diminishing upon seeing it was Su Fan.
"Such a large amethyst, I don't know where you got it from. Bringing out such a world-class treasure, aren't you bullying the children?"
When Elder Xu saw the amethyst, the appraisal was essentially over.
Compared to this amethyst, all the other jade pieces were worthless. It was a complete "dimensional crushing" blow.
"There's nothing I can do. The entries submitted earlier were tampered with and damaged, so I had to resort to this," Su Fan said with a smile.
Dong Qimai stared at Su Fan, his eyes wide.
"Amethyst?" Dong Qimai's eyes were filled with disbelief. Su Fan had already produced an egg-sized diamond in Myanmar, and now this huge amethyst.
Did he own a mine?
"Elder Xu, will Hongfan Jewelry be awarded the Gemstone-level title this time?" Su Fan asked Elder Xu.
"Of course. The Gemstone-level title for this city's exhibition goes to Hongfan Jewelry, for the amethyst."
Su Fan hadn't given his submission a name, so it was referred to by its material.
Su Fan beamed. From this day forward, Hongfan would no longer be an unknown entity in the jewelry industry.
Dong Qimai collapsed onto the ground as if he had lost his soul.
After all his preparations and immense expenditure, he had still been overshadowed by Su Fan. All his efforts were in vain!
"Don't be too sad yet, Boss Dong. There's something else that will make you even sadder," Su Fan said, walking over with a smile.
"What do you mean?" Dong Qimai's expression had soured. He asked with a cold face.
"Those jade bracelets, I plan to price them at thirty-eight million each. They were made as a pair, so I'm selling them to you together, a total of seventy-six million. Hand over the money," Su Fan said with a smile, extending his hand to Dong Qimai.
"What are you talking about? Why should I buy your bracelets!"
"Why? Don't you know what you did? Or do you want to wait until the police arrive?" Su Fan said with a cold smile.
"Hmph! I don't know what you're talking about," Dong Qimai snorted, and began to instruct his people to pack up their booth, intending to leave quickly. He felt a sense of unease.
"It seems you won't shed a tear until you see the coffin. Coincidentally, the police have arrived," Su Fan said with a slight smile and walked towards two uniformed police officers entering the venue.
Dong Qimai was startled and lowered his head, attempting to slip away through a back exit.
If he could escape now, and bribe a few people, they wouldn't be able to do anything to him.
"Boss Dong, where are you going?" Su Fan grabbed Dong Qimai.
Trying to escape in front of him? He clearly hadn't been beaten enough.
"Let go of me! Or I won't be polite!" Dong Qimai threatened Su Fan with a contorted face.
"Then don't be polite. I dislike it when people are polite to me," Su Fan said with a cold smile.
"You!"
Dong Qimai struggled fiercely to break free from Su Fan's grip, only to find Su Fan's hand clamped onto him like an iron vise, impossible to escape.
"Stop! What are you doing?" The police officers arrived at that moment, seeing them about to fight and shouting at them.
"Officer, I am the owner of the jade. He is the suspect. I have already apprehended him for you," Su Fan told the two officers.
"You're Su Fan?"
Su Fan nodded.
"Take them both in."
"Huh?"
Su Fan looked bewildered.