The bidding for all the jade stones had opened today, with only the Jade King yet to begin.

A large crowd had gathered to watch, but everyone was hesitant. So far, no one had made a purchase.

Gu Shengsheng’s eyes fell on a massive jadeite rough stone off to the side.

As she approached the stone, she saw the vendor sitting and talking with a potential buyer.

“Boss Yang, it’s not that I won’t sell to you. It’s just that this is the absolute lowest price.”

“The starting price used to be two hundred million. This is a stone that weighs over ten tons. If it weren’t for Wang Ruiqian taking that huge loss, why would I ever lower the price?”

Boss Yang furrowed his brow, a large entourage trailing behind him.

He hesitated. “I do have my eye on it, and I like the stone, but the price is too high. If it were a bit lower, I’d buy it without a second thought.”

“This is a public auction; our prices are fixed. This isn’t like the items up for tender. So, Boss Yang, you might as well not waste your breath with me,” the vendor said, growing irritated.

‘This Boss Yang… if he wants to buy it, he should just buy it. If not, he should just leave. He’s so indecisive, completely lacking any guts.’

‘How could a man like that possibly succeed in business?’

‘Besides, the jadeite business isn’t your average trade. It demands a good eye and sharp insight.’

The vendor said, “Mr. Yang, if you haven’t made up your mind, please be on your way.”

“Don’t get in the way of us doing business. You think eighty million is expensive in this market?”

“Fifty million! If it were fifty million, I’d buy it for sure.”

The vendor’s face instantly darkened. “Impossible. That’s not haggling, that’s a ridiculous lowball. I wouldn’t sell it to you for that price even after the public auction is over.”

Just then, Chen Yufan started to head over, but Gu Shengsheng pulled him back.

“Wait,” she said. “I have a task for you today.”

Chen Yufan leaned in excitedly. Gu Shengsheng whispered a few words in his ear, and he nodded with a smile. “I understand.”

“Sister Gu, just wait here for the good news. I promise I won’t disappoint you.”

“Mm.”

Gu Shengsheng simply asked a nearby vendor for a small stool and sat down, leisurely cracking sunflower seeds.

She watched Boss Yang and the vendor, who were still haggling not far away.

「About twenty minutes later.」

Chen Yufan returned with a group of young men in tow—a few delivery guys, some college students, and even a few random passersby.

Chen Yufan led the group up to the vendor.

“This stone is eighty million, is that right?” he asked.

The vendor couldn’t be bothered to deal with him.

‘He lost all interest the moment he saw the crowd. He had no idea how these young kids even got in here. There was no way they could afford something like this.’

So he replied dismissively, “Eighty million. If you want it, pay in full. The price is non-negotiable.”

Boss Yang merely glanced over, not giving them a second thought.

‘In Boss Yang’s opinion, this was probably just a little show the vendor was putting on himself.’

‘He shot the vendor an even more disdainful look. ‘If you don’t want to sell, then just say so. How shameless can you be, hiring a bunch of nobodies to pretend to buy it?”

‘Wasn’t this just a blatant attempt to create the illusion of competition?’

‘This thought, however, also put Boss Yang at ease.’

‘The fact that the vendor had to resort to hiring these people just proved he couldn’t sell the stone, right?’

‘If no one else was buying, he would eventually be able to get it for a low price.’

Pleased with this realization, he felt much more confident and simply walked away.

Once Boss Yang was gone, the vendor sighed. He had no real hope that these kids would buy anything.

“Alright, you all can go now. Go play somewhere else. I’m really not in the mood to play games with you,” he said.

Chen Yufan smiled. “I’ll take it.”

“I can accept eighty million.”

“I’ll transfer the money directly from my bank account.”

The vendor: “…”

A few minutes later, the money was in his account.

‘What kind of person can transfer that much money from a bank account without a limit?’

After receiving the eighty million, he found it so unbelievable that he even slapped himself across the face.

“Young man, do you really know anything about rough stones? Do you understand stone gambling? Don’t come trying to return this to me later.”

“I’d be taking a huge loss.”

He was still worried even now, because this kid looked like a rich heir, not someone who was actually in the jewelry business.

Chen Yufan laughed. “Don’t worry, I’m not buying it for myself. Someone else asked me to. They’re not going to cause any trouble. They just want the stone. Once it’s paid for, the deal is done, and whatever happens after has nothing to do with you.”

That put the vendor’s mind at ease.

Later that day, when Boss Yang was tired from browsing, he came back around, only to find that the vendor’s massive stone had been sold.

“Hey, Boss, why’d you put the stone away? Are you trying to keep me from looking at it?”

The vendor was exasperated. “Didn’t you see that customer who came by earlier? The one who wanted to buy it? Well, they bought it. Why would I still have my stall set up?”

“What?” Boss Yang was incredulous. “How could it have sold so fast?”

“No way! That was way too fast. How could those people possibly have bought it? Weren’t you just putting on an act for me?” In his anxiety, Boss Yang said more than he should have.

The vendor was furious. “What’s wrong with you?!”

“Boss Yang, it’s one thing for you to be indecisive and unable to make a call. But now you’re accusing me of hiring actors to put on a show for you? Do you really think I need to resort to that?”

“Besides, those people weren’t even professionals. They didn’t look like they were here to buy stones at all. But the fact is, it’s sold. Don’t come back to my stall again.”

Boss Yang was filled with regret. It was such a terrible shame.

He had been waiting for the price of such a fine piece to drop, but he never expected someone to just swoop in and buy it.

Now, it was too late for tears.

The vendor said, “Boss Yang, let me be frank. With your indecisiveness, you’ll never make it big. I suggest you find a different line of work.”

Boss Yang just snorted coldly and walked away.

This time, the bridge between them was well and truly burned.

A day later, Boss Yang had planned to regroup and get back to inspecting and gambling on stones.

But to his surprise, the stone he’d been eyeing for so long was being cut open today!

At first, he tried to console himself. ‘If it turns out to be worthless jade, then the buyer will take a huge loss, and I can count myself lucky.’

But it was obvious things weren’t going to be that simple.

The person standing next to the stone was very familiar. It was Gu Shengsheng, the woman who had been causing such a stir lately.

She was the one who had just fleeced Wang Ruiqian a few days ago.

Wang Ruiqian was still busy selling property to cover his losses. And now, Boss Yang had a bad feeling this stone was going to be a huge winner.

Gu Shengsheng had even gone out of her way to hire the most skilled stone-cutting master in all of Rui City.

After all, cutting a stone was a delicate art. It wasn’t just about the quality of the rough; the skill of the master cutter was just as crucial.

If a master’s technique was poor, a single bad cut could ruin the entire stone. Creating too much waste material could mean losing out on a significant amount of profit.

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