The beautiful young woman quickly regained her composure and smiled. "Little brother, you're joking, right? That rough stone could produce imperial green jadeite worth five million?"
"Don't tease me, sister. I'm only joking."
Zeng Mo laughed.
The beautiful young woman looked as though she'd expected that answer, and let out a sigh of relief.
"I knew you couldn't carve out five million worth of imperial green jadeite."
Zeng Mo's words were like a fierce slap. In an instant, the smile on the beautiful young woman's face vanished, and she nearly sprang to her feet in anger.
"Cough, cough. At most, it's worth five million. Impossible! Little brother, you're joking. You're just teasing me." The beautiful young woman refused to believe him.
"It's impossible."
Shi Minghui's voice suddenly rang out behind him. A moment later, the man hurried over with two people close behind.
The beautiful young woman glanced at Shi Minghui, then once again wore an expression of certainty. She looked somewhat displeased at Zeng Mo.
That expression made it clear she was annoyed with the little brat who kept teasing her.
"Unless this rough stone really can produce imperial green jadeite, and it's cut out in a huge slab, at least half a meter wide, then there's no way it could be worth five million." Shi Minghui stood beside Zeng Mo and explained.
"Ah!"
When the beautiful young woman heard the second half of Shi Minghui's sentence, the anger on her face vanished in an instant. In its place was an expression of utter shock.
She wasn't familiar with that pudgy, round-faced young man.
She could only assume he was a close friend of the little brat who liked teasing her, and didn't really believe what he said.
But Shi Minghui understood her. He knew she was the sort of person who meant what she said; he wasn't someone who would casually joke around.
So that meant the imperial green jadeite in front of her really was just as large as he had described.
It could be worth five million!
If she could use this jadeite to secure even half a year's worth of funds, perhaps she and her company could weather the crisis. They might be able to pay off the company's debts, take back the business her grandfather had entrusted to her, and pull it back from the brink—buying herself another year of life.
In the blink of an eye, all sorts of thoughts raced through the beautiful young woman's mind. Her expression also brightened with hope.
After Shi Minghui finished speaking, he turned to the two people beside him and introduced them. "This is the most outstanding, most capable, and most famous jadeite rough-stone cutter in the entire Jinhai market: Master Lin, known as Old Master Lin. The young man beside him is his apprentice, and also one of the best young cutters of his generation, Xiao Man, known as Young Master Man."
Zeng Mo and Xiao Man stood up in unison. He turned to the two jade-carving masters beside Shi Minghui.
"Master Lin, Young Master Man, please take a seat."
"Please, sit down." Xiao Man gestured for him to sit.
"Young man, you're very polite." Master Lin's mouth curved into a faint smile. He nodded slightly, but there was a hint of disappointment in his eyes.
At that moment, his gaze had already settled on the rough stone on Zeng Mo's table. A flash of intense light gleamed in his eyes, drawing him in.
Imperial green jadeite!
Back when he was young, he'd once had the good fortune to carve one.
And become famous overnight.
Now, after a separation of more than forty years, he'd unexpectedly encountered another stone containing imperial green jadeite.
He might even get to experience once more that special ability to sense imperial green jadeite, something even the world's greatest jadeite experts couldn't explain.
The lifelong dream and pursuit of every jade carver was to carve a piece of imperial green jadeite.
Shi Minghui understood Master Lin's disappointment. He smiled gently, picked up the jadeite rough stone from the table, and handed it to him. "Master Lin, I'll leave this rough stone in your capable hands."
"Sure, sure. All right, all right."
Master Lin accepted it eagerly. He carefully took the rough stone and gazed at the bright gleam shining through the gap Zeng Mo had made with a kitchen knife. It looked like the eyes of a beautiful woman.
After a while, he turned to his apprentice beside him.
"Young Man, quickly get the tools ready."
"Yes, Master."
Young Master Man hurried to open the toolbox he'd carried over and took out the various tools needed for carving the rough stone, laying them out on the table.
Shi Minghui also moved to help. Instead of letting him carve, though, he handed him another set of tools.
At the same time, he said to Young Master Man, "This imperial green jadeite rough stone belongs to this lady. You can give it to her once you've finished carving it."
Young Master Man froze for a moment, then immediately put on a fawning expression.
The lifelong dream and pursuit of every jade carver was to carve a piece of imperial green jadeite.
He quickly thanked him. "Thank you for your trust, Director Shi."
Soon, Young Master Man had set up the carving equipment.
Master Lin put on his gloves, then poured the clear water with special additives over the rough stone resting on the cutting machine.
At the same time,
he took out a small carving knife and carefully cut through the rough outer layer Zeng Mo had crudely hacked away with a kitchen knife, shaving down the stone's surface.
Young Master Man also began cutting the jadeite rough stone that belonged to the young woman from the Liu family.
At that moment, everyone present, except for Zeng Mo, whose expression remained calm, stared intently at the hands of the two jade-carving masters.
The beautiful young woman watched the bright gleam in Master Lin's hands with rapt attention, hoping he might carve out even more imperial green jadeite.
But soon,
she was utterly captivated by the imperial green light that emerged from the stone under Master Lin's hands.
When Young Master Man stopped working, she heard him suck in a sharp breath.
She abruptly turned around and looked at her father.
In that instant, she felt as if her heart had stopped. Her gaze went blank as she stared at the jadeite in Young Master Man's hands—the thin layer of imperial green.
Her pupils still held a trace of longing.
The imperial green jadeite cut from the rough stone was far too small.
At most, it was only worth a thousand.
A thousand wasn't nearly enough for her to sell and get the three million she needed to put out the fire.
In that instant, her eyes dimmed. It was as if she'd lost all hope. She leaned back on the chair, her gaze drifting aimlessly toward the ceiling.
Every avenue she could think of had failed.
Everyone in the industry knew that her company had suffered losses year after year. It was on the verge of bankruptcy and liquidation, and there was no one willing to help her shoulder the burden.
As she was thinking this, a blue-green flash of light caught her eye once more.
She lifted her head and stared at the rough stone in Master Lin's hands. He had already carved away more than half of it, revealing imperial green jadeite the size of half a fist.
At that moment, her beautiful eyes widened, her long lashes trembling slightly.
Could that imperial green jadeite he'd uncovered really be worth at least four million?
In that instant, she drew in a sharp breath and looked at the person holding the imperial green jadeite—the young man sitting beside her.
At that moment, Zeng Mo's expression was as calm as ever as he watched the jadeite rough stone in Master Lin's hands. He looked just like everyone else, his expression full of longing and anticipation—as though he were waiting for a jade carver to work a miracle.
For a moment, the beautiful young woman was fascinated by Zeng Mo's calm face and his curious expression.
That was imperial green jadeite from a rough stone!
How could he remain so calm?
Before you continue