As the stone was being cut, more and more people arrived. The bids had already passed five million. Every jewelry store had to send someone important over. At that price, they had to inspect it on the spot—and someone had to make the final call, didn't they?
This time, Feng Jun truly saw it for himself. It was much like in the novels: the representatives of every shop shouted bids, sparks practically flying from their exchanged looks—he could almost use them to charge himself.
It was obvious that once this bidding ended, more grudges would be formed.
Only then did Feng Jun realize that while jewelry stores were wealthy, they did not necessarily look down on small money.
No one had bid yesterday mainly because that piece of rough stone was not valuable enough to warrant competing for it. Even making enemies came with a cost, didn't it?
In the end, Henglong Jewelry bought the Ice Type jade for 6.89 million. Boss Wang of Treasure-Gathering House had bid up to 6.8 million, but simply could not go any higher.
President Liang of Henglong even taunted him, "Come on, add another ten thousand. Maybe I won't raise my bid."
Boss Wang bared his teeth in fury. He knew Liang was up to no good. Though he was filled with unwillingness, he could only snort coldly. "Those seven million will weigh you down for two years!"
President Liang gave a cold laugh. "Henglong doesn't have much, but it has plenty of money. I'll just treat it as stockpiling. What, you're not convinced? Then raise your bid."
Feng Jun saw that the timing was perfect, so he squeezed his way over.
Two burly men stood beside Boss Wang, watching him coldly. Feng Jun merely smiled unconcernedly. "Boss Wang, interested in some nephrite?"
"Of course," Boss Wang replied without hesitation, glancing at him sideways. "What kind of nephrite?"
Feng Jun pulled half a jade box from his bag and handed it over with a smile. "Take a look first."
Boss Wang accepted it, examined it, felt it, then pulled out a magnifying glass to inspect it.
President Liang stood nearby, watching the scene with a cheerful grin.
Boss Wang set down the magnifying glass and raised his head, about to speak. Then he suddenly remembered something. He glanced sideways at President Liang before looking at Feng Jun and speaking blandly. "Not bad, kid. You know how to seize an opportunity."
This was a carved jade artifact, and a damaged one at that. His first instinct had been to offer a low price.
But with so many people from the trade standing around, he could not afford to embarrass himself by making an absurdly low offer.
Everyone in this business bargained prices down. It was an unspoken understanding between them. But he was a man of standing; he could not act recklessly in full view of everyone.
Whether it was due to poor judgment or deliberate deception, if word got out, neither would reflect well on him.
Not to mention that Liang was standing beside him, watching like a tiger eyeing its prey.
Feng Jun smiled faintly and shamelessly replied, "You flatter me."
If you people hadn't joined forces to push down my price, would I need to do this?
"Sixty-eight thousand," Boss Wang said crisply. "Green Jade, and old at that. Who knows whether it carries any unclean aura."
"Young man," President Liang said with a smile, "may I handle it?"
President Liang was around ten years younger than Boss Wang. After examining it for a minute, he directly named his price. "Eighty thousand."
He did not explain why. He simply raised the bid.
That was normal, though. Knowledge was priceless to begin with. Explaining his reasoning was a favor; not explaining it was only natural.
Boss Wang did not even look at him and continued bidding. "Ninety thousand!"
President Liang looked at him and spread his hands with a smile. Go ahead. Couldn't he simply choose not to compete?
Boss Wang still ignored him. Instead, he turned to Feng Jun and asked expressionlessly, "Cash or transfer?"
Feng Jun considered it. Eighty thousand in cash was not much, and it could easily fit in his bag. It would also save him from exposing his account and name.
So he said with a smile, "Cash, then."
"Wait a moment for the cash," Boss Wang said, still expressionless. "My nephew has it with him. He'll be here soon."
"Mm." Feng Jun nodded with a smile, then probed, "Boss Wang, you're a straightforward man. I have some more jade here... shall we find somewhere to ChatChat?"
He had asked Treasure-Gathering House for a price before. They had quoted nine thousand, or maybe ninety-five hundred—he had forgotten. In any case, it had been under ten thousand.
But that had been a quote from an underling, not Boss Wang himself. Now, it seemed Boss Wang was quite bold.
"Hm?" Boss Wang gave him a strange look, then nodded slightly. "My people will have to come along. Is that a problem?"
It was normal to be cautious in business. Those who dealt with jade were especially likely to run into strange situations, so there was nothing unusual about him being careful.
President Liang of Henglong did not like hearing that. He still wanted to see the goods, so he frowned slightly and was about to speak.
Just then, a shout came from afar. "Second Uncle!"
Feng Jun smiled and nodded. "Of course your people can..."
Halfway through the sentence, he stared into the distance in astonishment. "Holy shit, it's you?"
A young man came running over. If it was not the guy who had tried to snatch his strange stone, who else could it be?
Wang Weimin spotted Feng Jun at once and froze as well. Then he withdrew his gaze and walked toward Boss Wang as though he did not know him.
In truth, he hated Feng Jun to death. He had seen people making posts everywhere, slandering him as a robber. Friends had even forwarded other people's social media posts to him and jokingly asked, "So you're switching careers to robbery now?"
Wang Weimin felt enormous pressure. He did not even dare go to Treasure-Gathering House, afraid someone would recognize him.
That was precisely why he did not know Feng Jun had once brought half a jade box to Treasure-Gathering House to ask for a price.
He had told the clerks to watch out for someone carrying a strange stone, but no one had expected that guy to bring jade instead.
Likewise, Feng Jun had no idea that Treasure-Gathering House had anything to do with this guy.
Wang Weimin hated Feng Jun so much. From childhood to adulthood, he had never been humiliated like this. If he did not avenge this insult, he would not be a man!
He had even borrowed an account to reply on Yang City Hotline, offering ten thousand to buy that strange stone.
Obviously, it was a trap. He planned to send someone to buy back the stone, then secretly follow Feng Jun.
Once that bastard was alone, he would gather some people and teach him a brutal lesson.
As for whether they would take back the ten thousand during the beating, he had not intended to rob him. Young Master Wang did not lack that little bit of money.
But he planned to hire hoodlums. Whether the hoodlums robbed him or not would have nothing to do with him.
Wang Weimin had come to help his second uncle today, yet he had never expected to run into that bastard here.
But today's matter was important. He could not let personal grudges interfere, and in a setting like this, he could not even mention them.
Seeing his nephew arrive, Boss Wang waved at Feng Jun. "Give him ninety thousand in cash."
"Ninety thousand?" Wang Weimin stared at Feng Jun in astonishment. "Damn it... you're this ruthless?"
He had come because of the Ice Type jade. No one would likely dare carry away more than six million in cash, but what if the other party wanted some cash for immediate use?
Besides, Treasure-Gathering House might encounter other jade pieces this time, and there were some outstanding accounts that needed settling.
So he had brought one million in cash.
It had never crossed his mind that he would be giving Feng Jun money. When he heard it was for that bastard, his immediate reaction was: Did you sell the strange stone to my second uncle?
Fine, so he had sold it. But... damn it, he actually dared ask for ninety thousand?
Feng Jun was equally surprised. After staring for a moment, he looked at Boss Wang. "He works for your Treasure-Gathering House too?"
Boss Wang blinked. He could tell that his nephew and this young man had some conflict.
But in his view, business was business. Everything else could wait.
There were so many people present that he could not deny it, so he nodded frankly. "I'm his second uncle."
Boss Wang was only the general manager of Treasure-Gathering House. Its chairman was his elder brother.
Feng Jun waved his hand decisively. "I'm not selling to you anymore!"
He was poor—truly poor. So poor that he had been too embarrassed to go home and visit relatives.
But at the same time, he was a proud man. It was precisely because he had pride that he felt embarrassed.
So what if your price was higher? If he was unhappy, then he simply would not sell to you!
Boss Wang was immediately dumbfounded. "What are you doing? We already agreed on it."
Feng Jun rolled his eyes at him. "So what if we agreed? We didn't sign a contract."
Then he looked at President Liang of Henglong Jewelry and asked with a smile, "President Liang, do you still want this jade?"
"Oh?" President Liang laughed, his smile meaningful. "Heh, young man, my offer was ten thousand less than his."
"Then it's ten thousand less," Feng Jun said with an unconcerned wave of his hand. "What do we work so hard to make money for? Isn't it to live happily?"
President Liang smiled and nodded at that, giving him a thumbs-up. "That makes sense."
He was a straightforward man. When others were straightforward with him, he returned the favor. "Honestly, I haven't fully figured out this jade. If it really is worth ninety thousand, I'll give you ninety thousand too. Don't worry... Henglong Jewelry won't ruin its own reputation."
Boss Wang snorted coldly and spoke with a dark expression. "As if Henglong is the only business with a reputation. As if no one else has one."
President Liang was about to retort when Feng Jun sneered. "You'd better ask your nephew how he brings honor to Treasure-Gathering House."
Boss Wang's mouth fell open in astonishment. "Huh?"
But Feng Jun could not be bothered with him anymore. He turned to President Liang with a smile. "President Liang... shall we find somewhere to talk?"
President Liang laughed. To him, the damaged jade box was only a minor deal. What truly interested him was the other jade Feng Jun had. "That would be excellent."
The two looked around and went off to find somewhere quiet. Boss Wang, however, glared at his nephew and asked darkly, "What happened between you and that guy?"
Wang Weimin had not told his second uncle about it before because it was rather embarrassing. But really, there was nothing he could not say. In business, if you did not fleece amateurs when you met them, could you still call yourself a businessman?
This was especially true for antiques and jade. The gap between insiders and outsiders was far too great. In this line of work, knowledge truly was priceless.
Of course, if Wang Weimin was going to tell the story, he would naturally tell it in the way most favorable to himself, portraying himself as utterly innocent.
After hearing him out, Boss Wang merely sighed in disappointment. "Sigh."
His nephew did not really have any major flaws. He was simply too crude in how he handled things. This time, he had made Treasure-Gathering House lose an opportunity.
Wang Weimin was still angry. "It was just a broken box worth a few tens of thousands. If we don't do business with him, then we don't. Why are you sighing, Second Uncle?"
Boss Wang sighed again. "That box was just a test. He still has more material in his hands. Look at the mess you made!"
Before you continue