Reality Falls Short of Ideals

Wang Weimin was a little dumbfounded when he heard his second uncle's words. That guy had more jade material?

But the next moment, he laughed. "That guy even picks up rocks. Whether he has any decent material is hard to say."

Treasure-Gathering House ranked among the best jewelry stores in Yang City. For a jewelry store of that scale, jade was its main business; playing with stones was merely a sideline.

He did not believe that a guy who ate four burger meals at a fast-food restaurant could possess jade material in large quantities.

Of course, he felt a little guilty saying that, but he had to say it.

President Wang sighed and looked at the two people whispering not far away, his face heavy. That young man not only knew how to take advantage of the moment to ask for prices, but he was also generous with money and decisive in his actions. Among young people nowadays, he was definitely someone remarkable.

He had a feeling that there was a strong possibility the guy had something good on him.

President Liang was not expecting that much. He merely wanted to stock up on goods and, while he was at it, disgust Treasure-Gathering House.

So when he saw the other half of the jade box, he was actually a little stunned. "Young man, what... do you mean by this?"

Feng Jun knew what he was thinking and smiled faintly. "I'm selling jade, not the box."

"That's easy. I'll give you sixty thousand for this piece," President Liang said with a smile, relieved. "I thought you were going to sell it as a damaged antique."

What he wanted was jade material. He absolutely did not want to get tangled up in any antique value, or he would have to waste a long time arguing.

Feng Jun smiled and nodded. "Fine, sixty thousand it is. To be honest... these two pieces really can fit together perfectly. If you don't believe me, you can try."

The half of the jade box he had asked about was somewhat larger than the half he had not taken out. Even so, those jewelry stores had still looked down on it.

The other party's offer of sixty thousand might not have been the highest, but it was definitely fair.

"I won't try it." President Liang shook his head decisively. "I'm buying material, not collecting antiques."

This jade box was plain and unremarkable, without much value. Even if it were restored, it would still be repaired, and its value would decline even further. It was better to use it as jade material. Not only would it be easier to sell, it might even bring in more profit.

Feng Jun understood what he meant, so he smiled. "I didn't mean anything by it. I just mentioned it casually. I already said I'm selling jade."

President Liang glanced at him and nodded slightly. His impression of the young man improved further. He really knew when to advance and when to retreat.

The next moment, he swept his gaze over Feng Jun's backpack and noticed that it was still bulging heavily. His eyes lit up, and he lowered his voice. "Do you... have other jade pieces with you?"

There was no need to mention the jade box. It was obviously old, and he assumed the other party had discovered some kind of hidden cache. If there were damaged jade artifacts, surely there might be better jade artifacts as well?

Feng Jun laughed. "You're overthinking it. I still have a piece of jade material here. Are you interested in taking a look?"

"Very interested," President Liang answered without hesitation, smiling broadly. "Our Henglong mainly deals in jewelry. We don't dabble much in antiques, and that isn't where our focus lies."

However, when he saw the head-sized jade stone in Feng Jun's hands, the smile on his face instantly froze.

Once Feng Jun set the stone on the ground, he rushed forward in a single stride and reached out to touch it.

After feeling it for a while, he grew more and more excited. He took out a magnifying glass to inspect it, his body trembling nonstop.

In the end, he could not hold it in any longer and shouted, "Holy shit... such a huge piece of Mutton-fat Jade Seed Material!"

Feng Jun was delighted when he heard that. Even if he did not know much about jade, he understood terms like that. Mutton-Fat White Jade was the king of soft jade, and seed material was more valuable than mountain material.

According to the trade, seed material had been washed by river water over the years. Its color was better, its luster richer, and its texture finer.

This was also the result Feng Jun had hoped for most. He had even calculated how much he could make if the jade he found was this kind.

At ten thousand per gram, thirty kilograms... damn, wouldn't that be three hundred million?

After all, good Mutton-Fat White Jade could now sell for twenty or thirty thousand per gram.

Feng Jun admitted that poverty had scared him badly, but he still had his reason. He knew there were problems with his calculation and that many costs had not been factored in. But that was three hundred million! Even at one-tenth the price, it would still be thirty million.

Just as he was beaming with joy, President Wang also heard the words "Mutton-fat Jade Seed Material" and immediately sucked in a cold breath. "Holy shit!"

Wang Weimin's face turned deathly pale in an instant, and he could not help shouting, "Impossible! At most, it's Mountain-Stream Jade Material."

"Are you nuts?" President Liang turned around and gave him a cold look. "Are you questioning my judgment?"

Although President Liang of Henglong was only in his forties, he was still a well-known figure in Yang City's jewelry industry. Wang Weimin's words were a serious insult to him.

"I mean, I mean..." Wang Weimin hesitated for a long time. Finally, he clenched his teeth, pointed at Feng Jun, and said through gritted teeth, "How could this pauper possibly..."

"Enough!" President Wang roared. He was already trembling with rage. "Weimin, leave first."

At that moment, he was utterly disappointed in the whole matter. Just look at the mess you made.

"I refuse to accept this!" Wang Weimin shouted. "That guy is a pauper who eats three burger meals at fast-food restaurants. How could he possibly have Mutton-fat Jade Seed Material?"

Though he claimed he refused to accept it, his face was deathly pale, because he knew very well just how enormous a fortune such a large piece of Mutton-fat Jade Seed Material represented—both hidden and intangible.

For merchants in the jade industry, what was the most valuable resource?

Fine, the most valuable resource was certainly high-end premium customers. In any industry, such resources were the most precious.

But setting customer resources aside, the most valuable resource was naturally top-grade raw material.

Jade was a nonrenewable resource. There was only so much in the world. Aside from what had yet to be discovered, the amount of jade already discovered was fixed. It could only decrease through damage; it could not increase.

And the jewelry industry was a typical luxury-goods industry. Only with more top-tier goods could a business grow larger.

If Treasure-Gathering House lost one piece of Mutton-fat Jade Seed Material, another store gained one. The accounts had to be considered from both sides, not simply by calculating how much income Treasure-Gathering House had lost by failing to acquire this jade.

Wang Weimin was so depressed he wanted to cough up blood.

All those losses had come only because he wanted to show off in front of an old classmate and looked down on the poor.

What was even more tragic was that if Treasure-Gathering House had merely had a chance to compete for it, and had only "possibly" obtained the jade, then fine—the blame could not all have fallen on him.

But the problem was that before he had arrived, his second uncle had already negotiated the first deal with the other party. All that remained was payment.

Once the first deal went through, how far away could the second and third deals be?

He had to carry this blame, and only he could carry it.

"Are you talking nonsense?" President Liang glanced at him, finding the guy's logic utterly baffling. "What's wrong with fast-food restaurants? My son eats there often too."

How could an adult eating at a fast-food restaurant be the same as a child eating there? Wang Weimin really wanted to retort like that.

But sadly, he suddenly realized he did not even have the strength to open his mouth.

Seeing this, President Wang truly wanted to slap his nephew. Damn it, could you stop embarrassing yourself?

But in the end, he merely shook his head slightly and patted his nephew on the shoulder. "Enough. Go back first, and don't put too much pressure on yourself... It's only a piece of jade."

Years later, whenever President Wang recalled saying those words, he wanted to slap himself several times. Damn it, he must have been out of his mind back then. What gave him the right to say "a piece of jade," and even... "only"?

Setting aside the matter of the Wang Family uncle and nephew for now, President Liang began quoting Feng Jun a price. "Six million."

What? Feng Jun nearly thought he had heard wrong. He bared his teeth. "How much did you say?"

"Did that scare you?" President Liang looked at him calmly, a strange smile appearing at the corner of his mouth. "Is it too much or too little?"

"Too little," Feng Jun answered honestly. "That jadeite just now was worth 6.89 million, and it was only ice-grade."

"Can hard jade be compared to soft jade?" President Liang curled his lips in frustration. "You know how popular jadeite is. Not many people are speculating on jade these days..."

Feng Jun knew that as well. Strictly speaking, jade prices had also been rising rapidly, but its supply was stable. Unlike jadeite, there were too many shady and illegal dealings surrounding it, even a heavy stench of blood.

Only a gimmick created room for speculation; that was inevitable. And speculation attracted attention; that too was inevitable.

But he was still somewhat unconvinced. "President Liang, this is Mutton-fat Jade Seed Material. Shouldn't it be priced against glass-grade jadeite?"

You really are an idiot! President Liang looked at the young man before him speechlessly.

He did not actually like explaining things to others when doing business, but he was in a good mood today, so he decided to give the kid an explanation.

"Mutton-fat Jade Seed Material also has different grades of appearance. Your material has a skin, but its quality can roughly be seen. It's only mid-grade, and I can say for certain that it isn't borderland material or foreign material."

"I don't want to ask where you got this material. The key is that it has no pedigree, so the price has to suffer a little."

"Also, wholesale and retail prices are definitely different. When we make jade artifacts, there will certainly be losses as well..."

"Enough," Feng Jun interrupted him. Though he still found the price somewhat disappointing, he felt much more at ease now. The most important point was that the other party had said he was not interested in asking where the jade material came from.

It could not have been better that he was not interested. Feng Jun could enter the Wilderness Space whenever he wanted, and finding more jade material should not be much of a problem. Since that was the case, why should he fuss over this one piece?

In any case, six million was already enough for him to do many things. At worst, if he later discovered he had been cheated, he simply would not do business with this company again.

So he smiled and nodded. "Since President Liang has put it that way, six million it is. Consider it the start of a friendship."

President Liang was pleased to see how straightforward he was, so he replied with a smile, "You have to let me make some profit too, right? How about this: six million is the base price. Come to the company with me, and once we remove the outer skin, we might be able to value it a little higher."