"No need for that." Facing President Liang's kindness, Feng Jun smiled and shook his head.
He had his extraordinary encounter in hand. All he lacked was startup capital. Once he had money, he would have no trouble getting things running. Six million or eight million made no great difference to him.
Besides, although he believed that with the other man's reputation, nothing would happen to him even if he went along, it never hurt to be cautious these days. After all, money tempted people.
And he did not want too much contact with the other man either.
"Well then... I'm sorry about that." President Liang smiled. The price he had offered was indeed not high. He had factored in all sorts of possible risks, making it somewhat of a trap for a novice—though it certainly was not low, either.
He had wanted to invite Feng Jun to visit the company, but Feng Jun was rather cautious. Liang Haiqing felt awkward about taking advantage without giving anything back, so he smiled. "I heard you still have some stones on hand?"
The moment Feng Jun heard that, he took out all four unusual stones and laid them on the ground. "Please, have a look."
Liang Haiqing gave them a rough glance, then waved a hand. "I don't know much about this stuff either. How about one hundred thousand for all of them?"
Rather than spending one hundred thousand on the stones, it was more like he was doing Feng Jun a favor worth one hundred thousand. The four stones were basically free.
Feng Jun understood what he meant as well. Smiling, he cupped his hands. "Then thank you for looking after me, President Liang."
"You're being too polite." President Liang raised a hand and patted his shoulder with a smile. "I'm still hoping you'll keep looking after Henglong."
It was a probe. He wanted to know whether Feng Jun still had any jade material.
Naturally, Feng Jun was not foolish enough to tell him everything. He smiled and answered vaguely, "Well... we'll talk about that later."
Seeing how cautious he was, President Liang did not mind. Those who dealt in jade, especially jadeite, knew best the risks and bloodshed behind those enormous profits. He took out a business card and handed it over. "This is my card. Feel free to contact me if there's nothing going on, and... especially if something comes up."
Feng Jun took it and looked. It was a gilded business card, but it only bore the name "Liang Haiqing" and two phone numbers.
President Liang looked at him calmly. "Bank transfer, or... cash?"
"Cash." Feng Jun grinned. "If it's a transfer, I'm afraid the tax bureau might look into it."
"You're really funny, brother." President Liang laughed. There were plenty of backpacking traders making their living off jade, and plenty used bank transfers too. Who the hell would be stupid enough to pay taxes? The tax bureau would not even investigate. Did he think this was Mairui Country?
Still, it was ultimately a matter of caution, and he could understand that. He nodded. "Then you'll have to wait a bit. But... over six million Xia currency must weigh at least two hundred jin, right?"
Feng Jun nodded slightly. "Yeah, I can carry it."
Just carry it? President Liang really wanted to joke: Didn't he have friends waiting to meet him?
But that was not the sort of joke one could make casually. If the other party took it as a malicious probe, someone might end up dead.
Besides, just because Feng Jun had not said anyone was meeting him, could he really assume Feng Jun was alone?
In any case, Liang Haiqing was doing legitimate business and had no other intentions. He held up one finger. "Give me an hour."
It did not take an hour. Fifty minutes later, a vehicle drove in from outside. Two young men got out and carried down two heavy suitcases.
By then, word that Feng Jun had made over six million selling stones had already spread throughout the market—the shout of "mutton-fat jade seed material" had truly been shocking.
He was safe inside the market. Cash transactions worth tens of millions were common here. But once he left, that was another matter.
Liang Haiqing apologized for this. "Sorry, I really didn't expect you to bring out something this good. I'll definitely be more careful next time."
"Doesn't matter." Feng Jun waved a hand, thinking that whether there would even be a next time was hard to say.
Once he saw the money had arrived, he opened the cases and glanced through them, roughly counting them. There were exactly 624 bundles, all bills that were seventy percent new.
He did not even count them carefully. He shut the cases, picked one up in each hand, and walked straight out.
When he reached the main entrance, he set the two cases down beside an SUV.
Everyone who saw it suddenly understood. As expected, he had not come alone.
Feng Jun glanced toward the driver's seat and found no one inside. He pulled out a cigarette and lit it, shoved both hands into his pockets, and looked around idly as if he had nothing to do.
The market was truly a mixed bag. People in the crowd had already started taking out their phones and secretly noting down the license plate number.
In the time it took to smoke half a cigarette, three empty taxis passed in front of Feng Jun. Some drivers deliberately slowed down, intending to pick up a fare.
Feng Jun did not even look at them. When the fourth empty taxi came by, he raised a hand to stop it, carried the two cases into the car, and slapped two hundred-yuan bills into the driver's hand. "Turn left ahead. Hurry. Get to Guangfa Road within five minutes, and these two hundred are yours."
The driver gave him an indifferent look. "Then hold on tight."
He knew what kind of place he had just driven past.
Taxi drivers traveled all over the city every day. How could they not understand such things? This man had run into trouble.
Meanwhile, someone in the market's expression changed. Damn it, they had been fooled.
Just then, a fat man came out of the public restroom by the entrance, fastening his belt as he walked toward the SUV.
A gap-toothed man hurried over from the front diagonal. "Excuse me, can I ask something? This car... is it yours?"
"Yeah." The fat man glanced at him, nodded, then looked him up and down. "If it's not mine, is it yours?"
The gap-toothed man was the one who had exchanged a few words with Feng Jun earlier. Seeing that the other man was unfriendly, he grinned. "They charge for parking here, really. Unless you're visiting the market."
"I just got out to take a dump." The fat man grew anxious at those words. "I was still holding toilet paper when I got out of the car."
"Oh." The gap-toothed man's eyes lit up, and he nodded. "So that's how it is."
So that was how it was... More than one person muttered that to themselves.
Even President Liang caught on, a faint smile appearing at the corner of his mouth. "Good kid. He slipped away just like that."
A bespectacled man beside him nodded and said appreciatively, "Bold, careful, unflustered in danger, cool-headed... he's made for working solo."
President Liang glanced at him and sighed. "Ah, what a pity. We may never see him again."
In his view, Feng Jun had escaped safely for the moment by using a diversion, but he had exposed himself as a solo trader. He would surely disappear for a long time, perhaps forever.
After arriving at Guangfa Road, Feng Jun immediately switched to another taxi and again told the driver to go quickly.
He changed taxis four times before getting off in front of a motorcycle repair shop. Without another word, he bought a secondhand motorcycle, then wandered through the general goods store next door.
By the time he returned to the street factory, it was already dark. The old man looked at him curiously. "Where'd that motorcycle come from... and those two woven bags?"
Feng Jun smiled. "Where else could it come from? I bought it. Secondhand, cheap, five hundred yuan, with a one-month warranty."
The old man nodded with an expression of complete understanding. "Cheap goods are never good. It'll probably only last a month... Your classmate who got dumped, is he all right now?"
Feng Jun froze for a moment before answering simply, "The two of them got back together."
"Bah, young people these days have no backbone at all." The old man shook his head, his face full of indignation. "A breakup is a breakup. A good horse never turns back to graze old grass. That's no way for a man to act... don't you agree?"
"Huh?" Feng Jun froze again. Then he stopped the motorcycle and put down its stand, answering without raising his head, "That's right. A breakup is a breakup."
He carried the two woven bags into his room and stuffed them under the bed before heavily throwing himself onto it. Letting out a long breath, he murmured softly, "I finally count as having some money now. Mm... a breakup is a breakup."
The past few days had truly been full of ups and downs for him. Thinking back on them now, they all felt a little unbelievable.
No matter what, with over six million in cash stuffed beneath his bed, he had plenty of room to maneuver as he planned his future.
But his most urgent task was to find a suitable place to live. This place was quiet despite being in a busy area, and no one cared about his privacy, but charging was still far too inconvenient.
He needed a place where he could charge conveniently, and he also needed to get several bank cards and deposit most of the cash beneath his bed.
He had always acted as soon as he made up his mind. Since it was dark and inconvenient to deposit money, he logged onto a rental agency website and posted a housing request.
However, his request was different from everyone else's. He put down a monthly rent of ten thousand yuan, inclusive, with no requirements for the layout. It only needed water, electricity, heating, and a private bathroom, but privacy had to be guaranteed.
Then he added a note: I have temporary charging needs. There must be an external connector, and the maximum current must reach five hundred amps. This is a prerequisite for renting; otherwise, do not contact me.
At five hundred amps on the city grid, he could guarantee charging at least five energy points within a day and a night. In theory, he could reach seven energy points, enough for one trip in and out of the space.
Before, he had lacked the means and had to charge sparingly and secretly. Now that he had money, there was no need to make himself suffer.
Looking at the mark on his wrist, Feng Jun let out a breath. He could probably still carry goods in and out twice.
He had been worrying constantly lately about whether the jade could be sold. Now that the money was in hand, he could finally relax a little.
Once he decided to relax, endless exhaustion surged through his body. Yet strangely, his mind remained highly excited.
How could he not be excited? There were several million beneath his bed. How was he supposed to sleep?
Before you continue