150. New Ideas from Taking Advice

Zhang Yang stood there casually.

He certainly didn't have any hope for this last piece of rough jade; after all, it was just something he picked randomly to make up the numbers.

But he didn't come to his senses until he heard a scream.

"Another shipment!" The shop assistant next to him stared wide-eyed at the newly opened raw jadeite in front of him, completely incredulous.

Zhang Yang himself was stunned.

"No way? This works?"

Under sunlight, the cross-section is as smooth as ice, more transparent than glass-type jadeite, but with a higher transparency than ordinary ice-type jadeite.

"High-grade ice jade, this is considered high-grade ice jade."

"This piece, though small, must be worth at least tens of millions."

"Over 30 million in just a short time? You can't even win the lottery like that!"

Feeling the intense gazes around him, Zhang Yang squatted down to examine the results.

Upon closer inspection, it indeed exhibits excellent qualities, truly deserving of the name "high-ice jade," a superior specimen second only to "glass jade."

"So, this trip to Ruili actually yielded a profit of fifty million?" Zhang Yang muttered to himself, instantly feeling that the trip was absolutely worthwhile.

No, rather than saying this trip was worthwhile, it's more accurate to say that the Lucky Stone provided by the system was incredibly powerful.

"Sir, our boss will be here soon, please give us a chance..." The store manager said excitedly and cautiously.

"Okay, when will you arrive?" Zhang Yang readily agreed.

Money is something you want to have in your pocket, and his purpose in opening the raw jade was to sell it.

Sell it quickly, leave quickly, and go home.

"It's already on its way, no more than twenty minutes. Please have some tea here," the shop manager said quickly.

"Mm." Zhang Yang nodded.

Zhao Yuan and Lu Feifei stood there, stunned, their minds buzzing.

"Thirty million? I didn't misunderstand, did I?" Zhao Yuan pulled Lu Feifei along, her eyes filled with disbelief.

"You heard me right, it really is." Lu Feifei murmured to herself, "You mean this rough stone is so easy to sell? Why don't we give it a try?"

"Give it a try!" Zhao Yuan said without hesitation.

After a moment, the two girls carefully selected a rough stone.

It was really expensive, and it was money that the two of us chipped in.

"We'll split what we find in half," Zhao Yuan, clenching her small fist.

"Let's go, let's start now." Lu Feifei nodded emphatically.

With an angle grinder, one cut can make you poor, another can make you rich.

The two girls looked at the rough jade stone cut in half, its cross-section rough and filled with various inclusions, and exchanged a glance, both with a sense of foreboding.

"Master, how much is this worth?" they asked cautiously.

The craftsman was smoking when he heard this, and casually glanced at the rough stone at his feet.

"This is difficult to acquire. Even if you could, it would only fetch around ten thousand yuan."

"Only ten thousand yuan?" Lu Feifei muttered to herself, her eyes vacant. "We spent more than that on this piece together. We've lost a lot of money."

"You've got a good idea. There are plenty of people who spend 100,000, 200,000, or even hundreds of thousands on raw stones and end up losing everything. It's just for fun, don't take it seriously," the master craftsman said with amusement.

"But... but just now..." Lu Feifei, somewhat unwilling.

"People? Do you really think they're just taking a chance? Besides the element of gambling, ability is also a factor, as is courage. In the whole of Ruili, how many people like that can you find in a year?" The master shook his head and said.

"Making a fortune isn't as easy as it seems."

At this moment, on the second floor of the shop, Zhang Yang was drinking tea and chatting with the shop owner.

The owner of this shop has been in the jade business in Ruili for many years. He owns numerous businesses, is quite wealthy, and has the financial strength to acquire these two pieces of rough jade.

"Mr. Zhang, how about this, thirty-five million, I'll take both of them, just to make a friend." The shop owner quoted a price.

"Sure." Zhang Yang nodded readily.

He had no intention of arguing about the difference in amount; taking the money and going home as soon as possible was the right thing to do.

"Okay, that's great. I'll arrange the payment right away. Don't forget us next time you have good stuff," the shop owner said with a smile.

He certainly didn't regard Zhang Yang as one of those naive newbies who just got lucky overnight.

To be able to venture into Ruili alone, and to sell such high-quality goods, one must be a seasoned veteran.

A moment later, the money was in hand.

Including the previous gains, this trip yielded a total of over 50 million in cash.

Even with his current wealth, he couldn't possibly be so indifferent to over fifty million; fifty million is still a considerable sum of money.

At the shop entrance, he shook hands with the owner to say goodbye.

As Zhang Yang was leaving, he immediately spotted two girls standing sullenly at the shop entrance.

He glanced at it, then looked away and prepared to leave.

"Hey, handsome!" Two girls jogged over and called out to Zhang Yang, "Handsome, please wait a moment?"

"You two? What's up?" Zhang Yang looked at the two girls, his face showing confusion.

They were just two pretty girls, not exactly stunning beauties, so naturally they wouldn't receive any special treatment from him.

Faced with Zhang Yang's calm gaze, both girls felt somewhat defeated.

Sure enough, compared to a rich and handsome man, their looks are nothing.

"Are you... are you still going to buy raw stones? Could you take us to broaden our horizons? Please!" The girls clasped their hands together and pleaded incessantly.

"Unfortunately, I'm about to leave. Let's talk again next time," Zhang Yang waved his hand, politely declining.

"Then... could you please give me your WeChat?"

"WeChat?" Zhang Yang took out his phone, then put it back. "It's full, sorry."

He apologized and turned to leave.

The two girls were left standing there, utterly frustrated and heartbroken.

Inside the hotel, Zhang Yang booked a flight back home for the next morning, and also planned to share his experiences from the trip with his parents.

"Mom and Dad, I think we can take bigger steps now," Zhang Yang said with a smile during the video call.

"Son, I was just about to talk to you about this. You said you wanted your car for your dad, so does that mean you have to buy another car? I think we shouldn't rush into it," Song Wenqin said.

"Over six million, we still need to be careful with how we spend it."

"Over six million? That was yesterday," Zhang Yang said.

"What do you mean?" Zhang Zhaohai leaned over from the side. "Could it be...?"

"Our family has struck it rich," Zhang Yang said casually, offering a brief explanation.

A moment later, he heard Zhang Zhaohai and Song Wenqin laughing in the video, and saw the camera spinning around him, guessing that the couple had thrown his phone into the air.

Zhang Yang wasn't in a hurry; he patiently waited for his parents to process the news.

Upon closer examination, it seems somewhat bizarre.

If he were to fabricate a story about a successful business venture or some other reason, his parents might still doubt and disbelieve him. But buying raw jade and cutting stones are undeniable facts.

Faced with the facts, you have no choice but to believe them.

Therefore, Zhang Yang appeared completely unburdened.

"Over fifty million? You'd have to win the lottery jackpot several times over." Song Wenqin took a deep breath. "Forget about saving money, I'll just completely relinquish my responsibilities as a manager."

"Your mother and I had planned to travel a lot in the future, but we kept thinking that you weren't married yet and we would need money for many things, so we didn't dare to stop. Now that's great, what's the point of struggling anymore?" Zhang Zhaohai lay back like Ge You, looking completely relaxed.

Zhang Yang blinked, somewhat dumbfounded.

This isn't quite what he imagined; it shouldn't have unfolded this way.

In his mind, his parents had always been dedicated and ambitious. They had faced difficulties starting their business due to financial constraints, and they did everything themselves. They seemed hardworking and ambitious.

Why is it that once they have money, they completely lose their motivation?

Shouldn't we just keep this money and open more stores, expand the business?

But then he thought again that he was being too wishful.

Why do my parents want to start their own business, open their own shop, and be their own boss? Frankly, the root cause is simply a lack of money; they just want to earn more money.

Now that I have money, I naturally don't care much about my career anymore.

"Well... Mom and Dad, it's up to you. I'll transfer 20 million to you. You can either continue with your business or take the money to go on vacation, it's up to you," Zhang Yang said.

"Twenty million?! Son, you're really generous." Song Wenqin explained with a smile, "Of course we still have to open the restaurant, but right now it's just to fulfill your dad's dream. Anyway, our family doesn't have any financial pressure now, so we can just treat it as a way to pass the time."

"That's right, Mom and Dad, just do whatever you want. You're not really trying to make money, just pass the time. Busy during peak season, and hire someone to watch over things during off-season. You can go on vacation," Zhang Yang said.

Often, things turn out unexpectedly well; who knows, the restaurant my parents started out of interest might actually become even more successful.

"But son, your parents can relax, but you shouldn't. Young people should be working hard; you can't just sit around and do nothing. Don't waste this large sum of money," Zhang Zhaohai reminded Zhang Yang with some concern.

"Don't worry, I know." Zhang Yang smiled.

In reality, these days, it's not so bad to just sit around and live off your savings; it's the reckless investments that lead to ruin much faster.

Zhang Yang knew his own limitations and wouldn't invest recklessly.

With the support of the system, daily cashback, assets, and cash reserves, he wouldn't be so foolish as to do something wasteful.

After ending the call with his parents, Zhang Yang finally had a moment to check out Zheye's backstage, which he hadn't visited in a long time.

He has a secondary account with no followers and no fame.

There were replies, but not many, even though he was questioned by a lot of people last time.

Zheye, there are countless people on the internet who boast and make up stories every day. People just watch for a bit of fun, and once it's over, it's over. Nobody pays any attention to it.

"How do I trigger the system's mission?" Zhang Yang muttered to himself as he opened Zheye's personal page.

Undoubtedly, starting a topic is the best approach.

As for what to ask?

The essence of a system is listening to advice, and the purpose of listening to advice is to improve oneself.

Therefore, the topics he posts must revolve around self-improvement.

"There's nothing I can improve in terms of appearance, so could it be something inside, or rather, something related to my current situation?" Zhang Yang muttered to himself.

Now, he has money and businesses.

What's still missing in the current situation?

That must mean he's missing a circle that matches his financial strength. Otherwise, he'll be self-absorbed, possessing assets but not necessarily improving his social standing.

With that thought in mind, Zhang Yang understood what was going on.

A moment later, he posted his first topic on Zheye.

[How can I further elevate my social circle when I have enough money?]

In reality, it's all in vain if you don't have money or ability to improve your social circle. But if you have both money and ability, it's not that difficult.

He actually knew what to do, but Zheye just wanted to use this platform to trigger the system's task.

A moment later, the question was posted.

Below the question, he also gave a general overview of his situation, which was nothing more than having money in his pocket but being clueless about what to do next.

Next, there's no rush; we just wait for the answer.

The next morning, Zhang Yang set off back to Magic City.

This trip to Ruili was incredibly fruitful; I used up all my Lucky Stone but gained over 50 million yuan in cash. It was a truly fulfilling and perfect trip.

The only downside was that Zhang Zhaohai and his wife didn't become the parents he had imagined—the kind who would rise to the challenge and be even more motivated after getting rich. Instead, they started thinking about settling down, especially his father, who was worried that his son wouldn't be ambitious and kept emphasizing this.

Of all the family members, he's the only one who's truly ambitious now.

After getting off the plane, he texted his father, Zhang Zhaohai, to ask if he had received the transfer.

Yes, he transferred 20 million to his parents.

"Received it. Your parents have never even seen 20 million in their lives, let alone owned it. Don't laugh at me, son, but your mother and I counted the zeros several times. Your mother is even thinking of going to the bank to discuss the interest. No matter how hard this restaurant works, it can't earn the interest of 20 million in a year. It's so frustrating," Zhang Zhaohai sighed.

"I'm just idling around anyway, it doesn't matter if I make money or not, isn't it nice to hear people call me boss or boss lady every day?" Zhang Yang laughed.

"Yeah, right." Zhang Zhaohai said half-jokingly, "You should let me drive your Cayenne as soon as possible, and you should hurry up and buy a new car. By the way, what new car are you planning to buy?"

"Bentley, Rolls-Royce? Let's think about it later, there's no rush," Zhang Yang said casually.

"Bentley, Rolls-Royce, you little brat..."

Zhang Yang smiled, put down his phone, went straight to his car parked at the airport, and drove back to COFCO Seaview No. 1.

Back home, he took out his phone, intending to check the topic he had recently posted to see if anyone had replied.

"Huh?" Zhang Yang blinked.

[After reading the other replies to the question, I can't believe it. It seems like you've gone mad. Do you really think you're rich? How are you going to improve your social circle?]

I believe you, OP. I suggest you show off your luxury house and cars to silence those who doubt you. Good luck!

"Tsk, I wasn't going to bother with them anyway, but they insisted on coming all the way here." Zhang Yang shook his head, speechless.

He's always been low-key and wouldn't normally bother explaining himself to these people, but alas...

It's easy to explain.

He took a series of photos of the interior of his COFCO luxury apartment. In the photos, the Huangpu River and the Bund were clearly visible from the Bund. He also hand-wrote his ID along with the date and time and held it in the camera lens.