At the guesthouse, Luo Liwei brought Sun Benchuan hot water and brewed him some excellent tea, asking as he did so:
"Mr. Sun, do you think this Li Long will agree to your proposal and sell that piece of jade?"
"He will." Sun Benchuan no longer displayed the modesty and caution he had shown in Li Long's courtyard. Sitting in a chair, he accepted the tea Luo Liwei had brewed, took a gentle sip, and sighed appreciatively. "Now this is tea. What we drank at that Purchasing Station was practically muddy water."
After another sip, he set down his cup and continued:
"With that much beef and mutton, Li Long can't possibly move it all through his own connections. But we mustn't let our guard down either. That news will reach this place in a week at most.
"I gave Li Long one day to consider it to put pressure on him and make him panic. Once he panics, our opportunity will come."
At this point, Sun Benchuan thought of the jade and exclaimed admiringly:
"I've seen so many exquisite pieces of jade, including quite a few with beautiful natural shapes, but not one could compare to this one! I must have it!"
Luo Liwei curled his lip almost imperceptibly. He had no idea why his boss was so obsessed with jade objects and antiques. In his view, money was better spent on apartments, villas, Simmons mattresses, cameras, and cars.
When he heard that Li Long owned a Jeep, he had even thought how unfair the world was. He was a university graduate, yet he couldn't match a farmer who hadn't even finished middle school!
Sun Benchuan owned a car, a Crown sedan at that. But Luo Liwei earned only a little over a hundred yuan a month. At current