The stone-cutting machine was already running. Zhu Baodi, relying on his friendship with Qin's Jadeite, led his team and Yan Xiaonan and a few others to stand in front, watching the master craftsman cut the stone.
Yes, all the top bidders are stone cutters sent by the Myanmar auction organizers. What is a top bidder? It is someone with an 80% or higher chance of winning.
After the master craftsman carefully examined the 520-kilogram stone from all sides, he drew a line in the center of the stone, placed it on the stone-cutting machine, and then pressed the power button on the machine.
As the ear-piercing sound of stone cutting rang out, the top bidder was split in two. The cut surface after the clear water flowed became the focus of everyone present. However, what was the meaning of those two grayish-white cut surfaces?
The master chef felt a pang of anxiety. If the bidding failed, it would damage his reputation, especially since this year's top bidder had the highest bid price since the first year.
He had already considered backing out, but the winning bid had already been split in two. Even the strongest desire to back out was bound by the contract he had signed, so he had no choice but to grit his teeth and continue cutting the stone.
This time he had to be much more careful. He had the stone moved down and used a powerful flashlight to shine it inch by inch inside, hoping to find the next entry point.
The more he tried to find a breakthrough, the more he felt that nowhere was the breakthrough. He became lost and began to regret taking on this job.
Seeing that the master craftsman hesitated to start, the person in charge of Qin's Jade spoke up: "Let's divide it in two again."
The master craftsman was as if he had heard heavenly music. He immediately ordered someone to move half of the raw stone onto the stone-cutting machine. This time, he didn't draw any lines and cut it directly in the middle.
After the stone was cut, the master craftsman quickly rinsed the cut surface with clean water, but it was still grayish-white. He then looked at the other half and found the same result: grayish-white with traces of water that had turned black.
Everyone present looked distressed; it was a recipe for disaster. Zhu Baodi covered his pounding heart with both hands. What a close call!
He asked Zhu Baojun to stay and keep watch, while he discussed with Yan Xiaonan that he could leave. He really didn't want to see the final, miserable state of the person in charge of Qin's Jade.
Yan Xiaonan had wanted to leave for a long time. The atmosphere at the scene was too tense, so oppressive that it was almost impossible to breathe. It was a process of going from excitement to surprise, then to bewilderment and helplessness, and people's hearts were being subjected to an extremely heavy blow.
Tianru and Yushu exchanged a glance. During their travels, they had seen many scenes they had never imagined before.
A lifeless stone could cause people to lose their composure and even take desperate risks, leaving an unforgettable mark on their young minds.
It was this direct confrontation that allowed the two children to grow up more quickly, and the deceit and ruthlessness of the business world began to emerge before them.
It was a difficult road, but since the ancestors of the Ye family, they had been running on this road. As descendants of the Ye family, how could they back down?
Everyone remained silent the whole way. Zhu Baodi couldn't stand the silence any longer and kept trying to say something to ease the pressure: "Boss Yan, Qin's Jade is probably doomed this time. I know they brought 300 million yuan with them, which is all the money they can raise this time."
Yan Xiaonan nodded, imagining the hardships he had endured in the past, traveling back and forth to the Shanghai Stock Exchange multiple times to acquire subscription certificates in order to raise enough funds to start a securities company. It was truly a story too difficult to describe.
She watched his skyscraper rise and fall. The rise was arduous, but the fall was instantaneous. Yan Xiaonan closed her eyes, pondering how to get her two children up to speed with the business empire she had built.
“Boss Yan, the dragon-stone jadeite you unearthed last time was top-grade jadeite. I have jadeite processing services in Hong Kong. How about I process it for you for free?” Zhu Baodi thought of the jadeite in Yu Shu’s hand.
"Well, I want to process it into five jade plaques, and each plaque can be carved with a picture. For example, the jade book can be carved into the shape of a heavenly book, and the heavenly pattern can be carved into the shape of a dome without a single cloud in the sky."
Enming will be sculpted into a beautiful picture of a prosperous and thriving nation; as for my husband and me, let us sculpt a picture of us holding hands and growing old together.
“It would be difficult to make five jade pendants from this piece of material. How about we make the pendants for you and your husband a little bigger, and the pendants for the three children a size smaller?” Zhu Baodi calculated the size of the jade pebble in his mind.
Yan Xiaonan nodded. That was one way too. The children's jade pendants were a size smaller, which would better reflect the meaning of their family of five.
"Look, this is the shape of this piece of jade. We can make some cabochons or jade beads in the irregular parts around it. I will try to make the drawing as close as possible, so that we can save more material."
Zhu Baodi took out paper and pen from his bag and drew the dragon stone seed material. Not only was the shape exactly the same, but the size was also almost identical.
Yan Xiaonan exclaimed, "No wonder Boss Zhu is good at the jade business. He really has a talent for it. Even the size is almost exactly the same. I'll leave this stone to you."
"Thank you for the compliment, Boss Yan, but calling you 'Boss' all the time is too formal. How about I call you Nan Nan, and you call me Bao Di, or Lao Zhu?" Zhu Bao Di immediately realized that saying "Bao Di" was inappropriate and quickly changed his address to Lao Zhu.
Yan Xiaonan nodded: "Let's get to know each other again. My name is Yan Xiaonan, but everyone calls me Nannan. Welcome to open an account at the securities company. I can make you a VIP client and give you a 10% discount on all transaction fees."
Zhu Baodi's eyes lit up. He didn't know how to trade stocks, but he could learn: "When I return to China, I'll come to your securities company. Then, I'll trouble Nan Nan to find someone to guide me."
The atmosphere finally eased, but they had already arrived at the hotel entrance. Since Yan Xiaonan was returning to China the next day, Zhu Baodi invited him to have a good dinner that evening to celebrate their great victory.
Everyone returned to their rooms and quickly showered and cleaned themselves. The amount of stone being cut today was so large that the powder mixed with sweat was sticking to their bodies and was really uncomfortable.
In the luxurious banquet hall, Zhu Baodi invited Yan Xiaonan and others to a lavish meal, and Zhu Baojun recounted what had happened after they left.
This bid for the top prize was a complete disaster. They almost completely crushed the stone, but still couldn't find a single trace of jade. The master craftsman had already abandoned his tools and left, which meant he would change careers.
As for Qin's Jade, all the staff were slumped on the ground in a daze, especially the person in charge, who had fainted and been sent to the hospital.
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