"Don't believe him, everyone! All the jade stones here are 'rogue windows,' they're all worthless! Please don't be fooled by him!"
In front of a large jade stall, several out-of-town merchants peeked around curiously, looking like they wanted to buy but hesitated. A thin, bamboo-like man pointed at several pieces of raw jade on the stall and shouted indignantly!
The rough stone the man was pointing to was several cut stones, each revealing a small but enticing "window" in the middle—several pieces of imperial green that were almost black and had excellent translucency. No matter how many times the surrounding merchants shone their flashlights on it, they couldn't find anything wrong with it!
"Shi Zhuoyan! Don't think that just because you have a title like 'Master Sculptor,' you can cause trouble in front of my stall!"
Unlike Shi Zhuoyan, who was so thin he looked like he could be blown away by a gust of wind, the owner of this stall was a burly man with a scar on his face. His name was Diao Dalong, and he had a sinister look in his eyes and a kind of reckless courage.
"Don't listen to this person's nonsense... He's just jealous of you because he's poor and can't afford good jadeite!"
Seeing that the surrounding merchants seemed to be having second thoughts after Shi Zhuoyan's shouts, the burly man quickly picked up the stone and began to vigorously promote the message:
“I’m not afraid of you shining flashlights or magnifying glasses on it! This is a rare piece of imperial green jade; even a small piece of it would cost over seven figures…”
"Pah! What imperial green!"
Shi Zhuoyan's eyes widened in fury:
"You just took a small piece of jade, stuck it on the stone, and then tricked someone into buying it to make money! You...you used this fake material to set me up, coercing and luring me into signing that 'betting agreement'! In the end, it was just a worthless piece of waste!"
Before he could finish speaking, Shi Zhuoyan, taking advantage of the fact that the people around him were not paying attention, grabbed a stone from the stall and slammed it hard on the ground! Instantly, the stone cracked!
And that tiny, fingernail-thin fragment of imperial green jade rolled out from the stone—
It was indeed just an ordinary, worthless stone. Diao Dalong and his group simply stuck a piece of jade on it and pretended that it contained a huge imperial green jade pebble to sell!
As soon as this action was taken, the merchants and buyers who were initially skeptical but also somewhat interested immediately scattered!
"Stop talking nonsense!"
Seeing this, the burly man's face turned terrifyingly gloomy! With a single glance from him, four or five thugs instantly sprang out and surrounded Shi Zhuoyan, throwing a punch at him!
"Are you tired of living?!"
Shi Zhuoyan was instantly knocked to the ground, and another henchman pounced on him, pressing him hard onto the dusty ground, making it hard for him to breathe!
"You still haven't paid back the money you owe Brother Diao, and you dare to come here and cause trouble! Are you trying to get rid of your hands?!"
His henchman roared menacingly, but Diao Dalong calmly drew a dagger from his waist, the cold blade lightly tapping his calloused right hand—
Shi Zhuoyan winced in pain, his face contorted as he fell to the ground. The weight on his body almost made it hard for him to breathe, but the painful scenes of the past became even clearer in his mind—
The vicious face of the other party when I was forced to sign the gambling agreement, the painful gasps of my father who died of poverty, the pain of being burdened with huge debts from the very beginning when I wanted to make a name for myself in the world of sculpture with my strong skills and excellent aesthetic sense... all of this was thanks to the people in front of me!
"How...how could this be...!"
Yi Songchun witnessed all of this and was shocked, then a look of worry appeared on her face.
"This Master Shi Zhuoyan, although young and not yet widely known, is one of the few craftsmen in the carving world who possesses both excellent taste and skill. He is also a close collaborator of JSD. Without him, JSD would not have been able to acquire so many high-quality works of art..."
Lin Jicheng nodded in deep agreement. She had also photographed this master's work "Butterfly Lovers" before, and it was indeed a masterpiece of superb skill and unique aesthetics!
"He may be a bit aloof and unsociable... but as a sculptor, his hands are the most important thing. How can he be threatened like this?!"
Yi Songchun saw this and was extremely anxious:
"No, I still can't bear to see our JSD's most important mentor being threatened like this... But... but... it seems like the two or three of us can't possibly handle that bunch of thugs..."
Lin Jicheng silently observed, then turned his head and gave Lin Yi a look, which Lin Yi quickly understood—
The bodyguards Lin Jicheng had brought, who were originally scattered among the crowd, received a signal and casually approached Diao Dalong's stall. Just as the thugs were sharpening their knives, ready to strike, a clear and calm female voice rang out—
"How much money would you need to let him go?"
Everyone was startled and turned around abruptly. In the chaotic crowd, there stood a figure who was exceptionally tall and imposing. Although simply dressed and concealing his face with a large hat and sunglasses, he exuded a unique and commanding aura.
"Who are you? What business is it of yours?!"
Scarface Diao Dalong paused for a moment, then roared in a vicious voice!
How much does he owe you?
Lin Jicheng seemed not to hear, pointed to Shi Zhuoyan who was pressed to the ground, and asked in a calm tone.
"With interest, it'll be ten million!"
Scarface licked his lips, his eyes darted around, and then he blurted out an astronomical figure!
"There aren't that many!"
Before he could finish speaking, Shi Zhuoyan struggled to his feet:
"It was less than two million at the beginning, it was clearly just compound interest..."
"You have no right to speak here!!"
One of Diao Dalong's red-haired henchmen kicked Shi Zhuoyan viciously. Shi Zhuoyan lightly rubbed his hand against the dagger, drawing a bloody line.
"So, little girl? You want to pay off his debts?!"
Scarface looked at the noble aura that the man opposite him couldn't hide despite his rough clothes, and another plan came to mind:
"You want to pay off his debts? It's not that simple! See these jade stones on my stall?"
Scarface pointed to the stall in front of him, which was piled with two or three hundred stones of various sizes, each with a very rough surface and many obvious large cracks.
"I originally wanted to do business properly, but he ruined it!"
"Two million isn't enough to pay off his debts!"
"Take all these jade stones in front of me and leave. Twenty million, not a penny less!"
Thank you everyone for your support! (￣3￣) Please add to your favorites and follow along!
Oh, I almost forgot to update! There's one more chapter to add later.
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