Chapter 100

The next day, Wu Di visited Mayor Wang, expressing his heartfelt gratitude for the recent assistance. Mayor Wang had already figured out Wu Di's background and, while marveling at the young man's good fortune, expressed his sincerity even more earnestly. The alliance between the Zhong and Chang families would have a significant impact on his future career advancement!

Wu Di took the evening train back to the capital. As soon as he got off the train, he rushed to his second master brother's office, located at the Deheng Auction Company outside the Second Ring Road. Song Hongyan smiled as soon as he saw him:

"Good kid, in just a few days, you've stirred up the entire jewelry industry in the capital!"

"Is it that serious? I just took over Qi Shao's jewelry business."

"Just took over? Do you know that in the capital, Qi's Pearls and Shen's Jade, known as 'Qi's Pearls and Shen's Jade,' can't even compete with Yu Yuan Jewelry in the high-end market? You not only took over their entire business but also gave it a terrible name, Blue Dream. I think you're just dreaming!"

"Is it that bad? I think it sounds nice."

"Outside, people are saying all sorts of things. They think you're just a proxy for the Zhong family. They lament that one tiger has just left, and another hungry wolf has arrived. If they detect any signs of greed from you, they'll gang up to crush you!"

"Hungry wolf? Can't you come up with a better metaphor?"

"Hungry, as in starving! How could they take a young upstart like you seriously? In fact, Yu Yuan's decline has been evident in recent years. One reason is the limited number of high-end customers, and the other is the constraints in the upstream supply chain. Yu Yuan mainly deals in Hetian jade and jadeite, but the supply of these materials, especially the high-end ones like mutton-fat white jade and old-pit glass-type jadeite, is becoming increasingly tight. You need to plan ahead!"

As if to verify Song Hongyan's words, Hu Zili's call came in at the right moment.

"Boss Wu, are you back in the capital?"

"I'm back."

"I have something important to report. Where are you now?"

"Come to Lan Island outside Chaoyang. I'm with my master brother."

Twenty minutes later, Hu Zili and Shao Yanan arrived together. After greeting them, Song Hongyan left the meeting room to them. Hu Zili got straight to the point.

"Boss Wu..."

Wu Di interrupted him.

"Don't be so formal, just call me Wu Di. You also keep calling me President Wu and Boss Wu, as if I'm exploiting you or something."

"Wu Di, it still doesn't sound right. I'll just call you Boss! Boss, we've analyzed the company's development trends over the years and found a significant issue."

"Upstream supply chain?"

"Surprised? I thought you didn't care about the company at all! There's also the issue with high-end customers."

"My master brother just mentioned that. I think these two issues are actually one. Let's look at the high-end customer problem first. If a customer has already bought our high-end jewelry, would they buy again if something better came along?"

"Eighty percent would!"

"Then it's easy. I know a supplier of old-pit glass-type jadeite. I can get a batch of genuine old-pit glass-type jadeite in the short term. I plan to have Jiang Jialang's team, disciples of the old master Tang, make them. List the requirements for me as soon as possible. I'll also contact Grandmaster Han, the Jade King. If that doesn't work, I'll go see him myself. I should be able to get some good stuff."

"Old-pit glass-type jadeite supplier? How long will it take?"

"One to two weeks. I guarantee the supply will be sufficient. You need to be prepared and use this opportunity to fully launch Blue Dream."

Hu Zili excitedly clapped his hands and said:

"Great, this time I'll show those competitors that they can't underestimate us Blue Dream! Boss, I brought the old-pit glass-type jadeite this time. Here it is."

Wu Di thought for a moment and said:

"Wait a moment, I'll talk to my master brother. We'll go find Jiang Jialang together."

Half an hour later, Wu Di pushed open the door to Old Master Tang's house. The old man was playing chess in the courtyard. Seeing Wu Di, he didn't stand up but smiled.

"Little guy, you're back. What good stuff did you bring this time?"

"Old Master Tang, I wouldn't dare trouble you every time. I'm looking for Brother Jiang Jialang."

"That kid has been avoiding your fourth brother. Checkmate!"

"Huh?"

"Isn't it because of that green light? Jialang hasn't found a solution yet, and Zhong Qi has been pestering him every day. You, on the other hand, keep coming to me!"

Wu Di smiled bitterly. If you came to me every day, would Jialang need to be so dramatic?

"Master, I found a solution for the green light! It's a type of porcelain clay. Using this clay can effectively suppress the spread of fluorescence!"

Jiang Jialang, holding a pair of earrings, rushed into the courtyard. Old Master Tang threw down his chess piece and walked over.

"Indeed, it can control it. Good! But how about the pendant?"

"I have a bold idea, but I need Zhong Qi's agreement to proceed."

"What idea?"

"Carve one end of the pendant to use the jade's natural polarization to control the green light below the neck. I put a small light bulb inside the colorless glass-type jadeite and tested it. It works effectively!"

"Then why not get Zhong Qi over here quickly?"

Jiang Jialang only then noticed Wu Di and was startled.

"Find your fourth brother. He made me use the glass-type jadeite for the experiment, not me!"

"Brother Wolf, I left the piece with you to make, and you took it for an experiment!"

Zhong Qi's voice came from outside the door:

"Jialang, go ahead boldly. Even if you mess it up, Wu Di has more!"

As soon as he entered the courtyard and saw Wu Di glaring, he immediately turned and walked out, muttering a classic line from a movie:

"You can't see me, you can't see me!"

"Zhong Qi, stop right there!"

Zhong Qi slowly turned around and said sheepishly:

"Wu Di, this is all because of my wife. You wouldn't want me to start kneeling on the washboard before I even get married, right?"

"Keep pretending! I'll call your wife right now."

Zhong Qi grabbed Wu Di, saying all sorts of nice things until Wu Di's expression improved.

"It's easy to forgive you, but you need to find ten major clients and sell two hundred million worth of jadeite to pass this test!"

"That's easy. When the goods are ready, just let me know."

"And you, I was planning to take care of your business, but now I've decided. This time, there's no processing fee! Carve this stone according to the requirements, and we'll be even!"

Wu Di didn't let Jiang Jialang off the hook either.

Jiang Jialang looked at the piece of glass-type jadeite and smiled.

"Such a large piece, I can create another masterpiece. No charge, no problem!"

"Carve what they ask for, according to the client's requirements!"

Hearing Hu Zili's list of requirements for bracelets, pendants, and earrings, Jiang Jialang's face fell. These were all low-tech jobs, and he had been tricked again.

He muttered:

"You have a master-level person in your team, but you still come to me..."

Wu Di looked at Shao Yanan in surprise and asked:

"Do we have our own jade carving factory?"

"You didn't know? It's in the reports. It's not really a factory, but a jade carving studio that works with us long-term. Master Wang Tianming is a southern master, just as famous as Master Jiang."

Wu Di slapped his forehead, almost making a mistake. This would keep him busy. He opened the box Old Master Tang had given him, which contained the small decorations he had carved from the colorless glass-type jadeite last time.

He asked Shao Yanan to take some away and said:

"Settle these at the purchase price and transfer the payment to my personal account. There's also an old-pit glass-type jadeite piece. I'll contact you when I get it, and you can find Master Wang to carve it."

Seeing it was not yet noon, Wu Di searched Zhong Qi's pocket for the keys to his X5 and drove straight to Fat Man Daxing's warehouse. It was too tiring to come so far each time. Once the quadrangle courtyard was built, it would be much more convenient. Where should he take the stone this time? If he found another piece of glass-type jadeite, anyone would suspect something!

Just as he was thinking, his phone rang. It was Liu Limin from the quadrangle courtyard.

"President Wu, did you order some equipment, like a stone-cutting machine and grinding wheels?"

"Yes, has it arrived?"

"It has. I had them unload it, and the garage is ready to use."

"But shouldn't trucks not be allowed in the city during the day?"

"Hehe, you don't know about permits? You're really rich. The equipment was shipped urgently."

Wu Di remembered that after cutting the stone at Fat Man's place, he felt it was too unsafe, so he ordered a stone-cutting machine and a batch of grinding wheels urgently, paying a lot for expedited shipping and transportation. Now that it had arrived, it would come in handy.

Wu Di instructed Liu Limin to install the stone-cutting machine in the garage's partition and drove to Daxing, feeling light-hearted and humming a song.

This time, he brought a piece of full-green ice glass-type jadeite and a piece of old-pit glass-type jadeite with floating flowers. The materials were not large, and the total weight of the jadeite would not exceed five kilograms, but with the piece Jiang Jialang had, it would be enough to sell until the Spring Festival.

Looking at the pile of stones, he casually picked up a few and put them in the car. The construction site was manned day and night, so he wasn't worried about losing anything.

It had been a few days since he last visited, and the quadrangle courtyard was almost complete. The remaining work was painting the wood, interior decoration, and landscaping. Several construction teams were working simultaneously, and it would be finished in about ten days, as Professor Yang had estimated.

Wu Di followed Liu Limin around with great interest, moving his master bedroom to the middle courtyard because the back courtyard was too close to the wall and had poor lighting. The garage was next to the main gate, with two sliding iron doors disguised as a wall. The partition for stone cutting was also ready.

Wu Di parked the car in the garage and started cutting the full-green ice glass-type jadeite. The new machine was a bit unfamiliar, and he almost damaged the jadeite, making him even more cautious. He worked until around four in the afternoon, finally cutting out a complete flat, round piece of jadeite. Looking at the piece of old-pit glass-type jadeite with floating flowers, he decided not to torture himself and went home to change and eat. After a day of hard work, he was almost starving. At that moment, the music of "Living for You" played, and he received a call. Wu Di thought it was probably Zhong Qi, but when he lazily checked, his spirits lifted—it was Meng Yao!