Chapter 31

Wu Di gently stroked the smooth, icy surface of the stone and said to the fatty:

"Brother Fatty, if I give you a chance, name your price, and you can keep the stone."

The fatty was startled, moved his gaze away, and smiled bitterly:

"Brother, you're generous, but I don't have the nerve to accept it. Besides, I can't handle this stone. However, I want to take advantage of you. No matter who buys this stone, can you give me a pendant?"

"Brother Fatty, if you throw in a million or two, I won't be too upset. You can keep the stone, and we'll both be happy."

"Are you slapping my face? Since you're not keeping the stone, wait a moment. I'll call a couple of people. I'll make sure you don't lose out on the price."

After making the call, the fatty and Wu Di sat together to drink tea. However, the fatty's eyes kept wandering, occasionally scanning the remaining three stone blocks. Wu Di smiled inwardly. It wasn't that he didn't want to open all the stone blocks, but he couldn't be too ruthless. He still wanted to keep the fatty as a friend.

Yang Yanzi and Chang Liling were examining the jade that had been opened. Yang Yanzi strongly urged Wu Di to keep at least one piece to make jewelry and give it away. Of course, the recipient would definitely include her, the beautiful Yang. Wu Di was unmoved. With the Heavenly Book in hand, would he be satisfied with this icy glass-type spinach green? No, he should keep... no, his uncle should keep a glass-type imperial green.

Yang Yanzi, seeing Wu Di's obvious敷衍 (perfunctory attitude), was so angry that she was fuming, constantly threatening to make Wu Di pay.

Not long after, Liu Feng, who had just left, hurried back in. Before he could even greet anyone, his eyes were drawn to the jade on the stone table, and he shouted:

"Icy glass-type full green!"

Before the words were out of his mouth, he had already rushed over and hugged the two pieces of stone, saying:

"Name your price, little brother!"

"What price? I, Old Liu, haven't arrived yet! Who dares to name a price?"

Liu Chenggong of Qishi Workshop shouted as he rushed in. Soon after, Li Long of Cuishi Workshop and Chen Yanqing of Chen's Jewelry also arrived. The fatty looked around and said:

"Everyone's here, let's start. Little Brother Wu has opened another piece of icy glass-type full green. The quality is probably better than the glass-type in some stores. Take a look."

"Look at what? The stone is still in Old Liu's arms!"

Only now did Li Long notice where the stone was.

"Damn, aren't you ashamed? At least it's an Armani T-shirt!"

Liu Chenggong ignored them and asked:

"Did you open these two pieces after dinner?"

"Yes!"

"Damn, I shouldn't have left! Fatty! What kind of luck do you have in this courtyard? Finish these two pieces first, and I'll open a few stones to get some luck too."

Liu Feng, holding the two pieces of material, was circling around, dodging Li Long's outstretched black hand. Seeing that he couldn't keep both, he reluctantly pushed the smaller piece into Liu Chenggong's arms, hugged the larger piece tightly, and shouted:

"I've given up one piece. If you want to fight, go after Old Liu's piece."

Li Long and Chen Yanqing exchanged glances. They had already seen that the material was good, indeed icy glass-type full green, and could be sold as glass-type after processing. Qian Fatty, watching them fight, said anxiously:

"Be careful with the stones! This isn't a free-for-all. We need to bid, and there are conditions."

"Oh, what conditions?"

"Do you know which stone this material came from?"

"Could it be another stone that no one liked? If so, Fatty, I'll buy out your warehouse later."

"Alas, Brother, you guessed right. Little Brother Wu didn't like my stone blocks and insisted on cutting one. One cut, and two green watermelons popped out."

"Stone blocks?"

Li Long, who knew Qian Fatty the longest, hesitated and looked at the stone table in the courtyard. Turning around, he saw that only three were left and opened his mouth wide.

"Fatty, you mean the ones from back then?"

"That's right. If I had been more determined back then and cut the material into small pieces, even if I didn't win, I wouldn't have ended up so badly!"

"This, this material really came from the stone blocks? That's not scientific! Which of us hasn't admired your past achievements? By the size of the material, it should be very close to the edge, right?"

"The thinnest part is no more than three centimeters! Sigh, that's fate. Actually, I've thought it through. If I had won back then, I would have continued gambling and eventually lost. But whether I would have the courage to start over or the opportunity to do so is uncertain. So I don't regret it. When Little Brother Wu offered me a piece of material, I thought about it and decided not to. Stone players don't touch clear material! Even the finished products in my store are directly imported. Why break the rule for that rotten stone?

However, I made a condition, and Little Brother Wu agreed. Whoever takes these two pieces of material must give me a pendant for free."

"Ha, no problem! Fatty is generous. If you don't touch clear material, let's start. Together or one by one?"

"Let's do them separately, more chances!"

"Okay, let's start with the one in my hand. I'll offer twenty-five million!"

Liu Feng placed the piece of material in his arms on the stone table and named a sky-high price.

The other three looked at each other. Boss Chen said directly:

"I'll wait for the one in Old Liu's arms."

Old Liu was about to tease him but suddenly heard his phone beep. He was about to ignore it, but seeing Li Long discreetly show his phone, he put the material on the stone table, took out his phone, and saw five words: "Collude, you decide." He put away his phone and said:

"If no one objects, let's bid for this piece. This one is a bit smaller than Liu Feng's, but not much. I'll offer twenty-three million!"

Li Long smiled bitterly and said:

"Fatty, you're preparing to ask them for those two pendants, right?"

Liu Feng shook his head and went to look at his own piece of stone. Boss Chen's bid was stuck in his throat. After a fit of coughing, he realized he wasn't welcome, sighed, and left first.

Fatty took out a notebook and had the two handle the transfer. Li Long joined in and transferred eleven and a half million. Only then did Qian Fatty realize they had colluded to squeeze Boss Chen. Liu Feng laughed:

"Fatty, you're not playing fair. Were you afraid we'd offer the wrong price and called Old Chen to back you up?"

Fatty cried out in injustice, and Li Long explained with a bitter smile:

"It's not Fatty's fault. Old Chen was at my place when the call came. Fatty's voice is loud, and when he heard about the good stone, how could Old Chen not come?"

Liu Chenggong nudged Fatty with his hip and laughed:

"Fatty, let's talk about something."

"What?"

Old Liu, ignoring the others' protests, pulled Fatty aside and whispered:

"How about giving me the remaining three stone blocks?"

Fatty rolled his eyes:

"Not for sale!"

"Damn, you're a raw stone seller. If someone wants to buy your stone, why not sell it? Hear my offer first. Two million each, how about it?"

"Not for sale, no matter the price. It's a keepsake, a piece of history, do you understand?"

Liu Feng revealed the truth:

"Fatty hasn't given up and plans to cut them himself! Why are you two so clueless?"

Fatty, under the doubtful gazes of the others, awkwardly clasped his hands:

"Everyone, Fatty's not skilled enough. I plan to resolve the past issue myself. I'll notify you all as soon as I have results. It's getting late, please leave. I'm really sorry today."

"Damn, Fatty, you're not playing fair. I want to watch you open the stone! Are you really kicking us out? Don't push, don't push, I'm holding the stone! I'll leave, I'll leave right away, okay?"

Wu Di and the others also left the stone city. Checking his watch, it was almost six o'clock. Liu Feng came over to say goodbye solemnly, and the others also asked Wu Di for future care. Wu Di smiled bitterly:

"This is really luck. I thought those pieces were just stones, but they were cheap, so I cut them without hesitation. I didn't expect this outcome."

"Luck? I've been in the business for years and have never seen anyone with such good luck! Little Brother Wu, you're a super-lucky guy! Help me pick a stone someday, let me try my luck too."

"Sure, sure, as long as Boss Liu doesn't blame me."

After seeing off the bosses, Wu Di's troubles were just beginning. Yang Yanzi, with her round eyes, counted on her delicate fingers:

"First two million, then fourteen million, then twenty-five million, and finally twenty-three million. Let me calculate, that's a total of sixty-four million! No way, I want to pick a bigger diamond."

"Plus the thirty-three million for the glass-type from the day before yesterday, and the thirty million for the Shitao landscape painting earlier. Xiao Wu, Fourth Brother is so poor."

Wu Di waved his hand grandly:

"Brothers and sisters, recite the magic spell: Uncle Wu is so handsome, then you can state your wishes!"

Zhong Qi lifted her foot to kick, and Wu Di shouted:

"The spell has expired! No chance anymore."

Yang Yanzi waved her small pink fist at Wu Di and said:

"Hmph, dare to tease me... How can I sleep without giving you a good beating? Let's start with Xiang-E-Qing, then soak in Houhai, and tomorrow we'll raid Chow Tai Fook's warehouse!"

"Heroine, beautiful, invincible, graceful, and charming heroine, Great Lady, please spare me this time. I'll repay you in my next life."

"Nice try! Repay me now!"

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