Chapter 77

After a round of polite exchanges, Boss Ji personally escorted Wu Di to the neighboring Hebao stall. When Wu Di wasn't paying attention, he gave a reassuring nod to General Manager Song, who had hurriedly come out. General Manager Song warmly shook Wu Di's right hand vigorously, almost making Wu Di think he was a gay man!

Just as he was about to select the stones, Wu Di suddenly turned to Boss Ji and said:

"Boss Ji, could you also help us call a car? I'll need it to transport everything later."

"Hehe, little brother, don't worry about that. When you get the rough stones you've won, I'll send them all for you. I still have a bit of authority in this matter."

"Ah, then I should leave the shipping fee for you. But let's calculate it all together after I've bought everything."

"Little brother, are you trying to embarrass your big brother? Even if I agree, General Manager Song and General Manager Wang won't. Let's just settle it this way. You haven't bought any rough stones, right? Give me the invitation card, and I'll have someone bring the rough stones you've won. You can settle the bill with General Manager Wang later!"

General Manager Song nodded vigorously beside him.

"Thank you so much! That hall is really not a place for humans, it's noisier than a place with five hundred ducks!"

Wu Di secretly regretted it. What a good person, he should have returned one of the three ice-type stones. What, you want to return the old pit glass-type? Your brain must have turned into glass-type!

The two general managers personally accompanied him in selecting the stones. After a while, General Manager Song stopped paying attention and started chatting with Boss Ji. This session's public auction, in general, had similar quality to the previous one, but from the current statistics, the prices were more than 40% higher. The current top bidder was already worth over 100 million! Wu Di was secretly amazed. He had almost seen all the stones and hadn't found any with the potential to exceed 80 million!

After a while, Wu Di had made his selections. This time he wasn't as ruthless, leaving the two smallest morganite stones for Old Song. But he regretted it when it came time to pay. The goods in their warehouse were sold by the ton, so there was no need for him to show mercy.

In total, he selected eleven stones: one old pit glass-type, colorless; two ice glass-type, with a green color that was somewhat dark, between oil-green and melon-green.

Wu Di secretly thought,

"There's really a lot of good stuff. Looks like I'll have to visit the three major families more often."

He transferred 8 million and headed straight to General Manager Wang's gambling stall, no, rough stone stall.

General Manager Wang was already waiting at the door with a smile. As soon as he saw Wu Di, he congratulated him:

"Brother, you bid on 72 stones and won 22. You're a real expert, look at how well you controlled the prices."

Wu Di calculated that he should have won a few more with the windowed ones. This kid was talking without feeling the strain. If he didn't have the Heavenly Book to help, let him try to win two? He'd probably lose a fortune!

"Thank you, General Manager Wang. How much in total? I'll pay after I buy the stones."

"Alright, go inside and pick. Give me the order slips from the other ten stalls, and I'll have them delivered. After you've seen them, you can directly arrange the shipping."

General Manager Wang had already received information from his two old friends. This young man with a significant background was just randomly selecting, not really paying attention. It was better to send him away early. Didn't you notice that no one was cutting stones now? Each store had quite a few stones waiting to be cut!

Three ice glass-type stones, none of them ice-type. Wu Di was puzzled. Could it be that the masters at Hengchang only recognized ice-type?

In total, nine stones, 11 million. Adding the 22 stones he had won, 13 million. Wu Di spent a total of 24 million.

After the transfer, the shipping company's truck arrived. The rough stones Wu Di had won were already transported, plus the rough stones from the other ten stalls, filling a large truck. Wu Di spent a total of 58.6 million! This kid was muttering about cabbages while waving to have them loaded directly, fully showing his trust in General Managers Wang, Song, and Ji. In fact, it was a waste of time for him to look, as he had already seen inside the stones when selecting them, so he didn't know what the outside looked like or what features they had.

After all the fuss, he looked at his watch and saw it was already past 3 PM. He hadn't eaten yet and felt a bit exhausted. He sat in General Manager Wang's store for a while, and Wang arranged for the canteen to make a special meal for them. After eating, he felt a bit better.

There was something at the public auction, and Old Wang hurriedly left. Song Hongyan said:

"Little Wu, this is your first time, and Zhong Qi, you didn't know either? The stones here are always the ones that no one has wanted for years. Why did you pick so many? Just for show. Besides, if the three major families join to spread rumors, who wouldn't give them face?"

Wu Di laughed:

"Second Master, did you forget? I have special abilities. The stones I picked are definitely fine!"

"Next, it's about you. Playing is fine, but be mindful of the impact. You still need to make a living in the antiques industry. If you give people the impression of being unstable, your future will be harder."

Zhu Bajie, no, Second Master, was right. Wu Di could only humbly accept the advice.

The group sat for a while, but General Manager Wang hadn't returned. Wu Di asked a helper to pass on a message and then got up to leave. Just as he reached the entrance of the commercial area, he was stopped by General Manager Wang, who insisted he stay a bit longer. After a while, General Manager Wang reluctantly let them go.

This public auction's overall prices were nearly 50% higher than last year, partly due to market reasons, but also thanks to these young men! Not to mention, the market merchants had completely refreshed their stock, and many stones that no one wanted before were now being snatched at high prices, all thanks to these young men! Yesterday, he heard a rumor that after the public auction, he might be transferred to Guangzhou. Heaven, finally, he could leave this godforsaken place! You think he wouldn't be reluctant to let his lucky star go?

Back at the hotel, Wu Di fell asleep immediately. When he woke up, the sky was full of stars. He quietly felt that the Heavenly Book's energy seemed a bit depleted, and he was secretly on guard. He still had to go to Myanmar for the public auction, so he needed to prepare well before going!

Wu Di lay in bed, carefully recalling the gains from the public auction: 2 old pit glass-type stones, 1 from Hengchang, 1 from Hebao, and 1 from the seventh stall, totaling 5. 1 ice glass-type from the public auction, 2 from the ninth stall, 1 from the seventh stall, 2 from Hebao, and 3 from Hengchang, totaling 9. At least 15 ice-type stones, and the remaining golden thread and morganite stones totaled about 50 to 60! Heaven! This public auction was like a cash machine for Wu Di! Including the gains from the hotel gambling and the hometown gambling, Wu Di didn't know how to describe it. To put it in the most cliché way, his net worth should be around 2 billion, possibly even more!

Zhong Qilin came and went without disturbing Wu Di, just drinking heavily with Zhong Qi, who was now lying on the bed like a dead pig!

The fat man won a bunch of small rough stones, spending over 100,000, which was nothing to him. But he was also heavily drunk, and you could hear his snoring through the door. Song Hongyan, being older, was also taken down by the disrespectful Zhong Qilin. Chang Linlin, being a girl, escaped unscathed, but she had caused the Zhong brothers to lose face.

This was the situation that Luo Quan reported to Wu Di, scaring him into a cold sweat.

"Was it just the big brother?"

"Just him, he drank over two liters of white wine, didn't even stagger. Before leaving, he said he had something to ask you and would come back tomorrow to make sure you drink well."

"Are you sure you didn't make up the last part? Really, you didn't make it up? Luo Quan, you have many friends, can you find a minivan? We'll carry them all onto the car and leave tonight. What? Can't find one in the whole city? Oh, I'm still a bit dizzy, I guess I'm still exhausted. Don't call me for meals tomorrow..."

The next day, the group woke up at noon, still a bit groggy. They had booked flights from Baoshan to Kunming for the next day, so they had to leave in the afternoon. Fortunately, Wu Di and Luo Quan were in good spirits and could drive. While having lunch, Zhong Qilin came in, and Wu Di was so scared he didn't dare to greet him, but he came looking for him.

"Little Wu, big brother has a favor to ask."

"Anything but drinking, I'll do it!"

Wu Di wasn't a Communist Party member; if he were, he might be a traitor.

Zhong Qilin's face was a mix of sorrow and helplessness. He said in a deep voice:

"A few days ago, we caught a group of Wild Wolves at their third contact point. We killed twelve on the spot and captured five. However, Sparrow and Machine Cat, taking advantage of Fox's inattention, shot the five captives and were later brought to a military court."

"Ah? What happened then?"

"The court was lenient. They were expelled from the party and the military and sentenced to three months of labor reform! They are from the countryside, with poor family backgrounds, and have only learned to kill. I'm worried they won't be able to live after they get out. You have a big house, right? How about letting them be your security guards?"

"Wow, what a great deal! That's fantastic!"

Wu Di almost jumped up. This was like getting a pillow when you're sleepy! But then he thought and asked worriedly:

"Does Fourth Brother know? They're so close, won't he come and take them?"

"He can't take them. It's the old man's idea. He said you need your own team. By the way, they've seen a lot of blood. Are you afraid?"

"Scared of what! Of course, the stronger the better! Big brother, you're giving me two strong men for free. I'll treat you to a drink... uh, forget the drink, let's do something else."

"Ha ha ha, remember, you owe me a drink. I'll collect when I get back to the capital!"

"Clearly, you're the one asking for help, right?"

"But now the roles are reversed!"

"Clearly, it's an internal conflict, right?"

"No fathers or sons at the dinner table!"

"Father and son fight together on the battlefield!"

"Get lost, look at you. Isn't it just a drink? If you don't, I'll call the old man and send you to the military camp for half a year..."

"Ah, big brother, my dear big brother, isn't it just a drink? What do you want to drink, Hengshui Laobai or Erguotou? In my current state, even industrial alcohol, I can drink two liters!"

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