Chapter 86

Wu Di sat in the Yang family's private plane, caressing the piece of Tianhuang stone in his hand. From the perspective of his left hand, the premium Tianhuang stone inside appeared even more dense, fine, warm, and smooth. That day, in Ma Rulong's warehouse, Wu Di had found another piece of Zhenyang Green old pit glass seed, which he transferred to Old Ma at an extremely low price, in exchange for this stone carving. Old Ma's son, like Wu Di and the others, had gone to Kunming to participate in the Ruili public auction. During the layover in Kunming, a local informant told him that Boss Liu was clearing out his inventory. After seeing this Tianhuang stone carving, he bought it for 800,000 yuan and gave it to the old man. It seemed that Boss Liu's lover had misunderstood the address, mistaking Motuo Street for Molo Street.

With this, the truth was revealed, and Wu Di's trip to Hong Kong could be considered a perfect success.

Zhong Qi took the stone carving from Wu Di and, along with Chang Linlin, studied it repeatedly but found nothing. He asked helplessly:

"Xiao Wu, is there really something wrong with this stone?"

Wu Di took a high-intensity flashlight from his pocket and shone it on the open mouth of the寿星 (Shouxing, a deity of longevity), reminding them:

"Look carefully!"

He then shone the flashlight on another part of the stone carving and asked:

"Is there any difference?"

Zhong Qi and Chang Linlin shook their heads. Old Yang seemed to have noticed something and asked doubtfully:

"It seems a bit off, but it doesn't seem like much. Let me see."

When Wu Di had used his透视 (perspective) earlier, he found the place where the Tianhuang stone was closest to the surface, which was the mouth of the Shouxing. Looking inside the mouth, one could see a tiny piece of Tianhuang stone, smaller than a needle's eye. However, because the color was the same and the exposed part was too small, no one had ever noticed. If the sculptor's hand had trembled slightly, the premium Tianhuang stone would have been revealed long ago.

"There should be a piece of premium Tianhuang stone inside this Tianhuang stone. You can see a bit of it from the mouth of the Shouxing."

Old Yang, who hadn't figured out anything, was about to return the stone carving to Wu Di but, upon hearing this, shone the flashlight on the Shouxing's mouth again.

"From what you say, the light does seem a bit different. I'm old, and my eyesight isn't what it used to be."

He sighed and handed the stone carving back to Zhong Qi. Zhong Qi held the stone, using the high-intensity flashlight, while Chang Linlin used a high-powered magnifying glass to examine it carefully.

"It seems the texture of the stone is a bit different. Take a look."

Zhong Qi, after examining it, put away the magnifying glass, held the stone carving close to his eyes, and said after a while:

"You're a freak, being able to see such a tiny spot!"

Yang Yanzhi snatched the stone away.

"That's why I didn't buy it on the spot, which led to this trip to Hong Kong."

"Yes, the Hong Kong trip. You got the stone and the divine painting, while I just ran around. No way, hand over the old pit glass seed as compensation for my wounded heart!"

Wu Di smiled bitterly and pointed at Chang Linlin, saying weakly:

"Ask her. She already took it yesterday to compensate for her sunburned skin..."

The plane landed at the capital airport, and two black business cars quietly appeared on the tarmac, picking up everyone and heading straight to Old Chang's villa. Zhong Qi and Wu Di were supposed to go home first, but because of the divine painting, they also went along.

The weather in B City was nice but hot. Old Chang arranged for Old Yang and the others and then called Wu Di and the others to the study, pointing at Chang Linlin and sternly said:

"Do you know what trouble you've caused?"

"Trouble? No, I don't think so."

"No? I see you've forgotten the 10 million yuan and the ice seed in Kunming."

"Oh! No, I didn't. I had someone follow them, and they only cashed the check on the last day. They quietly sold the jade, and then I handed it over to my second brother..."

Old Chang looked at Chang Linlin and shook his head:

"Let's just let this go. In the future, if you want to do something, let me know first. Xiao Wu, your jade is gone, and Zhong Xiaosi's money is gone!"

"Why? Isn't the matter resolved?"

Zhong Qi asked, puzzled.

"Resolved? Do you know that following that lead, a deputy provincial official was put under double regulation? This has really hurt some people! A few days ago, a call came from above, saying that taking down a deputy provincial official and confiscating a few tens of millions from you isn't too much. I said, take it! If it's not enough, I'll send more! Hahaha! Listen, it's not that we're afraid of trouble, but to remind you to let me know next time!"

Chang Linlin pouted and hugged the old man's arm.

"Grandpa, I didn't expect it to be so big. It's just a deputy bureau, how did it become a deputy province?"

"Leave that to me! Come, let me see what treasures you got on this trip. You sounded so excited on the phone!"

"Oh! I knew Grandpa was the best! Xiao Wu, let's take the painting to the back garden waterfall and show them!"

Under the waterfall, the rain was like fine silk. Wu Di held the painting on the small bridge for less than five minutes, and the scene changed. The rain was misty, and the umbrella seemed to be open but not quite, creating a unique atmosphere. Old Chang and the two Old Yangs, who had rushed over, stared at the painting in silence for a long time, making Wu Di's arm ache!

After lunch, Zhong Qi and Wu Di returned to the Zhong family, while Old Yang stayed on the mountain, and Chang Linlin took Yang Yanzhi to her parents' house. The group parted ways.

After meeting his godfather and godmother, Oudoudou said that Principal Lu and the others had already left. Wu Di comforted him, promising to take him to Kaoshan Village during the National Day holiday, which made the little guy happy and play with Zhong Qi. School was about to start, and the little guy cherished these few days of freedom.

In the afternoon, Wu Di went to his quadrangle courtyard. The old house had been completely demolished, the foundation was dug, and the back yard houses were half-built. Liu Limin, a disciple of Professor Yang, was on-site supervising the work, wearing a dirty work uniform and sweating profusely, making people feel good.

"Brother Wu, at this rate, you can move into your new house by early September, about half a month earlier than expected."

"Good, if it's half a month earlier, I'll give everyone a 2 million yuan bonus! Let's invite Professor Yang and Uncle Wen for drinks tonight!"

Wu Di, now wealthy, didn't care about the money. Moreover, Wen Yajiu had privately told him that Professor Yang hadn't made much money from this project and wanted to compensate a bit.

Liu Limin excitedly called his mentor, and Wu Di hurried to Panjiayuan, found the fatty, and spent over an hour cutting out the twelve zodiac old pit glass seed that had been air-freighted back. They agreed to find Old Tang the next day to cut, polish, and polish it into a screen. Then he called Wen Yajiu and went drinking with Professor Yang.

Old Tang's residence was also a quadrangle courtyard, but only about 400 square meters, located in Houhai. Wu Di brought the Tianhuang stone carving, as he didn't trust anyone else to cut it and wanted Old Tang to help design it.

Old Tang was walking by Houhai when he saw Wu Di and smiled:

"Xiao Wu, you're a rare guest. What brings you to see this old man?"

Wu Di scratched his head and smiled:

"I've been too busy lately and didn't have time to come. I'll come more often in the future. Hehe."

"Words and actions don't match! Did you find something good? Let me know, I'm not interested in anything but the best!"

"Guaranteed to be the best. Even you, old man, might not have seen it."

"Hmm, such a big talk? I'll have to take a look."

Wu Di smiled and took out the Tianhuang stone carving. Old Tang glanced at it and said:

"Good craftsmanship."

He said no more. Wu Di took out a high-powered magnifying glass and placed it in front of the Shouxing's mouth, saying:

"Old man, take a closer look?"

Old Tang suspiciously took it, examined it carefully, and asked uncertainly:

"Does this part seem a bit different from the rest?"

"Exactly, I suspect it has undergone a mutation, possibly a premium Tianhuang stone!"

"You're obsessed with treasures, aren't you? There are many reasons for this, and I've never heard of Tianhuang stone mutating. This stone carving is still a good piece. Are you going to destroy it just because of this?"

Seeing Wu Di's determined look, Old Tang smiled:

"Alright, I'll be your cutter. If there's no Tianhuang stone, don't come to me again."

"Hehe, you can rest assured. If I wasn't sure, I wouldn't have come to you. That would be asking for trouble."

Tianhuang stone is much softer than jade, and can be cut with ordinary tools. Old Tang carefully used a specialized tool to open the Shouxing's mouth a bit, then examined it with a magnifying glass and said:

"Xiao Wu, your luck is really good. This Tianhuang stone may have undergone a mutation."

The fatty, who had been listening, urged:

"Then cut it open quickly. I've never seen a mutated Tianhuang stone!"

Old Tang glared at him and slowly chiseled from the Shouxing's mouth, using the magnifying glass to check after each cut. After about half an hour, a piece of Tianhuang stone, weighing about 1500 grams, appeared before the three of them.

"Crystal clear, dense, warm, and transparent, with the six virtues of 'fine, dense, smooth, warm, clear, and transparent'! And it's so large, what a good stone!"

The surface of the Tianhuang stone still had some impurities and hadn't been polished, but its beauty was evident, glowing yellow under the studio lights.

"Tianhuang stone is a precious variety of Shoushan stone. Because it has the meanings of '福' (Fujian), '寿' (longevity), '田' (wealth), and '黄' (imperial color), and possesses the six virtues of 'fine, clean, smooth, dense, warm, and clear,' it is called the 'Imperial Stone.' Xiao Wu, what do you plan to do with this stone?"

"I didn't expect it to be so large. I originally planned to carve a seal for my master's birthday, but cutting such a large stone would be a waste. I'll ask Old Tang for help to think of a way."

"Alright, since you're not in a hurry, I'll keep the stone here. This raw stone is worth at least 100 million yuan. I'll think carefully and create another masterpiece for our Northern School."

Wu Di was surprised. He estimated the stone to be worth at most 30 million yuan. How did it become 100 million in Old Tang's mouth?

The fatty laughed:

"Yes, such a large piece of premium Tianhuang stone is rare. After Old Tang's work, its value will be immeasurable, a priceless treasure!"

Old Tang, excited by the prospect, was about to shoo them away, but Wu Di quickly said:

"Wait, I haven't told you the main reason I came today!"