Chapter 80 of 100

Chapter 80

17 min read4,181 words

After arriving at the gemstone street, Liu Xiong's driver, Gu Shi, parked the car nearby. The three of them got out of the car and walked into the gemstone street.

The foot traffic on the gemstone street was too heavy, making it unsuitable for driving. It would easily cause a traffic jam, making it difficult to move even a step.

Moreover, driving would make one miss out on many interesting sights along the way. After the gemstone street opened for business each day, few people would drive in.

This time, Liu Xiong did not choose a gemstone shop at the street entrance but led Su Zhe directly to the most bustling center, with a clear purpose.

Liu Xiong brought Su Zhe to a gemstone shop called Yuxin. This Yuxin gemstone shop not only occupied the most prosperous location on the gemstone street but also had the largest scale among all the gemstone shops on the street.

The overall design of the Yuxin gemstone shop was not much different from other gemstone shops on the street. However, the various finished jade pieces inside looked much more exquisite, and their prices were naturally much higher. Like other gemstone shops, the focus was mainly on raw jade.

Su Zhe and Liu Xiong had no interest in these finished jade pieces, and their purpose this time was not on these jades. Therefore, they did not waste time on them but went directly to the raw stone area of the Yuxin gemstone shop.

The raw stone area of the Yuxin gemstone shop was also quite large, with raw jade stones of all price ranges available.

However, Su Zhe noticed that few people who came to the Yuxin gemstone shop were selecting finished jade pieces. Instead, the raw stone area was crowded with people. Liu Xiong did not go to select raw jade stones as he did last time but led Su Zhe to the center.

When Su Zhe arrived at the center of the raw stone area, he finally understood why so many people were gathered there.

It turned out that the Yuxin gemstone shop was holding a gemstone gambling event. They had selected five pieces of raw jade, displaying their prices and the appraisals of famous gemstone appraisers in front of everyone for viewing and betting.

The Yuxin gemstone shop would eventually open all five pieces of raw jade on the spot, and the one with the highest value would be the winner. The value of the jade would be determined by the joint assessment of five famous appraisers in the gemstone industry.

The original prices of these five pieces of raw jade were not cheap, with the lowest priced one costing 1.5 million yuan and the highest priced one costing 5 million yuan. The Yuxin gemstone shop also sold these five pieces of raw jade. Of course, anyone who bought the raw jade had to agree to the entire process of opening the stone, whether it was a win or a loss, and could only take it away after the results were revealed.

Because the five pieces of raw jade had different appearances and prices, the odds for each piece of raw jade were also different, ranging from high to low.

At the end of each gemstone culture festival, there would be such an event, usually organized by the leading figures in the local gemstone industry. This time, the gemstone culture festival was led by the Yuxin gemstone shop, in collaboration with other powerful gemstone shops.

This was also the reason why Liu Xiong assured Su Zhe that he would not regret coming to gamble on the gemstone. Su Zhe was indeed very interested in such activities.

Therefore, Su Zhe decided to pick a piece of raw jade to gamble on. Anyone who planned to bet could go and observe the raw jade, so Su Zhe and Liu Xiong went to the raw jade area to choose a piece that suited them.

While Su Zhe and Liu Xiong were observing, a man walked over and greeted Liu Xiong.

"Mr. Liu, I didn't expect to meet you here. It's really a coincidence. Who is this?" The man was in his early twenties, with a face like a jade crown, gentle and refined, but with a hint of mischief in his eyes.

"It's Mr. Zheng. This is my friend, Su Zhe. This is Mr. Zheng Yan from the Yuxin Group. This Yuxin gemstone shop is a family business of the Zheng family." Liu Xiong introduced Su Zhe and Zheng Yan with a smile.

"Mr. Liu, I'm flattered. How can the Yuxin Group compare to your group? Mr. Su, it's a pleasure to meet you." Zheng Yan extended his hand to shake Su Zhe's hand.

"Mr. Zheng, I'm also pleased to meet you." Su Zhe also extended his hand. Although Zheng Yan appeared refined and courteous to both Liu Xiong and Su Zhe, Su Zhe sensed a hint of disdain and hostility in his eyes. This feeling was very subtle, easily overlooked, and even Liu Xiong did not notice it.

Su Zhe could somewhat understand Zheng Yan's disdain, as his attire did not make him look like a person of power and influence. It was understandable that someone like Zheng Yan, who looked down on others, would look down on him. However, Su Zhe was puzzled by Zheng Yan's hostility. They had never met before, and there was no conflict between them. Where did the hostility come from?

This left Su Zhe puzzled, and from Zheng Yan's words and actions, he could not detect any hostility. Su Zhe could only assume it was his own over-sensitivity.

After exchanging a few pleasantries with Liu Xiong, Zheng Yan excused himself, saying he did not want to delay their appraisal of the raw jade.

After Zheng Yan left, Liu Xiong introduced the Yuxin Group and Zheng Yan to Su Zhe in detail. The Yuxin Group was once the leading company in the domestic jewelry industry and was also well-known internationally. In recent years, the Yuxin Group had shifted its focus to the pharmaceutical industry.

Zheng Yan was the most promising successor to the Yuxin Group and had been trying to collaborate with the Liu Group recently.

Liu Xiong mentioned that if Su Zhe's Changhua Pharmaceutical Factory developed, it might compete with the Yuxin Group, and Yuxin Pharmaceutical would be one of the biggest competitors to Changhua Pharmaceutical Factory.

This was why Liu Xiong specially introduced Zheng Yan and the Yuxin Group to Su Zhe. As Su Zhe's partner and one of the shareholders of Changhua Pharmaceutical Factory, Liu Xiong felt it was his duty to remind Su Zhe.

Of course, Liu Xiong also told Su Zhe not to worry too much about Zheng Yan for now, as neither Zheng Yan nor the Yuxin Group knew about Liu Xiong's investment in Changhua Pharmaceutical Factory. Even if they did know, it would not cause much of a reaction, as investing tens of millions in the pharmaceutical industry would not create much of a ripple.

It did not make sense for Zheng Yan to have a grudge against Su Zhe because of Changhua Pharmaceutical Factory, as Zheng Yan did not even know about Liu Xiong's investment. It would be even less likely for him to notice an unknown person like Su Zhe. Although someone with a motive could easily find out, no one would investigate this matter without a reason before Changhua Pharmaceutical Factory developed.

Since Su Zhe could not figure it out, he decided not to think about it anymore. Perhaps it was just his own over-sensitivity.

---