Chapter 146: A High-Stakes Gamble

Bidding continued incessantly, with the price reaching two hundred and fifty thousand. The two stone-cutters paused and asked, "Young man, shall we continue cutting, or?"

He Zhixing replied, "Finish cutting it. I want to see the full extent of the jade."

"You got it."

Finally, both pieces of jade were fully unearthed. The bean-green variety was larger, a substantial chunk that could yield eight bracelets and five or six pendants, while the hibiscus variety was slightly smaller. Looking at the exposed jade, a confident smile tugged at the corner of He Zhixing's mouth.

At this moment, someone shouted, "Two hundred and eighty thousand!"

Immediately, another person jumped in to compete: "Pah, what's two hundred and eighty thousand? I offer three hundred thousand."

"Three hundred and five thousand."

When the price hit three hundred and five thousand, no one else increased it; the price had reached its ceiling. The bidder was the procurement manager for a branch of Hengfu Jewelry—a slightly paunchy man in his forties with a buzz cut, dressed quite neatly.

He Zhixing considered it for a moment, deciding that selling his first haul as two pieces was fine, and that he would keep future stones to sell in his own shop. Right then and there, He Zhixing said, "Fine, it's yours for three hundred and five thousand!"

The little manager was thrilled and shook He Zhixing’s hand on the spot. "Thank you, young man. A pleasure doing business with you!"

"Yes, a pleasure."

They processed the transfer at the store’s computer immediately. He Zhixing’s card grew by three hundred and five thousand, and the manager secured the two pieces of jade. The transaction successful, the manager handed He Zhixing a business card and said, "Young man, thank you. This is my card; if you have more jade to sell in the future, don't hesitate to reach out."

The two stone-cutters asked, "Young man, shall we cut the remaining raw stones?"

He Zhixing said, "Not for now. I'll come back later to cut them. I want to go to other shops to do some more sourcing first."

"Understood."

The proprietress added, "No problem at all. Go ahead and source with peace of mind. I’ll keep the pieces you bought here for you, I'll keep an eye on them until you return..."

"Right, thank you, ma'am."

The proprietress replied, "It's nothing, just a small favor."

"Alright, we'll be back shortly."

He Zhixing took the six women to two or three other jade raw stone specialty shops. The shop where he had just purchased ten stones and uncovered the bean-green and hibiscus jade was now packed with people looking to buy stones. The proprietress had already had her staff move the remaining eight stones next to her counter, bagging and securing them. He Zhixing felt quite pleased with her attentive service.

Visiting the other shops, he found them equally crowded, with some people having followed them over from the first store. They recognized He Zhixing and his group. He led the women along, using the small wooden carving to sense the spiritual energy while quietly employing his X-ray vision to peek inside the raw stones. Whenever he sensed spiritual energy, he made a purchase. They worked tirelessly all day, not stopping until three or four in the afternoon, when they hurriedly grabbed some takeout.

He Zhixing had the forty or fifty raw stones he had selected loaded onto a truck, helping to move them himself. The haul cost him twelve million. To his satisfaction, among the stones he had inspected with his X-ray vision, he had selected fifteen or sixteen top-tier pieces: a high-ice variety with a black jade column, an ice-variety red jade, two small pieces of glassy-variety emerald green, a spectacular ice-variety jade with a mix of red, white, and green, and a palm-sized piece of high-ice violet jade. The rest were mostly bean-green, water-variety, hibiscus, and white varieties.

Once the truck was loaded, He Zhixing instructed the driver to head toward the hotel, intending to check out and then drive his own car to escort the stones back to his collection shop or the Nuofeng Fashion company for storage.

As they checked out of the hotel and left Pingzhou, heading toward the provincial capital, the Honda driven by the beautiful Xiao led the way, with He Zhixing’s Toyota following, and the hired truck carrying the raw stones in between. As they exited Pingzhou and reached the main road leading through the outskirts, a large number of vehicles suddenly appeared ahead.

Nine cars, as if acting on a premeditated plan, suddenly blocked their three vehicles, pinning them firmly in the middle of the road!

The beautiful Xiao slammed on the brakes in a panic. Seeing the two cars ahead come to a violent halt, He Zhixing braked quickly as well, asking, "What’s going on?"

Before he could figure it out, several more cars swerved in from the front and rear, immediately surrounding their three vehicles. A group of men dressed like thugs in sunglasses jumped out, surrounding them and their cars like a dumpling wrapper. Each of them carried knives, clubs, or similar weapons, looking utterly ferocious!