At this moment, seeing many security guards rushing towards the open-cut jade area, I guessed something must have broken out there. I said to Jing Lei, "Let's go, let's cut the stones first."
Jing Lei replied, "Don't you want to go and see what's happening over there?"
I said, "It's not like they're killing or setting fires. As long as they stop the customers from transacting, the objective is achieved. Nothing serious will happen. Besides, our appearance there would make us the prime suspects, so it's better to stay away."
Jing Lei nodded and said, "Alright, let's go. I'll see if your eyesight is as good as you say, if 'where there is python, there is color'."
I said, "There will definitely be color, but I'm worried if it will be broken. I'm betting on full green, otherwise, tens of thousands of dollars will go down the drain."
As Jing Lei and I were preparing to go to where the stones were being cut, a familiar voice called out from beside us, "Oh my, isn't this Mr. Li? What brings you to my place to play with stones with such leisure?"
I recognized who it was as soon as I heard it. I turned to look at him and said, "I originally had no time, but since you went back on your word and didn't keep your promise, I naturally have to come and support you, and also see what kind of merchandise you have here."
Crown Prince appraised the rough stones in the basket I was carrying and said sarcastically, "When have I, Crown Prince, ever followed the rules? Would I keep that damn agreement? I prepared so much merchandise, should I just pile it up at home and look at it for fun? What, have you found some good stuff? All the items here are carefully selected high-quality goods, unlike you, cobbling together some trash to fool people."
As he spoke, he leaned closer to examine the rough stones in my hand and said, "What, you're taking them to be cut? Don't bother cutting them. Do you still need to open a window to see your eyesight? I'll buy them. How about I give you five times the price?"
He then asked the counter, and the counter reported the price to him. He said, "Let's just make it a lump sum, fifty thousand yuan for me."
I said, "The most shameless person in the world is you. I wouldn't give them to you even if I was cutting a brick. Move aside, don't block my way."
His two followers saw me speaking like this and were about to rush forward. Crown Prince stopped them and said, "Alright, I'll accompany you to cut them. Then I'll see your eyesight, whether you are as legendary as 'never losing a bet'."
I suddenly changed my mind. I couldn't cut them here. If they weren't cuttable, it would mean my eyesight was bad, and I would be publicly embarrassed. If they were cuttable, it would indirectly promote him, and I would become his accomplice.
I said, "Who told you I was going to cut stones? I'm swamped there, do I have time to waste here with you?"
Crown Prince: "Not cutting the jade you bet on doesn't make sense, does it?"
I said, "Does it make sense or not, is that your business? I'll take them back and display them as uncut rough stones, can you control that?"
Crown Prince: "You said it yourself. I'll bet on your stone tomorrow and see if it really has any value!"
I said, "You're welcome, but tomorrow it won't be ten or eight times, it will be eighty times! Five million, do you dare to bet? It's a blind stone, I guarantee it won't be opened."
Crown Prince: "You have guts. As long as you dare to set the price, I dare to bet!"
I said, "You said yourself you never follow the rules, so I'll just consider that you've spoken nonsense. Whether you bet tomorrow or not is up to you, but I'm setting this price!"
Crown Prince: "Then I'll follow the rules just once. See you tomorrow!"
Since he said he would follow the rules this time, I believe he will definitely come tomorrow. However, whether he comes as a friend or foe remains to be seen.
At that time, I will have to be extremely cautious to prevent him from playing any dirty tricks.
He won't let us have everything our way. As for how he will act, we can only counter his moves as they come, and act according to the situation.
I took Jing Lei's hand and walked outside. We left this place to Wen Siqiang to handle; we still have many things to do.
Jing Lei followed me out. At the security check at the entrance, the guards checked our receipts before letting us pass.
After getting into the car outside, Jing Lei asked me, "Are you really going to set the price at 5 million?"
I said, "Yes, if I don't cut them, I'll set them at that price. Even if he doesn't take them, we won't lose anything, and we can always cut them ourselves later. However, if he does take them, I hope he loses money, as the chances of a black wusha variant are very high."
Jing Lei: "So you didn't have absolute certainty either. You analyzed it so thoroughly, I thought you were nine-tenths sure."
I said, "How is that possible? Until the last cut, no one knows what's under the skin. Don't you know the saying, 'Even immortals cannot judge the value of jade'? If even immortals cannot make a definitive judgment, how can I be nine-tenths sure? Having a thirty to forty percent chance is already very good."
Jing Lei hummed in agreement. I continued, "Many of my judgments are still theoretical and need to be verified by practice. Although I can find characteristics like color, texture, and clarity, it doesn't mean it will always be accurate. Even textbooks don't dare to be so definitive, they only point out the high probability."
We returned to the winery and handed the rough stones to Master Zhang. I asked him to re-label them and put them in the cabinet, and told him to display them in a prominent position tomorrow, as I had a use for them.
The two of us went upstairs to find Brother Bao and Lan Ya.
Lan Ya was in my office, busy registering the original stone numbers with the staff and inputting prices, then re-checking them.
I asked Jing Lei to help her, while I went to Brother Bao's office to report on the situation with Crown Prince.
Brother Bao was on the phone. Seeing me enter, he gestured for me to sit down and then pointed to the phone with his finger.
I nodded and sat on the sofa beside him.
He hung up the phone and told me, "Qing Ge just called and said his people were causing trouble over there. Most of the open-cut jade wasn't sold. Although Crown Prince was involved, they were only arguing during the bidding and didn't get into physical altercations, so there wasn't a major conflict."
I said, "I just came back from there. The general situation is similar to what Qing Ge described. There wasn't a major conflict, just verbal arguments."
Brother Bao: "He has intercepted most of the customers from Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou. If the transaction volume there had been too large today, he would have taken away half of our territory."
I said, "There will still be transactions, after all, profit is human nature. Let's hope they can stop some of them."
Brother Bao: "The matter of Crown Prince Kang needs to be dealt with quickly, otherwise, the future consequences will be endless."
I said, "Tomorrow is our grand opening. I estimate he will definitely give us a big gift."
Brother Bao: "I'll have Da Kui keep a close eye on the surroundings. You are responsible for dealing with him. As long as he knows that this group of people is related to us, the big gift tomorrow will be indispensable."
I said, "Understood. I'll go and check the preparations again."
I went downstairs. It was already 3:30 PM, and there were only a little over ten hours left before the grand opening.
Just then, my phone rang. It was Wen Siqiang. He said that Qing Ge's people had clashed with Crown Prince's security guards and smashed his trading desk. The merchants from Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, seeing that the place was unsafe, had already left and returned to their hotels.
I asked him about Qing Ge's people. He said they were still demanding an explanation from Crown Prince, accusing him of insider trading and secret operations, and were still arguing.
I told them to try and stall for more time to ensure his transactions were completely shut down.
Wen Siqiang said he understood and asked me to wait for his news.