It was another beautiful morning, and Guo Xuyang shook his throbbing, bald head, silently vowing not to drink like this again, lest he truly turn into a beast. The hangover from the past two days had taken its toll. He wondered if his abilities had a hangover-curing function.
"Yu'er, are you there?" Guo Xuyang asked.
"Yes, Master. What are your orders?" Xiao Yu'er's soft voice echoed in his ear.
"Do the abilities have a hangover-curing function?"
"Yes, Master. You can exchange for it using merit points."
Merit points again. Abilities were such a money pit. Without money, one could barely move a step.
"Exchange for the hangover-curing ability," Guo Xuyang muttered.
"Ding... Congratulations, Master, on successfully exchanging for the detoxification ability. Master is now at novice level for detoxification. Each level increase requires one thousand merit points, with a maximum of nine levels. Level nine can detoxify all poisons in the world."
Guo Xuyang was a bit bewildered. He had wanted a hangover-curing ability, but the system had directly exchanged it for a detoxification ability. Still, it made sense. Anything detrimental to the body could be considered a poison. This was amazing! From now on, he wouldn't have to fear poisoning from chemicals like Paraquat, potassium cyanide, or thallium. He couldn't help but feel a secret surge of joy.
Dinglingling, the phone rang.
"Hello, this is Lin Zixuan. The loan has been processed. When can I pick up the keys?"
"Lin Zixuan? Lin Zixuan? Hello, hello! My memory! I apologize. I'm in the provincial capital right now. I had a bit of an incident a few days ago and was just discharged from the hospital. I'm planning to head back these days. I'll call you then." Guo Xuyang genuinely couldn't recall who Lin Zixuan was when he received the call.
Indeed, ever since he had handled Lin Zixuan's business and followed Xiao Yun to the provincial capital, so many unbelievable things had happened that he had completely forgotten about it.
After all, Lin Zixuan was his only client in the past three months, so he had to give the man some kind of explanation.
How to get back? Didn't he have a free driver? Guo Xuyang mused as he picked up the phone.
"Why haven't you come to say good morning today, Xiao Yunzi?"
"You lazy pig, finally awake? I just wanted you to sleep in a bit longer. Do you think everyone is as idle as you are?" Xiao Yun retorted fiercely when she answered the phone. "I'm busy at the 4S dealership right now, what's up?"
Heh, you had to admit, this girl was really dedicated.
"Well, our work there hasn't been handed over yet. When are you planning to go back for the handover?"
"I have nothing to hand over. All my clients settled their accounts in one go. They pay, get the keys, and I get my commission. I don't owe the company anything, and the company doesn't owe me. I've already called the manager. This old lady has resigned! Hahaha. No more harassment from that lecherous old man." Xiao Yun ranted on the phone.
She felt so good, anyone would be happy to escape from a lecherous old man who constantly lusted after them.
"Then prepare a car for me. I need to go back. The client I signed before coming with you called, asking for the keys," Guo Xuyang said. "An SUV, top-of-the-line configuration. Can you have it ready for me this afternoon?"
"There is one ready here, but it's been reserved by a client."
"Then let's forget about it. Integrity comes first. Did the other party say when they would pick up the car?"
"They didn't say. Should I give them a call?"
"Alright, then, please arrange it as soon as possible. If the client isn't in a hurry, give this one to me first. You rush the manufacturer to ship it. Call me when it's done."
"Okay, no problem," Xiao Yun agreed and hung up.
Before he could put down his phone, another call came in.
"Brother, the old man woke up this morning and just managed to get out of bed to drink a little porridge. He even asked me how he ended up staying at my place. It looks like he truly doesn't remember anything." Cheng Xiuping sounded both excited and emotional on the phone.
"The less he remembers, the better, to avoid any psychological trauma," Guo Xuyang said. "In that case, President Cheng, I plan to return today. Junyue Lai Hotel doesn't have a manager right now. Do you have any suitable candidates you could recommend? Also, although all these properties have been given to me, I'm still a hands-off owner. I don't have the energy to manage them. I'll need your help to look after things."
Well, this was a typical case of taking the money and not doing any work.
"No problem, brother. These industries are all relatively mature and have established operating models. I rarely get involved. Most of my energy is focused on expanding the real estate business. I'll give them a stern talking-to later so they don't get too big for their britches."
Cheng Xiuping was a sharp man, how could he not understand Guo Xuyang's intentions? He quickly agreed.
"Thank you, President Cheng. For the old man, he only needs a normal diet. No need for special tonics. He'll recover completely after some time," Guo Xuyang reassured Cheng Xiuping.
"Thank you, brother. How about we have lunch together today?"
"You focus on your work. I have to leave in the afternoon. We'll catch up another day," Guo Xuyang declined.
After hanging up, he remembered the raw stones he had bought yesterday hadn't been cut yet. He decided to go to the Jinbaolai Jade Store to have them cut and converted into cash.
"President Wu, where are you?" he asked, picking up his phone and dialing.
"Brother, I'm at the Jade Street. There's a top-quality piece here, come over!"
"Okay, I'll be right there. Send me your location."
"No problem, I'll wait for you."
Guo Xuyang hung up the phone, went downstairs, hailed a taxi, and headed straight for Jade Street.
"Brother, over here!" As soon as Guo Xuyang got out of the car, he saw Wu Youzhi waving at him.
"What's going on?" Guo Xuyang followed Wu Youzhi into a shop. The place was packed with people.
"Five hundred million, anyone higher?" someone shouted hoarsely.
"Five hundred and thirty million," an old man bid.
"Five hundred and thirty million, now five hundred and thirty million, anyone else? This piece of jade is a once-in-a-millennium find, naturally formed, even better than what a renowned master would carve." The presenter was selling it enthusiastically. "No more bids, excellent. Sir, this jade is yours. Please proceed with the transfer."
"What's happening?" Guo Xuyang was completely confused.
"This piece of jade was just cut. Look, doesn't it resemble Sun Wukong in his battle armor?" Wu Youzhi gestured for Guo Xuyang to look at the jade in the presenter's hand.
It truly did resemble him. However, it didn't look like that right after being cut. The signs of artificial carving were obvious.
Perhaps it had been polished during the extraction process.
He then looked at the pile of broken stones on the ground.
Hmm, stone cutting could be played like this.
The jade was genuine, and the carved figure was very lifelike. If it were placed in a specialty store under normal circumstances, this ornamental piece would fetch at most a hundred million.
However, after this group's manipulation, the price had not only multiplied several times over, but people were also willingly parting with their money.