"I told you, it told me itself,"
Qin Xuan touched his nose and spoke the truth, but how could Xiao Ya believe such a truth?
"Get out of here, it's always the same story."
Xiao Ya rolled her eyes and led Qin Xuan into the jade carving studio.
The studio was spacious, with individual workstations for many carvers, as well as an extra-large platform.
This platform was specifically for handling large jade stones, and the rough stone Qin Xuan had sent over was now stripped of its skin and placed intact upon it.
"This piece of jade is a top-grade dual-colored jade. The yellow jade below, about ten centimeters deep, is close to glutinous ice, while the colorless jade above, sixty centimeters deep, is directly high ice in terms of texture and clarity."
"The two types of jade are clearly distinct, with a sharp boundary."
"This piece of material alone is enough to serve as a birthday gift."
Although it wasn't the first time she had seen it, Xiao Ya's heart was still a little unsettled.
She had seen a lot of jade, but she had rarely encountered such a special piece.
Especially with such a clear boundary between the two types of jade.
If one didn't look closely, they might even think the two types of jade were artificially joined.
Qin Xuan nodded, "After all, it's Zi An's grandfather's birthday. We certainly can't let him lose face."
Xiao Ya sighed, "Indeed."
"Who would have thought that the timid little translator Hu Zi An, would be a young master from a prominent family."
"Hey, you don't think he's from that Hu family in the southwest, do you?"
"Which one?"
"Hu Hao?"
Qin Xuan was stunned, thinking, "Could it be such a coincidence?"
He casually found a brother, only for him to be from the same family as his enemy?
As they spoke, Qiu Qinglin, Shang Ya's most famous master carver, walked in from outside.
He first greeted Xiao Ya, then directly asked Qin Xuan, "How do you plan to work with this material?"
Qin Xuan didn't hesitate and directly stated his answer, "I want to create a Longevity Guanyin."
Longevity Guanyin is the sixteenth of the thirty-three manifestations of Guanyin.
Upon appearing, she can help all beings overcome disasters and extend their lifespan.
After Hu Zi An told him the story between his grandfather and Guanyin, this was the first image that came to his mind.
Moreover, it was Hu Zi An's grandfather's birthday, and Longevity Guanyin had the auspicious meaning of extending life.
It was the best possible birthday gift.
Qiu Qinglin, as expected of a master in the jade carving industry,
Upon hearing that Qin Xuan wanted to carve a Longevity Guanyin statue, he immediately picked up paper and pen.
In just a few minutes, he drew a lifelike statue of Longevity Guanyin.
In the image, Guanyin sat cross-legged on a rugged rock.
Eighteen arms were spread out at her sides.
In her hands, she held eighteen treasures such as a pearl, a sword, a golden wheel, and a vajra.
The remaining two arms were placed in front of her, with her left and right hands forming a fist seal and a fearless mudra respectively.
This was the standard depiction of Longevity Guanyin in Buddhism.
"Good!"
"Exactly like this!"
"This drawing is exactly as I imagined."
"As long as it's what you want," Qiu Qinglin said calmly, "but this will be a significant undertaking. I estimate the completion time to be around six months."
Around six months?
So long?
Qin Xuan was taken aback.
He had initially thought that even large carvings wouldn't take too long, perhaps three months at most.
He hadn't expected Qiu Qinglin to say six months, which was really cutting it too close.
"Teacher Qiu, could you possibly speed up the progress?"
"To be frank, the elder's birthday is in four and a half months, and we plan to deliver this Guanyin statue on his birthday."
Qiu Qinglin was silent for a moment, then nodded gently.
"I understand. Now, please leave. I need to concentrate on carving."
"For the next four and a half months, do not disturb me for any reason."
With a bang of the door closing, Qin Xuan gave an awkward smile, "Masters are masters. Everything they do is different from ordinary people."
Xiao Ya curled her lips and said proudly, "What did you expect?"
"Teacher Qiu is one of the top masters in the jade carving industry."
"But it took me a lot of effort to get him to agree!"
...
After arranging the matters of the jewelry company, Qin Xuan and Xiao Ya left the Guojin Center together.
After about a 20-minute drive, they arrived at the old place mentioned by Li Yunlong, the Couple's Kitchen.
This was a restaurant run by a young couple in their nineties, specializing in home-style dishes.
Because it was close to Hulai Network and the food suited everyone's taste, Qin Xuan and his colleagues often came here for dinner after work.
It was Sunday, and the restaurant was quite crowded.
Qin Xuan led Xiao Ya to the door of the private room they had reserved.
Just as he was about to open the door, he heard Li Yunlong, known for his temper, cursing loudly inside.
What was going on?
Qin Xuan hurried to push the door open and was surprised to see a woman standing arrogantly at the entrance.
It was Liu Ying.
"What's going on here?"
Qin Xuan frowned.
Upon seeing Qin Xuan, Zhu Sheng and the others quickly stood up, "CEO Qin."
"We were discussing the company's future development in the private room when Liu Ying overheard us, and then she came in..."
"To scold us!" Liu Ying rudely interrupted Zhu Sheng, then looked at Qin Xuan outside the door with a sideways glance.
"Heh, Qin Xuan, you really put on quite a show!"
"CEO Qin?"
"You don't really think you can oppose Mr. Hu just because you have a little money, do you?"
"Please, go take a look at yourself in the mirror!"
"You're just a good-for-nothing, and you think you can lead a bunch of other good-for-nothings to make a splash?"
*Slap!*
Before Liu Ying could finish speaking, a loud slap landed on her face.
The person who struck her was a beautiful woman she didn't recognize, and her aura was far more powerful than her own. httpδ:/m.kuAisugg.nět
"You, you dare to hit me?"
"Do you know who I am..."
*Slap!*
Without waiting for Liu Ying to finish, Xiao Ya raised her hand and slapped her again.
"You dare to insult the man of Xiao Ya?"
"You have two choices."
"Either kneel down and apologize to my man, or I'll beat your mouth until you can't speak anymore!"
Xiao Ya's voice was like the cold wind of December, chilling Liu Ying to the bone.
She covered her red and swollen face, tears streaming down uncontrollably, but throughout it all, she dared not say another word.
"I told you to apologize, don't you understand?"
Seeing this, Xiao Ya's voice grew even colder.
Liu Ying trembled in fear, then quickly knelt before Qin Xuan with a *plop*.
"Qin Xuan, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!"
"It was my mouth that was foul!"
"I am the useless one!"
"Please, just let me go like a fart, I promise, I promise I won't bother you again!"
"Please, please!"
Liu Ying kept apologizing, afraid that if she was too slow, she would be hit again.