Big Data Cultivation

Chapter 87: Cannot Afford to Lose That Person (Sixth Release for Monthly Votes)

Feng Jun spent forty minutes cutting his hair into a crew cut, another half-hour showering, and then, shouldering a large backpack with green jade inside, and carrying a satchel in hand, he headed straight for Henglong Jewelry Store.

Last time, it was Boss Liang from Henglong Jewelry who had bought the mutton-fat jade seed material for six million.

Feng Jun had Liang Haiqing’s business card, but he didn’t want to call, as that would prepare the other party.

Indeed, he had a good impression of Boss Liang, but these days one can’t judge others by appearance, and to protect one’s wealth, one cannot rely on another’s character.

Henglong Jewelry has five branches in Zhengyang City, with the headquarters adopting a front-store, back-factory model.

Feng Jun didn’ t enter the store and went directly toward the adjacent office building’s staircase.

A security guard called out to him and, upon learning he was looking for Liang Haiqing, of course insisted on knowing if he had an appointment.

When the security guard heard he didn’t have an appointment, he gave him two options, one was to call Boss Liang, so he could send someone down to escort him in, and the other was to register his personal information, which they would then pass on.

Feng Jun didn’t want to fill out his personal information, so he took out his mobile phone and called Liang Haiqing.

Boss Liang’s phone rang for a while with no answer, so Feng Jun waited patiently and dialed again.

This time, the call was directly rejected.

The security guard looked at him with a smirk, his thoughts unreadable.

Feng Jun felt the urge to get angry, but then he thought that Liang Haiqing didn’t have his mobile number, and perhaps didn’t know who he was, so after waiting a while longer, he dialed again.

This time, Liang Haiqing picked up, and an impatient voice came through the handset, “I’m in a meeting, what is it now?”

Upon hearing this, Feng Jun’s temper flared, “Liang Haiqing, if you didn’t want me to call you, why on earth would you give me your business card?”

Liang Haiqing was taken aback on the other end of the line, evidently not expecting such impoliteness from an unknown number, directly calling him by his name and questioning why he had given out his business card.

He looked at his mobile phone; it was indeed just an ordinary number, not only absent from his contacts, but also not some old or special number—had the call been from a bomb’s tail number, he certainly couldn’t have spoken so impolitely, right?

However, he was in business to make money, and after all, he couldn’t compare himself to government officials, so he took a deep breath, “Sorry, this is my personal number, I didn’t save yours, apologies, may I ask who’s calling?”

“I’m the person who sold you the mutton-fat jade seed material,” Feng Jun spoke indifferently, “I’m downstairs in your office right now, and if you appear within five minutes, we can talk business.”

This was not him trying to pull rank or squeeze the other person, but as a supplier with limited resources, it was only right for him to be assertive.

Liang Haiqing instantly remembered the man upon hearing this.

The piece of mutton-fat jade seed material he had bought recently had been thoroughly checked, and without a doubt, Henglong had scored a huge bargain; even without any processing, if sold to peers, it could go for almost eight million.

More importantly, they could stockpile the material, right? Today, people complain that jade prices are being inflated, but they don’t mention the drastically shrinking supplies at the jade mines, with high-quality raw material becoming ever scarcer.

Who even heard of Russian or Korean jade when the Chinese were first getting into Hetian jade?

Why is it even a thing now, if not for the shortage stirring the pot?

Boss Liang still felt enthusiastic about this fellow who had contributed to his performance, although he was slightly displeased with the other’s tone, he still stood up and hurriedly ran down from the second floor meeting room.

Indeed, it was the young man who sold the jade! Boss Liang recognized him at a glance, his appearance and image seemed to have undergone a slight change, but without a doubt, it was him.

On the second look, he noticed the massive backpack on the man’s back, heavy with significance.

Seeing this, the last trace of dissatisfaction in his heart dissipated, and he greeted with a smiling face, “Sorry about earlier, I was in a meeting, the company is facing some minor troubles, I was a bit short… Shall we go up and talk?”

Most times, Feng Jun was affable, and seeing the other party’s proper demeanor, his irritation vanished, he smiled as he said, “This is a jewelry store, and I’m carrying valuables, shall we file a report?”

Liang Haiqing wanted to say that there’s no need, we still trust you, but then he thought, I don’t actually know anything about this guy; otherwise, I wouldn’t have failed to recognize the phone number.

So, he chuckled awkwardly, “Howcould I impose like that? Let’s do this… just getting it on the security camera will do.”

However, when he saw the enormous green jade in the backpack with his own eyes, he couldn’t help but gasp, “My goodness, such a large piece?”

Jade is all about appearance, but size matters as well; the larger the intact stone, the more valuable it is, there’s no doubt about that.

When the two of them arrived at Boss Liang’s third-floor office, within less than two minutes, four or five company executives who had gotten word came rushing over, eager to get a glimpse.

Gathered around the green jade, they inspected it back and forth for over half an hour, until an elder directly asked Feng Jun, “Where are the offcut pieces?” Feng Jun shookhis head, “There aren’t any.”

“How could there be none?” the elder’s voice rose slightly, “How can jade be this perfectly shaped?”

Liang Haiqing saw that his tone was a bit aggressive, and immediately spoke up, “Well… Elder Wu, this is our guest.”

Then he smiled at Feng Jun, “It’s just that our habit is to try to use all the jade material. With such a large piece of jade, if there are offcuts, more matching accessories can be made, offering more choices.”

Feng Jun understood the logic, but he made it clear, “Offcuts are meaningless to me, I have never cared about them.”

That statement was pretty arrogant, even Liang Haiqing couldn’t help but be taken aback, “Could you help by asking around?”

“I can’t,” Feng Jun shookhis head, outright rejecting the idea, “As I said… I’m not interested in offcuts.”

Elder Wu couldn’t help but raise his voice, “But young man… this is really important to us.”

Feng Jun’s mouth twitched, and he casually spit out six words, “I can’t afford such embarrassment.”

In fact, for him, asking those villagers about offcuts wasn’t merely a matter of losing face.

You should know, he bought those stones at a low price. If he were to inquire about the whereabouts of offcuts while buying, wouldn’t that indirectly tell others that the material is valuable? That he made a lot of money?

If he wasn’t making much profit, why would he bother asking about those scraps, right?

However, such talk, when heard by people from Henglong, is too arrogant—so according to you, only full pieces count as jade?

Young man, really don’t show off indiscriminately; that can get you struck by lightning!

At the critical moment, it was still Liang Haiqing who cleared his throat, “This piece of jade… do you plan to sell it to our company?”

After all, this big piece in front of them is the crux of the business; let’s not get off topic, shall we?

Upon hearing this, Feng Jun nodded slightly, “You start with an offer. I am sincere about selling it… and don’t fool me like last time.”

Liang Haiqing’s face reddened at these words and he blurted out defensively, “Last time it was an auction on-site, there’s no question of having fooled you!”

Feng Jun just laughed it off, “I have looked into it, the price you guys offered last time was low.”

Liang Haiqing secretly scoffed to himself, thinking you’re not from our industry; you can’t possibly enjoy the insider treatment.

Of course, he obviously couldn’t respond like that, so he just chuckled awkwardly, “Henglong buys jade to make a profit as well. If there’s no profit, why would we be doing this business?”

Feng Jun agreed with that. But if he could make more, why not? So he lifted his chin, “Make an offer.”

Liang Haiqing pondered for a moment before stating a price, “Two million and five hundred thousand sounds unappealing, let’s say two million and six hundred thousand then.”

Feng Jun looked at him sideways, clearly dissatisfied, “I’m saying, this is a large intact piece!”

“This material… how should I put it?” Liang Haiqing said with a bittersweet smile, “It’s not small and it’s rare in recent years, but it’s not that large either. If it were ten times bigger, I’d dare to buy it for a hundred million.”

If it were ten times bigger, it would be a treasure worth having in any residence, its value immeasurable by money.

But Feng Jun was not satisfied. Glancing sideways at the other party, he reached for his mobile phone, “Is this your final offer? I need to ask my friend.”

“Three million!” a young man spoke up. He had a decisive look on his face and dared to raise the bid over Liang Haiqing’s price at such a moment; there was no doubt he came from a family of prominence.

As he spoke, he looked at Liang Haiqing, “Boss Liang, the father of the head of Wanli is about to celebrate his eightieth birthday, and I’m in need of a suitable gift. I’ll buy this one for myself, and leave the processing to the company, okay?”

Upon hearing this, Liang Haiqing could only chuckle in reply, “What are you saying, Young Master Yuan? If you’re interested, feel free to buy it.”

Young Master Yuan glanced at Feng Jun, slightly lifting his chin, “Then it’s three million, you ask your friend.”

Feng Jun had intended to contact Ye Qingyi, but seeing the other party’s generous offer, he simply waved his hand with a smile, “Young Master Yuan, you’re straightforward, and I won’t be petty. Three million it is… but I have a condition.”

Young Master Yuan nodded slightly, “Hmm, go ahead.”

“I don’t want renminbi,” Feng Jun said with a joking smile, “exchange it for an equivalent amount of gold, can you do that?”

“That’s tough,” Young Master Yuan shookhis head slightly, “Gold is currently three hundred and ten per gram. Calculating at three hundred, three million would be ten kilograms… it’s not easy to arrange for such a large amount.” “You’re joking, right?” Feng Jun laughed, “Gold bars from banks are bought by plenty of ladies by the kilogram, and I haven’t heard of any problems.”

“Bank gold is more than three hundred and thirty,” Young Master Yuan glared at him irritably, “Is the industry price the same as the retail price?”

Feng Jun grew even more puzzled, “You mentioned the industry price, and Henglong is a leader in the industry, is it difficult to gather ten kilograms of gold?”

(The sixth New Year update, hoping friends can subscribe to the genuine version, during double points period, summoning guaranteed monthly tickets.)

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