Chapter 38: You Can Ask Someone Else

Chapter 38: You Can Ask Someone Else

Early the next morning, Ling Yi received a call from Old Lin. Old Lin said the other party had already arrived.

This speed, even in these times of convenient transportation, made Ling Yi silently admit he was impressed.

Arriving at the agreed-upon place, the other party took out another piece. This time, the Enchantress did not say anything more.

During the bargaining, Old Lin seized on the other party’s mistake from the day before and desperately pushed the price down.

Throughout the whole process, Ling Yi did not participate at all. He sat there leisurely drinking tea, watching the two of them argue back and forth.

“Old friend, I’m not criticizing you, but if what happened yesterday gets out, your reputation in the entire jade circle will be ruined!”

“But I, Old Lin, am not that kind of person, and my young brother here can’t be bothered to lower himself to your level… Don’t tell me you didn’t know. In jade matters, you are much more expert than I am.”

“If even I could see the problem, you couldn’t? Something so valuable, and you didn’t even glance at it before?”

“You say your apprentice played a trick, and you knew nothing about it. Do you believe that yourself?”

“One hundred million. Let’s not say another word!”

The middle-aged man looked at Old Lin with an aggrieved expression.

“Boss Lin, you’re wronging me. That apprentice of mine has quite remarkable talent. Don’t judge by his youth; his skill is no less than mine. He could have set up his own shop long ago.”

“I just trusted him too much; I was careless. Who could have imagined he would produce a fake and embarrass us all?”

“Boss Lin, think about it. If I truly knew about this, how utterly reckless would I have to be to try to fool you right in front of your face?”

“Ah, a misfortune for the family. That worthless apprentice has already been expelled by me. He has nothing to do with me anymore. Let’s not talk about this; it’s a downer.”

“Look, to atone, I’ve even brought out my family heirloom. Isn’t that sincere enough?”

“One hundred million is too little… A piece of top-grade mutton-fat jade the size of a palm is worth more than ten million!”

Old Lin sneered coldly. “Stop spouting that useless talk. What priceless treasure? Can it compare to Spirit Stones? It’s just that my young brother here likes it. But you can’t take advantage of someone’s fondness to demand an exorbitant price, especially right in front of me! At most, I’ll give you one hundred and twenty million!”

After several rounds of back-and-forth, the two sides finally agreed on a price of one hundred and fifty million.

Exactly how much this thing was worth, the Enchantress, who likely came from some unknown era, certainly didn’t know. Ling Yi knew even less, as he had never had any contact with such things in the past.

But Ling Yi was very clear that neither Old Lin nor that middle-aged man were pure as the driven snow.

Especially since Old Lin had been very certain the day before that Ling Yi’s betting one yuan to win ten billion Spirit Stones was no coincidence. This made Ling Yi suspect even more that they might be secretly scheming something.

However, there was one thing Ling Yi could be sure of: the current price, for such a large piece of top-grade jade, probably wasn’t expensive.

If this price wasn’t just not expensive, but actually a really good deal, then it could only mean one thing—

Old Lin, the middle-aged man, and that young man who hadn’t appeared again were just putting on an act. Their ultimate goal… was most likely to make him owe them a favor.

Favors were the hardest debts to repay.

Also, his ability, like having a third eye, once it got out, would inevitably cause a huge storm.

So Ling Yi looked at Old Lin and asked, “Old brother, tell me the truth. How much is this thing… actually worth normally? Is it much higher than the current price?”

The middle-aged man looked at Ling Yi and smiled bitterly. “Brother, you’ve gotten a huge bargain today. I’m not bragging, but even if this jade of mine were broken up and made into small handheld pieces, it would be worth at least three hundred million! So, you really should thank Boss Lin today, sigh…”

Ling Yi looked at Old Lin. “Really?”

Old Lin grinned, showing his teeth. “I’ll send you some information later; you’ll understand then. Such a large piece of top-grade jade, weighing over fifty jin, has a market price of at least over two hundred million!”

Ling Yi couldn’t help but click his tongue. “That valuable?”

Old Lin nodded.

The middle-aged man sighed. “So, brother, this time I’m really taking a huge loss. Not only…”

Ling Yi interrupted him. “In that case, I’ll give you two hundred and fifty million.”

After saying this, he looked at the stunned middle-aged man and the equally dumbfounded Old Lin, and smiled. “It’s just that I, for one, hate owing favors the most. And you’ve gone to so much trouble for this; I feel quite bad. The key is, I’m not short of the money. Send me your account number; I’ll transfer the money to you right now.”

Old Lin looked at Ling Yi. “You silly kid…”

“Old brother, it’s settled. Who told me I have money, right?” Ling Yi smiled, but there was a tone of no refusal in his voice.

After he finished the transfer and left with the jade, Old Lin and the middle-aged man in the Private Box were still somewhat unable to recover.

After a long while, the middle-aged man sighed. “I’ve been in business for many years and seen many generous rich people, but those who don’t even bat an eye at over a hundred million are truly rare.”

Old Lin curled his lip, somewhat gloomily saying, “Rubbish! He saw through us!”

“Such a young fellow, how is he so shrewd? No… not shrewd, just too clever!”

As he spoke, he sighed. “We misjudged one thing before. Both of us thought he was a poor man suddenly rich. With tens of millions or a hundred million involved, it was impossible for him not to be tempted.”

“But who would have thought the magnanimity he showed when donating before was genuine!”

“And he really doesn’t care about our small change.”

“Carrying over five billion in funds, yet still calmly taking taxis around this city…”

“Forget it. Don’t try to play mind games with this kind of person in the future. He’s young, but not naive.”

“Let’s just be good friends…”

In the taxi.

The Enchantress sneered mockingly. “You really cared about their face. If it were me, I would have laid it all out on the spot. Every single one of them, so used to playing tricks with people? Deliberately giving a little sweetness, but actually digging a huge pit to bury someone. Really disgusting!”

“And after laying it out?” Ling Yi responded. “Cut ties? Never have dealings again?”

“What, you can’t do that? Without that butcher Lin, would you, Ling Yi, have to eat pork with hair?” The Enchantress snorted disdainfully.

“Not necessary. Just have less to do with them in the future.” Ling Yi leaned lazily against the seat. “They play mind games, but they also play with real money. For people willing to spend money to dig a pit, you have to learn to respect them. They’re still better than swindlers who try to get something for nothing, right?”

“Splitting hairs!” The Enchantress said disdainfully.

After arriving home, Ling Yi went back to his room, took out the heavy piece of jade, and asked the Enchantress in his mind, “What next?”

“Carve it!” The Enchantress said as if it were obvious.

…

Several hours later, when Su Qingqing brought Ling Yun back from school, she found Ling Yi in the living room, staring blankly at a pile of messy tools.

“What’s this?” Su Qingqing walked over, saw the top-grade white jade, reached out and touched it. “Seems pretty nice!”

“It is nice. Over two hundred million worth…” Ling Yi replied weakly.

“Huh?” Both Su Qingqing and Ling Yun froze there, staring at him in a daze.

Su Qingqing looked at Ling Yi for a long time before she couldn’t help saying, “Even though we have money now, we shouldn’t waste it like this, right?”

Ling Yun leaned over, her small hand patting and stroking the jade. “Brother, can you give me two pendants made from the leftover pieces?”

Ling Yi: “…”

Over the next two days, Ling Yi stayed home without going out, diligently studying.

He originally thought he could do it, but in reality, without several years of foundational learning, it was impossible to even begin!

Even a genius couldn’t be good at everything.

Just as Ling Yi was at his wit’s end with this piece of jade, Su Qingqing, who had been watching coldly for three days, couldn’t help saying, “What exactly do you want to do? You can ask someone else, you know?”

Ling Yi lifted his head.

Su Qingqing looked at him. “Can’t you just go find a jade carving master to do it for you?”

Ling Yi was stunned. He sat there looking at Su Qingqing for a long time. “Why didn’t you say so earlier?”

Su Qingqing couldn’t help but cover her face with her hand, lamenting, “How was I supposed to know what you actually wanted to do?”

The Enchantress in Ling Yi’s mind also couldn’t help but mock. “I thought you insisted on doing it yourself. I was thinking, this kid is really stubborn.”

“You didn’t remind me either?” Ling Yi retorted weakly.

Being too clever turned out to be a mistake; he had never thought of this before.

Although Su Qingqing made the suggestion, she didn’t know any talents in this field either, so Ling Yi thought of Qin Jiuyue.

After the phone call went through, Qin Jiuyue agreed without hesitation, but then said, “If we’re talking about a jade carving master, Auntie Zhao… uh, Sister Zhao would know more about that. Of course, I could also ask for you.”

“Then I’ll ask Sister Zhao directly.” After hanging up, Ling Yi contacted Sister Zhao.

Hearing that Ling Yi wanted to make a Jade Box, Sister Zhao agreed without a second thought and set a time to meet.

When they met and Sister Zhao saw the jade Ling Yi brought, she froze on the spot.

“Brother, you want to use this kind of jade to make a Jade Box?” Sister Zhao looked at Ling Yi with disbelief. “Do you know the value of this piece of jade in your hand?”

“I know, I bought it for two hundred and fifty million,” Ling Yi didn’t hide it.

“Two hundred and fifty million?” Sister Zhao slightly frowned, circled the jade and observed it closely for a while, then finally nodded. “It’s worth it, that’s about the market price.”

Then she looked up at Ling Yi. “Did you just buy it?”

Seeing Ling Yi nod, Sister Zhao said regretfully, “Why didn’t you come to me when you bought it? I could’ve bargained down another ten or twenty million! Forget it, you’re not short of that money anyway, but using such fine jade to make a Jade Box… isn’t that too wasteful? What could possibly be worth storing in something like this?”

Ling Yi smiled and said, “It’s purely a personal hobby.”

“Alright, still better than my hobbies. Come on, I’ll take you there now!” Sister Zhao was decisive and immediately took Ling Yi to a traditional courtyard in the center of the Capital City.

There, Ling Yi met a famous jade carving master—

an old man who looked to be over ninety years old, yet was hale and hearty.

The old man’s surname was Jiang, and he was considered a grandmaster in the jade carving circle!

But he had none of the airs of a grandmaster. When he saw the two, he greeted them with a cheerful smile and was straightforward in both speech and action.

Upon hearing that Ling Yi wanted to use such a fine piece of jade to make a Jade Box, Master Jiang showed no surprise at all.

Rich people had all sorts of hobbies. What Ling Yi was doing, which seemed a bit like a waste of treasure, was nothing unusual.

The old man even considerately asked, “The material carved out could be used to make quite a few nice trinkets. Do you have any plans for it?”

“You can use it to make some small ornaments or pendants or something. Whatever the fee is, I’ll pay you directly later,” Ling Yi said politely.

“Alright, then go back and wait. Come pick it up in a week!” After saying this, Master Jiang stared at the jade, lost in thought.

Sister Zhao glanced at Ling Yi and whispered, “The master is seeing us off. Let’s go.”

Ling Yi nodded and followed Sister Zhao outside.

Once in the car, Sister Zhao breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. “Brother, what do you think of this master?”

Ling Yi thought for a moment. “Senior Jiang seems quite amiable, straightforward in speech and action, no airs. He’s good.”

Sister Zhao smiled as if she had expected this reaction.

Ling Yi asked, “Why? Isn’t that the case?”

Sister Zhao shook her head with a smile. “Let me tell you, this old man’s temper is seriously peculiar, you know? He hasn’t made anything for anyone in years!”

“Really?” Ling Yi was stunned.

“And the master doesn’t know your identity. Honestly, before we went, I never expected he would agree to do it,” Sister Zhao said with a sly smile. “At the time, I thought, whether it works or not, we’d just try. If he didn’t agree, then I’d beg him to introduce his apprentice to us.”

“But I never thought the old man would agree without a word, and even offer to make something else for you. Do you know? His craftsmanship fee isn’t cheaper than your jade!”

Ling Yi grinned wryly. He knew a bit about masters’ fees, but he was still a little shocked.

“Don’t be surprised. Ordinary craftsmen are just artisans, but that old man is a master! However, if he meets someone… or a piece of jade, that catches his eye, he’ll do it even without payment.” Sister Zhao looked at Ling Yi. “This time, it definitely wasn’t for the sake of that jade, but because of you!”

“Why?” Ling Yi was a bit confused.

“Your jade is good, but it’s not some rare, precious jade. It’s not enough to make the old man drop everything and take on the work. You might not have noticed, but the moment you stepped in, the old man was observing you.” Sister Zhao said mysteriously, “Let me tell you a secret. Master Jiang is already over a hundred and fifty years old! He’s a true expert! They say he can read auras, and can tell at a glance whether a person’s aura is good or evil. If it’s good, he’s good; if it’s evil… then sorry, no amount of money will make him lift a finger!”

Really?

Ling Yi felt like he had gained some new knowledge.

“The aura on you is clearly more than just good. With only minor goodness, the old man would at most be polite and then casually send an apprentice to do it, which would already be giving face. So, the goodness in you must be great goodness! Sis really didn’t misjudge you!”

As she spoke, Sister Zhao looked very happy.

Ling Yi felt a bit embarrassed by the praise and said, “Sis, you’re too kind. I’m not that outstanding.”

Sister Zhao said, “My little brother has to be outstanding!”

Then, looking at Ling Yi, she said, “If you have any matters in the future, just come to me. I’m really glad you came to me today!”

Ling Yi smiled and nodded.

“Business is done. Let’s go, let’s go drink!”

Ling Yi thought, “…”