Chapter 46: The Dinner Gathering

By noon, Zhou Yu, Qi Jinxuan, and Wei Kai had lunch together, and then he drove away from the succulent shop.

Originally, Qi Jinxuan had asked him to go together to the exhibition hall to register for the exhibition, but Zhou Yu politely declined. It was fine to watch the exhibition tomorrow, but he would skip today’s registration. After all, many people were paying attention to the bet between Wei Kai and another person.

He drove his car and once again arrived at Yayu Pavilion, located near People’s Square in the western suburbs. Since the Counterfeit Spirit Gathering Array had been successfully tested, it was time to get some more expensive jade stones to create some higher-quality Counterfeit Spirit Gathering Arrays.

Even low-priced jade stones could be faked or tampered with, let alone high-value ones. Therefore, this Yayu Pavilion, introduced by Qi Jinxuan, was currently his most trustworthy choice.

After entering the shop, there were actually two customers inside, a man and a woman who seemed like a couple, looking at jewelry at the counter.

“Hey, young man, you’re back. Were you satisfied with the jade last time?” The middle-aged shop owner saw Zhou Yu and greeted him with a smile.

Zhou Yu walked over, nodded with a smile, “Very satisfied. The person who received the jade tokens I made really liked them. I came today to buy a few more pieces.”

“No problem. Tell me, what price range are you looking for?” The middle-aged shop owner’s shrewd eyes gleamed.

“Boss, I’m wondering how your Mutton Fat White Jade is priced.” Zhou Yu thought for a moment and asked. He knew Mutton Fat White Jade was the best type of nephrite jade.

Hearing Zhou Yu’s question, the middle-aged shop owner couldn’t help but smile. If this young man hadn’t been introduced by Qi Jinxuan, he could have tricked him for any amount he wanted. “Young man, the price of Mutton Fat White Jade isn’t fixed. It depends on the quality of the material, color, clarity, and so on. Prices range from over a thousand to tens of thousands per gram. Oh, right, I’m talking about per gram.”

Over a thousand to tens of thousands per gram. Zhou Yu was stunned. Based on the weight of one Foundation Stone for the Spirit Gathering Array, the forty thousand yuan he currently had probably wouldn’t even be enough for the cheapest set of Mutton Fat White Jade.

Looking at it this way, that set of Spirit Gathering Array Immortal Stones obtained from the Immortal World was simply priceless.

Zhou Yu smiled helplessly. Through the magical Radio, he had easily obtained a Low-Grade Spirit Gathering Array from the Immortal World. Now, when it was his turn to create a counterfeit version, it was this difficult. “Then give me jade stones at ten thousand yuan per piece. Hetian Jade again, the same size as before.”

For now, he could only use his forty thousand yuan to buy four jade stones and create a better Counterfeit Spirit Gathering Array.

“Alright, no problem. Help keep an eye on the shop for me first, wait while I cut this for you.” The middle-aged shop owner grinned, instructed Zhou Yu, and then went into the back room.

Zhou Yu watched the middle-aged shop owner disappear into the back without a backward glance and smiled wryly. Was this man really not afraid of things being stolen from the shop? From his words, the inner room of this shop probably stored some raw jade materials.

The couple in the shop seemed to be tourists. They walked around the shop for a while and then left, leaving Zhou Yu alone facing the dazzling array of jade.

Not long after, the middle-aged shop owner came out from the back and placed four jade stones on the counter. “Young man, take a look. These four pieces, I’ll charge you nine thousand each.”

Zhou Yu picked up one piece, touched it with his hand, and gave it a quick glance. It was much better than the eight-hundred-yuan ones from before. “Good, thank you, boss.”

After a quick look, he took out his bank card and swiped thirty-six thousand yuan on the POS machine.

“Young man, welcome to come again next time.” Before Zhou Yu left, the middle-aged shop owner said to him with a full smile.

Zhou Yu held the four jade stones in his hand, nodded with a sense of hopelessness. If he couldn’t get a Spirit Gathering Array from the Radio, all he could do was create counterfeits.

Next, he drove to the jade street, entered the same few shops from last time, and once again used a computer to carve the Spirit Gathering Array patterns onto the jade stones.

The owners of the jade shops were somewhat surprised to see Zhou Yu using jade stones costing nearly ten thousand yuan each to carve these artistic patterns.

But in this world, there were too many strange people. They didn’t find it particularly unusual.

After carving the four jade stones, it was nearly evening. Zhou Yu drove back to Young Master Qi’s succulent shop. More than ten classmates had already arrived there ahead of time.

Afterwards, Qi Jinxuan personally led them to a private room on the top floor of Jingguan Tower. He instructed the restaurant manager to give a fifty percent discount on all prices and then left.

After Qi Jinxuan left, the private room became lively. Some went to the floor-to-ceiling windows to look at the beautiful night view, while others were busy taking photos.

Only two people sat there motionless. One was naturally Zhou Yu, and the other was Han Yahui, who looked extremely gloomy.

“Zhou Yu, how did you get to know Young Master Qi?” Some classmates couldn’t help but gather around Zhou Yu and ask curiously.

Zhou Yu smiled, “I like raising succulents. I cultivated a few nice ones, had a few interactions with Young Master Qi, and got to know him.”

“I like succulents too. I also have a few pots. Why is the difference so big? I really wish I could be a master like Flower Not Flower, who sold one Pan Deng Yulu Variegata for fifty thousand yuan!” One classmate said with emotion.

“Same here. I’m also working hard aiming to be a master like Flower Not Flower. I’m just still very far from it.” Zhou Yu nodded. You couldn’t be called a master just by cultivating one or two variegated succulents.

When all the dishes were served, the classmates started eating and drinking heartily. They talked about funny stories from their school days from time to time, joked with each other, and the whole room became even more lively.

They also ordered some beer, but Zhou Yu politely declined everyone’s toasts, citing that he had to drive later.

During the meal, a girl sitting next to Zhou Yu hesitated and finally couldn’t hold back from asking, “Zhou Yu, back in school, you and Lin Xinran were the model couple envied by many students from nearby universities. You were always together day and night and didn’t seem to argue much.”

“But why did you break up suddenly after graduation? I heard it was you who initiated it.” At the end, the girl’s face showed regret.

Hearing the girl’s words, the other classmates around fell silent and looked at Zhou Yu. They also wanted to know the answer. Zhou Yu and Lin Xinran had once been the objects of their envy as well.

The name Lin Xinran made Han Yahui’s breathing become rapid. Back then, he could be considered one of Lin Xinran’s pursuers. However, that beautiful girl never even gave him a proper glance. Instead, she became a couple with Zhou Yu.

Zhou Yu’s heart trembled. His eyes showed a bit of reminiscence. In the end, he just sighed softly, “Who initiated it doesn’t matter anymore. What matters is we’ve separated. Alright, let’s eat.” He didn’t want to continue on this topic.

Han Yahui snorted disdainfully. In his opinion, it was definitely Lin Xinran who broke up because a guy like Zhou Yu wasn’t worthy. He was about to mock a few sentences, but remembering what happened today, he silently started eating.

After the meal, it was already past eight o’clock. Several male classmates volunteered to take the female classmates home. Everyone said their goodbyes.

Han Yahui watched Zhou Yu walk towards Young Master Qi’s succulent shop, a cold sneer on his face. So what if you’re more successful than me? In the end, you still lost Lin Xinran. And now you’re raising succulents. Even if you raise the best ones, it’s useless.

At the succulent shop, after talking with Qi Jinxuan for a while longer, Zhou Yu drove his car and set off on the road home.

The exhibition lasted for three days in total. So, he could just find some free time to go see the exhibition. As for other matters, they had nothing to do with him.

He still needed to take care of Huzi, Dabao, and Xiaobao at home, and send photos to Chen Zilong. Also, he needed to set up and test the Counterfeit Spirit Gathering Array he bought today. There were many things to do.