"Thank you, I'll just choose this one, no need to look further," Jian Xi declined politely.
Seeing this, Zhang Tong didn't try to persuade her further. Instead, he directly led the two to learn about the stone room.
The auction hadn't started yet, so there was no one in the stone room, including those jewelers that worked with jade and stones.
But after the three people entered, more and more people came in to take a look.
Of course, most of them were people preparing to flatter Jian Xi. They had all thought it through - no matter whether this young miss was able to unlock any colors from this stone or not, even if it turned out to be a waste stone, they would still buy it at a high price.
However, there were also many people who came just to watch the excitement. Was it because the legendary billionaire He Qingchen only bought a 10,000+ yuan original stone for his sister, and didn't even take her to the appraisal area, an indication that he didn't actually like his sister that much?
Everyone who came in to watch the stone unlocking process had different thoughts in mind, and no one looked favorably upon the original stone Jian Xi had chosen.
He Qingchen, on the other hand, had a completely calm expression on his face. He sat on the sofa playing with his phone without even glancing at anyone.
Since the original stone was quite large, it took some effort for the master stone worker to carry and place it on the table. He hadn't even opened his mouth to ask Jian Xi if she wanted to draw the lines herself, when she had already come to the table. She picked up the pen and drew two lines. After finishing, she politely thanked the master and told him that he could relax now. From her skilled movements, those who didn't know her would have thought she was a veteran!
The master stone worker placed the stone in the machine, closed the lid, and set the machine to work according to the lines Jian Xi had drawn.
The only sound left in the entire stone room was the buzzing of the machine. Those jewelers didn't even glance at the machine.
The moment the machine stopped, they immediately started shouting out prices.
"Miss Jian, I'm the owner of Xuan Nian Pavilion. I bid 1 million to buy this piece of material from you."
"Miss Jian, I'm from Ling Long Jade and Stone Shop. I bid 1.5 million."
"Miss Jian, I bid 1.8 million."
"Miss Jian..."
Jian Xi remained standing without moving. She just gave them a polite faint smile. "I'm not selling, thank you all for your kindness." She knew they were only trying to play nice because of her brother's face.
Before she even finished speaking, the stone master suddenly gasped.
Everyone's attention was drawn over by this sound. They saw the stone master tremblingly take out the stone that had been cut open, wipe off the dust on it, and reveal the obvious color inside.
It was purple!
Gasps of surprise now arose one after another, along with heated discussions.
He Qingchen remained as calm as before on the sofa, still engrossed with his phone, as if he had expected this all along and didn't even glance that way.
Before those jewelers could speak, Zhang Tong directly opened his mouth and bid 50 million.
Jian Xi shook her head. Facing the stone master, she said, "Please cut the second line."
The stone master kindly reminded her, "Miss Jian, if the second cut doesn't go well, this piece will be wasted. Are you sure you want to cut it?" He had been in this profession for 20 years and had seen many people become greedy - a piece that could have fetched a good price with one cut, they insisted on trying for more, and with the second cut the fine material instantly became scrap.
"Thank you for your good intentions, master. Please cut it," Jian Xi said politely, thanking him for his concern.
Zhang Tong felt somewhat anxious at the side. This piece was not thought highly of in the first place. They had tossed it aside as scrap, hoping some rich fool would take it away. He didn't expect there to actually be purple color in it, what's more an extremely rare variety. But now, it seemed there were a lot of impurities. After one more cut, even that little bit of purple would likely disappear, given how small a portion would be left from Jian Xi's second cut line.
If she didn't cut it, he could take it for 50 million. After some time he could auction it off again for a greater profit, earning He Qingchen's favor at the same time.
Just as the stone master was about to place the stone in the machine again, he was stopped by Zhang Tong.
"Miss Jian, why don't we just stop cutting. I can add another 10 million, so 60 million total. I'll take it for 60 million," Zhang Tong said, not daring to speak forcefully but still trying to persuade her.
Jian Xi felt displeased. Could this person not understand human speech? Hadn't she already said clearly she wasn't selling!
But before she could speak, a voice sounded from the sofa. "Cut it."
No one knew when He Qingchen had put down his phone. Raising his eyes to look at Zhang Tong, he uttered that one word.
With He's gaze upon him, Zhang Tong instantly felt an overwhelming pressure. Subconsciously, he loosened his grip.
The smile on his face gradually disappeared as well, replaced by displeasure. He took two steps back.
He felt he had already given He Qingchen enough face today, but this guy was still arrogantly disregarding his face, indeed matching his notorious reputation!
He patted the stone master on the shoulder and said softly, "Go ahead and cut it nicely!"
The stone master pressed his lips together, glanced at Jian Xi, and helplessly nodded. He turned around about to press the start button, except his little finger lingered over a small hole right below the button instead.
Sighing softly, he forcefully pressed that little hole, before moving to press the start button.
"Wait a minute," Jian Xi suddenly called out to stop him.
She met Zhang Tong's eyes. Although the corners of her lips were upturned, her eyes contained a bone-chilling coldness. "Master, I suddenly don't want it cut anymore."
Everyone looked at Jian Xi puzzled. Why the sudden change of heart? They were still waiting to see the unveiling!
The stone master secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Afraid Jian Xi was having second thoughts, he hurriedly pressed the button to open the lid and removed the original stone back onto the table.
He Qingchen walked over. "Not cutting anymore?"
"Mhm. I just noticed there's a specialty shop right across for stone cutting. Let's go over there to cut it," Jian Xi said.
"Alright." He Qingchen didn't ask for her reasons. He simply made a phone call for his bodyguards outside to carry the stone over.
After He Qingchen and Jian Xi left, the rest of the people in the room also followed them out.
Ten minutes later, a burst of excited cries erupted from across the street.
"Top grade purple jadeite! This is the peak of purple jadeite! "
"A whole piece this big, it must be worth at least 100 million!"
"I really didn't expect Miss Jian's luck to be so astonishing. She's simply blessed by heaven!"
"Miss Jian, won't you really consider selling it?"
"Yes, please think it over Miss Jian. If you are willing to sell it, I'll offer 150 million!"
150 million! Jian Xi silently counted all those zeros in her mind.
What a pity! She couldn't sell it. Such windfall wealth counted as improper gains for her. Even if it was under He Qingchen's name, she couldn't, because she was the one who chose it and it had been tainted by her fortune!
Waa waa, her money was flying away!
Jian Xi painfully rejected them. "I'm sorry everyone, as I've said, it's not for sale. Thank you all the same."
The crowd heard this and became very disappointed. Jian Xi paid them no heed and had the bodyguards put away the goods to load in the car. She directly went to the store to grab a set of jade carving tools before leaving with He Qingchen.
The group sent the two to the entrance before returning to the auction across the street, which would start in another 10 minutes.
But as soon as they stepped outside, they saw Zhang Tong standing at the entrance across the street.
Eyeing the few people behind Jian Xi and He Qingchen, he raised his hand and pointed at them. In a loud voice directed at the security guards at the auction venue entrance, he said, "Those few jewelers I just pointed out, from now on, they are not to set foot in any of my auctions!"
Those were the jewelers who had tried to flatter Jian Xi earlier!
Having said that, he turned again to face He Qingchen and Jian Xi with a pleased expression. "Mr. He, Miss Jian, please walk slowly for I won't be sending you off?"
He Qingchen gave a mocking laugh at Zhang Tong's face devoid of expression, though the aggressive aura between his brows increasingly intensified!
This guy seemed a bit silly!
He signaled to Xu Yan, and Xu Yan instantly understood. Taking out his phone, he started to call Cheng Bei.
"Assistant Xu, no need to make that call!" Jian Xi called out to stop Xu Yan.
Xu Yan stole a glance at He Qingchen, then put down his phone.
Jian Xi whispered something into He Qingchen's ear, and the corners of He Qingchen's eyebrows raised slightly, but he did not say anything.
Zhang Tong had barely walked a few steps when Jian Xi's voice sounded behind him, "Mr. Zhang, please wait."
He turned his head back in puzzlement to look at Jian Xi, "Miss Jian, what else can I do for you? I'm very busy!"
Jian Xi was entirely unconcerned, the corners of her lips curving up slightly as she slowly and lazily said, "Since you and I have some karma today, how about I give you a free reading?"
