Chapter 81: Dangerous Material Part 1
Tong Shenyi was incredibly efficient, sending the purchase contracts to Gu Wanrong’s email the very next day.
Gu Wanrong quickly transferred the funds to the corresponding accounts, spending a total of 3.7 billion yuan on the buildings in those cities.
“ćChina Construction BankćBao Fu transferred (7.4 billion) yuan to your account ending in 6188. Please check.”
Seeing the system’s return bonus, Gu Wanrong felt a surge of excitement and immediately opened the system’s blind box page.
She was delighted to see that her number of available blind box draws had increased by 208, and with her existing draws, she now had a total of 240 chances.
That should be enough for her to draw what she needed from the system!
Rongcheng, one of the two major sources of jadeite in China.
Gu Wanrong learned that Fu Zhen Zhu Bao was going to Rongcheng’s jadeite public auction this week to collect a batch of jadeite materials. Out of curiosity, she decided to go to Rongcheng as well.
However, Gu Wanrong wouldn’t go on behalf of Fu Zhen Zhu Bao; she would go to Rongcheng’s jadeite market as a tourist.
Furthermore, to get the jadeite and jade mines she desperately wanted, Gu Wanrong needed to learn more about jadeite and spend more time immersing herself in this environment.
Hualin, Pingshan, Jinyang, and Siqing are the four major jadeite markets in Rongcheng. Gu Wanrong’s first stop was Jinyang Market.
This market has been involved in the jade industry since the Qing Dynasty and is arguably the largest and most high-end jadeite trading venue in China.
Here, only top-quality Type A jadeite can be sold.
The merchants in Jinyang Market have a tacit understanding and abide by an unwritten rule: Type B and Type C jadeite are absolutely not allowed here.
At 3 pm, Gu Wanrong arrived at Jinyang Market.
Jadeite shops were everywhere; the shopkeepers mostly reclined lazily in rocking chairs, showing no excessive enthusiasm or initiative towards passing tourists. They didn’t get up to solicit customers but simply observed every tourist who passed by their shops.
Most shops in the market had simple and unadorned decorations, without any deliberate attempt to create a glamorous and luxurious atmosphere due to selling jadeite jewelry.
One shop named “Jiuyu Zhai” stood out.
Its storefront was exceptionally bright and grand, and its area was much larger than other shops.
It naturally attracted Gu Wanrong’s attention, and she stepped inside.
As soon as she entered, she felt that the shop was spacious, and there were many customers.
This shop specialized in Burmese jade, and its prices ranged widely, from 100,000 yuan upwards, to millions, tens of millions, and possibly even hundreds of millions of yuan worth of treasures yet to be revealed to Gu Wanrong.
Gu Wanrong looked around; the shop displayed various exquisite jadeite finished products. There were exquisitely crafted jewelry and large, imposing jade ornaments.
Suddenly, Gu Wanrong noticed several pendants in a girl’s hand, all a deep green.
But for some reason, Gu Wanrong felt something was wrong.
Standing two meters away from the counter, Gu Wanrong stopped and began to carefully examine the exquisite green jade ornaments on display.
Although separated by thick glass, she could still clearly see the deep green color of the jadeite.
However, some of them gave her a strange feeling, as if they had a hint of blue.
After noticing this detail, Gu Wanrong looked up and focused on the pendants in the girl’s hand that had aroused her suspicion.
“Don’t press it!”
Gu Wanrong’s heart tightened, and she quickly shouted.
Looking up, she saw Zhang Meng about to press a jade amulet in her hand. She took a step forward and quickly grabbed Zhang Meng’s wrist, preventing her from pressing further.
Perhaps sensing that Gu Wanrong meant no harm, Zhang Meng was slightly stunned, looking at Gu Wanrong with a puzzled expression.
She gently twisted her wrist, freeing it from Gu Wanrong’s grasp, and slowly put down the amulet.
Gu Wanrong knew her action was abrupt, and for a moment, she couldn’t think of a suitable reason to explain herself to Zhang Meng.
After a second of hesitation, Gu Wanrong pursed her lips and said, “This full-green amulet is worth at least 100,000 to 200,000 yuan. We should be careful and handle it gently.”
Even Gu Wanrong herself felt this explanation was far-fetched, but she couldn’t bear to watch Zhang Meng be tricked.
Gu Wanrong had just overheard Zhang Meng’s conversation with the salesperson.
A few days ago, Zhang Meng received her first copyright fee and wanted to choose a jade pendant as a gift for her mother.
While selecting in various department stores, she found that the jadeite brands in the counters were overpriced.
She learned online that Jinyang Market had the best quality jadeite finished products in China, so she flew here specifically to choose one.
With jadeite shops everywhere, Zhang Meng was dazzled, and then she was attracted by the bright and grand, unique decoration style of “Jiuyu Zhai”.
After searching online, Zhang Meng was surprised to find that Jiuyu Zhai belonged to Wan Xi Jewelry, a famous company under An Shi Group. She felt that the quality was guaranteed, so she came in.
Gu Wanrong, who entered later, had intermediate jadeite appraisal skills, and she felt that the so-called Burmese jadeite in Jiuyu Zhai seemed to contain other components, but she couldn’t confirm it yet.
Zhang Meng, having never bought expensive jewelry before, and with the salesperson whispering about the high hardness of jadeite, gradually lowered her guard.
She unconsciously reached out to press and feel the amulet, experiencing its texture and touch, before being stopped by Gu Wanrong, who reminded her to handle it gently.
Grateful for Gu Wanrong’s kindness, Zhang Meng showed gratitude and smiled, “Thank you for reminding me.”
The salesperson who had introduced Zhang Meng to the amulet was momentarily stunned, with an awkward and stiff expression.
But when he saw Gu Wanrong’s elegant and refined attire and the tall and capable Tong Shenba behind her, his gaze quickly shifted back to Zhang Meng.
Zhang Meng, having browsed for quite a while, didn’t want to hesitate any longer, and pointed at the amulet, “This one.”
Gu Wanrong was beside Zhang Meng, carefully examining and comparing several other pendants.
Soon, she heard Zhang Meng about to pay. Gently putting down the pendants, she asked, “This is not a small amount for you. Are you sure you don’t want to consider it again?”
“Jinyang Market only sells Type A jadeite, and this shop belongs to Wan Xi Jewelry, which has its own raw material supply channels in Myanmar thanks to An Shi Group. The jadeite here is Burmese jade; there’s nothing to pick about except the style.”
Zhang Meng showed full trust in Jiuyu Zhai.
However, after handling those pendants, Gu Wanrong was ninety percent sure they were all dangerous materials, not Burmese jade.
Dangerous materials aren’t necessarily bad, but the problem is that Jiuyu Zhai was selling them as Burmese jade to uninformed customers.
Dangerous material prices are less than one-tenth of Burmese jade.
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