Chapter 100: The True Immortal Eye
He Jingkun and An Jiayan exchanged a glance, seeing the mirrored reluctance in each other’s eyes. Surrendering these stakes would be a crippling blow to them both. Yet, things had reached a point where there was no room for regret or reneging.
He Jingkun cleared his throat and said, “Ahem… Chairman Gu, a handover of this magnitude isn’t something the two of us can settle right here and now. How about this: please wait patiently for a few days, and I will arrange for specialists to come and discuss the specific details with you.”
Gu Wanrong raised an eyebrow, her tone sharp. “The CEO of Fu Pearl Treasure, whom I appointed, is standing right there. The He family brought so many people today; are you telling me not a single one is capable of handling a handover on the spot?”
She then shifted her gaze to An Jiayan. “And you? Surely the An Group isn’t equally incompetent?”
“No, it’s not that. Chairman Gu, you have plenty of talent under you, but this truly requires time and personnel…” An Jiayan hurriedly explained.
Like He Jingkun, although the assets he lost were technically personal, they were carved from the family business. The Pingshan Public Auction belonged entirely to the He family; losing twenty percent meant the He family no longer held absolute dominance over it. For the An Group, losing ten percent of the jade imported from Myanmar to China meant bowing their heads to the He family in the industry, relegated to second place.
Having lost the bet, both men now had to report to their respective fathers and brothers to salvage the situation, all while facing their inevitable wrath.
Gu Wanrong cut off An Jiayan’s explanation; she knew they were just stalling with excuses.
“Enough. I’m taking all these ‘all-gamble’ raw stones with me right now. You can’t possibly have a reason to make me wait for that, can you?” She extended her hand, pointing to the pile of stones An Xuliang had wagered.
An Jiayan and He Jingkun didn’t offer any further excuses. An Xuliang cowered at the back of the crowd, having lost even the courage to step forward, silently accepting this reality.
After today’s public auction concluded, An Xuliang would still have to find a way to compensate the An and He families for the lost raw stones. He had already lost his authority at Wanxi Jewelry in Rongcheng, and soon he would be selling his house and car just to cover the losses.
Gu Wanrong nodded in satisfaction.
Time passed quietly. Gu Wanrong sat calmly in her chair, her expression blank as if her thoughts had drifted far away.
The crowd was confused, but no one dared to gossip about her. The group of bodyguards standing beside her, faces stern and emotionless, tightly surrounded and protected her. They radiated an intimidating aura that made people fear to pluck a tiger’s whiskers.
Suddenly, Gu Wanrong raised her hand and beckoned slightly. One of the bodyguards quickly leaned down, placing his ear near her lips.
She said, “Go tell Tong Shenqi to decide how to handle the rest herself. I’m leaving first.”
With that, Gu Wanrong stood up and left the auction venue.
As she passed the He and An delegation, her footsteps paused.
“Whether or not I publicize the little tricks behind that intense green glass jade depends entirely on the efficiency of your handover.” Her voice wasn’t loud, but to those with ghosts in their conscience, it sounded like a thunderclap.
Without waiting to see the changes in their expressions, Gu Wanrong walked away.
By this time, Tong Shenwu had already opened the car door and was waiting. Gu Wanrong elegantly entered the car, settling steadily into the back seat.
Shortly after, cars sped away from the public auction one by one, disappearing into the distance.
While Gu Wanrong had appeared bored sitting in the chair earlier, she had actually been accessing the World Character Information Database in her mind.
When the intense green jade was being cut, He Jingkun, An Jiayan, and the two expert stone selectors had all shown expressions that seemed normal but gave Gu Wanrong an indescribable sense of weirdness. She hadn’t thought much of it at the time.
Once she had a moment of idleness, that vague sense of anomaly resurfaced. With her enhanced perception attributes, Gu Wanrong naturally couldn’t ignore such subtle irregularities as easily as before.
Sure enough, she found clues in the database.
It turned out that the intense green raw stone was different from the usual high-risk “all-gamble” stones that were impossible to predict; its characteristics allowed veterans to make accurate judgments with relative ease.
Consequently, He Jingkun and An Jiayan had long ago secretly stashed this stone in a corner of the “masked material” section, waiting for a pre-arranged associate to buy it and cut it on the spot.
Once revealed, they would buy the jade back for over a hundred million yuan. This act would inject new life into the masked stones that usually went unsold year after year.
Holding the Nandian Public Auction would not only allow the hosts to earn massive profits from the masked stones but also boost the auction’s reputation.
Unfortunately, Gu Wanrong was the variable. Her bet with the He and An families forced them to adjust their plans. Helplessly, they had to arrange for two informed employees to participate in the gamble.
Having discovered this, Gu Wanrong used it to threaten the two families: stop stalling and hand over the stakes immediately.
After this year’s Nandian Public Auction concluded, many in the jade industry learned of Chairman Gu of Fu Pearl Treasure. Under her sharp eyes, the interior of any rough stone was laid bare.
Gradually, Gu Wanrong’s reputation grew louder and louder, eventually earning her a resounding nickname in China—”The True Immortal Eye.”
Whether veteran experts or novices just stepping into the field, everyone would silently mutter “Bless me, True Immortal Eye” before cutting stones, hoping to borrow some luck and cut a winner.
Meanwhile, Fu Pearl Treasure’s finished jade products swept away their previous decline. Tong Shenqi sold off the lesser quality pieces, while the top-tier jade was all shipped back to the capital for design, carving, awards, and auctions.
The legendary massive Imperial Green jade was taken by Gu Wanrong back to Courtyard No. 10 for her private collection.
Wealthy merchants and socialites, eager for the Imperial Green but unable to find Gu Wanrong, flocked to Tong Shenqi instead. They contributed a significant portion to Fu Pearl Treasure’s skyrocketing sales.
As for Gu Wanrong herself, aside from flying around the country to visit the origins of jade, pearls, and gemstones, she was leisurely enjoying her university life in City J.
Time flew, and more than a month passed. She still hadn’t felt the “sixth sense” to draw a jade mine, diamond mine, or any other mineral deposit from the system.
The promise she made to Tong Shenqi remained unfulfilled.
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