Zhou Xuan changed his way of addressing Li Li from "Little Li" to "Little Li" without her realizing it. Li Li blushed and didn't say anything else. When Zhou Xuan asked her to go to the stone-cutting factory with him, she didn't object. She silently packed up the account book, locked it, and then went out with him.
The old car, which cost over 100,000 yuan, was given to his wife to drive, while he drove a Hummer SUV with Li Li and Zhou Cangsong in the back, and Fu Ying gave Zhou Xuan a ride. He followed behind in his car, but driving a Bugatti Veyron meant he couldn't reach its full speed, which was quite unpleasant. Reaching the suburbs, the traffic thinned out, which helped a bit, but still couldn't support the top-of-the-line sports car's speed—a car capable of exceeding 400 kilometers per hour.
Zhou Xuan had been to the stone-cutting factory once before, and last time he cut out more than a dozen emeralds. But this time was different. He brought back several tons of rough stones, and every single one of them contained something. With such a large quantity, Zhou Xuan wondered if he should invite some jewelers to hold a trade fair.
The security guard at the stone processing plant's main gate was someone Zhou Xuan didn't recognize. But when he saw **'s car, he quickly ran out of the guard booth inside the gate to open it. After ** and Fu Ying parked their cars in the plaza inside, they got out of their cars. The security guard was stunned when he saw Fu Ying's beautiful face.
He waved his hand and said, "Keep an eye on the door!"
These security guards were all acquaintances hired by Master Chen. Although they didn't think much of these tons of rough stones, they were still very responsible since they were paid to look after them. After all, their wages were not low and they didn't delay payment, so how could they not do their best?
All the raw materials were locked in a large factory building. For safety, Zhou Tao simply set up a bed in the factory building and stayed on site. He worked in three shifts, so he wasn't too tired. He insisted on working the night shift every day, but during the day he would run back to the store to have a meal with Li Li. Although it was fast food and not expensive, he was very happy and didn't feel tired from running around.
Over time, Li Li realized that Zhou Tao had feelings for her, but Zhou Tao was very shy. Although he liked her and was willing to spend every day with her, he didn't dare to say it, and Li Li, of course, didn't say anything either.
During the day, Zhou Ying and Master Chen were the two guards at the factory. There was also a security guard at the main gate. Zhou Ying watched TV in the office opposite the factory building. The door was directly opposite the factory gate. While watching TV, she would glance in this direction. (Note: The last sentence appears to be a separate, unrelated thought: "It's locked up again.")
As soon as Zhou Xuan and the others arrived, Zhou Ying saw them, paused in disbelief, but still ran out happily, first calling out, "Brother!" Then she went to Fu Ying's side and called out, "Sister-in-law!"
The brother even fell ill because of his sister-in-law, which shows how deeply he loves her. Now that the brother has brought his wife back, she is still his sister-in-law.
Zhou Ying still liked Fu Ying very much. This sister-in-law was obviously from a wealthy family, but she didn't have the slightest bit of spoiled temperament.
Zhou Cangsong laughed and scolded, "You little brat, you have no manners!"
Master Chen also rushed over. Hearing the voices, Zhou Tao quickly got out of bed. When he saw his brother and Li Li, he was stunned and didn't know where to put his hands and feet.
Zhou Ying knew nothing about her second brother Zhou Tao's affairs, and Zhou Tao never dared to tell anyone.
Zhou Xuan knew his younger brother was shy. He waved his hand and said, "Xiao Ying, take Sister Li Li to the factory for a look around."
Ran Ying responded, then handed the key to the door of the wool factory to Zhou Xuan, before leading Li Li to the other side of the factory.
Fu Ying secretly leaned close to Zhou Xuan's ear and asked, "Is this Li Li your younger brother's girlfriend?"
Zhou Xuan chuckled. He tapped her forehead and said, "You're so clever. My brother is too shy. Go with your sister and keep Li Li company. Try to subtly find out what she's thinking!"
Fu Ying chuckled and chased after Zhou Ying, pulling her along to tour the vast factory with Li Li. Zhou Tao glanced at Zhou Xuan, then at the backs of Li Li and the others, and finally followed them in a flash.
Zhou Xuan unlocked the door, revealing a factory filled with rough stones he had brought back from Yunnan. They were all large and small, with little to no green color, and from the outside, they certainly didn't attract attention. Even seasoned jade gamblers wouldn't notice them, because the quality and texture of the rough stones were indeed poor.
Zhou Xuan tested the ice crystals and found that every piece of rough jade contained jade. It was the rough jade he had selected in Yunnan, and there was no mistake.
Zhou Xuan was still looking when he heard Zhao Lao Er's voice calling out, "Zhou Xuan, you're back! I missed you so much!"
Before he arrived, his voice preceded him, typical of Zhao Lao Er's style. After entering the factory, he gave Zhou Xuan a bear hug.
In the past few days, Zhao Lao Er has been incredibly excited in front of the authorities, with over 20 million yuan in his pocket. How could he not be excited?
They couldn't help but sigh in amazement. It was truly astonishing that as long as they followed Zhou Xuan, they could encounter great fortune and wealth wherever they went, as if Zhou Xuan were their lucky star.
When Zhou Xuan visited this place last time, he had already seen the general layout of the factory. It was quite spacious, with an area of over 3,000 square meters, which was sufficient for his initial needs.
Seeing Zhou Xuan walk out of the factory and look around, I said, "This factory is currently rented. It's very cheap, only eight thousand yuan a month. The owner doesn't need it. Xu's Jewelry bought it five years ago to use for gambling on and cutting stones. But in the last two years, Xu's Jewelry has been declining, and the factory has been basically empty. They've been trying to sell it, but the price is too low for Xu's to accept, so it's been sitting idle. Because it's far from the city and remote, no one wants to rent it out. This time, I talked to Master Chen, and he contacted the landlord. It was settled in no time. We'll rent it. Although it's cheap, it's better than leaving it empty!"
Zhou Xuan's heart skipped a beat, and he asked Master Chen, "Master Chen, if your boss wants to sell this factory, how much would it cost?"
"Even Master Chen was confused," he frowned and said, "I'm not sure either. I'll call the former factory manager. He's now a manager at a Xu's Jewelry store in the city. We can contact him if we need anything."
Master Chen hesitated for a moment before asking, "Mr. Zhou, do you really want it?"
"I'd really like it if the price was right!" Zhou Xuan replied with a smile.
After thinking for a moment, Zhou Xuan said, "Master Chen, there's another thing I wanted to ask you. I wonder if you'd be interested?"
"Tell me, I don't know what it is!" Master Chen still had a good impression of Zhou Xuan. Although he was young, he didn't have the impetuousness of most young people. He was calm and steady, and it was easy to feel that he could trust him.
"Master Chen, to be honest, I'd like to buy this factory. It specializes in cutting stones and processing jade handicrafts. So, I'd like to invite you to be the foreman of the stone-cutting masters in my factory. You can bring back your old friends or former stone-cutting masters. As for the salary, I'd like to..."
Zhou Xuan smiled and said, "I'd like to definitely surpass Sun Di's level among his peers and offer him a commission based on his performance. What do you think?" Master Chen hesitated. What Zhou Xuan said sounded like a good thing, but the stone-cutting profession wasn't as thriving as it was in Tengchong and Ruili, Yunnan. It couldn't possibly be as prosperous elsewhere. So, no matter how convincing Zhou Xuan was, he didn't dare to fully believe it. Nine out of ten gamblers lose when it comes to stones, and the Xu family was a prime example. A perfectly successful chain jewelry store was ruined because of its owner, Xu Juncheng's, stone-gambling.
Take Zhou Xuan in front of me, for example. He may seem calm and collected, but if he gets hooked on gambling on stones, he'll lose all his wealth. What good are the good conditions he offers? No matter how good the terms are, if the factory isn't managed well, it's all for nothing.
Seeing Master Chen pondering, Zhou Xuan understood and smiled faintly, "Master Chen, I think we can sign a contract first, specifying a base salary, plus performance-based commission. The salary will be paid on a designated date each month. If there are any overdue payments, we can handle it according to the terms we agreed upon. How does that sound?"
Before Master Chen could answer, Zhou Xuan added, "Master Chen, I'll give you a base salary of six thousand, plus commission, as long as you're willing. We can start working now, and regardless of whether the factory is officially operational or not, I will pay you your wages on time. Your apprentice will have a base salary of two thousand plus commission. Is that alright?"
Upon hearing Zhou Xuan's offer of a base salary, Master Chen was naturally very interested. He had been working there for so long, only receiving six or seven hundred yuan a month for living expenses, and recently he hadn't received any for six months. If Zhou Xuan could truly deliver on his promise, it would undoubtedly be another great opportunity. Furthermore, since the job was relevant to his profession, continuing in this line of work was certainly much better than being unemployed and having to find another job.
"Okay, then I'll work for two months and see!" Master Chen gritted his teeth and agreed.
Zhou Xuan smiled, took out a wad of cash from his pocket. Luckily, he had brought 10,000 yuan with him when he left. He counted out 3,000 yuan and put it back in his pocket, then handed the remaining 7,000 yuan to Master Chen and said, "Master Chen, here is 7,000 yuan. This is your and your apprentice's base salary for this month. Commissions will be calculated at the end of the month. I'm paying you in advance so you can discuss it further. If you're willing to continue, I welcome you. If not, we can part ways amicably, okay?"
Master Chen was stunned for a moment, holding the money in his hand, truly dumbfounded. He'd worked for so many years, and never before had a boss paid him before he'd even done any work. Just based on Zhou Xuan's straightforward personality, he was willing to work for him. Anyway, he didn't have much income right now, and Zhou Xuan had offered such good terms and paid such a high base salary in advance. Even if things didn't go well, he wouldn't lose money if he quit. He'd already received his salary, what was there to lose? "Okay, okay, Mr. Zhou! I'll call him right away!" Master Chen didn't hesitate any longer, readily agreeing to the job. He quickly took out his phone and called his former manager. Now that he considered himself one of Zhou Xuan's men, he was ready to start working for him.
Master Chen contacted the manager, spoke a few words, and hung up. He then said to Zhou Xuanxi, "Boss Zhou, our previous manager immediately said there was no problem. The owner of this factory has wanted to sell for a long time. They just hadn't reached a suitable price, so it was put on hold. He said he couldn't contact the owner right away, so they've set a time for a meeting at 6 PM at table 208 in the Xicheng Hotel. He guarantees he'll be there with Boss Xu." Zhou Xuanxi nodded and said, "Okay, I've got it. Table 208 in the Xicheng Hotel, 6 PM sharp!"
After finishing his sentence, Zhou Xuan said to Master Chen, "Master Chen, could you try contacting your old friends and the craftsmen who carve and cut jade pieces again? It would be even better if you could find them!"
After thinking for a moment, Zhou Xuan added, "Master Chen, let me give you a rough estimate: at least 50,000 for both stone-cutting and carving craftsmen." Especially for carving craftsmen, their skills need to be top-notch. As for salary, we can discuss it in person!
Master Chen nodded. He was quite confident in his skills as a stone cutter. After so many years in the business, most of his old friends were unemployed. In big cities, stone cutting was not a secure business because no one could guarantee a 100% success rate. If businessmen lost big, their businesses would go out of business. So it was easy for him to bring back his old friends, as long as the wages were paid on time.
However, carving masters are hard to find. Stone-cutting masters are not in high demand because gambling on stones is difficult, but carving masters are different. Now, whether in the domestic or international market, the jewelry craze is getting stronger and stronger, and sales are hitting new highs every day. In jewelry stores, the price of high-end jade ornaments depends on two factors: the quality of the jade and the skill level of the carver. Only by combining the two can the value of a good piece of jade be fully displayed.
Zhou Xuan also understood that nowadays, which jeweler doesn't have their own carving masters? And they are very good at poaching. It would be difficult to find a way to get this out of Master Chen. It would be good enough if Master Chen could just set up the stone-cutting factory. As long as he has good benefits and good business, and each of his rough stones is a treasure, which other jeweler has this kind of influence?
As the saying goes, as long as there is a phoenix tree, even if it doesn't attract a golden phoenix, it will still be there.