"Sigh, their luck is really bad!"
Zhuang Rui said this insincerely, then exchanged a glance with Boss Han. They both burst into laughter in unison. At this point, Zhuang Rui's hatred for Xu Wei had lessened considerably. From now on, Xu Wei was no match for him at all.
After seeing Han Haowei off, Zhuang Rui suddenly felt a little tired. Although he knew that Wei Ge and the others were still chatting happily in the hotel restaurant, Zhuang Rui didn't want to join in. After making a call to his boss, he went back to his room.
After giving the white lion a bath and drying its fur with a hairdryer, Zhuang Rui lay down on the bed, his eyes somewhat vacant and his mind a bit chaotic. This kind of life didn't seem to be what he wanted.
Money? He's not short of it anymore. Even if Song Jun helps him buy that villa, he'll still have over 20 million left. Zhuang Rui prides himself on not gambling or womanizing. Okay, even if he did, that 20 million would be enough for him to live on for a lifetime. Besides, if he were to gamble, who in this world could beat him?
Women? The thought made Zhuang Rui scratch his head. A 26-year-old virgin was embarrassing enough to admit, but when he was with Qin Xuanbing, there was always this third wheel. Of course, Liu Chuan also thought Qin Xuanbing was the third wheel. This meant that although Zhuang Rui and Qin Xuanbing had held hands and kissed, they hadn't officially crossed that line. This made Zhuang Rui feel quite ashamed in front of Liu Chuan.
Then there's Miao Feifei. Zhuang Rui has a good impression of this girl, but it's just a good impression. Girls with Miao Feifei's personality are very attractive to men, but what happened after he got drunk that day made Zhuang Rui feel a little embarrassed. Although it was just a series of misunderstandings caused by a drunk man's instincts, Zhuang Rui seemed to have discovered something from Miao Feifei's expression. In order not to deepen the misunderstanding, he hasn't called Miao Feifei these past few days. Instead, Nurse Song has called a few times to ask about Zhuang Rui's whereabouts.
Thinking of Nurse Song, Zhuang Rui was truly troubled. He wasn't stupid; ever since he helped Nurse Song with that matter, she would occasionally come to his house to cook him a meal. Although she would leave after finishing the meal and cleaning up the dishes, he could still feel the affection in her actions.
"Damn it, I still got by even when nobody wanted me. Hmm, I need to find some time to go to England and definitely win over Qin Xuanbing, so I won't have to be indecisive anymore."
Thinking of this, Zhuang Rui felt a surge of excitement in his heart. However, it seemed that this excitement was caused by Lao Si. Yesterday, Zhuang Rui saw a woman with a hot figure and heavy makeup go into Lao Si's room.
"You have a beautiful bride, but we have Five Finger Mountain."
Zhuang Rui raised his right hand to look at it, then shook his head. "It's bad for my health," he thought. Just as he was about to take a cold shower to cool down, his phone, which he had tossed aside, rang. Picking it up and seeing the number, Zhuang Rui's anger immediately subsided. He couldn't possibly get angry at a man in his sixties or seventies.
"Hey, Uncle De, it's only been a few days, and you've already missed me, haven't you?"
The call was from Uncle De. Zhuang Rui was always very relaxed when he was with Uncle De, as if he were facing a father figure, and he spoke quite casually.
"You little brat, you ran away without even a phone call. I, this old man, have been helping you with your postgraduate entrance exam preparation."
Uncle De is also preparing to leave the pawnshop. He has spent his whole life in this industry, and he has used up most of his remaining energy.
"Taking the postgraduate entrance exam?"
Zhuang Rui had just mentioned this to Han Haowei, but that was just an excuse. He didn't expect that less than an hour later, Uncle De would call.
"Uncle De, what are the requirements for taking the postgraduate entrance exam?"
After hearing Uncle De's words, Zhuang Rui calmed down. He suddenly realized that it was really good to learn something. His theoretical knowledge of antiques and other objects was indeed too lacking. There was no way around it, since his teacher, Uncle De, was a self-taught person.
"Everything's arranged for you. In October, go to Peking University and find Professor Meng in the Archaeology Department. You'll apply for his graduate program, and he'll help you register. Then in November, you'll need to handle things like confirmation and payment. The preliminary exam is in January next year, and the final exam is in March. If you can pass, the admission notice will come out in June. I'm telling you, kid, make me proud. Don't let Professor Meng look down on the people I recommend."
Uncle De had a very accurate memory of time, but he wasn't very familiar with the specifics of things. He then added on the phone to Zhuang Rui, "You can stay at Old Meng's house in Beijing. He only has one granddaughter, hehe, who knows, maybe something might happen between you..."
Zhuang Rui was just troubled by a woman, and after hearing this, he would never go to Professor Meng's house to stay, even if he were beaten to death. Although houses in Beijing are more expensive than in Shanghai, Zhuang Rui has always been very generous when it comes to real estate investment. He can just buy one if necessary.
"Let me tell you, Old Meng's granddaughter is only twenty this year. She's a very clever and quick-witted girl, and her looks are absolutely stunning, especially her height..."
"Uncle De, the white lion is about to bite someone, let's talk about it later."
Unable to bear Uncle De's nagging on the phone any longer, Zhuang Rui hung up under the guise of Bai Shi's name. He turned to look at Bai Shi, who was staring at him with innocent eyes.
After tossing and turning in bed all night, Zhuang Rui was surrounded by three acquaintances as soon as he stepped out the next day. No, to be precise, there were six people, because each of them had an attendant with them.
Chapter 209 Sealed Bidding (Part 1)
"You... how did you all end up together?"
Looking at the group of people in front of him, Zhuang Rui was somewhat surprised. Although they all knew each other, there was no reason for them to be walking together.
Song Jun looked at Zhuang Rui with a half-smile and said, "I can't get through to your phone, and there's this big guy guarding the door, so I can only wait here."
"Can't get through on the phone? That can't be..."
Zhuang Rui casually took out his phone from his pocket and glanced at it, only to find it was out of battery.
"Hey bro, we made a deal the other day, you were supposed to come with me to pick out some rough jade today. But I've really had a run of bad luck this time. The craftsman I hired is still in the hospital."
Seeing that Song Jun had spoken first, Fatty Ma was not to be outdone and asked Zhuang Rui to go with him to the jade gambling venue to select rough stones.
"Zhuang Rui, this is my cousin Wei Zijiang. He came to the venue with me today. You'll have to help me keep an eye on things later. Our company is currently out of stock of some high-grade rough stones, and we're counting on this Pingzhou jade gambling event. If you don't help, I'll tell Xuanbing later."
Lei Lei was more direct, threatening him outright. However, the young man beside her seemed unimpressed by Zhuang Rui's ordinary clothes and appearance, offering only a casual greeting while keeping his eyes fixed on the white lion.
"Mr. Zhuang, is your big dog a Tibetan Mastiff?"
Wei Zijiang looked at the white lion, making no attempt to hide his affection.
"It's a Tibetan Mastiff, what's wrong? Is Brother Wei interested in this too?"
Zhuang Rui saw that he looked to be in his early twenties, five or six years younger than himself, so he addressed him more casually.
“Mr. Zhuang, I’m not your underling. This dog of yours is quite nice. Can you sell it to me? Price is not a problem…”
Wei Zijiang was somewhat displeased with Zhuang Rui's words. In Hong Kong, "little brother" is a term that implies a lackey or henchman. He didn't think Zhuang Rui had the right to call him that. Not to mention Zhuang Rui, the people in front of him were all quite old-fashioned. He didn't understand why his cousin insisted on asking this man for help with gambling on stones.
Wei Zijiang's words immediately stunned Song Jun and Fatty Ma. Their gazes towards Wei Zijiang then became somewhat strange. "You little punk? You want to buy White Lion too?"
"Oh, this Tibetan Mastiff isn't for sale. Even if it were, I doubt you could afford it."
Having just dealt with Xu Wei, how come another arrogant person like this has appeared? Zhuang Rui was a little annoyed. He turned his head and ignored the kid, instead saying to Song Jun and Fatty Ma, "Hey, you guys are all bosses, okay? But I didn't say I was going to the jade gambling venue today. Shall we go tomorrow?"
Zhuang Rui, with a long face, repeatedly bowed to the group. He really hadn't planned to gamble on stones today, because Yue Jing and Lao San were leaving by plane tomorrow. The brothers had already made plans to go rafting in Conghua today, followed by a hot spring. Zhuang Rui had never rafted before and was quite looking forward to it; he had even packed his swimming trunks and sunglasses in his backpack. He never expected to be ambushed by these guys as soon as he stepped out the door.
"Tomorrow, the sealed bids are opening tomorrow. By then it'll be too late. What's the point of going? Enough talk, come with me..."
Song Jun adopted an attitude of "I'm not going to reason with you, what can you do about it?" which left Zhuang Rui both amused and exasperated.
"Hey, youngest, you're even faster than me! Hey, what's all this people doing at the door?"
Suddenly, the door to the room opposite Zhuang Rui's opened, and Lao Si came out carrying a backpack, followed by a woman who was hiding behind him. He was startled by the group of people outside the door.
"Fourth Brother, they're trying to kidnap me! This is outrageous! Please help me..."
“It’s okay. Once we get to Guangdong, it’s my territory. After those two leave, the three of us brothers can go have some fun. You go with Brother Song and the others today. Making money is a legitimate business.”
The fourth brother righteously and firmly rejected Zhuang Rui.
As they were talking, Wei Ge and the others came out of the room. Although they felt deep sympathy for Zhuang Rui, they all agreed that Zhuang Rui should go gambling on stones with them.
"Damn, I want to go rafting too! I want to soak in hot springs too, you guys..."
As the group joked and walked into the elevator, Zhuang Rui called out from behind, only to be met with a flurry of four middle fingers.
Fortunately, Zhou Rui stayed by Zhuang Rui's side. After learning about what happened at Xu's Jewelry, he had been on guard. Once a person goes crazy, anything terrible can happen.
"Let's go, Brother Zhuang, I'll treat you to morning tea. After that, we'll head to the venue. I brought over 300 million yuan with me this time, but I haven't spent a single penny."
Fatty Ma casually said to Zhuang Rui, but inadvertently showed off his muscles.
Song Jun didn't pay much attention to what he heard. He knew this nouveau riche was wealthy. Lei Lei and her cousin, however, were startled. They didn't even know if their family's jewelry company had total assets of 300 million.
Fatty Ma made Lei Lei's cousin Wei's expression a little unnatural, because he had originally looked down on these few bumpkins from the mainland, but he never expected that the money they spent on playing with stones was more than all the money in their family combined.
"Alright, Brother Ma, stop pulling me. I can walk by myself. I can't run away."
Zhuang Rui was half-dragged, half-carried towards the elevator by Fatty Ma. Fatty Ma and Song Jun had already reached an agreement: they would discuss the stone Zhuang Rui had his eye on, and it wouldn't hurt their relationship. As for Lei Lei, neither of them paid her any attention; she was just a little girl. How much money could she possibly have to compete with them?
Lei Lei didn't have much money. Originally, she wanted her maternal grandfather and uncle to invite Zhuang Rui, but the two of them had heard about what happened at Xu's Jewelry yesterday. They were worried that Zhuang Rui was a conman and didn't agree to Lei Lei's suggestion. Lei Lei had no choice but to come with her cousin. She only had a little over a million yuan on her, which was all her own savings.
"Cousin, who are they? They just casually mention 300 million, are they just bragging?"
Wei Zijiang walked behind and pulled Lei Lei aside, asking in a low voice.
"I don't know that fat guy, but what he said should be true. The other guy is also a big boss, definitely richer than our family."
Lei Lei wasn't very familiar with Fatty Ma, but she knew Song Jun. His car and villa in Pengcheng alone were worth tens of millions, not to mention that it was only a place he occasionally stayed.
"Even if you have money, you're still a country bumpkin. By the way, cousin, I just said I wanted to buy that dog, why did you stop me? If we buy it and take it back to Hong Kong, it'll be so impressive."
Although he now knew that Song Jun and Fatty Ma were wealthy, Wei Zijiang still didn't think much of Zhuang Rui and hadn't given up on the Tibetan Mastiff.
"Alright, stop embarrassing me. Zhuang Rui's dog is worth 40 million RMB. How are you going to buy it?"
Lei Lei regretted inviting her little cousin over. He was usually quite well-behaved and sensible at home, but he became arrogant as soon as they came out.
"Forty million?"
Wei Zijiang was shocked by Lei Lei's words. He knew that the amount he could withdraw from his family each year was only 200,000 Hong Kong dollars. And that was only after he turned eighteen. By that calculation, the money he received from his family in 200 years might not even be enough to buy that dog.
When they arrived at the restaurant for morning tea, Wei Zijiang became much more obedient and his attitude was no longer so arrogant. Instead, he flattered Zhuang Rui and the others in every way, which made Zhuang Rui change his opinion of him. However, he was a little puzzled as to why the little guy had changed so much.
In fact, in the early 21st century, not many Hong Kong people came to work in mainland China. Many Hong Kong people's impression of mainland China was still the same as the negative portrayal of capitalism in the past: poor, dirty, and chaotic. In addition, when many Hong Kong people went to work in mainland China, their salaries and benefits were much higher than those of mainland workers, which naturally led them to develop a sense of superiority.
In reality, Hong Kong people are relatively "poor." Although Hong Kong has excellent social welfare, with unemployed people able to receive between HK$3,000 and HK$10,000 in Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) each month and employed people generally earning a basic salary of over HK$20,000, it's important to know that daily expenses in Hong Kong are extremely high. The cheapest bento box often costs HK$50.
Moreover, Hong Kong people are not as wealthy as many people imagine, driving luxury cars and living in mansions. Many Hong Kong people live in extremely small houses, with five or six people crammed into a two-bedroom apartment. For example, Zhuang Rui's apartment in China Overseas, which is over 100 square meters, would cost tens of millions of Hong Kong dollars in a good location in Hong Kong. It can be said that more than 90% of Hong Kong people cannot afford it.
Although Lei Lei's maternal grandfather had some assets in Hong Kong, he could not be called a super-rich man. Their family company's assets were only around 100 million yuan, including some real estate. Therefore, although they lived a little better than most Hong Kong people, most of the family members lived at a similar or even slightly lower standard of living than some high-level white-collar workers in mainland China.
Given that someone like Zhuang Rui carries a pet dog worth 40 million yuan with him, what gives Wei Zijiang the audacity to act arrogantly? However, he is quite shrewd; after a breakfast, he was already calling Zhuang Rui "Brother Zhuang" repeatedly.
After having breakfast, the group immediately drove to the jade gambling venue. As soon as they entered the venue, Zhuang Rui felt a little puzzled, as several of the stalls seemed to have changed.
"Brother Song, what about the raw jadeite with hidden bids at these stalls?"
Zhuang Rui took a closer look and discovered that the raw stones in the sealed bids, which were originally displayed alongside the open bid stones, had all disappeared.
"In that open space inside, to make it easier for us to select items, yesterday's event imitated the Myanmar jade auction, gathering all the sealed-bid raw materials together..."
Song Jun's words put Zhuang Rui at ease. Having all the sealed bids from the entire conference laid out together would indeed make the selection process much easier.
Chapter 210 Sealed Bidding (Part 2)
The jadeite dealers who participated in this Pingzhou Jadeite Rough Stone Fair. Basically, each stall had several or dozens of pieces of jadeite rough stones participating in the sealed auction. All the rough stones from these hundreds of stalls were gathered together, totaling tens of thousands of pieces.
The rough stones in the venue are divided into fully rough stones and semi-rough stones, creating a spectacular scene. It's only a little past nine o'clock, and there are already quite a few people with digital cameras and pens and paper, selecting their favorite rough stones.
The bidding will open tomorrow afternoon, which means Zhuang Rui and the others have a day and a half to look at these sealed bid rough stones. In Song Jun's mind, time is already very tight.
Time was also very tight for Zhuang Rui. Although he could see through these jadeite rough stones, Zhuang Rui's spiritual energy was not like that of a mage in a game, who had area-of-effect attacks. Tens of thousands of rough stones were scattered around, and it would probably take two days to examine them one by one.
"Zhuang Rui, don't you like cutting stones? Why did you suddenly decide to look at the sealed bids?"
Seeing Zhuang Rui walk towards the sealed-bid area, Lei Lei became a little anxious. She wanted Zhuang Rui to help her find a decent piece of jadeite through open bidding, to prove to her grandfather that she hadn't exaggerated.
"Brother Song and his group are buying raw stones to stock up. They don't cut the stones. We can just look at the sealed bids. But let me be clear, I only look at cheap stones, and I rely on my intuition. I can't really explain it. If there's no jade inside, don't blame me."
Zhuang Rui's words made Song Jun and Fatty Ma frown. If they wanted to stockpile goods, they would naturally buy high-quality raw materials. However, high-quality raw materials were all expensive, and there were countless bidders. According to Zhuang Rui's habits of selecting raw materials, it was not suitable for the two of them at all.
"Are you worried that your brother doesn't have enough money? Just pick the best pieces to look at."