The two men were quite tough; despite their severe hand injuries, neither of them uttered a sound of pain. Seeing this, Yelü Xiaosu nodded slightly and said, "Since you still have some backbone, I won't cripple your hands and feet today. Get lost!"
As soon as Yelü Xiaosu finished speaking, her chest suddenly trembled, and the two bodyguards immediately felt an overwhelming force that suddenly struck them, instantly throwing them up and causing them to fall to the ground three or four meters away with a "thump".
"You actually dare to make a move here!"
When Qiao Mulin saw that his men had been taken advantage of, his face darkened even more. He snorted and said, "Since Boss Zhou and his men are not following the rules, then we don't need to be polite anymore. All of you, go for it—smash their stall!"
After Qiao Mulin finished speaking, he waved his hands, and the twenty or so bodyguards and thugs around him immediately rushed towards Zhou Ziwei and the others like a pack of bloodthirsty wolves, howling and shouting. Some of them even pulled out two iron bars from somewhere and swung them down on the glass counters that had just been set up.
Zhou Ziwei was slightly taken aback when he saw this, and then a surge of anger welled up inside him. He waved his hand, snorted coldly, and said, "Ada, Yelü Huage, you two help Xiao Su deal with this. Just make sure no one is killed. But I don't want to see any of these people able to stand up again."
After Zhou Ziwei finished speaking, he waved to A'er and pointed to Qiao Mulin's stall not far away. He said in a deep voice, "Since they want to smash our stall, we can't be polite to them. Go over there... Don't touch those stones. I don't want to see anything else intact on their stall."
"Yes... Mr. Zhou." Ah Er, with his hundreds of kilograms of fat, always seemed to have an excess of energy. He was feeling quite annoyed that Zhou Ziwei hadn't specifically asked him to deal with these arrogant fools, but unexpectedly, Zhou Ziwei had other plans for him, ordering him to smash that idiot's stall. Ah Er preferred this kind of work, or perhaps he was just a naturally destructive guy! Upon hearing Zhou Ziwei's words, he was overjoyed, his mouth almost stretching to his ears. He let out a wild roar and charged towards Qiao Mulin's stall like a madman.
Because at this moment, the path ahead was blocked by more than twenty bodyguards under Qiao Mulin's command. If A'er wanted to get to that stall, he had to pass through the middle of these people, otherwise he would have to go around in a big circle.
Ah Er, however, clearly lacked patience. He didn't care who was in front of him and charged forward like a human tank, forcefully attacking the twenty-odd bodyguards. Wherever he passed, the burly bodyguards seemed like a group of frail children, groaning in pain. They were like paper dolls, sent flying in all directions by Ah Er's impact. Every bodyguard who was knocked down suffered broken bones and ligaments, and none of them could stand up again.
Upon seeing this, the Yelü brothers and A'da were furious. They shouted at A'er not to steal their business. Seeing that seven or eight of the twenty-odd bodyguards had been knocked down by A'er in the blink of an eye, and that the remaining three would not get much if they divided the spoils among themselves, they dared not be negligent in the slightest. They were afraid that if they were any slower, they would not even get a drop of soup. So they all unleashed their full strength and charged into the remaining bodyguards like three fierce tigers. Using their hands and feet, they knocked them all to the ground in the blink of an eye. In the end, even the arrogant Qiao Mulin was no exception. He was also grabbed by the arm by the angry Yelü Huage and slammed to the ground.
Meanwhile, Ah Er was equally quick. Despite his large, pig-like build, he was more agile than a leopard. In one sprint, he stormed into Qiao Mulin's booth and then, like a road roller, smashed everything in his sight, except for the jadeite rough stones, into powder.
Seeing this, the dozen or so staff members dared not stop them and turned to flee in alarm. Ah Er, however, did not harm the ordinary people. He faithfully carried out Zhou Ziwei's orders and did not spare anything in the exhibition booth except for the jadeite rough.
Qiao Mulin lost an arm instantly when Yelü Huage threw him, and his whole body felt like it had fallen apart. He was in so much pain that snot and tears streamed down his face. He was no longer the arrogant person he had been just moments before. He forced himself to sit up and pointed at Zhou Ziwei with his remaining finger, saying in a trembling voice, "You...you...you little brat, I think you're really tired of living this time. I will make you wish you were dead. Even if...even if Wu Di protects you, I will never let you go."
Zhou Ziwei shrugged upon hearing this, looking indifferent, and said, "I didn't have time to deal with you, but since you like to humiliate yourself, I'll just have to grant your wish, hehe... Use whatever cards you have left! I, Zhou Ziwei, am ready to take them."
"Fine...fine..." Qiao Mulin glared fiercely at Zhou Ziwei, struggled to stand up, and said, "If you have the guts, don't try to run away...If I let you live past tonight, I'll change my surname from Qiao."
Zhou Ziwei shook his head with amusement and said, "Whether your surname is Qiao or not is none of my business. But... if you keep rambling on here, I can't guarantee you'll even live tonight... Hmm... my brothers here aren't exactly known for their good tempers, so you'd better watch yourself!"
Qiao Mulin was stunned for a moment upon hearing this. He turned his head and saw the Yelü brothers and others glaring at him angrily. His face changed again in shock. He dared not linger in this dangerous place for even a moment longer. He threw down a harsh "You wait," and then immediately turned and slunk away with his tail between his legs. He didn't even glance at the bodyguards who were lying on the ground crying and wailing.
This is really troublesome...
Looking at the bodyguards still lying on the ground in pain at his booth, Zhou Ziwei frowned helplessly. The authorities would definitely not ignore the fact that so many people had been crippled in such a public place.
Moreover, Qiao Mulin clearly has some official background, so some trouble is inevitable. And these troubles from the authorities are probably not so easy for even Wu Di, a super local tyrant on the Yunnan border, to handle. Helpless, Zhou Ziwei had to take out his phone again and dial the number of Director Liu of the National Security Bureau.
Zhou Ziwei originally thought that even if Director Liu was willing to help, he would probably still have to give him a lecture.
Unexpectedly, Director Liu seemed very excited after receiving his call. When he heard that Zhou Ziwei was asking for his help, he didn't hesitate at all. After confirming that no one had died, he patted his chest and guaranteed that he would handle the matter without any trouble.
After hanging up the phone, Zhou Ziwei had a vague sense of unease. Director Liu had been far too enthusiastic towards him. Logically, he and Director Liu weren't particularly close, so it would have been understandable if Director Liu hadn't offered help in this situation. But why…
After shaking his head inwardly, Zhou Ziwei temporarily put these doubts aside and instead pondered how to deal with Qiao Mulin that night.
Luan Yuqing originally intended to ask Zhou Ziwei to help her get revenge, but Zhou Ziwei didn't intend to get involved in this matter last time because he didn't have a deep relationship with Luan Yuqing.
However, Luan Yuqing has been a great help to him recently. During this time, her personal assistant has managed some of the company's miscellaneous affairs quite well. And this time, Qiao Mulin has once again provoked Zhou Ziwei, so whether for public or private reasons, Zhou Ziwei shouldn't let this scumbag Qiao Mulin get away with it.
The two had just clashed in public. If they were to kill Qiao Mulin tonight, even a fool would know that Zhou Ziwei was the one who killed him. The reason Director Liu could so easily agree to help him settle things today was because no one was killed. Otherwise, no matter how powerful Director Liu was, he wouldn't be able to protect him so easily.
Hmm... if all else fails, I'll just turn that scumbag into an idiot. Zhou Ziwei rubbed his nose, finally making up his mind. At that moment, a group of people in police uniforms quickly arrived.
Today is a large-scale jadeite rough stone trade fair hosted by the Tengchong Jade Association. With so many priceless jadeite rough stones gathered in one place, security is naturally a top priority. Almost all of the county's police force has been deployed to maintain order at the fair, so the police responded immediately when a fight broke out.
Seeing this, Gu Dongfeng immediately tensed up, and said with a wry smile, "Ziwei... this... this mess... you really should have told them to restrain themselves... I'm afraid we won't be able to participate in this jadeite rough stone trade fair this time. That Boss Qiao seems to have considerable influence; he's suffered such a huge loss, he probably won't let it go easily. You... I know you're incredibly powerful, but... please don't get into any conflict with the police later, otherwise... even if you're personally very strong, you can't possibly stand against a country!"
Zhou Ziwei knew that Gu Dongfeng meant well, so he nodded quickly, but said confidently, "Don't worry, Grandpa! I'm not the kind of person who doesn't know what's important. Besides... I don't think this matter will have any impact. The trade fair is about to start, so you should have them all prepare!"
Volume 2: The Assassin's Nightmare, Chapter 327: I Don't Care Who He Is
A dozen or so people in police uniforms hurried over. When they saw the twenty-odd bodyguards lying on the ground, still groaning, their expressions immediately turned strange.
The leader walked in with a cold face, his gaze sweeping over Zhou Ziwei and the others. His eyes paused briefly on Gu Dongfeng's face, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes, but he quickly looked away, finally settling on Zhou Ziwei. He frowned slightly and said, "Do you know what you're doing? Fighting in public, seriously disturbing public order... Except for that old man and a few children, the rest of you come with us!"
After saying that, the man waved his hand, intending to have his men escort the suspects back to the station. He was only a little more polite because he saw that Old Master Gu Dongfeng was there; otherwise, he would have already handcuffed the whole group.
He had received a call from Qiao Mulin earlier, and learned that even the old man Qiao had been beaten up. He felt a chill in his heart. He had received many benefits from Qiao Mulin in the past, so naturally he had to help him out now.
After the man gave the order, the officers around him didn't move. He was slightly taken aback, then his brows furrowed again. He looked at the officers with a cold face and shouted, "What are you doing? Take these people away! Are you waiting to eat shit?"
Being publicly insulted by their superior, all the officers' faces turned grim. One of them couldn't help but sneer and said, "Deputy Captain Zhao, what you're saying is really low-class. We all work in the same department. If we were to eat shit, we'd have to serve you first... Hehe... If you don't take a few bites first, we small fry won't dare to go first."
"What did you say!"
Upon hearing this, Deputy Captain Zhao's face immediately turned furious. He couldn't believe this person dared to contradict him in public. What was even more infuriating was that this person actually addressed him as "Deputy Captain" in front of everyone. Although he was indeed a Deputy Captain, it seemed that since he took on this position, very few people dared to call him "Deputy Captain" to his face. To the point that even he sometimes forgot that he was only a deputy. Damn it, would omitting the word "Deputy" kill him?
The police officer, who had a powerful uncle in the city bureau protecting him, wasn't particularly bothered by Deputy Captain Zhao's threatening tone. However, since Zhao was still his superior, he didn't want to embarrass him too much. Hearing this, he could only purse his lips and say, "Deputy Captain Zhao, that's a bit harsh. Why do you insist I repeat myself? What I really wanted to say was... this Mr. Zhou was the one who helped us solve that armed kidnapping case last time, and without him, we might have lost many more people... Both Captain Zhang and the bureau chief are very grateful to Mr. Zhou. Even if you need Mr. Zhou's assistance in the investigation today, I think... shouldn't we be a little more polite? Otherwise, if Captain Zhang hears about this, he'll definitely slam his fist on the table!"
Upon hearing this, Deputy Captain Zhao's face darkened further. He had been on leave when the last case occurred, but he had naturally done some research on such rare and serious cases afterward. Knowing that he was dealing with such a character today, he couldn't help but feel a little apprehensive. However, he had already promised Qiao Mulin that he wouldn't act too weak at this moment, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and shout, "I don't care who's who. Even if the King of Heaven himself committed a crime on my turf, I'll still arrest him... All of you, stop talking nonsense and take all of these people away immediately. If you keep arguing, don't blame me for disciplining you."
Seeing Deputy Captain Zhao utter such harsh words, the police officers could only stand by helplessly. Several officers who were familiar with Zhou Ziwei stepped forward first, offering him wry smiles and saying, "Mr. Zhou, perhaps... you could come to the station with us first? Hmm... once Captain Zhang finds out about this, he'll definitely make sure you're alright..."
Zhou Ziwei smiled slightly upon hearing this and said, "Let's wait a moment! I think... he probably can't take me away."
The officer was slightly taken aback, unsure of what to do next, when he heard Deputy Captain Zhao's walkie-talkie ring. A voice on the other end was shouting and desperately calling out to Deputy Captain Zhao.
Deputy Captain Zhao hurriedly grabbed the walkie-talkie, and then heard the county branch bureau chief telling him to call him back immediately. It turned out that Deputy Captain Zhao's phone had been switched off, and the bureau chief had been trying to call him for a long time without success, so he had no choice but to shout into the walkie-talkie.
Deputy Captain Zhao sensed something was off about the director's tone and, not daring to be negligent, quickly took out his phone and went to a corner to make a call.
About a minute later, Deputy Captain Zhao returned with a livid face. He glanced at Zhou Ziwei, who looked completely unconcerned, then gave a soft snort and said to his subordinates, "Did you call an ambulance? Xiao Hu, Xiao Liu... you guys stay here and help the emergency center take all these injured people away. The rest of you, come with me..."
After saying that, she glanced back at Zhou Ziwei again, then gritted her teeth and turned away angrily.
Zhou Ziwei gently touched his nose, knowing that Director Liu's influence had already permeated the area. He stopped worrying about the matter and turned to work with the others to make final preparations for the start of the trade fair.
After the ambulances carried all the injured away, the trade fair officially began. Visitors and tourists who had been waiting outside the venue for a long time, and most importantly, the owners of jewelry stores from all over the country, immediately rushed in.
Xin Yue was under considerable pressure representing Bairui Jewelry Company at the jadeite rough stone trade fair in Tengchong. Recently, the domestic jewelry industry experienced another surge in jadeite fever, causing the price of jadeite jewelry to rise significantly. However, due to the blockade in Myanmar, there was a severe shortage of jadeite raw materials in China, and the jewelry companies under the Bairui Group were already facing the danger of running out of stock.
So this time, it all depends on whether she can find a few good pieces of jade in Tengchong... Her maternal grandfather, Zheng Minghui, specially opened a 200 million yuan account for her, so that she must buy back a few pieces of jadeite this time, no matter what. If she really can't buy any jadeite, she'll accept it even if she has to gamble on stones herself.
In short, if this attempt yields no results, it will have a significant impact on the jewelry businesses under the Bairui Group.
Therefore, she had to complete this task. Even if the bid was higher and the company suffered a small loss, it was better than running out of stock, as this was a major issue concerning the company's reputation.
Based on past experience, Xin Yue knew that at a rough stone trading fair of this scale, it was certain that someone would find jadeite on the spot. However, almost all of the dozens of large jewelry companies from across the country had sent people here, and their situations were similar to Bai Rui's. If they didn't manage to acquire a few good pieces of jadeite at this time, they would likely face some trouble. Even those who still had stock on hand would probably not hesitate to bid, since if they acquired two more pieces, their competitors would lose two opportunities. They were naturally happy to see this kind of opportunity to strengthen themselves and suppress their competitors.
So, with so many people competing, Xin Yue really wasn't sure if she could win the bid for the jadeite.
Xin Yue followed the crowd into the trade fair, but didn't rush to look around. After all, the fair had just started, and it would take a considerable amount of time before a jade gambler would select a stone and sell it, and then the stone would be cut open. Xin Yue's main goal was to gamble on secondhand stones or completely cut, pure jadeite from these gamblers, so there was no need to rush. However, just as Xin Yue was casually looking around, she suddenly heard a frenzied commotion coming from a booth in front of her.
Xin Yue was slightly taken aback, thinking that someone wouldn't be cutting stones so early! Regardless of whether it was true or not, she dared not miss it, so she quickly squeezed towards the bustling stall. When she finally managed to squeeze through the crowd and saw the scene inside the stall, she was immediately stunned.
The booth didn't even have a single piece of raw jadeite on display. The huge booth only had a few transparent glass counters, which were filled with various sizes and colors of jadeite, which looked like roughly cut pieces of jadeite.
Among the several counters, there were actually more than thirty pieces of jadeite.
This... how is this possible? How could someone possibly hoard so much jadeite all at once...?
Upon seeing this, Xin Yue's eyes lit up. She knew that in the current situation in China, it was quite difficult to find even a piece of jadeite. For jadeite rough stone middlemen like those in Tengchong, if they could find a dozen or so pieces of jadeite from a large batch of rough stones purchased from jadeite mines in Myanmar, that would be considered a good result.
Especially with low-grade rough stones, you might not find a single piece containing jade even after cutting open ten thousand pieces. As for first and second-grade rough stones, although the chances of finding jade are much higher, their prices are also ridiculously high. If you encounter a stone that turns out to be a boulder, you'll basically lose everything. Very few people would dare to gamble on that.
Therefore, middlemen in the rough stone industry are not very willing to purchase too many of these first-grade rough stones.
According to Xin Yue's prior estimate, although there are quite a few Chinese merchants in Tengchong who deal in raw jadeite, only about a dozen are truly powerful. On average, she estimated that if they could find one or two hundred pieces of jadeite at this jadeite raw stone trade fair, that would be considered quite good.
And this excludes those stones that are gambled on for personal use and never sold to the public. So, the stones that can be auctioned off might only fetch 30 to 50 yuan at most.
But what she saw now... she never expected that at the very beginning of the raw stone trade fair, more than thirty pieces of jadeite were displayed at one of the booths.
This is jadeite meat, not jadeite rough... No wonder it has caused such a commotion among the crowd. In just a short while, Xin Yue has seen people from dozens of well-known jewelry stores across the country crowding over here.
Initially, seeing the thirty-odd pieces of jadeite displayed in the counter, Xin Yue felt a surge of excitement, confident that she would not leave empty-handed this time. However, upon seeing her colleagues next to her, whose eyes were also shining with excitement, she suddenly felt uncertain again.
Thirty-odd pieces of jadeite are indeed a lot, but... the buyers here number more than double that...
Moreover, the more powerful a person is, the more ruthless they will be. No one thinks that it's enough to win one or two pieces of jadeite. If they have money, they would probably be eager to bid on all the jadeite here in one go. Therefore, it seems that a fierce battle is about to begin.
Xin Yue gritted her teeth inwardly, and only then did she suddenly see a familiar figure slowly stand up from the booth and gently wave to her. Xin Yue was stunned.
Xin Yue never expected to run into Zhou Ziwei here. The expert who displayed such prowess on the plane, the guy with unbelievable luck at the jadeite rough auction… what was he doing here? Hmm… with his incredibly accurate eye for jadeite rough, could he have been hired as an "eye" by some jadeite middleman? But… how could that be… last time in Kunming, this kid was clearly a complete novice when it came to jadeite rough, just lucky. What big boss would actually trust such a young "eye"…
Seeing the two guards, one fat and one thin, who looked like door gods, immediately step aside to let her in at Zhou Ziwei's signal, Xin Yue couldn't help but feel overjoyed.
From this small detail, she could tell that even if Zhou Ziwei wasn't the rough stone appraiser here, his status here must be quite high. Even the owner here would probably give him some face!
Xin Yue quickly squeezed through the crowd, then playfully punched Zhou Ziwei in the chest without a word, grinning as she said, "You little rascal, after we parted last time, why didn't you even call your sister once... Humph... I've been thinking about you all the time, even my grandpa has asked me several times why I haven't called him. And I even checked the chain stores under Bai Rui's name, and there's still no record of you making a purchase... It seems like you haven't even used the card I gave you!"
Zhou Ziwei smiled somewhat embarrassedly upon hearing this and said, "I've been... too busy, haven't I? I haven't had a single free moment. I'm so sorry... How is Grandpa Zheng's health now? Didn't he come to Tengchong this time?"
Xin Yue rolled her eyes at Zhou Ziwei and said, "Grandpa's health is alright, but he's getting on in years. He can't handle the hassle of traveling all the way here. Now he usually stays in Beijing, drinking tea and chatting with a bunch of old friends. He rarely manages the company anymore. Hmm... to be honest, what do you do here? Are you a handyman or... a jadeite rough appraiser? Hmm... you have to tell me the truth, don't lie to me..."
As Xin Yue spoke, her small hands restlessly landed on Zhou Ziwei's shoulders.
"Ahem... Ziwei, who is this sister...?" Xin Yue was teasing the guy in front of her who was very interesting to her, when a woman's clear voice suddenly came from behind her. She could clearly hear a strong sour taste in that voice.
Xin Yue was slightly startled and quickly removed her hand from Zhou Ziwei's body. When she turned around, she saw a beautiful girl who was four or five years younger than her, three or four points more beautiful than her, and whose figure was no less than hers. The girl was standing behind her, and her beautiful big eyes were blinking, looking at her with curiosity and a little hostility.
Upon seeing this, Xin Yue blushed slightly, quickly gave a dry laugh, and introduced herself, "Wow... what a beautiful girl... My name is Xin Yue, I'm Ziwei's good friend who's been through thick and thin with him, hehe... Hello, little sister!"
Zhou Ziwei felt slightly awkward upon seeing Liu Xiaofei's pretty face. He quickly stepped forward, pulled Liu Xiaofei's slender waist into his arms, and then said with a light laugh to Xin Yue, "Miss Xin, this is my girlfriend, Liu Xiaofei. Please take good care of her!"
Liu Xiaofei was initially upset to see Zhou Ziwei being so intimate with a beautiful and alluring woman right in front of her. However, upon hearing Zhou Ziwei solemnly introduce himself to that woman, she immediately felt relieved, and her pretty face blossomed like a blooming rose, making her even more stunning.
At this moment, sensing the hint of helplessness and gloom in Xin Yue's expression, and recalling the anxiety and uncertainty she had felt when she and Zhou Ziwei were not yet officially dating, she couldn't help but feel more sympathy for Xin Yue. She quickly stepped forward and took Xin Yue's small hand affectionately, saying softly, "Oh, it's Sister Xin Yue... Then please come inside and sit down! There are too many people and it's too chaotic here. Let's go to the back to talk!"
Seeing Liu Xiaofei's enthusiasm, Xin Yue couldn't refuse. However, looking at the sea of people crowding in front of the booth, and then at the piece of colorless jadeite about half the size of a football being carried to the auction stage by the Yelü brothers and Gu Dongfeng, her eyes suddenly lit up with excitement. She said, "Let's wait a bit! This time, Grandpa gave me a strict order: if I don't bring back a few pieces of jadeite this time, it won't do!"
Volume 2 The Assassin's Nightmare Chapter 328 Soul Connection Collapse
Xin Yue originally wanted to see if there was any way to get through Zhou Ziwei's connections, but after thinking about it again, she felt that her idea was really ridiculous.
You know, every piece of jadeite here would fetch an astronomical price if it were put on the auction stage. If the owner were to secretly transfer the jadeite directly to her, the loss would be enormous. In that case... even if the owner was willing, Xin Yue might not dare to take it.
There's no such thing as a free lunch. How could the big boss not have ulterior motives if someone takes such a big advantage for no reason? Although Xin Yue usually seems very generous, she can still stick to her bottom line when it comes to really important matters.
So after hesitating for a long time, Xin Yue still didn't make such a request to Zhou Ziwei.
However, Zhou Ziwei saw through Xin Yue's thoughts and smiled slightly, saying, "What... is Bai Rui's jewelry company in great demand for jadeite raw materials right now? Do you need my help?"
Since Zhou Ziwei had brought it up, Xin Yue naturally had no reason to hide anything. She nodded and said, "Yes... the market for raw jadeite in China is getting increasingly tight. Many jewelry companies that mainly deal in jade are facing the embarrassing situation of running out of raw materials. Although our Bai Rui jewelry company doesn't mainly deal in jade, we've always been known for our comprehensive selection. If we were to lose our currently popular jadeite jewelry, it would be a significant blow to our company's reputation. So... my grandfather gave me a strict order to come here this time: I must find some raw materials no matter what, otherwise... we'll really run out of stock."
Zhou Ziwei nodded and casually asked, "So... I wonder how much jade Miss Xin plans to buy this time? Tell me first... maybe I can help you sort it out."