Is He A Hidden Expert, Or Sheer Luck?

Since he now had a nagging grandfather and granddaughter pair tailing his every movement, Xi Chen immediately cancelled his decision to continue exploring the massive collection of stones in Tianguang Pavilion. Carrying his briefcase, he instead directly walked towards the nearby stone-cutting station.

Stone-cutting station was an exemplified title, for all it really was a makeshift sawmill exposed to the elements, with several cutting machines and a single professional artisan standing guard. Perhaps it was because Xi Chen had finished his hunt far too early or the artisan was bored of waiting for hesitant customers to finalize their decision, he was firmly greeted by the latter…

"Chairman Mu! It is a pleasure for this little one to experience cutting the stones selected by your majestic hand!"

…it was more than the artisan had recognized Mu Yun's glorious prestige and reputation, and had assumed Xi Chen was instead a manservant for the delicate and beautiful young lady. As the artisan prepared himself to drop into a low bow and spout praises from the depths of his heart, the awkward Mu Yun quickly gestured with his hand.

"Alright, alright, don't make my old bones feel so important, ah, little fellow?" Mu Yun chuckled.

"These stones are picked by this youngster here, I'm only here as a spectator. Of course, if there seems to be a nice choice offering, then, hm…"

"Of course!" the artisan shifted his attention towards the neutral expression on Xi Chen's countenance.

"Would you like to grind with a water-based solvent or a mineral one?"

Xi Chen paused as he briefly thought about it, not forgetting to direct an occasional glance towards the stones contained in the briefcase. Realizing that the majority of his stones were relatively isolated by a thin layer of limestone and granite, he voiced his decision in a calm manner.

"Mineral-based."

"Okay, then we'll be using the third machine."

The artisan opened the covering of the sawmill, and inserted the first stone from Xi Chen. Having fixed the stone in place a few centimeters away from the rotating blade by a vice, the inner chamber was then flooded with a clear, odorless liquid that had a light viscosity.

"Young man, I'll begin cutting now. If you want any customized styles of cutting, let me know, alright?"

Xi Chen nodded, and observed from behind as the artisan flipped the trigger for the sawmill. As the young girl craned her head to witness the cutting of the stone through the transparent polymer shield, the artisan operated the numerous levers and knobs on the side of the sawmill to bring the stone against the rotating blade.

"–ah? Young man, you truly have some luck," Mu Yun suddenly exclaimed, his eyes riveted onto Xi Chen's back.

"A fist-sized Azure Cloud Jade? It's not Imperial quality, but still, to find such untouched, natural purity, ah…"

Soon enough, the artisan and the young girl revealed expressions of astonishment as a major section of the rough stone layer had been cut away, revealing the pale lilac color infused with a violet shade at its core. As Xi Chen gestured for the former to continue cutting away, the artisan couldn't help but mutter suppressed words in his shock.

"Such a pure cut of Azure Cloud Jade, if I mess this up, Chairman Mu will surely flay the skin from my back…"

Certainly, his self-motivating murmurs were selectively ignored by the young girl and the elderly man. The young girl quickly rushed up to stand before Xi Chen, and planted both hands on her hips.

"Didn't I tell you, I had my eyes on that stone from the beginning?" she smirked in glee.

"Look, such a pure chunk of Azure Cloud Jade, and it's so large as well. And you treated a stone worth over several hundred thousand RMB as mere junk, while being so stingy about it?"

"If you had your eyes on that stone from the beginning and recognized its value, why hesitate and not purchase it outright?" Xi Chen countered with a bland look.

"Not to mention, ultimately, the receipt rests on my name."

"Che!"

The young girl immediately pouted in disgust, and quickly retreated to stand besides the smiling Mu Yun. Upon realizing that Xi Chen had chosen to ignore her and instead was silently observing the artisan continue his work with sweaty palms, her feelings soured a degree further.

Her grandfather was the one who had taken an interest in that stone! Since it was her first time experiencing the thrill of gambling for stones, how could she not express any doubt?

That ungrateful and inconsiderate man!

As the young apple in Mu Yun's eyes quietly sulked to herself, the artisan had completed the cutting of the first stone. Drying and polishing the smooth, oblique-shaped Azure Cloud Jade with careful focus, he handed it back to Xi Chen with a beaming countenance.

"Little Brother, here you go – your own Azure Cloud Jade, and fortune of several hundred thousand RMB!" the artisan raised his thumbs in delight.

"As for me, I got to experience cutting such a large chunk of unbroken, pure Azure Cloud Jade! Say, Little Brother, your other stones aren't of exceptional quality as the first one, right?"

"Yes."

The question was one of innocence and banter, but what he received was a solemn nod. Left speechless, the artisan could only receive the four stones in succession, and with each progressive stone that was slowly ground via careful management of the sawmill, loud curses echoed through the plaza.

"Breaking Mountains Jade? And of such high purity that it's just one grade below Imperial quality!?"

"Cat's Eye Jewel!? F*ck, this small piece of stone contains a Cat's Eye Jewel!?"

"Tanzanite!? Twelve carats as well – no, this has to be a f*cking joke!"

"Imperial Purple Yang Jade!?!? Little Brother, what kind of heavenly luck did you receive tonight!?"

By the last stone, even Mu Yun couldn't control himself as the elderly man lurched forwards, almost planting himself directly against the protective cover of the sawmill. When the artisan had dried and polished the final stone and placed it in Xi Chen's prepared briefcase, he rapidly blinked and wondered if he had already ascended to the Heavens.

His hands were truly shaking, and it was a wonder that he didn't drop any of them after successfully cutting the stone layers off the jade.

Such heavenly luck, to have carved out such precious artifacts in a single piece…

"Elder Mu, shall we now discuss our agreement?"

Xi Chen closed the briefcase under the gleaming eyes of the young lady, and turned to face the elderly man. Carefully remembering the sky-high prices of the precious stones he had witness flourish in Xi Chen's hands, Mu Yun's heart quivered in fright.

"Young fellow, shall we engage in some more discussions – say, perhaps a discount?" he bit his lips in angst.

"You see, this old fellow really can't muster more than a few million RMB in liquid funds at the moment, not enough to cover the costs of our agreement…"

With trembling arms, the elderly man tugged Xi Chen towards a secluded corner of Tianguang Pavilion, and began to quickly exhort favorable deals to the best of his ability. Utilizing his prestige as the powerful and rich Mu Yun of Hua's jade community, Mu Yun dared risk it all to avoid embarrassing himself before his peers.

"Little fellow, here, you see, the Azure Cloud Jade, Breaking Mountains Jade, and Imperial Purple Yang Jade can't be simply judged by their market price, since these jades in your possession are pure, whole stones, and the market evaluates their prices with the assumption that they're shattered and fragmented. So, let's do it this way – two million RMB in liquid cash, and the rest of the true value of the jades will be converted into C-shares of my Tianming Corporation?"

C-shares?

Xi Chen tapped his chin with his finger as he pondered for a brief moment. After he had evaluated his options and plans for the future, he calmly quoted his price.

"Three million RMB in hard cash, and the rest in B-share. However, you can't reduce my voting privileges."

"B-share? Not possible – ahem, not likely!" the elderly man exclaimed.

"I'm not in a position to distribute any stock higher than C-shares at the moment. Young fellow, consider a different option, ah?"

"Two million RMB, the rest in C-shares, but with enhanced voting privileges. How about that?"

"How many C-shares has your corporation distributed already?" Xi Chen countered with a straight expression.

"Given the current trend of the market for rare materials jewelry, that C-share will take a drastic hit sooner or later, no?"

"Then I'll give you favorable exchange rates when it happens – no, exchange at the original value when you first received them! B or A-shares come from my own collection – they really can't be distributed at the moment!"

Tianming Corporation was currently undergoing internal conflict through the investors or Board of Directors? Or was it an external assault by another company?

Xi Chen noted the imported clue in his mind, and factored it into his considerations alongside of his original choices. Finally, he presented his offer to the anxious and jumping Mu Yun.

"Then two million RMB, the rest in C-shares with your condition of elevated exchange rate. However, give me the identity of an external financial consultor."

"Financial consultor? External…" Mu Yun pondered for a brief moment, before his eyes shone with a brilliant gleam.

"Haha, great! Young fellow, you have a deal! Leave you address with me, and I'll send over the agreement as quickly as possible!"