Third update.

...

The recorded numbers weren't very accurate, nor did they meticulously list every detail for each piece of material, but Qin Fang had his own precautions in place.

He mainly listed materials that were ranked level 5 or above.

Instead of using the number 5, he used 1.

For the size of those higher-quality materials, he used a different system to record them.

He didn't need anyone else to understand these figures; as long as he himself did, that was enough.

Qin Fang might have appeared to be carelessly tossing around his appraisal skill with ease, but in reality, it was far from effortless. Each use of his appraisal skill required a certain amount of physical and stamina exertion.

Given Qin Fang's current level 3 physical and stamina abilities, appraising three hundred rough stones in one go left him nearly gasping for breath.

He could chew on some baozi to restore some physical strength, but the mental drain couldn't simply be reversed by a few steamed buns, and the weather in Guangfeng was quite hot, being in the south. Although Qin Fang, with his thick skin and robust build, wasn't bothered, Xiao Muxue was already drenched in sweat.

After a moment of hesitation, Qin Fang decided to take a break and took the small notebook from Xiao Muxue to flip through.

In just a short while, Qin Fang had appraised over three hundred and forty pieces of rough stone, among which only about fifty to sixty contained jadeite—a seven to eight percent chance of a hit. Most were ordinary materials below level 5 quality; incredibly, only three were above level 5, and even these were just level 5, with sizes ranging from 2 to 4—not particularly impressive.

However, reaching level 5 signified, at the very least, that the material was of "egg white" quality, definitely placing it in the mid to high range.

Given such odds, the one percent chance of a price increase did indeed leave one feeling conflicted, yet it seemed much higher than the chances of winning a lottery—of course, the amount of money involved was also much greater.

After asking about the price of these three pieces of material, the most expensive was three hundred thousand, while the cheapest was only twenty thousand… Without any hesitation, Qin Fang immediately purchased all three, spending less than five hundred thousand in total, which was still within his budget.

The materials Qin Fang had bought in Ninghai were mostly very cheap, partly due to good luck, but also because the Bizarre Stone Archway there played tricks; most of their materials were waste, with a chance of jadeite even lower than here.

An investment of five hundred thousand, Qin Fang estimated, should yield a return of around one million or more, roughly translating to a profit of two to three times the investment, truly a value beyond what was paid.

But before Qin Fang could even proceed to have the stones cut, he unexpectedly ran into someone familiar.

"Young Master Qin..."

The moment the man with the beard saw Qin Fang, his face immediately turned as bitter as a gourd. He hadn't expected to run into Qin Fang even after hiding away from Shenzhou to Guangfeng.

"What, here to buy jadeite?"

Qin Fang too chuckled, marveling at how small the world truly was. Though it had been three or four days, his memory of the bearded man remained vivid, recognizing him immediately.

How could it not be vivid?

The bearded fool had given away a piece of jadeite worth at least five million to Qin Fang as an imprudent apology. If he knew, he'd probably feel like banging his head against the wall in regret.

"Uh, just looking, looking around..."

Out of sheer helplessness, the bearded man couldn't dare say anything to Qin Fang; he had to swallow the loss.

After he got home that night, his father discovered that the piece of jadeite material he had collected for over ten years had vanished. His first thought was of his own son, the bearded man. After a thorough scolding, he only vaguely hinted that the material was an extremely rare piece from the old pits of Myanmar, capable of producing glass-type or even higher quality jadeite.

Such a piece of rough stone would fetch at least three million on the market. If it contained glass-type jadeite, it would be worth over five million.

Yet the bearded man carelessly gave it away, which, of course, infuriated his father.

If it weren't for his quick escape before his father could grab a stick, he might now have broken legs.

The material was already in Qin Fang's hands; the bearded man wouldn't dare to ask for it back even with ten times the courage, regardless of his deep regret.

Five million, enough for several years of indulgence, slipped through his fingers due to an offhanded remark, giving away such a treasured asset.

Feeling unfairly treated in his heart, and unable to return home, the bearded man spent days coming up with a plan. Hearing about the large jade and stone fair in Guangfeng, he went there intending to pool all his resources to buy an impressive piece of jadeite material, then swap it for the original piece he gave to Qin Fang.

Yet, he never expected to encounter Qin Fang in Guangfeng himself, the awkwardness of the situation indescribable!

"Then keep looking; I've got things to do..."

Seizing the moment while the bearded man was feeling guilty, Qin Fang used his Mind Reading Technique to instantly understand the situation, barely suppressing a laugh.

Trade a regular piece of jadeite for that level 8 old pit glass-type rough stone?

Only if Qin Fang were crazy would he agree to that!

Without giving the bearded man a chance to speak, Qin Fang had already taken Xiao Muxue to the place where the stones were being cut. Regarding the three pieces of material, he had already made payment. Yang Hong's store had a crew for loading and delivery, and they were quickly brought over.

"Damn, who's this guy, being so arrogant?"

The bearded man certainly hadn't arrived alone, it's just that his companion had stepped away for a moment and wasn't too clear on how he got tangled up with Qin Fang. However, seeing Qin Fang's arrogant demeanor, he couldn't help but make a pesky comment.

"All right, just don't give me any bullshit... I still want to live a good few years..."

The bearded man immediately showed a face full of fear, covering his companion's mouth as he spoke, which showed just how truly terrified he was of Qin Fang.

If Qin Fang knew someone could be so scared of him to this extent, he reckoned he would be holding his belly, laughing uncontrollably.

"Brother Xu, who the hell is that guy, to scare you like this...?"

The person by his side was quite burly. With a casual wriggle, he freed himself from the bearded man's grasp and asked, still quite curious.

"I'm not too sure about his exact identity, but when he was in Shenzhou, someone invited him to dinner. Guess who it was?"

The bearded man reminisced about the sight back then, still feeling scared even now.

"Who?"

The man paused, first because this question was pretty hard to answer, and secondly because he knew the bearded man all too well. The guy was normally tight-lipped, hardly uttering a word, but today he had been quite talkative, which meant it was definitely not something simple.

"Young Master Zhang Yu Liang..."

The bearded man said with a wry smile.

"Hiss..."

The young man involuntarily inhaled sharply.

Although he considered himself a minor privileged young master in Shenzhou, compared to Zhang Yu Liang, he was merely a tadpole in a lotus pond; Zhang Yu Liang could easily deal with him. It wouldn't be hard at all for Zhang to take away his father's official hat.

"That's a relief, a relief..."

Hearing this, the young man patted his chest in relief.

"Eh, look, who is that?"

But no sooner had the young man heaved a sigh of relief than he noticed a familiar face.

"Yang Wei? What's he doing here..."

The bearded man saw him too and immediately scowled with a grunt.

"His arrival is perfect. That guy is so arrogant; why don't we just send him packing..."

"What should we do?"

The bearded man might not be good with words, but he wasn't stupid. After only a moment's hesitation, he asked again.

"Actually, it's quite simple..."

The young man immediately started suggesting ideas, causing the bearded man's eyes to light up. They had only discussed half of the plan when they already began laughing in advance, "Uh-oh, looks like we don't need to make a move, someone with great luck has bumped into him..."

The bearded man was also stunned, looked toward where the other was gazing, and a smile immediately spread across his face.

The reason for their laughter was that the person whom they couldn't stand had actually taken the initiative to pick a quarrel with Qin Fang.

...

"This stone isn't bad, two hundred thousand, I'll take it..."

Qin Fang was discussing the stone-cutting with Master Jieshi, ready to get started, when suddenly someone spoke up from his direction.

Qin Fang looked up in surprise and saw a fool gesturing over the raw stone he had bought, while the woman beside him, dressed like a streetwalker, was even more repellent to Qin Fang. The perfume she wore was so overpowering it was almost suffocating...

"Not for sale!"

Qin Fang couldn't be bothered with such fools and continued to discuss plans with Master Jieshi. Xiao Muxue, on the other hand, gave a very straightforward response.

The fool didn't seem very old, probably around his twenties, but he looked rather haughty. It was unclear on what grounds he had such arrogance.

"Young Master Yang, can you believe this person actually had the nerve to disrespect you..."

Xiao Muxue's rejection caused the fool's complexion to change ever so slightly, and the woman beside him began whining in that coquettish voice, trying to intimidate with borrowed authority.

"Shut up..."

But upon seeing Xiao Muxue's stunningly beautiful face, the fool's eyes glazed over, instantly finding the woman beside him worthless. He snapped at her, startling the silly woman into silence. She wanted to sob and act spoiled, but her sugar daddy wasn't even glancing her way.

Realizing this, the woman immediately glared at Xiao Muxue with venomous eyes, as if she wished she could tear Xiao Muxue to pieces. Unfortunately, Xiao Muxue remained completely unmoved, not giving a single look to the idiotic woman, and even less to the fool who acted like a love-struck puppy!

(To be continued... If you want to know what happens next, please visit www.qidian.com for more chapters. Support the author, support genuine reading!)

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