Chapter 13: I'll Offer Three Million—Feel Free to Bid Higher If You Like!

The moment Shen Sining heard that such an unattractive jadeite was worth 600,000 yuan, her face lit up with joy, her eyes curving into crescent moons. Though 500,000 was less than what she had earned before, Shen Sining was genuinely delighted.

Zheng Wanfu had originally thought this jadeite was worthless, given its poor appearance, so he felt immensely pleased inside. However, when Old Liu declared it was worth 600,000, his initial excitement was thoroughly doused. Yet he wasn’t too disheartened; compared to the over one million yuan material they had seen earlier, this 600,000 yuan piece was hardly worth his attention.

What he forgot was that even 600,000 yuan was a handsome profit for Shen Sining, while he had sold four pieces and only lost 300,000 yuan. Jiang Cheng glanced toward the stone-cutting machine.

Six hundred thousand? Could his eyesight be deceiving him? How could there be such a huge gap? No, he was certain he wasn’t mistaken. Could Liu Ruiming have been wrong?

Jiang Cheng immediately dismissed that possibility. Suddenly, a thought struck him: Liu Ruiming might have deliberately undervalued the jadeite to cheat the inexperienced Shen Sining. Jiang Cheng had clearly seen the exchange of glances between Liu Ruiming and Murong Xue. He found it strange back then.

Moreover, if the jadeite was truly only worth 600,000, why would Liu Ruiming be so nervous about it? He personally marked the lines, studied it under the lamp, and repeatedly warned the stone carver to be extremely careful, sweating profusely despite the cool May night in Qingzhou, near the Tropic of Cancer.

A normal person wouldn’t sweat so much from just marking lines under a lamp. The only reason could be anxiety, much like the veteran stone carver sweating out of nervousness.

Six hundred thousand yuan was nothing to someone of Liu Ruiming’s stature. There was no reason for him to be so tense. The only conclusion was that the raw stone’s value far exceeded 600,000 yuan. In other words, Jiang Cheng’s eyesight was accurate.

Realizing this, Jiang Cheng had a clear understanding but grew even more contemptuous of Murong Xue. It seemed Shen Sining was quite familiar with her.

Even with acquaintances, they took advantage of her—that mercenary merchant’s face was truly detestable! Slashing the price by 3.7 million yuan with such cold-heartedness!

Though Jiang Cheng didn’t understand the jewelers’ handling of jadeite, he had heard that high-quality jadeite was never short of buyers, especially the finest pieces, which were in even greater demand.

What Jiang Cheng saw was merely the value of the raw stone, but once crafted into a finished product, it would be worth far more than 4.3 million yuan—perhaps several times or even over ten times that amount!

With this in mind, Jiang Cheng covertly glanced at Liu Ruiming and Murong Xue. As expected, the two whispered furtively to each other, unnoticed by everyone else who was focused on the stone-cutting.

Jiang Cheng sharpened his vision, and their lip movements became crystal clear. Strangely, their lip movements slowed dramatically before his eyes, astonishing him. Though he couldn’t understand lip-reading, he sensed from Murong Xue’s words that they were talking about “what they understood.”

Sure enough, they were bullying Shen Sining, taking advantage of her ignorance in jadeite!

Soon, the stone carver completed the second cut. The stone was cleaned and wiped in one fluid motion.

Still, it looked dull gray with black streaks, the quality poor and the jade core small.

Some had hoped the second cut would raise the value, but after seeing the results, even those ready to buy grew hesitant. They began to suspect Old Liu had misjudged the stone’s worth—it simply wasn’t worth 600,000 yuan.

At that moment, Liu Ruiming smiled and said to Shen Sining, “Miss Sining, how about selling this stone to me? Old man here offers 700,000 yuan. What do you think?”

“700,000?” Shen Sining pondered. Seven hundred thousand was already a good profit. She neither understood gambling on stones nor jadeite, and had only bought this as a pastime, aiming to make money—and she was happy having achieved that.

Just as she was about to nod in agreement, Jiang Cheng spoke up.

“Wait! I want this stone! I’ll pay three million!”

Amid the stunned silence, Jiang Cheng slowly approached Shen Sining, nodding as he said, “Sining, how about selling it to me?”

“Ah? Brother Cheng, you want it? This…” Shen Sining glanced between Jiang Cheng and Murong Xue, feeling conflicted.

Old Liu had said the stone was worth 600,000, and the final offer of 700,000 was already generous, likely inflated out of courtesy for Murong Xue.

Shen Sining thought the stone wasn’t that valuable; after deducting 100,000 yuan in costs, a 600,000 yuan profit was more than satisfactory.

But now Jiang Cheng had suddenly offered three million—over four times the previous price.

She was baffled. Could her stone really be worth that much?

She trusted Jiang Cheng, yet Old Liu was an authority claiming it was only worth 700,000. Could he have been mistaken?

If Jiang Cheng had gradually raised the price, it would have seemed a normal bidding war. But to immediately quadruple the price after Old Liu’s offer was a direct slap in Liu Ruiming’s face.

Though unspoken, everyone understood Jiang Cheng was accusing Liu Ruiming of deliberately underpricing, cheating naïve Shen Sining.

Hearing this, Liu Ruiming’s expression darkened instantly.

“Young man, what do you mean by this?”

Jiang Cheng replied, “Isn’t it obvious? I like this jadeite and want to buy it. Why not?”

Liu Ruiming furrowed his brow and exchanged a glance with Murong Xue.

“Do you even know this stone?”

“No, I don’t. It looks beautiful, and I like it. I bid three million. If you want it too, you can raise the price!” Jiang Cheng sneered.

After all this, it boiled down to one thing: you like it, then bid higher! If you don’t, the jadeite is mine.

Jiang Cheng’s intention wasn’t really to buy the stone. He just couldn’t stand Murong Xue and Liu Ruiming bullying someone inexperienced, arbitrarily cutting the price.

Others might not see the stone’s true value, but Jiang Cheng did. He couldn’t watch Shen Sining get cheated—especially by someone they both knew.

So he acted as a front to raise the price.

He didn’t believe an expert like Liu Ruiming in the antiques world would be unaware that this stone was worth over four million yuan.