"Shall we go buy those three pieces of rough jadeite tomorrow?"

"The boss will only publicly sell them two days before the auction ends."

"Why is that? I suppose most people will have invested their money in the auction's jadeite by then, leaving them with no funds to buy his rough jadeite?"

"That's exactly what he wants. If he can't sell them this time, there's always next time. Money is no issue for him; he's just looking to add some excitement and fun to his life."

Listening to Gao Ruqing's words, Hua Yan could only sigh and say, "Comparison is the thief of joy." While most people are busy struggling for a hundred square meters of living space, others are already pursuing spiritual satisfaction.

"With three or four days left until the auction, does Mr. Gao have any plans for these days?"

"I'll go to private companies tomorrow to see if there are any good rough jadeites available. Like Rujingu Company, they had no fewer than seven high-quality jadeite roughs last year, with the lowest asking price being eight million US dollars for a stone weighing less than six hundred grams."

"That's too expensive. Even if you buy them, you probably won't recover the cost, right?"

"At that price, they might not even want to sell. Whether you can recover the cost depends on your expertise. If a large company with its own workshop buys them, it might still make a small profit."

"Is it not worth it? After all, for big companies, making a small profit is like losing money."

"Perhaps you've forgotten that, in the end, whether a company can continue to attract customers and maintain its leading position also depends on whether it can continuously possess high-quality or rare jadeite. And as long as there are good rough jadeites, there are tens of thousands of ways to make money," the secretary added, earning a nod of approval from Gao Ruqing.

"It's quite profound and exhausting," Hua Yan said, leaning back in her chair and inwardly grateful that she didn't prioritize money above all else. Hua Yan's reaction left Gao Ruqing and the others feeling a bit powerless, as if they were oxen pulling a plow—hard laborers, according to her assessment of them at the moment.

When Hua Yan noticed the accusing looks from Gao Ruqing and the others, and her mouth twitched, she realized she had once again inadvertently caused emotional distress.

With a guilty smile, she muttered, "I'll go back to my room first," and hurried back to her quarters. After taking a shower and staring at the millions of twinkling lights outside the window with her damp black hair, she sighed, "All those lights look the same, just like the moon hanging in the night sky. It's the first time since my rebirth that I've been away from my father, and suddenly I miss him terribly—his daily calls for meals in the morning, his reminders to take an extra coat before leaving the house." She thought about calling him but decided against it when she realized how late it was.

At this moment, her phone rang, and she smiled happily after seeing the name on the screen. "Dad, you're still awake?"

"I slept a lot during the day, so I can't sleep at night. When will you arrive in Mandalay?"

Previously, Hua Yan's father could fall asleep as soon as he touched the pillow at night, but tonight, he couldn't sleep because he missed her. Hua Yan felt warm inside at the thought. "We'll arrive in about an hour. We just had supper."

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

"I'll feel relieved once I know you've arrived safely. Remember, don't push yourself too hard. In the world of gambling, some seemingly ordinary people may be billionaires."

"Got it. Besides, you know I'm not a fool, right?"

"You're quite cheeky. You must be tired tonight. Go to bed early and remember to check in with me every day."

"I will. Goodnight, Dad."

The next day, on the way to Rujingu Company, Hua Yan couldn't help but ask, "Mr. Gao, do you expect any gains today?"

"Do you think I'll have any gains today, little lady?"

Hua Yan rolled her eyes at Gao Ruqing inwardly, thinking, "How would I know? I'm not a psychic."

When they arrived at Rujingu Company, many customers were already there, examining the rough jadeite placed on the platform in groups.

In the center of the hall, there was a glass container with a piece of rough jadeite the size of a small calf. According to the hall staff, this piece was chosen as the king of this year by the company, with a starting price of thirty million US dollars. "The highest bidder takes it." After examining the rough jadeite, Gao Ruqing nodded, seemingly very interested in it.

Approaching the king's rough jadeite, Hua Yan was puzzled. She couldn't touch it to sense its condition directly. However, after staring at it with her perception for a while, she didn't detect any jadeite aura.

Several customers who had examined it all praised it highly. The quality of this piece of rough jadeite was evident from its deep green color, dense python patterns, and a cross-section that traversed the entire piece. It was undoubtedly a king among rough jadeites. As an old man had said earlier, "If it doesn't turn green, there's no point in gambling anymore."

"Do you think this piece is good, too?" Gao Ruqing asked with a smile.

"Yeah," Hua Yan replied, judging only by its appearance.

During jadeite gambling, personal expressions must be hidden, so even Gao Ruqing, who had been watching her closely, didn't detect any emotions. He simply assumed she also thought the rough jadeite was good.

Gao Ruqing and his team continued to carefully observe the rough jadeites in the hall, while Hua Yan wandered aimlessly. Suddenly, a piece of rough jadeite the size of a rugby ball in the corner of the platform caught her eye.

Even from a distance of about ten steps, Hua Yan could clearly smell the intense jadeite aura, as if it had been fermenting for hundreds of years. Approaching the rough jadeite and touching it, she used her insight. After a few seconds, she saw a lush green color inside, like swimming in a green ocean, refreshing and clear. The next second, a pure yellow color appeared, followed by red and purple. These four colors were warm, pure, and extremely rare individually. Seeing them together created a phenomenon rarely seen in the world of jadeite gambling—a combination of fortune, prosperity, longevity, and happiness.

Examining its surface, she found only one irregular python pattern, with no visible moss or fog. It was no wonder that this piece was abandoned among the pieces priced at one thousand eight hundred and eighty-eight US dollars. The description underneath stated that it came from the same mine as the king's rough jadeite displayed by Rujingu Company.

This led Hua Yan to speculate whether the essence of the king's rough jadeite was actually in this small piece, but this question could not be answered. Until the company closed for the day, this small piece of rough jadeite continued to be ignored by customers, even after Gao Ruqing had seen it and passed it over to buy another piece.

"Don't you have any rough jadeite you're interested in?" Gao Ruqing asked.

"Have you made your selection?"

"Yeah, I had a good haul today. I picked out six pieces of decent quality rough jadeite."

"Isn't Mr. Gao interested in the king's rough jadeite?"

"The king's rough jadeite will be on display at Rujingu Company for a few days and will be sold at the national jewelry exhibition's medium-sized public auction. So there's no rush."

"Then wait for me for a while. After a day of work, I also want to buy a few pieces to take back." Hua Yan said in a childish manner, and Gao Ruqing and his team didn't think much of it. After all, if Hua Yan had really found good rough jadeite, she wouldn't be buying them just now.

As a precaution, besides the "fortune, prosperity, longevity, and happiness" rough jadeite, Hua Yan randomly picked another piece to buy. The two pieces together cost just over ten thousand yuan, which was insignificant compared to the millions Gao Ruqing spent today.