“Forty-five million.”
“Fifty million.”
“Sixty-five million.” The man in sunglasses gritted his teeth as he raised the bid. He had deliberately increased it by fifteen million in one go. When bidding on something like this, it was better to make a big jump and scare off the competition. If you raised the price little by little, you would often end up paying even more.
“Seventy-five million.”
Old Yang hurried forward, his eyes burning with excitement and determination as he stared at the Imperial Green in Su Cheng’s hands.
The man in sunglasses saw the look in Old Yang’s eyes and hesitated.
Forget it. He couldn’t compete. He simply didn’t have enough money.
The people around them saw how determined Old Yang was and gradually gave up as well. The price was already extremely high, and even if they bought it, there wouldn’t be much profit left. Still, Imperial Green was incredibly rare—something you could only encounter by sheer luck.
Su Cheng continued absorbing the rich spiritual energy from the jade. Looking at the feverish look in Old Yang’s eyes, she asked, “Can I hold it for a few more minutes? I’m a little reluctant to let it go, too.”
“I’ll transfer the money to you right now. Little girl, you really are lucky!” Old Yang said, sounding genuinely envious.
Just moments ago, Su Cheng had finally been able to open her spatial realm again.
The moment she sensed it, a deep sense of relief washed over her. A soft smile unconsciously appeared on her face.
Su Cheng rarely smiled, but at that moment, her beauty was breathtaking.
After absorbing most of the spiritual energy, she finally handed the Imperial Green to Old Yang, who had been watching her expectantly.
Once the payment was transferred, Old Yang left his address in the capital and repeatedly told Su Cheng that she absolutely had to visit him if she ever went to Beijing. Then he hurried away with a young man.
Su Cheng still had several pieces of rough stone that hadn’t been cut. She planned to have Sun Jianjun take them back with him.
She also needed to cut at least one worthless stone. Otherwise, her luck today would be far too conspicuous.
It was already getting late. More importantly, Su Cheng was planning to go to Sichuan Province to bring her child back. The people there were known to be rather tough and formidable, so she wanted to have as much ability to protect herself as possible.
After all, she was currently three months pregnant.
Thinking of this, Su Cheng picked up one of the smaller pieces of rough stone. It was one she had chosen almost at random earlier.
She handed it to the stone cutter.
“Just cut it directly. I think my luck has run out for today.”
The stone cutter brought the blade down.
White stone appeared.
“It’s a dud. Now that is more like it.”
“Miss Su really made a fortune today.”
“Exactly. Most people wouldn’t have the guts to bet like that. Let’s go pick one too. Yipinxuan really got a good batch of stones this time.”
“I lost on that one, but I’m still going to buy another. The owner really did get some good material this time.”
Everyone rushed toward the piles of rough stones.
The owner of Yipinxuan was grinning so broadly that his eyes nearly disappeared.
This batch won’t be difficult to sell now.
After today, Yipinxuan’s reputation would rise another level.
To be honest, when Su Cheng had uncovered that enormous piece of Golden Silk Jadeite, the owner had felt a pang of regret. If he had known such a huge piece was hidden inside, wouldn’t he have cut it himself?
But that was the nature of this business. You had to keep a good attitude. He was a seller of rough stones. What other people found inside them had nothing to do with him.
Of course, if more of them turned out to contain jade, that would only make his shop more famous and earn him more money.
He smiled and let go of his regrets.
Yes. Who could ever predict luck?
“Miss, you really are lucky. Are you going to cut the remaining pieces?” the stone cutter asked with a smile when he saw that Su Cheng didn’t seem to have any intention of continuing.
Su Cheng pulled a thick stack of cash from her bag and handed it to him.
“No, I’m done. I think my luck ends here today. Thank you for your hard work. This is a little bonus for you.”
Hearing what Su Cheng had said to the stone cutter, Fu Zhengguo looked at her affectionately.
“Do you want me to have someone come and help you take all these stones back?”
“No need, Uncle Fu. Sun Jianjun should be here soon. I’ll have him take them back to the company. What about your stone? Are you taking it home to cut?”
“Yes. There are too many people here now. I have a polishing machine in my basement.”
It wasn’t long before Sun Jianjun arrived in a hurry with several men.
“President Su, Old Fu.”
After exchanging greetings, Sun Jianjun immediately instructed the men he had brought to load the rough stones into the vehicles.
He also handed Su Cheng several invitations in case she wanted to invite any friends.
Just before getting into the car, Su Cheng smiled and said, “Uncle Fu, Shengshi Pearl Jewelry is opening the day after tomorrow. This is your invitation.”
She handed him a bright red invitation.
Fu Zhengguo looked at her in surprise.
“Shengshi Pearl is yours?”
Then he nodded approvingly, his expression filled with pride.
He truly regarded Su Cheng as one of his own younger generation.
In fact, he had another thought in mind, but this wasn’t the right time to bring it up.
When Su Cheng returned home, she hurried into the bathroom and immediately entered her spatial realm.
The spiritual energy inside was abundant.
Two mountains stood in the distance, stretching as far as the eye could see. Beneath them were two spiritual veins, which made the spiritual energy in that area especially dense.
The mountains were covered with spiritual herbs that had grown for countless years. Most of them were thousand-year-old spiritual herbs. The hundred-year-old varieties grew mostly around the edges of the mountains.
At the foot of the mountains grew younger spiritual herbs, along with ginseng and lingzhi mushrooms.
Even the slightly older Chinese medicinal herbs were growing exceptionally well.
Not far from the foot of the mountains was a large pool of spiritual spring water. It could replenish spiritual energy as well as temper and strengthen the body.
Su Cheng had accidentally activated this spatial jade token when she was five years old and injured herself while cultivating.
The jade token had been passed down through her family for generations. Once it recognized her as its master, it disappeared.
Her grandfather had given it to her when she was born. At the time, everyone thought it was merely a defensive jade pendant. Even her grandfather had no idea that it actually contained a spatial realm.
There was also a bamboo building inside.
Su Cheng had turned it into a study and bedroom.
Several storage bracelets and storage rings were kept in the study. They contained thousands of years’ worth of her accumulated treasures.
Most of the storage bracelets held jade slips from the cultivation world, top-grade spirit stones, and several high-grade sacred artifacts.
The storage rings contained dozens of high-grade spiritual artifacts, along with various pills and medicinal herbs that had already been processed.
The bedroom contained nothing except a meditation cushion made from top-grade Clearheart Grass.
Su Cheng took out a defensive jade pendant from one of her storage bracelets.
She dripped a drop of blood onto it, allowing it to recognize her as its master, then hung it around her neck.
With this, she would feel much safer on her trip to Sichuan Province.
Early the next morning, Su Cheng and her group set out for Sichuan Province.
Meanwhile, on the eastern mountain behind Kaoshan Village, a boy of about nine years old was hunting.
He wore a shirt covered in patches.
His thin, gaunt face was completely expressionless.
His large eyes were fixed intently on a pheasant in front of him.
As he walked, his big toe stuck out through the hole in his worn-out shoe. His trousers ended well above his ankles, clearly far too short for him.
Suddenly, the boy lunged.
The pheasant was pinned beneath him, its wings trapped firmly under his arms.
The boy’s expression remained blank, but a fleeting gleam in his eyes betrayed his happiness.
At least he wouldn’t have to go hungry today.
“Love Min, tell me something. We’ve sold that little brat twice already, and both times he managed to run back. We beat him every day, too. Why does he insist on coming back here?”
The woman speaking was around forty years old, with dark skin and a sharp, unpleasant expression.
“Why?”
A strange emotion flickered across Han Aimin’s eyes.
After a brief pause, he said, “He probably thinks that Su Qianqian will come back for him someday. He’s afraid that if she comes looking and can’t find him, she’ll leave again. That’s why, no matter how good someone else’s family treats him, he still comes running back here.”
“Hmph. It’s been six years, and she hasn’t come back to see that little brat even once. Su Qianqian must have gotten married. There’s no way she’d still take that burden with her.”
The woman spoke dismissively.
In the corner by the doorway, the boy’s eyes turned red.
Tears streamed uncontrollably down his cheeks as he clenched his fists tightly.
No. That’s not true.
It can’t be.
Mom will definitely come back for me.