The fine stone dust on the raw material was washed away by the water, sparkling brilliantly under the sunlight. A rich, vibrant green emerged. As the water mist condensed into droplets, the green seemed as if it might drip down along with the water, trembling with life.
As the sunlight delved deeper, the stone transformed into a pool of clear lake water—deep and mysterious.
The sight made the eyes of everyone surrounding them turn red with envy.
In the world of jadeite, green is king. “Color is value!” The appearance of this “Sunlight Green,” coupled with the ice-like crystal structure beneath, was like a stone bowl filled with lake water. This was more than a win; it was a jackpot!
Forget 300,000 yuan—add another zero and you still couldn’t buy it now!
A colorless piece of “Normal Ice” jade the size of a fist would sell for several hundred thousand. This piece had clearly reached “High Ice” and was infinitely close to “Glass Species.” With jadeite, the higher the quality, the more it resembled glass imitations. This piece was vibrant green throughout, and just this one face offered at least three positions for full-green bracelets, with more slabs to be cut underneath. Its value was astronomical.
“How can it be full green! How can it be full green! I don’t believe it!” The shop owner lunged forward, shoving Xiao Zhao aside. His eyes were wide and bloodshot as he stared at the stone.
He thought of how impulsively he had bought it, how he had sighed over it for months, afraid to cut it, and how he had just sold it to Bo Nan for 330,000. He was so full of regret his stomach felt like it was tying itself in knots.
This wasn’t just about adding a zero. Cutting “High Ice Sunlight Green” is the dream of every jade trader. Now, that dream had brushed past him. Only those who have truly owned such a treasure and let it slip away could understand that peculiar sting.
He had stood before the mountain of treasure hundreds of times and never entered!
Fortunately, it wasn’t a “Glass Species,” or the owner might have literally spat out blood. “Glass Species Sunlight Green” is the ultimate life goal, but the probability is so low it’s negligible. You almost never see it on the market; even in Myanmar, it’s normal not to see a single piece for a year or two. The requirements for Glass Species are simply too harsh.
Xiao Zhao, pushed aside, hit his knee hard against the cutting machine. He gasped in pain but didn’t dare say a word.
Bo Nan remained composed. He didn’t show any particular excitement or surprise, looking like a total outsider—as if the stone didn’t even belong to him.
“Are you alright?” Bo Nan asked.
Xiao Zhao rubbed his knee and shook his head. “I’m fine, didn’t hit it too hard.”
Bo Nan glanced at him skeptically. Given the sound the machine had made when he hit it, it was hard to believe he wasn’t hurt.
“What’s your WeChat?” Bo Nan asked. After adding him, he directly transferred 10,000 yuan. “Keep it. I said 10,000 per cut. Can you keep going? There are still the two Muna stones.”
Xiao Zhao looked a bit timid but eventually accepted it. He said obediently, “Thank you, Brother! I can still cut them.”
“Alright, go ahead. Just a skin-deep cut on the top.” Bo Nan stepped forward, and the crowd automatically parted for him. He casually touched the raw stone, then pulled out a tissue to wipe his hands. Xiao Zhao immediately moved the first stone to a side table.
The crowd followed the table to continue admiring the treasure. Someone asked, “Hey, are you selling this? Price is negotiable!”
Some were already making phone calls, urging people to come over and see the goods. High-tier items like this are scarce everywhere; there’s never a lack of buyers.
Bo Nan bit down on a cigarette and lit it slowly. “Just enjoy the view. I plan to keep it for my collection.”
Amidst the shrill noise of the machine, the first Muna stone was cut. Before Bo Nan could even look, someone cried out, “It’s blue! Damn it, it’s blue! Ice-blue with floating flowers!”
“Forget the green! Come look at this blue one!”
Blue is an extremely rare color in jadeite, much harder to find than purple or yellow, comparable in rarity to red.
Another “Ice Species”! Although not as lushly green as the first, this sky-blue hue was refreshing to the soul. In just twenty minutes, two High-Ice level stones had appeared!
“So beautiful…” “How is this possible? There was no indicator on the skin!” “Muna produces miracles!” “To have seen it is to have owned it…” someone murmured. “I! AM! NOT! JEALOUS!”
“Young man, how much did you pay for this one?” an elderly man asked. Bo Nan replied casually, “It was alright, 4,000 yuan.”
Xiao Zhao splashed water on the stone. The clear blue easily evoked thoughts of a bright sky. He touched it affectionately. “Boss, should I open the last one?”
“Keep going,” Bo Nan replied.
Xiao Zhao nodded and opened the third. This one was a deep, rich violet—known in the industry as “Demon Purple” because of its brilliance. Its value was slightly lower than the first two, but a single bracelet from this would still fetch six figures.
The moment the purple was revealed, the shop owner stared blankly at the line-up of diverse, high-quality jade. He took two steps forward and, without warning, fell face-first to the floor.
“Uncle Li?! Uncle Li, are you okay?!” Xiao Zhao rushed over to help, frantically calling for an ambulance and notifying the owner’s family.
Bo Nan wasn’t in a hurry to leave. He gestured for everyone to look as much as they liked and found a chair to sit on. Soon, a middle-aged woman rushed in. Without asking anything, she pinched Xiao Zhao’s arm and slapped him across the face, beginning to berate him.
“What’s wrong with you! Are you trying to kill the Li family? Your Uncle Li worked so hard to raise you, and you didn’t even have the sense to move him to a bed when he fainted! Raising you is worse than raising a dog!”
Xiao Zhao didn’t resist. He let her hit and kick him, simply apologizing repeatedly.
Bo Nan raised an eyebrow and moved to step forward, but the elderly man who had asked about the price earlier held him back. “Don’t get involved. If you do, it’ll only be worse for him later.”
“Oh? Why’s that?” Bo Nan asked.
The elderly man shook his head with a mix of pity and helplessness. “I heard Xiao Zhao was rescued by Boss Li from a black mine when he was a kid. He couldn’t find his family, so Li raised him. Usually, Li is decent to people, but for some reason, he takes his anger out on Xiao Zhao. If someone speaks up for him, he’ll just get a worse beating later.”
“If you ask me, the kid is too honest. If it were me, I’d have run away long ago. A twenty-year-old with a working body won’t starve anywhere.”
Bo Nan listened and asked softly, “Twenty? Did he not go to school?”
“He did. Finished high school and then they wouldn’t let him continue. He’s a smart kid; heard he tested well for university, but Boss Li’s wife tore up his admission letter and wouldn’t let him go.”
“He doesn’t have his own ideas?”
“That’s why I say he’s too honest,” the old man said. “Don’t worry too much. If a person won’t stand up for themselves, no one can pull them up.”
Bo Nan nodded slowly. Just as he was about to speak, the old man added, “Hey, save that Sunlight Green for me! I know you want to collect it, but I’ll have a word with your father later. You’ll have to sell it to me eventually.”
Bo Nan was still nodding when he realized something was off. He turned to see the old man grinning mischievously. “You’re the second Bo kid, aren’t you? I held you when you were a baby! Your dad always says you’re useless, but I see you’re doing quite well! Anyway, there’s too many people here. A kid like you shouldn’t be out without bodyguards! Get your guards over here to take these things home, or you’re going to have trouble.”
Bo Nan paused. “…They’d rob me in broad daylight?”
“Not a literal robbery people care about their reputation but they’ll pester you until you can’t breathe.”
Bo Nan’s scalp felt tight. He immediately called for his bodyguards.
Soon, the ambulance took Boss Li and his wife away, leaving Xiao Zhao alone to clean up the mess. Bo Nan walked up and patted his shoulder. “What’s your bank account number? WeChat has a transfer limit.”
Xiao Zhao hesitated. “I don’t have a bank card. Boss, you can transfer it to Uncle Li’s account.”
“That was your red envelope,” Bo Nan said patiently. “If you’re not in a hurry, I’ll transfer it to you tomorrow.”
“Okay,” Xiao Zhao said. “Thank you, Boss.”
Bo Nan leaned against the counter. “I’ll wait here for my guards. Do you mind if I sit a while? …Brother Zhao, you seem young. Are you still in school? Classes should start in a few days, right?”
Xiao Zhao, clearly lacking any guardedness, was easily led by Bo Nan’s questions. It was just as the old man said, except for the school he had been accepted to… Wudaokou Vocational and Technical College Tsinghua University.
It was a top-tier school. In a normal family, they’d be setting off firecrackers for days to celebrate.
“Don’t you want to go to school?”
Xiao Zhao froze. “…I do. But Uncle Li said the shop needs help.”
“You could go on your own.”
I don’t have money.”
Bo Nan smiled. His bodyguards arrived just then. He gave a few instructions, and one guard left. He said, “How about this? I’ll sponsor your education. After you graduate, you have to work for my family for five years. No jumping ship. A formal contract with full benefits, five days on, two off, eight hours a day. I’ve sent my guard to print the contract. I’ll cover all living expenses, tuition, and equipment. Interested?”
“As for Boss Li, don’t worry about him. You just focus on school.”
Xiao Zhao fell into silence. Bo Nan patted his shoulder. “Think it over.”
The opportunity had been placed right in front of him. It was up to him to grab it.
Bo Nan didn’t say more. When the guard returned with the contract, Bo Nan placed it in front of Xiao Zhao and left.
As the three jade pieces vanished, the crowd dispersed, still gossiping about the miracles they had witnessed.
Halfway out, Bo Nan remembered he had an appointment at another jade shop. He didn’t want to make another trip—he liked solving problems in one go.
As Bo Nan followed Boss Liu into the dim joint warehouse, someone inside saw him and their eyes lit up.
Bai Yanggui felt his gaze lock onto Bo Nan instantly. After going home the other day, he had tried to text Bo Nan but somehow lacked the courage. He hadn’t expected to run into him again today.
This must be destiny!
Should I say hello? What do I do! Today I’m in a suit and glasses, I look like I’m hard to get along with! And I have bodyguards behind me! Will I scare him away?!
Wait, what is Bo Nan doing here?
Is he buying raw stones too?
Bai Yanggui looked worriedly at the massive boulders wrapped in yellow plastic. Those were stones specifically shipped from Myanmar. The Bai family was here to pick stock today, and even the cheapest piece was nearly ten million yuan.
Can Bo Nan afford this?
No wonder he’s an MB. A normal family really couldn’t support such an expensive hobby.