Chapter 7: This Woman Truly Is an Unrelenting Spirit

“Sir, please have a look.” Zhao Chen took out a piece of ice jade with the surface sand removed and casually placed it on the table.

Before becoming familiar, it’s safest to conduct transactions in small, frequent amounts.

The slicked-back older man, who introduced himself as Mr. Song, picked up the jade and examined it carefully under a light.

“Lime skin surface with signs of sand removal, fine texture, excellent water translucency, and a hint of green flecks—this is indeed a fine piece. Young man, how much are you asking for it?”

“I’m not asking for much, something close to market price will do.”

Zhao Chen had been trapped in the mining area for a long time, with no opportunity to meet buyers, so he wasn’t very familiar with external prices.

Mr. Song pondered for a moment, then said seriously, “From what I can see, the price is about 650,000 yuan. Is that acceptable to you?”

Hearing this, Zhao Chen pretended to consider it for a moment. Thinking of his situation in Myanmar, he knew that getting cash flow quickly was the best option.

He nodded. “Yes, I can accept that.”

Mr. Song smiled warmly. “How would you like the money? Cash or transfer?”

“300,000 in cash, 350,000 by transfer.”

Zhao Chen thought for a moment. Transferring all 650,000 to his mother at once might scare her, making her suspect he was involved in something illicit. He also needed cash on hand to bribe the traffickers, who preferred cash.

“Alright, the money’s in my car. I’ll first transfer the 350,000 to you.”

Mr. Song took out his phone, asked for Zhao Chen’s account number, and called his finance department.

Soon after, he smiled and said, “The money has been transferred. Please check.”

Suppressing his excitement, Zhao Chen stepped outside the café to call his mother.

“Mom, I found a piece of jade here and sold it for 350,000. Please check if the money has been credited to your bank card.”

“What jade is worth so much? Let me see. It’s here—the bank sent a message. Xiao Chen, you haven’t gotten into trouble, have you? Is jade really that expensive there? Hello…”

Zhao Chen had no time to answer his mother’s questions. His gaze froze on a certain direction, his heart pounding wildly.

“Why is she following me?”

It was none other than the beautiful CEO whose SUV he had taken.

She approached angrily with bodyguards, her expression dark and fierce.

But she seemed not to have noticed him yet. Zhao Chen hurried back into the café and sat opposite Mr. Song.

Unexpectedly, Tang Yan pushed the door open, muttering, “Grandpa, what kind of jade has you so excited? I’m busy looking for the car thief… huh?!”

Zhao Chen instinctively glanced at her. Their eyes met, and an electric tension sparked between them.

“Damn car thief! How are you here? Kun Cha, grab him!”

“Yan Yan, do you know each other?” Song Chengyuan asked in confusion.

Tang Yan snorted angrily, “No, he stole my car on the road. I’ve been looking for him everywhere and now I’ve found him here.”

Zhao Chen smiled awkwardly and retorted, “Hey, beautiful, you must be mistaken. I exchanged the jade for your car. One piece of sky-blue jade is more than enough for your car. How is that stealing?”

“Taking without asking is stealing. Taking it in front of me is robbing. Got a problem?”

Tang Yan knew the jade’s value perfectly well. The issue was that her documents and wallet were still in the car; losing them would leave her helpless in Myanmar.

Song Chengyuan looked at both of them in astonishment. “Are you saying that sky-blue high-ice jade belonged to this young man?”

“Not anymore. Didn’t he just say he exchanged it for my car? Hmph.”

Having secured something valuable, Tang Yan had no intention of giving it up. That jade was worth more than two SUVs.

Then she glared fiercely at Zhao Chen. “You can keep the car, but you have to return my belongings, especially my wallet!”

“Sure, sure. I’ll get it for you in a moment.”

Zhao Chen breathed a secret sigh of relief. As long as she didn’t hand him over to Wen Min, everything else was minor.

Song Chengyuan chuckled and said, “I didn’t expect you and my granddaughter to have such a connection. Where’s that sky-blue jade? Let me have a look.”

Song Chengyuan was not only Tang Yan’s grandfather but also the chief jade carver of the Tang Jewelry Group.

He had devoted his life to jade carving and was a top master in the industry.

Any jade jewelry he crafted would at least double in value.

Unfortunately, the political turbulence in Myanmar in recent years had made fine jade increasingly rare.

He looked down on lower-grade jade and was reluctant to work with it, which was why he had come with his granddaughter to handpick materials.

Unexpectedly, fate had led Zhao Chen to become their target buyer.

Tang Yan took the sky-blue jade from her small handbag, smiling mischievously. “Grandpa, can you make me a bracelet from this? I’ve been longing for one for a long time, but you always said there wasn’t suitable jade. Now there is.”

“Let me take a look first,” Song Chengyuan said, not agreeing immediately. He examined the jade carefully under the light.

After a moment, he exclaimed delightedly, “The water translucency is full and clear, the internal texture is very even, no cotton or cracks, and it shines brilliantly under the light with no defects. This is truly a rare, exquisite piece!”

“Hehe, I got it by trading a car. I’ll have my dad buy me a new one later.”

Tang Yan gave Zhao Chen a sly look, full of challenge.

She had been driving that SUV for a year; its market value was at most 300,000 yuan. Trading a used car for such a superb piece of jade was a fantastic deal.

Zhao Chen grumbled unhappily, “What’s there to be proud of? If you didn’t have a gun, I would have taken you along.”

He knew he had definitely lost out, but under the circumstances, if he hadn’t stolen the car to escape, he could have been caught by Bo Gang and others, and then the loss would have been far greater than a piece of jade.

Meanwhile, after examining the jade, Song Chengyuan smiled and said, “Young man, I never expected you to have such fine jade. How about this? I’ll pay you an additional one million yuan for this sky-blue high-ice jade. And in the future, you give me priority if you have good pieces to sell. How about that?”

As a master jade carver, his greatest frustration was the lack of suitable raw jade to work with.

Even paying Zhao Chen an extra million was only the price of half a sky-blue high-ice jade bracelet.

Moreover, this piece was large enough to make two bracelets, two bracelet cores, three or four pendants, and other small items.

All told, its value was at least around five million yuan.