"Stop!" Li Changlin stretched out his hand to pull Lin Ruonan behind him, then looked at Song Haonan, "Boss Song, if you really want it, then give me a fair price. I think you’re well aware that I’ve only cut one-fifth of the original stone so far, and that was just the edges of the whole stone. If another piece, maybe even two pieces of glutinous rice-type jadeite is opened from the remaining four-fifths, that’s a value of five million. You want to shoo me away with only five hundred thousand, that’s a bit too stingy!"
"Stingy?" Song Haonan smiled noncommittally, then said lightly, "Young man, you also said ’if.’ What if there’s nothing inside this original stone, then wouldn’t my investment be totally wasted!"
"If Boss Song is worried about his investment going down the drain, then why be so aggressive? Wouldn’t everyone be happy if you don’t buy this piece of original stone!" Li Changlin chuckled coldly, having made up his mind to swindle Song Haonan. If this guy dared to raise the price, he would have the guts to sell it!
What a character, just a gang boss—Li Changlin didn’t take Song Haonan seriously at all in his heart.
After all, standing behind him was Lin Ruonan, who could handle the Sky Horse Bar with just a phone call; he couldn’t see anything he should be worried about.
"Humph, six hundred thousand, and that’s the highest I’ll go!" Song Haonan’s gaze shifted slightly as he gestured with his fingers.
"Heh, Boss Song really knows how to throw money around eh, a mere six hundred thousand for this block of original stone, I think you wish too much." Although six hundred thousand was not a small amount, Li Changlin was far from satisfied.
Had it not been for Lin Ruonan, he would have been set up by the Sky Horse Bar and Jiang Xingwei, surely ending up in prison—maybe for life.
Even if he had obtained the Divine Tycoon Development System, it would be useless.
He snorted coldly, taking Lin Ruonan by the hand and walked over to the cutting machine.
Then, Li Changlin pretended to scrutinize the original stone.
Quickly, he gestured on the stone, then turned to the cutting master and shouted, "Master, could you please make a mark here for me?"
"Could it be, there’s still jadeite inside the huge original stone?"
"It seems this young man is really a dark horse, he must be an experienced expert."
"If there is more glutinous rice-type jadeite inside the block of stone, then with such a large piece, wouldn’t its value reach tens of millions!"
Li Changlin was right; the more assertive he was, the more Song Haonan became determined to obtain this block of original stone.
Furthermore, seeing Li Changlin’s actions, the other two bidders also showed a trace of intrigue on their faces.
"One million, I can only offer one million." As soon as he saw Li Changlin marking the stone, Song Haonan couldn’t help himself and quickly walked to the cutting machine.
"Brother, I’ll offer one million two hundred thousand." Song Haonan might have a big reputation, but not everyone was afraid of him. Feeling hopeful, another young man standing by couldn’t hold back and quickly approached.
"I’ll offer one million five hundred thousand." Seeing that both were bidding, the Xinyuan Jewelry buyer bit his teeth hard and joined the bidding war.
He might be a small figure from Xinyuan Jewelry, with no status compared to Song Haonan.
But now, he was representing Xinyuan Jewelry; Song Haonan didn’t dare to touch him!
"Death wish!" Seeing the two previous competitors stirring up trouble again, Song Haonan’s expression suddenly turned sour, "This stone isn’t even opened yet, what’s the rush? Especially you, I know you’re from Xinyuan Jewelry, I’ve never heard of anyone from Xinyuan bidding before the stone is cut!"
"Hehe, wasn’t this rough stone already cut open just now?" The purchaser from Xinyuan Jewelry gave a sheepish smile before adding, "Let’s bid fairly. The highest offer wins, which is also in line with market principles!"
Having heard this, Song Haonan felt it inappropriate to press any further.
After all, the company he was now facing, Xinyuan Jewelry, wasn’t just a behemoth in Jincheng but also in Nanfu Province.
To be honest, Song Haonan really didn’t want to offend such a colossus.
Even though he had a bit of fame in Jincheng, if Xinyuan Jewelry truly wanted to deal with him, they could likely just orchestrate a simple crackdown and have him behind bars indefinitely!
Song Haonan understood all too well that Xinyuan Jewelry had countless means and methods at their disposal should they choose to target him!
"If another piece of glutinous type can be cut from this stone, even paying three million wouldn’t be a loss," Song Haonan didn’t waste any more words, his gaze landing on the rough stone placed on the cutting table. He made his decision instantly and raised his hand, gesturing with two fingers as he declared, "Fine, you want fair competition, right? My bid is two million."
After speaking, he turned his head and glared at the Xinyuan Jewelry purchaser in a challenging manner.
"Two million two hundred thousand," the Xinyuan Jewelry purchaser’s thoughts weren’t much different from Song Haonan’s, and in his subconscious, he had already determined that Li Changlin was playing the role of a pig to eat a tiger.
He believed that there definitely was more glutinous-type jadeite inside the rough stone.
Perhaps, even Ice-type that exceeded the glutinous type could be cut out.
"I bid two million four hundred thousand," Song Haonan called out, challenging the Xinyuan Jewelry purchaser, while the young man beside him wasn’t considering giving up so easily either.
After all, the jadeite that Li Changlin had just uncovered was glutinous type, and what’s more, it was discovered on the edge of the stone.
Therefore, facing such a situation, the young man also harbored a glimmer of hope.
In fact, this was the thrilling excitement of gambling on stones — a slice could reveal heaven or hell, and this was exactly such a scene.
All three competitors had some reputation to consider; a few hundred thousand wasn’t too much of a concern for them.
But if by chance they made the right gamble, the profits could multiply several times over, and no one could remain unmoved by that.
Of course, among the onlookers, there were many others who wanted to buy Li Changlin’s rough stone.
It’s just that those people didn’t have enough resources and were also afraid of revenge from Song Haonan, so they reluctantly dismissed the thought.
Even the owner of the outlet that sold the rough stones felt a surge of impulse when he saw the bidding war.
Thankfully, the man had some professional ethics, and he also harbored some slight concerns, so in the end, he refrained from calling out a bid as well.
"Two million eight hundred thousand. Brother, I’ll offer two million eight hundred thousand for this rough stone. Do me a favor, and if you buy jewelry from Xinyuan in the future, just use my name, Tang Hongyuan, and I guarantee you’ll get a 5 percent discount," spoke Tang Hongyuan, the Xinyuan Jewelry purchaser. Seeing his two strong competitors, he couldn’t help feeling a bit anxious.