As he was turning to leave the house, Lin Tian glanced into the room; through the beaded curtain, he could vaguely see Xiao Manxuan snuggling into her sister’s arms like a little girl.
"Sister, I’ve missed you so much. You and mom never come back to see me." Xiao Manxuan, like a child, poured out her loneliness.
Xiao Manxue adored her younger sister. She stroked Xiao Manxuan’s smooth hair and softly said, "It’s all sister’s fault. Have you been good at home by yourself, or have you troubled Grandpa Han? Have you been using Little Hua to scare the maids?"
"No way!" Xiao Manxuan’s face turned a slight red; her sister had guessed her deeds correctly. She whispered in defense, "I haven’t bullied anyone. It’s actually me who was bullied by a bad person."
As Lin Tian was about to go downstairs, he stumbled, nearly tumbling down the stairs. The "bad person" the little girl was referring to was himself, was it not? The little girl mustn’t spread rumors. Given Xiao Manxue’s personality and her very poor impression of him, Miss would likely want to kill him.
"With your mischievous nature, who would dare to bully you? It’s more likely you’re the one playing tricks on others."
Thankfully, Lin Tian breathed a sigh of relief. Not only did Mrs. Xiao understand her daughter, but her sister was also very aware of her sibling. Just get through the next month and finish the college entrance exams, then see what happens. Since he had promised to fulfill the old man’s last wish, Lin Tian would keep his word.
Time would tell what the Xiao Family would do. If he felt uncomfortable, he’d just resign. Lin Tian had barely returned to his room when Xiao Manxuan called him to have dinner.
Previously, during meals, Xiao Manxuan always sat next to her sister. This time, however, she surprisingly sat next to Lin Tian.
Their laughter and conversation slightly furrowed Xiao Manxue’s brow. She had a very bad impression of Lin Tian and somewhat displeased, she said, "Lin Tian, from now on just eat in the kitchen, no need to sit here."
Whoa, did this girl have a problem? All I did was take a look at your underwear; no need to kick someone out like that! Anger surged within Lin Tian, and he insisted on sitting in the living room to eat, just to see what Miss could do about it.
Usually, employers are very good to their personal bodyguards, treating them almost like family. One could tell from how well Mrs. Xiao treated Lin Tian. Otherwise, who would risk their life to save you at a critical moment? Only Xiao Manxue would speak like that.
However, what Lin Tian didn’t know was that Xiao Manxue had no intention of letting him stay in the Xiao Family for long.
"You..." Seeing Lin Tian completely ignoring her, sitting down anyway, Xiao Manxue was even more upset. She said to Xiao Manxuan, "Xuanxuan, come here, sit by me."
"Oh~" The little girl rose reluctantly and only after receiving a cue from Lin Tian did she slowly make her way over.
Lin Tian quickly finished his meal and went to the study to pick up books from the first and second grades to catch up on the lessons he’d fallen behind in, unwilling to face the unreasonable Xiao Manxue any longer.
Besides, with his photographic memory, mastering arts subjects posed no difficulty for him. However, subjects like mathematics, physics, and chemistry required a bit more effort.
But once he memorized the principles and formulas of sciences, learning them became much more efficient. He read until the moon came out, then began to practice cultivation, feeling that such a life, filled with enrichments, was quite fulfilling.
The next day, even before the alarm rang, Xiao Manxuan was knocking on his door again. The little girl always got up so early, no wonder she excelled academically and became the monitor. Not to mention, she was also in charge of entertainment.
At breakfast, Miss Xiao Manxue was nowhere to be seen. As the CEO, she was indeed busy. Thinking about it, he felt a bit sorry for her; she dedicated all her personal time to the Xiao Family’s business.
"Miss, why did you suddenly return home last night?" Lin Tian asked on the way.
"My sister said she was transporting a batch of jadeite raw stones back. She mentioned something about raw stone reserves and just storing them in the basement," Xiao Manxuan answered.
She told him about the jadeite collection, and Lin Tian felt moved by the little girl’s unconditional trust.
"What are jadeite raw stones? I’ve seen jadeite. Isn’t it just like that when dug out?" Lin Tian had never come across jadeite raw stones and hadn’t even heard of them. In his mind, jadeite looked just like what they sell in jewelry stores.
Now he suddenly heard about jadeite raw stones. Not to mention him, many people had never seen what jadeite raw stones looked like. Xiao Manxuan was amused by Lin Tian’s ignorance; this rascal was good at everything, and it was rare to see him stumped by something.
So, like a little teacher, Xiao Manxuan started to share her knowledge about jadeite raw stones with Lin Tian.
Jadeite forms in the earth and is covered by a layer of rock on the outside, so it’s not transparent and lustrous when mined. That is what jadeite raw stones are.
Jadeite raw stones are classified into mountain material and river boulders. Mountain material is directly mined from jadeite mines and has an irregular outer shape. River boulders are mountain material eroded by water and weathered by the atmosphere; the irregular rock surface is weathered into an uneven skin, which are the river boulders.
Generally, the jadeite raw stone market primarily deals with river boulders.
"Then how do you know if there is jadeite inside?" Lin Tian asked.
"I don’t know either. My sister said you can infer whether there is jadeite inside by looking at the skin of the raw stone. When I was little, my sister and I followed our mother to the trading market, and it seemed like there was stone gambling," Xiao Manxuan pondered, unable to make a clear deduction.
"Stone gambling? I didn’t understand when I saw it on the news, so stone gambling is gambling on these rocks." Lin Tian had occasionally seen the term in the news but didn’t realize that the gambling was actually on these raw stones.
Speaking of stone gambling, Lin Tian’s mind stirred. Others couldn’t see inside the stones and had to gamble on whether there was real jadeite inside, but with his X-ray vision, wasn’t it clear whether there was jadeite or not?
He was going to make a fortune! Lin Tian thought and got excited. Actually, Lin Tian was a novice; although stone gambling involved a lot of luck, there were certain patterns to follow.
"Where did your sister source these jadeite raw stones from?" Lin Tian asked, thinking that in the future, he could also buy raw stones. With his X-ray vision, it would be hard not to make a fortune!
"From the Bai Family. The Bai Family has its own channels and can purchase first-hand jadeite raw stones from jadeite mine merchants." Xiao Manxuan knew some details about the major families, being young madam of the Xiao Family.
The Bai Family, wasn’t that Bai Yufeng’s family? Lin Tian suddenly had a bad feeling. He frowned and said, "When you get goods from the Bai Family, don’t they always rip you off fiercely?"
"Yes, my sister also mentioned that the Bai Family charges too high, but there’s no choice. The Bai Family made their fortune in jewelry and controlled the channels," Xiao Manxuan explained.
Lin Tian understood very well. The Bai Family had been in the jewelry business for a long time. The tree had taken root and was well established. Although the Xiao Family’s business was bigger than the Bai Family’s, they had no way to deal with them unless the Xiao Family could find a new purchasing channel. Otherwise, the Bai Family would still earn the lion’s share of the jade and jadeite business.
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