Chapter 57: Blood Silk Jade

Song Wanting was speaking from the heart.

She truly felt that the new chairman of the Dihao Group was unfathomable.

To casually buy a group worth over a hundred billion, and yet remain out of sight, it was clear that their business interests were far more complex than just the Dihao Group.

In comparison, the Song family was indeed lacking.

However, she did not know that the chairman of the Dihao Group, whom she had long wanted to befriend, was sitting right beside her.

Ye Chen was naturally very low-key, casually agreeing with a few comments but revealing no information at all.

Song Wanting drove fast and steady.

Soon, the car arrived at a small courtyard by the river.

This small courtyard was secluded and elegant, with a plain exterior, but inside it was filled with the charm of the Jiangnan water towns.

There were small bridges and flowing water, Su-style elegant gardens, pavilions, and towers, all in close proximity.

After parking, someone was there to specially welcome the two of them inside.

They passed through the courtyard and entered the main hall.

In the hall, which was decorated in a traditional Chinese style, there was a round table made of redwood, surrounded by several armchairs.

Upon seeing the two enter, an elderly man with white hair stood up and greeted Song Wanting, saying, “Miss, you have arrived.”

Song Wanting’s expression was a bit awkward as she nodded and said, “Old Qi, why are you here too?”

The old man smiled slightly and replied, “The master heard you were coming, so he asked me to come and keep an eye on things.”

Song Wanting nodded and introduced to Ye Chen, “Old Qi is our family’s appraiser, sent by the family, probably to avoid any mistakes.”

Ye Chen nodded; it was understandable that the Song family was not at ease with someone so young.

Old Qi glanced at Ye Chen with a hint of disdain and said, “Is this the appraiser that the young lady invited? So young, has he studied appraisal?”

A middle-aged man beside him, whose face was pale, immediately sneered and said, “You found such a young kid to assess? Is the Song family out of people? Should I lend you a few appraisers? Hahaha.”

Song Wanting’s expression turned cold as she said, “Li Tailai, this is Jinling, not your Haicheng; you have no right to speak here.”

Li Tailai shrugged and said nonchalantly, “The little girl from the Song family has quite a temper.”

“Enough…” A middle-aged man sitting at the eastern side of the round table frowned and said, “We are here to do business, not to argue; let’s all calm down.”

“And this young man, please take a seat as well.”

Song Wanting snorted and slowly sat down.

Ye Chen also took a seat, and then Song Wanting leaned over to his ear and whispered, “The one called Li Tailai is the richest man in Haicheng. The one beside him is Guo Ming, a very powerful feng shui master. The one who just spoke is Qin Gang, the head of the Qin family in Jinling. Their family has been…”

At this point, Ye Chen noticed that beside Li Tailai sat an elderly man dressed in a greenish-blue Tang suit.

The old man had a full head of silver hair and exuded an aura of detachment, giving off a vibe that discouraged approach. He kept his eyes closed and did not open them even after Ye Chen and Song Wanting arrived.

At this point, Song Wanting fell silent. Although Ye Chen was a bit curious, he did not ask further.

Once everyone was seated, a plump man dressed extravagantly on the other side of the table smiled and said, “Since the arguing is over, let’s quickly take a look at the goods. You are all big families; there’s no need to dwell too long on something worth just a couple of hundred million.”

Qin Gang snorted coldly and said, “As long as this thing can really do what you say, adjust feng shui and calm the mind, I wouldn’t care about a couple of hundred million.”

The plump man glanced at him and then placed an ancient wooden box on the table.

Inside the box was a piece of red jade that glimmered with a blood-like sheen, its style ancient. As soon as it was taken out, everyone felt a warm atmosphere fill the hall.

Qin Gang and the others’ eyes immediately lit up.

Song Wanting turned to Old Qi and asked, “Old Qi, what do you think of this jade?”

Old Qi stared at it for a moment and nodded, saying, “It should be fine; it’s blood jade from before the Tang Dynasty, and it’s clear that it has been nurtured for a long time by an enlightened monk.”

Song Wanting nodded and then turned to Ye Chen, asking, “Mr. Ye, what do you think?”

Ye Chen disdainfully curled his lips and said, “Fake…”

Old Qi snorted coldly and scolded, “So young, who gave you the courage to speak nonsense in front of so many people!”

The elderly man Guo Ming beside Li Tailai also opened his eyes, looking at the ancient jade, and asked, “Can I handle it?”

The plump man scoffed and said, “Guo, are you joking with me? You don’t understand that jade shouldn’t be handled? Ordinary jade can’t be touched, and this one is Zhou Dynasty blood jade; if it breaks, who will take responsibility?”

Guo Ming was taken aback and then said, “I was too abrupt…”

After saying that, he leaned closer to the ancient jade, examining it carefully. After a moment, he closed his eyes again, and after a long while, he nodded and said, “I don’t know if the jade is from the Zhou Dynasty, but the claims about adjusting feng shui and calming the mind should be true.”

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone’s hearts ignited with excitement.

For them, the history of the jade was actually irrelevant; what mattered was its function.

Old Qi smiled and said, “Guo is also a person of insight, unlike those who have no ability yet put on airs.”

Hearing this, Song Wanting couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed in Ye Chen.

It seemed he was still too young; perhaps he had some skills in artifact restoration, but when it came to appraising antiques, he was still far behind these older men.

Seeing this, Ye Chen merely shook his head slightly. Since these people were willing to be fooled, there was no need for him to intervene.

The plump man, seeing that everyone had finished appraising, closed the box and said with a smile, “Since the item has been appraised, everyone, shouldn’t we start bidding?”

Before he finished speaking, Qin Gang was the first to offer, “I bid one hundred million…”

“One hundred thirty million,” Li Tailai chimed in.

Seeing that Song Wanting hadn’t spoken, the plump man asked, “What about you, Ms. Song?”

Old Qi noticed that Song Wanting seemed hesitant and quickly whispered in her ear, “Miss, this is definitely a treasure; it should be valued at around three hundred million. If you can get it for two hundred million, it’s a guaranteed profit.”

Song Wanting’s heart was also wavering. She glanced at Ye Chen, only to see him with a calm expression, neither happy nor sad, which made her hesitate even more.

Old Qi shot Ye Chen a cold glance, knowing that Song Wanting was influenced by him and thus was reluctant to bid. He then said, “Earlier, this Mr. Ye claimed that this ancient jade is fake. I would very much like to know how Mr. Ye came to that conclusion! Let us see Mr. Ye’s skills!”

If Ye Chen rambled on later, Song Wanting would naturally realize that his words were false, and only then would she feel at ease to make a bid.

Others sneered in disdain:

“What does a young kid know? Don’t come here to embarrass yourself…”

“Exactly, who gave him the right to speak here?”

“If you don’t want to buy, that’s fine, but don’t waste everyone’s time.”

Listening to the mockery, Ye Chen merely looked at Old Qi with interest and asked lightly, “Are you sure you want me to speak?”