Chapter 142 When it rains, it pours

Guided by the lead car, the vehicle gradually drove out of the bustling business district and arrived at a relatively quiet industrial zone.

The car stopped in front of an old factory gate.

Ling Yue got out of the car with Yu Shuo and entered a room filled with stone-cutting equipment.

Information needed to be investigated, and stones needed to be cut.

The plan was to do both without one delaying the other.

First, they opened the King of Bids that Ling Yue had been most looking forward to.

Fortunately, after grinding into the 'Jade Package', they found a two-inch piece of Imperial Green jadeite with glass-like clarity!

It was a circle with a six-centimeter diameter—definitely a large cabochon!

"My god!" Yu Shuo exclaimed, rushing over regardless of her image.

Ling Yue wondered why she was even more excited than herself.

Then she heard the stone-cutter gasp, saying with a trembling voice: "This clarity, this color, and it's so big! A single cabochon would sell for at least over a hundred million!"

Ling Yue also widened her eyes. It was that expensive?!

The machine had already stopped.

She reached out, took the slightly heavy piece of jade, and weighed it in her palm. "It's quite heavy."

Yu Shuo watched from the side, anxious and flustered.

She was terrified that Ling Yue might let it slip and drop it.

She cupped her hands together, holding them underneath Ling Yue's hands, and looked at Ling Yue with pleading eyes: "Miss Ling, your luck is simply incredible! The last time I saw a large cabochon of this quality was when I was 16, visiting the private museum of a collector family in Paris. That cabochon was enough to rival a museum's prized exhibit."

Having spent so much time together, this was the first time Ling Yue had seen Yu Shuo lose her composure like this.

Ling Yue silently gripped the jade in her palm, hiding it so she couldn't see.

She coldly spat out two words: "Not for sale."

Yu Shuo, having her intentions exposed, didn't feel embarrassed at all. "Sister Ling, I'll offer 110 million! I only want this piece of Imperial Green cabochon; I don't want anything else."

In that case, the value of this cabochon was almost exceeding the value of the original stone itself.

If made into a finished necklace, wouldn't it be priceless! Unique!

Then it definitely couldn't be sold!

Ling Yue smiled.

Money was the thing she lacked the least.

There was no one in the world who could sway her with money.

"Still not for sale!" Ling Yue pulled out a silk embroidered handkerchief from her pocket, wrapped the jadeite cabochon, and carefully tucked it into her pocket.

This was the best quality and clarity jadeite she had bought so far.

She was going to have it made into a large necklace and keep it as a collection.

She would take a look at it from time to time and wear it for a few days.

The more she thought about it, the happier she felt.

No matter how much Yu Shuo begged, Ling Yue had one answer: Not for sale, not for sale! It is just not for sale!

Yu Shuo was heartbroken.

The subsequent high-ice vivid green 'Jade Package' could be used to make a bangle with a 58mm inner diameter, but Ling Yue had soft palms and slender wrists, so a 55mm size would be more suitable. Hanging on her wrist with a slight drape, it would look even more elegant.

The remaining material from the 'Jade Package' could produce one large cabochon and four small ones. Once the diamonds from Chaumet arrived, they could be assembled into a jadeite and diamond necklace. Moreover, the scraps could even be used to grind a few small-sized ring faces with good clarity and color.

Plus, the other waxy ice and waxy areas could also be made into dozens of bangles and accessories.

The net value of this King of Bids currently looked to be around 250 million, not even counting the value after being crafted into finished products.

The next small King of Bids was exposed material, so its value was already set, and the profit margin wasn't large.

As for the rest of the small stones, some were losses and some were gains.

Overall, there was more profit.

By the time they finished cutting the stones, it was already dusk outside.

Ling Yue watched with her own eyes as the cut jade was packed, loaded, and transported back to the manor villa to be locked in the safe.

She didn't want to go out anymore, so she hired a chef to come over and cook.

Yu Shuo had been busy following her all afternoon and had even personally escorted the shipment.

At dinnertime, there was no way she could let a guest who had visited leave on an empty stomach, so Ling Yue invited Yu Shuo to stay for dinner.

Yu Shuo did not refuse.

They chatted a bit about the stones, then Cheng Jiao walked over to Ling Yue's side, leaned down, and whispered a few words.

At the same time, Yu Shuo's assistant walked over anxiously after taking a phone call and also exchanged glances with Yu Shuo.

Afterwards, Ling Yue and Yu Shuo made eye contact.

Both saw the desire for information exchange in each other's eyes.

Without further ado.

Ling Yue gave Cheng Jiao a look.

Cheng Jiao immediately said: "New information! The old chairman of Longcui Group passed away from a sudden acute illness the day before yesterday at noon. An hour ago, Longcui Group's stock price began to drop."

"The presidential appointment for Long Zhuoyan has also just been released, but it seems more like an 'honorary president' pushed out by Longcui Group to temporarily take the fall—she has the title but no power. The group currently seems to be leaderless."

Yu Shuo's assistant added: "The old chairman who passed away was Long Zhuoyan's grandfather. His only son is useless. The eldest grandson, Long Zhuoli, was promoted to president but went missing abroad. The second grandson, Long Zhuoxi, was put into a detention center yesterday noon on suspicion of public indecency."

"Now, only the granddaughter, Long Zhuoyan, is supporting the facade."

"But she is only 23 and hasn't even graduated yet. I heard she has never been involved in company business before. What does she have to fight against a pack of old wolves in the company?"

"Moreover, this looks like a long-planned chain of schemes; I'm afraid she won't be able to handle it."

Who could deny that?

How could there be such a coincidence in the world?

Just after the old man left, one goes missing, and another gets arrested.

Ling Yue suddenly thought of something. "No wonder Yang Huatian isn't worried at all. Do you think he and the people behind him had a hand in this?"

She thought again, "But a broken capital chain wouldn't be good for him either. They are all in the same group, grasshoppers on the same rope."

"Not necessarily." Cheng Jiao defined first, then said: "I just contacted Qian Xu. He checked, and Longcui Group has had a large number of equity transactions recently. Many shareholders sold their shares, and they were all acquired by the Yang Family."

"The Yang Family must be trying to take the opportunity to kick the Long family out, become the major shareholder of Longcui Group, and completely control the discourse."

Yu Shuo frowned: "A tactic of 'hurting the enemy by a thousand and losing eight hundred oneself'?"

Ling Yue shook her head, indicating she didn't understand and wasn't sure.

Yu Shuo's assistant revealed the other part of the information investigated. "I found out that the year before last, Longcui Group just implemented a branch expansion plan, investing in 1,200 branches nationwide. Currently, the funds are spent, and the money hasn't had time to flow back."

"The jadeite mine in Guatemala invested in 12 years ago announced its depletion at the end of April this year, completely stopping supply to the world. The original inventory was also almost all bundled and sold to foreign jewelers because of this capital chain break, except for private custom-made items. It is unknown how much money was sold, but it is definitely not enough to solve the problem of the capital chain break."

"This time, the people from Longcui Group came to Pingxi Public Auction to buy jadeite because a big client from Hong Kong placed an order two years ago. Previously, Longcui Group hadn't bought suitable raw stones, so they kept dragging it out. But yesterday, the big client suddenly said they wanted to see the finished product by the end of the year, so they rushed to Pingxi Public Auction, but who would have expected the King of Bids to be..."

The assistant looked at Ling Yue.

Ling Yue coughed lightly.

What else could she say?

She could only sigh: "When it rains, it pours."

Yu Shuo narrowed her eyes and murmured: "I always feel this game is very deep."