Volume One, Chapter 17: A Stunning Reversal
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Boom!
The entire venue erupted!
Cheng Yuhang’s face changed dramatically. “Impossible!”
He cried out in disbelief, scarcely able to trust his own eyes.
Zhou Yunshan and Huang Ming were both invigorated, their eyes filled with astonishment.
Before long, the entire rough stone had finally been cut open, revealing the true appearance of the jade within.
Everyone drew a sharp breath when they saw it clearly.
“What a massive piece of top-grade jadeite! Most of the rough stone is actually jade!”
“This top-grade jadeite weighs at least a hundred and fifty pounds. It could produce no fewer than two hundred pieces of jade jewelry!” Huang Ming was so excited that his entire body trembled.
The staff member of the Jade Appraisal Tournament was also stunned. In all his years in the trade, he had seen plenty of jade, but he had encountered such a gigantic piece of top-grade jadeite only a handful of times. This was quite literally a priceless treasure!
“Wonderful!”
Sun Ya cried out in delight, losing all composure. Unable to restrain herself, she threw her arms around Zhang Wenxuan beside her, her face radiant with excitement and joy.
“A top-grade jadeite of such enormous size is unquestionably a priceless treasure!”
“Everyone, who would like to appraise this piece of top-grade jadeite?” Sun Ya asked in a ringing voice.
She was so excited that she failed to notice how inappropriate her actions were.
Well, well!
Faced with such unexpected benefits, Zhang Wenxuan could not help being startled.
Feeling the softness against his arm, he was secretly amazed.
Although Sun Ya did not look particularly voluptuous on the surface, that was merely because of her loose clothing. Now that they were pressed closely together, he realized that she was unexpectedly endowed with an astonishing figure.
The beauty beside him gave off a faint feminine fragrance, and Zhang Wenxuan could even feel the warmth of her body.
The pleasant sensation left him sighing inwardly. His boss really was generous, handing out benefits at every turn. It was almost impossible to keep his composure.
“Five million!”
Someone shouted the figure excitedly.
The crowd was stunned, but no one objected.
“An enormous piece of top-grade jadeite like this is extraordinarily rare. More importantly, despite its size, every inch of the jade remains flawless. That is what makes it truly exceptional.”
“Exactly. A massive piece of top-grade jadeite like this could produce at least two hundred exquisite jade artifacts!”
“Foolish! How could such perfect jadeite be cut into pieces? If it were carved into a single jade sculpture, it would absolutely become a priceless masterpiece!”
The entire Jade Appraisal Tournament venue boiled over. Countless people discussed the discovery with animated expressions. For everyone present, witnessing the emergence of such a peerless treasure was itself a cause for celebration.
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Of everyone in the crowd, only one person wore a dark expression.
Cheng Yuhang’s face was ashen. Clearly, he could not accept what had happened.
“Cheating!”
“Zhang Wenxuan must have cheated! He’s only a newcomer who just entered the trade. How could he possibly achieve a result like this?”
“Among thousands of pieces of rough stone, he just happened to pick this one. He must have used some underhanded method to cheat,” Cheng Yuhang said agitatedly.
This...
After he finished speaking, the crowd, which had been buzzing with discussion, began to wear strange expressions.
Zhang Wenxuan stepped forward with a sneer. “Boss Cheng, what exactly do you mean?”
“Am I not allowed to have been lucky enough to choose it? Or perhaps I relied on my own ability?”
Cheng Yuhang scoffed. “What nonsense! How could a newcomer like you possess such ability? And your so-called luck is fake too. Why didn’t anyone else have such good fortune? Why was it only you?”
“Besides, before the stone was cut, you deliberately made a wager with me. You already knew you could surpass ten million. You clearly cheated!”
Zhang Wenxuan smiled. “So you’re saying that I contacted the tournament organizers in advance and had them deliberately arrange this stone for me so that I could cheat?”
“That’s right. Other than that explanation, there’s no—”
Cheng Yuhang had not finished speaking when he suddenly realized that he had said the wrong thing.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
Footsteps sounded, followed by the voice of a middle-aged man.
“President Cheng, you cannot make such reckless accusations. The Jade Appraisal Tournament has always upheld the principles of fairness and impartiality. No one could possibly know the condition inside the rough stones in advance!”
“Mr. Zhang achieved today’s results entirely through his own ability. I will not allow anyone to slander him or spread baseless rumors!”
As soon as he finished speaking, the crowd automatically parted.
“President Zhao!”
“President Zhao.”
Everyone stepped aside to make way.
Huang Ming approached Zhang Wenxuan and lowered his voice. “Mr. Zhang, this is Zhao Yinghua, president of the Upper River Jade Association.”
A bead of cold sweat slid down Cheng Yuhang’s forehead. “President Zhao, I had no intention of questioning the fairness of the tournament!”
“I was simply confused for a moment. I take back what I said.”
Zhao Yinghua’s expression remained calm. “The Jade Appraisal Tournament has always been fair and impartial. It will never favor any individual or company!”
“Yes, I misunderstood just now!” Cheng Yuhang hurriedly explained.
His expression was extremely unpleasant.
Zhang Wenxuan smiled and stepped forward. At that moment, the tournament staff had also finished calculating his results.
“Zhang Wenxuan, all of your rough stones have been completely processed. Their total value is thirteen million two hundred thousand. You are currently ranked first individually!”
The rankings on the large screen changed accordingly.
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The person who had originally held first place in the individual rankings was replaced by Zhang Wenxuan’s name.
At the same time, Sun Ya’s company also rose in the rankings, climbing directly from the teens to tenth place.
Thirteen million two hundred thousand!
The figure left everyone astonished.
The crowd gazed at Zhang Wenxuan in admiration, and every expression had undergone a tremendous change.
The earlier doubts and mockery had vanished without a trace, replaced by amazement and envy.
A total of thirteen million two hundred thousand placed him head and shoulders above the rest. Nothing was more convincing than the actual figures, leaving no room for criticism.
“The younger generation is surpassing the older generation,” the crowd exclaimed emotionally.
A smile on his face, Zhang Wenxuan walked straight toward Cheng Yuhang.
“Boss Cheng, does our previous agreement still stand?”
As soon as he said this, Cheng Yuhang’s expression froze.
Being publicly humiliated by Zhang Wenxuan was what truly enraged him.
Feeling the amused gazes of everyone around him, Cheng Yuhang wished he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.
Being humiliated in front of so many people by an unknown nobody was utterly disgraceful.
“Zhang Wenxuan, I never expected you to possess such ability. You deliberately pretended to be weak so that you could catch us off guard!” Cheng Yuhang said through gritted teeth.
“Heh.”
Zhang Wenxuan chuckled softly. “I never said I was incapable.”
“I’ve always been confident. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have made that wager with you. You were the ones who refused to believe me.”
Those words left Cheng Yuhang speechless. Thinking it over carefully, that was indeed the truth.
“Fine, fine, fine!”
The fact that he repeated the word three times showed just how furious Cheng Yuhang had become.
“I truly underestimated you!”
“But don’t celebrate too soon. I’ll settle this score with you next time!” Cheng Yuhang said bitterly.
With that, he turned and prepared to leave.
“Wait!”
“You seem to have forgotten something. According to our wager, you owe me thirteen million two hundred thousand. Are you planning to welsh on the debt?” Zhang Wenxuan called out, stopping Cheng Yuhang.
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