Chapter 43: What on Earth is This Kid's Background?

The young man known as "Young Master Hao" raised his head and said to Chen Jie:
"How about it? Two million six hundred thousand for this pair of bracelets!"
"Last night, the approximate price Catfish quoted for that 'Jade Carved Dragon' of yours was five million. We want to take a look at it!"
"If the price is right, we hope you can sell it to us."

Upon hearing Young Master Hao say this, Zhang Fengyi, who was standing nearby, instantly fell silent.
He was merely the general manager of the "Jinhuicui Jewelry Store," while Young Master Hao was the young master of the family!
When it came to managerial decisions within the company, Zhang Fengyi had the authority to make the call.
However,
since Young Master Hao himself had spoken up and expressed a desire to buy this pair of "Imperial Concubine Bracelets," what could he possibly say?

Chen Jie had originally intended to leave the Jinhuicui Jewelry Store right then and there.
However,
seeing how imposing and magnanimous this Young Master Hao was, he immediately stopped in his tracks.
He took a deep breath and said calmly:
"Young Master Hao, right? It would have been so much simpler if you had just said that earlier!"
"Making an offer of two hundred thousand wasn't just a devaluation of my bracelets; it was an insult to the Jinhuicui Jewelry Store itself, you know that?"

With that,
Chen Jie put down his bag, pulled open the zipper, and said:
"I didn't bring the 'Jade Carved Dragon' with me today, some other time! Today I only have this pair of bracelets with me!"
"Two million six hundred thousand, take it or leave it!"
"Besides, I have a condition before we complete the transaction!"

Young Master Hao frowned slightly and asked, "What condition?"
A faint, enigmatic smile appeared on Chen Jie's face as he replied, "My price is the net-of-tax price. You will be responsible for all taxes and fees!"
"Isn't that a bit much?"
Young Master Hao shook his head and said, "In business, you have to leave us some room for profit, don't you?"

Chen Jie said with complete composure:
"Before coming here, I did my homework. For the past few months, neither the Myanmar Jade Emporium nor the Pingzhou Jade Emporium has cut open any top-tier raw jadeite stones!"
"The market is suffering from a severe shortage. If it were small pieces, you might still find a few."
"But medium-sized pieces like bracelets are rarely seen on the market, and their prices have been skyrocketing!"
"Once this pair of 'Imperial Concubine Bracelets' is sold out of your Jinhuicui Jewelry Store, you won't be able to get them for less than three million five hundred thousand!"
"Alright, I have a train to catch. I'll give you three minutes to think about it. Yes or no, make your choice!"

Hearing this, Young Master Hao smacked his lips and muttered, "You didn't bring the 'Jade Carved Dragon'? Well then—!"
Chen Jie zipped up his backpack, turned around, and walked straight toward the exit.
"Let's collaborate another time if there's an opportunity. Right now, I don't feel like selling!"
Seeing that the other party lacked any sense of decisiveness, Chen Jie truly had no desire to deal with them anymore.

A moment later,
only the people from the Jinhuicui Jewelry Store remained in the office.

Zhang Fengyi and Young Master Hao exchanged glances with one another.
At that moment,
their hearts grew quite complicated, and a dead silence filled the entire office.

Young Master Hao took a deep breath, pulled out his phone, tapped the screen to review something for a moment, and a sharp glint flashed through his eyes.
"What on earth is this punk's background? There are quite a few good things in that bag of his!"
"Check the surveillance footage. He had at least ten jade pieces in his backpack!"
"I can guarantee you that he definitely brought that 'Jade Carved Dragon' with him!"

Zhang Fengyi patted Young Master Hao's shoulder, shook his head, and said:
"I don't know what his background is, but this kid is no ordinary character!"
"The way he stared at me just now gave me goosebumps. It's very likely this kid has killed people before!"
"Forget it! Young Master Hao, it's best not to provoke a desperate gambler like this. It's simply not worth it!"
"He dared to carry such valuable items all by himself, casually taking them out and tossing them onto the table without caring at all if someone swallowed his goods!"
"Either he's a desperate outlaw, or he has powerful backing. Neither of the two is easy to mess with!"
"Judging by his attire, my personal guess is that he's a desperate criminal."
"If we fail to cripple him completely, it will bring us a mountain of trouble."
"Anyway, we haven't lost anything. Harmony brings wealth; there's no need to make an enemy of such a person!"

Young Master Hao nodded, looking somewhat unwilling as he said:
"A top-tier Imperial Green is truly a rare sight! Damn it—just how many good things does this guy have on him?!"

Yet,
in the end, he restrained himself and refrained from taking any further action.
Once he confirmed that Chen Jie might be a desperate criminal, he really didn't dare to harbor any reckless thoughts.
If they were in Myanmar in Southeast Asia, he might have acted with total impunity and simply hired someone to wipe the guy out.
However,
they were currently in Pingzhou, domestically.
For a businessman, the thing they feared the most was provoking a desperate outlaw!
Unless you could kill him in one fell swoop, once a desperado targeted you, you would lose a layer of skin even if you survived.

After leaving the Jinhuicui Jewelry Store, Chen Jie quickly hailed a Didi ride.
Along the way, he transferred vehicles three consecutive times to ensure he was not being followed.
Only then did he take the subway to the high-speed railway station.

Failing to sell the jadeite heightened Chen Jie's vigilance.
These items could not be sold in a rush.
He had to find a reliable sales channel, and this Jinhuicui Jewelry Store clearly wasn't it.
Inside Chen Jie's backpack, he had indeed brought the "Jade Carved Dragon," the Imperial Green jadeite piece.
Seeing Young Master Hao's aggressive and covetous gaze, there was no way he would take it out.
If he had actually brought that thing out, it would have made people's eyes turn red with greed!
By then, leaving the Jinhuicui Jewelry Store safely would likely have become extremely troublesome.

Several hours later.
Just as Chen Jie returned to Hengyang City in Xiangnan, his phone rang.
He took out his phone and saw an unfamiliar number on the screen.
After answering the call, he discovered it was from a real estate agency.
Such high efficiency!
He had only left his purchase inquiry with the local agency last night, and he hadn't expected them to call back so soon.
He was well aware that the current second-hand housing market was far from prosperous.
The purchase price he had submitted was ten percent higher than what others were offering.
Therefore,
the agency must have handled his request with great dedication.
In less than a day, they had already found a suitable property.

The person calling was a woman, and her tone was exceedingly polite.
"Hello, is this Mr. Chen? Are you the one looking to purchase a property?"
Chen Jie answered straightforwardly: "That's right, I'm the one who left a message with your agency, and all my requirements were clearly stated."

The woman hurriedly introduced the property:
"We have a few listings that match your criteria, and one of them is on Cailun Road!"
"It has an elevator, is on the sixth floor, measures 152 square meters, priced at 1.2 million, features luxury interior decoration, complete property management—!"

Cailun Road was located in the main urban area of Hengyang City, surrounded by an excellent environment right in the heart of the city center.
During the peak of the housing market, residential properties here sold for 15,000 per square meter.
Most importantly, because it was a downtown area, public security was exceptionally good.
In fact, relatively speaking, standalone villas were too isolated and desolate; their security actually wasn't as reliable as community residential apartments.

Chen Jie's requirements for buying a house were simple: the security environment had to be top-notch, and the elevator had to provide direct access to the garage.
At the same time,
it had to be move-in ready, with the house's decoration and furniture fully equipped.
Given Hengyang City's current housing prices, second-hand homes priced at 8,000 per square meter were already considered high.
After briefly understanding the property information and confirming the ownership certificate and other documents,
Chen Jie stated decisively:
"Alright then! I'll go view the house tomorrow morning, and if it's suitable, I'll buy it!"

With money in his pocket, his words carried absolute confidence.
The woman nodded and said:
"Alright! Then that's settled. I won't disturb you any further. Just give me a call when you come over to view the property!"