Chapter 54: Ten Thousand Silver Dollars, Immense Wealth

The trainees of the Elite Martial Arts Academy possessed an overall strength that could be considered formidable within Hengyang.

However,

when viewed in the context of the entire Xiangnan region, or even the entire country, they were simply not up to standard.

Compared to the martial arts force-generating heritage that Chen Jie had acquired in the "otherworld", it was practically a dimensional-reduction strike.

At least,

after more than a week of sparring training, that was what Chen Jie himself believed.

Even Zhang Tao, the second-ranked heavyweight fighter at the Elite Martial Arts Academy, fell far short of Chen Jie in terms of explosive force, speed, and the ability to control the rhythm of the ring.

Ever since the day Chen Jie joined the Elite Martial Arts Academy, he had never laid eyes on the fighters ranked first across the five weight divisions: heavyweight, light heavyweight, middleweight, welterweight, and lightweight.

They had gone to the academy's main headquarters for intensive training, accompanied by the academy's deputy director, Zhang Changming.

During sparring sessions, Chen Jie was completely unpicky.

He was willing to act as a sparring partner for fighters of any weight class.

He was especially fond of sparring with heavyweight fighters, and the reason was very simple: heavyweight fighters could take a beating.

Zhang Tao had been sparring with Chen Jie over the past few days to the point of sheer terror.

Whenever he saw Chen Jie now, he wanted to turn around and leave, feeling depressed to the core.

At the very beginning, he had relied on his heavyweight status to heavily suppress Chen Jie.

However,

in less than three days, he had been reduced to the ultimate human punching target.

"Stop, stop, stop! No more fighting, I told you not to kick, why do you keep kicking?"

"My legs are bruised black and blue by your kicks, I can't go on, don't call me for the next training session!"

"Your leg speed is just too fast, kid!"

Clutching his leg and sitting on the canvas of the ring, Zhang Tao shouted angrily.

Just now, relying on his weight advantage, he had been moments away from trapping Chen Jie in the corner of the ring.

However,

to his utter astonishment, Chen Jie had suddenly unleashed an upward kick that landed viciously against his thigh.

Despite the cushioning of the shin guards, Chen Jie's leg speed was too fast and his explosive force too ferocious.

Before he could steady himself, Zhang Tao was sent crashing directly onto the canvas.

"Brother Tao, this is sanda rules; how can you not use kicks? We aren't boxing!"

"Come on, let's keep going. We're doing sparring training right now, but your focus is shot. What on earth have you been thinking about all day long?"

"Your arm defense is tight, but your lower-body defense is a bit slack."

"This is just training, but if this were the Provincial Sanda King Championship and an opponent attacked your lower body, what would you do?"

Chen Jie said with a relaxed smile.

During his time at the Elite Martial Arts Academy, he had grown very close to the other veteran trainees.

To maintain good relations, Chen Jie would occasionally treat everyone to meals outside the academy.

Crucially, he was generous with his money and never fussed over small expenses.

Inside the martial arts hall, whenever anyone faced financial difficulties at home, he would give them money directly.

Many of these veteran martial arts trainees had yet to achieve any notable success, and their monthly incomes were very low.

Some of them even wanted to give up entirely due to poverty.

Although Chen Jie had never intended to alter anyone else's destiny, he was certainly willing to help out as much as he could if it was within his power.

---

Evening!

Chen Jie took a taxi to "Old He's Gold and Silver Jewelry Store"!

At this moment,

the rolling metal shutter of the shop had already been pulled down.

He Xiaoyuan was currently counting the quantity and checking the quality of the silver dollars.

She inspected them with meticulous care, examining every single piece by hand.

Ten thousand silver dollars!

This time, Chen Jie had ordered a full ten thousand silver dollars.

The crucial point was that for this batch of silver dollars, an extra two yuan had been added to the price of each piece.

Aged silver dollars!

That was right, every single silver dollar had to be soaked in a chemical solution to corrode and oxidize its brand-new surface.

Ten thousand silver dollars had a total value approaching two million!

For "Old He's Gold and Silver Jewelry Store", this definitely counted as a massive transaction.

Therefore,

He Xiaoyuan was counting them personally, terrified of making any mistakes.

Just then, her cell phone rang.

She tapped the screen to take a look, answered the call, and asked, "Chen Jie, have you arrived?"

"I'm here, right outside the door. Why did you close the shop?" Chen Jie's voice came through the phone.

Rattle—!

He Xiaoyuan pulled open the rolling shutter. When she caught sight of Chen Jie, she hurriedly flashed him a warm smile and greeted him.

Chen Jie was her major client now, her god of wealth!

Stepping into the shop, He Xiaoyuan pulled the rolling shutter down once more.

She was in the middle of counting the silver dollars and didn't want to be disturbed by outsiders, so she had simply shut the storefront.

Chen Jie looked at the stacks upon stacks of silver dollars piled on the floor.

He had to admit that ten thousand silver dollars was a substantial quantity, with a total weight reaching around two hundred and sixty-five kilograms.

Recovering her composure, He Xiaoyuan smiled and said,

"Have a seat for a moment, I'll be done right away!"

Chen Jie nodded silently. Pulling over a plastic stool, he sat down and cast a glance around the surroundings.

At that moment,

he noticed that in the corner of He Xiaoyuan's display counter, there were actually jade pieces for sale.

Gold-inlaid jade!

They were jade pendants framed in gold; it seemed He Xiaoyuan had recently expanded her business channels.

When he had visited last time, Chen Jie had not seen these.

Chen Jie stood up and walked over to inspect the gold-inlaid jade closely.

The quality was mediocre!
Although he still didn't know much about jade, judging purely by its external appearance, the embedded jadeite was clearly of very poor grade.

He couldn't tell if it was Hetian jade or the most ordinary agate.

Using gold-inlaid craftsmanship on a pendant like this was a complete waste of gold.

Seeing Chen Jie staring intently at the jade pendant, He Xiaoyuan couldn't help smiling as she remarked,

"Are you interested in jade? The quality of the jade I have here isn't very high. If you want something better, you'll need to go to South China!"

"I know a friend in Jieyang who specializes in the jade business."

"The jade pieces I have here are all on consignment from her. The jade business has been tough lately; the jade mines over in Myanmar have dried up, and it's been a long time since any good raw materials were excavated."

"However, the waters in the jade industry run deep. If you don't understand it, I advise you not to wade into it lightly!"

"Jade has no standard industry price benchmark; once you sell it, it's money, and if you can't sell it, it's just a rock! Much of its value is purely hyped up, and you can easily lose your shirt if you aren't careful."

Hearing this, Chen Jie nodded slightly.

Jadeite and jade only flourished within Chinese circles. Although there were collectors abroad, no one pursued them with fervor.

Much like diamonds, which originally only prevailed in the West, and eventually—through continuous Western hype—began to be pursued domestically in China as well.

However, with the production of lab-grown diamonds, the rarity of diamonds had greatly diminished, and people domestically were no longer chasing after them quite as much.

Diamonds lacked significant collection value and could not appreciate, so naturally, they weren't worth all that much.

Just imagine buying a diamond ring for one hundred thousand yuan, only to take it to a pawnshop a year later and receive an offer of just five hundred yuan; you would practically spit blood.

The most valuable aspect of jadeite and jade was precisely its rarity.

Although Chen Jie did not understand jade, he happened to possess several hundred pieces of top-tier jadeite and jade.

At that moment,

hearing He Xiaoyuan actually advise him not to casually touch the jade business filled Chen Jie with a sense of gratitude.

"Thanks! If I get the chance, I'll make a trip to Jieyang and have you introduce me to your friend."

Chen Jie smiled and said.

Last week at the Jinhuicui Jewelry Store in Pingzhou, the jade bracelets hadn't ended up selling.

He had been pondering how to offload the batch of jade currently in his possession as quickly as possible.

Only once they were sold were they considered jade; if they stayed stuck in his hands, they were nothing more than rocks to Chen Jie!

He had no hobby of collecting jade; his sole desire was to convert it into cash.

Having finished counting the silver dollars, He Xiaoyuan stood up and said with a beaming smile,

"All set! I've split them into ten bags, with one thousand silver dollars in each bag."

"Where do you live? Shall I drive you and help deliver them?"

"Tonight, no matter what, you have to give me a chance to treat you to a meal!"

Hearing this, Chen Jie shook his head with an amused, helpless smile.

"Thanks! You can skip the meal; I really don't have time. Let's do it next time!"