The plane landed late in Myanmar, and after having dinner, the group returned to their hotel to rest.
To broaden his sister's horizons, Xu Zifan specially chose a luxurious hotel and booked the presidential suite.
Xu Mengyao was startled. This hotel room was even more luxurious than the mansions of the wealthy on TV. It cost 180,000 yuan a night, the same price as the Wang family mansion. No matter how much she tried to calm herself down, she couldn't stop her heart from pounding wildly.
"Brother, this is too expensive. Do we really have to stay here?" Xu Mengyao asked Xu Zifan in a low voice after everyone else had left.
Xu Zifan showed her around and then showed her his bank account on his phone. "Here, this is my allowance, just for eating, drinking, and having fun. You rarely get to come out, so I have to make sure you stay somewhere nice. And for any experiences you haven't had yet, I'll take you through them one by one."
Xu Mengyao stared at the "pocket money" of over 100 million on her phone, feeling another shock to her heart. However, with the comparison, she no longer felt that 180,000 was expensive. Instead, she felt moved. "Brother, thank you. I don't know how I can repay you in the future."
"Silly girl, I don't need to repay you for being good to me. Just be happy." Xu Zifan raised his chin. "Let's go play in the bubble bath, and there are flower petals, sauna and stuff. Play whatever you want. I have important things to do tomorrow, so I'm going to sleep now."
"Okay! Goodnight, brother!" Xu Mengyao's eyes sparkled. Her heartache over the house price had faded, and all that remained in her heart was curiosity. She was eager to explore the room that cost 180,000 yuan a night.
The presidential suite had exactly two bedrooms, so Xu Zifan took a shower and went back to his room.
Xu Mengyao wasn't nervous or timid living under the same roof as him. He wanted to take this opportunity to let Xu Mengyao unleash her true nature, without worrying about causing trouble or losing face, and to experience a luxurious life without restraint.
Luxury is alluring and can easily corrupt one's conscience, but when he laid out an inexhaustible supply of money in front of Xu Mengyao, the money lost its allure and became just a number to her. He personally took her to experience everything about high society, but instead of feeling any longing or desire, she quickly became accustomed to it, because this was supposed to be her daily routine.
That night, Xu Mengyao fully grasped the concept of a presidential suite and had a great time. She didn't fall asleep until after 3 a.m. and woke up at 7 a.m., still full of energy and with a happy smile on her face.
Xiao Qing helped her choose clothes and jewelry, dutifully standing behind her to ensure she didn't make any mistakes.
The Xu family had business partners in the area, and when the partners knew they were coming, they sent an assistant to act as their tour guide.
Xu Zifan glanced at his sister and decided to gamble on stones first. He figured it wouldn't hurt to spend money that had fallen from the sky, and he wanted his sister to relax and have some fun.
The group first went to the jade market. Xu Zifan pointed out to Xu Mengyao, "Those jade bracelets, earrings, and pendants are made from these things. Aren't they amazing?"
Xu Mengyao looked in the direction he was pointing. Various stalls displayed many oddly shaped stones, all cut open, in green, purple, white, and other colors—they all looked like stones. Her eyes widened, she leaned closer, and exclaimed incredulously, "These are all jade? Brother, was your pendant also taken from a stone?"
Xu Zifan nodded, "Of course, Grandpa opened these himself. Don't be fooled by the fact that some stones look dull and gray; they might hold some treasures inside. Some stones may look beautiful, but they might be empty. It's like knowing someone's face but not their heart. Never trust anyone too easily; you have to observe carefully to know if you can be trusted. But even if you observe carefully, you might still be wrong, just like gambling on stones can lead to a bad outcome."
Secretary Zhang's lips twitched, and he glanced at the two siblings in front of him without leaving a trace. After the young master's toxic chicken soup, will the young lady dare to make friends in the future?
Xu Mengyao was indeed taken aback, her face showing confusion. "Then what should we do?"
Xu Zifan shrugged. "We'll just have to do what we have to do. It's like gambling on stones; you might lose money, but we still have to gamble on stones, right? Otherwise, if we just buy ready-made raw materials, we'll only become second-rate. If we find something good, it will be a great benefit to the company."
Xu Mengyao understood. People can't avoid interacting with others, so they should act accordingly, uphold their bottom line, and avoid being hurt by unworthy people, while benefiting from good ones for life.
She looked up at Xu Zifan and smiled, "Brother, it's a good thing you're my brother. If you were this nice to other sisters, I would be so envious."
Xu Zifan ruffled her hair. "I'm your brother, and that's all yours. Come on, let's go look at the raw materials."
"Brother, you messed up my hair!" Xu Mengyao had already started to act coquettishly towards her brother.
Xiao Qing smiled and stepped forward to fix Xu Mengyao's hair. When she looked at Xu Zifan, her eyes were also filled with a smile.
Further in, the stones stopped being excavated; stalls and shops were filled with all sorts of stones, some as large as a washbasin, others only the size of a fist. Xu Mengyao looked on blankly, and Secretary Zhang asked from the side, "Young Master Xu, are you really not going to call an expert?"
Xu Zifan waved his hand, "Did you hire an expert to calculate my share or the company's? Didn't my dad tell me to use my allowance? Of course, I'll handle everything myself from start to finish." Seeing that Xu Mengyao seemed quite interested, he thought for a moment and then said, "Find someone who's similar and have them explain the properties of the raw materials to Yaoyao."
Secretary Zhang communicated with the person sent by the partner, and they quickly found a junior apprentice of an expert, Xiao Liu, to explain things to Xu Mengyao. Xiao Liu knew that Xu Mengyao was a complete novice and just there for fun, so he explained...
He didn't go into much depth, only giving Xu Mengyao a basic introduction.
"This piece has a gray sandy skin, a type of rough mountain stone, and the skin is relatively thick. Look at this line; it's a python vein, not very obvious. Generally, stones with python veins and mottled patterns have a higher chance of yielding green jade, but there might be other factors involved..."
Xu Mengyao held a small flashlight and shone it on the rock as he instructed. She was very excited when she saw the python belt he mentioned. "I see it! Is this it?"
"Yes, that's right. Look at this one again. This one has fine sand skin, from a semi-mountainous area, the skin is moderate, but the skin isn't very good, you can't tell anything about it..."
"This is a yellowish-white water-skinned rough stone, with a relatively thin skin. Look here, this is pine flower pattern..."
"And this one, this is a Black Shark. It looks dark and unremarkable, but it's actually the best performing one of these. Look here..."
Xu Mengyao was completely immersed in the world of jade gambling, almost forgetting everything around her. Xiao Qing's gaze swept over Xu Zifan's face, and seeing that he wasn't unhappy about being ignored, she breathed a sigh of relief. Then she looked at Xu Mengyao, and the corners of her mouth curled up slightly.
This little girl is so lucky to have such a loving older brother who truly cares for her. She will surely be happy in the future.
Xu Zifan could clearly see Xiao Qing's reaction on the virtual screen monitored by Shao Hua. By the time he looked over, Xiao Qing had already suppressed all her emotions and returned to a robotic, formulaic smile, even more professional than Secretary Zhang.
Xu Mengyao suddenly exclaimed, "I see the python skin and pine flower patterns! Is this it? Does this mean there's jade inside?"
"Let me take a look," Xiao Liu said regretfully after examining the material with a flashlight and magnifying glass for a while. "I'm afraid the inside isn't very good; there's moss on it. Sometimes you have to look at the raw material comprehensively, and it only represents a certain probability, not a guarantee that it will turn out green."
"It's really hard!" Xu Mengyao's face fell. She turned around and took her brother's arm. "Brother, I finally understand why it's called'stone gambling'. It's really a gamble. Even if you look at it until your eyes are blurry, you still can't be sure."
Xu Zifan chuckled, "You already know that? You haven't experienced gambling yet. Just buy a few pieces, pick the ones you like, and we'll go over there to have them cut open and watch the excitement."
Xu Mengyao asked curiously, "Brother, why aren't you buying anything? You didn't seem to look at them very closely either. Didn't you come here to open some stones?"
Xu Zifan smiled slightly, "The good stuff isn't here. No rush, let's play for a while first, and then we'll go buy it after lunch."
"Oh." Xu Mengyao looked around and found that there were indeed no wealthy-looking people. It turned out this wasn't the right place. However, some of the raw materials here were already very expensive. The better places were probably beyond the reach of ordinary people. Her brother was indeed just playing along with her.
Xu Mengyao was quite happy. She found a few rough stones and asked about their prices. Some cost several thousand, some tens of thousands. The ones that Xiao Liu had mentioned as good were all quite expensive. Although she had already stayed in a presidential suite that cost 180,000 yuan a night, she still couldn't bear to spend tens of thousands on something that might just be a stone.
Xu Zifan stepped forward, glanced at the three, and picked out three. "These three are a gift from your brother. You can pick one more yourself."
Xu Mengyao hesitated for a moment, then chose the one Xiao Liu said was more reliable, 50,000 yuan. She figured this one shouldn't lose money, right?
She swiped her card herself and went with Xu Zifan to the stone-cutting area, where several stone-cutting machines were busy, and the stone-cutting masters were all extremely serious.
"It's green! It's green! Be careful, wipe it! Wipe it slowly!" someone shouted excitedly, it seemed that the stone was his.
Xu Mengyao looked over in surprise and shook Xu Zifan's arm, "Brother, did he win the bet?"
Shao Hua had already scanned all the stones on site, and this one was just a piece of green with a veneer. He laughed and said, "Looking ahead, when it comes to gambling on stones, no one knows what will happen until the very end."
He had barely finished speaking when silence fell over the other end, and then everyone saw that it was just stone inside. The man who had been excited moments before was now completely stunned. "Impossible, you...you cut it open..."
The stone cutter found a spot and cut it open, but there wasn't a trace of green in either half of the stone. It was just a superficial green, and of poor quality. The man had spent 80,000 yuan on it, which meant that 80,000 yuan had gone down the drain! He didn't seem to be very wealthy, and he was dumbfounded. His companion pulled him aside to comfort him.
Xu Mengyao was equally dumbfounded. She grabbed Xu Zifan's arm tightly and asked, "That's it? You spent 80,000 on a rock?"
Just then, a stone cutter nearby made a fortune; a rough stone he bought for 5,000 yuan yielded a decent piece of icy bean jade, worth 30,000 yuan. But this no longer made Xu Mengyao happy; she began to worry about the four rough stones she had bought—she had spent 120,000 yuan on them!
Xu Zifan bent down slightly and smiled at her, "What's wrong, Yao Yao? Are you worried? How about we open yours first? Let the master cut open the rough stone and see how your luck is today."