Novel - Drama Chapter 29
Chapter 29
Chapter 29
In the evening, Oliver invited Fabian to have an expensive meal at Radiance Hotel. When paying the bill, Fabian heard the waiter say the total was 1,560 dollars, which made him fawn more at Oliver.
In truth, Oliver did that deliberately. Crafty fellows like Fabian admired money and power the most. If Oliver showed him the power he held, Fabian would treat him like family.
Radiance Hotel was a five-star hotel. The food in the hotel was nothing but expensive. Its taste was less delicious than some unique restaurants but still pricey.
Only with such a price could the hotel show the dignity of five stars.
At about 10 a.m. the next day, the doorbell in Oliver’s room rang.
It was probably Fabian who was done making the certificates. After all, Oliver told him what room number he had stayed in yesterday.
Oliver got up from bed and went to open the door in his shorts. He didn’t bother to get dressed, since they were both men.
As soon as the door opened, Hailey, who looked like she had come out of a painting, stood before him.
Oliver was stunned for a moment. He gasped, turned around, and went back to put on his pants. He dressed himself for a while and even realized he had worn his pants incorrectly.
Hailey walked in and sat down as if nothing had happened. She took a bottle of mineral water on the table, unscrewed it, and drank it. Then, she gasped for air and said, “I’m exhausted!”
Oliver huddled on the other side of the bed and sat on the ground as he put on his clothes again. He asked, “Ms. Fox, why did you come here without saying a word? And how do you know my room number?”
Hailey pouted and said, “There was a man at the front desk. I told him your phone number and said I was your girlfriend. He bought it.”
Oliver was embarrassed. Beautiful women had their advantages. Then, he asked again, “Didn’t your fiancé prohibit you from coming?”
Hailey’s face darkened, and she said, “Let me clarify something. He isn’t my fiancé, and we are not engaged. It’s just that our parents have discussed it.”
Oliver was silent, thinking, “In her family, don’t her parents make the choice?”
Hailey snorted and said, “You’ve seen Julian. He is assertive, willful, and arrogant. He would be nothing had he not been born in that family.”
Hailey then stared at Oliver and said sternly, “Oliver, although my father has the final say in our family, my dad obeys my grandmother. As long as I make Grandma happy, my dad must listen to her.”
Oliver came to a realization and said, “Oh, that’s why you came to look for a top-quality jadeite.”
He finally figured out why Hailey had come here to find the best jadeite, and he was willing to help Hailey escape Marshall’s shackles.
After thinking for a while, worry appeared on his face as he said to Hailey, “Ms. Fox, I contacted a crafty local fellow yesterday and asked him to apply for a jade merchant certificate to cross the border to Manchernius. We can check on the official auction and private mine owners to see if there are any good stones.”
Hailey immediately nodded and agreed, “Okay. I’ll go too.”
While looking for Fabian’s phone number, Oliver told Hailey, “Then, I have to ask him again to make you a jade merchant certificate. Otherwise, you can’t cross the border, but I am afraid we will have to wait until tomorrow.”
Hailey shook her head and said, “No need. I have a passport. Let’s go today. I ran away from home secretly. If Julian finds out, he’ll definitely chase after me, so we leave early to avoid trouble.”
Half an hour later, Fabian arrived. His eyes glinted after he saw Hailey.
Oliver introduced, “This is my boss, Hailey. She wants to go too, but she has a passport and doesn’t need to apply for a jade
merchant certificate.”
Fabian finally looked away from Hailey and took out a jade merchant certificate for Oliver.
This jade merchant certificate was very popular in Manchernius. Manchernius did not have many industries other than jadeite and raw stones sales, which was the most significant pillar of their economy. Jade merchants were their biggest buyers.
Customers were always right. Naturally, they had to serve the customers properly, or no one would buy their expensive
stones.
Hailey wanted everything to be quick. Fabian drove his car and took the two past the borders, arriving at Moulmore, which
was a near distance from Radford.
Although Moulmore was a city, it was smaller than Clusia’s cities. It had a population of only over 100,000 and was a special economic zone located on Manchernius’s border against Radford.
Fabian knew the jade stone wholesaler and private mine owners in Moulmore. After passing through the border, he took Oliver and Hailey directly to the private miner’s office to see if there was any good stone.
The government-controlled official auction was not a daily event.
Most of these private mine owners were Clusians or of Clusian origin. Communication was not a problem as Fabian did not need to translate for them.
With Hailey around, Oliver felt at least confident with his money power.
When Fabian and the Clusian mine owner, Joshua, led them to look at the stones, Oliver was not frightened.
Joshua showed them the treasures in the warehouse. There were about 20 pieces of stone, big and small.
The bigger ones were about six pounds, and the smaller ones were slightly larger than a fist. There were noticeable green
marks on their surfaces.
Joshua had written clear prices and descriptions on tags next to each stone. For example, the tag beside the biggest stone wrote: [The net weight is 453 pounds. A few cracks on the surface. It displays a cloudy structure with sufficient clarity. High-quality material. Price: 576 thousand dollars.]
Oliver stared at the big raw stone for a few seconds, and his mind showed its identification message.
[Rough jade stone from Pillere. Formed 90 million years and was excavated on July 7, 2020. The total weight is 453 pounds. Its jade core is slightly mixed with impurities and cracks, and the transparency index is 0.22.]
[Here is a 360-degree high-definition graphic of the jade core.]
[Craftsmanship level: Unprocessed.]
[Value assessment: 900 dollars.]
“This is unprofitable,” Oliver thought.
Oliver immediately lost interest in it and turned to look at another piece of material.
There were more than 20 pieces of raw stones in Joshua’s warehouse. The most expensive was 576 thousand dollars, and the cheapest one cost 30,000 dollars. novelbin
Oliver noticed only two of the jade cores were slightly better. One was worth 13,000 dollars, and the other 4,400 dollars.
However, they were priced at 96,000 dollars and 54,000 dollars.
It would be a huge loss if he bought them.
Fabian hoped Oliver would do business so that he and Joshua could profit. Joshua would have to pay Fabian an introduction fee, and Oliver would need to pay Fabian for his help.
However, Oliver shook his head and asked Joshua, disappointed, “Mr. Jacob, are there any other stones?”
Joshua was surprised and said, “You only looked at my stones and already determined they’re low- quality?”
“This man is too young. He doesn’t even use any equipment to appraise the stones. Can he spot anything like this?” Joshua thought, “He thinks none of the stones in my collection are worth it.”
Fabian also wondered if Oliver really came here to do business, but he pointed outside and said, “Have a look in the courtyard. A crowd of raw stones is placed on the ground on the right. The price is calculated by ton over there. Do you want it?”
“Let’s have a look first.”
Oliver did not mind it. The 780 thousand dollars he earned was found within millions of scraps and sold cheaply.
He was not afraid of it being expensive. No matter how expensive these stones were, they would be worth more than their selling prices if the true treasure was in them.
The key was that he would not fall for worthless, unprofitable stones.