Reborn As Super Heiress

Chapter 326: Chapter 323 Encounter Danger

Ouyang Jun was startled awake from his sleep when he heard the anxious shouts of the guide outside the door, still somewhat bewildered, ”What goods have come?”

The guide explained, ”I just got the news that a batch of goods has arrived from Nan Town, delivered straight from Moyu River, not participating in the jade fair, on a first-come, first-served basis. If you want to take a look, I can take you there.”

Upon hearing this, Ouyang Jun instantly became fully alert, ”Okay, I’ll get up right now. Go and call the others to see if they want to go.”

The guide did as instructed and called upon Huo Sining and a few others, who, upon hearing that there was good jade material, naturally could not continue to sleep in, and quickly got ready to set out after washing up.

Under the guide’s leadership, Huo Sining and the others quickly arrived at a jade material factory. Indeed, as soon as they entered, they saw a big crowd standing at the entrance of the factory, craning their necks in wait, clearly all jade merchants who had hurried over after receiving the news.

Huo Sining inwardly nodded in approval, realizing that finding a reliable guide was useful. If she went to other places in the future, she would also need to find a local guide; even if it cost some money, she could at least acquire a lot of reliable inside information.

Just as she was about to speak, there was suddenly a commotion up ahead, and when a crowd gathered around, Ouyang Jun’s face lit up with pleasure, ”Is it here?”

On hearing this, Huo Sining and Ji Kun also felt a surge of excitement. The materials they had seen at the market and in the village the day before were not much to look at, and now that there was a haul of good stuff, they naturally wanted to grab a piece.

A big truck slowly drove in from outside, and as soon as it came to a stop, a line of people quickly ran over, surrounding it with dozens of individuals.

The truck owner pulled off the tarpaulin, revealing the stones underneath, and the crowd of jade merchants could no longer contain their excitement, each one agitated, with some already itching to climb onto the truck.

”Don’t rush, everyone. There are so many stones here that you’ll soon have your pick.”

The truck owner, while urging calm, instructed the workers to unload the raw jade materials from the truck.

As soon as Ji Kun saw the color of the jade’s skin, he began to push through like everyone else, a look that made Huo Sining and her companions realize that the raw jade materials in the truck were impressive.

The excited expressions of those present were contagious, and they too found themselves involuntarily moving towards the front of the truck, hoping to snatch a couple of the good pieces.

There were at most fifty pieces of jade on the truck, and the most eye-catching was the piece of Shuang Pi Shan Material placed in the center.

This rough piece weighed four to five hundred kilograms, wrapped in a layer of stone skin on the outside, yet revealing a layer of caramel color. After tens of thousands of years of geological changes, the stone had been compressed into layers, and it seemed that it had been broken during excavation, revealing the white flesh inside the stone.

Without a doubt, that large piece of jade could not be acquired for less than ten million yuan; the jade merchants were targeting the other smaller pieces scattered inside the truck.

One didn’t have to guess to know that the other few dozen small raw pieces were all part of that larger piece that had been broken apart, and thus the owner of the jade had hauled back all those fragmented small pieces.

Almost every merchant who managed to grab a piece of the jade immediately took out flashlights and magnifying glasses, observing how one merchant in the vicinity was moving his light back and forth, shining it from the side and then straight on, alternating the intensity from time to time, as if he had received a fun toy, prompting Li Quan to lean over to Huo Sining and ask in a low voice, ”What are they doing?”

Huo Sining paused for a moment and explained, ”They are checking the depth of the jade’s structure and its color. Holding a weak light close to the side allows one to see the structure of the jade, whereas shining a strong light directly on it lets one see the color of the jade.”

Huo Sining had crammed a lot about Hetian jade seed material, and although she had no practical experience, she still managed to show off a little in front of Li Quan.

However, she didn’t have the time to explain in detail to Li Quan at that moment. Seeing everyone’s expressions as eager as that of a cat smelling fish, she also became excited, and following the others, she managed to snatch a not-so-small piece of raw jade material.

Unlike the seed material she had bought at Aunt Mei’s house before, this load was all mountain material.

Mountain material, also known as ”original mine stone,” is jade material that lacks a weathered surface or has a very thin weathering layer. It is generally mined from outcrops or working faces of mountains. Huo Sining had seen such material in Pingzhou before, where new mine material was unweathered mountain material.

The price of mountain material could not compare with that of seed material because it had not been washed by river water, and impurities were still present within the jade.

Of course, that’s not to say that there were no fine pieces within mountain material. Some mountain material yielded jade that was delicate, pure, and flawless—possessing a quality not necessarily inferior to that of seed material. However, the probability of finding high-quality mountain material was much lower than that of finding good seed material.

Coming across high-quality mountain material was not easy because the jade was exposed, offering very few overlooked pieces to pick up.

Moreover, since mountain material was devoid of moisture, her Water-Repelling Pearl was of no use, leaving her no choice but to outright vie with these jade merchants.

Looking at the item still smelling of earth, it was clear it had just been dug out, making it impossible to be fake.

The stone Huo Sining was holding should weigh around twenty pounds, with two palm-sized pieces of Mutton Fat Jade exposed on one side. The sugar-colored layer in the middle was very natural and vivid, and the white was lustrous, with a rich texture.

Although there were cracks and impurities inside, for such a large piece of jade, its condition could be considered quite good. Besides, it was top-notch Mutton Fat White Jade that, with skillful carving, could be transformed into an exquisite decorative piece.

Huo Sining had to admit she was lucky. Even those who frequented the place all year round might not come across such top-quality jade more than two or three times.

Just as she was about to ask the boss for the price, she turned around and felt someone swipe at her back.

Huo Sining startled, and upon looking down, she saw a rather coarse hand hastily retracting, still clutching a blade.

Huo Sining felt a pang of apprehension and realized that her backpack had been slashed open as she reached behind to check.

Someone was trying to steal from her!

Huo Sining quickly grabbed and caught the thief’s hand, only to discover that the thief was a child of six or seven.

The thief panicked, struggling to break free from Huo Sining’s grip and even attempting to slash at her arm with the blade.

Huo Sining instinctively let go, and the thief turned and ran away precipitously.

That such a small kid was not learning good things but instead stealing left Huo Sining annoyed. After tossing the stone to Li Quan, she chased after the child without looking back.

Just as she was chasing the thief into an alley, an arm reached out from the side, and a damp towel covered her nose.

Huo Sining felt her breath catch, her vision blackened, and she fainted.

Before she lost consciousness, only one thought crossed her mind: An ambush!