Main Text — Chapter Thirty-Five: Liu Xiangnan Arrives

Chapter 35: Liu Xiangnan Arrives

As soon as the group arrived at the hotel, a casually dressed young man stepped forward to greet them.

“Sister Shen, welcome to East Guangdong,” he said.

“Director Li, I never expected you to come in person this time.” Shen Yuxuan was slightly surprised to see him, but soon smiled. “Let me introduce you. This is Yang Qi, the new stone-gambling consultant for Shen’s Jewelry. And this is Director Li Yun of Li’s Jadeite.”

“Director Li, nice to meet you!”

“Mr. Yang, it’s a pleasure to meet you. I hope we’ll enjoy a fruitful cooperation in the future.”

The two men shook hands, officially making one another’s acquaintance.

“Actually, I came here to give you some bad news, Sister Shen,” Li Yun said, turning to Shen Yuxuan.

“What news?” Her heart gave a sudden lurch, but her expression remained unchanged.

“Liu Xiangnan has also arrived in East Guangdong.” Li Yun’s voice grew solemn.

“Liu Xiangnan is here too?”

Shen Yuxuan’s expression changed slightly, and her face darkened.

Although she had brought Yang Qi along this time to give him some practical experience, the trip was also of tremendous importance to Shen’s Jewelry. Liu Xiangnan’s arrival in East Guangdong at such a time could not possibly be a coincidence.

“Who else came with him?” Shen Yuxuan asked.

“Wu Shan.”

Wu Shan?

Yang Qi frowned. The Liu family’s jewelry business currently had two stone-gambling consultants at the master level. One was Wu Shan, who had originally belonged to Liu’s Jewelry. The other was Wang Tong, a stone-gambling master poached from Shen’s Jewelry.

The person accompanying Liu Xiangnan this time was Wu Shan, the original consultant of Liu’s Jewelry. Wu Shan had been a renowned stone-gambling master for many years and ranked among the top three consultants in all of Qingchuan Province.

“It seems Liu Xiangnan intends to compete with me for those rough stones.” Shen Yuxuan’s expression turned grim.

Yang Qi’s skill in stone gambling was probably close to the master level, but he had not yet reached it. Originally, Shen Yuxuan had thought that with enough opportunities to train, he would improve rapidly. Now, however, it seemed that Liu’s Jewelry had no intention of giving them such an opportunity.

“That’s probably the case. Those rough stones are being offered by every shop in the raw-stone market. Even our Li family cannot interfere with the rules, so you’d better be mentally prepared, Sister Shen,” Li Yun said slowly.

Although the Li family operated the largest shop in the raw-stone market and enjoyed considerable influence because of its ties to Burma, everyone still showed the Li family a measure of respect. But the Li family was ultimately a business. It could not violate the rules. Otherwise, who would care about the rules of the raw-stone market in the future? Without integrity, the Li family would be the one to suffer in the end.

“I understand. Thank you for coming to tell me. Otherwise, I wouldn’t even have known that Liu Xiangnan had arrived,” Shen Yuxuan said.

“It was nothing. Our families have worked together for so many years, and the cooperation has always been pleasant. We hope to continue working with you,” Li Yun replied with a smile.

A good business partner was not easy to find, especially after more than a decade of cooperation. Their relationship was far closer than that between ordinary business partners. That was why Li Yun had hurried over at the first opportunity to inform Shen Yuxuan.

“I want to continue working together too. But you’ve probably heard about the situation at Shen’s Jewelry,” Shen Yuxuan said with a faint sigh.

Shen’s Jewelry was beset by troubles both within and without. The slightest misstep could result in total defeat in its confrontation with Liu’s Jewelry.

“Your father built the Shen family’s business from nothing. I believe Shen’s Jewelry will survive this crisis,” Li Yun said.

The two continued talking for a long while before Li Yun finally took his leave.

“Sister Shen, Li Yun seems especially concerned about our company. Could he be interested in you?” Yang Qi asked, watching Li Yun depart.

Although they were business partners, people in business ultimately pursued profit. Yet Li Yun had come in person, shown Shen’s Jewelry considerable respect, and even warned them about Liu Xiangnan’s arrival. That was not something an ordinary business partner would do.

“What are you thinking?” Shen Yuxuan shot Yang Qi an exasperated glance. “Li Yun’s elder sister, Li Yunxi, was my classmate when I studied abroad. Combined with the business relationship between our families, that makes us extremely close friends. Besides, Li Yun has been engaged for a long time.”

“Oh…” Yang Qi was stunned. He had seen how warmly Li Yun treated Shen Yuxuan and assumed that Li Yun had feelings for her. He had never imagined that the two families shared such a close connection.

“It’s a pity that Yunxi has always been stationed in Burma. Otherwise, she could have helped me with the rough stones,” Shen Yuxuan said regretfully.

“Is Li Yunxi very skilled at stone gambling?” Yang Qi asked curiously.

Shen’s Jewelry was one of the foremost jewelry merchants in the province. It had no interest in ordinary experts. At the very least, a stone gambler had to possess the potential to become a master before earning the company’s attention.

“Her skill is indeed exceptional. She’s probably close to the master level—perhaps even better than you,” Shen Yuxuan said.

Anyone who dealt with rough stones for a long time would learn at least something about stone gambling, unless they were a complete fool. Shen Yuxuan herself was fairly competent, but she had no particular talent in the field and had only barely reached the level of an expert. Even if she personally took part, she would be of no help to Shen’s Jewelry.

“She’s that impressive?” Yang Qi was slightly startled.

Li Yunxi was probably around Shen Yuxuan’s age; otherwise, they could not have been classmates. That meant she was only two or three years older than him. For someone so young to possess skills approaching the master level was truly unexpected.

“What’s so surprising about that? Li Yun, whom you met earlier, is not much less skilled than Li Yunxi, and he’s even younger. There may well be two stone-gambling masters under the age of thirty in this generation of the Li family. By then, with three masters in a single family, perhaps only the Jadeite King of Yunnan would be able to suppress them,” Shen Yuxuan said with a sigh.

The Jadeite King was a legend in the worlds of jadeite and stone gambling. Not only did his fellow countrymen address him with that title, but even the mine owners in Burma’s rough-stone-producing regions did the same. His skill in stone gambling was unfathomable, and no one had ever heard of him losing a gamble.

“The Li family really is extraordinary,” Chu Li exclaimed.

Across the entirety of Qingchuan Province, there were only about five experts at the master level. The Li family would soon have three of them. Even in East Guangdong, where the jadeite industry was highly developed, that was an astonishing prospect.

“Enough about them. Our greatest problem right now is Liu Xiangnan!” Shen Yuxuan said heavily.

“Liu Xiangnan has definitely come prepared this time, so we should avoid confronting him head-on whenever possible.” Shen Yuxuan looked at Yang Qi.

Her plan was to use this opportunity to train him and help him reach the master level as quickly as possible. Even if he failed to attain it, he had to reach at least Li Yunxi’s level. Only then could the crisis facing Shen’s Jewelry be resolved.

“I’m afraid avoiding him won’t be so easy.” Yang Qi shook his head inwardly.

Since Liu Xiangnan had pursued them all the way from Qingchuan Province to East Guangdong—and had even learned of Shen Yuxuan’s relationship with the Li family—he must have made thorough preparations before daring to come.

“A stone-gambling master? I hope he won’t disappoint me.”

A sharp gleam flashed through Yang Qi’s eyes. To his surprise, he was beginning to look forward to the confrontation.