"Hmm, where?" Li Yang looked up, only to see several brilliant fireworks blooming in the night sky. He turned back and saw Lin Xiaoyu's stunning face illuminated by the fireworks, leaving him momentarily stunned.
Lin Xiaoyu excitedly explained, "These are celebratory fireworks from the Haolong Stone Gambling场 in the east of the city. They only fire cannons and set off fireworks when someone unearths a jadeite of at least Ice Seed dual-color within the gambling场."
"Two flowers mean Ice Seed dual-color jadeite, three flowers mean High Ice Seed violet, and four flowers mean Glass Seed bright green. But eighteen flowers blooming at once signifies Imperial Green jadeite!"
"In that case, should we go see it in person?" Li Yang asked with a smile.
Lin Xiaoyu nodded eagerly, "Yes, yes, let's go now."
"Alright, let's hail a taxi," Li Yang said, walking towards the side of the street.
The taxi driver, seeing the two of them standing on the street in front of the hotel waiting for a car, revealed an ambiguous smile and asked, "Where are you two lovebirds headed?"
Lovebirds!
Lin Xiaoyu's heart skipped a beat, and her cheeks turned red. She secretly glanced at Li Yang, only to see that he offered no objection or explanation. Her cheeks flushed even more.
If she had only admired Li Yang's appraisal skills when they met at the auction last time, then today, with him rescuing her from trouble at the hotel, her feelings for him had developed into something more profound.
"To, to the Haolong Stone Gambling场."
"Oh, are you two from out of town to gamble on stones?" the taxi driver exclaimed in surprise upon hearing this. "Haolong is our best and largest stone gambling场. A casual visit can cost over a hundred thousand to two hundred thousand!"
"Even millionaires gambling here don't fare much better than those gambling in Hong Kong or Macau. You're so young, you must stay grounded."
"Thank you for the reminder, Master. We're just going to take a look," Li Yang said, pointing at the fireworks still in the sky. "Someone unearthed Imperial Green tonight."
"Oh, oh, oh, that's good. You scared me! I thought you young folks were going to dabble in something so unreliable."
The driver, around fifty years old, was clearly a seasoned individual. As he dropped them off at the entrance of the Haolong Stone Gambling场, he couldn't help but advise, "Although stone gambling is more reliable than buying lottery tickets, the cost is much higher. And it's not that much more reliable either. With this money, buying a house or a car, or finding a good school for your children, is much better than relying on luck."
"You're young, don't go randomly touching stones."
"Understood," Li Yang replied with a smile.
"Then I'm relieved. Here's the receipt, please take a look."
"Alright," Li Yang said, opening the car door and stepping out.
Lin Xiaoyu chuckled, "This Master is so kind-hearted. But if he knew your eyesight was extraordinary, he wouldn't say that."
"That Master isn't an ordinary person either," Li Yang said, glancing at the taxi as it turned around, smiling. "His fingers are covered in calluses. Judging by their appearance, they don't seem to be from driving, but rather from frequently handling raw jadeite."
"Ah? Does that mean he's also an expert?" Lin Xiaoyu asked, greatly surprised.
Li Yang nodded. "An ordinary stone gambler wouldn't have such thick calluses. Moreover, those calluses are old, with some signs of fading. It's likely this Master has been living incognito for many years."
"Experts are found among the common folk, hidden in plain sight. Brother Li, you've truly taught me a lesson," Lin Xiaoyu said in amazement.
Li Yang smiled, "Let's not talk about that, shall we go inside?"
"Okay."
As they walked in, the first thing that struck them was the grandeur of the Haolong Stone Gambling场's layout, a scene of opulence and magnificence.
Nearby, a tour guide holding a small flag was explaining to her group of tourists, "This is the Haolong Stone Gambling场. I heard that the big boss behind this gambling场 was once a high-ranking official. When he retired and built this gambling场, he used his personal influence to invite the architectural designer who worked on the Great Hall of the People, as well as many top construction workers. He spent over a billion and a full three years to complete it."
"Across the country, apart from the Wanlong Stone Gambling City in Ruili, no other stone gambling场 can compare to this place in terms of scale. As for the decoration and design, it is undoubtedly the number one in China."
"Please follow me, this way is..."
"No wonder it's so magnificent," Lin Xiaoyu gasped, her eyes sparkling as she looked around the surroundings.
After a moment of surprise, Li Yang quickly regained his composure and smiled, "It is indeed a place with an impressive cost. If you like it, when our business grows bigger and stronger, we can buy it from that boss."
"What a big talk for a young man!" A group of people walked over, and among them, an old man with white hair and thick glasses perched on his nose said coldly.
Li Yang raised an eyebrow and turned to look. He saw the middle-aged man he had slapped at the hotel earlier, standing among this group.
Staring at Li Yang and Lin Xiaoyu, the man's eyes were filled with venom. He immediately said to the old man, "Dad, this brat ruined my face, preventing me from meeting Elder Long."
"Brat, what's your name?" the old man asked, his gaze as cold as ice.
They had made thorough preparations, waiting to meet the legendary Elder Long today, with the intention of showing their son off to him. But unexpectedly, such a thing happened just before they were to meet Elder Long.
It could be said that Li Yang had inadvertently ruined their great plans.
Li Yang glanced at them, "When asking for someone's name, shouldn't you introduce yourself first? Old sir, I believe your generation, being older, should understand these etiquettes better than the younger generation."
"I didn't expect you to be even more arrogant than the young."
"You, fine, fine, fine. To speak to me, Zhou Taishan, like this, brat, you're quite something," the old man, Zhou Taishan, said with a stern face. "No matter what your name is, you will pay the price for hitting my son and ruining my Zhou family's affairs."
"However, given your courage, I'll give you a choice."
"Oh?" Li Yang glanced at him.
Zhou Taishan said coldly, "The first choice is to kneel before my son, and then obediently hand over the woman beside you to my son."
"The second choice will be simpler, but I'm sure you won't choose it. That is, you will never be able to leave this door."
"Is there a third option?" Li Yang asked.
Zhou Taishan replied, "No."
"I think there is, not just a third, but also fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth options!" Li Yang's lips curled into a smile. "For example, I could break your son's dog legs, and make you, an old scoundrel who bullies the young and is unfair, kneel and beg for mercy!"
"This is the third option, and I choose it!"