Chapter 71 - 70: Bracelet
Chapter 71: Chapter 70: Bracelet
After inspecting the gold and silver processing area and helping a few employees with their medical issues, Jiang Miao returned to the lounge in the jade processing area.
"Boss, the cut is finished. We can open the lid now," Master Han said, his expression a little stiff.
"Then let’s do it together! I hope we kick things off with a win." Jiang Miao smiled and walked into the cutting room.
The others filed in after him.
Master Han quickly opened the lid, then took out a wrench. He took a deep breath and prayed silently, ’Buddha, please grant me your blessing. Don’t let this be a bust.’
"I’m suddenly getting a little nervous!" Li Zixuan muttered under his breath.
Jiang Xia’s eyes were glued to the gambling stone, which had already been cut once. She wrung her hands, her heart pounding with nervousness.
Meanwhile, Jiang Miao and Zhang Ming’en were the calmest of the lot. One knew what was inside the stone, and the other held no hope for it, so they naturally appeared composed.
The other Jade Carver, Master Huang, scratched his cheek from time to time.
Just then, Master Han unscrewed the clamp bolts and, with a slightly trembling hand, lifted one half of the stone.
Master Huang quickly grabbed a bottle of water and poured it over the cut surface, rinsing away the slurry of stone dust.
As the slurry was washed away, the stone’s cut surface revealed its true nature.
"Huh? This water..." Master Huang’s eyes went wide.
Master Han was also dumbfounded.
Zhang Ming’en, who had been nonchalant until now, focused his gaze and blurted out, "Holy shit! Sky-blue ice-type!"
He paid no mind to the others and pushed his way forward to examine the cut surface, muttering to himself, "Unbelievable. It’s really sky-blue ice-type. No, it’s even approaching glass-type! And there are no major cracks. This could yield a bangle."
"You could definitely cut bangles from it. If the ’meat’ below is thick enough and has no cracks, we could even get four or five," Master Huang added, equally excited.
Jiang Xia, a bit slow on the uptake, quickly asked, "Masters, what’s the situation?"
Only then did Zhang Ming’en remember the boss was still standing there. He turned his head, embarrassed, and said, "My apologies, I got too excited just now. Boss! It’s a huge win! If we were to sell just this one half in Jieyang, Sihui, or Pingzhou, it would fetch at least three million."
"No rush. Let’s see the other half," Jiang Miao said, perfectly calm.
Everyone was immediately impressed by Jiang Miao’s composure. But on second thought, it seemed perfectly normal. After all, he was already worth over a hundred million at such a young age. A few million really was nothing to him.
Soon, Master Han finished cleaning the other half of the stone and carefully brought it out.
"A huge win!"
"This half is great, too."
"A great start!"
"Boss, should we buy some firecrackers? To celebrate the good fortune?"
Jiang Miao shook his head. "No need. Let’s not be too high-profile."
Since the boss had spoken, the others naturally wouldn’t act on their own.
Zhang Ming’en examined the other cut surface again, then looked up at Jiang Miao. "Boss, there are two options now. One is to sell it as is for a guaranteed minimum of six million. The other is for us to cut it ourselves and make it into finished products."
Hearing this, Jiang Miao thought for a moment and shared his idea. "Master Zhang, let’s slice the whole thing first and see how many bangles we can get. I plan to set aside three bangles for my family, make three Wishing Pendants, and we’ll see about the rest."
Master Han looked at the stone. "The two halves should yield about ten slices. Getting three bangles won’t be difficult."
Zhang Ming’en, however, offered a suggestion. "That arrangement works. Boss, we can make the bangles from this cut a bit larger. It would be best if you could provide the wrist measurements."
Jiang Miao had already prepared for this. He pulled a piece of paper from his pocket. "Here are the three measurements. Just make them according to these sizes."
The moment Jiang Xia saw the paper, she understood. "Ah Miao, this is too precious. Just make one for Mom and Shuya."
"Sis, don’t be so formal. We’re family." Jiang Miao didn’t give his sister a chance to refuse. "Brother-in-law helps me manage the farm, waking up early and staying up late to feed the eels. I see it all. So don’t be so polite with me."
"Well... okay, then." Jiang Xia was deeply moved as she looked into her brother’s eyes.
With Jiang Miao’s decision made,
Master Han worked with swift efficiency. He re-clamped one half of the stone, adjusted the slicing dimensions, closed the safety cover, and flipped the switch on the cutting machine.
WHIRRR...
He then opened the safety cover on a second cutting machine, clamped the other half of the stone in place, and started cutting it as well.
Everyone exited the cutting room.
Meanwhile, Zhang Ming’en took the opportunity to ask about the Wishing Pendants and confirm their specifications.
After giving his instructions, Jiang Miao didn’t stay long. He soon led his people back to Magong Town.
However, he didn’t return to the headquarters but instead went to the entrance of the village next to Salt Town Village.
In fact, Magong Town only had one main road, and all these villages were located on either side of it, making transportation quite convenient.
The pickup truck had just stopped when he saw Vice General Manager Jiang Haibo waving from a short distance away. "Boss! Over here!"
After getting out of the truck, Jiang Miao walked across the road.
"Is this the factory?" He looked around. It was another factory situated at the foot of a mountain. Across the road were large swaths of farmland and villagers’ houses.
Jiang Haibo explained, "Boss, this is the place. I’ve already brought people to check it out. The site itself is okay, but all the supporting facilities are derelict."
"That’s fine. Have the derelict equipment dismantled and sold for scrap as soon as possible, then have someone clean up the factory grounds." Jiang Miao started walking inside.
The factory’s parking lot and loading area were overgrown with weeds, and much of the concrete ground was pitted and uneven, clearly suffering from years of neglect.
Jiang Haibo filled him in on the factory’s history. "This factory used to make plastic toys, but it ceased production five years ago. For a while after that, it was used for scrap recycling, and then it shut down completely the year before last."
They walked into the steel-structured factory building.
"There are four buildings on this site. One semi-open workshop covering two mu, three enclosed workshops covering nine mu, and one five-story reinforced concrete building covering one mu. The empty land within the property rights is another eight mu."
Hearing this, Jiang Miao frowned and turned his head. "So you’re saying there’s also empty land that’s not within the property rights?"
"Yes." Jiang Haibo nodded. "In the area backing up to the mountain, another five mu of forest land was enclosed by the factory’s walls. It was an orchard contracted by the previous owner."
"What did they say?"
Jiang Haibo quickly explained, "They said we can take over the contract for a transfer fee of 800,000. The lease for this forest land has 20 years remaining. What are your thoughts, Boss?"
"That’s too high. Haggle them down to 500,000. Also, ask the local village committee and the villagers if any surrounding orchards are available for transfer. Try to secure a sublease on about 100 mu of orchards. The company needs to build an experimental fruit tree base."
"I’ll try to get it negotiated as soon as possible."
Jiang Miao added another instruction, "If the contract is signed, move the factory’s wall back to its proper boundary. Don’t get greedy over small advantages. Agricultural land is agricultural land, after all."
Jiang Haibo nodded. "You’re absolutely right, Boss. Changing the designated use of the land does indeed carry risks."
"Haibo, what’s the status of General Manager Du’s set of feed equipment?"
"The purchasing department had a third party inspect it. There aren’t any major issues with the equipment; the owner maintained it quite well. I think five million is a reasonable price to consider."
Jiang Miao didn’t dilly-dally. "Then have the purchasing department sign the contract and get the equipment brought back as soon as possible."
"No problem."
As the two were talking, the factory owner arrived.