The day had turned into dusk and the journalists who had been squatting outside of Paradise Manor looked listlessly as they glanced at the imposing gate. Peddlers were also seen pus.h.i.+ng their three-wheelers, shouting the kind of meals they sold loudly, and yet, the journalists didn"t have much desire to grab any food even though the rumbling of hunger growled from their stomachs.

For media people like them, having no scoop to publish was simply endless torture.

"All the friends from the media, I"ve just received a notice to invite you all to the East Expanse Square in the Manor. We also have prepared dinner for you and there will be an important issue announced to everyone," Jin s.h.i.+ strode out of the gate of the Manor before looking around at the thousands of journalists outside.

"Important issue? Is it a scoop?"

"G.o.d! The Grand Fortune Jewelry is going to disclose some news?"

"They have also prepared a dinner party? Wow! I never thought I could have a meal at Paradise Manor one day, though. If it"s a big scoop, that"s equal to tons of meals for me today!"

"Let"s go, hurry up. We must get a good spot!"

"…"

The thousands of journalists were thrilled as they cheered and rushed into the gate of Paradise Manor that was guarded by the security guards who kept the order.

At the East Expanse Square, hundreds of round tables filled the square. Beautiful female staffers with an elegant att.i.tude attended each. Accompanied by fragrant meals and drinks, the rich flavor of the delicacies stirred up the appet.i.te of all the reporters there. Yet, none of them moved their chopsticks after they took a seat and instead, just readied and set up their cameras, all aimed at the half a meter high platform that was temporarily built on the northern end.

Jin s.h.i.+ walked onto the platform. He didn"t take the microphone, but his loud voice was transmitted to every reporter"s ears anyway, "Ladies and gentlemen, our Boss said that you should dine and drink first before you listen to the news, else you all probably won"t have the thoughts to touch them when the major news is announced. Also, the Boss said that wasting something is shameful, so please cherish every bit of the food and avoid wasting it. Thank you."

With that said, Jin s.h.i.+ strode off the platform.

All the journalists were dumbfounded. This was the first time they encountered a situation in which they were invited to have a meal first before the important news was announced. Yet, such an arrangement made them feel warm inside. It was evident that the owner of Grand Fortune Jewelry knew very well about their present situation, and was obviously aware that the first thing they would do was to write the press release news and submit the photos, striving to be the first to report the news.

"Yo, comrades, let"s eat faster. Have enough and hear the news afterward!"

A stalwart reporter shouted aloud from his table before grabbing his chopsticks and devouring the meals like a wolf. The thousands of other reporters were driven by him and gobbled up the meals and sipped the tea. None of them touched the wine on the table whatsoever.

After half an hour, Hao Lei came with three staffers carrying a tray behind her as they walked onto the platform. She was now wearing a floral skirt, and, with her loose long hair, her whole being looked particularly elegant and dignified. She took the microphone and looked at the crowd with a smile. "All the friends from the media, I welcome you all to this place. I"m Hao Lei, the General Manager of Grand Fortune Jewelry, and I have two things I"d like to announce now. The first is that Grand Fortune Jewelry has already received three distinguished guests who brought us three genuine jade carvings which are precisely the ones we have announced to buy."

"Three guests?"

All the reporters were thrilled, and one from the nearest table to Hao Lei shouted, "Miss Hao, can you disclose the ident.i.ty of those distinguished guests to us and what kind of zodiac jade carvings they brought?"

"Revealing the ident.i.ty of them is precisely the second matter today," said Hao Lei with a smile. "And now, I"d like to show you all the zodiac jade carvings they sent first."

With that said, she gestured to the three staffers behind her. The three of them immediately took off the yellow silk cloth that covered the tray. In that instant, all the cameras were focused at the three sets of red and vividly lifelike zodiac jade carvings.

"These are the three zodiac jade carvings: the monkey, rooster, and rabbit," said Hao Lei with a beaming smile. "Together with the dragon and tiger jade carvings that we already have, we now have five pieces in the set. It is my hope that all the friends from the media would like to help us in advertising this endeavor to help find the remaining seven zodiac jade carvings.

The lights from flashes were constantly illuminating the area while the focus of everyone present hovered around the three jade carvings.

Hao Lei continued, "The second matter I want to announce is that the distinguished guests who brought us the jade monkey and rooster do not want to reveal their ident.i.ty, so we can"t inform everyone of who they are. But we have already paid 100 million US dollars to them. As for the distinguished guest who brought the jade rabbit, he"s willing to accept the interviews of everyone."

"GREAT! Where is the person now?"

"It"s better to have one to be interviewed rather than having none, though. But where is the person?"

"Who could it be?"

"..."

Zhang Moyuan then came to the stage from behind the platform while escorted by four security guards. He then stood in front of Hao Lei and hurriedly nodded and saluted in haste.

"I"ll give an introduction to everyone here," said Hao Lei with a smile. "This gentleman is Zhang Moyuan from the f.u.kang Province. He is the owner of Prosperous House of Construction Materials in f.u.kang Province. Next, I"d like to invite Boss Zhang to speak here."

Zhang Moyuan took the microphone as his deep eyes swept underneath the stage. After a few seconds of silence, a bitter smile appeared on his face as he started to speak, "As a matter of fact, I should be very rich with hundreds of millions of a.s.sets in the eyes of many people, considering that I"m a business owner. That fact was correct a few months ago when I was really very rich. I was someone who at least didn"t have to worry about having enough to eat and drink, and even lived in a mansion with a luxury car, along with numerous rich friends.

"However, it"s hard to do business these days and it"s even harder for the business owner. My company, the Prosperous House of Construction Materials, has shrunk dramatically due to some unforeseen events that led to its worsening capital turnover."

"The jade rabbit is, in fact, my favorite collection item. I even fantasized about leaving it as an heirloom of my Zhang Family and pa.s.sing it on to my descendants. At the moment when my company ran into problems, however, I had to take it out and bring it to Shanghai—to Paradise Manor.

"Just two hours ago, more than 690 million yuan was transferred into my account, whereas I already transferred 190 million to my company"s public account. You can say that the jade rabbit has saved my company and made my a.s.sets soar."

"I do have regrets deep down, though. But there"s also happiness and satisfaction. This satisfaction comes not only from getting the money, but also from the fact that the jade rabbit is not the only one of the zodiac carvings in the world—there are also eleven other ones. I already brought the jade rabbit and I sincerely hope that Grand Fortune Jewelry can find all of the twelve zodiac jade carvings as soon as

Zhang Moyuan"s speech was neither slow nor so fast, yet all the journalists below the podium were all ignited at this time. A jade rabbit just saved a company valued at hundreds of millions of yuan according to the market. It made this rich man, who had many friends but none that wanted to help, to avoid the possibility of filing bankruptcy…

Various key points and all kinds of highlights were stressed on it.

All the journalists were flushed red in the excitement. Even the green veins on their forehead were dancing.

As the day fleeted to the dead of night.

At the Shanghai Train Station, Chen Jianshe dragged his weary body outside. He carried the stool in hand and a worn black leather bag on his shoulder. His cousin, Chen Jiawei, walked alongside him.

"Brother, we came to Shanghai, but where can we find the buyer?" Chen Jiawei had dark facial features and a robust body, accompanied by a deep and gruff voice.

Chen Jianshe looked hesitant as he answered, "The newspaper said the person is in Paradise Manor, though. But… how do we know where this venue is? How about we call the contact number on the paper to ask about it?"

"Then do it!"

It was the first time for Chen Jiawei to visit such a bustling metropolis. It made him a bit uneasy and he hurriedly nodded in consent.

Chen Jianshe grabbed his old Nokia mobile phone he had been using for five-plus years and dialed the phone number in the newspaper. It wasn"t long before his call was picked up.

"h.e.l.lo, Hao Lei speaking, may I know who you are?"

"h.e.l.lo, h.e.l.lo. We are here to sell the jade ox. The newspaper said that you want to buy it; is this true?" Chen Jianshe controlled his mood and said expectantly.

"The jade ox? Where are you now?" asked Hao Lei. "I"m Hao Lei, the General Manager of Grand Fortune Jewelry, and I really want to buy the zodiac jade carvings."

"We… we just arrived in Shanghai, kinda just coming out of the train station now," said Chen Jianshe. "But… this is our first time coming here. We know n.o.body here and are unfamiliar with the place, so we don"t know where to go."

"Please tell me which train station you are now. I"ll immediately send someone… No, I"ll immediately rush over to pick you up myself," said Hao Lei.

"Which train station? Isn"t this Shanghai Train Station?" asked Chen Jianshe quizzically.

Hao Lei was at a loss between laughter and tears before she replied, "There are several train stations in Shanghai, you…"

Forty minutes pa.s.sed by and Hao Lei had arrived at Shanghai Train Station along with Jin s.h.i.+ and some others. After calling the other party, they finally found Chen Jianshe and Chen Jiawei who were sitting on the bench in the square, looking listless while heavily smoking.

"Two gentlemen, who among you is Mr. Chen Jianshe?"

Chen Jianshe hurried stood up as he looked at the dignified and elegant Hao Lei with her n.o.ble aura. He also glanced at the tall and stalwart Jin s.h.i.+ and his group who had imposing auras as he stutteringly replied, "…I, I-I am Chen Jianshe. And you are… are you that… Hao… Hao Lei, the General Manager?"

Hao Lei stretched her hand out and smilingly said, "That"s right. I"m Hao Lei, the General Manager of Grand Fortune Jewelry. I welcome you two to Shanghai. Mr. Chen, the car is in the parking lot. Please come with me with your companion."

"Ah, oh… alright."

Chen Jianshe was blus.h.i.+ng a bit when shaking hands with Hao Lei. He unwittingly rubbed his fingers on his clothes after taking it back. Then he pulled Chen Jiawei as the duo followed Hao Lei"s group to the parking lot.

After they returned to Paradise Manor, Hao Lei took them to the VIP room and told the staffer to prepare them meals. Then she said with a smile, "Two gentlemen, you told me that you brought the jade ox, so please take it out since I need to appraise it. If it"s a genuine jade ox, we will buy it from you for 100 million US dollars."

100 million dollars!

Both Chen Jianshe and Chen Jiawei instantly became excited. After all, it was such a huge amount of money. It was literally an astronomical figure for them.

Immediately after, Chen Jianshe took the jade ox out of the worn-out black leather bag and handed it to Hao Lei, "This is the jade ox. It"s an heirloom of our Chen Family, and I begged my old father for a long time before he gave it to me. Manager Hao, you must not deceive us! My son is still waiting for the money to get married while my daughter needs it to pay her tuition fees. If… if you don"t want to give me that much, you can give less than it was supposed to be."