Mixed in 1980

Chapter 431 Another Chance Encounter

Chen Yanjin sighed, unsure how to respond.

Letting Ye Ling take over the company is a typical example of putting laboratory talent into management positions, as they have more faith in the experimental data they themselves have obtained.

How many companies does Starlight Group have under its umbrella?

"Even if you sell the cosmetic surgery projects, you still have Luoshen, as well as four anti-aging projects, and many branch offices. How many can you manage?"

"I'd be too busy to keep up even if I worked myself to death."

“I can’t explain it to you now. Let’s figure out the process first. You haven’t graduated yet, so there’s no rush. Take your time. Let your stepmother take care of you for six months first.”

Upon hearing this, Ye Ling did not refute it. She herself did not understand it and was not much different from a newbie in the workplace. It would take her a year or two to fully take over.

"Next, we'll wait for the negotiation details. It's not your business. How about I help you out? The two companies have basically the same process, so you can familiarize yourself with it."

"Then you'll teach me?" Ye Ling nodded.

Chen Yanjin nodded in agreement, and the next day he took his sister-in-law to the company. Taking advantage of the lull in the work, he personally taught her how to manage the business.

Zhou Wenya was stunned when she saw Ye Ling, thinking it was Ye Wan. After realizing it was Ye Ling, she couldn't help but mutter, "They look so alike, I can't tell them apart at all."

Ye Ling didn't stay long.

Three days later, after receiving the detailed report of the negotiations, I set off back to Beijing. After handing the report to Zhao Yuanyuan, I went to the library to find books related to management.

Zhao Yuanyuan flipped through the report, gritting her teeth.

Xu Jinqiu joked from the side: "Well, we've been busy on both sides, but ended up with nothing. We didn't succeed with the second brother, and the same goes for the fourth brother."

Zeng Ali couldn't help but laugh: "If you can't use your brain, don't try to use it. If you want to scheme against people, you have to learn from Qiu'er. She has experience."

"Get her drunk and throw her on the bed?"

Zhao Yuanyuan glared at them with disdain: "With your brains, all you can come up with are these despicable ideas. I'm not like you."

Zeng Ali teased, "You really want to?"

"We'll see how things unfold!"

Zhao Yuanyuan threw the report on the table and scratched her head in frustration. After a while, her anger subsided a bit: "Young people these days are no good!"

July arrived quickly!

Zhao Yuanyuan was surprised to find that the situation seemed to have changed. After the second son returned, Ye Ling kept pestering him with books, asking him about management issues.

"Qiu'er, did you notice?"

"It's a sure thing!" Xu Jinqiu smiled.

As time goes by, feelings will develop, and the unspoken understanding will soon be revealed: "Don't worry about the second brother, just think about the fourth brother, he'll be graduating in a few days."

Mentioning her daughter, Zhao Yuanyuan couldn't help but grit her teeth: "How can I manage her? She's staying in Furongli and won't come back, saying she wants to say goodbye to her classmates."

Chen Yanyin does indeed live in Furong Lane.

With the air conditioning on, eating ice cream and scrolling through my phone, life couldn't be more comfortable, but after a while, it gets a bit boring.

Ye Ling used to live here too, and the two sisters were quite lively. Recently, Ye Ling has been busy learning management, so she moved to the Chen family's house and asks her second brother for advice every day.

Chen Yanyin once complained: "Girl, the person you live with is a master's degree holder in economics!"

Ye Ling looked down on him, asking, "What level are you at?"
Even though Chen Laosi was about to pursue a doctorate, Ye Ling still didn't trust him. She thought the woman was too lazy and didn't seem talented; she seemed more like someone who was just wasting time.

The words, once spoken, infuriated Chen Yanyin, who then unleashed a torrent of profanities: "Just coasting through life? Try getting a PhD and see what happens! You think you can just coast your way into a PhD program at Peking University?"

Preconceived notions can be deadly!

Chen Laosi was not lazy in her studies. She was a top student to get into Peking University in the college entrance examination. She was a Hong Kong resident, not someone who could get into Tsinghua or Peking University with a score of 400, as some people say online. The admission score for Hong Kong students that year was 662.

You have to work hard to pass the postgraduate and doctoral entrance exams, how can you be a slacker?
Looking outside, the sun was already setting. Chen Yanyin stretched, grabbed her car keys, and headed straight for Panjiayuan.

If you have nothing to do, you might as well go for a walk.

While I'm at it, I'll pick up some interesting things.

Chen Yanyin has loved stone objects since she was a child, and that hasn't changed. Her first stop was still Yu Xi Zhen Bao.

Mr. Zhang sent me a WeChat message yesterday, saying that a batch of new materials had arrived. I replied and told him not to make a move yet, but to come and take a look today.

"Lu You, what are you doing here?"

Stepping through the gate, Chen Yanyin was surprised to run into Lu You again. The guy was looking at Hetian jade, but the problem was, he didn't know anything about it.

Lu You scratched his head: "What a coincidence, I came to buy a bracelet to give to my sister."

Chen Laosi narrowed his eyes slightly and joked, "Do PhDs from Beihang University earn that much? Enough to allow you to buy Hetian jade from time to time."

"The main reason is that the teacher is very generous and the project bonus is high. It just so happens that we came across one. Would you like me to help you choose another one?" Lu You asked expectantly.

My mother really liked the Qiemo candy that the other party helped her choose last time.

"You're lucky."

Chen Yanyin rolled her eyes at him and said, "Here's a piece of advice: if you don't understand Hetian jade, don't touch it. You'll just be a fat sheep if you go in."

"That's so exaggerated?" Lu You asked in surprise.

"Oily texture, delicate texture, color—if these are slightly different, the price can differ by several times. If you don't understand these things, you'll be easily fooled and become a sucker." Chen Yanyin scoffed, then continued, "That's true. Other things, like using marble to impersonate it, substituting the origin, using strong acid to color it, waxing for enhancement... are all scams."

"If you have some standards, playing with seed jade is even more of a rip-off. Most of it is fake skin, dyed, and reshaped. It's no exaggeration to say that 99% of the jade on the market is fake."

"Playing with jade is about appreciating its cultural value, but nine out of ten jade sellers are unethical."

After hearing what he said, Lu You's eyes widened.

"Since you don't play this game anyway, just get a general idea. There's no need to delve too deeply. This industry is too complicated. Aren't you here to buy jade? Come with me."

Chen Yanyin led her people up to the second floor, where Boss Zhang was already waiting.

After exchanging pleasantries, Mr. Zhang opened the safe and took out a tray of jade artifacts: "Miss Chen, these are all fine pieces. Please take a look."

"Hey, Mr. Zhang, where did you steal this from?"

Chen Yanyin picked up a bracelet and played with it for a while: "This thing is rare and not expensive, but it's all top-quality. Whenever it appears, it's snapped up at the mine."

"That's why I say you're an expert."

Mr. Zhang picked up one of the plaques: "They were all cut from a single piece of material. Dozens of people were bidding against them, and it took more than thirty bids before I finally won the bid."

Chen Yanyin nodded slightly, agreeing wholeheartedly.

This is Ruoqiang yellow jade, which is currently considered a niche variety, but this piece is indeed of high quality. It has a very fine texture, good oiliness, and the color reaches the level of chicken fat yellow.

It can be considered the pinnacle of Hetian yellow jade.

However, like the sugar jade from Qiemo, it has not yet been hyped up in the market. No matter how good the quality is, the price is limited and far inferior to that of white jade of the same grade.

"These are good items, Mr. Zhang. We're old acquaintances, so just name your price."

Upon hearing this, Boss Zhang smiled mysteriously: "Miss Chen, is it possible to exchange them? This batch of materials are all top-grade, and I would like to exchange them for a few pieces of raw jade from you."

"You knew I wouldn't let go of something good once I found it."

Chen Yanyin fiddled with the bracelet, and after a moment's thought, said, "The exchange is fine. I'll bring it over to you in a few days. My friend can take this one first. Is that alright?"

"With you here, we can take it all."

“That won’t do, it would break the rules. By the way, do you still need the mountain material? I don’t have much left, just over a ton. I’ll close down as soon as I’m done selling it,” Chen Yanyin asked.

The initial batch of over 100 tons of raw materials, which had been sold for more than three years, was finally almost sold out.

"Is that all left?"

Mr. Zhang was slightly taken aback, and hurriedly said, "Miss Chen, could you please grant me a few more days so that I can raise the funds? I want it all."

"Is a month enough?" Chen Yanyin asked.

Mr. Zhang hurriedly replied, "It won't take that long, at most half a month, and I will definitely come to pick up the goods."

Chen Yanyin handed the bracelet to Lu You and stood up: "Boss Zhang, then I won't bother you any longer. Bring these along with the jade later and we can trade them together."

"Let me see you out!" Boss Zhang quickly stood up.

After seeing the two off at the shop door, Chen Yanyin hurriedly contacted for funds. The mountain materials she had were all of top quality and were rarely seen on the market.

After walking about a hundred meters, Lu You said, "How much is this bracelet? I'll transfer the money to you."

"I'll take your 30,000, and then you have to treat me to a meal."

"Isn't that too little? You just told me that this is top-quality Hetian jade."

"Didn't you hear me say that this is a niche variety? Hetian jade has the attributes of antique and collectible items, and its price is always inflated. It's not expensive right now."

Consider it a favor I owe you!

Lu You took out his phone, transferred the money, and then asked curiously, "Your family deals in jade raw materials, why do you charge by the ton?"

"I didn't mean to flaunt my wealth, but since you insisted on asking, I can only show off a little."

Seeing Lu You's lips twitch, Chen Yanyue said, "I liked jade when I was five or six years old. My second aunt thought that her daughter might develop in this field in the future, so she worked hard to save up some money for me."

“At that time, Hetian jade was cheap. Even the top-grade mountain jade was only 800 to 1000 yuan per kilogram. My second aunt bought more than 100 tons in total.”

“Boss Zhang used to run a shop in Yangrou Hutong and collected jade for my family. He never dreamed that what he sold for 1000 yuan per kilogram back then would now be worth hundreds of thousands.”

One kilogram costs over ten thousand; how much would a hundred tons cost?
Lu You quickly assessed the situation and came to a conclusion: they were indeed not from the same social class, and he shouldn't have said anything; it would have only hurt him.

After thinking for a moment, I decided to change the subject and casually asked, "Second Aunt, according to the custom in Beijing, is Second Aunt called Second Madam?"

"That's usually how it is, but it's different in my family."

Chen Yanyin slightly raised the corners of her mouth and explained, "My second aunt, that's all. My father married three wives."

Lu You's mouth dropped open. "You can't even say that?"
"Isn't it incredible?"

Chen Yanyin smiled and didn't explain: "That's how it is in our family. It's pretty good. All three mothers are like my own mothers, and they even spoil me more than my own mothers."

Lu You nodded slightly, agreeing.

Her stepmother was able to stockpile over a hundred tons of Hetian jade for her when she was a child. Even other mothers wouldn't do that, and even if they had money, they wouldn't think that far ahead.

(End of this chapter)