Can't afford to pay for the takeout? Stunning CEO: Then pay with your body!

Chapter 61 Making it by hand!

All eyes immediately turned to the young man in the first row who hadn't raised a sign at all.

Zhang Yan's expression remained unchanged, as if he had just quoted not thirty million, but three hundred dollars.

The vice president of the jade association looked at him as if he were a fool, a mocking smile playing on his lips.

"Young man, impulsiveness is the devil."

"Even if you have a lot of money, you can't just burn it like that."

A subdued murmur arose from the surrounding area.

"Are you crazy? Spending thirty million on a rough stone with an uncertain future?"

"Just who is this young man that President Nie brought? He's so arrogant and ignorant."

"He's probably a spoiled rich kid who thinks money comes from thin air."

Nie Qingcheng ignored the voices. She simply turned her head to look at Zhang Yan, her beautiful fox-like eyes curving into two lovely crescent moons.

"like?"

"Um."

Zhang Yan nodded.

In his "investment eye," this stone, which no one else had any faith in, was radiating an unprecedented, dazzling green light that almost blinded him!

Within that green light, there was even a faint, noble crimson hue!

Imperial Green Jadeite Rough (Containing Rare Red Jadeite)

[Forecasted return for the next 7 days: +850%!!]

[Key turning point: After being crafted by a master artisan, its value will undergo a qualitative change, becoming a unique heirloom!]

"it is good."

Nie Qingcheng smiled with satisfaction. She picked up the number plate on the table and handed it directly to Zhang Yan, saying in an uncompromising tone, "If someone tries to take it from you, just keep raising the number until they dare not."

"I'm short on money, but I have some from you, sister."

Her voice wasn't loud, but it carried clearly throughout the entire venue.

That undisguised doting and domineering attitude silenced those around them who had initially wanted to see him make a fool of himself.

In the end, amidst the complex gazes of the audience, a mixture of jealousy, incomprehension, and mockery, Zhang Yan won the bid for this "broken stone" for a staggering 30 million yuan.

……

On the way back, Zhang Yan sat in the back seat of the Bentley, holding the huge raw stone in his arms.

"Have you figured out how to deal with it?"

Nie Qingcheng asked.

"Um."

Zhang Yan stroked the rough surface of the stone. "I want to make you a gift myself."

Nie Qingcheng was stunned for a moment, and then an indescribable, immense joy, like a warm tide, instantly overwhelmed her heart.

He wanted to make her a gift himself.

This would make her a million times happier than if he gave her a mountain of gold.

"I don't want anyone's help."

Zhang Yan looked at her and said seriously, "So, I need a quiet place where I won't be disturbed."

Nie Qingcheng immediately understood.

She took out her phone and dialed the number of the president of Jiangzhou University.

"Hello, is this Principal Wang? This is Nie Qingcheng."

Does your school's School of Mechanical Engineering have a metalworking training center?

"Yes, I need to borrow it for about a week."

"Clear the area. My people will maintain all the equipment. Security will also be fully taken over by us."

"Yes, that's it."

After hanging up the phone, she gave Zhang Yan a "done" smile.

……

That night, Zhang Yan moved into the Jiangzhou University Metalworking Training Center, which had been completely emptied and was guarded 24 hours a day by the top security team of the Qingcheng Group.

Facing a room full of cold cutting machines, grinding machines, and various precision instruments, Zhang Yan took a deep breath.

He carefully placed the huge rough stone on the worktable.

Now, everything is ready.

Just as he was about to take action and cut the stone open...

In my mind, that cold, mechanical voice arrived as expected.

[Ding! Detecting that the host is about to engage in artistic creation, the "Ingenuity" module of the Perfect Life Assistance System V1.7 has been urgently launched.]

[Congratulations, host! You have obtained the divine skill: Masterful Craftsmanship (Grand Sculptor)!]

[Skill Description: You will master all the carving techniques in human history. Your hands will be the most precise carving tools in the world, capable of turning the rotten into the magical and giving life to stubborn stone!]

A vast and powerful torrent of knowledge instantly flooded into Zhang Yan's brain.

From the texture and veins of jade to the growth rings of wood, from the ductility and toughness of metal to the warm and smooth texture of ivory... all the ultimate mysteries of "carving" are transformed into his innate instinct at this moment.

He looked again at the dusty, gray stone in front of him.

In his eyes, the rough stone skin had disappeared, replaced by a flawless, emerald-green jade.

He could even clearly "see" that deep within that pure green expanse, a naturally formed crimson hue, like a phoenix feather, was quietly dormant.

A crystal-clear idea took shape in his mind.

—The phoenix flies, its wings fluttering.

He picked up the cutting machine and, without the slightest hesitation, cut along a path that seemed unbelievable to others!

"Sizzle—"

Amidst the ear-piercing scraping sound, stone chips flew everywhere.

The moment that thick layer of stone peeled off.

A rich, intense imperial green, seemingly burning with the flames of life, was suddenly exposed to the air!

Its radiance flows and shines like a galaxy.

Zhang Yan did not stop. He switched to more refined polishing tools and began his first creation before becoming a god on that peerless jade.

His hand was as steady as a rock.

His heart was as still as water.

Under his carving knife, the outline of the phoenix gradually became clear, and each feather unfolded, revealing every detail and bringing it to life.

The most ingenious thing is that he sculpted that natural red jadeite perfectly into the eyes of a phoenix that look down on the world and look down on all living beings!

This is the perfect finishing touch, the finishing touch that brings the painting to life.

Time flies by when you're focused on something.

I don't know how much time passed.

When the final blow fell.

Zhang Yan put down his tools and let out a long breath.

A crystal-clear, exquisitely crafted phoenix pendant lay quietly in his palm.

It seemed not to be an inanimate object, but a living one.

Just then!

A soft yet majestic phoenix cry suddenly resounded in the depths of his mind!

【Ding! 】

The masterpiece "Phoenixes in Flight" is now complete!

[Work Rating: Mythical!]