From rejecting the beautiful female CEO to becoming extremely powerful

The second round of unloading began, and everyone outside the warehouse crowded in.

The grey leather material selected by Chung Siu has been delivered to the worktable.

The grinding wheel pushed along the stone surface, and debris kept falling into the iron disc. The sound of the machine drowned out the surrounding chatter.

As soon as the interior of Feng Shao's bluish-white jade was revealed, the appraiser announced the result.

"A purple vein patterned stone, with complete patterns, estimated at 6.5 million."

Feng Shao's Adam's apple bobbed, and his shoulders finally relaxed.

He glanced back at his father, received a nod, and then turned his gaze to the Zhong family's ore.

Zhong Xiao stood at the edge of the stage, his right hand pressed against the seam of his trousers, the smile on his face gone.

When he was selecting the material, he was certain that it contained high-quality crystals. Now that most of the stone skin has been peeled away, the exposed texture is much less than expected.

Zhong Yue stopped twisting the walnuts and asked his master to continue.

A few minutes later, the gray plaster completely fell off.

A layer of fine golden threads is embedded in the stone surface. As the light moves, the patterns extend and intertwine along the interior of the crystal.

"Golden silk and jadeite, even color, few impurities, estimated value of eight million."

Chaos immediately erupted in the warehouse.

Feng Shao stared at the piece of ore, his palm pressed against the edge of the table, not moving it for a long time.

With eight million plus the four million two hundred thousand from the first round, the Chung family has accumulated twelve million two hundred thousand.

The total value of the Feng family's property was only 9.3 million.

The gap is already on the table.

Zhong Xiao looked up at Feng Shao, patted the gold-emerald crystal, and said smugly, "Want to compete again?"

Young Master Feng's face darkened.

"Say less."

Feng Dekun spoke up to stop him, and the teapot spun halfway around in his palm.

They lost in the second round, and continued to bet on Kunyu Cang in the third round. If the Feng family loses again, Jubaozhai will not even be able to save face.

Zhong Yue opened the ledger handed to him by the butler, pressed his fingertip against the accumulated amount, and said calmly, "The results of the two rounds are clear. Boss Feng, do you want to proceed with the third round?"

Feng Dekun did not respond immediately.

He looked at the rows of sealed ore in the warehouse, and the lid of the teapot in his hand touched the mouth of the pot, making a short, light sound.

After the first two rounds of screening, most of the remaining materials were scraps.

If there were any good things, Zhong Xiao and he would have already picked them all.

If you keep gambling, you'll lose more than just a warehouse.

Feng Shao gritted his teeth: "Dad, I'll go for the third round."

"You've already lost two rounds."

Feng Dekun looked at him and said in a low voice, "If you go any higher, you won't even have a chance to turn things around."

Feng Shao's lips moved slightly, but he finally lowered his head.

He stared at his shoes, the veins on the back of his hands bulging, and stopped arguing.

Feng Dekun put down the teapot and stood up to face Zhong Yue.

"In the third round, the Feng family abstained."

After those words were spoken, all of Feng's men in the warehouse lowered their heads.

Zhong Xiao withdrew his hand, and the relaxation returned to his face.

He handed the piece of golden jadeite to the expert for safekeeping, then glanced at Lu Yunzhou.

"Was the piece of material he just took also part of the third round?"

Lu Yunzhou stood against the wall, his palm touching the outer layer of the ore, where the gentle mineral energy still resonated.

He looked up at Feng Dekun and, seeing that the other looked tired, withdrew his hand.

This old man prepared a birthday gift for Old Madam Feng overnight, thus saving face for the Feng family.

Lu Yunzhou always remembered that favor.

Feng Dekun looked at him, hesitated for a moment, and then spoke up: "Xiao Lu, if you're willing to take on one round for the Feng family, you can be considered a forensic expert I've temporarily hired. You'll be responsible for the outcome; the Feng family won't let you work for nothing."

Qi Yufei stood to the side, his palms sweating again.

He wanted to advise Lu Yunzhou not to accept the call, but he swallowed the words back.

The Chung family has already won two rounds, so whoever goes up will be under pressure.

If Lu Yunzhou loses, he will have to suffer humiliation on behalf of the Feng family.

Lu Yunzhou took a step forward.

"Mr. Feng, I'll take the third round."

Feng Dekun's shoulder slumped, and he raised his hand to pat Lu's arm: "Xiao Lu, it's not easy to find material for this round."

"I'll go find it."

After Lu Yunzhou finished speaking, he walked directly to Zhong Yue.

He glanced at the record book on the table, then swept his gaze across Zhong Xiao's smiling face.

Zhong Xiao understood his meaning, raised his hand to stop the material cutter, and then took out a sign from the waste bin next to him.

The sign had a line of red text: "The loser will be punished."

He threw the sign on the table, the wooden sign hitting the surface with a loud thud.

"Since you're standing up for the Feng family, the stakes need to be changed."

Zhong Xiao held the plaque and deliberately pushed it towards Lu Yunzhou. "The loser has to kneel down wearing the 'Scrap Mine' plaque and shout 'You're blind!' three times. Do you dare take it?"

The warehouse immediately fell silent, and all eyes turned to Lu Yunzhou.

Feng Shao raised his head, his face showing anxiety: "Zhong Xiao, the third round is about betting tips, don't push people to the brink."

Zhong Xiao turned his head to the side, gently waving the sign in his hand: "The Feng family has already admitted defeat, what are you still afraid of losing face for?"

Feng Shao clenched his fist and was about to step forward when Feng Dekun reached out to block him.

Lu Yunzhou picked up the discarded mining token on the table and turned it over to examine it.

The badge has rough edges and old paint on the red lettering; if you wear it, someone will definitely take a picture and post it online.

The Zhong family's meaning is very clear.

They wanted more than just Kunyu Warehouse; they wanted the Feng family to be unable to hold their heads high in front of all their peers.

Lu Yunzhou put the sign back on the table and tapped the wooden surface with his fingertip.

"I'll take it."

Zhong Xiao's eyes lit up: "If you lose, you have to do it."

"Keep the sign safe first."

Lu Yunzhou looked at him and said, "You'll still need it when you kneel down."

Zhong Xiao's smile faltered for a moment, then he raised his voice: "What do you think you can find out from the remaining ore core racks?"

"Whether it can be flipped or not, we'll only know once it's opened."

Lu Yunzhou did not continue arguing and turned to walk towards the innermost part of the warehouse.

There stood a row of old wooden frames, the mineral cores on them covered in dust, the labels long since curled at the edges.

The workers avoided that area when moving materials, and even the Zhong family didn't pay much attention to it.

In the previous two rounds of screening, everyone focused their attention on the ore with intact covers and sufficient weight.

The abandoned mineral cores lack an outer layer of stone skin, are incomplete in shape, and still bear the old marks left by cutting. They have a poor appearance and are difficult to sell.

Lu Yunzhou stopped in front of the wooden frame, his gaze sweeping over the mineral cores.

Qi Yufei stared at him through the crowd, his throat dry.

Feng Shao looked down at the abandoned mine plaque, his facial muscles tense.

Feng Dekun stood still and did not try to persuade him further.

Zhong Yue crossed his arms and waited to see the result.

Zhong Xiao simply had a chair brought over and sat down to wait.

"Mr. Lu, don't take too long to choose."

He tapped the back of his chair. "The Chung family can afford to wait this round."

Lu Yunzhou did not turn around.

His palm rested on the bottom shelf of the wooden frame, where a fist-sized black mineral core was pressed against his palm.

The surface of the mineral core was pitted and missing a piece at one corner, yet it emitted subtle vibrations that penetrated the meridians along the arm.

This force is weak and well hidden.

Yet its pulse has the same rhythm as the eight-petaled pattern on the wax seal of the envelope.

Lu Yunzhou withdrew his hand, touched a few more mineral cores beside him, and finally stopped in front of the black remnant.

Dust fell from the wooden frame and clung to his sleeves.

He took the ore core out, weighed it in his palm, and turned to look at Feng Dekun.

"Let's start it in the third round."