Translator: Atlas Studios  Editor: Atlas Studios

Yong Yongshou was even angrier. After all, Ling Yun's words were way overboard. His shop, despite not being as popular as brand-name shops like Yu Ding Xuan, Heavenly Seal, and Tianxi Pavilion, had a decent reputation on its own.

To claim that the items in his shop were ordinary junk was a blatant insult at him.

Truth be told, Ling Yun was so direct because he was rus.h.i.+ng for time. His enormous capital didn't help in making him humble.

As the saying goes, more haste less speed. Now that Ling Yun had offended the shop owner, a prideful man, he had eliminated all intentions to do business with Ling Yun.

Ling Yun stopped speaking. Scanning with his divine sense, he could tell that the spiritual energy radiated from the corner of a room inside the shop.

There it was!

Ling Yun could clearly see that there lay a pile of useless rocks which were evidently trash that had yet to be cleaned by the owner.

Ling Yun instantly altered his strategy. He chuckled and pretended to be taking something from the chest area of his jacket. When he retracted his arms, he was holding five bundles of 100 yuan bills totaling fifty thousand yuan!

Within his spatial ring was five million that Tie Xiaohu and Tang Meng had given him as change.

"Boss, it's not that I have no money. The jade stones on display are excellent, it's just that I have an inclination towards stones of various kinds… not so much jade…"

Boss Yong's eyes widened at the money. He rubbed his eyes as he wondered how the stack of cash appeared from his flat pockets.

The boss finally put aside his pride and displayed a warm smile. "Little pal, to tell you the truth, my place mainly sells jade artifacts and very few stones. You can, however, go to the Yu Ding Xuan store in front… there is an abundance of stones for you to choose from…"

"Very few stones are still stones…" Ling Yun said casually as he tilted his head sideways and looked past Yong Yongshou. "Aren't there a bunch of stones there?" he asked.

Yong Yongshou was shocked at how he saw the discarded rocks behind the curtains.

Yong Yongshou maintained his smile and asked, "Little pal, those are bits and pieces leftover from cutting stones, waiting to be discarded. Why would you need them?"

"If the stone looks good to me, I'll buy it. That's how I am. As for what the stones are, it doesn't really matter as long as I can view it whenever I want to at home…" Ling Yun scratched his head and pretended to be generous.

Of course, Yong Yongshou was glad someone was willing to buy his trash, so he turned without hesitation and led Ling Yun behind the curtain.

With the point of a finger, he said, "This is the pile. If there are any that fit your taste, then you can pick them up. If you agree to the price, then you can bring it home!"

Ling Yun chuckled and squatted down. Fumbling through the stones, he repeated the same few phrases⁠—"too bulky", "too thin", "too old", "too ugly".

Boss Yong was stunned at Ling Yun's pickiness. It seemed as though he was choosing a lifelong partner.

Initially, Yong Yongshou thought that Ling Yun entered the shop from hearsay of the jade stones in his shop with the intention of lowballing him. However, now it seemed that Ling Yun was purely finding stones to marry.

"Ah… this one's not bad… like a watermelon…" Ling Yun exclaimed, suddenly grabbing a stone the size of a bun.

"Pft…" Yong Yongshou was going crazy, wondering how crazy he was to entertain a lunatic in hopes of getting a share of the 50 thousand.

"Hey, Boss Yong, how much for this stone?" It was the stone radiating spiritual energy under its ordinary appearance. The black stone had a smooth surface and was the size of a pebble by the lake.

"If you like it, I'll sell it for two thousand…"

Even though Ling Yun put up a good show, Yong Yongshou was afraid that he might be unknowingly giving away a valuable treasure. Hence he set an exorbitant price, one that was enough for a whole truck of such stones.

He was just testing Ling Yun's reaction.

Naturally, Ling Yun flew into a rage as he stood up and pretended to hurl the stone. "Two thousand? Boss Yong, I know I said that I don't care about the money, but that is way too much! I think you would be better off robbing a bank!"

Before Boss Yong could reply, he heard a voice bellow from outside the door. "Boss Yong, my friend's here to take a worthless stone, and you charge him two thousand… aren't you biting off a little too much?"

Boss Yong was startled and immediately went forward to lift the curtains.

The person was none other than the Deputy Mayor of the Antiques a.s.sociation in Qingshui City, committee member of the Jewelry a.s.sociation, and President of the Pearl Jade Court, President Song Zhengyang!

Cold sweat was dripping from his forehead as he hastily said, "Oh my, I didn't expect President Song to visit my humble place. I deeply apologize for not greeting you sooner…"

It was, after all, the Antique Market⁠—the bosses there carried a hint of sophistication and elegance in their tones, mixed with more old-fas.h.i.+oned language structures.

Yong Yongshou simultaneously wiped his sweat and turned to look at Ling Yun, chiding himself for his failure to recognize the friend of such an influential figure and almost chasing him out. A useless stone for two thousand? I'd give it to him for free!

"President Song, mister, I'm truly sorry. This gentleman didn't specify that he was a friend of yours either, so… forgive my poor eyes…"

"Uncle Song, what brought you here? I was about to go visit you after I was done buying this rock…"

Ling Yun chuckled, still clutching the stone tight in his hands.

Song Zhengyang was delighted at the address, but he grudgingly lamented, "You've finally arrived, how could I not come over and fetch you?"

Seeing President Song's deference to Ling Yun, Yong Yongshou perspired furiously in confusion of who exactly he was.

When had Song Zhengyang ever adopted such a humble tone?

Nonetheless, since Yong Yongshou had already let Ling Yun pick the stones, Ling Yun didn't make it difficult for him and instead put a bundle of hundred yuan notes in his hands.

"Boss Yong, I really like the rock, and like I said just now, I like the way it looks. How about this, you can keep the ten thousand, and I'll bring home the stone. How's that?"

Ling Yun was decisive in making the purchase. Should the rock be sliced open, any ordinary people unaware of the presence of spiritual energy would still call it a gem. Ten thousand was actually an extremely low price.

Song Zhengyang looked at Boss Yong and said calmly, "Boss Yong, since my friend has taken a liking to this rock, then I will make the purchase for him. Your price, two thousand, you can claim it from me at Pearl Jade Court…"

It's just a useless piece of rock, and now that President Song has personally come, wouldn't I be shooting myself in the foot and jeopardizing my career if I take the money? Yong Yongshou thought to himself.

"President Song, I beg your forgiveness, and please stop mocking me. Since this little pal is your friend, then I will give it to him. As for the money, don't worry about that…"

Meanwhile, Yong Yongshou carefully put the bundle of cash back into Ling Yun's hands and put on his amiable smile.

Ling Yun chuckled and said, "Thank you, Boss Yong!"

Song Zhengyang gave Ling Yun a blank stare and said, "What are you waiting for? Let's get going…"

He enthusiastically wrapped his arm around Ling Yun's shoulders and headed out, telling Yong Yongshou that he could drop by his place at Pearl Jade Court when he was free next time.

Yong Yongshou was overjoyed, realizing that Song Zhengyang now owed him a favor. Little did he expect that a piece of useless rock secured a relations.h.i.+p with him and Song Zhengyang.

No amount of gold would match a favor from Song Zhengyang!

Yong Yongshou counted himself lucky that he didn't kick Ling Yun out, or else his career would have become stagnant.

As Yong Yongshou saw them out, he was puzzled at who the young lad was. He had never heard of Song Zhengyang having such a young friend, could he be from Beijing?

"Good taste, you got a good one this time…" Song Zhengyang said.

At the same time, he was deeply astonished at how Ling Yun could casually find a gem in a pile of trash.

He already knew that Ling Yun was a miracle doctor. Could he also be a master at stone gambling?

If that was the case, then Song Zhengyang knew that he had made a huge bargain this time around!