14: Chapter 14 Liu Guitang

Arriving at the Dachu River Pier, Cao Xiao first went to the warehouse management office and rented the remaining four warehouses near his location. Including the rent and deposits paid previously, it cost a total of four hundred thousand yuan. He had already decided that he would first transfer all the coal from that underground space to this location during this period. In the future, when he wanted to sell it, he could ship it directly from here. This was a pier area with both water and land transport options, making it easy to find transportation. There were fifty to sixty thousand tons of coal; there were already seven thousand tons here now, and the rest could be transported in loads of three thousand five hundred tons each. It would take over ten trips to finish. A round trip took four hours, and if he pushed himself, he could make three trips a day. He could process everything on the road without wasting any time.

After renting the warehouses, he went to the packaging supplies wholesale department and placed an order for five hundred thousand bags. He paid the full amount of one hundred thousand yuan and told them to have them ready tomorrow and just stack them outside the warehouse. Cao Xiao numbered all five warehouses, with the first one he rented, which contained coal powder, designated as Number One. Cao Xiao only added one thousand five hundred and ten tons of coal powder to Warehouse Number One, totaling five thousand and ten tons. This was prepared for the Daqiang Steel Plant, with the extra ten tons accounting for loss. He processed the remaining two thousand tons in his space into coke and placed it in Warehouse Number Two. As for the coal tar and coke oven gas produced during the coking process, they were difficult to handle. Coal tar is a liquid and requires sealed containers, ideally large oil storage tanks. Coal tar is also a flammable and explosive hazardous material, making its transport quite troublesome. He couldn't buy large storage tanks for just a few hundred tons of coal tar, and renting oil and gas tanks wasn't easy either. After some thought, he could only buy some large plastic drums to store it, placing them in the warehouse first. Once the space was cleared, he would move them all into his processing space, which would be much easier. He found a type of large plastic drum that could hold one cubic meter of liquid at a shop on the pier and ordered five hundred, asking the merchant to have them ready tomorrow morning and delivered outside the warehouse.

Finally, there was the big problem of coke oven gas. This was a gas, and although it was worth some money, it was completely like a chicken rib—useless to keep but a pity to discard—compared to the difficulty of handling it. He couldn't just release it into the air outside; the harm would be too great. Cao Xiao still had some environmental awareness. Storage was a major issue, and selling it was also troublesome. Cao Xiao could only compress it into a liquid state and temporarily store it in his space to deal with later. Anyway, there wasn't much of it.

After tidying up the warehouse, Cao Xiao drove back to Fangzhu Town. It was not yet six o'clock. He parked his car near his little nest and then went to the best hotel in town to book a large private room. After ordering the food, wine, and drinks, he sat on the sofa in the hotel lobby and waited slowly. He used his phone to connect to the Wi-Fi and browse information and market trends regarding blue amber. Although he wasn't planning to buy any now, if there was an opportunity, he also wanted to dispose of some pieces with poor appearance. He would keep the good ones for his collection or have them made into jewelry to give away. Thinking of jewelry, he realized he didn't have a single accessory on him; his wrists were bare, and his neck was empty. He hadn't had the means before, but now that he had so many top-quality blue amber raw stones, he had to get something for himself. There were also his parents and younger siblings, and he would need to prepare a good set of jewelry for his future marriage. Not only were they beautiful, but these natural gemstones were also very beneficial to the human body.

With a stir in his heart, he searched for information on jewelry and accessories online. The more he looked, the more excited he became. He made up his mind to get something for himself first. The processing space could process simple beads, and threading them would make a fine bracelet; it wasn't very difficult. As for other things like pendants, earrings, and rings, they weren't things he could make right now. Besides their actual value, these things also had added artistic value. Many pieces of fine jewelry were unique and required a master jewelry designer to meticulously design them to perfectly showcase their charm.

However, a bead bracelet didn't need to be so complex; it just needed to be round and smooth. This was very simple for Cao Xiao. As long as he selected the right raw materials and set the specifications, he could make it very quickly. Since he was idle anyway, he decided to do it as soon as he thought of it; it wouldn't take much time. Cao Xiao planned to practice with some inferior raw stones first. But when he started selecting materials, he found that things weren't that simple. It wasn't just about size; the color and internal texture also had to be matched or be similar, otherwise, there would be no aesthetic appeal. Purely colored ones weren't that much trouble, but this kind of texture was inherently rare, and finding enough to carve out beads of the same size was even harder.

Finally, Cao Xiao used the Detection Function to select eighteen raw stones with similar colors and textures but many internal impurities. These raw stones could all yield 10mm beads. The colors transitioned from dark to light, making the resulting beads quite beautiful.

After placing them in the decomposition furnace without damaging the other parts of the raw stones, the beads were extracted intact. He drilled a fine hole in the center, ground and polished the surface, and also polished the inside of the hole. Once threaded, an exquisitely crafted blue amber bracelet was formed. Moreover, the surface of every bead was incredibly smooth, and the shape was an absolute sphere, even more standard than those manufactured in space. Placed on a flat glass surface, they could slide on their own toward uneven spots indistinguishable to the naked eye. These were the legendary 'rolling beads.'

Cao Xiao was very satisfied with this work. This kind of gradient bracelet was very rare; others didn't have so many raw materials to choose from at will. This bracelet with many impurities was not necessarily lower in value than those high-end ones.

While his friends had not yet arrived, Cao Xiao left the hotel and bought some strong, transparent plastic thread at a small accessory shop on the street. Returning to the hotel, he sat on the sofa, tied a knot in the thread, and placed it on the glass coffee table in front of him. Then, under the surprised gaze of the waiter, he took the beads out of his pocket one by one and threaded them according to the color sequence. The eighteen beads threaded together looked absolutely beautiful. He carefully tied the knot and couldn't wait to put it on his left hand. Something called 'taste' appeared on this commoner. Cao Xiao suddenly felt his soul had been sublimated.

He checked the time; it was already six-thirty. After his colleagues finished work, they would first go home and bring their families, arriving around seven. There were still some scraps left in the space from just now. They couldn't exactly be called scraps because they still had some value; carving smaller beads would be no problem. In terms of raw material utilization, Cao Xiao far surpassed those gemstone cutting masters. Because he didn't take material by cutting or grinding it open, but rather like a space cut, directly forming the beads inside the raw material all at once, and then, like a spatial teleportation, making the beads appear out of thin air outside the raw material without any wear or consumption.

The small beads he carved were many more than the large ones. The remaining raw material yielded a full one hundred and twenty 3mm small beads. Then he began threading beads on the coffee table again. Passersby looked at him curiously, but they probably all took him for someone working with plastic accessories. No one would think that this person, who was busy working while out for a meal, was actually making accessories out of precious blue amber in public. He selected one hundred and eight beads and threaded them into a strand over thirty centimeters long. It was too long for a bracelet and didn't look good as a necklace. After some thought, he found a piece of blue amber raw stone with an ant inside in his space, made it into a teardrop-shaped flat pendant, then threaded it into the middle of the small beads, tied the knot, and hung it around his neck. Using his phone screen as a mirror, he found it a bit awkward. This blue amber necklace wasn't quite suitable for a man to wear; it was too bright. Beautiful accessories were all prepared for women. Better to give it away as a gift!

Cao Xiao took it off his neck and was just about to put it in his pocket and into his personal space when Li Dongping's family arrived.

“Uncle Cao, what is that in your hand? It’s so pretty!” As soon as Li Lanshan entered, she saw the necklace in Cao Xiao's hand and walked over curiously to stare at it.

“You have great luck. Pretty, isn't it? Then it's yours! Take it. But you have to promise me a small request.” Cao Xiao's hand shook at the sudden “Uncle Cao,” nearly dropping the necklace on the floor. With a stir in his heart, he said to Li Lanshan.

“What request? As long as it’s not excessive, I’ll reluctantly agree for the sake of this beautiful necklace.” Li Lanshan snatched the necklace, her eyes shining as she looked at it in her hand, speaking to him without looking away.

“Can you not call me Uncle Cao in crowded places in the future, especially so loudly? It makes my liver ache just hearing it. This request isn't excessive, right?” Cao Xiao said with a sigh.

“Then I’ll just say it more quietly from now on. Getting a necklace for free like this, you’re really silly!” Li Lanshan said nonchalantly.

“Fine, anyway, you’re doing it on purpose. I can't do anything with you.” Cao Xiao didn't want to say more; it was meaningless. Li Lanshan, who was usually a very quiet girl, became very naughty whenever she saw him.

“Xiao Cao, this necklace can't be cheap. Just let Lanshan play with it for a while. Why should a child wear jewelry? You take it back in a bit.” Li Dongping still had some eye for things. Although he didn't know the exact value of the necklace, he still had the ability to identify natural gemstones. He knew this was rare blue amber and that the price wouldn't be cheap.

“It’s fine. I bought the raw stones and made it myself; it didn't cost much. You can tell by the impurities inside. If Lanshan likes it, then it’s a gift for her.” Cao Xiao said dismissively. He could take out several such necklaces at any time. In his view, even if it were truly worth a lot of money, it couldn't compare to the friendship Li Dongping had shown him.

“Then Lanshan, you must keep it safe in the future. Don't just take it out to show off. I can't tell how much it's worth, but many people will like such a beautiful thing. You must be careful not to let people target you in the future,” Li Dongping said to his daughter.

“Let’s go to the private room and wait first. I'll come down to meet the others when they arrive,” Cao Xiao said to Li Dongping's family.

“Little girl, wait. Can I take a look at the necklace in your hand?” Just as Cao Xiao and the others were about to go upstairs, a middle-aged man who had just come in from outside called out to Li Lanshan, who was walking behind, mesmerized by the necklace.

“This is a girl's personal item; I can't give it to you. Sorry.” Cao Xiao and the others were also stopped by the voice. He looked back at the middle-aged man, knowing this person was interested in the necklace in Li Lanshan's hand. But Cao Xiao felt some repulsion—what is an old man like you looking at a girl's things for? So he said to him expressionlessly.

“I’m sorry, let me introduce myself first. I am Wang Guitang, and I personally enjoy collecting. This necklace is very beautiful. Could you let me have a good look at it? Don't worry, I won't touch it; the little girl can just hold it.” The middle-aged man said politely.

“Fine. Lanshan, let this uncle have a look.” Cao Xiao also wanted to know the market for blue amber in reality. This Liu Guitang should be an expert. Anyway, there was no loss in letting him look, so it didn't matter.

“Then thank you first!” Liu Guitang said courteously. Then he walked up to Li Lanshan, bent over, and looked closely at the necklace.

“Everyone, forgive my presumption today. It's like this: it’s my wife’s birthday soon, and I want to buy this necklace to give to her. I’ll offer one hundred thousand yuan. I hope you can consider it.” After finishing his look, Liu Guitang looked up and said to Cao Xiao and the others.

“Sorry, this is a gift I gave to my niece. It’s not for sale!” Cao Xiao was not moved by the one hundred thousand yuan. Although the value of this necklace exceeded his expectation of a few thousand or ten thousand, this gift was for Li Lanshan; its meaning was different from money. One hundred thousand yuan was also far from being able to move him. Even if someone gave him hundreds of millions in cash right now to break off his friendship with Li Dongping, the first thing he would consider definitely wouldn't be the massive amount of money, but how to make the person who made such a request cry first.

“Two hundred thousand. This price is very appropriate,” Liu Guitang said, gritting his teeth.

“It’s not a matter of money. Not for sale means not for sale. Lanshan, Brother Li, let’s go. Sorry, Mr. Liu.” Cao Xiao said a word and led Li Dongping and the others upstairs.

“Five hundred thousand! That’s the highest price!” Seeing Cao Xiao and the others leaving, Liu Guitang shouted loudly. At this moment, whether it was the hotel waiters or the passing guests, they all stopped to watch the excitement. But Cao Xiao and the others still walked upstairs without looking back. Li Dongping wanted to stop and say something to Cao Xiao, but Cao Xiao gripped his shoulder tightly with one hand, so he didn't say it. Cao Xiao knew he wanted him to sell the necklace. After all, five hundred thousand was a huge sum to them, and Cao Xiao's family was also heavily in debt. With this five hundred thousand, the difficulties of Cao Xiao's family could be resolved.

“Six hundred thousand.” Cao Xiao did not look back.

“Eight hundred thousand.” Cao Xiao still did not look back.

“One million.” Cao Xiao and the others had already disappeared from the first floor.

Liu Guitang did not continue to bid. One million was about the highest price for this necklace; any more would depend on personal preference. It just so happened that he had a need, so he didn't care about the embarrassment and followed them up to the second floor expectantly.

“Sir, I’m not buying that necklace anymore. I was abrupt today; I hope you can forgive me. I wonder if you have any other necklaces of the same quality in your hand, sir? If you do, I would like to purchase them at a high price. The price will definitely satisfy you.” After reaching the second floor, Liu Guitang quickly walked in front of Cao Xiao and the others and spoke.

“Oh? How much could you offer for this bracelet?” Cao Xiao reached out and revealed the blue amber bracelet in his sleeve. The value of the necklace just now had already far exceeded his understanding of blue amber prices. He now really wanted to know if that was an isolated case or if there were some factors he didn't know about.