149: Chapter 148 One for Everyone

"Bro! Do you think there's jade in this stone?"

In front of the main hall of Biyuntian Villa, Liu Chang watched as Duan Hong and his five companions busily moved stones of various sizes from the truck to the basement. She picked up a small raw stone the size of a fist and asked Cao Xiao doubtfully.

"I've told you eight hundred times, your big brother is even more skilled than the Jade King. How could the stones I pick not contain jade! You'll know once we cut them open in a bit," Cao Xiao said impatiently.

"Does beating the Jade King make you more skilled than him? That was a stone gambling skill, not about fists. If it were about fists, wouldn't he have been beaten into mincemeat long ago! I'll find a hammer and smash it open to see!" Liu Chang pouted, speaking with dissatisfaction.

"Wait! Is your little brain really that stubborn? If there really is jade inside, one hammer blow will smash it to smithereens. I truly can't do anything with you! Why are you so obsessed with the stones today? Wait for me to go fetch a cutting machine."

Black lines appeared on Cao Xiao's forehead. Were stones meant to be smashed? Ever since Liu Chang saw these raw stones today, she hadn't stopped asking questions, constantly wanting to verify if there was actually jade inside. Cao Xiao really couldn't stand her nagging and had no choice but to go inside to bring out a cutting machine.

There wasn't a specialized stone-cutting machine at home, only a small grinding wheel cutter. Regardless, he didn't plan to use a stone cutter to solve all these raw materials; he could handle them in a few moves by throwing them into his space. Why waste time and effort cutting them one by one? Cutting a few small raw stones to satisfy Liu Chang's curiosity was enough.

Cao Xiao huffed and puffed as he brought a cutting machine to the ground, plugged it in, took the stone from Liu Chang's hand, and after securing it, gripped the handle and started the machine. He already knew the exact location of the jade within the stone. With one cut, the jade inside was revealed. Cao Xiao didn't stop; he adjusted the stone's position, secured it, and continued cutting. After repeating this several times, the rough outline of the jade was exposed. This piece of jade was only about the size of a ping-pong ball, a scallion-heart green with good water content, likely worth around seven hundred thousand.

"These hands of mine have beaten the Jade King. Now you know how amazing your big brother is! Take it and go play!" Cao Xiao tossed the jade to Liu Chang and said smugly.

"It feels so surreal! Beautiful jade is just cut out of a stone like this? This is way too easy, isn't it? Those jewelers are so black-hearted, selling them at such expensive prices!" Liu Chang looked at the jade in her hand in realization, speaking blankly.

"You think jade is as common as cabbage! Go play somewhere else! I can't be bothered with you!"

Cao Xiao was left a bit bewildered by Liu Chang's expression. He had originally intended to cut two more pieces, but after hearing her words, he lost the mood to continue. Otherwise, Liu Chang really would think jade was worthless.

The girls couldn't stop laughing, and even Duan Hong and the others who were moving stones almost lost their breath and strained their backs.

"What's so funny? It's the truth! I'll cut out a piece of jade to show you all too. I'm never buying jade jewelry again for the rest of my life! Hmph!" Liu Chang said huffily as she picked up another stone and walked toward the cutting machine, her voice full of defiance.

"That's enough! Xiao Chang! Think about it, these stones alone cost hundreds of thousands each, so the jade cut from them is naturally even more expensive. For others, stone gambling is a loss nine times out of ten. Not to mention high-quality jade, whether anything can even be cut out is another matter entirely. These stones were all selected by your brother from countless raw stones, so the probability of finding jade is very high. Anyone would have a high chance of cutting it out here. Stop being so stubborn! If you don't believe me, we'll go to the expo tomorrow to watch people solve stones, and then you'll know how rare it is to cut out a piece of jade." He Yueyou watched with a mix of laughter and tears, and seeing Liu Chang about to touch the cutting machine, she quickly pulled her back and spoke.

"Fine!" Liu Chang was still a bit skeptical, but being held back by He Yueyou, she could only give up dejectedly.

Cao Xiao moved the cutting machine away. He really didn't want to hear Liu Chang talk anymore. His little cousin was usually quite smart, but once she got stubborn, ten bulls couldn't pull her back. He almost felt the urge to give her a slap on the head to refresh her brain.

After lunch, everyone chatted and drank tea in the living room to help digestion. Cao Xiao also fulfilled his promise, bringing a small box out of his bedroom and opening it on the coffee table in front of everyone.

"Wow! A box of jewelry! Cousin, are you the Dragon King of the East Sea?" Liu Chang had the sharpest eyes. Seeing Cao Xiao carrying the box downstairs, she guessed there were treasures inside, and as soon as he opened it, she pounced.

"Xiao Xiao, what's going on? How do you have so much jewelry? How much must this be worth!" His mother, Li Fengmei, was also stunned. Cao Xiao had suddenly produced a whole box of jewelry. The box was half a meter long and thirty centimeters in both width and height, filled to the brim with countless dazzling, radiant jewels stacked haphazardly—rings, necklaces, earrings, diamonds, rubies, sapphires, and jadeites of all kinds. Had she not seen it with her own eyes, she would have thought she was hallucinating.

"Haha! These were all gifts from others during my last trip abroad. There's more, wait a second!"

After saying that, Cao Xiao ran upstairs again, returning shortly after carrying a large plastic bag.

"Girls, I didn't lie, did I? Each of you pick out a set for yourselves. I'm not even sure exactly what jewelry is in here, so it'll depend on your luck and your eye for quality. First come, first served! Whoever gets it first, keeps it."

Cao Xiao placed the plastic bag on the floor, picked up the box, and poured the jewelry directly onto the coffee table.

"Mom, let me help you pick the best set." Ignoring his mother's reproachful look, Cao Xiao cheekily rummaged through the jewelry to curry favor with her.

"Ya, ya, ya! This necklace has so many diamonds! It's mine! It's all mine!" Liu Chang had long since set her eyes on a necklace, and the moment Cao Xiao gave the word, she snatched it up.

"Mom, try it on! I'll help Dad pick some things too." Cao Xiao actually knew exactly which pieces in the box were the best. He quickly selected a few items to form a set and handed them to his mother.

"Alright! Since it's a gift from my son, I'll try it on. But don't laugh at me if it doesn't look good. Yueyou, come help Auntie take a look." His mother happily pulled He Yueyou upstairs.

"What would a grown man like me do with jewelry? No, no!" His father, Cao Jingde, shook his head and waved his hands in refusal.

"Dad, you don't understand. Since ancient times, men have had a tradition of wearing accessories. Take the 'Shuangmao' amulets popular during the Han Dynasty; everyone from the Emperor and vassal kings down to the common people wore them. Ancient men wore hairpins, forehead bands, and hair crowns; they had jade pendants, swords, waist tags, pouches, incense bags, belt hooks, and 'diexie' belts at their waists; they had thumb rings, finger rings, and wrist guards on their hands, and even held folding fans and other trinkets. They didn't necessarily wear fewer ornaments than women. Although those things aren't in fashion now, it still looks good for a man to wear some small accessories; it can bring out a man's temperament and grace." Cao Xiao knew his father was a bit old-fashioned, so he had his explanation ready.

"I'm already at this age, what temperament is there left? It's better not to do those flashy things, or people will laugh." Cao Jingde shook his head like a rattle, and after speaking, he moved to stand up and leave.

"Dad, the only thing here suitable for you is a ring. A ring on your hand isn't very conspicuous. Besides, seeing jewelry of this level, how could anyone laugh? One piece is worth more than most people's entire net worth; they'll be too busy being envious! Look, this is emerald, the highest quality, and it's quite large! These three are diamonds, five carats each! These two are star sapphires, aren't they beautiful?" Cao Xiao selected several rings and placed them before his father, recommending them.

"Then I'll take this one. This style is more simple and doesn't look too flashy." Cao Jingde was clearly tempted and finally chose the emerald ring.

"Good, you keep all of these. In a bit, send one to Second Uncle, and give one to my maternal uncles when you have time. You can keep the rest to rotate through. Anyway, they were gifts from others, so it doesn't hurt to give them to family." Cao Xiao stuffed several rings into his father's hand and spoke nonchalantly.

"Mm, that's fine too! Then prepare a set for your Second Aunt as well. Your two maternal aunts have been very good to the four of you since you were little, so we can't forget them. As for your cousins, just give them something more ordinary." Hearing Cao Xiao say this, Cao Jingde looked at the large pile of jewelry on the coffee table, did some mental calculations, and spoke.

"Alright, everyone can help pick later." Cao Xiao had no objections; he had originally intended to give some to friends and family, and his father bringing it up saved him the talk. However, his eye for matching jewelry was naturally inferior to the girls'. For him, picking out several suitable sets from this pile of hundreds of pieces would undoubtedly be difficult. Moreover, he not only had to give to relatives but also prepare several sets for his future mother-in-law and his teacher's family. It was better to let the girls pool their efforts for this.

Seeing that everyone except Liu Chang and He Yueshuang was sitting still, Cao Xiao spoke up to entice them: "Everyone, look for yourselves, one set each. Choose whatever material you want—one necklace, one pair of earrings, one bracelet, and one pair of rings. You won't need to buy wedding rings in the future. Xinmeng, what are you all just standing there for? Hurry up and choose! I'm telling you, the rubies and sapphires in here are the rarest and most precious, especially the star rubies and sapphires. Don't be dazzled by the diamonds; a set of star gemstone jewelry can be worth several sets of diamonds. Yangyang, put that down! What does a little kid like you want a necklace for!"

"Thank you, Bro!" Zhou Xinmeng and the other girls shouted in pleasant surprise simultaneously. They used to call him Brother Xiao, but now the suffix was omitted.

"Come here, An Ni, let me help you decide! Shanshan, you too! Take a set back for your mother later. Yangyang, you'd definitely look great with an earring! Have Uncle take you to get your ears pierced right away, or they'll all be gone soon." Cao Xiao beckoned An Ni and Li Lanshan over, and seeing Liu Yang still restlessly moving around, he began to trick him.

"Really? I can wear an earring too?" Hearing this, Liu Yang immediately ran to Cao Xiao's side and asked in surprise.

"Of course! It looks very good on boys too. If you don't believe me, ask Sister An Ni," Cao Xiao promised sincerely.

Seeing Liu Yang's questioning gaze, An Ni subconsciously nodded.

"Yay! Uncle, Uncle, hurry and take me to get my ears pierced! I want to wear jewelry too!" Liu Yang cheered and shouted urgently to Cao Jingde.

"Uh!" Cao Jingde looked at Liu Yang in astonishment, unable to believe what he had just heard.

"Ah!"

"Let go, let go! It hurts! Sis, why are you pinching my ear! It hurts so much!"

Liu Yang was still immersed in his surprise when an upward force came from his ear, followed by a burst of sharp pain. Looking back, he saw his sister glaring at him murderously and was instantly terrified.

"You've certainly grown bold! You haven't even started primary school and you're trying to copy people getting ear piercings. Do you not want your ear anymore? Careful, or Mom will chop it off with a kitchen knife for Dad to have with his wine!" Liu Chang timely displayed the ferocity of an older sister.

"I don't want that! Your ear is the wine snack! Cousin said I could get my ears pierced and wear earrings, why won't you let me? Cousin, save me!" Liu Yang was about to argue righteously, but another sharp pain came from his ear, and he cried out to Cao Xiao for help.

"Hahaha!" Cao Xiao laughed very happily but didn't say a word, watching Liu Yang's misfortune with great interest.

"Cousin is a Great Demon King, a liar! Uncle, save me! Cousin and my sister are teaming up to bully me!"

Seeing this scene, everyone watched with smiles, and even Cao Jingde couldn't stop laughing. With no one to save him, Liu Yang's little bottom was soundly smacked a few times, and he finally quieted down, obediently going to watch cartoons.

Everyone spent the afternoon busy, and after intense discussion, the box of jewelry was finally sorted. Pieces that could form a set were packed separately. Now everyone was shimmering with the light of jewels. The girls had personally picked out the best items from this batch; each set was worth at least twenty million, and that was a conservative estimate based on raw material prices. The actual value was definitely much higher than they imagined, though exactly how much was hard to say as no one present was an expert. But Cao Xiao believed that taking the girls to the expo tomorrow would absolutely blind the jewelers' eyes.

Zhou Xinmeng, Hu Kexin, Dai Hanqiu, and Wang Can were so excited they could hardly contain themselves. With such a set of jewelry, they could live very comfortably for the rest of their lives even if they did nothing. For them, this was the greatest opportunity of their lives. They had thought they were lucky this morning when they had a chance to get a piece worth hundreds of thousands or a million, but after Alan ruined it, they had faced reality and didn't dare to dream of unearned gains anymore. Even when Cao Xiao said he would give them a better set, they hadn't harbored any fantasies. But when these sets worth tens of millions were worn on their bodies, it didn't feel surreal. Though they were excited, they didn't lose themselves. They understood that all of this was given by Cao Xiao, so the looks they cast toward him were filled with heat in addition to gratitude...

"Haha! It seems everyone is very satisfied! I still have good stuff here! Ta-da! World-class limited edition luxury watches wholesale! Good looking and free!" Cao Xiao brought the plastic bag from the floor onto the coffee table, took out an exquisite box, opened it to show the contents to everyone, and hawked them like a fruit seller.

"Patek Philippe Nautilus Rose Gold?" Mi Fan said in shock.

"Vacheron Constantin Métiers d'Art series? *Hiss*!" Wang Can cried out.

"Is this a Piaget Exceptional Piece? Vacheron Constantin Traditionnelle? Audemars Piguet Royal Oak! Heavens! There's even a Chanel jewelry watch!" Dai Hanqiu watched as Cao Xiao took the boxes out of the bag one by one and laid them on the coffee table, her cries of surprise never-ending.

"Dad, this is yours! Put it on and try it!" Regardless of how surprised the girls were, Cao Xiao took out a men's wristwatch and handed it to his father.

"Xiao Fan, quick, tell me which one is the most expensive!" Liu Chang's breathing was rapid. She wanted to grab the best one first but realized she didn't recognize many of them. Afraid of missing the best one, she could only ask for help from Mi Fan, the fashion expert.