35: Chapter 35 Money Making Plans

After telling his mother about the specifics of the villa, she was overjoyed. She even said that such a large villa was enough for the whole family, and even a few more grandchildren. As they talked, the conversation shifted to Cao Xiao's personal life. Cao Xiao didn't want to reveal He Yueyou's existence yet, as they hadn't officially confirmed their relationship; it was still far from a sure thing. If things didn't work out later, his parents would be very disappointed. So, when his mother mentioned finding someone to set him up on a blind date, he could only keep making excuses, saying he was too busy to think about such things and would consider it later when he had some free time.

A short while later, his father returned. Cao Xiao repeated his prepared explanation to him, and his father had no objections; they would move as soon as his younger siblings returned. Tomorrow was May Day, so his brother and sisters would be home tomorrow, and they could move the day after. Conveniently, he would be free tomorrow to handle the remaining coal at Hengyu.

The next day, Cao Xiao slept in and didn't lazily drive out until nearly noon. Once he reached the location, he walked down the passage and collected all the remaining coal in one go. He also wanted to see if there were other coal seams near this mining spot, but after scanning a hundred meters in every direction, he found only soil and rock, and no more blue amber was discovered in the coal. He was very short on money now and didn't want to pass up any opportunity to earn some. He had originally thought about digging a hole to other mining spots of Hengyu to extract some coal—after all, he had no good feelings toward Wang Yili, the major shareholder of Hengyu, as Fang Xuehai had only caused trouble under his indulgence—but on second thought, he decided against it. Doing so would not only cut off Wang Yili's source of wealth but also cause his former colleagues to lose their jobs, which would weigh on his conscience.

The coal he obtained this time amounted to over sixteen thousand tons. Selling it to Hao Daqiang at the previously agreed price would bring in sixteen million. He contacted Hao Daqiang on the way, telling him that he could start receiving the coal powder from tomorrow. However, Hao Daqiang informed him that he was currently short on funds and asked if Cao Xiao could wait a while for the payment. Thinking about what Hao Daqiang's mother had mentioned to He Yueyou previously, Cao Xiao figured they were likely preparing for something now. Since ten million or so wouldn't solve any major problems anyway, he decided to do him a favor and agreed to Hao Daqiang's request, agreeing to payment within a month.

He stored all the coal powder without even entering the warehouse. By the time he leisurely drove back home, it was already four in the afternoon, and his younger siblings had all returned.

The second sister, Cao Weilan, was twenty-two this year and a senior at Jiangnan Provincial Normal University, majoring in Chinese Language and Literature; she was currently interning at a company in Jiangnan City. The third sister, Cao Weiyao, was twenty-one and a sophomore at Hangcheng Media University, majoring in News Editing and Production. The youngest brother, Cao Zheng, was eighteen and a senior at a key high school in Xiangmen City; with just over a month until the college entrance examination, his grades suggested he could go to a university in a city with very fast internet speeds.

The four siblings hadn't seen each other in nearly half a year. The brother was easier to see, as they met every month or so, but the two sisters studied in other provinces, and the round-trip fare was a significant expense. They usually worked during holidays; the second sister, in particular, hadn't been able to come back for the last Lunar New Year, claiming she was busy with work and overtime. In reality, she was likely working to save up for living expenses; otherwise, her internship paid nothing and even cost her money, and since the family had none, she had to find ways to make money herself.

Internships were just what they were, and in over a month, his second sister would graduate. Cao Xiao planned to have her continue her graduate studies at Huanghe University, as he didn't feel comfortable with her working in another province. He also wanted his younger brother to apply to Huanghe University; otherwise, with his brother's introverted personality, he didn't know what would happen to him if he went somewhere else without anyone to look after him.

It was rare for the whole family to be together, so they all pitched in to cook a sumptuous dinner. The family had a warm meal together; Cao Xiao and his father shared some wine, and even his younger brother was allowed to have a little as an exception.

Early the next morning, Cao Xiao contacted a moving company. Originally, Cao Xiao hadn't wanted the old items from home, as everything was already prepared in the villa. However, his parents were sentimental, saying these things were still worth something and that even broken items had value. Cao Xiao didn't force the issue, so bags and boxes were loaded onto the moving company's small truck. Cao Xiao led the way in front with his parents and two sisters, while his younger brother rode in the truck.

When everyone appeared at the villa entrance, they truly felt how large the villa was. Liu Chang brought the girls to help move things. There was no time to cook, so Cao Xiao ordered a meal from a restaurant in the complex. After eating and settling in, Cao Xiao and Liu Chang drove the family on a massive shopping spree. While buying things, Li Fengmei and Cao Jingde kept trying to stop Cao Xiao from spending so lavishly, but after Cao Xiao and Liu Chang conspired together and were encouraged by the younger siblings, they eventually relented. It was their son's way of showing filial piety, so they weren't too firm in their refusal.

They bought a huge pile of clothes and replaced everyone's phones. Each of the younger siblings even got a laptop; Cao Zheng, in particular, was nearly driven mad with excitement.

The next day, Cao Xiao originally planned to spend the whole day with his family, but his parents reminded him that he hadn't visited his two maternal uncles since coming to Huanghe City. His family still owed them a hundred thousand yuan. So, the family decided to visit the two uncles and pay back the money. Since the second sister, Cao Weilan, also had a driver's license, the family set off in two cars.

They bought a mountain of gifts at a mall and visited the two uncles' homes one after another. When the two uncles heard that Cao Xiao was now making money, had bought a villa in Huanghe City, and was driving a Mercedes worth over a million, they were very happy and asked Cao Xiao to look after his cousins in the future. In the evening, Cao Xiao hosted a dinner for both uncles' families at a nice hotel. It was very late by the time they returned to the villa.

The next day, Cao Xiao didn't stay home. Liu Chang wasn't going home for the May Day holiday, and Second Uncle's family had also arrived in Huanghe City from Jinghu. Cao Xiao had things to attend to and couldn't accompany them, so he asked Liu Chang and Cao Weilan to take them to nearby scenic spots.

Cao Xiao went to see Liu Guitang. Liu Guitang's influence was indeed great; in just one day, he had processed all the paperwork for that forest land. However, to Cao Xiao's frustration, his money had decreased by another thirty million. This was the advance payment for a three-year lease. Liu Guitang had covered it for him while processing the paperwork, and now that he had transferred the thirty million to Liu Guitang, he only had a little over a million left in his account. This amount was barely enough to get by for him. Looking at the energy bar in the energy space, which was only at two percent, Cao Xiao felt like crying.

Taking stock of his assets, he still had a lot of blue amber in his personal space. These were too numerous to handle easily, but the two raw stones he had bought at the Shengfeng auction could be cut and sold. He had originally intended to keep them and find someone to make jewelry for his family, but now that he was in urgent need of money, he had no choice but to sell them.

Without using a stone-cutting machine, with just a thought, a piece of white jade and a piece of emerald appeared perfectly before his eyes, without the slightest damage. Cao Xiao wasn't in a hurry to contact someone to sell them because it would be hard to explain: he had bought two raw stones at an auction that weren't highly regarded, and then suddenly produced two pieces of top-quality jade. Furthermore, his teacher had been right beside him at the time; wouldn't taking them out to sell like this be like slapping his teacher's face?

Cao Xiao locked himself in his room, agonizing over how to make money. Going to the antique street to hunt for treasures was out of the question; even if he found a few items, it wouldn't solve the problem. The path of gambling on stones was also blocked. Huanghe City was large, but the circle of the jade industry was small. If he went to gamble on stones, he would surely cause a stir, and with his teacher's connections, he would definitely find out; it was hard to say what his teacher would think of him then. Besides, he only had a little over a million on him, and it was uncertain how many stones he could even buy. Should he go back to his old trade and steal-mine other people's ore? For him, mining wasn't much trouble—filling the industrial mother machine's space would be millions of tons—but how would he sell it? Sell it to Hongdu? Because of He Yueyou, he didn't want to have too much contact with Hongdu to avoid things getting complicated. But he didn't know many people who could buy large quantities of ore, and if he sold finished products, processing would be a problem given that the energy space only had two percent energy.

After thinking for a long time without coming up with a solution, he simply stopped thinking about it, deciding to wander around tomorrow to see if there were any business opportunities. So, Cao Xiao took out his newly bought laptop to relax online. But just as he opened the browser homepage, a news item made him incredibly excited. It was a case of 'searching far and wide only to find it easily'; he hadn't expected a turning point to appear just as he was about to play.

The news content stated that another chicken blood stone pit in Changhua had been mined out, causing the price of chicken blood stone to skyrocket. No new chicken blood stone veins had been found in the entire mining area from three years ago until now. Experts estimated that Changhua chicken blood stone would be completely exhausted in a few years.

Changhua chicken blood stone is a unique and precious gemstone in our country, with a bright red color like chicken blood and the natural beauty of fine jade. It has always been as cherished as jewelry and emeralds, renowned at home and abroad as a 'national treasure.' chicken blood stone was primarily formed by volcanic activity 75 million years ago, with a history of discovery and mining spanning over 1,000 years, and its widespread use flourished during the Ming and Qing dynasties. The earliest discovered source of chicken blood stone in China was in Changhua. Although chicken blood stone veins have been found in other parts of the country, it is generally recognized that chicken blood stone gemstones come from Changhua, which is why the price skyrocketed when problems arose at the source.

Cao Xiao didn't want to gamble on chicken blood stones; he wanted to go to the mining area to scavenge. In those abandoned pits, there would surely be some overlooked chicken blood stone ore left behind. Gambling on chicken blood stone wasn't like gambling on raw emerald stones, where there were patterns to follow. This was related to the texture of chicken blood stone; it is composed of two parts, the 'ground' and the 'blood,' and has no fixed shape, called a block-like state. Its color patterns include block blood, strip blood, plum blossom blood, and floating cloud blood. There is also no stone skin covering the exterior because the 'ground' and 'blood' are mixed together; the blood is like a liquid within the stone. A vein might consist of a single whole block or several scattered large pieces of chicken blood stone. During mining, blasting is used for fragmentation, so there might still be undiscovered chicken blood stone remaining in abandoned pits. It might not be much, but this was a gemstone mine! After going through those pits, the harvest would certainly not be small.

He acted on the thought, booking a flight to Hangcheng for that night and a hotel online, then drove to an outdoor goods specialty store to buy equipment. A tent was an essential item; with so many abandoned pits in Changhua, he might not be able to finish in a day. Cao Xiao planned to return directly once he was done, so he needed to camp. He bought a high-quality double-layer tent, a down sleeping bag, and a large backpack. For fire-making, he prepared multiple sets of lighters, matches, and candles. He also gathered picnic gear: a water bottle, a multi-functional picnic pot, a sharp multi-functional folding knife, and tableware. He also prepared a compass, ropes, a multi-functional folding shovel, a high-intensity flashlight, fish hooks and lines, an alloy machete, and some small tools he might use. He also bought several first-aid kits to have on hand, containing necessary medicines: antitoxins, anti-inflammatory powder, cold medicine, diarrhea medicine, Yunnan Baiyao, painkillers, gauze, tape, and bandages. Finally, he bought a powerful folding compound bow and a set of large, fully charged storage batteries. These things were truly not cheap; Cao Xiao bought professional-grade outdoor equipment with reliable quality, and even without buying the best, he spent over a hundred thousand.

After buying the equipment, he went to a large supermarket and bought a huge pile of food and water, cooked food, snacks, and even a lot of fresh meat, vegetables, and fruits. He also bought a full set of seasonings, a large amount of alcohol and beverages, and even quite a few daily necessities. He also bought a camera. These things would allow him to live in the wild for half a month without any problems and live quite well. He had the supermarket staff help carry the goods to his car and arrange them. After paying, as soon as Cao Xiao got in the car, he collected all these items into his personal space. A thousand-cubic-meter space could easily hold this small amount of stuff, and fresh meat and vegetables wouldn't spoil no matter how long they were in there. The reason he bought so much was that they would be used in the future, and he didn't plan to put everything in his backpack; he only put some lightweight items in the backpack for show.

Returning home, he put the car in the garage, took his laptop, and told his parents he would be away for a few days. Before leaving, he secretly gave Mi Fan a supplementary card to his ICBC bank card, which had a maximum monthly limit of one hundred thousand. It wasn't that Cao Xiao was biased; Mi Fan wasn't like Liu Chang—she wouldn't spend money lavishly and had good self-control, so she wouldn't spend recklessly without restraint. After dinner, he had Liu Chang drop him off at Xianhe International Airport.

Two hours later, Cao Xiao had already arrived and settled into the hotel he had booked in Hangcheng. Nothing happened overnight. Early the next morning, Cao Xiao checked out and caught a bus to Changhua. It wasn't until he reached Changhua Town near noon that he realized he had thought too simply. Without his own transportation, going to the mining area would be very troublesome. The mountain roads in the mining area were difficult to travel, and the distance between each mining spot was not short. If he relied on his feet, he didn't know when he would finish. Very few cars passed through there, and Cao Xiao didn't want to have contact with the people in the mining area; after all, what he was doing wasn't exactly above board.

He had to solve the transportation issue himself. Since it was almost noon, he decided to eat first. Walking on the streets of Changhua, he found that shops related to chicken blood stone were everywhere—selling chicken blood stone jewelry, selling raw stones, and carving and processing shops were all over the place. He didn't go inside to look. After lunch, he bought an ordinary motorcycle and several canisters of gasoline at a motorcycle shop, then rode toward the mining area according to a map he had downloaded online.