70: Chapter 70 Trust Crisis

It took a good while for the two of them to regain their composure. Liu Guitang's gaze toward Cao Xiao turned resentful, and he seemed to have something on the tip of his tongue but hesitated to speak. Cao Xiao knew what he was thinking; it was nothing more than the fact that he had just felt he'd gotten a huge bargain from Cao Xiao by receiving a century-old ginseng, only to see Cao Xiao suddenly pull out two three-hundred-year-old ones, along with many others decades old. He felt Cao Xiao hadn't been fair. However, closeness has its degrees, and he had already been fair enough to Liu Guitang. He completely ignored Liu Guitang's gaze and waited for Father He to speak.

“Chunxiang, where are you? Good, come up to the top floor immediately. Cao Xiao is here; you'll understand once you get up here.” Father He didn't express an opinion on the items on the table, but instead took out his phone and called Yueyou's mother.

“Xiao Xiao, I’ll accept these things. I won’t ask how much more you have, but don’t just give these things away to people in the future; it’s too conspicuous. Old Liu, stop hiding it. That box behind you is the same as these ginseng boxes; what are you being so secretive for? Once you walk out this door today, do not mention the ginseng matter again. Regardless of how many years old yours is, keep it well-hidden yourself and don’t take it out, let alone say Xiao Xiao gave it to you. I’ll pick out a few good ones and send them over to the others. If word of this really gets out, even we won’t be able to handle it.” Father He spoke seriously to Cao Xiao before turning to speak to Liu Guitang.

“Old He, it’s actually not that serious. If word really gets out, we’ll just give some away as gifts. People are softer after taking gifts, so there won’t be much pressure on us then. Besides, no one knows exactly how much this kid has. Anyway, I’m using mine as soon as I get back, so no one will know.” Liu Guitang nodded and said.

“Wait for your aunt to come up before putting these things away. She’s downstairs and will be here shortly. I’ll go get some fruit.” Father He didn't oppose Liu Guitang's statement. After saying a word to Cao Xiao, he went to the kitchen.

“Oh, Xiao Xiao, you’ve finally thought of me! You’ve been in the city for so long and haven't come to see your aunt. You really have no filial piety! You made off with our Yueyou and don't want us old folks anymore, is that it?” Father He had just gone to the kitchen when the hurried sound of high heels clicking on the floor rang out from outside. Mother He, dressed in a small suit, teased Cao Xiao as soon as she saw him.

“Auntie, haven't I come to see you now! I brought you many gifts. See if you like them?” Cao Xiao’s scalp felt a bit numb, but he still put on a smiling, pleasing face as he spoke.

“Quite a lot of things. What are they? I heard you’ve obtained many good things lately!” Mother He didn't go over to look at the pile of things on the table; instead, she sat on the opposite sofa and waited for Cao Xiao to report.

“Auntie, see if you like these sets of jewelry?” Cao Xiao opened the jewelry boxes and placed them in front of Mother He.

“Hmm, they are indeed rare. It’s not easy to put together a set of top-grade natural blue amber jewelry, and I don't have any chicken blood stone jewelry either. But why do these styles look a bit familiar? Is your boy planning to use these as a betrothal gift?” Mother He picked up a platinum hairpins, looked it over, nodded with satisfaction, and then asked with some suspicion.

“Jewelry styles are all more or less the same. Look at this, this is python meat I got in Baiyun Mountain. It’s a newly discovered species; the taste is delicious, and it’s nourishing for your health and complexion. These are wild lion's mane mushrooms, this is rhodiola...” Seeing that Mother He almost noticed something was off, Cao Xiao quickly brought out other things to divert her attention. He had underestimated Mother He’s resistance to jewelry; a wealthy woman like her had seen too much jewelry and naturally knew a thing or two. These pieces he brought were made by copying others' designs in a jewelry store on his way here.

“Hmm, not bad. It wasn't in vain that I thought so highly of you. Bring more delicious things over in the future. Old He, come out and put these things away. Stew this snake meat and lion's mane mushrooms together. I’ll call the restaurant to send some food up later, and you two can have a few drinks together. I’m going to talk with Xiao Xiao for a bit.” Mother He was more interested in food than jewelry and immediately had Father He go prepare it.

“Auntie, I actually came to see you to ask for advice. I have a batch of sponge titanium I want to sell. If Hongdu needs it, I’ll sell it to you. If not, I’d like to ask for your help in checking if any large manufacturers need it. The quantity is fifty-two thousand tons, with a purity of over ninety-nine point nine-nine percent.” Cao Xiao said to Mother He.

This fifty-two thousand tons was just a fraction of all the sponge titanium in his hands. The sponge titanium refined from the titanium concentrate he found underground last time amounted to over two point one five million tons. Metallic titanium has a wide range of uses, but most are used with other metals to make alloys, and the proportion of titanium in alloys isn't large. He couldn't use that much himself, but he didn't dare sell it in large quantities either. Currently, the market price for sponge titanium fluctuates between sixty and sixty-eight yuan per kilogram, and the purity only reaches above ninety-nine point six. If sold at sixty yuan per kilogram, fifty-two thousand tons could be sold for 3.12 billion huaxia currency.

“Uh, fifty-two thousand tons? Where did you get that, abroad? Are you collaborating with foreigners? Old He, come out right now!” Mother He’s face changed drastically upon hearing Cao Xiao’s words. She scrutinized Cao Xiao with a harsh expression and shouted toward the kitchen.

Liu Guitang was no longer calm either; he suddenly stood up from the sofa and looked at Cao Xiao with murderous intent.

Cao Xiao hadn't expected them to react this way. He could no longer see any warmth in their eyes, only distance and opposition. He was instantly stunned. What was going on? Why would Mother He say he was collaborating with foreigners? His mind was a complete blank!

“What’s wrong? What happened? Why have you all become like this?” As soon as Father He came out, he saw the murderous scene in the living room and asked in confusion.

“You should ask this 'good son-in-law' of yours, whom Old Chen supports so much. He has fifty-two thousand tons of sponge titanium. Do you know what that means?” Mother He looked at Cao Xiao with a sinister gaze and a cold sneer on her face.

“How is that possible? Last year, the world's production of sponge titanium was only a little over a hundred thousand tons. Fifty thousand tons is almost as much as our country's entire national production from a few years ago. Unless it's a national reserve, no power could suddenly produce this much sponge titanium. I’ll call someone immediately to check who exactly he’s been in contact with lately. Also, you two calm down. Cao Xiao is still young; even if he did something wrong, he can be forgiven. Didn't we also make countless mistakes back then and stumble our way to where we are today? It’s not that I look down on him, but he doesn't yet have the qualifications to be someone's spokesperson.” Father He’s reaction to hearing 'fifty-two thousand tons of sponge titanium' was even more abnormal than Mother He's. However, after the initial shock, he didn't directly lose his temper at Cao Xiao but spoke slowly after some contemplation.

“Uncle, you don't need to check. There is no power or background behind me, whether domestic or foreign. I know what you’re suspecting. If I were really what you think, I wouldn't have mentioned this today; I would have just dumped it onto the domestic futures market. Furthermore, I have more than just these fifty thousand-plus tons of sponge titanium. After a while, I can produce a hundred thousand tons, two hundred thousand tons, or even more. I don't think any country could manage that, right? The reason I can produce so much sponge titanium is that I found a rich titanium deposit. This deposit isn't ordinary vanadium-titanium magnetite or other mixed titanomagnetite; it’s a deposit formed entirely of titanium oxide. Generally, such deposits formed by a single compound don't exist in nature, but for some unknown reason, a titanium dioxide deposit formed there, and the titanium dioxide content reaches over ninety-nine percent. It only needs simple smelting to obtain sponge titanium with a purity of over ninety-nine point nine percent. Moreover, the reserves of that titanium deposit reach over seven hundred thousand tons!” After Cao Xiao understood the reason for their sudden coldness, he also breathed a sigh of relief. In a moment of quick thinking, he came up with a reason that was full of holes but could barely pass as plausible, and immediately stated it. Otherwise, if the situation continued to develop this way, who knew if more trouble would arise.