Chapter 149: A New Idea After Taking Advice

Zhang Yang stood there casually.

He had no expectations at all for this last piece of rough stone. After all, he had only picked it casually to make up the numbers.

But it wasn’t until a cry of shock rang in his ears that he snapped back to his senses.

“Another hit!” The shop assistant beside him widened his eyes, staring in disbelief at the freshly cut rough stone.

Even Zhang Yang himself was stunned.

“No way? This works too?”

Under the sunlight, the cross-section was smooth like ice. It wasn’t as transparent as glass-type jade, but compared to ordinary ice-type jade, its transparency was noticeably higher.

“High ice type, this counts as high ice type.”

“Although this piece is small, it should be worth at least ten million, right?”

“In just this short while, over thirty million? Even the lottery doesn’t hit like this, does it?”

Feeling the burning gazes from all around him, Zhang Yang stepped forward and crouched down to examine the result.

Looking closer, the quality was indeed excellent. It was genuinely high ice type, a fine grade second only to glass type.

“In that case, this trip to Ruili has brought in fifty million?” Zhang Yang murmured to himself, suddenly feeling the trip had been absolutely worth it.

No, rather than saying the trip was worth it, it would be more accurate to say the system-produced Lucky Stone was simply too powerful.

“Sir, our boss will be here shortly. Please give him a chance…” The store manager beside him spoke excitedly and cautiously.

“Alright. When will he arrive?” Zhang Yang agreed readily.

Money was safest once it was in his pocket. The reason he came to cut rough stones was to sell them.

Sell them earlier, leave earlier, go home earlier.

“He’s already on the way. At most twenty minutes. Please come have some tea while you wait.” The manager quickly said.

“Okay.” Zhang Yang nodded.

Nearby, Zhao Yuan and Lu Feifei stood frozen in place, their minds buzzing.

“Thirty million? I didn’t misunderstand that, right?” Zhao Yuan grabbed Lu Feifei, her eyes full of disbelief.

“You heard right, it really is.” Lu Feifei muttered. “Do you think these rough stones are really that easy to strike? Should we try too?”

“Let’s try!” Zhao Yuan said without hesitation.

A moment later, the two girls carefully selected a piece of raw stone.

It was extremely expensive, and they pooled their money together to buy it.

“Whatever comes out, we split it half and half.” Zhao Yuan clenched her small fists.

“Let’s go. Cut it now.” Lu Feifei nodded firmly.

Under the angle grinder, one cut could mean poverty, one cut could mean riches.

The two girls watched as the rough stone was split cleanly in half. The cross-section was extremely rough, and the jade inside was mixed with all sorts of fibrous impurities. They exchanged a glance, both having an ominous feeling.

“Master, this… how much could it be worth?” they asked cautiously.

The craftsman was smoking. Hearing this, he casually glanced at the rough stone at his feet.

“This one? Hard to sell. Even if someone buys it, maybe around ten thousand or so.”

“Only ten thousand?” Lu Feifei’s eyes went dull as she muttered, “We paid more than that for this piece. We lost big.”

“You two are already lucky. Some people spend a hundred thousand, even several hundred thousand on rough stones and lose everything. It’s just for fun, don’t take it too seriously.” The craftsman laughed.

“But… but just now…” Lu Feifei was still unwilling to accept it.

“Him? You really think he’s just relying on luck? Besides gambling, there’s also skill involved, and courage too. In the whole of Ruili, how many times a year do you see something like that?” The craftsman shook his head.

“Getting rich isn’t that easy.”

At that moment, on the second floor of the shop, Zhang Yang was drinking tea and chatting with the shop owner.

The owner had been in the jade business in Ruili for many years. He owned numerous businesses and had considerable wealth, and he certainly had the strength to buy Zhang Yang’s two pieces of rough stone.

“Mr. Zhang, how about this-thirty-five million, I’ll take both pieces. Let’s consider it making a friend.” The shop owner made an offer.

“Sure.” Zhang Yang nodded readily.

He had no intention of haggling over a little more or a little less. Getting the money quickly and heading home was the real priority.

“Good, straightforward. I’ll arrange the transfer. If you get any good material next time, don’t forget about us.” The owner smiled.

Naturally, he did not treat Zhang Yang as some novice who simply got lucky once.

Anyone who could come to Ruili alone and produce good material right away was clearly a veteran among veterans.

A moment later, the money arrived.

Including his previous gains, this trip had brought in more than fifty million in cash.

Even with his current wealth, he still couldn’t treat fifty million as nothing. It was still a very large sum of money.

At the shop entrance, he shook hands with the owner to say goodbye.

As he was leaving, Zhang Yang noticed the two girls standing together at the shop entrance, looking a little dejected.

He glanced at them once, then withdrew his gaze and prepared to leave.

“Hey, hey, handsome guy.” The two girls ran over and stopped Zhang Yang. “Handsome guy, wait a moment?”

“You two? Need something?” Zhang Yang looked at them with confusion.

They were just two fairly pretty girls, nothing close to stunning beauties. Naturally, they wouldn’t receive any special treatment from him.

Facing Zhang Yang’s calm gaze, both girls felt somewhat defeated.

Sure enough, in front of a rich and handsome guy, their bit of looks meant nothing.

“Are you… still going to buy rough stones? Could you take us along to learn and gain some experience? Please!” The girls clasped their hands together and begged repeatedly.

“Unfortunately, I’m preparing to leave. Maybe next time if there’s a chance.” Zhang Yang waved his hand and declined politely.

“Then… can we add your WeChat?”

“WeChat?” Zhang Yang took out his phone, then put it back. “It’s full, sorry.”

He apologized briefly and turned to leave.

Leaving the two infinitely frustrated girls standing there, secretly feeling miserable.

At the hotel, Zhang Yang booked a flight for the next morning and prepared to share the results of this trip with his parents.

“Mom, Dad, I think we can take bigger steps now.” Zhang Yang said with a smile during the video call.

“Son, I was just about to talk to you about this. You said you’ll let your dad drive your car, so won’t you have to buy another one? I think there’s no rush for that.” Song Wenqin said.

“With over six hundred thousand, we still need to spend carefully.”

“Six hundred thousand? That was yesterday’s matter.” Zhang Yang said.

“What do you mean?” Zhang Zhaohai leaned his head into the frame. “Don’t tell me…”

“Our family has struck it rich.” Zhang Yang said lightly, briefly explaining.

A moment later, he heard Zhang Zhaohai and Song Wenqin laughing from the screen, along with a spinning image. The phone had probably been tossed into the air by the couple.

Zhang Yang wasn’t in a hurry. He calmly waited for his parents to digest the news.

Thinking about it carefully, it did sound a bit unbelievable.

If he had made up a story about successfully starting a business or some other explanation, his parents might have doubted him. But buying rough stones and cutting them open were solid facts right in front of them.

Before facts, belief or disbelief didn’t matter.

So Zhang Yang showed everything without any psychological burden.

“Over fifty million? You’d have to win the lottery jackpot several times to get that much.” Song Wenqin took a deep breath. “No more saving. I’ll just become a hands-off boss completely.”

“Your mom and I always planned to travel around in the future. But we kept thinking you weren’t married yet and would need money later, so we didn’t dare stop working. But now, what’s the point of struggling anymore?” Zhang Zhaohai leaned back lazily, looking completely relaxed.

Zhang Yang blinked, a bit dumbfounded.

This wasn’t quite how he imagined things would go.

In his imagination, his parents had always been hardworking and career-driven. Because of financial limitations, their business ventures had been difficult, and they handled everything personally. They seemed capable of enduring hardship and highly motivated.

How did they suddenly lose all motivation the moment they had money?

Shouldn’t they use this money to open more shops and expand their business?

But after thinking about it again, he realized he had been too one-sided.

Why did his parents want to start their own business, open their own shop, and be their own bosses?

At the root of it, it was simply because they lacked money and wanted to earn more.

Now that they had money, their career drive naturally faded.

“Well… Mom, Dad, it’s up to you. I’ll transfer twenty million to you. Whether you want to keep working on the business casually or just take the money and travel, it’s your choice.” Zhang Yang said.

“Twenty million?! Son, you’re really generous.” Song Wenqin laughed and explained, “Of course we’ll still run the restaurant. But now running it is purely to fulfill your dad’s dream. Since our family doesn’t have financial pressure anymore, we’ll just treat it as something to pass the time.”

“That makes sense. You two can just run it casually. It doesn’t matter whether it makes money or not. Treat it as something to pass the time. Work during the busy season, and hire someone to watch it during the slow season while you go traveling.” Zhang Yang said.

Sometimes things happened unintentionally. Who knew-maybe the restaurant his parents ran out of pure interest might even do better.

“But son, it’s fine for your mom and me to take it easy, but you mustn’t. Young people should be working hard. Living off your savings won’t do. Don’t waste this huge amount of money.” Zhang Zhaohai reminded him worriedly.

“Don’t worry, I know.” Zhang Yang smiled.

In reality, these days living off savings wasn’t the real problem. Reckless investments ruined families even faster.

Zhang Yang knew his own limits. He wouldn’t randomly invest.

With the system backing him, with daily cashback, industries, and cash flow, he had no intention of doing anything foolish that would squander his wealth.

After ending the call with his parents, Zhang Yang finally had time to check the Answerly backend he hadn’t looked at for a long time.

He had a small account with no fans and no fame.

There were replies, but not many, even though he had been questioned by a bunch of people last time.

After all, on Answerly, there were countless people bragging and making up stories every day. People read them for fun and moved on. No one paid attention for long.

“How do I trigger the system’s mission?” Zhang Yang muttered, opening his Answerly profile page.

Undoubtedly, posting a topic would be the best way.

As for what to ask?

Considering the nature of the system was to follow advice, and the purpose of following advice was to improve oneself.

So the topic he posted had to revolve around self-improvement.

“There’s nothing much left to improve about my appearance. Could it be inner qualities, or something related to my current situation?” Zhang Yang murmured.

Right now, he had money and businesses.

What was still lacking in his current situation?

What he lacked was clearly a social circle that matched his financial strength. Otherwise, he would just be admiring himself in isolation. He might have industries, but his fundamental social circle hadn’t really improved.

Thinking about it this way, Zhang Yang had an idea.

Moments later, he posted his first topic on Answerly.

When money isn’t a concern, how can one further elevate their social circle?

Actually, if you had no money or ability, talking about improving your social circle was pointless. But if you had money and strength, it wasn’t that difficult.

He already knew what he should do. He just wanted to use the Answerly platform to trigger the system’s task.

Soon, the question was posted.

Below the question, he briefly described his situation-basically saying he had money but an empty head and didn’t know what to do next.

After that, there was no rush. He would just wait for answers.

Early the next morning, Zhang Yang set off back to Shanghai.

This trip to Ruili had used up the Lucky Stone, but it brought in more than fifty million in cash. It could be called a hugely rewarding trip, and the journey was extremely satisfying.

The only slight regret was that Zhang Zhaohai and his wife hadn’t turned into the kind of parents who grew more motivated when they became richer, as he had imagined. Instead, they had already started thinking about taking it easy. His father, especially, kept worrying that his son might become lazy and repeatedly emphasized it.

Well, forget it. In this whole family, he seemed to be the only ambitious one now.

After getting off the plane, he sent a message to his father, Zhang Zhaohai, asking whether the transfer had arrived.

Yes, he had transferred twenty million to his parents.

“Got it. Your mom and I have never even seen twenty million in our lives, let alone owned it. Don’t laugh at us, son, but we just counted the zeros several times. Your mom was even thinking about going to the bank to talk about the interest rates. If we ran the restaurant no matter how hard we worked, we still wouldn’t earn as much as the interest from this twenty million in a year. It’s a bit discouraging.” Zhang Zhaohai sighed.

“Well, staying idle is still staying idle. Whether it makes money or not doesn’t matter. Isn’t it nice to hear people call you Boss and Boss Lady every day?” Zhang Yang laughed.

“That’s true.” Zhang Zhaohai joked. “Give me your Cayenne to drive soon. Hurry up and go buy a new car. By the way, what new car are you planning to buy?”

“Bentley, Rolls-Royce? I’ll see. Anyway, there’s no rush.” Zhang Yang said casually.

“Bentley, Rolls-Royce… you brat…”

Zhang Yang smiled and put down his phone. He went to pick up the car parked at the airport and headed back to COFCO Seaview No. 1.

After returning home, he took out his phone and prepared to check the topic he had posted not long ago to see if anyone had replied.

“Huh?” Zhang Yang blinked.

I looked through the OP’s other replies. Something’s not right. Why does it feel like you’re delusional and actually think you’re rich? And you’re talking about improving your social circle?

I believe the OP. I suggest you show off your luxury house and luxury cars properly and slap these doubters in the face. Come on!

“Honestly, I wasn’t even planning to respond, but they just had to push it.” Zhang Yang shook his head helplessly.

He had always been low-key and usually didn’t bother explaining himself to people like this. But well…

If he wanted to explain, it was simple.

He took photos of the interior of his large flat at COFCO Seaview No. 1. In the pictures, the Huangpu River and the Bund outside the balcony were fully visible. He also wrote down his ID along with the date and time by hand and held it in the frame so it appeared in the photo.