Chapter 93: Millennium Jade Capital

  After receiving the Jade Guanyin, Li Yang specially called He Lao to thank him. This top-grade jade is only perfect when given to a top-notch master craftsman.

  Time slowly passed, and the New Year's atmosphere gradually dissipated. By the time the first month was over, everything had returned to normal.

  Li Yang has firmly secured his position as a manager's assistant, although the salary of this position is far less than what he gains from gambling on stones. However, Li Yang does not want to become a professional gambler and still cherishes this job.

  On the first day of the second month of the lunar calendar, Sima Lin personally called Li Yang to inform him that they would be traveling together to Nanyang in the afternoon to attend the annual provincial jade association gathering, which was also a grand assembly for jade enthusiasts across the province.

  Since learning that Li Yang was going to Nanyang, Wu Xiaoli had been pestering him. In the end, they could only take a few days off together and go to Nanyang, which would make Zhang Ying work harder for a few days.

  Apart from the two, Liu Gang and Li Yang were also following in a car, with Wu Xiaoli occupying the front passenger seat that belonged to Liu Gang for over a month. Liu Gang had no choice but to sit in the backseat, fortunately, there was ample space, and lying down was even more comfortable than sitting.

  Ming Yang Yu Shi Association this time a total of 16 people went, which is the most in recent years. The main credit goes to Li Yang, with Li Yang as a lucky star, everyone wants to go and try their luck. The examples of Sima Lin and Zheng Kaida made Zhang Wei and others very envious.

  When Li Yang and the other two arrived at the parking lot in Gucheng District, Zhang Wei, Gu Lao, Sima Lin, Zheng Kaida and Wang Haomin, all true members of the Jade Stone Association, had already arrived. The others were also familiar to Li Yang, having seen them at the banquet.

  Sixteen people, plus Wu Xiaoli and Liu Gang who followed, made a total of eighteen people. The number is very auspicious. Zhang Wei had already booked the hotel in advance, and as soon as everyone arrived, they set off immediately to Nanyang.

  A team of eighteen people set off in six cars, with Li Yang's Volvo and Sima Lin's Bao Dao leading the way, one after another, looking quite majestic, heading south to Nanyang.

  Nanyang is located in the southwest of Henan Province, it's the central city of southwestern Henan. It's over 300 kilometers away from Mingyang, and the whole journey is on highways, which can be covered in just one afternoon.

  Compared with Heyang, the big agricultural city, Nanyang's science and technology are more developed. Last year, Nanyang was just approved to have a national high-tech development zone, which has made significant contributions to Nanyang's economic development.

  Apart from this, Nanyang is also a major tourist city. Nanyang has many nicknames, such as "Southern Capital", "Hometown of Five Saints" and "Thousand-year Jade City", all referring to here. Just from these names, it can be seen that Nanyang's tourism resources are very rich.

  Nanyang has a long history, with the Nanzhao ape-man living here as early as 500,000 years ago. The long history has produced many historical celebrities in Nanyang, including Liu Xiu, the founding emperor of the Eastern Han Dynasty, and Huang Zhong, a famous general of the Three Kingdoms period. However, the most famous representative is the Five Saints that all Nanyang people are proud of.

  The five sages are Zhang Heng, the scientist sage, Zhang Zhongjing, the medical sage, Fan Li, the business sage, Zhuge Liang, the wisdom sage, and Jiang Ziya, the strategic sage. With numerous famous and ancient saints, Nanyang city also retains a strong cultural atmosphere.

  However, what makes Nanyang people most proud is still Nanyang jade. For thousands of years, Nanyang jade has been thriving and never declining. Nanyang jade is also listed as one of the four famous jades in China.

  Recently, it has been rumored that the historically famous He Shi Bi is actually Nanyang jade, but it has not been verified by authoritative departments and is now only circulating. However, a lot of information related to He Shi Bi indeed shows an inseparable relationship with Nanyang.

  In Nanyang, the jade industry is one of the most important industries, and the jade industry supports a large number of people. When tourists come to Nanyang, they may not go to visit Wusong Temple first, but they will definitely go to visit Nanyang Jade and buy some back home.

  Li Yang and his group arrived in Nanyang when the sky was already dark, fortunately Zhang Wei had made all the arrangements in advance, so everyone got off the car to eat and rest, replenishing their energy for tomorrow's Nanyang Jade Stone gathering.

  After dinner, Li Yang sneaked into Sima Lin and Zheng Kaida's room alone. No one was good at making exceptions for group activities, all were standard rooms with two people per room, except Wu Xiaoli.

  "What brings you here at this time? Can't sleep because of excitement?"

  Sim Lin laughed and asked Li Yang a sentence. For the first time participating in this kind of gathering, people's emotions are very excited, but there is no excitement on Li Yang's face.

  "No, I just wanted to come and chat. As for this gathering, I know nothing about it, so let's hear what you have to say first, that way I'll know what to pay attention to tomorrow!"

  Li Yang smiled lightly and shook his head. He indeed came to take the experience, but Zhang Wei only told him that he must participate in this activity without telling him about the specific process of the activity.

  "It doesn't matter, tomorrow is the meeting, and all the directors and supervisors from various places will gather together. This meeting has no significance at all, it's okay if we don't go. Tomorrow I'll take you out for a stroll first, let Old Zhang and Old Wang handle it!"

  Simar Lin changed into slippers and sat down with Li Yang on the two sofas in the room, smiling as he spoke.

  "Is that it?" Li Yang was a bit stunned. The first day was just a meeting, and this didn't feel like a grand gathering at all.

  "It's that simple, the Jade Stone Association belongs to Zhongbao Association. Such activities were initially organized by civilians, and it wasn't until a few years ago that officials started participating. Once they got involved, things got a bit distorted, but there are still many places where they're needed, so we can only make do. The first day was actually just a waste of time in meetings, so we left a day earlier. Even if some small unexpected events occurred, it wouldn't affect the main event afterwards!"

  Sim Lin nodded with a smile, any folk organization that is tied to the official will have some changes, such as the Football Association, etc. The Jade Stone Association is considered half-hung, and it's hard to avoid some impact.

  "What's the big deal afterwards?" Li Yang immediately became spirited.

  "On the second day, it was a competition of craftsmanship, mainly among locals in Nanyang. It's also a way to show respect to the host, letting them take the lead. To be honest, there were many skilled craftsmen that day, and the on-site carvings were all very impressive. If you're lucky, you might even get to show off your skills!"

  "What luck does it take to buy a good piece of jade?" Li Yang's eyebrows furrowed slightly, this kind of jade is openly sold and not like gambling on stones, such things are generally clearly priced.

  "Of course, it requires good luck. We put the craftsmanship first in the activity, and as the host, they will appreciate us. So, all the jade stones carved on site are sold at cost price. If you can grab them quickly, you can buy the best ones, isn't that having good luck?"

  This time it was Zheng Kaida who spoke, and as soon as he finished speaking, Sima Lin immediately added: "The well-carved jade won't be evaluated immediately, but after it's sold, each session of the carving competition will produce the best jade carvings that are worth the most. If you buy them at cost before they're sold, wouldn't you have made a profit?"

  "So that's how it is! I finally understand!"

  Li Yang nodded, thinking to himself that the friends from Nanyang were quite generous, this was equivalent to giving a big gift to the people who came to participate in the event. However, thinking about it, these days the entire Henan Jade Association has been busy with activities, and the benefits they bring will not be small either. Doing something good can also stimulate everyone's enthusiasm.

  "Not everyone can buy it, each place has different indicators, no indicator means you can't buy even if you want to, and those with indicators can only buy one per person. If you haven't joined the Jade Association, you won't have this qualification at all!"

  Zheng Kaida suddenly crawled over from the bed, smiling at Li Yang.

  "Ah, I was thinking of going back to buy a few more, looks like there's no hope now!" Li Yang slightly stunned, then revealed a wry smile, Sima Lin and Zheng Kaida both burst out laughing.

  What Li Yang was thinking of was not himself, but Wu Xiaoli. Wu Xiaoli is not a member of the Jade Stone Association, which means she can only watch and cannot participate in this lively event. If she finds out, who knows what will happen? Liu Gang is also not a member of the Jade Stone Association, but Liu Gang's temperament makes Li Yang feel at ease.

  Sim Lin took a sip of water and continued: "On the third day, it's about jade. This is actually all about the various club presidents comparing things, to see if there are any new and good jade works this year. The rarer and better they are, the higher the score!"

  "Here, price is an important factor, ordinary members can't afford to bring out particularly good jade, so it's mostly the club directors who are competing!"

  Sim Lin added a sentence, Li Yang seemed to understand that the third day was actually competing with Jade, and the better quality and rarer jade works were certainly valuable.

  Thinking of this, Li Yang touched his neck, the glass kind of Emperor Green Jade Guanyin he was wearing, just from the quality point of view, probably not many can compare, if it were a bit bigger, it would definitely win the championship of this jade competition, however, even so, if Li Yang took out this top-grade Jade Guanyin, it would still shock many people.

  "On the fourth day, it's the real deal, on the fourth day is when they gamble with stones!"

  When it comes to the main event, Sima Lin's interest was also raised. He pointed out of the window and said: "On the fourth day, Nanyang's stone gambling market is the most popular day. The participants in this stone gambling competition are not only members of the Jade Stone Association, but also people from all over the country who love to gamble on stones. In addition to our local Henan province, many people will come from nearby Shandong, Anhui, Hubei, Shaanxi and Hebei provinces to participate in the event. At that time, the whole city of Nanyang will become a paradise for stone gambling!"

  "What Sima said is right, you haven't participated in it and can't imagine the excitement of that day. It's completely incomparable to that small market in Zhengzhou last time!"

  Zheng Kaida was very excited and said a sentence. Zheng Kaida's interest in gambling stones is generally ordinary, but at this time his enthusiasm is absolutely the highest, and this time Li Yang followed him, Zheng Kaida has great confidence in this gamble.

  Sim Lin nodded heavily: "Yes, from the fourth day to the tenth day, this week's time is all about betting on jade stones. Our Jade Stone Association people are betting, and outsiders are also betting. That day was more lively than you can imagine!"

  …………………………

  Thank you for Luoyan Xianju's 100 Qianbi reward again!!

  Hearty congratulations to for becoming the second master of this book, is also an old friend of Xiaoyu's, the first person to support Xiaoyu in the previous book, and the first master friend since Xiaoyu started writing books, thank you, .

  There are still two VIP chapters today, I hope everyone can continue to support Xiao Yu, Xiao Yu will go code words, see you later!