"Stay here, Mr. Li. I'll go prepare a room for you," said Father Shui, overjoyed.
In his eyes, Li Yang was even better than his own son-in-law. He was determined to bring the two together.
Shui Xiang said, "Dad, I'll handle the room. You haven't seen Nannan all day, why don't you go see her?"
"Alright, it's up to you. Make sure Mr. Li is comfortable," Father Shui said with a smile, thinking his daughter had finally come to her senses.
It seemed good things were on the horizon!
Li Yang and Shui Xiang exchanged a glance and smiled. "Sister Shui, I'll lend a hand too."
"You just sit and rest," Shui Xiang replied.
Li Yang smiled, "I'd still like to help."
Once inside the room, he closed the door and immediately embraced Shui Xiang.
Shui Xiang's body trembled, her heart pounding. "I need to tidy the room, don't mess around."
"Will you come find me later, or shall I find you?" Li Yang whispered into her ear, asking with a soft chuckle.
Shui Xiang's ears immediately turned red. She playfully nudged him, "We've already done it twice, and you still want more?"
"What, are you satisfied with just twice?" Li Yang asked.
Shui Xiang elbowed him. "Stop fooling around, I need to clean the room. Otherwise, you'll be sleeping on the floor tonight."
Despite her words, late at night, Shui Xiang secretly came over and slipped into Li Yang's bed.
Before Li Yang could speak, she bit his lip.
"Mmm!" Li Yang took a breath, immediately cupped her head, and said with a smile, "Sister Shui, let me satisfy you later."
"Mmm."
The long night passed with their tender affections. Outside, the storm raged, while inside, their passion surged.
The next morning, seeing Shui Xiang's slightly swollen lips, Nannan asked curiously, "Mom, did a mosquito bite your mouth?"
"Ah? Yes, yes, it did," Shui Xiang's expression changed, and she said somewhat awkwardly.
Li Yang almost spat out his food, but managed to hold it in at the last moment, which would have surely alerted Father Shui, who was experienced in such matters.
"Ahem, Nannan, come, try this," Li Yang served the little girl.
A child's attention was easily diverted, and soon she was captivated by other things.
After breakfast, Nannan was left with Father Shui, while Li Yang and Shui Xiang headed to the jade gambling market.
"Manager Fang, Mr. Li, hello," Manager Fang bowed respectfully upon seeing them, increasingly feeling that the pair were a perfect match.
"Mr. Li, a Mr. Zhao Nanzhi came looking for you earlier. He said he knew you from before."
"Oh?" Li Yang's brows slightly rose as he immediately recalled. "Sister Shui, this is the Mr. Zhao I mentioned before, who runs a jade business in southern Myanmar and has many jade processing artisans."
"That's wonderful. We're bidding for the bankrupt Yu Huang Jade Gambling Market in a few days. His participation would be very beneficial," Shui Xiang said with pleasant surprise.
Li Yang smiled, "Let's go see him."
The group walked to the office and indeed found Zhao Nanzhi. He was dressed as impeccably as he had been in the restaurant.
Upon seeing Li Yang, Zhao Nanzhi stood up with a smile. "It is indeed you, Mr. Li!"
"Mr. Zhao, how did you find me here?" Li Yang walked over and shook his hand.
Zhao Nanzhi said, "Who in Jiangcheng's jade circle doesn't know Mr. Li's name now?"
"Although Mr. Li only mentioned the antique shop back then, I thought it would be better to meet you at the jade gambling market to discuss jade business. And I was right, I've been waiting for you since early this morning."
"Hahaha, Mr. Zhao is very astute. Let me introduce you, this is Shui Xiang, the owner of this jade gambling market. I have to listen to her." Li Yang said with a smile.
As soon as Zhao Nanzhi saw Shui Xiang, his eyes widened in admiration. He praised, "They say that Jiangcheng's jade beauty is none other than Boss Shui. Meeting you today, I realize the rumors not only haven't exaggerated but have actually downplayed your beauty and elegance."
"Mr. Zhao is too kind," Shui Xiang said with a smile.
Zhao Nanzhi shook his head. "I'm absolutely not exaggerating."
"Please, have a seat," Shui Xiang said with a smile.
After they sat down, Li Yang said, "Mr. Zhao, I was about to call you myself if you hadn't come looking for us."
"We discussed before that you could help with processing finished jade products. Have the samples been prepared?"
"Mr. Li, the samples were mailed yesterday evening. Otherwise, how would I dare to visit you so early this morning?"
Zhao Nanzhi smiled. The reason he came to find Li Yang so late was because the samples had only just arrived. When it comes to jade processing, boasting is useless. Amateurs might be impressed, but experts need to see the quality.
To seal such a deal, talking until your lips are dry might not be effective, but with genuine samples, a single sentence can seal the deal.
He picked up the briefcase from the floor beside him, opened it, and showed it to them. "These are our samples. Please take a look."
"The styles seem rather ordinary," Li Yang remarked casually after a glance.
Shui Xiang picked up a few finished jade pieces to examine the carving. There were both raised and sunken carvings, plain and intricate pieces. Regardless of the type, the carving skills were quite high, not inferior to the Jieyang craftsmanship she had.
However, she didn't express her opinion. After looking, she placed the items back into the briefcase, leaving Li Yang to speak entirely.
"Mr. Li, throughout history, carvings have always sought auspiciousness and good meaning. This means there won't be much variation," Zhao Nanzhi said with a smile. "Moreover, such items have sales guarantees. Deliberately pursuing innovation might be counterproductive and detrimental to commercial survival, don't you agree?"
"What Mr. Zhao says is not without reason. However, what we aim to do is different from others. Otherwise, we wouldn't need to pursue excellence and could just open a small shop," Li Yang nodded with a smile, but maintained his differing view. "Therefore, we need innovation."
"I understand. We agreed on consignment processing. As long as Mr. Li and your team provide original designs, I can have my artisans produce items according to the drawings," Zhao Nanzhi said after some thought, nodding. "However, how should we discuss the pricing?"
After all, these are innovative designs. Regardless of the carving difficulty, it's inevitable that artisans accustomed to previous styles will have their efficiency reduced when suddenly switching to new designs.
Who will be responsible for this loss in efficiency?
And how much will they be responsible for?
These are all questions.