amaotonovel Chapter 204: Only when the money is used will it be regretted.
Chapter 204: Only when the money is used will it be regretted.
Hearing that Lin Chen didn't have to do military training, Lu Han and the other two were furious.
The military training was less than halfway over, and the three of them were already quite tanned.
Lu Han even lost five pounds, a rare occurrence.
Why should Lin Chen be allowed to skip the event?
As the saying goes, "It is not the scarcity that is to be feared, but the inequality," and the three of them immediately felt unbalanced.
The three of them exchanged a glance, and then simultaneously climbed onto Lin Chen's bed.
The dorm rooms at Long University of Science and Technology are for four people, with the bed on top and the desk underneath.
Now, four men were crammed into Lin Chen's bed, one of whom was Lu Han, a big fat man. The bed started to shake, which woke Lin Chen up.
"What are you doing? Get off the bed! It's going to collapse!"
"Hey boss, how come you don't have to do military training? Tell us your reasons!"
Lu Han grinned wickedly, saying that he looked as lewd as could be.
Lin Chen rolled his eyes.
I wanted to keep a low profile, but you all made things unhappy for yourselves.
"There's no real reason. The head instructor thinks my level is already about the same as his, so continuing military training would be a waste of time and would also dampen other people's enthusiasm."
"If you could be like me, you should also be exempt from military training."
Lin Chen's words immediately stunned the three of them.
Same as you?
Even though he wasn't a math major, Lin Chen's reputation as a monster had already spread throughout the entire school in the past two days.
Even during their military training, they often heard their instructors use Lin Chen to belittle them.
"Look at yourselves! And look at Lin Chen from the math department! Why is his military uniform so standard? But you guys are barely human!"
"Get moving! You've only run five laps so far, but Lin Chen from the math department is going to run twenty!"
"Where are your eyes? The top five didn't even get a ten-ring score? Lin Chen from the math department got a fifty-ring score!"
"We're all freshmen, how come there's such a big difference between you and Lin Chen?"
The three of them shuddered at the thought of what their instructors had said during training.
Mamapi, they are human beings, not that monster Lin Chen!
Thinking of this, the three of them left dejectedly.
Lin Chen was left speechless.
"You three idiots! You made me say that, and you didn't even close the door for me!"
……
Not having to participate in military training gave Lin Chen a lot more free time.
With some free time, he decided to officially begin preparing Chen Xiaoxiao's birthday gift.
Before that, Lin Chen already had a general idea of his gift.
He wanted to make a special ornament for Chen Xiaoxiao using jade.
However, jade is not cheap, and there are many fakes and counterfeits in the jade market, so Lin Chen was not in a hurry to start.
Now that we have the time, what are we hesitating for?
Let's buy the materials and start preparing!
Of course, Lin Chen was unfamiliar with the jade market in the capital. If he went to buy materials rashly, he would almost certainly be ripped off or cheated. But fortunately, he had an acquaintance in the capital.
In the afternoon, while others were still sweating profusely on the playground, Lin Chen went to the jade market in Beijing alone.
As soon as Lin Chen arrived at the market entrance, someone patted him on the shoulder.
"Lin Chen!"
Lin Chen turned his head and smiled slightly at her: "Senior Su, thank you for your help this time."
Su Yao smiled and said, "It's alright. As long as it's something for you, Lin Chen, I will definitely help."
Lin Chen smiled awkwardly.
He knew exactly what the girl across from him was thinking, but when it came to who could help him this time, it was none other than Su Yao.
Su Xuejie has lived in Beijing since childhood. Her family is an artistic family, and her grandfather is the president of the calligraphy and painting association, so she has a wide network of connections.
Finding a reputable building materials store for Lin Chen was naturally a piece of cake.
"Let's go, Lin Chen. I'll take you to a shop where my grandfather's friends go to get their materials."
Fortunately, when they met again, Su Yao seemed to have changed a bit. She didn't exchange many pleasantries and went straight to the point.
A moment later, she led Lin Chen into a jewelry store.
"Are you two looking to buy jewelry?"
A shop assistant walked up gracefully, but before she could speak, she was stopped by a middle-aged man.
"These two are my guests. Go and attend to the others."
The middle-aged man turned to look at Su Yao, nodded and smiled, "Miss Su, Mr. Su has already called me and told me about your matter."
"Manager Han, I'm really sorry to trouble you this time. My friend wants to make a jade ornament by hand and needs to choose a good piece of material."
Su Yao greeted him and then introduced him to Lin Chen: "Lin Chen, this is Manager Han. My grandfather's friends who want to make jade jewelry all get their materials from them."
"Hello Manager Han, could you show me your inventory? I'd like to see what materials are suitable for me."
"Of course, please come with me!"
Manager Han gave a polite reply and then led the two into the warehouse behind the shop.
Although it's called a warehouse, it's more like an exhibition hall, with all sorts of jade displayed in glass cases.
Each glass case is lit with soft lighting, allowing the jade to emit a warm luster.
Lin Chen looked around and his gaze was quickly drawn to a piece of mutton fat jade.
This is a fist-sized piece of mutton fat jade, which perfectly meets Lin Chen's requirements in terms of both size and quality.
"Manager Han, how much for this piece of material?"
Manager Han smiled and said, "Mr. Lin has a good eye. This is a top-quality Hetian jade pebble, but the price is a bit steep..."
Su Yao stepped forward and took a look, nodding and saying, "Yes! It is indeed Hetian seed jade, unlike mountain jade. Nowadays, it is very difficult to find genuine Hetian seed jade."
Manager Han laughed and said, "Miss Su is joking. You are guests introduced by Mr. Su, so of course I would not pass off inferior goods as superior ones."
Lin Chen nodded slightly.
Having an acquaintance to guide you is one of those things; there are far too many fraudulent practices in the jade market.
If you encounter someone who doesn't know anything about it, it's perfectly honest of them to just take a piece of ordinary material and sell it as top-grade material.
Some unscrupulous shop owners might even pass off counterfeit goods as genuine.
"Manager Han, how much is this piece of material?"
Manager Han smiled and replied, "Sir, top-quality Hetian jade is very rare these days. Our purchase price for this piece is ten million, but out of respect for Mr. Su, I can give you a discount, about twelve million."
What?
Twelve million?!
Although he was mentally prepared, Lin Chen was still taken aback!
No wonder jade carving is actually the field with the fewest participants in the carving industry.
No other reason than it's too damn expensive!
Not to mention the top-grade material that Lin Chen has his eye on, even if he were to find some cheaper pieces to practice on, the starting price would still be tens of thousands.
Jade is priced by the gram, and many pieces are more expensive than gold, making it something that most people can't afford.
Gold can be melted down and refined if you cut it, but once jade is ruined, it's truly ruined!
It's true what they say, you only realize how little money you have when you need it.
Since his rebirth, Lin Chen has been busy with his studies and hasn't thought about making money. He's just going with the flow.
I thought that with the prize money from the top scorer in the college entrance examination and the money I earned from my endorsements, I should have enough to buy the materials.
Surprisingly, we are still far behind.
After much deliberation, Lin Chen could only confirm that he really couldn't afford to buy this piece of material right now.
"Lin Chen, do you not have enough money?"
Seeing Lin Chen's expression, Su Yao asked.
"Hmm... quite a bit off..."
Lin Chen nodded helplessly.
There are more than just a few.
He had already contributed hundreds of thousands of yuan to help his family buy a house. Now, he doesn't even have enough money to buy scraps of this material, let alone this piece.
"Then... do you want to...?"
Before Su Yao could finish speaking, Lin Chen interrupted her, saying, "No need to trouble you, senior. I can figure out the money myself."
Su Yao's family is an art family, and her grandfather is a leading figure in the Chinese art world, whose calligraphy works can easily sell for hundreds of thousands or even millions of yuan.
If Lin Chen asks her for help, he should be able to acquire this piece of material.
But after all, this was a gift that Lin Chen prepared for Chen Xiaoxiao himself, and he didn't want to entrust it to someone else, especially not to the same woman who had feelings for him.
Make money!
I want to make money myself!