MLMD -Chapter 339 The Jade Business

“Hahahaha…”

A hearty laugh rang out in the living room.

“Brother Yue, how long has it been since we last met? Not even a full day, and you’re already hiding a beauty away in a golden house. What, are you planning to learn from Comrade Liu Che?”

Inside the newly purchased villa of Yue Yang, Yun Feng and Zhao Santong were sitting on genuine leather sofas, looking at Yue Yang with smiles they could barely suppress. Yue Yang sat opposite them, while Xiao Lu sat close beside him, leaning against him in a docile, bird-like manner. The happiness she couldn’t hide was obvious to anyone who looked at her.

Across from Yue Yang, Yun Feng and Zhao Santong sat on the sofa with playful smiles, watching him teasingly. Xiao Shi and several other women sat off to the side, looking at Xiao Lu, their hearts filled with an indescribable sense of frustration.

Buying a place in the city was something Yue Yang had wanted to do for a long time, but he’d never had the time while busy in the Ming Dynasty time-space. Since he was now keeping Xiao Lu, he figured he might as well get everything done at once. After buying a house, it was only proper to invite friends and relatives over—this was called gathering popularity. Yue Yang wasn’t immune to such customs. But he didn’t have many friends in Pearl City, and inviting company employees didn’t feel appropriate due to hierarchy, so he called Zhao Santong and Yun Feng over instead. Yun Feng didn’t stand on ceremony either. Wanting to befriend Yue Yang, he simply brought along several female celebrities from his company to liven things up.

Seeing the strange expressions on Yun Feng and Zhao Santong’s faces, Yue Yang felt an indescribable sense of gloom. Unable to hold it in, he complained, “I say, Brother Zhao, Young Master Yun, what’s with the way you’re looking at me? What, did I buy the house wrong or something?”

“Wrong? Who said you bought it wrong?” Zhao Santong said, stifling a laugh. “I’m just sighing at the fact that you always claim to be a Pearl City local, yet you didn’t even own a place before. Today you’ve finally seen the light. Not easy!”

“You old rascal!” Yue Yang glared at him through gritted teeth. “Believe it or not, keep spouting nonsense and I’ll spar with you one-on-one!”

“Don’t, don’t… these old bones of mine can’t compare with a young fellow like you.” Zhao Santong finally burst out laughing and said to Yun Feng, “Second Yun, look at this guy—when he can’t win with words, he wants to use his fists. Classic brute behavior, right?”

“Hey… are you done yet?!” Yue Yang said angrily. “You think buying a house is like buying cabbages? Back then I just didn’t have the money, okay?”

“Go fool the ghosts!” Zhao Santong shot back, rolling his eyes. “If you really wanted to buy a house, you could probably buy out the entire Yulong Bay. If it weren’t for Xiao Lu, would you really have settled down and bought a place here? Still, you really do need a woman to keep you in line. No matter how much money a man has, it’s empty if there’s no woman to share it with—like wearing fine clothes while walking at night. Second Yun, isn’t that right?”

As Yun Feng watched Yue Yang and Zhao Santong banter, he quickly pieced together some information. This well-connected friend clearly favored Xiao Lu, a usually overlooked actress in his company; otherwise, he wouldn’t have spent nearly a hundred million to buy a luxury villa to keep her, nor bought her a BMW worth nearly a million yesterday, according to Xiao Shi. This clearly looked like a long-term arrangement. If that was the case, he’d need to pay more attention to Xiao Lu and shift more resources her way.

“Second Yun… Second Yun…”

“Huh? What?” Yun Feng snapped out of it, looking a bit embarrassed as he turned to Zhao Santong. “Brother Zhao, what’s up?”

“Forget it.” Seeing Yun Feng lost in thought, Zhao Santong waved his hand dismissively. “Go play with mud by yourself. I was thinking of discussing something fun with Brother Yue and bringing you along, but never mind. You’d better just shut yourself up in your Haitian Entertainment and be king there.”

“Pfft—”

Xiao Shi and the other actresses couldn’t help but laugh when they saw their usually authoritative boss being teased like a child. But as soon as the sound escaped, they quickly covered their mouths. They all knew that these two men could joke freely with their boss because they had matching status and strength. It was fine for them—but for small actresses like themselves, laughing without regard to hierarchy would be overstepping. Such distinctions had existed since ancient times and never changed with society.

“Hey, Brother Zhao, that’s not right. How can you forget me when there’s something good? Maybe I could help,” Yun Feng said anxiously. If you didn’t want me to know, you shouldn’t have said anything in front of me. Now you say half of it and tell me I’m not included—what kind of nonsense is that? As netizens liked to say: I’ve already taken off my pants, and you’re just showing me this?

“Heh…” Seeing Yun Feng truly anxious, Yue Yang laughed and shook his head. “Alright, Brother Zhao, stop teasing Young Master Yun. Let’s get down to business.”

“Fine, let’s talk business,” Zhao Santong said with a smile, though he glanced to the side and frowned slightly. Yue Yang immediately understood and said with a smile, “Let the ladies chat here. Let’s go talk in the study.”

“What are we waiting for? Let’s go!” Yun Feng jumped up eagerly and headed for the study. Yue Yang and Zhao Santong exchanged smiles and followed.

The three men left for the study, leaving only Xiao Lu, Xiao Shi, and several actresses from Haitian Entertainment in the living room.

After watching the men leave, Xiao Lu stood up, went aside to brew some coffee, and brought the cups over on a tray. Soon, the rich aroma of coffee filled the room.

One girl who liked coffee sniffed appreciatively, took a sip, and said in surprise, “Xiao Lu, this coffee smells amazing. What brand is it?”

Xiao Lu shook her head with a gentle smile. “I don’t know. He just said a friend brought it from Jamaica. He doesn’t really drink it himself—he prefers tea.”

A slender girl giggled teasingly, “Oh my, Xiao Lu, you’ve only been with him a few days and you already know what President Yue likes to drink. You’re getting into character pretty fast!”

Xiao Lu blushed immediately and said shyly, “No, it’s not like that. He just mentioned it casually, and I remembered.”

Seeing her still deny it, the girl laughed. “Come on, stop pretending. This President Yue must be something else—only a few days and he’s already stolen the soul of our company’s shyest Xiao Lu.”

“Jealous, Xiao Dan?” another voluptuous girl laughed. “I heard President Yue is single. If you could get him under your skirt, you wouldn’t have to worry about the rest of your life.”

“Really? If that’s the case, I might actually make a move!” Xiao Dan said half-jokingly, nodding repeatedly.

“You guys… hmph, I’m ignoring you!” Xiao Lu grew anxious. As the saying goes, concern breeds confusion. She was already feeling tense and overwhelmed by everything happening so suddenly, and the moment someone talked about stealing her man, she couldn’t keep calm.

“Hehe…” Seeing Xiao Lu get flustered, the girls all laughed.

Xiao Shi pouted and said, “You all can forget it. Yesterday President Yue took Xiao Lu shopping—he bought her more than ten outfits alone. Shoes, bags, cosmetics—don’t even mention those. He spent no less than four to five hundred thousand.”

“Really?!”

Envy immediately flashed in their eyes. In a society that measured everything by money, such generosity meant genuine affection.

Before they could even digest that, Xiao Shi dropped an even bigger bomb.

“That’s not all. He even bought her a BMW worth over a million. Isn’t that excessive?”

Seeing Xiao Shi sitting there looking somewhat indignant, the other women lost their teasing mood. Xiao Lu really did seem poised to soar overnight. They’d need to reconsider how they treated this usually low-profile actress. After all, company resources were limited—more for one meant less for others, and anything affecting their own interests had to be handled carefully.

Xiao Dan now looked bitter rather than playful. “Xiao Lu, you’re so lucky. Just a few days ago you were living in a basement, and now—luxury house, luxury car, all in one go. You’re turning into a nouveau riche overnight.”

“That’s not it!” Xiao Lu lowered her head in embarrassment. Listening to the mix of compliments and sour remarks, she felt an indescribable joy and shyness. Just two days ago, she was a third-rate actress struggling for opportunities; now even the company boss had to show her some respect, and fellow actresses who once ignored her spoke with envy and flattery. The change in status made her proud yet uneasy.

But then, a discordant voice rang out.

“Who knows? Young, rich men like President Yue are hard to predict. Who’s to say he won’t abandon us once we’re old and no longer beautiful?”

Everyone turned—it was Xiao Shi who said this.

Xiao Lu panicked and stammered, “No… he wouldn’t. A-Yang… A-Yang isn’t that kind of person.”

Everyone burst out laughing. Xiao Lu had really gotten anxious.

Xiao Shi felt even more sour. That vixen was already calling him A-Yang—shameless.

One of the women, a beautiful, voluptuous married actress, put her arm around Xiao Lu and asked with suppressed laughter, “Xiao Lu, Sister Li wants to ask—have you been using protection when you and President Yue do that kind of thing?”

Xiao Lu’s face turned crimson, and she gently shook her head.

“Then did he use condoms or ask you to take pills?”

In a voice as soft as a mosquito’s buzz, Xiao Lu said, “No… but I trust A-Yang. He wouldn’t let me down.”

The woman sighed softly, not knowing what to say about this tall, pretty, yet naïve southern girl…

Meanwhile, in Yue Yang’s study, the three men sat on sofas around a tea table, drinking tea.

Leaning back, Yue Yang said calmly, “That’s the situation. I have a fairly stable source of jadeite rough stones. Pearl City is the nation’s economic center, the perfect place to open a jewelry store. I plan to open one here, but since my energy is limited, I’d like to invite you two to invest. Young Master Yun, are you interested in working with me?”

“You really have a stable jade supply?” Yun Feng’s expression turned serious immediately.

“Of course. You can ask Brother Zhao,” Yue Yang nodded. Recently, he had connected with the Mu family guarding Yunnan. Through them, jadeite was mined in Myanmar, transported to Yunnan, then Guangxi, shipped by sea to Tianjin, and finally to Hunyuan Prefecture. The process was cumbersome but safe. More importantly, jadeite—so valuable in later generations—wasn’t considered especially precious in the Ming Dynasty. It wouldn’t gain widespread favor until centuries later under Cixi’s influence. Thus, to people of the time, jadeite rough stones were little more than rocks. After trading dozens of ships of grain and tens of thousands of taels of silver, the Mu family patriarch readily agreed. Yue Yang planned to use jadeite as his modern goldmine.

At this point, Yun Feng pondered for a long time before asking, “Brother Yue, since you think so highly of me, I won’t pretend otherwise. But once the company is established, how will the shares be divided?”

A businessman was a businessman—when it came to serious matters, no利益 would be left on the table.

Yue Yang nodded. “First, I’ll be upfront. Once the company is established, I’ll take the majority. You have no objections, right?”

Yun Feng and Zhao Santong exchanged looks and nodded simultaneously. That was only natural—the supply and channels were all Yue Yang’s.

“Brother Zhao and I discussed it. The startup capital will be about fifty million. You and Brother Zhao will split that. In return, I’ll give each of you fifteen percent of the shares. The company will be managed by professionals, finances handled by a third-party firm. We’ll only enjoy dividends, no management rights. Any changes must be approved by all three of us. How does that sound?”

Both men were slightly stunned—not because the terms were harsh, but because they were generous. On the surface, they’d invest fifty million for fifteen percent each, while Yue Yang took seventy percent without cash. But in reality, their investment was one-time, while Yue Yang would continuously supply jadeite. Without him, the company couldn’t function.

Zhao Santong finally spoke. “Then how will the jade you supply be priced? You can’t just give it to the company for free.”

“Of course not,” Yue Yang laughed. “Here’s how: each batch will be appraised by third-party experts, and the company will pay me seventy-five percent of the market price. How about that?”

“Sounds good,” both men said after exchanging looks.

“I’m fine with that in principle,” Yun Feng said, smiling. “But how can you guarantee a steady supply in the future?”

Yue Yang looked at Zhao Santong, who smiled and said, “You don’t need to worry. The day before yesterday, Brother Yue took me to a bank vault—he’s already stockpiled jadeite worth over five hundred million. Even if he never supplies the company again, we won’t lose. Otherwise, do you think I’d agree so easily?”

“Five hundred million?” Yun Feng smiled wryly. “Alright, I misjudged you. In that case, I have no objections.”

Yue Yang then said solemnly, “I can’t guarantee how long the supply will last. But I can promise that within half a year, you’ll recover your investment and make a big profit. Beyond that, no one knows. What do you think?”

Both men nodded in understanding. Only Myanmar produced quality jadeite, and with increasing extraction, resources were dwindling and competition fierce. Yue Yang’s honesty was reassuring.

One thing Yue Yang didn’t say aloud was that he wanted them for their connections in Pearl City. With thirty percent of the shares, they were expected to handle problems as they arose. This unspoken understanding was clear to all—nothing was free in business. To gain something, one had to give something in return. That was an unbreakable rule.