CHAPTER 1028: CHAPTER 1025: INTERROGATION (PART 2)

Here it comes, is it finally about to begin? Lin Tian squinted slightly, already knowing what Qian Jin was going to do.

"Secretary Qian, stop keeping us in suspense, just say it all at once." Someone shouted loudly from the surroundings, as if coordinating with Qian Jin.

Qian Jin smiled, and only then did he begin to speak leisurely: "If any of you present are in the jade business, you must know that a major event has recently occurred in the jade industry—a new jewelry company has been established. You may think the establishment of a new company is no big deal, but what if I say the company is named Tianxue Jewelry?"

"Tianxue Jewelry, isn’t that the auctioneer that sold for a sky-high price of eighteen billion?"

"Although I didn’t attend the auction myself, I remember the auctioned item seemed to be called Three Pure Ones’ Holy Realm, and it was reportedly purchased by a foreign woman."

"Eighteen billion is truly unprecedented. I’ve heard that the materials used in Three Pure Ones’ Holy Realm are three-colored jadeite—and that is but a small part of the top-notch jadeite that Tianxue Jewelry possesses."

"That’s quite extravagant."

The crowd began discussing in hushed tones, with curiosity, envy, and jealousy. Of all the faces, those of the Bai family father and son were the most displeased.

The Bai Family invested heavily in gambling on jade stones, thinking they would unveil a priceless jadeite king, only to have Lin Tian and the Xiao Family reveal it instead. The loss and psychological gap still cause a blood-boiling feeling even now.

If it were just a jadeite king worth millions or even a hundred million yuan, the Bai Family could handle it, but Lin Tian and the Xiao Family unveiled jade worth billions.

Now, just a single Three Pure Ones’ Holy Realm has auctioned for eighteen billion, with so many superb jadeites left—how much are they worth? Bai Yuze and Bai Yuanhao bleed inside just thinking about it, casting looks full of envy toward Lin Tian and Miss Xiao.

Especially Bai Yuze, his gaze even filled with hatred, feeling these priceless jadeites should belong to him. Yet, all was overturned with Lin Tian’s appearance. The exclamations from the surroundings only fueled his hatred.

Qian Jin seemed to feel the scene was not lively enough, so he loudly announced: "Besides the huge event with Tianxue Jewelry, there’s another significant occurrence involving the medical industry—it’s the emergence of a new healing medicine in the pharmaceutical market, which, once launched, swiftly dominated the market with a unifying momentum, creating an even bigger sensation than Tianxue Jewelry."

What he said indeed had hidden motives, using the term "unifying Jianghu." It sounds impressive and almighty, but is it really?

No matter the era, "unifying Jianghu" is not a welcomed term. The business world is like Jianghu, with various powers arising—even the Li Family and Yun Family dare not claim to unify Jianghu. Yet Qian Jin gave this title to the Xiao Family, a mere small family who could never bear such a claim.

Indeed, many merchants frowned upon hearing Qian Jin’s words because they know the facts don’t yet support the notion of unifying Jianghu. But Qian Jin’s words subtly guided them to think that way. His true intention was far from mere communication; he sought to provoke conflict, with the Xiao Family as the target.

Lin Tian frowned, knowing that what must come will come; there’s no avoiding it. With the Xiao Family owning such lucrative treasures, it’s impossible not to arouse envy.

This is the indispensable path for the Xiao Family’s true rise—only by overcoming this crisis can they undergo a qualitative leap.

Qian Jin, seeing that his words had sparked enough discussion, gleefully suggested: "With two lucrative treasures, the Xiao Family is akin to Shen Wansan’s Treasure Bowl. Let’s give a round of applause to invite Miss Xiao to come up and share with us some insights on how to succeed so well. Let’s welcome Miss Xiao Manxue with applause."

The room filled with enthusiastic applause, whether insincere or genuinely seeking insight—everyone clapped vigorously.

Qian Jin exchanged some secret glances with some in the positions of the Bai Family and Shen Family, then retreated contentedly.

In such a situation, Miss Xiao had no choice but to respond. She rose and walked to the center of the hall, then bowed to the crowd.

Miss Xiao surveyed the room, and when her gaze fell upon Lin Tian’s location, she instinctively paused, meeting Lin Tian’s eyes. From Lin Tian’s deep gaze, Miss Xiao seemed to see her own reflection, causing her heart to flutter, then calming down.

"Everyone present is my senior. I thank all my elders for their care and support, and thank the friends who have helped and supported the Xiao Family. Thank you." Miss Xiao began with expressing gratitude, and with her unparalleled beauty and humility, she immediately won many nods of approval.

The older the people are, the more they care about the juniors’ etiquette and demeanor. Miss Xiao gave them plenty of respect, so they were naturally quite pleased.

Moreover, many present held a neutral stance or were influenced by Qian Jin. But upon seeing Miss Xiao’s attitude, things didn’t seem as bad, and their impression gradually shifted back.

This development left Qian Jin displeased. He went up with a lengthy speech, hinting and leading to create a negative impression of the Xiao Family.

But now, a beautiful woman comes up with just a thank you and a bow, undoing all the prior negative views. Does beauty indeed have its advantages?

As Qian Jin glanced around, many young people were indeed bright-eyed, and even when he saw his own son—similar in reaction—Qian Jin felt infuriated, though unable to express it. He bottled it all up, feeling suffocated.

After the thanks, Miss Xiao continued: "Secretary Qian just mentioned two items of the Xiao Family, the healing medicine and jade stones. You’ve only seen the surface glory, not the hardship and difficulty behind it."

"Among these, we nearly risked our lives to retrieve the formula for the healing medicine!" Miss Xiao’s tone shifted to a serious one.

This indeed captured everyone’s attention. Everyone knows that making money is good, but risking lives for it—well, the cost seems too high.

Someone couldn’t resist asking: "Miss Xiao, what do you mean by that? Could you explain it to us specifically?"

Miss Xiao nodded, glanced at Lin Tian, and continued: "Perhaps you all are unaware—the formula for the healing medicine was reclaimed from the Japanese. This formula originally belonged to the Xiao Family; unfortunately, in the grandfather’s generation, it was stolen by the Japanese."

"Recently, we uncovered information about the half-formula, and our people ventured into perilous situations, conflicting and battling with the Japanese to finally retrieve the formula intact. The dangers involved—I imagine I don’t need to elaborate, but all of you can envision them." Miss Xiao stated solemnly.

In response to Miss Xiao’s account, Lin Tian wasn’t surprised at all; instead, he smiled.