Chapter 24: The Imperial Thumb Ring

Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Xu Yang shook his head and said, “It’s impossible. I’ve been keeping an eye on the stock of Obsidian Tech recently, and whether from a fundamental or technical perspective, this stock doesn’t have the conditions for a major surge. Not only will it not soar, but there’s a high probability it will plummet.”

Ever since Xu Yang had the Master Trade skill, he made full use of it. In his leisure time over the past few days, he had been researching stocks and futures, looking for something suitable to invest in. Currently, he was still making profits from gold futures, and he had added more to his position.

With the rising trend, Xu Yang would reach his profit target in a few days. He would probably make over ten million yuan. Originally, Xu Yang had planned to withdraw some for daily expenses and transfer some to his stock account, leaving the rest in his futures account. However, now that he had unexpectedly acquired fifty million, he didn’t need to withdraw any. When it was time to close his positions, he could transfer a portion to his stock account.

Xu Yang had also selected two stocks and one futures commodity recently, waiting for gold futures to reach his target before continuing to invest in stocks and futures. At some point, he stumbled upon Obsidian Tech. It was a high-tech company, particularly known for its research in cutting-edge technologies that were restricted by foreign countries.

Obsidian Tech had been a recent trend topic, so Xu Yang had thoroughly researched their stock. But it turned out to be not as promising as it seemed. Over the years, although Obsidian Tech had made loud claims about advancing technology and promoting national brands in high-tech fields, the information they disclosed didn’t quite match the reality.

While it appeared that Obsidian Tech was making technological progress, they were essentially stagnating, merely generating hype, trading on concepts, attracting investors, artificially inflating their stock prices, and allowing their executives to cash out. Xu Yang couldn’t believe they were capable of developing any groundbreaking technology.

“Oh?” Zhao Yuxin was taken aback. “So, should we lend money to my sister, or should we advise her not to buy?”

Xu Yang replied, “I’ll leave the decision about lending money to you. If you say yes, we will lend. If you say no, we won’t. As for advising her, unless something unexpected happens, she probably won’t listen to us. In fact, she might even think we’re unwilling to lend her the money.”

“I think we should at least talk to her about it.” Zhao Yuxin nodded.

Zhao Yuxin quickly grabbed her phone and dialed her sister’s number. Soon, the call connected.

“Yuxin, has the money been transferred yet?” Zhao Yulu asked immediately.

“Not yet. Let me explain something. I just talked to Xu Yang about the stock of Obsidian Tech. He’s been researching stocks lately, and he thinks that this stock won’t go up. In fact, there’s a good chance it might drop. So, it might be better if you don’t buy it,” Zhao Yuxin said.

“Yuxin, if you don’t want to lend the money, just say so.” Zhao Yulu retorted, assuming that Zhao Yuxin’s mention of the stock was an excuse not to lend.

“Sis, it’s not that I don’t want to lend. Xu Yang mentioned that this stock might drop significantly. If you buy it, you might lose your investment.” Zhao Yuxin explained helplessly.

“Xu Yang thinks it will drop? Who does he think he is? Just because he made some money from investing in gold futures, he thinks he’s a big shot now. I got this information from my friend who works at an investment firm, and they have inside information. Xu Yang is nowhere near their level. Anyway, just tell me, are you lending me the money or not? If you’re not willing, then forget it,” Zhao Yulu said.

“I’ll have Xu Yang transfer to you in a moment.” Zhao Yuxin replied and didn’t say anything more.

Zhao Yuxin hung up the phone and sighed. She said, “You were right. She thinks we’re unwilling to lend her the money.”

“I had a feeling it would be like this,” Xu Yang said.

“Honey, let’s go ahead and lend it to her.” Zhao Yuxin suggested.

Xu Yang comforted Zhao Yuxin and said, “Don’t worry, dear. We can lend her the two million. Even if it’s a loss, it’s not a big deal. We have money now, and we’ll have more in the future.”

“I know. Thank you, Honey. You’re the best.” Zhao Yuxin nodded.

After finishing dinner and cleaning up, Xu Yang transferred two million to Zhao Yulu.

Zhao Yuxin sent a message to inform her sister, and she received a two-word reply, [Thank you.]

“Honey, today I also bought two things,” Xu Yang said, taking out the jade ruyi and the vase he had purchased.

“The color of this jade ruyi is quite nice. Why did you buy it? And this vase, why did you get it? Are we going to use it for decoration? It seems like we don’t need it,” Zhao Yuxin inquired curiously.

“This jade ruyi was purely for fun. I held it in my hand, and it felt really good, so I bought it on a whim. As for the vase, I noticed something interesting so I bought it.” Xu Yang explained.

“Something interesting? What do you mean?” Zhao Yuxin asked as she became even more curious.

“We’ll find out when we break it,” Xu Yang said, bringing over a cardboard box and placing the vase inside.

Breaking the vase inside the box would prevent the shards from scattering everywhere.

“Huh? Break it?” Zhao Yuxin was taken aback.

Zhao Yuxin had expected Xu Yang to mention some interesting historical facts or stories related to the vase, but she never thought he would suggest breaking it.

“I have a feeling that there’s something inside this vase, especially because its base is so different from others. The bottom of this vase is very thick, and the other vases are not so thick. If nothing goes wrong, there should be something inside.”Xu Yang explained.

“If that’s the case, then let’s smash it. Let’s see if there’s really something inside and what kind of thing it is,” Zhao Yuxin said.

No matter what Xu Yang did, Zhao Yuxin would support him.

Xu Yang found that there was no hammer or any hard objects in the house. He could only take out a kitchen knife from the kitchen and smash the vase with the back of the knife. After a series of actions, the vase was broken and the bottom of the vase was also knocked open.

“Hey, there’s something,” said Zhao Yuxin. She saw something in the debris.

Xu Yang removed the debris and took it out. He found that it was a blood-red jade thumb ring. The jade thumb ring had the word “Emperor” carved on it in a small seal script.

“Could it be something that an emperor wore?” Zhao Yuxin speculated.

“It’s possible,” Xu Yang nodded and began using his Master Appraiser skill to check it. “If I’m not wrong, this is a ring worn by Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty.”

“Emperor Taizong’s thumb ring? Isn’t that very valuable?” Zhao Yuxin opened her mouth wide in shock.

“Yup. Since it is an imperial object, its value shouldn’t be lower than that of Wu Daozi’s Hundred of Beasts painting.” Xu Yang nodded and said.

“Wu Daozi’s Hundred of Beasts painting is worth fifty million, so does that mean this jade thumb ring is also worth fifty million?” Zhao Yuxin’s eyes sparkled.

“It should be. I’ll take it to Mr. Tang for appraisal soon and see what he has to say. After all, I don’t know much about antiques. Only an expert like Mr. Tang knows how much this thing is worth,” said Xu Yang.

Xu Yang planned to show it to Tang Zhengqi. Now that he wasn’t in a hurry for money, he could even put it up for auction at Tang Zhengqi’s auction house. That way, Xu Yang can fetch a higher price.