Gambling on Stones (Part 1)

"This doesn't seem quite right," Zhou Wenping said hesitantly.

Old Wu rubbed his hands together and added, "This is really too embarrassing."

"Alright, it's settled then. You two absolutely must come, or you'll be disrespecting me."

Seeing that Chu Chen had put it that way, the two could only nod in agreement.

The three then chatted about various anecdotes from the antique street, such as who had been fooled and paid tuition, who had struck it rich, and who had stepped on a landmine. Such events, big and small, happened daily on the antique street and could fill countless Hollywood blockbusters.

Afterward, seeing that it was getting late, Chu Chen bid them farewell. He still had important business to attend to at Cuiyuan Zhai.

Leaving the antique stalls, Chu Chen couldn't help but feel a sense of emotion. He thought about how he used to live the life of a street vendor, exposed to the sun and wind, just like Zhou Wenping and Old Wu. In just a few short days, a single piece of Tang Sancai had brought about earth-shattering changes. These past few days had been a mix of joy and sorrow, truly unpredictable and full of unforeseen circumstances.

When Chu Chen arrived at Cuiyuan Zhai, he saw many people gathered around a stall, picking through something. He thought to himself, no need to guess, it must be Zhang Guosheng's newly arrived raw stones. Everyone was taking this opportunity to select the "mao" stones with better appearances.

When jade is mined, it's covered in a layer of weathered skin, making it impossible to know the condition of the interior. Only by cutting the stone open can one determine if there is jade inside and its quality. These jade pieces are what people commonly refer to as jade "mao" stones.

In the past, the name for gambling on stones wasn't actually gambling on stones, but rather "gambling on the trade." A stone gambler had to possess three qualities: a great capacity for challenge, a spirit of adventure, and rich experience. These three points alone illustrate the difficulty of gambling on stones.

As the saying goes, "Even immortals cannot judge an inch of jade." Even with today's advanced technology, it's impossible to detect the exact condition inside the "mao" stones. People mainly infer the quality of the internal jade based on the surface characteristics of the raw jade.

This requires the stone gambler to have extensive knowledge and experience of jade, such as analyzing sample "mao" stones and understanding the origin of the jade. Furthermore, because the profits from "mao" stones are very high, it's inevitable that some people will try to scheme, with cheating methods like "pasting fake skins" appearing endlessly. This also requires people to be extra vigilant.

However, since there's the word "gambling" in gambling on stones, it means that no one has a surefire win. Even experienced experts are bound to make mistakes, and there's a considerable element of luck involved.

Precisely because of this uncertainty in gambling on stones, it's not uncommon to become rich overnight or lose everything overnight in the stone gambling market.

In summary, "gambling on stones" is essentially an expert-level jade trading activity. Participating in "gambling on stones" is both a test of luck and discerning eyes, and it also requires a reserve of professional knowledge.

If he hadn't spent nearly four years gambling on stones, even if he could sense jade with his awakened ability later on, Chu Chen wouldn't dare to use it too frequently in stone gambling.

If a newcomer to stone gambling could find good jade several times in a row, it might be luck. But if it continued like this, it would inevitably arouse suspicion. He might be captured and used as a lab rat, or worse, forced to gamble stones for someone else. Thinking of such a grim prospect, Chu Chen couldn't help but shiver.

"Yo, Xiao Chen is here! How's it going? What are you planning to buy today?" Zhang Guosheng, with sharp eyes, spotted Chu Chen from afar and greeted him. As Chu Chen walked to the entrance, he pointed to a small pile of "mao" stones and said, "It's a special promotion today! Pick any four from that pile for a hundred yuan. This chance won't come again!"

"Hey, Brother Zhang, didn't Aunt Zhang say yesterday that you wanted me to visit? Why didn't you even offer me a cup of tea," Chu Chen joked with Zhang Guosheng.

Zhang Guosheng, having inherited his mother's thick skin, wasn't embarrassed. "Heh, I'm just too busy today. See, someone else is calling me over there. Why don't you take a look yourself first? If you need anything, just come find me. We're old acquaintances, I won't let you get ripped off."

With that, he apologized to Chu Chen and went to attend to someone else.

Almost every time, Zhang Guosheng would find some excuse to get out of it, and Chu Chen was used to it. He shook his head and walked towards the pile of "mao" stones Zhang Guosheng had pointed to.

The situation here was a world apart from the newly arrived "mao" stones on the other side. Only one young man was there, picking and choosing. Chu Chen recognized this person; his name was Li Guodong.

Li Guodong was two years older than Chu Chen, quite good-looking, and a senior student at a university in Beijing. He had entered the stone gambling trade a year later than Chu Chen. Like Chu Chen, he preferred to buy cheaper stones from the shop, but his reason was different – he was simply short on cash.

They were around the same age, shared the same hobby of stone gambling, and were both newcomers, so it was easy for them to communicate. They quickly became friends.

They often met up to hang out. Sometimes, Li Guodong would invite Chu Chen to his class gatherings, allowing Chu Chen to get a glimpse of university life and somewhat compensate for his regret of not having attended university. Through these interactions, they became good friends.

Chu Chen greeted Li Guodong, "Brother Li, did you get anything good today?"

Li Guodong pointed to the "mao" stones on the ground. "Look at their appearance, what good could I possibly get?"

Chu Chen looked down at the "mao" stones. He was speechless! These could hardly be called "mao" stones. They didn't even have any basic jade characteristics. They were completely like brick scraps, too rough to even be used as stepping stones.

So Chu Chen said, "No wonder they're so cheap today. Before, when they cleared out old stock, it was two for a hundred yuan, and today it's four. Looking at them, I wouldn't even take them if they were free. From now on, let's call them Zhang Gongji."

Li Guodong nodded in agreement, continuing to pick and choose. "That's fine too, saves me spending money. Anyway, the quality of the 'mao' stones back then wasn't much better than this, maybe these kinds of stones will actually yield jade."

Chu Chen looked at him disdainfully. "Dream on. You expect jade from this appearance? I'd say there's less than a one-in-ten-thousand chance."

"Heh heh, forget the fraction, you can't say it's impossible, right? Maybe my good luck will strike today." Li Guodong said smugly.

"Alright, I think you're obsessed. If you have this kind of luck, you might as well buy a lottery ticket. Are you short on cash because you've got a girlfriend?"

Seeing his hesitant look, Chu Chen said, "No way, you actually got a girlfriend? Could it be that even a thousand-year-old iron tree can bloom?"

"Get lost! What thousand-year-old iron tree? Can't I find a girlfriend?" Li Guodong said indignantly.

To be fair, Li Guodong was quite good-looking, about 1.75 meters tall, with the appearance of a literary and artistic youth. He didn't look bad. However, since starting university, either the girls he liked already had boyfriends, or the girls who liked him weren't to his taste, leaving him single until now.

Chu Chen was very curious to hear he had a girlfriend. "Hey, tell me, how does your girlfriend look? Let me meet her sometime."

Li Guodong seemed a bit embarrassed. "We only confirmed our relationship yesterday. Besides, she's shy. Let's wait a while longer."

Chu Chen patted his shoulder. "Alright, Brother Li, your spring has arrived! But you're not having some unrealistic thoughts because of this, are you? Or does your girlfriend have a bourgeois inclination?"

"Don't talk nonsense. My girlfriend never asks about my family background, and she's quite frugal. It's just that her father is a minor official in a department in Beijing. I'm trying to earn some money so we can be well-matched."

Li Guodong's family situation wasn't bad either. His parents were teachers at key high schools in a provincial capital city in the west. They lacked nothing, but they certainly weren't wealthy.

So Chu Chen asked, "What are her parents' opinions? Are they putting pressure on you?"

Li Guodong waved his hand. "We only officially started dating yesterday, and her parents don't know yet. But thinking about her family's situation makes my head hurt a little. I think if we get along well, I'll plan to work in Beijing. But you know my family's situation; we're still a bit short of buying a house in Beijing."

"The key really depends on her parents' attitude. If her parents find you satisfactory, then everything will fall into place. Conversely, I think it will be quite difficult. But if you want to buy a house, buy it as soon as possible. Housing prices change daily. If you don't have enough money then, just ask me to lend you some, don't be polite."

After saying that, Chu Chen patted his chest.

Li Guodong smiled. "Okay, I definitely won't be polite then. But before that, I still need to ask my parents' opinion."

Chu Chen nodded, then accompanied Li Guodong in picking through the "mao" stones. He had originally intended to choose "mao" stones from the other side, but too many people had gathered there, making it too crowded. Coupled with the hot weather, it was unbearable. He decided to go there later when there were fewer people.

The "mao" stones here were of such poor quality that they showed no characteristics of jade "mao" stones. Chu Chen didn't even bother using his flashlight and just picked casually. If a stone looked appealing, he'd pick it up and verify it against his experience. However, honestly, these brick-like stones couldn't serve any purpose for verification.

After picking through a hundred or so "mao" stones, his left hand's ability showed no reaction. Chu Chen didn't mind; it would be truly strange if there was jade inside stones like these.

At this moment, the area with the newly arrived "mao" stones had thinned out. Some people had watched the excitement and left, while others had already selected satisfactory "mao" stones and were preparing to take them to the backyard for cutting. Seeing this, Chu Chen decided to go over there to select "mao" stones. After all, the better-looking "mao" stones had a higher chance of containing jade.

Suddenly, a look of astonishment flashed across Chu Chen's face. Just before he left, he had casually picked up another "mao" stone. Unexpectedly, as soon as he held it, his left hand's ability began to stir. For a moment, he was caught off guard.