A Complete Loss

After using his special ability, Chu Chen's first move was to tighten his grip on the rough stone. Then, wearing a faint smile, he headed to the front desk to pay for it.

At the same time, a young man in his early twenties came rushing over. He went straight to the black tungsten sand in the ten-thousand-yuan section that Chu Chen had just abandoned. When he saw that the rough stone was still there, the young man was ecstatic. He immediately picked it up and dashed toward the front desk, arriving before Chu Chen despite setting out later and buying the rough stone first.

Watching this, Chu Chen shook his head with a smile. Was there really any need to hurry so much? If this rough stone were truly that good, would it still have been sitting there waiting for him to buy it?

After reflecting on it, Chu Chen ignored him. Once he had paid, he took the rough stone back to the rear courtyard, intending to cut it open on the stone-cutting machine.

Perhaps because the rough stone had been left there for a long time, Chu Chen haggled for several minutes at the counter and successfully knocked another hundred yuan off the price. His mood improved greatly. On top of that, when he had paid, everyone around him had looked down on the rough stone. He wondered what their expressions would be if it suddenly rose sharply in value.

Thinking of this, Chu Chen felt extremely happy. There was even a hint of taking pleasure in other people's frustration.

As soon as he entered the rear courtyard, he ran into Liu Zhiqing, who was preparing to leave. Seeing the rough stone in Chu Chen's hands, Liu Zhiqing frowned and asked:

"Isn't that the fly-dropping moss on the stone that's been sitting there for ages? Why did you choose this rough stone?"

Chu Chen did not answer immediately. Instead, he handed the rough stone to Liu Zhiqing and pointed at the python pattern.

"Brother Liu, you'll understand why I chose it once you look here."

Liu Zhiqing took the rough stone. He could not see it clearly at first, so he brought it closer for another look and exclaimed:

"A single-stroke python! And it's a single-stroke python along the loose pine-flower edge!"

In fact, many people were not very familiar with the patterns on stones. They would look at a python pattern while still searching for one. Identifying python patterns required careful, patient observation and long-term exploration. Only after a long time could one recognize them at a glance.

A single-stroke python was one of the most difficult python patterns to spot. In particular, the one on this rough stone was extremely faint. It could be said that most people would not notice it. Of course, if it had not been so difficult to discover, it would not have been left there unattended for so long.

"Although this makes it very likely that the rough stone will produce high-grade green, aren't you afraid the fly-dropping moss will ruin it?"

Chu Chen smiled. "Brother Liu, take another look at where the fly-dropping moss is."

Upon hearing this, Liu Zhiqing immediately examined it again. Then he slapped his thigh and said:

"Hey, the fly-dropping moss is only on the patch of green! All right, this stone is worth betting on, and it could very well rise sharply. Little Chu, your eyesight really is good, and your mind works quickly."

Chu Chen waved his hand and said modestly, "I was just lucky. I happened to notice this single-stroke python, and only then did I think of it."

"All right, all right, Little Chu, stop being modest. Without good eyesight, how could you have found such an inconspicuous spot? Come on, let's go. I can't wait to see the result." As soon as he finished speaking, Liu Zhiqing dragged Chu Chen toward the stone-cutting machine. Anyone who did not know better would have thought the rough stone belonged to him.

Since two other people were still waiting to have their stones cut, Chu Chen would have to wait a while. The young man from earlier, however, had already secured a spot and begun cutting.

The young man did not start by cutting the stone. Instead, he chose to grind it. Grinding was also a common rule in the jade-betting trade: tools were used to remove a layer of skin from places likely to contain green, making it easier to inspect. This method had one advantage over cutting—it was safer.

After all, if one accidentally damaged the stone while cutting it, as Chu Chen had nearly done with the brick-like material yesterday, the loss would be immense. Why had he not chosen to grind yesterday's stone? Because it was brick-like material, and cutting it carefully was understandable. Choosing to grind it would have been too exaggerated. It would have been as though he already knew there was jade inside.

"It's showing green!"

It had not been long before the young man let out a cheer, looking ecstatic. Hearing him, the people nearby gathered around.

The young man really did have some luck. He had chosen exactly the spot with sleeping moss. After only a little of the rough stone's outer skin had been ground away, green appeared. The color was quite good, but when a flashlight was shone on it, the water quality appeared somewhat shallow. This was a consistent characteristic of rough stones from Moe Bay.

"Sir, I'll offer you eighty thousand for this rough stone. How about transferring it to me?" someone in the crowd immediately called out.

Chu Chen turned his head and saw a familiar face. It was the old man who had traded with Liu Zhiqing yesterday—the owner of Qian Ji Jewelry Store, Qian Yiyou.

"Boss Qian is rather strange. Why does he show up every time a stone rises in value after being cut?"

Liu Zhiqing smiled faintly after hearing this. "For people in the jade business, raw materials are a major problem. Low- and mid-grade materials are still manageable, but high-grade materials are much harder to find. Boss Qian's Qian Ji Jewelry Store is fairly well-known in the capital, so he has to keep a close eye on the market and make sure he doesn't miss any high-grade or even mid-grade materials."

Chu Chen nodded after hearing this. He sighed inwardly. No one has it easy. These big bosses may look impressive on the surface, but who knows how much sweat they shed to reach their current positions?

By then, Qian Yiyou had also squeezed out of the crowd. When he saw Liu Zhiqing nearby, he greeted him warmly before waiting for the young man's answer.

The rough stone had cost sixty thousand yuan. Chu Chen guessed that, judging by how hurriedly the young man had acted, he might not have bargained at all. Earning twenty thousand yuan in just a few minutes was not bad. However, judging by the young man's conflicted expression, he was clearly unwilling to sell. He also knew Qian Yiyou, so he said:

"Boss Qian, I'm sorry, but I'll choose to keep grinding it."

When a jade rough stone was first ground, if the result looked promising, its owner could choose to continue grinding or immediately sell it. If the result was poor, however, he could only keep grinding or choose to cut it open.

This time, the young man chose to grind a spot on the other side. After Chu Chen saw it, the corners of his mouth lifted slightly. Liu Zhiqing noticed and asked in a low voice, "What? Is there something wrong with this black tungsten sand?"

Chu Chen smiled faintly. "I looked at this rough stone earlier too. It looked pretty good, but there were still some minor problems. I can't say exactly how it will turn out. Brother Liu, you'll know if you keep watching."

The machine continued turning. The sandy skin on the rough stone was gradually peeled away by the grinding wheel. At first, it showed the same signs as the previous spot. The young man's face was filled with smiles and a trace of smugness. But reality changed in an instant, and the smile on his face quickly froze.

"Moss has appeared!" The crowd erupted.

At that moment, a patch of black moss appeared on the green exposed by grinding. It was like an ugly scar marring an otherwise beautiful face. It looked extremely unpleasant. Naturally, the value of such jade would plummet. If the inside was the same, then it would be a complete loss.

Seeing Liu Zhiqing stare at him in astonishment, Chu Chen explained in a low voice, "I had thought highly of this black tungsten sand at first too. But later I discovered that those patches of sleeping moss were hiding straight moss as well. Only the side he first ground was free of it. If he had sold it just now, he could still have made a little money. But now..."

After hearing Chu Chen's explanation, Liu Zhiqing nodded in sudden understanding. He said nothing more, merely patted Chu Chen's shoulder approvingly.

After examining the rough stone, the young man lowered his head dejectedly. No one knew what he was thinking. After a while, he raised his head and said to Qian Yiyou with a smile:

"Boss Qian, will you still take this rough stone? Six hundred thousand—no, just sixty thousand will do."

Qian Yiyou looked at the young man's hopeful eyes and felt utterly speechless. Do I really look like a sucker? Still, for the sake of maintaining harmony and making money through business, he answered amiably:

"Sir, I'm truly sorry, but this rough stone no longer meets our company's purchasing requirements."

Qian Yiyou's answer struck the young man like a blow to the head. He looked desperately around him, but with the stone showing such a result, no one would take it over anymore.

Cold sweat streamed down the young man's forehead. After waiting a while and seeing that no one truly intended to take it, he gritted his teeth and said to the stone cutter, "Cut it. Cut the whole thing open."

In this situation, the stone cutter could not say anything. He could only silently continue cutting. The result, however, did not surprise Chu Chen. For the young man, it was simply adding insult to injury.

After the rough stone was cut open, not a single part of the jade inside was intact. It was either covered in large patches of black moss or dotted with tiny black moss. The entire piece of jade was completely covered.

The only place without black moss was the spot where it had first been ground. However, that piece of jade was only a thin layer, and it was extremely small, making it completely worthless. All of this meant that the black tungsten sand rough stone was a complete loss. This also reflected the nature of black tungsten sand: either it rose sharply in value, or it was a total loss.

"How could this happen? How could this happen?"

The young man crouched on the ground, repeatedly turning over the pile of worthless jade. His entire spirit seemed to have been drained away. In the end, perhaps after accepting reality, he stood up with a vacant expression and walked out step by step on stiff legs.

Seeing this, everyone watching let out a sigh inwardly. The stone-betting trade was simply this realistic. If there were winners, there had to be losers as well. People often saw only the winning side, while selectively ignoring those who lost everything.

The young man's experience was not an isolated case. One did not even need to look far—Liu Zhiqing, standing beside Chu Chen, was a good example. What he had suffered before had been far worse than what happened to this young man. All Chu Chen could do was silently offer his blessings and hope that the young man would emerge from the shadow of this total loss.