Big Gains

Next, it was Chu Chen's turn to cut the stone. By this time, the "raw" stones on the adjacent stone cutting machine had already been processed, with mixed results, though the good outcomes only meant the owners broke even.

Seeing the "raw" stone in Chu Chen's hand, everyone shook their heads, inwardly guessing that this particular stone had a very high chance of being a dud.

"Mr. Liu, is this young friend the one who had a lucky break yesterday? Why did he choose a 'raw' stone with such poor appearance?" Qian Yiyou asked Liu Zhiqing with some curiosity.

Liu Zhiqing simply smiled faintly and said, "Boss Qian, don't rush. Let's see the result first."

Upon hearing this, Qian Yiyou became somewhat interested and said, "Oh! Is there something more to this? Since you say so, Mr. Liu, I'm actually looking forward to the stone cutting now."

For this "raw" stone, Chu Chen didn't choose to polish it at first. Instead, he drew a straight line on the side where the patch of green was close to the pine flower, and then handed it over to the stone cutting master for cutting.

The "sizzle" of the cutting sound made Chu Chen a little nervous. After all, it was gambling on stones. Although he knew the result beforehand, he still had to see the actual condition inside the raw stone.

He no longer cared about winning or losing. What he cared about was whether the result of cutting the "raw" stone would match his guess. This was, in essence, a test of his knowledge.

Since it was only cutting a small thin slice from an eight-kilogram "raw" stone, it was quite fast. In no time, the stone cutting master stopped, waiting for Chu Chen to come forward and reveal the cut slice.

"I think the chance of it being a dud is still higher," a voice from the crowd commented.

Chu Chen uncovered the slice and, as expected, it was indeed skin-attached green. He then shone his flashlight on it, and a smile spread across his face.

"Skin-attached green, I knew it would be a dud. But is this guy crazy? He can still smile." The same voice from the crowd spoke again.

"Let me see!" Liu Zhiqing rushed to Chu Chen's side, eagerly taking the "raw" stone to examine it.

There was no need to look further; the result was indeed as they had discussed. He then exclaimed loudly, "Good!"

Qian Yiyou asked curiously from the side, "Mr. Liu, it's skin-attached green, and there's even a fly dung blemish. Why do you still say it's good?"

Liu Zhiqing said meaningfully, "It's precisely because it's skin-attached green that I say it's good. Boss Qian, I believe this 'raw' stone has an 80% chance of a lucky break, and likely a big one. If you don't believe me, let's keep watching."

Hearing Liu Zhiqing's words, the surrounding crowd began to discuss in surprise. It was the same voice again, saying:

"Does this person know anything about gambling on stones? The result is already out, and he still says it will be a big lucky break. How is that possible!"

The crowd immediately glared at him. A middle-aged man reprimanded:

"I think you're new here. How can you not even recognize Mr. Liu, who opened out glass type Jade? If Mr. Liu says so, is there no reason behind it?"

Seeing that he had incurred the wrath of the crowd, the man immediately fell silent, his face turning pale and then red as he retreated to the side. However, he still muttered indignantly, "He's not the Jade King, are his words the absolute truth?"

Chu Chen ignored the side "episode." He took back the "raw" stone, pointed to the area of the pine flower and python pattern, and said to the stone cutting master, "Master, please polish this area."

As we know, although Chu Chen's special ability could estimate the value of Jade, he was not clear about the internal situation. To prevent losses, polishing was the best solution at this time. Moreover, he already had a plan for this "raw" stone, which he had discussed with Liu Zhiqing before. He wouldn't be as cautious as when he cut the brick material yesterday.

However, polishing is also a skill. There's a saying in the gambling on stones circle: "A polished lucky break isn't a real lucky break; only a cut lucky break counts." Therefore, how to polish, how deep to polish, how large to polish, and even whether to polish at all must be carefully considered. Some "raw" stones that were clearly duds could show excellent results after being polished by a highly skilled master.

Of course, there was no possibility of a dud here. It was just to reveal the location of the Jade inside the "raw" stone to define the scope for subsequent cutting.

This stone cutting master had nearly twenty years of experience, which was exceptionally rich. Upon seeing the area Chu Chen pointed to, his expression flickered. He smiled and gave Chu Chen a thumbs-up before starting to polish the stone.

Seeing the stone cutting master give Chu Chen a thumbs-up, the onlookers knew that this "raw" stone might indeed be a big lucky break as Liu Zhiqing had said. The atmosphere around them instantly became excited, and people's emotions surged with the "sizzle" of the machine.

"Green, it revealed green!" A cry of surprise erupted from the crowd shortly after.

At this moment, the stone cutting master also stopped his grinding wheel and asked if he should continue.

Chu Chen immediately signaled, "Master, please continue polishing. As long as it reveals green, keep polishing."

This instruction made several bosses who wanted to make an offer temporarily hold back. As more and more green appeared before everyone's eyes, the atmosphere in the crowd grew more and more intense. Finally, a color band about two fingers wide appeared before them.

The grinding wheel stopped. Chu Chen quickly stepped forward and shone his flashlight on it. He saw that it was transparent and bright, with dense internal crystals and fluorescence. This all indicated that the quality of this Jade was the highest in Jade: glass type!

Seeing this, the crowd instantly erupted, rushing forward to surround the stone cutting machine, making it impossible to move.

"Sir, will you sell it to my shop for 300,000? I'll bear the subsequent risks." A middle-aged man with a balding head said as soon as he squeezed in.

"Ha, I say, Baldy Zhang, do you have any concept of first come, first served? Also, you have the nerve to offer 300,000?" Qian Yiyou immediately started to mock the middle-aged man upon seeing him.

The man named Zhang saw Qian Yiyou and retorted, "I wonder who it is, it's Hedgehog Qian. When you encounter something good, do you expect others to wait for your offer? If it were you, would you? Besides, what's wrong with 300,000? Didn't you hear that a polished lucky break isn't a lucky break? You're a disgrace to Jade dealers."

This man named Zhang Xinghui was also in the Jade and jewelry business. His Xinghui Jade Shop, although its name sounded ordinary, was as strong as Qian Yiyou's jewelry store. Moreover, the two shops were close to each other. Under constant competition, their relationship was naturally not good.

Qian Yiyou called him Baldy Zhang, which was self-explanatory. As for Zhang Xinghui calling him Hedgehog Qian, it was obvious: Qian Yiyou's hair was always styled like a hedgehog, with each strand standing up. Furthermore, Qian Yiyou's personality was somewhat like a hedgehog's – he had strong possessiveness and disliked backing down.

"Hey, you haven't even looked at the color on the 'raw' stone. It's almost vivid green. Will the color that comes out be much worse than vivid green?" Qian Yiyou said dismissively, not getting angry.

"Well, I just arrived. Besides, we won't know the final color until it's opened. Who knows what color it will finally be?" Zhang Xinghui said calmly.

"Gentlemen, please don't bicker. What the actual value is, we'll know after the Jade is fully revealed. For now, I won't be selling the 'raw' stone," Chu Chen quickly intervened to smooth things over.

Seeing Chu Chen say this, the two stopped their pointless verbal sparring and waited for the final result.

Next, Chu Chen drew a line near the skin-attached green and asked the stone cutting master to start cutting from there. This way, after cutting, they could see how deeply the fly dung blemish had penetrated. Although he was sure the blemish hadn't penetrated deeply, he still needed to confirm it with facts.

The following time was undoubtedly agonizing for everyone. When the stone cutting machine stopped, everyone present craned their necks, wanting to know the result immediately.

Chu Chen took a deep breath and calmly revealed the cut slice. Immediately, a streak of green appeared before the crowd. The water transparency was the same, and the green was even more correct than before. Although the final color would only be determined after further revealing, vivid green was certain.

Vivid green refers to a deep, correct green color that does not have yellow or other color tones, commonly known as high green. Jade with such a color is among the highest valued in the market. This means that no matter what quality of vivid green emerged later, its value would undoubtedly be considerable.

It should also be pointed out that the most correct and best-watered vivid green is called Imperial Green.

However, some in the market also refer to the best emerald green color in Jade as Imperial Green. This color has a bluish tint within the green but without any off-color. Regardless of which type of Imperial Green it is, its price can often be described as priceless.

Seeing the performance of the "raw" stone, Chu Chen couldn't help but get a little excited. He said to the stone cutting master, "Master, please trouble yourself to extract the Jade."

The subsequent work was quite easy for the experienced stone cutting master. Finally, a piece of refined Jade, about two fingers wide, was handed over to Chu Chen.

Even though this piece of Jade hadn't been polished yet, its clarity, its "color," and its purity were so stunningly beautiful that it was truly breathtaking. Its unique charm made it impossible to put down.

This piece of Jade could be made into about two pendants, and the remaining part could also be made into a ring face. Chu Chen felt a little regretful that while this Jade was good enough to be considered vivid green, it still fell short of the top tier, let alone Imperial Green. But no matter what, it was still vivid green, and its value was enough to make Chu Chen feel satisfied.

"Sir, are you willing to sell this piece of Jade for 800,000?" Zhang Xinghui eagerly offered a price nearly three times higher than before.

"I'll offer 850,000!" Qian Yiyou chimed in from the side.

After Qian Yiyou made his bid, Zhang Xinghui naturally wouldn't fall behind. The two fully embodied the essence of merchants, not missing any opportunity to strike at their opponent, both wanting to possess this piece of Jade for themselves.

However, they had also been rivals for many years, both considered old foxes. Thus, every time they increased their bid, they did so cautiously, and their competition was limited within a certain range. The kind of situation where two parties fight and a third party benefits would definitely not happen between them.