A Major Windfall

Next, it was Chu Chen's turn to cut open the rough stone. By then, all the rough stones on the cutting machine beside them had been opened, with results that were naturally mixed. Even the good results merely meant that their owners had not lost money.

Everyone shook their heads when they saw the rough stone in Chu Chen's hands. They all guessed that the chances of it collapsing were extremely high.

"Mr. Liu, is this the young friend who won big yesterday? Why did he choose a rough stone with this kind of appearance?" Qian Yiyou asked Liu Zhiqing in puzzlement.

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

After hearing that, Qian Yiyou said with some interest, "Oh? Is there some particular reason behind it? Since you put it that way, Mr. Liu, I'm rather looking forward to seeing it opened."

At first, Chu Chen did not choose to grind this rough stone. Instead, on the side where the green was close to the pine-flower markings, he drew a roughly straight line and then handed it to the stone-cutting master to cut.

The "buzzing" sound of the saw still made Chu Chen somewhat nervous. After all, this was gambling on stones. Although he already knew the result beforehand, he would not know the actual condition inside the raw stone until it was opened.

He no longer cared about winning or losing. What concerned him was whether the result after cutting the rough stone would match his guess. This was, in fact, also a test of what he had learned.

After all, they were only cutting a small slice from an eight-kilogram rough stone, so the process was quite fast. Before long, the stone-cutting master stopped and waited for Chu Chen to come forward and uncover the slice.

"I'd say the chances of it collapsing are still higher." This voice came from the crowd.

Chu Chen lifted the slice and took a look. As expected, it was indeed green only along the skin. When he shone a flashlight on it, a smile appeared on his face.

"Green along the skin. I told you it would collapse. But is this guy crazy? How can he still smile?" The same voice from the crowd rang out again.

"Let me take a look!" Liu Zhiqing rushed over to Chu Chen and eagerly took the rough stone from him.

There was no need to look closely. It was indeed just as the two of them had discussed earlier. Liu Zhiqing immediately shouted, "Good!"

Qian Yiyou asked in puzzlement from the side, "Mr. Liu, it's green only along the skin, and there's also fly-dropping moss. How can you still say it's good?"

Liu Zhiqing said meaningfully, "It's precisely because the green is only along the skin that I say it's good. Boss Qian, I think there's an eighty percent chance that this rough stone will win big. It may even be a major windfall. You'll see."

When the surrounding people heard Liu Zhiqing's words, they began discussing it in surprise. The same person spoke again, saying, "Does this guy even know how to gamble on stones? The result is already out, yet he says it'll be a major windfall. How is that possible?"

The crowd immediately glared angrily at him. One middle-aged man rebuked him, "You must be new here, right? How can you not even know Mr. Liu, who once cut out glass-grade jade? If Mr. Liu can say that, could he possibly be talking without reason?"

Seeing that he had angered everyone, the man immediately fell silent. His face turned from green to white as he retreated to the side, though he still muttered unwillingly, "He isn't the Jade King. Does that mean everything he says is the truth?"

Chu Chen paid no attention to the little interlude. He took the rough stone and pointed at the pine-flower markings and python bands on one side. "Master, sorry for the trouble. Please grind this area a little."

Although Chu Chen's ability could estimate the value of jadeite, he did not know exactly what the situation inside was. To prevent losses, grinding the stone was the best solution at this point. Moreover, he already had a rough plan for this stone and had discussed it with Liu Zhiqing earlier, so he would not be as cautious as he had been when cutting yesterday's brick-like material.

Grinding a stone was also a discipline in itself. There was a saying in the stone-gambling trade: "A rise from grinding doesn't count as a rise; only a rise from cutting counts." Therefore, one had to consider carefully how to grind it, how deep to go, how large an area to grind, and even whether it should be ground at all. Some rough stones that were clearly destined to collapse could still show extremely good qualities after being ground by a highly skilled master.

Of course, there was no possibility of collapse here. The purpose was merely to reveal the location of the jadeite inside the rough stone and define the range for the subsequent cutting.

This stone-cutting master had nearly twenty years of experience. His expertise was extraordinarily rich. The moment he saw where Chu Chen was pointing, he paused, then smiled and gave Chu Chen a thumbs-up before starting to grind the stone.

When the spectators saw even the stone-cutting master give Chu Chen a thumbs-up, they knew that this rough stone might truly be just as Liu Zhiqing had said—a major windfall. The atmosphere around them instantly grew heated, and everyone's emotions rose and fell with the machine's buzzing sound.

"Green! Green has come out!" Before long, cries of surprise rang out from the crowd.

At that moment, the stone-cutting master stopped the grinding wheel and asked whether he should continue.

Chu Chen immediately gestured. "Master, keep grinding. As long as there's green, keep going."

That gesture caused the several bosses who had wanted to make offers to temporarily hold their tongues. As more and more green appeared before everyone's eyes, the atmosphere grew increasingly heated. In the end, a color band nearly two fingers wide appeared in front of them.

The grinding wheel stopped. Chu Chen hurried forward and shone his flashlight over it. It was transparent and bright, with dense internal grains and a fluorescence that all proved the jadeite's quality was the highest grade among jadeite—glass grade!

At this sight, the crowd instantly erupted. Everyone surged forward to look, completely surrounding the stone-cutting machine.

"Sir, would you be willing to transfer it to me for three hundred thousand? I'll take on the risk of whatever is underneath." A middle-aged man with a slightly balding head spoke the moment he squeezed into the crowd.

"Ha! Baldy Zhang, do you have no concept of who came first? And you actually have the nerve to offer three hundred thousand?" Qian Yiyou immediately mocked the middle-aged man when he saw him.

When Zhang Xinghui saw Qian Yiyou, he sneered as well. "Who did I say it was? So it's Hedgehog Qian. When you encounter something good, do you expect everyone else to wait for your offer? If you were in my place, would you? Besides, what's wrong with three hundred thousand? Haven't you heard that a rise from grinding doesn't count as a rise? You're truly disgracing the jadeite trade."

This man's name was Zhang Xinghui, and he was also in the jadeite jewelry business. His Xinghui Jade Shop might have sounded rather ordinary, but its strength was on par with Qian Yiyou's jewelry shop. Moreover, the two shops were not far apart. After years of competition, it went without saying that the two men did not have a good relationship.

Qian Yiyou called him Baldy Zhang, which needed no explanation. Zhang Xinghui called him Hedgehog Qian because Qian Yiyou's hair had always been cut like a hedgehog, with each strand standing upright. Qian Yiyou's personality also resembled a hedgehog somewhat—he was too controlling and disliked lowering his head.

"Hey, why don't you look at the color on the rough stone? It's already almost vivid green. Could the color that comes out really be much worse than vivid green?" Qian Yiyou was not angry and merely spoke disdainfully.

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

"Gentlemen, don't quarrel. Whatever it's worth, we can discuss that after the jadeite is fully opened. I'm not transferring the rough stone right now." Chu Chen quickly stepped in to smooth things over.

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

Next, Chu Chen drew a line on the side near the green along the skin and had the stone-cutting master begin cutting from there. This way, after the cut, they would be able to see how deeply the fly-dropping moss had penetrated. Although he was certain that the moss had not gone deep inside, he still had to confirm it with the facts.

The time that followed was undoubtedly agonizing for everyone. When the stone-cutting machine stopped, everyone present craned their necks, eager to learn the result at the first possible moment.

Chu Chen took a deep breath and steadily lifted the slice. At once, a flash of green appeared before everyone's eyes. Its water quality was the same, while the green was even purer than before. Although the final color could only be confirmed after the jadeite was completely extracted, it was certain to be vivid green.

Vivid green referred to a deep, pure green without yellow or other color tones. It was commonly called high green, and jadeite with this color belonged to the highest price tier on the market. In other words, regardless of the quality of the vivid green that emerged later, its value would certainly be extraordinary.

It was also worth pointing out that the purest and best-hydrated vivid green could be called Imperial Green.

However, some people in the market also called the finest emerald color in jadeite Imperial Green. Its green carried a blue tint without becoming off-color. Regardless of which kind of Imperial Green it was, its price could often be described as priceless.

Seeing the rough stone's appearance, Chu Chen could not help feeling excited. He said to the stone-cutting master, "I'm sorry to trouble you again, Master. Please take all the jadeite out."

The work that followed was quite easy for the experienced stone-cutting master. In the end, a piece of jadeite nearly two fingers wide was placed in Chu Chen's hands.

Although this jadeite had not yet been polished, its translucence, color, and purity were truly astonishingly beautiful. Its unique charm made it genuinely difficult to put down.

This piece of jadeite could be made into two pendants, with the remaining portion enough to make a ring face. Chu Chen felt it was a pity that although the jadeite qualified as vivid green, it still fell somewhat short of the top grade, let alone Imperial Green. Nevertheless, it was still vivid green, and its value was enough to satisfy him.

"Sir, would you be willing to sell this jadeite for eight hundred thousand?" Zhang Xinghui eagerly offered a price nearly three times higher than before.

"I'll offer eight hundred and fifty thousand!" Qian Yiyou spoke up from the side.

After Qian Yiyou made his offer, Zhang Xinghui naturally refused to fall behind. The two men fully displayed the nature of merchants, refusing to let any opportunity to strike at their opponent pass. Both wanted to claim this piece of jadeite for themselves.

However, the two had competed for many years and were both extremely shrewd. Every time they raised their offers afterward, they did so cautiously. Their competition remained within a certain range. The kind of situation where snipe and clam contended while the fisherman profited would certainly never happen between them.