Weaving through the rough stones, Ye Yuan pushed a cart. It already held six stones of various sizes. The largest was 80 centimeters across, while the smallest was as big as a watermelon. Ye Yuan knew that two of these six stones contained jade, while the other four were worth not a single point.
The two containing jade were the largest and the smallest ones. The ones in between contained nothing.
Ye Yuan planned to call it a day after this. After all, these six stones had cost him 500,000 yuan. Most of that was because of the largest stone; the owner had asked for 350,000 yuan for it. Ye Yuan had gritted his teeth and bought it anyway, because the system had indicated that it could be exchanged for a full 10,000 points.
That notification had scared Ye Yuan badly. What kind of stone could be worth 10,000 points? Curious, he bought the rough stone.
When he reached the middle of the area, he saw Second Brother cutting stones. Ye Yuan walked over. "How's it going? Didn't I lose much?"
Second Brother hated having people call him by name. The guys in the dorm called him "Second Brother," while outsiders generally called him "Young Jin."
"Your brother isn't as lucky as you. I threw two million into this and haven't cut out so much as a hair." Though he said that, there was no sign of heartache on Second Brother's face.
"You're awesome. Seriously awesome." Ye Yuan gave Second Brother a thumbs-up.
Seeing that the master who had cut his stones the previous two times was still there, Ye Yuan pushed his cart over and said, "Cut them all. Save the biggest one for last. You can decide how to cut the others."
Ye Yuan knew that only one of the first five had any real value. The main event was the last one. Cutting stones took time, so there was no need to cut the big one first. Once it was done at the end, he could leave immediately.
The master did not waste words. He casually picked up one stone and began cutting it. From nearby, Zhao Chuan walked over alone. Ye Yuan asked in surprise, "Master Nie didn't come with you?"
Zhao Chuan smiled and explained, "Jewelry stores like ours never cut the jade stones here when we buy them. The reason is simple: if we win big, our competitors get jealous; if we lose, it's embarrassing. We take them back to the shop and cut them ourselves."
After hearing Zhao Chuan's explanation, Ye Yuan nodded. The two of them went over to Second Brother. All of Second Brother's stones had already been cut. Of the two million yuan worth of rough stones, only a few pieces of average-quality jade had come out. The stone cutter estimated their value at 100,000 yuan.
Some of the jade dealers here knew that Second Brother and Ye Yuan had come with Zhao Chuan, so no one approached to make an offer.
When Second Brother saw his two brothers come over, he glanced at Zhao Chuan and gestured at the cut jade. "Make me a pair of earrings. The rest is yours."
Zhao Chuan knew that Second Brother did not care about this little bit of money, so he made a call. Before long, someone came and took the jade away.
"Come on, let's see how lucky my little lucky charm is." With that, Second Brother headed toward Ye Yuan's pile of rough stones.
At that moment, the stone cutter was cutting the watermelon-sized rough stone. Green showed quickly, and a tri-colored piece of jade larger than a fist appeared before everyone.
"Fortune, Prosperity, and Longevity jade," Zhao Chuan immediately identified it. Second Brother patted Ye Yuan on the shoulder. "See? I told you you were a lucky charm. This luck..."
Zhao Chuan glanced at Ye Yuan and said, "One million."
"As long as you're happy." Ye Yuan knew the main event was still to come, so this was only an appetizer.
Ye Yuan took the jade from the stone cutter and handed it directly to Zhao Chuan. Zhao Chuan transferred the money immediately.
Seeing another million arrive in his account, bringing his balance to over 1.6 million, Ye Yuan figured that with the Black Pearl added in, buying a fishing boat should no longer be a problem.
He just did not know how much wealth this final stone would bring him. The thought made his heart tighten nervously.
Seeing Ye Yuan like this, Zhao Chuan assumed he was excited over receiving one million. He continued watching as the last massive stone was cut open.
The cutter roared. One cut, two cuts, three cuts... all the way to nine cuts, yet there was still not a trace of green in the stone.
Looking at such a huge stone, the stone cutter came over to ask Ye Yuan whether he could make a cut through the middle. With a stone this large, if he went cut by cut, no one knew how long it would take.
How could Ye Yuan agree to that? He reassured the master and told him, "No matter what, I'll give you a 10,000-yuan red envelope later."
Hearing that there would be such a large red envelope, the stone cutter said nothing more and continued cutting.
After another five cuts, a layer of stone skin fell away, revealing a flash of green before everyone's eyes. The stone cutter immediately called another person over to help. The two carefully wiped and worked at it.
When Zhao Chuan saw this jade, he was not quite sure what it was. If it was what he thought it was, that would be unbelievable. This time, Zhao Chuan did not name its grade. Only forty minutes later did a piece of jadeite, green throughout, appear before them. Even the stone cutter's hands trembled as he held it.
Zhao Chuan swallowed, then snatched Ye Yuan's backpack and stuffed the jadeite inside. He looked around, and only relaxed a little when he saw that no one was nearby.
Everyone knew Ye Yuan and Zhao Chuan were together. If good jade was cut, it had nothing to do with them. Since that was the case, they might as well look elsewhere.
Without another word, Zhao Chuan transferred a 50,000-yuan red envelope to each stone cutter and told them, "You didn't see anything, understand?"
The two nodded nervously.
He grabbed Ye Yuan and Second Brother and hurried out of the place. He started the car and drove off at once.
After driving several kilometers, he pulled over by the roadside and panted heavily.
Neither Ye Yuan nor Second Brother understood what was wrong with Zhao Chuan. They both looked at him questioningly.
Zhao Chuan first calmed himself down. He looked at Ye Yuan and only spoke after a long while. "Ye Yuan, this time your brother owes you an enormous favor. You have to sell this jadeite to me. How about twenty million?" Zhao Chuan's tone had never been so grave.
When Zhao Chuan said twenty million, Ye Yuan had no mind left to think. Even Second Brother beside him was stunned. "What the hell is worth twenty million?"
Zhao Chuan looked at the two of them and said, "Glass-type Imperial Green. Ever heard of it?"
"Holy shit, Ye Yuan, are you the illegitimate son of the goddess of luck? You actually managed to cut this out?" Second Brother howled.
After thinking about it, he felt something was off and quickly added, "Even if it's worth twenty million, it shouldn't have scared Eldest Brother like this, right?"
Zhao Chuan looked at Second Brother and said helplessly, "Money isn't the key. The key is that there's a rule in the trade: when this kind of jadeite appears, everyone shares it. If I cut it myself, that's one thing, but Ye Yuan cut this out. If I swallow it alone, I'll be breaking the rules."
Through Zhao Chuan's explanation, the two understood. A Glass-type Imperial Green piece like this might not appear even once a year, so the trade had developed such a rule. It was meant to prevent any one family from becoming too dominant and to keep one another in check.
Ye Yuan agreed to sell this top-grade jadeite to Zhao Chuan's jewelry store.
The group went straight to the company. After Ye Yuan signed a few documents, the bank transfer arrived.
He was now a millionaire with tens of millions. He had never expected that in just one morning, he would leap from having assets worth a million to having tens of millions.
PS: Thanks to 08a for the reward, and thanks to 08a for the monthly vote.
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