Chapter 112

He's still just a child. Even though the Old Master takes him around every day to show him how to do business and how to be a person, he's still not as cunning Gu Yousi, that thousand-year-old fox.

The next day.

Gu Yousi and Lan Lin were painting in the courtyard.

Old Master Lan invited a professor from the Academy of Fine Arts to give a lesson to the two children on how to draw trees, using the jujube tree in the yard as a backdrop.

As the two children were drawing, Gu Jinshui quietly slipped some money into his pocket and prepared to leave.

The professor, noticing his furtive appearance, paused, stroking his white beard. Gu Jinshui quickly gestured for him to be quiet, and the professor understood, nodding.

Gu Jinshui then turned around and tiptoed away.

But man's calculations can't compare to the calculations of Heaven. The snow buried withered branches and fallen leaves, and when you stepped on it, it made a crisp crunching sound.

Gu Jinshui froze.

Gu Yousi's speechless voice came from behind. "Dad, you're just going out, do you have to play these weird tricks?"

Gu Jinshui awkwardly scratched the back of his head and gave a dry laugh, "Ha, ha, you knew?"

Gu Yousi put down her pen, turned around to look at him, and her expression was utterly speechless.

Gu Jinshui cleared his throat. "Well, you guys study hard, Dad has some errands to run."

Goodbye, Uncle.

Lan Lin considerately gave Gu Jinshui a way out.

Gu Jinshui was extremely pleased. He smiled and nodded at him, then left with his things.

"Brother, are you really going over there to buy stones?"

On the bus, Douzi gripped the handrail and Gu Jinshui, "I have to warn you, in their line of work, one cut makes you poor, one cut makes you rich, one cut leaves you in rags. You never really know if you can make money."

"I'm not after money." Gu Jinshui looked out the window at the street passing by, pedestrians weaving and shuttling, traffic lights changing and alternating, the sky a clear blue, and a few pigeons flapping their wings and flying across the blue sky. Today was a rare good day before the New Year.

"If you're not after the money, then why are you going there?"

The bus was noisy, and the ticket seller was calling people to check tickets. Douzi quickly leaned closer and whispered, "That Red Stone Yard is so heartless and doesn't give you any face. They won't give you a refund if you buy something."

"This suits me even better."

Gu Jinshui flashed a smile, revealing a set of white teeth. "Alright, you don't need to persuade me. I know what I'm doing. By the way, how's your tourism business going?"

Gu Jinshui had long since stopped exchanging Foreign Exchange Certificate; he had completely changed careers back then. Shanhu, on the other hand, had developed an interest in antiques and was willing to put in the hard work. Although he now only looked at ancient coins, he had already honed his expertise in this area.

But Douzi didn't want to study. In his words, he had a headache just looking at textbooks since he was a child. If he had to read books every day to do business, he would rather die.

Therefore, Gu Jinshui pointed him in a direction: hire a car, set up a travel agency, and bring foreigners, compatriots from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, and people from other cities around Beijing. After all, they are locals and know exactly where the scenery is and where the best food is.

And you know what? With the tourism industry booming these past few years, they've made a lot of money.

Douzi chuckled and said, "Not bad, brother. We're thinking of starting a company and buying a few more cars. What do you think?"

"You decide for yourself."

Gu Jinshui, "You'll have to discuss this with your wife and your brother."

Gu Jinshui knew his limits. Douzi used to be his underling, that's true, but now Douzi's business is doing well, and he has no business dealings with him anymore, so it was best for him to keep quiet.

Sure enough, Douzi said that her family had already discussed it and all agreed that they should expand the business.

The two chatted about business all the way to the Red Stone Yard Youyou on the outskirts of the city.

That Red Stone Yard was quite large. There was an iron gate outside, and inside the courtyard were piles of stones and many people. There was a very simple factory building inside, and a constant buzzing sound came from inside. Once you went in, you would know what the sound was.

That was the sound of a stone-grinding machine. The grinding wheel turned, cutting the stone open. The group of people were gathered around a large stone that had been polished until it had turned a watery color.

Douzi hurriedly led Gu Jinshui to squeeze in and join the fun.

"Up, up, up..."

The surrounding crowd kept shouting, their eyes fixed intently on the roller that was cutting down.

Gu Jinshui was also captivated. As the roller cut down, the jade color gradually deepened, and various cotton-like fibers were clearly visible to everyone.

"Oh dear, not only did it collapse, but there was also so much cotton inside!"

Some people couldn't help but say with heartache.

Jadeite with inclusions or cracks is most undesirable; jadeite of this quality is generally sold at a low price and no one wants it.

The stone's owner turned pale.

After inquiring, Douzi returned and Gu Jinshui, "Brother, this guy spent a thousand to buy this stone, saying that the water quality looked pretty good when he opened the window, but it turned out to be so disappointing. We can't keep this stone."

"This is what they mean by 'one cut makes you poor, one cut makes you rich.'"

Gu Jinshui said thoughtfully.

Douzi said, "That's not how it is." He lowered his voice and Gu Jinshui, "Don't be fooled by how simply they're dressed; they're all rich. They're all from our country and specialize in the jade business. Look at that skinny old man over there."

He pointed at the old man and said, "He's from Guangzhou, doing this kind of work. I heard he's worth millions now."

"Several million?"

Gu Jinshui was somewhat surprised.

He glanced at the old man, who was wearing a gray-green cotton-padded jacket and trousers, and a Lei Feng hat on his head. Just by looking at him, no one would guess that he was a very wealthy man.

"Yes, let's not talk about him anymore. I saw someone I know; I'll ask him to show us around."

Douzi waved to a tall man walking towards her.

The tall man saw the Douzi, smiled, and walked over. They greeted each other, and the tall man asked, "So, do you want to buy the expensive ones or the cheap ones?"

"What's the explanation?" Gu Jinshui asked. "These are all stones, how can you tell which are expensive and which are cheap?"

The tall man laughed, pointing outside, "The stones outside are cheap, all two hundred each. The ones inside are more expensive, and they're divided into those with windows and those without. The cheapest is one thousand, and the most expensive is that big stone, one hundred thousand!"

He pointed to the large rock in the middle of the factory building.

They saw that rock when they came in; it was about the height of a child.

The tall man led Gu Jinshui and the others over. This stone had been opened, revealing a shimmering, watery green hue with varying shades of color distributed in an orderly fashion.

He held the flashlight up to the window and shone it, revealing water below that looked like a lake, so deep and unfathomable that even Douzi couldn't help but exclaim how beautiful it was.

The tall man said, "That's right, otherwise our boss wouldn't dare to ask for 100,000. This stuff is of the Golden Silk Jade; as long as nothing goes wrong, we'll break even."

Douzi looked at Gu Jinshui and asked, "Brother, are you interested?"

Gu Jinshui looked at the stone, thought for a moment, and shook his head. "I can't afford it. Let's leave it for someone else."

The tall guy was obviously used to it, shrugged and nodded. "Okay, then why don't you guys take a look yourselves, and come find me if you see anything you like. You're Douzi's friend, I'll give you a discount later."

"Thanks," Gu Jinshui said.

The tall man waved his hand and went to greet the other customers.

However, after looking around, and examining almost every room with and without windows open, Gu Jinshui showed no interest in buying anything.

Douzi was puzzled. "Brother, if you don't like what's here, why don't we go outside?"

"Need not."

Gu Jinshui waved his hand.

Those stones piled up like mountains outside, and they're sold cheaply; it's obvious they can't be of good quality.

He glanced around, and his gaze suddenly fell on the gravel next to the stone-grinding machine. Gu Jinshui's eyes were suddenly drawn to a stone.

This is the stone that the man just knocked over.

Clearly, the owner thought the stone wouldn't fetch a good price and simply threw it on the ground.

Gu Jinshui walked over, squatted down, and took a closer look.

Everyone thought the Old Master only taught him how to look at antiques, but in fact, Old Master also taught him how to look at stones.

There is a saying in the jade industry, "Green follows black," which means that in jade rough stones, green jade may be accompanied by black "spots." [1]

The side of this stone that was cut has a lot of black spots, so there's a high probability that there's green underneath.

Moreover, judging from the deep black color above, the green must be quite intense as well.

Thinking of this, Gu Jinshui's heart skipped a beat. Could this be the Top-Grade Imperial Green Jade?

"Hey buddy, what's up? You've been looking at this for ages, and you want it?"

The person standing next to him asked.

Gu Jinshui composed himself, looked up, and gave a simple, honest smile. "Yes, it looks quite nice. I'm thinking of buying it for my wife, maybe to make a bracelet or something."

Those around couldn't help but laugh when they heard this.

"Nonsense, with so many inclusions and cracks, why even bother making a bracelet?"

"Boss Zhou, Boss Zhou, someone wants to buy your stone, come over quickly!"

Everyone was hoping to see a fool get hurt. When Boss Zhou heard the commotion, he rushed over. He saw Gu Jinshui, sized him up, and only when he saw the foreign watch on Gu's wrist did a smile appear on his face. "Young man, you want to buy my stone?"

Douzi squeezed in, and upon hearing this, her head buzzed. She quickly grabbed Gu Jinshui, "Brother, these are all ruined. Why are we buying these? Let's buy something else."

Gu Jinshui thought to himself, "The Douzi have arrived just in time."

He immediately said, "Douzi, you don't understand. Just because the top collapses doesn't mean the bottom will. Besides, the top isn't small either. It's a good deal for us to buy it."

"Yes, it's a really good deal." Boss Zhou had originally wanted to be arrogant and raise the price, but seeing Douzi interfere, he quickly said, "If you offer five hundred, I'll sell it to you."

"Five hundred? Are you crazy? This stone is worth five hundred?"

Douzi has been here several times, so he naturally knows the market price.

While many people take these broken stones home, some are too lazy to deal with them or find them annoying to look at, so they simply leave them here for someone else to dispose of.

This bastard actually asked for five hundred! He's got a huge mouth!

Boss Zhou looked a little embarrassed. "Three hundred, three hundred is really the price I can't accept. This stone is so big, it's worth this price even if sold by weight."

"Three hundred it is."

Gu Jinshui agreed without hesitation. Before Boss Zhou could even smile, Gu Jinshui said, "However, we need to have someone here as a witness. Once you sell this stone to me, it's mine. If anything happens to it, it's all mine, and you can't argue about it."

Boss Zhou immediately agreed. Seeing that he couldn't stop Gu Jinshui, Douzi had no choice but to ask the tall man to witness it.

The transaction was completed. Boss Zhou received the money and a smile appeared on his face, Gu Jinshui received the stone and his smile was even brighter than Zhou's.

On the other side.

Song Jianshe took a taxi to the jade gambling market in Xicheng.

He looked around the door for a long time but couldn't see Gu Jinshui. He thought that perhaps Gu Jinshui was late. Just as he was hesitating, he heard someone inside exclaim, "How come there's such a big rock here?"

Song Jianshe only knew that the stone that was about to yield Imperial Green was big and ugly. Upon hearing this keyword, his ears perked up, and he quickly went inside.

The jade gambling sites look similar, but the difference is that the outside is all stones, while the stone-grinding machines are all inside.

Song Jianshe walked in and saw a huge, unusually ugly rock in the center of the courtyard. A man who seemed to be from the area was talking to someone nearby, saying, "This rock is big, so the jade that will come from it will be big too. Our boss said he thinks this rock has great potential, and he'll sell it for five hundred today!"

"Five hundred, it would be worth it if it could really be cut and grow bigger, but it hasn't even been opened, and it's grown like this."

Many people shook their heads, saying, "Besides, the size of the jade has nothing to do with the size of the stone; five hundred yuan is too expensive."

Those around him nodded in agreement.

Everyone here is an expert, so naturally they won't be fooled by a few words from the staff.

If you can cut a large stone and expect a good price, then you don't need to worry about it; just find a big one.

Moreover, this stone doesn't have a window cut into it. This only shows that the owner isn't confident in the stone and wants to find a sucker to take it over.

"I want this stone!"

Song Jianshe immediately shouted.

People around him looked at him in surprise.

Song Jianshe, however, assumed the crowd was admiring him. He puffed out his chest, pulled five large bills from his pocket, walked out, and slammed the money onto the stone. "Five hundred yuan. This stone is mine."