The Purchase

After buying the bean-grade jadeite, Xiao Xiao went to a nearby shop and bought some boxes specifically meant for jadeite, as well as a large suitcase.

After packing the jadeite away, Xiao Xiao pulled the suitcase along as Xiao Xiao and Su Ye wandered around the rough stone mall.

Xiao Xiao and Su Ye wandered around for most of the day and bought five pieces of jadeite in total. Two were relatively good pieces of ice-grade jadeite, which cost Xiao Xiao more than four million.

Su Ye couldn't help marveling at how valuable jadeite was.

The two of them looked around for a while longer but didn't find any good jadeite, or else other people's bids were too high.

That evening, Xiao Xiao took stock of the day's haul at the hotel.

Xiao Xiao had bought eight pieces of jadeite in total that day: five bean-grade, two ice-grade, and one water-grade, for a total cost of nearly ten million.

"Today's haul was pretty good!" Xiao Xiao said happily to Su Ye.

"This stuff really is valuable," Su Ye marveled from the side.

"Once I take it back home and have it all processed into jewelry, ornaments, and things like that, the price can multiply several times over!"

"What? The profit's that huge?" Su Ye was dumbstruck.

Seeing Su Ye's exaggerated expression, Xiao Xiao couldn't help finding it funny and teased him.

"What? If you like it, I'll give it all to you!"

Su Ye looked at Xiao Xiao suspiciously and said:

"There's a deal that good?"

"Of course. All you have to do is protect me for a while!" Xiao Xiao said, looking at Su Ye.

"Forget it, I still have to farm!" Unable to stand the way Xiao Xiao was looking at him, Su Ye waved a hand dismissively.

After the two of them teased each other for a while longer, Su Ye went back to his room to rest.

Early the next morning, Su Ye and Xiao Xiao took the suitcase and began searching for targets in the rough stone shop.

"Hey, green! Green's showing! Good heavens, if a rough stone this big is full of jadeite, even bean-grade would sell for millions, right..."

Hearing someone shout that jadeite had been revealed, Su Ye and Xiao Xiao immediately joined the crowd.

Su Ye stepped forward and saw an old master working hard to cut the rough stone at the machine.

The rough stone was oval-shaped, over eighty centimeters tall and more than forty centimeters thick. It stood beneath the cutting blade like a tree stump.

The old master operated the machine to grind away the outer layer while the stone's owner poured water over it from a bottle. Both worked carefully, and the crowd of onlookers below began to feel a quiet anticipation.

"Huh? More green, more green! Good heavens, could this huge rough stone be jadeite all the way through?"

"This brother's struck it rich!"

After a while, the stone-cutting master finally exposed a corner. Everyone stepped closer for a look and immediately cried out in surprise.

"Good heavens, it's ice-grade jadeite..."

"What? What? Let me see..."

"Wow! It really is ice-grade! If it's jadeite all the way through, this piece has to be worth over a hundred million, right?"

When Xiao Xiao heard that it was ice-grade jadeite, Xiao Xiao also squeezed forward to take a look.

"Friend, I'll offer twenty million for this rough stone. Will you sell it?"

Just then, a middle-aged man in the crowd spoke up.

"Friend, I'll offer twenty-five million. After all, you still can't be sure how much jadeite is inside!"

No sooner had the twenty-million bid been made than someone else spoke up and raised the price.

"Thirty million..."

"Thirty-four million..."

The price of the rough stone was eventually bid up to forty-two million.

To tell the truth, the original owner was tempted. For one thing, he had paid only a little over eight hundred thousand for the stone; for another, he wasn't sure exactly how much jadeite was inside it.

If he sold now, he would make a net profit of over forty million. If he took a gamble, he might end up with as little as a few million.

Either way, though, he wouldn't lose money. After all, even the exposed corner of ice-grade jadeite was worth over a million.

"Sold!" The original owner made up his mind and said it decisively.

"I'll take this much and leave a bite of meat for you, brother!" the original owner said to the man who had bid forty-two million.

"All right, but brother, can I have the stone cut first? I'll definitely pay you once it's been cut!" said the man who had bid forty-two million.

"Well..." The original owner hesitated.

Seeing the original owner hesitate, the man who had bid forty-two million immediately explained:

"Friend, it's not that I don't have the money. I just can't resist having the stone cut first. These people are all my friends, and besides, I know the owner of this rough stone shop. I'll call him out to be a witness."

The man pointed to the friends beside him as he spoke to the original owner.

After all, even an on-the-spot transfer would take some time to go through.

Seeing that the original owner still had doubts, the man called the shop owner out to be a witness. Only then were the original owner's doubts dispelled, and he stood to the side to watch along with the crowd.

After reaching an agreement with the original owner, the man walked over to the machine and happily began cutting the stone with the old master.

As time passed, the man and the stone-cutting master had cut away a small section of the rough stone. Everything revealed so far was ice-grade jadeite of pure color, and the exposed jadeite alone was now worth nearly ten million.

The original owner, standing off to the side, stared wide-eyed in bewilderment. Was my decision just now wrong?

Just as everyone thought the entire piece was jadeite, the man and the stone-cutting master began cutting into stone.

"Huh? No more green?"

At this point, the sharp-eyed onlookers also noticed that something was wrong.

"What's going on? Is that all?"

The man's face had also darkened somewhat.

In the end, the rough stone was completely cut open. The ice-grade jadeite occupied only a small part of the oval stone; most of it was rock.

Everyone shook their heads in regret!

If the whole thing had been ice-grade jadeite, it might have been the largest piece of ice-grade jadeite that month.

The man's expression wasn't very good either, but he kept his word and transferred the money to the original owner on the spot.

"Brother, are you selling that ice-grade jadeite? I'm willing to offer nine million."

As soon as the man finished transferring the money to the original owner, someone in the crowd began making an offer.

"Friend, I'll offer nine and a half million. Sell it to me!"

"Brother, I'll offer nine million six hundred thousand..."

"Ten million..."

In just a few exchanges, the price had already been bid up to ten million.

But the man shook his head and said:

"Sorry, everyone. I have a use for this jadeite myself, so I have no plans to sell it for now!"

Seeing that the man wouldn't sell the jadeite, no one pressed him. They exchanged a few laughs and dispersed.

Su Ye and Xiao Xiao began shopping again.

That evening, Xiao Xiao dragged a weary body toward the hotel, even beginning to stagger a little.

Su Ye walked beside Xiao Xiao the whole way, carrying two suitcases.