Fang Zhicheng and Fang Zhiguo were also taken aback.
Although they had chosen the rough stones, they hadn't placed any bids, so bidding against them wouldn't be considered taking them from them.
Boss Ling smiled faintly. It was a good thing for him that someone was willing to bid against him like this. He smiled and said, "Is there anyone who would raise the price of 1.5 million per time?"
No one answered.
"One and a half million for the second time! Little..."
Boss Ling figured no one would raise the price any further. He called out a second time, and when he got to "one million five hundred thousand," Fang Zhiguo shouted, "One more five hundred thousand!"
Boss Ling chuckled and said, "One million five hundred and fifty thousand. Is anyone else bidding higher?"
In that instant, sweat started rolling down my face like beads!
Buying this much for 1.5 million, just a few pounds of broken stones? If there's no jade inside, then 1.5 million is just wasted money. This is too shocking, my heart can't take it!
Fortunately, Fang Zhiguo took over, and remembering what Zhou Xuan had just said—that once someone else made a bid, one should not speak again—he immediately shut his mouth tightly, afraid of revealing another number.
Fang Zhicheng was nervous, and so was Fang Zhiguo. Although the price offered was higher than they had anticipated, they were fortunate to have stopped others from raising their bids. Otherwise, if the price had continued to increase, no one could be sure whether it would have exceeded 1.5 million.
With no one else bidding, Boss Ling finally set the price at 1.55 million.
Fang Zhiguo paid the bill with a check, and then together with Fang Zhicheng, they moved the rough stones they had won in the gamble to the side. They marked them with a pen.
The money spent on this rough stone was enough to cover the profits from the last transaction, and the two of them could afford to lose it. However, the experience of gambling on stones was just too nerve-wracking.
Zhou Xuan thought that even if the two of them lost more than 1.5 million, it wouldn't be too much, and one-tenth of that was only a little over 150,000. That bastard Fang Zhicheng wouldn't cause any real loss. He still had to act according to his own plan.
After gambling on a stone, Fang Zhicheng watched with great interest as others continued their gambling, and casually placed his hand on a rough stone weighing about a hundred pounds on the shelf.
Zhou Xuan immediately seized the opportunity to activate his icy energy, transforming the entire interior of the rough stone into gold, and also transforming the surface of the part that Fang Zhicheng was pressing into gold. Then, he pretended to be bored and looked around.
Fang Zhicheng noticed that Zhou Xuan was also looking at the raw materials on the shelf, and he wanted to mock him again.
Zhou Xuan casually said, "Manager Fang, I know absolutely nothing about jade gambling. Could you explain it to me?"
Fang Zhicheng wanted to show off a bit, so he tried to manipulate the stone he was holding with a wrench, intending to boast about his experience with this rough stone. However, the rough stone, which had been shaking just moments before, wouldn't budge this time. He tried to shake it again with a little more effort.
But the raw material remained motionless, which startled Fang Zhicheng. He looked back and suddenly noticed a palm-sized patch of golden yellow on the surface of the raw material where his hand was pressing, the color of which was very dazzling.
What does Fang Zhicheng do? How could he not recognize gold? He paused, then immediately covered the golden patch with his hand and whispered to Fang Zhiguo, "Second Brother, Second Brother..."
Seeing Fang Zhicheng looking at him nervously, with sweat beading on his forehead, Fang Zhiguo wondered what was making him so anxious. He quickly went over and asked in a low voice, "What is it?"
Fang Zhicheng pulled him closer, and then the two of them used their bodies to block the view from others before releasing his hand from the rough stone and whispering, "Second Brother, look, what's this?"
Fang Zhiguo was far more experienced than Fang Zhicheng. He glanced at it and immediately recognized it as gold. He then pressed it with his fingernail, leaving a fingernail mark.
Among metals, only gold can have this color; others, like copper, are less likely. The color is deep red, unlike gold, and gold is softer. The gold in this rough stone blends perfectly with the stone, appearing very natural and definitely not fake!
Fang Zhiguo and Fang Zhicheng exchanged a glance, looked around to make sure no one was paying attention. Of course, Zhou Xuan also deliberately turned his face away to avoid looking at them. The two of them turned the golden part downwards and then forcefully lifted the rough stone off the shelf and placed it on the ground. The rest of the rough stone was gray, with only a tiny bit of green, like moss that had been crushed and a few drops of green water had been dripped onto a stone.
Volume One: The First Buds of a Lotus, Chapter 127: Revenge of Twenty Million
The experience of the two countries is very good. After moving the rough stone with his cousin Fang Zhicheng, they found that the weight of the rough stone was very different from that of a stone. If this rough stone were considered as a stone, it would not weigh more than 100 jin. However, when the two of them moved it, they used at least 200 jin of force. They were so excited that they did not feel that it was too heavy. But they estimated that the gold inside the stone was at least 100 jin!
I was slightly surprised, though. How could gold be found in raw jadeite from Myanmar? And the gold in this particular piece was practically non-ore; it was gold of very high purity. Some refined gold might not even be this pure!
Fang Zhicheng said to Fang Zhiguo in a low, trembling voice, "Second brother, what's going on? I found it myself, and I want at least 20% of it. Let's see how much it will cost to buy it."
Fang Zhiguo roughly estimated that, based on the examination just now, the stone contained at least 100 jin of gold. However, if the outer layer of stone was removed, the amount would be far more than that, because his estimate was only based on the difference in weight. It was also possible that the outer layer was very thin, in which case the weight of gold would increase.
Based on the amount Zhou Xuan converted, the gold in this stone is about two hundred pounds. To deal with Fang Zhicheng, he needs to be hurt badly and make him remember it to the bone. It is not gentlemanly to leave a grudge unavenged, especially since Fang Zhicheng is such a deserving scumbag!
At this point, Fang Zhiguo certainly couldn't argue with Fang Zhicheng about the share. The key was to take it over first. This thing didn't belong to them yet. If it fell into other people's hands, it would be worthless and useless!
Fang Zhiguo gave Fang Zhicheng a wink and gestured towards Boss Ling with his lip.
Fang Zhicheng immediately understood his meaning, and the two stood up.
Their rough stone only had a tiny bit of green; the vast majority was a grayish-white stone surface, so it wasn't very valuable and didn't attract much attention.
Fang Zhicheng said to Boss Ling, "Boss Ling, how much is this piece of rough jade? Although the quality isn't great, since we're here, we might as well take another piece back and try our luck!"
These raw materials were basically inspected by Boss Ling himself. Of course, nothing was 100% certain, but those that weren't very good were not picked out.
The rough stone that Fang Zhicheng asked him to look at, Boss Ling looked at from a few meters away. This stone was the worst one that had been put on the shelf. It was basically just to make up the numbers. It was worthless. There was almost no green. A few specks were scattered on the surface. The vast majority of it was grayish-white stone. The possibility of finding jade was extremely slim.
Boss Ling didn't bother to examine it closely, casually remarking, "That piece of material, hehe, it's all from old mines, so there's no such thing as a waste stone. It has a bit of green; maybe it can be cut into jade."
After a moment's hesitation, he said, "Twenty thousand yuan, please."
If Fang Zhicheng hadn't seen the gold in this piece of material, he wouldn't have wanted it even for two hundred yuan. Boss Ling's asking price of twenty thousand yuan is, frankly, just wildly inflated.
However, if you have money and opportunity, you should make a bid; that's the nature of a businessman. He sets a price, and others can bargain.
Fang Zhicheng was very nervous. He wiped his sweat. Everyone else thought he would bargain, because everyone thought this piece of material was worthless.
Just as Fang Zhicheng hesitated for a moment, Zhou Xuan said calmly, "Boss Ling, I want this piece of material!"
Fang Zhicheng was taken aback, then asked, "What are you doing? Do you know anything about collecting and gambling on stones?"
"It's precisely because I don't understand!" Zhou Xuan said calmly. "I only buy one to try my luck and broaden my horizons. Why would I buy an expensive one if I don't know how to buy a cheap one?"
I've always found it strange that Zhou Xuan gambles on stones. Does he even know how to gamble on stones? I've never heard him mention it. Just now, he asked me to raise the price of the rough stone Fang Zhicheng wanted, but then he stopped. I don't understand what he's thinking. And now he wants to buy this stone for 20,000 yuan. 20,000 yuan isn't a lot of money, but I just don't understand why.
Fang Zhicheng thought Zhou Xuan really wanted to buy a stone to play with. It was cheap, but was 20,000 yuan cheap for him? It would take him a year to earn 20,000 yuan working like that, right? What are you pretending for? I'll beat you to death with one stick!