When the huge gears on the stone-cutting machine, with a diameter of over sixty centimeters, started spinning, everyone in the room held their breath. You see, stone cutting is the most exciting thing; one cut can mean life or death, and the moment of life or death can be decided in just a few short minutes.
"Click...click click..."
After the alloy gear made slight contact with the protruding part of the raw stone, it perfectly demonstrated what it means to cut through tofu with a knife. The huge cutting force generated by its rapid rotation easily caused the gear to sink into the raw stone.
Zhuang Rui's hands were firmly on the handle of the stone cutter, applying downward force steadily. In just over a minute, the oval-shaped rough stone had been split in two, like a gourd being divided in half.
"It's turned green?"
"It seems so, but I didn't see it clearly..."
"Hurry, hurry and get some water to wash it..."
After the gourd-shaped rough stones were separated, they could no longer be fixed on the stone-cutting machine and fell to the ground. However, since it was not a concrete floor, there was no fear that any jade inside would be damaged. Some sharp-eyed people in the crowd had already noticed a hint of green in the middle of the rough stones that had fallen from the air.
Before Zhuang Rui could pick up the rough stones, four or five people rushed over and hurriedly placed the two rough stones, cut side up, on the shelf next to him. Someone then brought water and poured it directly onto the cut surfaces.
What was originally visible was just a piece of green the size of a baby's palm. However, after the powder on the cut surface was washed away with water, everyone could clearly see that the area of the jade on the two halves of the rough stone had grown from the size of a child's palm to the size of an adult's hand. The water droplets that had not yet been wiped away fell on the green jade and, when exposed to sunlight, looked like dew on green leaves in the morning, crystal clear.
"The betting is going up, it's going up big..."
"Firecrackers, where are the firecrackers?"
"Damn it, I remember submitting a bid for this piece of material, how come I didn't win?"
"Come on, anyone can offer hindsight advice. Let's ask Boss Zhuang what price he's offering."
As the jade in the stone appeared, the crowd became noisy. Although many people were too far away to see clearly its texture and clarity, judging from its captivating green color, it must not be bad. For a rough stone with such an unattractive outer appearance, it was undoubtedly a winning bet.
"Hey Mr. Han, what are you doing? Can't you loosen your grip a bit?"
A jewelry merchant's voice drew everyone's attention. Upon seeing what was happening, they burst into laughter. It turned out that the big boss, Han Haowei, was quite uncouth, holding half of the raw fabric and using the hem of his expensive suit to cover it up.
"Why should I let go? I already told Brother Zhuang that I want this piece of material..."
Han Haowei's behavior at this moment was nothing like that of a big jewelry company boss; he was more like a child who had grabbed a lollipop and wouldn't let go.
Mr. Han's belly was already quite large, and with half a piece of wool stuffed inside, the shape resembled that of a pregnant woman about to give birth, but with an abnormally shaped fetus, which made onlookers unable to help but laugh.
The man next to him, somewhat unwilling to give up, continued, "Boss Han, we didn't say you couldn't buy it. Let us see what kind of material this is first, okay?"
"No way! There's still half a piece of material over there. Go take a look. I promise I won't interfere. What do you think of this piece of material of mine?"
Fatty Han is just being shameless, but he's not afraid. After all, he comes from a humble background and used these tricks a lot when he first started out.
Of course, in Han Pangzi's own words, this behavior could be described as being able to bend and stretch. What's there to be ashamed of? If you have money, you can slap me twice. Back in the day, our ancestors had to crawl between someone's legs, didn't they? That's what a real man does—endure the humiliation of crawling between someone's legs. But I'm not a scoundrel; this is going to cost money.
Unable to do anything about Fatty Han, the others shook their heads and could only look at the other half of the fabric. An elderly gentleman with gray hair was surrounded by people in the middle of the crowd, holding a magnifying glass and carefully examining it.
"The color is very pure, not scattered, and evenly distributed; it's a high-grade green jadeite. However, the clarity is slightly lacking, not as good as the glassy jadeite from before. Alas, what a pity. If you combined the clarity of that piece with the bright green of this one, it would be the finest imperial green jadeite..."
As the old man looked at the jade, he shook his head in frustration, seemingly regretting that Zhuang Rui hadn't been able to decipher the imperial green material. The people next to him rolled their eyes, wondering what the connection was.
There are many stones with high green color, but if they lack texture and translucency, they are just stones and cannot be called jadeite. For a high-quality piece of jadeite, texture, translucency, and color are all indispensable, with translucency being the most important.
In the industry, jadeite's "water" (transparency) is generally classified into three levels, namely one to three points. However, some jadeite only has half a point of water, making simple grading insufficient. Some auction houses divide the water into ten levels: glass type (9-10 points of water), icy type (7-8 points of water), oily type (6-7 points of water), fine bean type (5-6 points of water), coarse bean type (3-4 points of water), and dry white type (1-2 points of water).
Based on the above grading of jadeite's translucency, you can see that even colorless glass-type jadeite is tens of millions of times more expensive than high-green dry white jadeite; there is simply no comparison between the two.
"Old Qi, could you tell me what level this water level can reach?"
The vibrant green color was obvious to everyone, so there was no need to say more. However, this kind of water required careful observation and discernment. Some impatient people immediately asked about it, as it was related to how much money they would have to pay to acquire it.
Zhuang Rui recognized the old man. He had heard that the old man was a clerk at a pawnshop in Macau. He had been invited by a jewelry store owner to look at the rough stones. Zhuang Rui had run into him several times in the rough stone area these past few days.
Upon hearing this, Old Qi shook his head and said, "Hmm, the water in this piece is crystal clear, like frozen river water, perfectly natural. It's only slightly inferior to glass-type jade, so it should be considered high-grade ice-type jade. And judging from the cut, I estimate that about seven or eight pounds can be extracted from one half. It's just a pity that if the texture and water content could reach glass-type, then..."
At this moment, no one cared about what Old Man Qi was going to say next. There aren't that many "ifs" in this world. Just this half piece of high-quality icy jadeite weighing seven or eight pounds was enough to drive everyone crazy.
It's important to know that given how rare glass-type jadeite is on the market, icy jadeite is considered top-grade jadeite jewelry, let alone high-grade icy jadeite. Jewelry carved from this kind of jadeite is undoubtedly grade A, and even if it's labeled as glass-type, no one will question it. Many jewelry stores do this.
A piece of jade weighing seven or eight kilograms can yield at least five or six bracelets, each worth seven or eight hundred thousand RMB. Adding the remaining jade material to the carvings, the total value would likely exceed eight million RMB. Moreover, with this amount of material, their jewelry store would definitely be upgraded to a higher level.
"Mr. Zhuang, I'll offer four million RMB for this piece of jade. What do you think?"
After everyone made their own estimates, someone started to make an offer.
Chapter 476 Completely Convinced
"Four million? Mr. Zhuang. I'll offer four and a half million RMB, what do you think?"
"Four million eight hundred thousand, I'll take this material..."
"Five and a half million, Mr. Zhuang, that's quite a price..."
The moment someone made the first offer, the adrenaline of the jewelry shop owners watching the stone being cut surged, causing their faces to swell and their cheeks to turn red as they raised their prices. If someone who didn't know the situation saw this, they might think it was a scene from the 1980s, with people scrambling to buy cabbages during the winter.
Just as everyone was raising the price, Qin Haoran pulled Zhuang Rui aside and whispered to him, "Xiao Rui, we can't sell this piece of material. This quality raw material, after processing, will be much more profitable to sell at Qin Ruilin's shop in Beijing than to sell it as a raw stone now..."
Jewelry stores typically sell jadeite jewelry in three price ranges: high, medium, and low. The best-selling pieces are usually those priced between three to five hundred and thirty to fifty thousand yuan. However, the highest-priced jadeite jewelry is the top-quality pieces, which offer the highest profit margins.
Qin Haoran's idea was to let Zhuang Rui keep it, have someone carve it, and put it in the shop to sell. This would not only enrich the variety of jewelry and attract customers, but also maximize profits.
"Uncle Qin, I know all that you're saying, but I'm a little short on cash right now. I'm thinking of selling this piece of jade to buy other rough stones I've acquired at the auction..."
Zhuang Rui smiled bitterly upon hearing this. He understood this principle all too well, but the current situation was that even a hero is helpless without a penny. If Zhuang Rui were to keep this piece, he would not only be penniless for the next two months, but he would also probably have to borrow money from an outside account to offset the cost of the raw materials he had acquired at the auction.
"Hey kid, why didn't you tell Uncle Qin you didn't have enough money? Uncle Qin... Uncle Qin... By the way, how much money do you need?"
Just as Qin Haoran was about to secure all the bids, he remembered that almost all the funds he had brought were invested in the raw stones, and even if he won all the bids, he might not have enough money left, requiring the head office to raise funds. Therefore, he couldn't help Zhuang Rui much.
Actually, Qin Haoran had misunderstood. He thought Zhuang Rui would be short at least a few million euros. If he had known it was only a few hundred thousand euros, he could have squeezed it out. After all, Qin's Jewelry has assets worth billions, so a few million RMB wouldn't be a problem.
"Uncle Qin, the money difference isn't that much, but this piece of jade wasn't something I was initially optimistic about, so I wanted to sell it to tide me over. We also have several other rough stones, enough for that shop in Beijing..."
Zhuang Rui's words made Qin Haoran's eyes widen. This high-grade, full-green jade was something Zhuang Rui hadn't even noticed? What kind of rough jade does he value? Could it all be the glass-type jade he just cut open?
"What quality of jadeite are the rest of your materials?"
Qin Haoran felt his brain was overwhelmed. This single piece of high-quality, icy jadeite alone would have provided enough raw materials for Qin Ruilin's jadeite jewelry shop in Beijing for a year. He hadn't expected it to be just the worst piece Zhuang Rui had chosen. Qin Haoran couldn't help but feel a surge of anticipation for the remaining bids, which Zhuang Rui had carefully selected.
The discovery of both glass-type and high-ice-type jadeite in succession clearly stimulated Qin Haoran's brain, causing his judgment to deviate slightly. In fact, of the twenty rough stones that Zhuang Rui was focusing on, only five or six were glass-type jadeite, and apart from yellow jadeite, there were no other top-grade jadeite like imperial green. Even blue and purple jadeite did not reach that level.
However, the remaining non-glassy jadeite pieces were far more numerous than this icy jadeite piece. Each piece could yield at least tens of kilograms, and there were two or three pieces that were slightly inferior to the icy jadeite, such as golden thread jadeite and hibiscus jadeite. These were the best-selling mid-range jadeite ornaments on the jadeite market and were also the most scarce items at Beijing Qin Ruilin store. That's why Zhuang Rui decided to sell this rough jadeite.
"Ahem, Uncle Qin, how would I know about that? I can only roughly estimate whether there is jade inside based on some specific characteristics of the rough stone. As for the quality and quantity, that all depends on luck..."
Zhuang Rui coughed a few times upon hearing this, realizing he had spoken too confidently. However, he shamelessly admitted that he had a knack for appraising stones, and he figured that Qin Haoran, with his composure, wouldn't press the matter.
In truth, Zhuang Rui doesn't need to worry too much. He's not the only one in the world who's absolutely certain of success in jade gambling; for example, there's that "Jade King"!
I've been involved with jade since the Anti-Japanese War. In my decades-long career, whether it's full-scale gambling or partial gambling on raw materials, I've basically never lost money.
Even if Zhuang Rui wins every bet, he'll still be the "Jade King"!
With his past achievements, people might at most think that another legendary figure has emerged in the jade industry. As for being able to see through the raw stone and know what's inside, that's too fantastical. It's something every raw jade merchant hopes to have, but of course, it can only be experienced in dreams.
After experiencing two stone-cutting trials, Qin Haoran had no doubt about Zhuang Rui's ability to appraise rough stones. Hearing Zhuang Rui say such a thing, although he was surprised and doubtful, he did not question it. He nodded and said, "Since you have your eye on other stones, then selling this one is fine. Just take Uncle Qin's words as a reference..."
“Boss Zhuang, Brother Zhuang. We had an agreement beforehand, you said this piece of jade was for sale. We men are men, and we have to keep our word…”
Zhuang Rui and Qin Haoran walked over and whispered to each other, which startled Fatty Han, who was holding the half-piece of woolen fabric. He knew that the two were about to become father-in-law and son-in-law. If Qin Haoran tried to steal it again, he would have lost everything, and all his good clothes would have been for nothing.
"Hehe, Mr. Han, I didn't say I wouldn't sell it. Don't worry, this piece of jade is for sale..."
Zhuang Rui smiled and said, "Holding on so tightly won't help. Do you think I'll refuse to sell just because someone offers a higher price? We don't seem to have that kind of relationship yet."
"Boss Zhuang, I'll take this half of the rough stone. Seven million eight hundred thousand. If anyone offers a higher price, I, Old Zhang, will walk away..."
At this moment, the winner of the half-piece of raw stone was also decided. Zhuang Rui recognized the man who called himself Old Zhang. It was quite a coincidence that he was the same Boss Zhang who had competed with him for the yellow jade and made the bid at the last moment.
"Boss Zhuang, I couldn't beat you at that red jadeite, but you have to sell me this piece..."
Fearing that Zhuang Rui wouldn't sell, Mr. Zhang mentioned the yellow jadeite rough stone whose outer skin resembled red jadeite. He had just come from the bidding site when he discovered that the winning bid for that stone was 30,000 yuan higher than his own bid. This made him very regretful. He had come to the stone-cutting area to try his luck, but he never expected to find such a good piece of jadeite. He immediately joined the scramble for it.
"Red jade? The bidding has started? What was the opening bid?"
Zhuang Rui was stunned for a moment upon hearing this. He had actually forgotten about that matter while he was cutting the stone. Now he was actually a little nervous. You see, although the spiritual energy in his eyes could see through the bidding box, there were just too many bidding slips inside. If there was a slip he had missed that had a higher bid than his, Zhuang Rui would have nowhere to cry.
Seeing Zhuang Rui's blank expression, which didn't seem like he was faking it, Mr. Zhang said, "You don't know? The winning bid for that rough stone was 3.18 million euros, only 30,000 yuan more than mine. Mr. Zhuang, you didn't bid?"
"I got it!"
Zhuang Rui was overjoyed and didn't bother to hide it. Since everyone's bid number could be traced after the bidding, he nodded and said, "Hehe, sorry, Mr. Zhang, if no one else bids 3.18 million euros, then I've won..."
"Sigh, Mr. Zhuang, you...you...not only have a keen eye, but your ability to judge the price of raw jade is also superb, truly superb..."
Upon hearing this, Mr. Zhang sighed deeply and gave Zhuang Rui a thumbs-up in resignation. He had bid 3.15 million euros at the last minute, and because of his obstruction, Zhuang Rui had no chance to change his bid. In other words, Zhuang Rui had already bid 3.18 million euros. This left Mr. Zhang speechless, and he was completely convinced of his defeat.
Boss Zhang's skin wasn't much thinner than Fatty Han's. He had completely forgotten about blocking Zhuang Rui's last chance to bid in the rough stone area, and said with a beaming smile, "Boss Zhuang, I'll let you have that red jadeite, but you have to sell me this piece..."
"Has no further bids been made yet?"
Zhuang Rui looked around, but no one answered him. The price of 7.8 million RMB was indeed not low. If he was not careful when carving this piece of material, he might not even be able to make back his investment. No one was willing to compete with Boss Zhang at this price.
"Alright, Mr. Zhang, this half of the material is yours. But since we're in Myanmar now, you'll have to pay in Euros..."
Zhuang Rui was selling raw jade, not giving it away, so he wasn't embarrassed at all and directly asked for the money. He was getting engaged soon and would definitely need to spend a lot of money. If he hadn't been forced into this situation, he wouldn't have even been willing to buy this piece of jade.
"Okay, okay, Euros are fine too, it'll save you the trouble back home. I'll issue you a bank draft..."
Mr. Zhang laughed upon hearing this. His plan was different from others. He intended to hoard this piece of jade for two years, by which time it would probably be worth more than seven or eight million RMB. It must be said that Mr. Zhang was truly insightful. Three years later, he sold the rough jade and made a profit of nearly 10 million RMB.
"Hey...hey, Mr. Han, what's the meaning of you holding this rough stone without making a price?"
As the smoke cleared, some unwilling jewelry merchants set their sights on Fatty Han, thinking, "Just because you're holding this rough stone doesn't mean it's yours."
Chapter 477 Zhuang Rui's Ambition
"Hey, who said I wasn't going to buy it? I'll offer 8 million RMB, Brother Zhuang, this raw jade is mine now..."
Fatty Han had no intention of taking the rough stone out of his clothes. He directly offered a price of 8 million RMB. However, he was not stupid. He had already examined this half-piece of material. Judging from the cut surface, as long as he could dig out a piece of jadeite two fingers thick, he would make a profit.
"8 million RMB?"
"Old Han is really willing to invest..."
"Yes, but Boss Zhuang is still the most impressive. He made over 10 million from just one piece of material..."
After hearing what Fatty Han said, everyone started discussing it. Judging from Fatty Han's previous performance and his current bid, no one dared to compete with him for this piece of jade anymore. After all, there were many more rough stones to be cut, and clinging to this one piece and raising the price would only result in them losing out in the end.