A man next to Zhuang Rui chimed in, and several others nodded in agreement. This was the cruelty of gambling on stones: if you find green jade, your value will increase a hundredfold, but if you gamble and fail, you'll be worthless immediately.
Zhuang Rui's heart stirred upon hearing this, but he said nothing and continued to watch the middle-aged man in the arena.
The middle-aged man finally came to his senses. His face was ashen. He bent down and almost pressed his glasses against the cut surface of the half of the raw material, carefully observing the white crystalline substance on the surface. After a long while, he shook his head dejectedly and sat down heavily on the muddy ground.
"The part of the raw material with pine-flower patterns can still be wiped clean."
Yang Hao whispered a reminder from the side: if the first piece of raw jade on the stall fails, it will have a significant impact on Yang Hao's subsequent sales.
Yang Hao's words seemed to remind the middle-aged man, who quickly got up. Without Yang Hao's help, his somewhat thin body actually lifted the half of the rough stone, which weighed seventy or eighty pounds, onto the stone-cutting machine, and the flame of hope rekindled in his eyes.
This attempt to polish the stone also ended in failure. They had polished down a layer of five or six centimeters from the pine flower area, but still no green appeared. At this point, another huge sigh came from the crowd, and some people had already turned and left.
The middle-aged man was still somewhat unwilling to give up. After looking at the cut surface of the rough stone for a while, he turned it over and made another cut from the cut surface, cutting the rough stone, which was originally divided into two pieces, into three sections.
"It's green! It's green!"
After making the first cut, the middle-aged man couldn't wait to look at the cut surface of the rough jade and shouted loudly. However, his voice gradually faded. Among the people present, only Zhuang Rui knew the reason. This cut had revealed some scattered jadeite under the pine flower pattern, but it couldn't be connected into a line and was still not worth much.
"The texture is alright, but the translucency is just average. It barely reaches the level of dry green jadeite, but without a good surface, it won't be a complete jadeite. You won't be able to extract much jadeite from it."
Upon hearing the middle-aged man's shout, the people in the circle stepped forward to examine the cross-section. After a while, they all shook their heads and left.
At this moment, a jade merchant who had originally been watching the spectacle spoke up: "My friend, I'll offer 50,000 yuan for this half of your jade rough with green inside. How about it, are you selling it or not?"
Judging from the appearance of the cut surface, this rough stone can be used to make some jadeite pendants.
Upon hearing this, the middle-aged man looked up. He simply didn't have the courage to cut any further. Judging from the appearance of the cut surface, it was unlikely that he would find any clustered jade inside. This time, he had lost everything in the gambling on jade.
"Three dollars, all 100,000 dollars are yours."
The middle-aged man was able to take things in stride. After calming down for a while, he emerged from the shadow of failure, gathered the three pieces of raw jade together, and said to the jade merchant who had offered him a price, "Since I've already lost money, I might as well make back what I can."
Upon hearing this, the jade merchant carefully examined the three rough stones. He set aside the one that had been cut open a second time and was covered in grayish-white crystals, then pointed to the remaining two stones and said to the middle-aged man, "I only want these two, for 60,000 yuan."
Chapter 192 The Crazy Stone (2)
The jade merchant offered a very fair price. From this rough stone with green inside, he estimated that at most only some jadeite suitable for pendants could be extracted, with a value of around fifty to sixty thousand. He was willing to spend an extra thirty thousand to buy the other half of the rough stone, which was a gamble that it might contain some green jadeite.
It's important to understand that there are three types of people at this Pingzhou jade trade fair. One type is like Song Jun, who doesn't cut or clean the stones, but only buys and hoards the good-looking rough stones, waiting for the price of raw stones to rise. The second type is represented by the middle-aged man in front of us, who comes specifically to gamble on stones. If he wins, his net worth will multiply, but if he loses, he may end up heavily in debt.
Another type of person is the jade merchant who just made the offer. They are usually the end consumers of jade products for ordinary people. Of course, most of these jade merchants also have their own jade carving and processing factories. They are also the biggest consumers of these raw materials after they are transformed into jadeite.
So, wherever news spreads that someone is cutting stones, people flock to it, and if the bet goes up, they'll shout out prices on the spot. You see, because the Myanmar government restricts the export of raw stones, many jade shops in the country are facing a shortage of raw materials. So, generally, as long as the rough stones that are cut aren't from the worst quality, they'll be snapped up by these jade merchants. After all, jade is divided into different grades, each with its own consumer group.
Perhaps the jade merchant's price was fair, because after waiting a while and seeing that no one else was willing to make an offer, the middle-aged man nodded and said, "How about 60,000 yuan? You can take these two pieces."
After hearing this, the man who looked like a jade merchant waved his hand, and a young man carrying a black bag squeezed through, took out six bills of money still sealed by the bank, and handed them to the middle-aged man. The middle-aged man looked very unhappy. He took the money without counting it and stuffed it directly into his bag. Looking at the piece of rough jade on the ground that still belonged to him, his face was uncertain.
Just as the middle-aged man stood there hesitating, Zhuang Rui stepped forward and asked, "Brother, are you still selling the remaining rough stones?"
Zhuang Rui's words drew boos from the surrounding crowd. Even the middle-aged man was somewhat astonished. You see, even though these jade merchants spend a fortune to buy rough stones, they only buy stones that can be cut to reveal green. The rough stone on the ground, with no green on either side of the cut, is basically waste. These merchants wouldn't spend a single penny on such a rough stone.
The middle-aged man stared blankly at the rough stone because he didn't know what to do with it. Throwing it away seemed a waste, but continuing to cut it was too much for him to bear. It was clearly waste material, yet he still wanted to cut it.
"Sell it, of course I'll sell it! Forty thousand yuan, take it or leave it."
As soon as the middle-aged man finished speaking, the boos from the crowd grew even louder; they were treating Zhuang Rui like a sucker. However, judging from Zhuang Rui's eagerness to buy this scrap metal, the man probably wasn't very shrewd.
"Youngest son, are you crazy? These are all broken stones, why are you still buying them?"
The third brother, standing nearby, grew anxious and quickly tried to stop him.
"Okay, I won't buy it. It's all scrap material. Why are you selling it for 40,000? You can keep it for yourself."
Zhuang Rui threw down a remark in annoyance, parted the crowd behind him, and made as if to leave.
"Hey buddy, the price is negotiable, how much do you want to buy it for?"
When the middle-aged man saw Zhuang Rui about to leave, he became anxious. If Zhuang Rui didn't buy the rough stone, he would have been willing to throw it away. Now that he could make some money, how could he let this opportunity pass?
"Five thousand yuan. If you sell it, I'll cut it up for fun. If not, forget it."
Zhuang Rui said in a nonchalant manner.
"Youngest brother, five thousand yuan is more than half a year's salary for your older brother."
The third brother had lived in the same dormitory as Zhuang Rui for four years and knew him well. Seeing that Zhuang Rui really wanted to buy it, he didn't try to dissuade him, but just muttered to himself.
"Hey, Third Brother, any rough stone in this place would cost more than five thousand. I'll spend five thousand to let you guys see how to cut a stone. That's cheap enough. Hey, are you selling it or not? If not, I'm leaving."
Zhuang Rui chuckled upon hearing the third brother's words. He glanced up and saw the middle-aged man still hesitating, so he urged him on.
“Ten thousand, ten thousand yuan is yours. I’ve already spent 850,000 yuan, so I don’t care about five thousand yuan more.”
The middle-aged man gritted his teeth and offered a price of ten thousand yuan.
"Fine, I'm too lazy to argue with you."
Zhuang Rui took out 10,000 yuan from his handbag and threw it to the middle-aged man. Ignoring the contemptuous looks from those around him, he bent down and picked up the rough stone and moved it aside, because the jade merchant who was going to buy the other two rough stones was about to cut them.
"That kid is just crazy. He'd rather go pick up a rock from the roadside and cut it than spend ten thousand yuan to sell a piece of scrap."
"Yes, these young people nowadays are so arrogant, thinking that any rough stone can turn into jade."
"That kid's probably going to be cut open soon. Let's stay and watch the show."
Zhuang Rui got tired of standing, so he simply sat down on the cut surface of the rough jade he had bought. All he could hear were these comments. Lao San was too embarrassed to stand next to Zhuang Rui, and as a result, he was also looked down upon by others.
"Damn it, if it turns green when you rub it on, I won't sell it to you for a penny less."
Zhuang Rui was also quite annoyed. He was happy to spend money, so what business was it of these people's?
That middle-aged man was incredibly unlucky. When he made his first cut, he was still seven or eight centimeters away from the jadeite. If he had cut the rough stone in half at that moment, he definitely would have been able to extract the jadeite.
However, the middle-aged man deliberately turned the rough stone to the side and made a cut from the side of the mottled surface. His intention was good, as he was afraid of damaging the jadeite behind the mottled surface. But coincidentally, that cut went right through the edge of this dry green jadeite. Zhuang Rui had just looked closely and the cut surface was less than two centimeters away from the jadeite. If the middle-aged man's hand had trembled even slightly, Zhuang Rui might not have been able to get his hands on this rough stone.
What you couldn't buy for 800,000 yuan, you can now get for 10,000 yuan. At this moment, Zhuang Rui fully understands the meaning of the old saying, "What is destined to be yours will be yours, and what is not destined to be yours, you cannot force."
"Sigh, I messed it up again..."
Just as Zhuang Rui was making his own calculations, the jade merchant who had bought two pieces of rough jade had already cut open the other piece. Zhuang Rui didn't even need to look to know that there was nothing inside that half of the rough jade; the 30,000 yuan was essentially wasted.
However, the jade merchant then cut open the rough stone that had yielded green jade and rubbed it down from the mottled part, and surprisingly found two pieces of jade the size of a baby's fist. This made the merchant's tense face relax a little. With just these two pieces of jade, the 60,000 yuan was already considered breaking even. If the carving master handled it properly, there might even be a small profit.
"Brother Zhuang, why don't you pick out a piece of rough jade and have it cut open? Don't worry, I'll definitely give you the cheapest price."
The crowd gathered around the stall had mostly dispersed, and only a handful of people went into Yang Hao's raw jade area to select and purchase pieces. Even several of the people who had originally been looking at the raw jade had left. Clearly, they had been affected by the disastrous gambling incident.
People who gamble on rough stones are very superstitious. If you win big at your stall, people will flock to you to buy rough stones. If you lose big, the situation will naturally reverse.
Zhuang Rui stood up, patted the back of his pants, and pointed to the rough stone on the ground, saying, "Hey, I just bought a rough stone. Even though it's scrap, it might turn into jade."
"Brother Zhuang, please stop joking with me. I'll point you to a better piece of jade. You can buy it and cut it open in front of everyone. Consider it a favor to me."
Yang Hao thought Zhuang Rui was joking and became a little anxious. Today was the first day of the jade gambling conference, and the rough stones sold had already been ruined. Putting aside whether it would affect business, this was also an unlucky omen.
"Why would I joke with you when I have nothing better to do? I've already bought the rough stone, so of course I have to cut it open and take a look. Do you think I have so much money that I'd just throw around ten thousand yuan like that?"
Zhuang Rui replied irritably, he didn't know how these people identified jadeite rough stones, how they were all so convinced that there was no jadeite in this piece of rough stone.
"Fine, go ahead and cut it, but make sure it's quiet."
Seeing that Zhuang Rui had made up his mind, Yang Hao had no choice but to let him keep quiet. He told Zhuang Rui to keep a low profile because he was afraid that if he was surrounded by onlookers again, his business would be ruined, which would be another blow to his business.
"Okay, it's just a few of us brothers cutting stones for fun. Third Brother, call Wei Ge and the others, and tell them to come to stall number 83. We're about to cut some stones."
Zhuang Rui patted the shoulder of Lao San, who was looking at the rough stone over and over, and gestured for him to call Wei Ge and the others over. He then carried the rough stone, which weighed about fifty or sixty pounds, and placed it on the stone-cutting machine.
Less than five minutes after the third brother made the call, Brother Wei, Brother Yue Jing, and the fourth brother appeared out of nowhere, arm in arm. Brother Yue Jing was holding a piece of raw jade the size of a fist. As soon as he saw Zhuang Rui, he said like he was showing off a treasure, "Youngest brother, I bought a piece of raw jade. What do you think?"
"How much did you buy it for?"
Zhuang Rui took the raw material while asking questions. It was quite heavy, probably weighing three to five pounds.
"Hehe, I bought it for three hundred yuan. I listened to you and didn't dare to buy anything more expensive. So, what do you think? Is there any jade inside this rough stone?"
Yue Jing looked at Zhuang Rui with hopeful eyes.
"Well, Second Brother, someone here just cut a rough stone worth 850,000 yuan, but only got 60,000 to 70,000 yuan worth of jadeite out of it. They lost more than 700,000 yuan. So, you shouldn't have too high hopes for this stuff. Just treat it as a hobby."
When Zhuang Rui was looking at it, he casually scanned the rough stone with his spiritual energy. There was no sign of green, it was just an ordinary piece of weathered ore with its skin intact. He just didn't want to dampen Yue Jing's enthusiasm, so he spoke in a gentle way.
Chapter 193 The Crazy Stone (3)
"Youngest brother, you mean there's nothing left inside this stone of mine, right?"
Upon hearing Zhuang Rui's words, the second brother's face immediately fell.
"No one can say for sure, Second Brother. There's a stone cutter over there. Why don't you just put it on and make a cut?"
Zhuang Rui replied with a smile that even among rough stones like the one his second brother bought, it's rare to find one that turns out green even at 100 yuan.
"Sure, it's just three hundred yuan..."
Yue Jing, unwilling to accept defeat, snatched the rough stone from Zhuang Rui's hand and walked towards the stone cutting machine, muttering to himself.
"Damn, this is faster than losing money playing cards!"
After Zhuang Rui taught him how to use it, the second brother was a simpleton and didn't care about the patterns or anything like that. He just cut it in half, picked it up, and naturally there was nothing there.
"Second brother, move aside, I need to get this stone removed too."
Zhuang Rui patted the second brother on the shoulder, signaling him to make room.
"By the way, youngest brother. You wouldn't let us brothers buy expensive things, but you spent ten thousand on a piece of scrap material without our permission."
The third brother had already told them about Zhuang Rui buying the rough stones, and these guys were already complaining that they hadn't been called when the stones were being cut earlier.
"I'm the chairman of the jade gambling foundation you appointed. Do I need to ask you lot for permission to buy a rough stone? Second brother, how about I give you the chairman's position?"
Zhuang Rui said jokingly.
"Come on, a 50,000 yuan fund? I don't care about that. Alright, let's go cut the stone. As we agreed before, if we lose money, it's all yours anyway."
The second brother completely ignored Zhuang Rui's words. Having been a junior leader for over a year, he always had the upper hand.
After securing the rough stone, Zhuang Rui thought for a moment and said very seriously, "No, brothers, let me make this clear first: we bought this rough stone together, so whether we make a profit or a loss, we all have to split the cost equally. Otherwise, I won't understand."
Although the five brothers had an exceptionally good relationship, these days, money can cause fathers and sons to turn against each other. It's common for brothers to fight. Zhuang Rui said this because he didn't want anyone to harbor resentment after the jade was cut open; otherwise, he would have done more harm than good.