Sure enough, after wiping it, a watery and alluring green color appeared on the surrounding area. After cleaning, the rough material in this area immediately revealed a whole piece of jadeite in a fan shape.
"The betting odds have gone up again! A huge surge!"
"Nonsense, this was selected from a batch of rough jade. If even a tiny bit of green could be found, it would definitely be a winning bet! But this time it's a really incredible win. It seems he was right not to sell it for ten million earlier. Just look at how big and evenly colored this green is; its value is definitely over ten million!"
"I'll offer twelve million!"
"I'll offer thirteen million!"
"Thirteen million five hundred thousand..."
Amidst the discussions, someone couldn't resist bidding again, and the price quickly rose to fifteen million. This time, the bidder was Huang Lianshu.
Xin Yue opened her mouth, wanting to bid several times, but seeing Yang Hongtao's still cold face, she didn't dare to say a word. She couldn't help but feel annoyed, thinking to herself, "Why did I have to say something like 'take care of him' when I was bidding? Now look what's happened... He just won't sell to me, what am I going to do!"
Bairui's jewelry chain has more than 30 branches, which is quite large. The demand for jadeite raw materials is quite large. It is difficult to supply all branches by relying on its own gambling stones. Generally, when it comes to such second-hand gambling stones, it will bid for them.
Especially when encountering such a rare and highly sought-after icy green jade, she would naturally not let it go. However, she lost the bidding opportunity because of her words, so she was bound to get upset.
Left with no other choice, Xin Yue had to call her cousin Zheng Jingren, who was still outside selecting semi-finished jade stones, and bring him in.
The moment Zheng Jingren saw the rough stone on the stone-cutting machine, his eyes lit up with greed. He pounced on it like a wolf, reaching out to touch the alluring green a few times as if caressing a beautiful woman's skin. Then he turned to Yang Hongtao with a knowing look and said, "I'm telling you... brother-in-law, we're family! Since this rough stone is yours... then there's no need to say anything more. No matter how much someone offers, you can't sell it, understand? Anyway, I'll never treat you unfairly, brother-in-law..."
When Xin Yue heard Zheng Jingren say something similar about taking care of Yang Hongtao, she sighed helplessly, guessing that this time it was completely hopeless.
Sure enough, Yang Hongtao shook his head without any politeness and said, "Alright... Young Master Zheng, first of all, I am not your cousin-in-law, this is not a misunderstanding... Besides, I have already stated publicly that I can sell this rough stone to anyone today, but I will not sell it to your Bairui Group, so... you don't need to participate in the bidding, no matter how much you bid, I will not sell it to you."
Upon hearing this, Zheng Jingren was stunned and quickly turned to ask Xin Yue what had happened. How could they, who were just like lovers, suddenly become enemies?
Huang Lianshu was overjoyed to see this. Bairui Group was a formidable force, and if they had participated in the bidding normally, he wouldn't have been very confident that he could have won the bid. However, since Yang Hongtao refused to sell to Bairui Group, the other small jewelry companies were naturally no longer a concern for him, Boss Huang.
Huang Lianshu looked around smugly, then raised his head and said, "How about it... I've already bid up to fifteen million, and it seems no one has offered a higher price! Mr. Zhou, this piece of jade..."
"Wait... I haven't said I wanted to sell it yet!"
Yang Hongtao replied to him indifferently, then turned to the stone-cutting master and said, "Master, could you please... turn this stone around so we can continue cutting it... I have a feeling there's a really big piece of jade inside this stone! Haha... You think you can buy this rough stone for just over ten million? You're way too early!"
After saying that, Yang Hongtao and the stone-cutting master started working together, turning the rough stone over again. He stared at the rough stone for a moment, pretending to study it, and then drew two lines on it, letting the stone-cutting master continue cutting.
The onlookers exchanged bewildered glances, thinking to themselves, "This man is really greedy! He bought a piece of rough jade for 10,000 yuan, and in the blink of an eye, it's worth 15 million yuan, yet he's still not satisfied."
If they manage to cut the price too low and end up selling it for ten million, wouldn't they be devastated?
Of course, even the most imaginative person could only think that if this rough stone were cut further, its value might drop to seven or eight million. No one could have imagined that it was actually a piece of scrap worth at most two hundred thousand! If they knew that Yang Hongtao clearly knew it was scrap but stubbornly refused to sell it for fifteen million, their hearts would probably jump out of their chests in fright.
The stone-cutting master had been cutting jadeite rough stones for several years, but he had never cut such a valuable piece of raw material before. At this moment, he couldn't help but feel a little nervous. Fortunately, Yang Hongtao had drawn lines on it himself, so he only needed to cut according to the lines. He wouldn't have to take any responsibility regardless of whether the cut was good or bad. Otherwise, he really wouldn't have dared to make a move.
"Sizzle..." As the grinding wheel turned, a cloud of stone chips flew everywhere. Soon, a cut was made, but all that could be seen was a grayish-white color, with no trace of green.
"Sigh... I've ruined it!"
"It shouldn't really collapse, right? It's still early!"
Those around him, seeing that there was no green in the stone, began to worry for Yang Hongtao. However, Yang Hongtao himself seemed quite calm and unconcerned, nodding to the stone-cutting master and signaling him to continue cutting along the second line.
Yang Hongtao certainly knew where to make the cut to see the green, but he didn't want to appear too freakish. It would be too magical if he could just draw a line and see the green. So he drew an extra line as a trick, so that seeing the green with two cuts wouldn't seem so strange.
"It's green... the betting has gone up! It's skyrocketed!"
Following the lines drawn by Yang Hongtao, the stone cutter made another cut, and immediately another delightful green appeared. The onlookers erupted in excitement, some even sweating profusely, as if they themselves were gambling on the stone.
This time, Yang Hongtao didn't even wait for anyone to bid. He immediately waved his hand and had the stone-cutting master use a grinding wheel to rub the green color along both sides, just like before. Instantly, a large area of icy green jadeite appeared, echoing the side that had just been rubbed, forming a hemisphere the size of a watermelon.
Upon seeing this scene, everyone's eyes widened, and they kept exclaiming in amazement.
Judging from the green color on both sides, the jadeite inside this rough stone is likely a complete sphere, about the size of a watermelon. Think of how much jadeite that is! Enough to make dozens of bracelets, and it's such high-quality icy jadeite...
In an instant, the entire stone-cutting site went crazy. Even the auction hall saw many people stop looking at the rough stones and crowd here to see this "good material" that is a once-in-a-century find.
Volume 1 The Rebirth of a Prodigy Chapter 74 Even Stones Go Crazy (Part 8)
This piece of jadeite rough has been polished to this extent, which means that almost all the jadeite inside has been exposed. Now, if we polish just one more centimeter to the side, the grayish-white stone will be revealed.
Having reached this point, the value of this rough stone has been maximized, so Yang Hongtao naturally wouldn't let the stone-cutting master polish it anymore.
After the stone-cutting master washed the exposed jade with clean water again, he stepped aside. The merchants from the jewelry companies who came later immediately swarmed over and gathered around to appreciate the half-cut rough stone.
Later, those who examined the rough stone were mostly experts from large jewelry companies. Each of them carefully and cautiously used a magnifying glass to examine the half-cut rough stone from all angles. They were clearly many times more professional than people like Huang Lianshu.
Seeing this, Yang Hongtao couldn't help but feel a chill run down his spine. He knew that some of these exposed jadeite pieces were as thin as paper, and the jadeite was quite transparent. If someone with good eyesight could see that the jadeite was only a thin layer, it would be disastrous! If he had known this would happen, he would have been better off selling it to Huang Lianshu for 15 million!
In fact, Yang Hongtao wasn't the kind of person who was greedy. If it weren't for Huang Lianshu, his grudge from a past life, being here today, Yang Hongtao might have sold this piece of rough jade for seven or eight million.
However, since Huang Lianshu was here and had participated in the bidding, Yang Hongtao naturally hoped to rip him off badly and make him feel the pinch first.
After all, the secondhand rough stone that Huang Lianshu had just gambled on would be worth more than ten million if the profit after processing was included. So even if Yang Hongtao sold that rough stone to him for fifteen million, Huang Lianshu would only break even after making two bets today. How could that satisfy Yang Hongtao's anger?
That's why Yang Hongtao went all out, trying to maximize the external "value" of the rough stone in his hand, intending to rip off Huang Lianshu. Little did he know that the rough stone was performing so well that it attracted so many experts in the jewelry industry.
The group watched for a good ten minutes before reluctantly leaving. Yang Hongtao secretly observed their expressions and saw that they all showed undisguised excitement and greed, which finally put his mind at ease.
Actually, Yang Hongtao was worrying a bit too much. Although the jade on this rough stone was very thin and had high transparency, it was still only a half-cut rough stone. The stone cutters were very careful when rubbing the stone so as not to damage the jade inside. They only rubbed the stone to expose the jade inside. In fact, there was a thin layer of limestone adhering to the jade inside. This layer of limestone could only be completely removed by slowly polishing it with fine sandpaper after the stone was cut.
Now, there is a thin layer of limestone covering the jade. Even if people have a magnifying glass, they can only see through the fog. They can barely see the color and luster of the jade under the limestone. How can they tell the thickness of the jade?
"Hehe... It seems everyone is very interested in this half-cut rough stone, so I'll start!" While the owners of other large jewelry companies were still deep in thought, it was actually Mr. Zhong who spoke first.
"I'll offer forty-five million!"
"Wow--"
The owners of the small jewelry companies who had been watching the spectacle from the beginning knew that the price of this rough stone, polished to this extent, would definitely not be low. However, when they heard Boss Zhong immediately call out a price of 45 million, they couldn't help but gasp in surprise.
Immediately, they all hung their heads in dejection, losing all hope.
Without a doubt, these small jewelry companies were simply unable to compete and were kicked out of the game!
After hearing the news, the jadeite rough stone merchants who organized this auction had already come over to take a look. When they heard the price offered by Boss Zhong, they couldn't help but feel a little resentful.
This rough stone only sold for 10,000 yuan! Someone bought it for 10,000 yuan, and in less than half an hour, the price rose to more than 40 million yuan... Of course, he makes money from the price difference in this business. It's not that he's jealous when he sees others making money on gambling; otherwise, he wouldn't be able to do this business.
However, if he had sold this rough stone for a few hundred thousand, he wouldn't have been so upset. But he never expected that this misjudgment would reveal such a big fish! This is probably the best piece in this batch of rough stones, and he actually threw it into the pile of rough stones that were all gambling on rough stones like trash... Sigh, why are his eyes so big! Why didn't they open up!
Not to mention the jadeite rough stone merchants who were secretly furious, the major jewelers who had just examined the rough stone were even more convinced that the half-cut rough stone must contain a solid piece of jade when they saw that even Boss Zhong, who was known in the industry for his discerning eye, had offered such a high price. They were all instantly energized and started bidding against each other.
"I'll offer forty-seven million!"
"Forty-seven million five hundred thousand!"
"I'll offer forty-eight million!"
"I'll offer fifty million!"
Yang Hongtao, standing to the side, felt both joy and worry as he watched this broken stone being bid up to over fifty million.
Originally, the more money he made, the better. However, Yang Hongtao's main goal was to rip off Huang Lianshu, but Huang Lianshu hadn't made a bid yet, which made Yang Hongtao very anxious.
If this grandson doesn't take the bait, he won't be happy no matter how much money he makes. He'll end up swindling tens of millions from an innocent jewelry store, and he really feels a little guilty about it!
"My dear sister, what did you do to offend this guy? Why won't he let our Bairui Group make a bid?"
Seeing representatives from several well-known domestic jewelry companies bidding on the half-cut jadeite, Zheng Jingren was so anxious he was scratching his head and looking extremely distressed. He couldn't help but grab Xin Yue's arm and plead, "If all else fails, sister, just go and bid for it! Why are you two arguing at a time like this? If we can win this bid, our jewelry company won't have to worry about the materials for our high-end jewelry for the rest of the year! Sister... I'm begging you, please? Grandpa put me in charge of this year's jadeite supply, and I haven't managed to find a single good piece yet. Please help your brother out!"
"This... I... With so many people around, how can I..." Xin Yue knew Zheng Jingren's predicament, but... if no one was around, Xin Yue wouldn't mind going up to Yang Hongtao and flirting with him, saying a few sweet words, or even just seducing him.
But now dozens of people are watching Yang Hongtao. She is, after all, the general manager of a large group company. How could she have the nerve to do such a thing in public?
Volume 1 The Rebirth of a Prodigy Chapter 75 Even Stones Go Crazy (Part 9)
"I'll offer sixty million!"
Before Xin Yue could decide whether to swallow her pride and apologize to Yang Hongtao, she heard a boss surnamed Chang suddenly bid a sky-high price of 60 million for the half-cut rough stone!
As a result, the jewelers who had just been eager to try all hesitated.
If this rough stone could indeed yield a piece of jade the size of a watermelon, and it were all of icy, high-quality jade, it would definitely be worth 60 million. Moreover, if this jade were to be meticulously crafted by skilled artisans into various ornaments and pendants, its total value would certainly exceed 100 million.
However, this is still only a partially cut piece of raw jade! Although it seems highly likely that this raw jade is a whole piece, whether the quality inside and out is consistent is still unknown. Therefore, bidding too high at this time still carries a certain risk.
If this were a completely cut rough stone, it could fetch up to 80 million.
After all, everything was already clear at that time, and there was no need to take any risks. Even if the bid reached 80 million, there would still be a profit margin of 20 to 30 million, so they naturally wouldn't give it up easily.
But now... not many people dare to take that risk.
"Hehe... If no one has any objections, then... does this piece of raw jade belong to me, Chang?"
Mr. Chang reluctantly called out this price, which was close to his target price. If anyone else bid higher, he would have to think it over. However, after he finished bidding and saw that everyone had quieted down, he couldn't help but feel a sense of pride.
Buying a half-cut jadeite rough for a sky-high price of 60 million is definitely a great opportunity to promote your jewelry company. Once you find a reporter to report it and publish it in a relevant magazine or newspaper, it will be much more effective than spending money on advertising.
Consumers are always very cautious when buying jade jewelry. Everyone is afraid of spending hundreds of thousands or millions to buy fake or inferior products. However, the fact that his jewelry company can spend 60 million to buy a piece of raw jade will surely increase the confidence of high-end consumers in his jewelry company. As a result, his business will naturally become even more booming.
Yang Hongtao never expected that this broken stone could be bid up to such an outrageous price of 60 million. Seeing that everyone except Boss Chang had fallen silent, Huang Lianshu turned around and seemed to be on the phone, clearly not intending to participate in the bidding at all.
He could only sigh inwardly. It seemed he had no choice but to trick Boss Chang... What else could he do? Who told you to jump out and become the scapegoat!
Although he felt very reluctant, Yang Hongtao was not so noble as to expose his shortcomings and not make money when he could. Seeing this, he could only helplessly walk towards Boss Chang, intending to shake hands with Boss Chang first to show that they both acknowledged the transaction, and then discuss how to make payment.
"Wait a minute... I'll offer sixty-five million!"
Just as Yang Hongtao and Boss Chang reached out their hands to shake hands, the voice that Yang Hongtao had been waiting for suddenly came from behind them.
Upon hearing this, Yang Hongtao paused, then a relaxed and cheerful smile appeared on his face.
"Excuse me, Mr. Chang... it seems someone else has made another bid!" Yang Hongtao greeted Mr. Chang apologetically before turning to walk towards Huang Lianshu.
Boss Chang's outstretched hand froze in mid-air. After a long while, he stomped his foot in anger and muttered to himself, "Madman... what a madman! Sixty-five million... you knew perfectly well that this piece of material wasn't hollow! Humph... I curse you to spend sixty-five million to buy a hollow can of food..."
Boss Chang spoke very softly, but Yang Hongtao had only turned around and taken two steps, so he heard him clearly and almost burst out laughing.
That Mr. Chang has a really sharp tongue! How come his curse came true so quickly?
It turns out that Huang Lianshu himself was only a newcomer to the jewelry and antique business. Although he had dabbled in it before, he was not an expert. So it didn't matter for him to spend a few million to buy a half-cut piece of jade. But Yang Hongtao's rough jade was bid up to forty or fifty million. So he dared not bid recklessly.
After all, although Huang Lianshu was rich, his money didn't come from thin air.
So he made a special phone call to a jade appraiser he had just hired a few days ago, took a picture of the half-cut jade with his phone, sent it to the appraiser, described the situation, and asked the appraiser to help him decide whether the rough jade was worth bidding on.
Upon hearing that the rough jade had been bid up to fifty or sixty million, the jade appraiser dared not offer any rash opinion. However, upon learning that the bidders were all big names and tycoons in the jewelry industry, he concluded that this was at least not a scheme orchestrated by a group of people. Given their status in the industry, they would never do such a thing. Therefore, the only risk now was not knowing how much jade could be extracted from the rough jade. In general, if the rough jade was completely solid, the profit would be considerable, but the risks before it was fully cut open were also significant. Therefore, the final decision rested with Huang Lianshu himself.