"Xiao Rui, is this what they call rough jade? It looks no different from any other roadside stone to me. Why is it called such a strange name?"
Zhuang Min's attention was immediately drawn to the somewhat strange-looking stone-cutting machine and the raw stones that had already been fixed in place.
"Sis, this is a jadeite rough stone. 'Stone gambling' is just a general term for a behavior. Well, the act of cutting open this stone can be called stone gambling. If there is jadeite inside, we win the gamble; if not, we lose the gamble."
Zhuang Rui was both amused and exasperated by his older sister's words, and could only give her a further lesson on jade gambling.
Zhuang Min knew that these people had been cutting stones here all morning. Looking at the stone chips all over the ground, she asked, "Oh, did you win or lose the bet just now?"
"Hehe, I won, Master lost..."
Si'er proudly pulled the jade from her pocket and handed it to Zhuang Min.
"Wow, it really came out of this rock! Guodong, you're really useless, you're not even as good as Si'er..."
This piece of jade has not been polished and still has a lot of fibrous crystal residue on it, making it easy to identify.
Zhuang Rui's lips twitched upwards unnaturally at his older sister's words, while Si'er shrank back, afraid that his master would notice him.
In fact, that's just Zhuang Min's personality; she speaks frankly and without thinking.
However, those words were a bit too forceful and could easily arouse suspicion. When Zhuang Rui glanced at his brother-in-law, sure enough, his face had turned somewhat ashen. Zhuang Rui was considering whether, in order to protect his brother-in-law's dignity, he should hand over his rough jade to Zhao Guodong to cut.
Before Zhuang Rui could make up his mind, Zhao Guodong said, "Xiao Rui, I'll cut this last piece of rough jade. I don't believe it..."
Even an honest man has his limits. Seeing Zhao Guodong pick up the polishing machine, Zhuang Rui quickly went over and said, "Brother-in-law, this rough stone cost more than 30,000 yuan. There's a good chance it will contain jade. Be careful. Just polish it slowly from the side. Don't cut it directly."
As long as you can stop applying force in time when the green color appears, you shouldn't damage the jade inside. Zhuang Rui deliberately inflated the price of this rough stone so that Zhao Guodong would be more careful.
Sure enough, Zhao Guodong hesitated for a moment after hearing Zhuang Rui's words. However, it seemed that he was deeply provoked by Zhuang Min this time. He sighed and decided to do it himself. A useless man is no different from an incompetent man. This is intolerable.
Zhuang Min realized she had said the wrong thing, stuck out her tongue, and didn't dare to say anything more.
Cutting stones is actually a very simple task, especially cutting small pieces of rough stone. Unless you are nearsighted by 500 or 600 degrees and not wearing glasses, you can usually stop when you see green. Of course, colorblind people are an exception.
Zhao Guodong had just finished processing two rough stones and was now quite skilled. Amidst the "click-clack" sound of the grinding wheel rubbing against the stone, a gray-green mist layer appeared on the surface of the rough stone and began to penetrate inwards.
"Brother-in-law, it might be turning green soon, so please be a little slower."
Zhao Guodong naturally didn't know what these grayish-green, misty crystals were, but in Zhuang Rui's eyes, who was somewhat of an expert, it was a sign of a successful gamble. If this were at the Pingzhou jade gambling fair, based on this performance, it would be easy to resell it for tens of thousands of yuan. Of course, that was the price before knowing the quality of the jade inside.
The allure of jade gambling lies in this: until the very end, no one knows what will happen. Experience is used to overturn things, authority is used to challenge things, and no one dares to be 100% certain about the performance of a rough stone, even a semi-gambled one.
Zhao Guodong became somewhat nervous after Zhuang Rui's words, and became even more cautious. When a green light appeared in front of him, he immediately raised his arm forcefully. The rapidly spinning gear grazed his forehead, and a few strands of hair fell to the ground.
"There's jadeite! I've found jadeite too, haha. Xiao Rui, come and take a look, is it jadeite?"
Zhao Guodong ignored his dangerous actions and shouted happily like a child, reaching out to pull Zhuang Rui with the hand that was still holding the grinder.
"Brother-in-law, be careful, you almost hurt yourself just now."
Zhuang Rui took the polishing machine from Zhao Guodong, turned off the power, rinsed the rough material with a hose, and then went closer to examine it.
Looking at this tiny bit of green, no bigger than a soybean, Zhuang Rui truly admired his brother-in-law's eye for quality. He estimated that even if he were to cut this rough stone, the polished surface would probably be larger than this.
“Brother-in-law, yes, it’s jade. I’ll do the rest of the work.”
Zhuang Rui gave Zhao Guodong a thumbs up, and Zhao Guodong stood there grinning foolishly, his expression no less than saying to Zhuang Min, "See? Your husband has also unearthed jade."
"Silly boy, come here and let me see if you're hurt."
Zhuang Min was also startled by Zhao Guodong. She quickly went over to check Zhao Guodong's scalp and thankfully only a few strands of hair had fallen out.
Zhuang Rui's movements were much more skillful. He re-secured the rough stone, cut off the excess stone on the remaining sides, and then used the back of a grinding wheel to polish it little by little. The jadeite, which was about the size of an egg, gradually appeared in front of everyone.
"Wow, it's so beautiful! What kind of jade is this? I've never seen anything like it before!"
Looking at the jade in Zhuang Rui's palm, Zhuang Min couldn't help but exclaim. Not only her, but also Zhao Guodong and Si'er, as well as Zhuang's mother, who was usually indifferent to these material possessions, all focused their eyes on Zhuang Rui's palm.
Although Zhuang Rui was afraid of damaging the jade, some fine mist crystals remained on the outer skin of the jadeite. However, this could not conceal the splendor of the imperial green. The almost transparent jade showed a rich green color. Under the sunlight, it was flawless and exuded a deep, quiet, and intoxicating color.
The first to regain her senses was Mrs. Zhuang, who asked, "Xiao Rui, is this imperial green jadeite?"
Although he found it a little strange that his mother, who never wore jewelry, recognized this piece of jade, Zhuang Rui still replied, "Yes, and it's imperial green of the glass type. Just this big piece is worth over ten million."
The reason why Imperial Green Glass is so precious is not because of its beautiful color or how clear its texture is, but because of its rarity.
Glassy jadeite is rare, but it can still be seen often. The same goes for fully green jadeite. Some high-green jadeite can also be called imperial green, but the combination of the two is very rare. Perhaps among the tens of thousands of rough stones at the Pingzhou jade gambling fair, there is only one piece of glassy imperial green jadeite the size of an egg. The saying "rarity makes things valuable" is the most appropriate way to describe it.
"Ten million...? That's...that's so expensive!"
From the side came Si'er's stammering voice, her mouth agape as if she could swallow the rough jade. Although the jade in Zhuang Rui's hand was very beautiful, Si'er just couldn't equate it with ten million.
Chapter 255 Stone Studio (Part 1)
"To make a finished product, you also need to consider the skill of the sculptor. That's what makes it worth the price. My brother-in-law was lucky. If I were to cut it, I might not get anything at all."
Zhuang Rui smiled and complimented his brother-in-law, then handed the jade he was holding to his mother so they could take a look.
Si'er and the others didn't know much about jade gambling. When they saw that two out of the five stones yielded jade, they thought it was a normal thing and didn't ask any more questions. However, if it were Song Jun or Fatty Ma here, Zhuang Rui would never have cut the stones on the spot, even if you beat him to death.
Everyone carefully passed the glass-type imperial green jadeite around, and when they held it in their hands, they all looked as if they were afraid it would melt in their mouths or break in their hands.
"Mom, I'll find a jewelry store and have them make some pieces for you, my sister, and our daughter. Everyone will get one. Brother-in-law, don't look at me, the men don't get any..."
Zhao Guodong unearthed a piece of top-quality jade. He was beaming with joy when he suddenly heard Zhuang Rui's words, which startled him. He thought he had misheard and immediately looked at Zhuang Rui.
"Xiao Rui, this...this is way too expensive, isn't it? Wearing this out, wouldn't you be constantly on edge?"
Zhuang Min was also taken aback when she heard this. However, although she said that, her eyes, which were fixed on the jade, betrayed her. No woman could remain unmoved by such a beautiful jade.
Mother Zhuang shook her head and said, "Xiao Rui, just use this jade to make some things for Xiao Min and Nannan. I'm too old to wear these things anymore."
"That won't do. Each of you needs one. Mom, you don't need to worry about it."
Although Zhuang Rui remembered that his mother never wore such things, it didn't mean that his mother didn't like them. From the way his mother looked at the jade just now, Zhuang Rui could tell that his mother, who was always indifferent to these material possessions, was also tempted.
"Okay, let's make a Buddha pendant. It can be worn inside clothes so it won't be too conspicuous."
What Zhuang's mother said next almost made Zhuang Rui stumble. Just a moment ago she said she didn't want it, but now she's already thinking about what to do. It seems that jade has an extraordinary attraction for women, regardless of age; it's irresistible to everyone.
After putting the jade in his pocket and tidying up the rubble in the garage, Zhuang Rui drove his mother and older sister to pick up Nannan. Zhao Guodong and his apprentice also returned to the repair shop. Business at the repair shop had been good lately, and they had already lost most of the day.
After picking up Nannan, Zhuang Rui drove directly to the area near Jinshan District where the car market was most concentrated.
"Huh? We have a 4S store here now?"
Zhuang Rui saw a car dealership on the roadside with a 4S sign and three walls made of floor-to-ceiling glass. The interior was simple, bright, and very impressive, so he parked his car there.
"Hello sir, welcome to the Volkswagen 4S store. How can I help you?"
As soon as I entered, a lady in a cheongsam came to greet me.
Upon hearing her words, Zhuang Rui was taken aback. The 4S stores he had seen in Nanjing were full of all kinds of car models, practically car general stores. He never expected that in just a few months, legitimate 4S stores would have already opened. It seemed that the car consumer market had become booming.
"Let's just take a look around. If you have any good car models to recommend, please let us know."
This 4S store is set up like a leisure center. There is a glass coffee table and a few chairs between three or five display cars. There are some brochures on the coffee table. There are quite a few people coming to see the cars today, and like Zhuang Rui and his group, most of them are in groups of three or four. Several children are running around in the store.
"Mom, you should rest. We'll go take a look."
Zhuang Rui knew that his mother usually took a nap in the afternoon, so he found an empty spot for her to sit down, and someone immediately brought over a few cups of tea.
"Sir, we just received the latest Volkswagen Passat. It's a very good mid-range car in China, perfect for family use. It's especially suitable for a family of three like yours. And the white one would be perfect for your wife to drive."
The saleswoman saw Zhuang Rui drive in a Grand Cherokee when she was standing at the door, and knew that the lady next to him must be buying a car.
Her words left Zhuang Rui somewhat dumbfounded. What was all this about? He gave a wry smile and said, "This is my sister, and that's my niece. They're not a family of three. By the way, when you buy a car here, all the paperwork is handled by your agency, right?"
The saleswoman stuck out her tongue. Seeing that Zhuang Rui wasn't really angry, she cautiously replied, "Sir, please rest assured that we handle all the registration and licensing matters for cars purchased from us. Apart from the necessary expenses of the vehicle management office, we don't charge any additional fees."
Zhuang Rui nodded, looked at Zhuang Min, and said, "Sis, what do you think? This white Passat is perfect for a woman to drive, and it's not flashy at all."
Zhuang Min opened the car door, got in, and seemed quite satisfied. However, after checking the car's specifications and price, she immediately shook her head. Over 260,000 yuan was much higher than her budget.
"Xiao Rui, let's go check out the Jetta. I've heard it's a pretty good car."
"Let's go with the Passat. The Jetta is too small and not very comfortable to sit in."
Zhuang Rui could tell that his older sister was quite satisfied with the car, so he finalized the deal.
"Oh, oh. Mom has a car to drive now..."
The little girl excitedly climbed into the car through the door Zhuang Min had opened, refusing to get out no matter what.
"Alright, bring the car purchase contract. Sis, you sign the contract with them, and I'll go make the payment. I have some other things to do later."
Zhuang Rui's nonchalant attitude made the car saleswoman secretly click her tongue in amazement. She quickly called over a few colleagues to help. There are usually many people looking at cars, but few decide to buy one on their first visit. And young and wealthy people like Zhuang Rui are even rarer.
"By the way, I bought a car in another city, but it hasn't been registered yet. Can you register it for me here?"
Upon reaching the payment counter, Zhuang Rui asked, "This would have been the most convenient thing to do if Liu Chuan had handled it, but he's currently in Shaanxi and probably won't be back for more than a week. Anyway, my older sister's car also needs to be registered, so Zhuang Rui thought he'd get it done at the same time."
"Yes, as long as you have the car purchase invoice and related documents, we can handle it for you for a very small handling fee. You can also choose to have your future maintenance done here."
After receiving a satisfactory reply, Zhuang Rui swiped his card to pay the full amount. As for the insurance and other matters, he left them to his older sister to handle. He returned to his car, took out the purchase documents, and handed them to the dealership so they could help him register the vehicle.
After dealing with these matters, Zhuang Rui knew he would have to wait more than an hour to pick up the car. He told his older sister to drive carefully on her way back and then left.
They drove to the city center. Zhuang Rui saw a sign by the roadside, his eyes lit up, and he parked the car there.
The shop's signboard, "Shitou Zhai," hangs above the entrance. The red background and white characters are written in the style of clerical script, which is bold, steady, solid, and compact, giving people a strong classical charm and making them want to explore further.
This is a shop specializing in jade, which has been in Pengcheng for many years. Zhuang Rui had visited before, but at that time he was short of money and could only admire the exquisite jewelry that cost thousands or tens of thousands of yuan.
Upon entering the store, you are greeted by a display stand about one meter high, on which is placed a sailboat carved entirely from jade, symbolizing smooth sailing.
There weren't many customers in the store. Zhuang Rui looked around at a few counters. Most of the jadeite jewelry here was made of mid-range material, mainly earrings, cabochons, and pendants, with a few bracelets as well. However, the prices were not cheap. After browsing around, Zhuang Rui realized that the jewelers were willing to add exorbitant prices to the raw jadeite for a reason.
"Sir, hello. What kind of jade are you looking to buy? I can introduce it to you. Our Stone Studio products are designed around the themes of 'mystery, dreams, and joy,' allowing you to have a spiritual, romantic, and natural experience with genuine stones!"
Wu Jia had been observing this customer for a while. Judging from his behavior after entering the room, he didn't seem like a customer at all. When he was examining the jade, his eyes revealed more of a critical and disdainful look.
Zhuang Rui snapped out of his daze upon hearing this and saw a girl with a round face, a sweet smile, and wearing a shop uniform looking at him. He said somewhat shyly, "Oh, I'm not here to buy jade. But do you offer jade processing services? I have some raw materials and would like to have a few pieces of jewelry made."
In the early years, there used to be people setting up stalls on the roadside to buy and process gold and silver jewelry, but these have not been seen in recent years. Zhuang Rui came here to try his luck. Old shops like this, which have been open for more than ten years, usually have their own jade carving masters.
"Custom manufacturing?"
Wu Jia was taken aback. She had been managing the store since graduating from university, and it had been three or four years since then. This was the first time she had heard someone make such a request.
"I'm sorry, we only sell finished products here, we don't do any processing for customers."
Wu Jia was telling the truth. Although her grandfather sometimes helped others carve objects, those people were either friends or regular customers. She didn't know whether she should take on the business, so she subconsciously refused.