"200 million, brother, didn't you hear me clearly? Old Tang said at least 200 million..."
"So who won this bet? I bet 50,000 yuan on Tang Laowu..."
"Is that even a question? If you made a few necklaces out of Old Tang's purple-eyed jadeite, it would be worth at least 300 million. Of course, Old Tang wins..."
"It's hard to say. Teacher Zhuang's prediction hasn't been revealed yet, so it's too early to tell who will win or lose..."
“I said, this is very simple. The value of jadeite is not determined by quantity, but by its grade. Old Master Tang’s material is extremely rare in the world, so of course Old Master Tang wins…”
Of the thousands of people present, almost half had participated in the bet between Boss Jin and Lao Guo. When they heard that the jade that Zhuang Rui had unearthed was also quite valuable, they immediately began to argue.
It's not that I'm upset about losing 50,000 yuan; nobody who comes to Myanmar really cares about 50,000 yuan.
However, this is a matter of principle. If Zhuang Rui wins, a new king will be born in the jade industry. This is a very significant event, marking the end of an era and the beginning of a new one.
"Old Tang, today you unearthed a purple-eyed jade, while mine is just a glass-type jade. You've won this competition again..."
Zhuang Rui proved his judgment with this piece of material that could not possibly contain jade. Those who doubted him will now be shut up. Winning or losing is no longer important.
"Teacher Zhuang, this won't do. Maybe you can figure out the Imperial Green too. How can you decide who wins and loses now?"
A shout came from the cordon. It was Lao Guo who couldn't hold back his shout after hearing Zhuang Rui's words. This guy had just seen a glimmer of hope and was praying that Zhuang Rui could find the king of jade... Imperial Green. Zhuang Rui didn't care about winning or losing, but Lao Guo did. This was related to his life and fortune. If he lost this time, he would lose all his wealth and be half dead.
“Xiao Zhuang, he’s right. With the quality of this piece of jade, it might turn out to be imperial green. I think… you should just cut it open. It’ll be easier to take it away that way…”
Old Tang agreed with the man's words, because judging from the current surface rubbing, the material was probably quite large. Old Tang also wanted to see just how big this piece of glass-type green material was.
More than 20 years ago, Mr. Tang once cut a piece of glass-type jadeite weighing more than 30 kilograms, which was hailed as the world's largest at the time. He became famous at home and abroad because of this piece of jadeite and was respectfully called the "King of Jadeite"!
of.
Old Tang now wanted to know if Zhuang Rui's unraveling of this jade could break his own record from back then. "Alright, then I'll continue unraveling..."
Zhuang Rui glanced at Old Tang with a complicated expression, then turned around and started the stone-cutting machine. Although only half a piece of material remained, it still weighed five or six hundred pounds. If it could be polished with a grinding wheel, it was unlikely that the jadeite could be extracted by tomorrow.
When Old Tang saw Zhuang Rui preparing to cut the stone again, he wanted to dissuade him, but thinking about Zhuang Rui's actions just now, he held back. This young man always had surprising things to do and could not be judged by common sense.
"Crack...crack crack!"
With the "click-clack" sound of the stone cutter, fragments of stone were continuously broken off from the huge stone.
Zhuang Rui used a laborious method: he broke the rock apart little by little from the four corners. This method could maximize the preservation of the jade inside.
An hour passed, and the enormous rough stone, which weighed five or six hundred pounds, was reduced to just over one hundred pounds. Zhuang Rui's cut surface still showed no jadeite, only some green granular crystals.
Another half hour passed, and the raw stone shrank to only seventy or eighty kilograms in size. Zhuang Rui's movements also slowed down, and he removed the outer stone skin almost inch by inch.
On one side of the cut surface, a hint of green was revealed. Zhuang Rui immediately stopped and cut the other side. Two hours later, a piece of jadeite, more than 70 centimeters long, about 20 centimeters wide and thick, was presented to everyone.
The rough stone wasn't finished yet. Connected to this piece of jade was another stone slightly smaller than a football. After observing it for a while, Zhuang Rui drew a dotted line and cut it directly with the stone cutter. "Snap!"
A slightly smaller piece of material fell onto the soft ground. After rolling around once, a captivating green shone out, drawing the attention of everyone gathered around the stone-cutting machine.
Qin Haoran stared intently at the piece of raw jade emitting a green glow on the ground and said to Hu Rong beside him, "Little Hu, am I seeing things? That piece of jade seems... seems really green?"
"Uncle... Uncle, you're not seeing things, this... this is a miracle! Whether you believe it or not, I believe it!"
Hu Rong was completely dumbfounded. He never expected that the stepping stone in his house could yield so much jade.
Chapter 980 A draw?
Zhuang Rui's technique for cutting raw jade is like that of a master butcher, a skill that is pleasing to the eye. Every cut is just right, without damaging the jadeite in the slightest.
Reaching down, Zhuang Rui picked up the piece of material covered in white crystalline particles from the ground. He weighed it in his hand; it should weigh about seven or eight pounds. Although it wasn't as big as the piece on the stone-cutting machine, it was significantly more valuable.
Since this piece of imperial green jadeite had only been cut open, although light was flowing out, everyone assumed it was the same piece as the other one, so they didn't focus their attention on it, but instead surrounded the glass-type jadeite that weighed tens of kilograms.
Old Tang held a piece of fine sandpaper in his hand, personally polishing the remaining stone chips on this glass-type jade, his eyes filled with excitement.
Although it hasn't been weighed yet, the old man could already tell that this piece of jade was heavier than the glass-type jade he had cut out years ago, making it a true king of jade.
"By the way, Xiao Hu, I think I heard Zhuang Rui say that you were the one who provided this piece of material?"
Qin Haoran seemed to be deliberately bringing up a sore spot; didn't he see that Hu Rong's face had turned green?
This top-quality jadeite, worth hundreds of millions, was thrown out by Hu Rong as if it were trash. Although it was a case of keeping the good stuff in the family, Hu Rong was still not in a good mood.
However, one thing gave Hu Rong some solace: he had initially priced the stone at 4 million euros. If he had casually priced it at a few hundred thousand euros and someone else had snagged it, Hu Rong would have definitely slammed his head against the stone-cutting machine.
"Uncle, please stop talking. If you keep going, I'll feel like dying..."
Hu Rongku had a bitter smile on his face. No matter what, he was an internationally renowned jade tycoon. This time, he had suffered a major setback. Not only did he fail to recognize the top-quality raw stone, but his family had also used it as a stepping stone for decades.
"Brother Hu, you were quite prescient; a price tag of 4 million euros is no small sum..."
Seeing that Hu Rong looked a little embarrassed, Zhuang Rui spoke up to help him out of the predicament. However, Zhuang Rui didn't know that Hu Rong's material was just used to make up the numbers.
After cleaning the clear glass-type jadeite, Old Tang stood up and tried to hold it in his arms. He turned to Zhuang Rui and said, "Young Zhuang, if this piece of jadeite were all broken down into jewelry, its total value would be higher than my piece with the purple eye..."
The purple-eyed jadeite that Old Tang just unearthed, although it is of top quality among jadeites, is not large in size or weight. Even if it is made into jewelry, its price would only be between two and three hundred million. In terms of economic value, it is naturally inferior to Zhuang Rui's piece.
However, in Mr. Tang's heart, he still believed that his own material was more precious.
After all, purple-eyed jadeite is a rare find, perhaps only once every few decades or centuries, and is basically priceless. On the other hand, glass-type green jadeite, as long as it doesn't reach the level of imperial green, is relatively still available in the market.
It wasn't that Old Tang was unwilling to admit defeat, but rather that this was truly what he thought. If he had to choose between the two pieces of jade, Old Tang would still choose the purple-eyed one, since this kind of jade could be passed down through generations.
Xiao Zhao understood the implication in Tang Lao's words and said, "Teacher, although Teacher Zhuang's piece of jade is very valuable, its quality is still not as good as your purple eye jade. I think this competition should be a draw..."
"Neither side is better or worse?"
"Is Teacher Zhuang's piece of jade so valuable?"
"This is quite a remarkable story! The contest between the old and new generations of jade kings has resulted in a close match!"
"Then...if it's a tie, how will our bet be settled?"
Before the stone was cut open, no one could have predicted this situation. From thinking that Zhuang Rui was bound to lose to the unexpected discovery of jadeite, and the latest news is that the jadeite in the rough stone chosen by Zhuang Rui is actually worth more than the purple-eyed jadeite.
This series of changes was hard for everyone present to accept, but whether they believed it or not, it was the truth: the glass-type jadeite weighing tens of kilograms was shining with a captivating, shimmering green light under the illumination of the lamp.
This result left Mr. Jin, who was in the crowd, feeling somewhat lost. Although he and Lao Guo were friends, the fact that the more than 20 million yuan he had in hand had flown away made him feel uneasy.
As for Lao Guo, he broke out in a cold sweat. The feeling of escaping death almost made him shout out loud. Lao Guo made up his mind that he would stay far away from anything related to gambling in the future.
"Old Guo, now look what's happened, we've both worked for nothing..."
Although Mr. Jin was a little disappointed, he hadn't suffered any losses. He could at least see what was going on. His wealth was far greater than Mr. Guo's, so he wasn't particularly concerned about winning or losing.
Old Guo stopped pretending at this point, wiping the sweat from his forehead, and said, "Mr. Jin, you don't care about these tens of millions, but you almost scared me to death just now..."
"Hehe, how about we go? Want to grab a drink tonight, buddy?"
"Mr. Jin said with a smile."
Old Guo shook his head and said, "No way! These two pieces of jade we cut today are extremely rare. We should at least take a look at them, shouldn't we?"
Upon hearing the results, many people chose to leave. Although the competition between the old and new generations of Jade Kings had been exhilarating, their stomachs were upset, so they all boarded the buses arranged by the organizing committee and returned to their hotels.
However, some people shared the same idea as Lao Guo. They wanted to wait until fewer people were around so they could get a closer look at the purple-eyed jade and Zhuang Rui's glass-type jade. Even though it wasn't their own, taking a picture with it would be something to brag about later.
However, Zhuang Rui's raw stone brought an unexpected surprise to those who stayed behind, giving them much more to boast about later, and creating a legendary tale that will be sung for thousands of years in the jade industry!
As for those who left, they later regretted it deeply, never expecting the situation to develop in such a dramatic way.
"Mr. Tang, is this all over? Shall we call it a day?"
Zhuang Rui glanced at his watch; it was almost 10 p.m. Although Peng Fei had somehow managed to get some bread and shared it with everyone, Zhuang Rui's stomach was still growling loudly with hunger.
A draw isn't entirely fair to Zhuang Rui, but he's already had his fill of the limelight today and doesn't necessarily want to outdo Tang Lao. As the saying goes, water overflows when it's full; moderation is key.
"By the way, Xiao Zhuang, let me take a look at that small piece of jade too. The green color I saw earlier seemed quite pure..."
Old Tang is an old man who is about to die. He doesn't care much about winning or losing. His reputation and status in the jade gambling circle are the result of decades of accumulation. Even if he loses once or twice, it won't affect his prestige in the jade industry.
Zhuang Rui hesitated for a moment, then said, "Old Tang, they were all cut from the same piece of material, so they're probably about the same, right?"
The competition had already achieved its purpose, and Zhuang Rui didn't want to cause any more trouble. As the saying goes, "People are afraid of becoming famous, just as pigs are afraid of getting fat." If someone were to target him, it wouldn't be a good thing.
Old Tang shook his head and insisted, "That's not necessarily true. The jadeite that forms from this piece of rough stone varies in quality. If you're lucky, you might just get a bright green one..."
"Well, I really did hit the jackpot..."
Helpless, Zhuang Rui handed the piece of imperial green jade he was holding to Old Tang.
Old Tang put on his reading glasses, stretched out his hand to his side, and said, "Little Zhao, get some sandpaper, fine sandpaper..."
Because Zhuang Rui cut the stone very skillfully, the green color inside was basically revealed through the white crystalline particles. Therefore, to determine the quality of jadeite, the outer layer of crystals needs to be polished away.
Although Old Tang was not physically strong, he still had no problem doing this kind of work. He fixed the small piece of raw stone on the stone cutting machine and carefully began to polish it with sandpaper.
By this time, most of the thousands of people in the square had dispersed, leaving only seventy or eighty people who surrounded the stone-cutting area, all observing the two pieces of jade that Zhuang Rui and Old Tang had cut. There were Burmese soldiers maintaining order in the area, so there was no fear of anyone taking advantage of the chaos to rob.
"Professor Zhuang, you're my idol! Can I take a picture with you?"
Instead of joining the crowd around those pieces of jade, Lao Guo squeezed next to Zhuang Rui and made a request. If it weren't for Zhuang Rui's unexpected rise to power today, Lao Guo might have already slit his own throat and hanged himself.
Zhuang Rui felt a little awkward from Lao Guo's enthusiasm, while Peng Fei recognized Lao Guo at a glance and said, "Hey, aren't you the one who runs the gambling den? You should return the money to us if it's a tie..."
Upon hearing Peng Fei's words, Lao Guo was immediately embarrassed and repeatedly said, "Refund! I will definitely refund your money. I'll sort it out tomorrow and it will be in your hands..."
Zhuang Rui found it amusing, but in the end he still took a photo with Lao Guo. Who knew that this photo would cause more people to gather around and want to take pictures with Zhuang Rui, and some even wanted Zhuang Rui to hold the jade weighing dozens of kilograms, which made Zhuang Rui smile wryly.
"Mr. Tang, whose piece of fabric are you polishing right now?"
"Yes, weren't they all already cut out? How come there's still a piece of material left?"
Others couldn't squeeze through, so they watched as Old Tang polished the stone. They all had some questions in their minds: Wasn't the stone gambling over? Why did they find another piece of material?
"Hehe, this is Xiao Zhuang's piece of jade. It hasn't been fully cut open yet. I'm just rubbing it open to see what quality the jade inside is..."
Old Tang was never pretentious. He explained things to everyone with a smile, but his hands were busy sanding the material.
Before Old Tang could finish speaking, one person curled his lip and said, "Even the best jadeite can't compare to purple-eyed jade, can it? Actually, in my opinion, Old Tang should have won today's competition..."
"That's not necessarily true. We gamble on stones to make money, right? Teacher Zhuang's piece is worth more than the purple-eyed one..."
Before the man finished speaking, someone nearby spoke up for Zhuang Rui.
Chapter 981 Well Deserved!