Hu Rong was amused by Zhuang Rui's expression. Without any hesitation, he fixed the piece of black sand onto the stone cutting machine, grabbed a grinding wheel, and turned on the power.
Who is that young man?
"I don't recognize him, but he actually won over 100 million yuan worth of jade in the gamble. No wonder Mr. Hu was so polite to him..."
"His surname is Zhuang. Could he be that young man from the Pingzhou public auction last year?"
Upon hearing Hu Rong's words, the onlookers began to speculate about Zhuang Rui's background. In their eyes, anyone who could participate in the jade auction was a big shot. Some quick-witted people even guessed Zhuang Rui's identity.
Hu Rong squatted down, relentlessly grinding the surface of the jet-black raw stone with a grinder. He wasn't targeting one spot; instead, after removing the black outer layer, he would immediately change angles. It seemed he intended to remove the entire outer layer of the stone.
This piece of black jadeite was not very large to begin with. After about 10 minutes, the black outer layer of the stone had been completely polished away, revealing the slightly whitish gray crystals.
"Uncle Hu, it looks like it's turning green..."
Xiao Wang brought a basin of water and washed the rough stone after wiping off the outer layer. Through the thin layer of white crystals, he could vaguely see a hint of green inside.
"Hmm, it needs to be wiped a little more. Xiao Wang, could you move aside?"
Hu Rong snorted dismissively. The appearance of green was within his expectations, but judging from the current state, the texture and color seemed to be average. If it were a high-quality green jade, the green color would have been clearly visible by now, instead of being so faintly visible.
In Hu Rong's mind, even if the jadeite inside this rough stone was of poor quality, he was still guaranteed to beat Zhuang Rui, because Hu Rong couldn't see any signs of jadeite in the stone that Zhuang Rui had chosen.
As the white crystal was gradually peeled away, the jade inside was revealed. After about half an hour, a piece of jade the size of a baby's fist appeared in Hu Rong's palm.
After being washed with water, under the light, the color of this jadeite can be seen to be slightly bluish, and its texture and clarity are not very clear; at best, it can only be classified as bean green jadeite.
However, in today's jade market, even a large piece of jadeite of this size (of the pea-green variety) can sell for over 100,000 yuan. For jadeite, it's a seller's market, not a buyer's market.
"Brother Hu, this piece of black jadeite didn't seem to have any special characteristics, yet you managed to find jadeite in it. You're truly amazing, I'm completely outmatched..."
After Zhuang Rui took the jade and played with it in his hand for a while, he gave Hu Rong a thumbs up. This was not just a polite remark, but a heartfelt expression of admiration. If he didn't have that eye, he would never have chosen this rough stone with its poor appearance and cracks to gamble on.
"As expected of the Jade King of Myanmar, he's truly impressive..."
"Sigh, if only I had Mr. Hu's eye for detail..."
"Let's check out Mr. Hu's stall later, maybe we can find something good..."
“That’s right, we’ll go there later. Boss Hu is Chinese, after all, he won’t be as ruthless as the Burmese boss…”
When Hu Rong unearthed the jadeite, the small processing factory suddenly became noisy. Being able to witness the jadeite king of Myanmar gambling on stones with his own eyes was something to brag about back home.
Hearing Zhuang Rui and the others' praise, Hu Rong didn't show any pride on his face. For him, finding a piece of green jade was nothing special. If it weren't for the bet with Zhuang Rui, he wouldn't have continued cutting after he found the green color. Instead, he would have put it back and sold it. That's the way of doing business for a raw stone merchant.
"Brother Zhuang, it's your turn. We don't know who will win or lose yet..."
To be honest, Hu Rong also wanted to see why Zhuang Rui had chosen this rough stone that had already been cut twice. Zhuang Rui's reputation in the jade gambling circle was built on numerous successful gambles; perhaps there was something about this stone that Hu Rong hadn't noticed.
"Okay, let's see if there's anything inside this piece of material that's been cut in two..."
Zhuang Rui had already removed the raw stone and placed it on the stone-cutting machine. With the thin end facing inward, he turned the mottled surface towards the crowd. The onlookers, seeing Zhuang Rui's posture, thought he was about to cut it in half, and their eyes widened in surprise.
Cutting stone is more exciting than rubbing it. With one cut, you can immediately tell if it's real or fake. It's satisfying to cut and exciting to watch.
However, after Zhuang Rui secured the raw stone, he did not do as everyone wished. Instead, he picked up a grinder and prepared to grind the stone.
Hu Rong was also a little confused and said, "Brother, do we not need to polish this piece of material?"
"Yeah, young man, wouldn't it be so much more satisfying to just make a cut directly..."
"Yeah, it's free material anyway, let's just cut it..."
Others shared the same thought as Hu Rong and began to clamor.
"Damn it, the material itself is free, but the items inside are valuable..."
Zhuang Rui cursed inwardly, then turned to Hu Rong and said, "It looks like this ringworm is seeping in. I'll rub it first. If it doesn't turn green, then I'll cut it in half..."
Hu Rong shook his head but didn't say anything more. Although the moss on the jadeite rough was very likely weathered jadeite residue left outside, it could also be traces left by other magma or associated minerals. Hu Rong couldn't understand why Zhuang Rui could conclude that there was jade inside just from that moss.
Zhuang Rui ignored what others thought and, huffing and puffing, took the grinder and began grinding into the affected area.
However, after wiping in about two centimeters thick, the scab was wiped away, revealing a white crystalline substance with a hint of green.
"stop!"
Hu Rong, who had been squatting on the ground intently watching the grinding, suddenly shouted, startling Zhuang Rui, who quickly turned off the grinder.
"It looks like there's green. Judging from this fog, it should produce some green. This...this...brother, you have a good eye! I've lost our bet..."
Hu Rong cleaned the polished surface, examined it with a magnifying glass for two or three minutes, and then looked at it with an incredulous expression. The surface was misty with a greenish tint, and it was almost certain that there was jade inside.
With Hu Rong's discerning eye, he could tell from the green mist that the quality of the jadeite inside was definitely better than that of the bean-green jadeite.
Chapter 485 The Bet (Part 2)
"It hasn't even turned green yet, Brother Hu. It might not be as good as your piece..."
Zhuang Rui smiled, but instead of continuing to rub the stone from the bottom, he changed his angle and used the stone-rubbing machine to rub the middle part of the rough stone.
Although Zhuang Rui didn't understand carving and design, considering the overall jadeite inside, it seemed that leaving the crystalline material at the base made it look more like a jadeite tree. If the stone underneath was wiped away now, it would be impossible to fill it in later.
As mentioned before, it seems that the person who cut this rough stone must have cursed Buddha that day, as their luck was so bad that both cuts were only three to five centimeters away from the green part. After Zhuang Rui polished the cut surface for about 10 minutes, the green jadeite was revealed to everyone.
"This...this, how is this possible?"
Hu Rong was completely stunned. He could understand if the jade was polished from the bottom, but Zhuang Rui had simply changed the location. And it was the same cut surface, yet green was still revealed.
The green area is about ten centimeters away from the base, which means that this piece of jade should be quite large. Even if it is of the bean-green type, it would be much more valuable than the piece that Hu Ronggang just cut out.
This made Hu Rong's old face somewhat embarrassed. Zhuang Rui had cut out jade from such a piece of material that was generally considered waste. Didn't that mean that everyone in his Hu family was blind and ignorant, actually putting such a piece of rough material into the waste area to sell?
"Uncle Hu, this water is excellent, it's almost icy jadeite. This guy is really amazing! I've seen this piece of material before, Uncle Hu, it looked like a piece of junk. I never expected this guy could cut jadeite out of it. I admire you, I really admire you..."
After Xiao Wang rubbed the side and revealed the green color, he immediately rinsed it with water. The jade, which was about the size of a matchbox, was lush and green, and the water droplets that slid down the jade seemed to turn green as well.
"Hehe, I'm a stubborn person, I often make things difficult for myself. After seeing this flaw, I won't feel at ease until I cut it open. It's all luck, nothing like Brother Hu's success which is based entirely on his eye for talent..."
When Zhuang Rui saw that Hu Rong's expression suddenly turned somewhat unpleasant, he thought it was because he had won and Hu Rong was unhappy. Little did he know that what Hu Rong was unhappy about was that, in terms of discernment, no one in his large family could compare to Zhuang Rui.
Judging from the texture, clarity, and color of this piece of jade, a rough estimate suggests that the jade inside is worth at least tens of millions. The Hu family's decision to treat it as waste material is, to put it nicely, a misjudgment, and to put it bluntly, blatant blindness.
"Brother, don't flatter me. When it comes to gambling on jade, I'm truly no match for you. You're probably the 'Jade King' of Yunnan!"
Even if you come, you're still not as good as me. I've lost this bet, brother..."
Hu Rong wasn't reluctant to spend the money, but he felt ashamed that after decades of gambling on stones since he was a toddler, he was still inferior to Zhuang Rui. However, Xiao Wang and Zhuang Rui's words gave him a way out, so he flattered Zhuang Rui a few times, and his words of admitting defeat were truly heartfelt.
Upon hearing Hu Rong's words, the onlookers all looked at Zhuang Rui in astonishment. They hadn't expected Hu Rong to speak so highly of Zhuang Rui, calling him the "King of Jade" in the jade gambling circle!
Everyone had heard of his name, yet Hu Rong actually called him the "King of Jade"!
Even Zhuang Rui is not as good; if this got out, it would definitely be big news.
"Brother Hu, what do you think of this piece of material?"
"Of course it's yours. I can afford to lose this little bit..."
Hu Rong interrupted Zhuang Rui, clearly displeased.
Zhuang Rui, both amused and exasperated, said, "Brother Hu, that's not what I meant. I was asking if we should continue cutting this piece of material?"
Hu Rong circled the raw stone once and said, "Let's untie it; it's too big to carry around..."
"good……"
Zhuang Rui agreed and picked up the stone-cutting machine to continue cutting. However, the jadeite in this rough stone was quite complex, resembling a tree, and in some places, it was mixed with lower-quality jade. Zhuang Rui's stone-cutting process was very slow.
"Brother, let me take care of it..."
More than an hour later, Hu Rong took the grinding wheel from Zhuang Rui. He hadn't expected the jade inside this rough stone to look like this. After more than an hour, only four or five centimeters of green had been polished out, and it was still extending downwards.
If there were a break, then it could be cut, but the jadeite in the rough stone is a whole, so Hu Rong didn't dare to say anything about cutting it.
It's important to know that the carving of jadeite ornaments is often determined by the shape of the jadeite itself. If the jadeite in the material has a good shape, a single cut can ruin it, greatly reducing its value.
When Hu Rong was polishing the raw stone with a grinding wheel, he was noticeably more careful than Zhuang Rui. He would skip over any areas that were green or had other colors and continue polishing.
As a result, Hu Rong's stone-cutting efficiency was even lower than Zhuang Rui's. More than an hour passed, and it was already past 9 p.m. The crowd of onlookers had long since dispersed. Only Xiao Wang, the owner of the processing plant, was still watching from the sidelines.
Seeing that Hu Rong was covered in sweat but still refused to rest, Zhuang Rui stepped forward and said, "Brother Hu, how about we cut it tomorrow? There should be stone-cutting machines in the mining area, right?"
"No, we have to unravel it today. The shape of this piece is very unique. Look, there are actually two kinds of chalcedony here, red and yellow, which, combined with this green jade, can be carved into a jade bonsai. It's a masterpiece of nature..."
Upon hearing Zhuang Rui's words, Hu Rong stopped what he was doing. Although he looked tired, he was still very excited. Even as he spoke, his eyes were still shining as he looked at the raw stone.
Hu Rong is a jewelry designer himself. His passion for jewelry design even surpasses his passion for managing the family business. He also serves as the design director of a jewelry company in Taiwan. Upon seeing this high-quality, uniquely shaped jade, he naturally wanted to unravel it all and see it for himself.
"Oh dear, I forgot you took a plane today, brother. I'm so sorry. How about I call a car to take you back to your hotel to rest? I'll untangle it today..."
Hu Rong suddenly remembered that Zhuang Rui had just arrived from Yangon today, and had been dragged around aimlessly by Hu Rong since arriving in Mandalay. It was time for him to rest.
Zhuang Rui shook his head and said, "It's alright, Brother Hu, I'll help you. We can take turns solving it, and it'll be faster..."
Zhuang Rui took the grinding wheel from Hu Rong, changed the grinding wheel, and started grinding the raw stone. Hu Rong was also quite tired after more than an hour, so he didn't hesitate to light a cigarette and sit down to rest.
Although Zhuang Rui had the advantage of being able to see inside the rough stone, he still had to be very careful when processing the jadeite. Some of the forked jadeite was extremely fine, and if he wasn't careful, he could easily break off the forks. So he wasn't very fast, and after more than an hour, he had only managed to cut out one-third of the jadeite.
During this time, Zhuang Rui received a call from Peng Fei. Fearing something might have happened to Zhuang Rui, Peng Fei also rushed to the processing factory. Watching Zhuang Rui and Hu Rong take turns cutting the stone, it wasn't until nearly one o'clock in the morning that the jade inside the material was fully revealed.
Because the stone was being cut at night, the lighting wasn't very good, and there were a few areas that were difficult to distinguish that I didn't manage to clean. However, the overall outline of the jadeite was now fully revealed.
This piece of jade is about 25 centimeters tall and is shaped like a tree trunk. It is about the thickness of a thumb at both the top and bottom, and it has four branches in the middle. What is rare is that at each branch, there is a red and yellow jade that looks like an insect.
When placed under strong light, the entire piece of jade looks like a bonsai tree surrounded by colored light bulbs, radiating an alluring glow through the white crystals on its trunk.
"This...this is truly a marvel of nature, Brother Zhuang, we must keep this..."
Hu Rong's gaze was completely drawn to the jadeite, and he muttered to himself, showing no trace of the demeanor of a Burmese jadeite tycoon.
"Brother Hu, if you like it, you can keep it..."
Zhuang Rui felt a little sorry for Hu Rong, but since Hu Rong had asked for it, he couldn't very well refuse.
Hu Rong was stunned for a moment after hearing Zhuang Rui's words, then waved his hands repeatedly and said, "No...no, that's not what I meant. I meant that I will carve this jadeite, and when it's finished, I'll send it to you. The item will still be yours..."
Hu Rong paused for a moment, then continued, "Once this is carved, it will be worth at least 100 million RMB. Brother, I'm completely convinced of your eye for quality..."
"One hundred million? That can't be that expensive, can it? This is just icy jade..."
Zhuang Rui was somewhat surprised by the price Hu Rong mentioned.
"At least 100 million. This kind of jadeite with this shape is extremely rare, and these jade insects are the icing on the cake. The icy jadeite is already quite good. Brother, some people who collect rare stones only care about the shape and don't really care about the material..."