Out of the corner of his eye, Zhuang Rui watched the foreigners moving stones while also examining Boss Jin's pieces of material.
"Yes, Teacher Zhuang has a good eye. These three pieces of material only weigh a little over fifty kilograms, but they cost me a full thirty million..."
Boss Jin nodded repeatedly, but the flattering words he uttered made Zhuang Rui feel a little amused and exasperated.
The three stones that Mr. Jin bought were all semi-gambled rough stones, and they all revealed green color after being polished. No wonder they were so cheap. Even someone new to the world of jade gambling could tell that.
"The material is alright. The green is seeping in in lines, so it's probably a thin-skinned piece. You can probably get a lot of jade out of it. Mr. Jin has a good eye..."
Zhuang Rui picked up a piece of material and commented on it. "I must say, Boss Jin is really lucky."
The piece of jade in Zhuang Rui's hand, about the size of a ball, is full of high-grade icy jade with a hint of green. Zhuang Rui estimated that he could extract about ten pounds of it, and this one piece alone would be enough for Boss Jin to recoup his investment.
"Oh, thank you so much, Professor Zhuang. I'm sure I'll be able to solve it later..."
Upon hearing Zhuang Rui's words, Boss Jin was overjoyed. He had lost over ten million yuan today, hoping to make it back by gambling on a few pieces of jade.
People who gamble on stones love to hear auspicious words, and Zhuang Rui's words immediately made Boss Jin's face light up with joy. However, Zhuang Rui's attention was focused on those Westerners.
"Steve, how about we try to skirt the edges like the Chinese do?"
"George is right, shall we start wiping away from this dirty spot?"
Zhuang Rui overheard every word of the conversation between several Westerners in English, and couldn't help but laugh. There really is a difference between Chinese and Western cultures. It was clearly tinea unguium, but the foreigner called it something dirty. Why don't you try washing it and see if you can get rid of it?
“Red, you don’t understand. This isn’t dirt. It’s jade that’s been exposed to the elements and weathered. Usually, stones with this kind of substance contain jade…”
Steve, who could speak Chinese, was quite knowledgeable, which surprised Zhuang Rui. This man looked young, yet he was so knowledgeable about jade.
"Zhuang Rui, that person is the Chief Gemologist of the British Royal Family. He is also very knowledgeable about gemstones from all over the world and has a great reputation in the international jewelry industry..."
Qin Haoran's voice rang in Zhuang Rui's ears. It turned out that this guy looked young, but he was actually forty-five or forty-six years old and had been studying jade for more than ten years.
Steve lived in China for a period of time to learn about jade. After returning to Europe, he came to China many times as a representative of some British jewelry consortia to purchase jadeite rough stones.
Zhuang Rui smiled and shook his head, somewhat unconvinced. So what if he was the chief jeweler of the British royal family? He might not be able to spot the trickery in this piece of jade.
"Hey, can you guys hurry up a bit? Let me start cutting the stone. You can't keep dragging your feet like this, can you?"
Mr. Jin couldn't understand what the foreigners were discussing, but he saw them talking endlessly, and he immediately became a little impatient.
People who come to have stones cut usually have already selected the rough stones beforehand and even know how to cut them. It's rare to see people like these who are just cramming at the last minute.
"Right away, right away, I'm sorry..."
Upon hearing Mr. Jin's words, Steve politely apologized, but then picked up a grinder and began to grind the affected area inwards.
"Hey, I have to say, this foreigner's got some skills..."
"Yes, if you rub along the edge of the blemish, and there's jade inside, you'll see it immediately..."
"Someone who can spend tens of millions on gambling on stones, could he not have expected this? But compared to Teacher Zhuang, this foreigner is far inferior..."
As Zhuang Rui arrived at the stone-cutting machine, many people gathered around to watch the stone cutting, and they all began to discuss Steve's stone-cutting skills.
Chapter 986 Finding a Bargain (Part 2)
The cutting of stones during the gambling process is always the most attractive thing for these jade merchants.
Regardless of whether it's your own rough stone or not, the joy and disappointment after a successful cut or a failed gamble can be quite addictive.
This time was no exception. In particular, the presence of several foreigners cutting stones attracted a lot of attention, which made the foreigners a little uncomfortable. In the end, Steve took the grinding wheel himself and began to polish the raised parts of the raw stone.
The grinding wheel made a constant "crunching" sound as it rubbed against the stone, and white powder and stone chips flew everywhere. Before long, Steve had changed three grinding wheels, and a four- or five-centimeter-deep cut had appeared on the rough stone.
Experience tells us that jadeite is often found beneath blemishes, but to Steve's disappointment, no jadeite appeared under the blemishes, casting a shadow over his mind.
When another grinding wheel was worn out and unusable, Steve finally lost his patience. After discussing it with the two people next to him, he picked up the handle of the stone cutter.
"Click...click click..."
When it comes to foreigners gambling on stones, they are much more efficient and decisive than the Chinese. With one cut, Steve removed the pointed stone from the rough stone.
George, who was standing nearby, quickly splashed a basin of water onto the cut surface, but to their disappointment, no green appeared on the smooth surface.
"Sigh, it's collapsed..."
A huge sigh rang out. Although it wasn't their own gambling that caused them to lose, nine out of ten people present had experienced this situation before, so their sighs were a sign of shared misfortune.
Of course, the only person who has never lost money gambling on jadeite rough is Teacher Zhuang. If you count, since Zhuang Rui debuted, he has never lost money gambling on jadeite rough in public.
"I said, are you still planning to cut it?"
One of the onlookers, who spoke fluent English, immediately told Steve, "What you're seeing on the cut surface is a rocky cross-section, not a grainy, crystalline texture. This piece is basically ruined..."
"No...no, only a quarter has been cut off so far, there are still three-quarters left. I firmly believe that jade can be found there..."
Steve stubbornly shook his head. Perhaps Westerners have their own unique insights into jade gambling? Steve turned the rough stone upside down and placed the other pointed end under the alloy gear.
Upon seeing this, Zhuang Rui's heart leaped into his throat, because the blue jade was located at that sharp corner. If Steve cut close to the edge, he could easily cut it out with a single stroke.
"Crack...crack crack!"
Steve didn't draw any lines at all, and just made a cut like before. But after cleaning the cut surface, the guy was dumbfounded – nothing came out on either side.
Zhuang Rui breathed a sigh of relief, then looked at the stone lying on the ground, ignored by everyone, and began to make plans in his mind.
Going directly to buy it would be difficult to set a price, and the other party might not even be willing to sell. How to get that piece of material weighing more than ten kilograms was quite a headache for Zhuang Rui.
"Hmm? Finished?"
As Zhuang Rui was deep in thought, another loud sigh rang out beside him. Looking towards the stone-cutting machine, he saw that the largest piece of material had been split in two, but they still couldn't extract any jade.
Steve's face was rather grim as he stared blankly at the stone fragments on the ground. What had been a sure thing for him had ended in failure, a situation that was hard for the proud and arrogant Steve to accept.
The fact that he had been so embarrassed in front of this group of Chinese people whom Steve considered uncultured and ill-mannered made him even more upset. He said, "George, let's cut a few more pieces and see..."
"Alright, Steve, God is on holiday today and isn't here to help us..."
George, who was standing nearby, patted Steve on the shoulder. He was Steve's employer and also a tycoon in the British jewelry industry, with a net worth of billions of dollars.
George could accept losing a rough stone worth three or four million euros, and he comforted Steve at the time.
"Oh no, George, maybe the emerald is hidden in here?"
Steve, unwilling to give up, cut the stone again, breaking down the more than 200 kilograms of raw stone into pieces scattered all over the ground.
Someone nearby couldn't stand it any longer and spoke up: "Hey buddy, do you even know anything about jade gambling? If you can't see any green inside this cut, it's a bad gamble. Even if you break it down into cells, there's no way you'll find jade..."
Mr. Jin was also getting impatient and urged, "Yes, why waste time like this? If you're done, let me start unraveling it..."
"Okay, just the last piece, I'll stop cutting after this..."
Steve looked somewhat dejected. As a gem appraiser, he should have been gambling on semi-gambled rough stones, but this was the one he insisted on buying. Now that the gamble had failed, although the boss didn't say anything, Steve himself felt a little embarrassed.
"Alright, Steve, it's no big deal if you lose on one stone. Next time we'll buy stones with windows cut out, then you can really use your strengths..."
As an internationally renowned jewelry tycoon, George found the feeling of being stared at very unpleasant. He immediately grabbed George and said, "We can leave now, we can come back tomorrow!"
After exchanging a glance with George, Steve sighed and said, "Alright, George, I'll make sure you get your money's worth tomorrow..."
"Hey, I'm telling you, keep cutting, maybe we'll find jade..."
A voice suddenly rang out, causing everyone to cast disdainful glances toward the source of the sound. This piece of material, weighing over two hundred pounds, had already been cut into eight pieces without revealing any jade. Continuing to cut it would be pointless.
"Oh? Teacher Zhuang?"
Why does Teacher Zhuang say that?
"I don't know, maybe they're just mocking these foreigners? The entire history of jade development is in China, and these foreigners come here to join in the fun, they deserve to fail..."
When everyone followed the sound and saw Zhuang Rui, they were all dumbfounded. However, some people who thought they were clever quickly offered an explanation.
The guy who said that didn't seem to realize that in Myanmar, apart from the Burmese people, everyone else was a foreigner?
"Oh, young man, are you mocking me for not knowing anything about jade gambling?"
George looked rather grim. Although he was wealthy, he had built his fortune through hard work. Apart from being willing to spend on investments, he lived a very frugal life. Many people said he didn't seem like a British person, but more like a Jew.
Although George didn't know much about jade gambling, he did have some basic knowledge. Like the onlookers, he thought Zhuang Rui was mocking him.
“Oh no, I think Mr. Steve is right. Who knows, if we turn these remaining rough stones into strips, we might get some unexpected rewards…”
Zhuang Rui shook his head and said with a serious expression, but his words had a slightly teasing tone.
"Enough, young man, stop showing off your cleverness. Jade gambling isn't a Chinese invention. Don't be surprised that I don't know anything about it..."
George was genuinely angry. The other person was already injured, and this young man was rubbing salt into the wound; it was incredibly unfair.
"Oh, since Mr. George is unwilling to continue dissecting, could you sell me these broken stones?"
Zhuang Rui and George were speaking in English, which only a small number of people nearby could understand. They were immediately surprised. This was already a piece of junk, so why did Zhuang Rui still buy it?
George and the others did not know Zhuang Rui, nor did they know his reputation, but the onlookers knew Zhuang Rui very well, and they all stared at the scraps on the ground.
"Will I sell you these stones?"
George was taken aback upon hearing this, and looked Zhuang Rui up and down carefully. This young man didn't seem like a fool, and a look of suspicion immediately appeared in his eyes.
"Yes, I want to see if jadeite can be found after these rough stones are turned into individual stone strips..."
Zhuang Rui wore a mocking smile, which greatly annoyed George. His eyes darted around, and he said, "Alright, young man, I admire your persistence, but buying these rough stones won't be cheap..."
Zhuang Rui laughed upon hearing this, waved his hand, and said, "Hehe, I just unpacked it for fun. You can sell it or not, it's up to you. With Mr. George's reputation in England, I'm sure he won't care about that little bit of money, right?"
Zhuang Rui's words sparked a flurry of discussion among the onlookers. Their eyes burned with excitement as they looked at the rough stones on the ground. They absolutely refused to believe that someone of Zhuang Rui's status would be so bored as to cut stones for fun.
However, firstly, Zhuang Rui's reputation was undeniable; secondly, they were all Chinese, and it wouldn't be appropriate to compete for business at this juncture; and thirdly, they weren't sure if there was jade among these scraps. They were all watching the situation unfold in a volatile manner.
“Oh, young man, since you know my name, you also know that I am an Englishman known as a Jew…”
George grinned like an old fox and continued, "This damn stone cost me three hundred and eighty euros. Young man, if you want to take it, you'll have to come up with one hundred thousand euros." In George's mind, the broken stone was already worthless. He was asking for one hundred thousand euros to make Zhuang Rui back down.
If... just if, Zhuang Rui were willing to take out 100,000 euros, then for George, it would be like making a profit for free. George, who started from scratch, had analyzed these intermediate steps in great detail.
George hadn't considered what would happen if... if jadeite were actually found in the remaining material, how would his losses be calculated?
"One hundred thousand euros?"
Zhuang Rui grinned like a little fox, snapped his fingers with his thumb and forefinger, and said, "Mr. George, the deal is done..."