However, by nightfall, Zhuang Rui had not found any suitable materials. There were a few that were not bad, but they were semi-gambling materials, and the prices were ridiculously high. They would definitely fetch astronomical prices when the bidding opened, so Zhuang Rui was too lazy to get involved.
When the Burmese soldiers at the jade center began clearing the area, Zhuang Rui and Qin Haoran prepared to go back. Overall, the day had been fruitless.
"Teacher Zhuang, wait a minute..."
Just as I stepped out of the jade trading center, someone called out to Zhuang Rui from behind.
"Who are you……"
Zhuang Rui looked at the middle-aged man in his forties in front of him. He seemed to recognize him. It was as if he had seen him yesterday when he was cutting stones, but there were too many people at the time, and Zhuang Rui couldn't remember his name.
"Teacher Zhuang, my surname is Guo, you can just call me Lao Guo..."
The visitor was very humble, a man in his forties, who acted like a student in front of Zhuang Rui, appearing somewhat reserved.
This is not Guo's fault. A person's identity is sometimes a very strange thing, like an invisible barrier that can put inexplicable pressure on people.
Those statements about people being arrogant and domineering are pure nonsense. Only when the person in question reveals their identity can they exert pressure on others, and this pressure is mostly self-created.
Just like an ancient emperor traveling incognito, those who don't know him won't know and won't think he's some important figure. But once they know his identity, they'll definitely feel a sense of awe and fear.
Zhuang Rui is now a top figure in the jade industry. Not to mention Lao Guo, even those old men in their fifties and sixties respectfully address Zhuang Rui as "Teacher Zhuang." As the saying goes, there is no order of learning; those who achieve mastery are teachers.
"Brother Zhuang, he's the one who ran the gambling den yesterday and bet on Old Master Tang. He's probably made a killing this time..."
Li Zhen recognized Lao Guo and whispered in Zhuang Rui's ear that he only remembered when he saw Lao Guo that he and Peng Fei still had 100,000 yuan that they hadn't redeemed. It seemed he would have to go find that Boss Jin later.
"Mr. Guo, is there anything I can help you with?"
The sedan chair is carried by people, and this face is given by others. Naturally, Zhuang Rui would not directly call him Lao Guo. After several years of experience in society, Zhuang Rui has transformed from a naive young man into a boss with a literary temperament.
"Hehe, Teacher Zhuang, I won two lottery tickets today and I'm about to solve them. I was thinking... I was wondering if you could take a look at them? I don't know if that would be alright?"
As Guo spoke, he rubbed his hands together, appearing somewhat nervous. He and Zhuang Rui were complete strangers with no prior relationship. It was only natural that Zhuang Rui would agree or disagree with his sudden request.
Guo escaped death yesterday. At first, he felt hopeless, but Zhuang Rui unexpectedly found the imperial green jadeite, which secured his victory and put the 40 million taels of silver into his pocket.
So today, Lao Guo had a great time at the open auction, winning two bids in a row, which are now on the bulldozer following behind him.
"This... tonight..."
Zhuang Rui was about to refuse, but then he suddenly remembered what Old Tang had told him, and said, "I'll stay a little later tonight, I'll go with Boss Guo to take a look..."
Saying things against his will, Zhuang Rui finally understood the meaning of the saying "the higher you climb, the colder it gets." Sometimes, the greater your ability, the more responsibilities you have to bear.
Moreover, the more inconspicuous something is, the more likely it is to be the subject of gossip. This public opinion can elevate someone to a pedestal, but it can also bring them down.
"Oh, thank you, thank you, Teacher Zhuang. You don't know, the first time I saw jade gambling was when you were in Pingzhou. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have been able to get into this business..."
When Lao Guo heard that Zhuang Rui had agreed, his face lit up with joy, and he followed behind Zhuang Rui, looking no different from a fan meeting their idol.
What Lao Guo said was true. At that time, he was visiting Pingzhou as a tourist. His traditional business was having some difficulties, and after seeing Zhuang Rui make hundreds of millions of RMB from a single stone, he had the idea of changing careers.
In recent years, the jade market has soared, and materials such as bean green jade, which were once looked down upon by industry insiders, have become quite valuable. After entering the industry, Lao Guo has also made a small fortune, and he has always regarded Zhuang Rui as his mentor.
That's why I had the bet with Boss Jin yesterday. Especially after Zhuang Rui beat Old Tang, if there hadn't been no incense or candles for sale, Old Guo probably would have immediately treated Zhuang Rui like a living Buddha.
Zhuang Rui never expected that his trip to Pingzhou back then would actually change Lao Guo's life. However, he felt much closer to Lao Guo. He called out to Qin Haoran, and the group headed towards the stone-cutting area together.
There were significantly fewer people in the stone-cutting area today than yesterday. Only those who had bought rough stones at high prices hoping to make a fortune, and jewelers waiting to take advantage of the situation, immediately made way for Zhuang Rui when he arrived.
"Teacher Zhuang, are you getting stones cut again today?"
"Teacher Zhuang, are these two pieces your materials?"
"Teacher Zhuang is about to cut another stone, everyone hurry over and take a look..."
Zhuang Rui's arrival caused an uproar in the stone-cutting area. Even the people who were cutting stones and cleaning windows stopped what they were doing and swarmed around Zhuang Rui.
A person's reputation is built on the shoulders of Old Tang in the jade gambling industry. Who wouldn't want to get along well with this young man? In the future, when purchasing raw materials, a single word from him could save them a lot of losses.
Just as Zhuang Rui was about to step forward to clarify, Lao Guo stepped forward and shouted, "Hey...hey, everyone, don't push, don't push! Teacher Zhuang isn't here to cut the stone today, he's here to help me assess it, so please don't push..."
As Lao Guo spoke, a smug look appeared on his face. To be able to get Teacher Zhuang to take a look at his work, what a huge honor that must be! And indeed, everyone in the room looked on with envy.
A figure pushed his way out of the crowd, approached Lao Guo, and cursed, "Lao Guo, you're fucking lucky..."
"Oh, Brother Jin, this... it's not my fault. Tomorrow, I'll host a banquet for you to apologize, okay?"
When Lao Guo saw that it was Boss Jin, a smile immediately appeared on his face. He had already won money, so he couldn't pretend to be innocent after getting a good deal, could he?
"Get lost, it's not like I can't afford to lose that little bit of money. I'll just have Teacher Zhuang take a look at the materials later..."
Boss Jin laughed and cursed. His business was much bigger than Lao Guo's, so 20 million was nothing to him. He hadn't done anything else all morning and had already lost more than 10 million.
In the afternoon, Mr. Jin was a little unwilling to give up, so he went to the open bidding area, selected a piece of material, and bid on it. Now he's queuing up to have the stone cut.
"Okay, I'll talk to them for you later..."
Old Guo wasn't familiar with Zhuang Rui, but he couldn't show any weakness at this moment. So he glanced at Zhuang Rui, who was surrounded by the crowd, and patted his chest to agree.
"Come on, come over here. Line up your material in front of mine, and I'll have Teacher Zhuang take a look at it later..."
Boss Jin pulled Lao Guo aside and directed the bulldozer to drive to a stone cutting machine on the right.
When the bidding ends, the stone-cutting area becomes the busiest place, with all seven stone-cutting machines and more than twenty grinding machines almost completely full. If you arrive a little late, you have to wait in line.
"Hey, I'm saying, my material is ranked first, how come you've moved up to the front?"
As Boss Jin was directing the bulldozer to lower the stones, he noticed three people lifting a piece of material weighing over 200 kilograms onto the stone cutting machine, and he couldn't help but shout.
Mr. Jin had been queuing for almost an hour before it was his turn. Now that someone had cut in line, he was naturally unhappy. As for letting Lao Guo cut in front of him, wasn't that because of Zhuang Rui's influence?
"#￥￥%#%……"
Upon hearing Boss Jin's words, the three men who were working put down the stone and turned around. However, what they said left Boss Jin completely bewildered. It turned out to be three foreigners with golden eyes and blue hair.
Although Mr. Jin's business was quite large, he hadn't received much higher education. He made his fortune in copper mining and had rarely left home. His English was limited to "bye-bye," and he couldn't even say "hello!"
I don't even know how to say it.
Chapter 985 Finding a Bargain (Part 1)
"They said they were preparing to cut the stone because you had just left..."
Just because Boss Jin didn't understand didn't mean Zhuang Rui didn't understand either; he immediately translated for Boss Jin.
Zhuang Rui had seen Westerners gambling on stones before in Myanmar, but most of them would transport the raw stones back to their home countries before cutting them. This was the first time he had seen them in this stone-cutting area, and he felt a bit curious.
In the eyes of Westerners, jade is a type of gemstone and was not highly valued in the past. Even when the British occupied Burma and ruled it as a colony, they mined mainly gold and other minerals and did not pay much attention to jade.
However, in the past decade or so, after Chinese jadeite jewelry has won numerous awards at international jewelry exhibitions, Westerners have gradually turned their attention to jadeite and have begun to try selling jadeite jewelry.
Due to the cool beauty and rarity of jadeite, jadeite jewelry quickly became a target for collectors in the Western upper class, with prices even exceeding those in China.
As a result, many Western jewelers also began to pay attention to jadeite rough stones.
In recent years, Westerners have been a regular presence at almost every jade auction, and they have been very generous with their spending, thus creating competition with Chinese raw jade merchants to some extent.
Zhuang Rui's participation in the Myanmar jade auction was inextricably linked to these Westerners. A British consortium had taken a liking to Hu Rong and Zhuang Rui's jade mines and intended to acquire them, which ultimately led to Zhuang Rui's trip to Myanmar. ...
"Now that I'm back, shouldn't you make way? Besides, even though I'm gone, the fabric is still here..."
Boss Jin didn't care whether the foreigners could understand him or not, and started shouting. This is not the time before liberation. In the eyes of China's rich, Westerners are nothing.
"Alright, you can have it!"
Unexpectedly, the foreigner in charge spoke fluent Chinese and was even more efficient in his work. He immediately directed the other two to carry the rough stone down.
"Tch, what's with the big shot acting all high and mighty just because he can speak Chinese..."
Mr. Jin reluctantly had the forklift put down the two pieces of material belonging to Lao Guo, and casually handed over two $100 notes as a tip.
The two pieces of jade from Lao Guo were not large. Boss Jin and Lao Guo lifted one piece and put it on the stone-cutting machine.
"You can cut stones, he can't, and then...then..."
The foreigner suddenly stepped in front of Mr. Jin and said, "He came later. You can, but he can't. He has to be behind me. You... China, you need order!"
To be honest, Westerners do value order more than Chinese people. So when Mr. Jin asked them to move aside, none of the foreigners said anything. But when they saw Lao Guo trying to cut in line, they immediately objected.
Upon hearing this, Boss Jin became displeased and retorted, "Hey, I'm in front of everyone. Let whoever wants to go first is free. It's none of your business!"
Back in China, even county magistrates and secretaries would have to put on a smiling face when they saw Boss Jin. Now that he's been lectured by a few foreigners, he feels a bit embarrassed.
Seeing the argument, the Burmese soldiers on guard perimeter gathered around, along with a staff member from the organizing committee. After hearing what had happened, the staff member pointed at Mr. Jin and said, "You can start cutting the stone, but his raw stone will have to wait until these guests have finished cutting it..."
"Damn it, we've been enslaved for decades, treated like slaves, and you still dare to speak up for us..."
Boss Jin was very dissatisfied with the staff's handling of the situation and muttered some foul language under his breath. The soldiers with live guns and nuclear weapons were still quite intimidating.
"Old Guo, Teacher Zhuang, I'm really sorry, how about you solve this part for me first?"
Mr. Jin glanced at Zhuang Rui and said cautiously, "Mr. Zhuang, could you also take a look and tell me where it would be best to make the incision?"
"Okay, let me take a look..."
Zhuang Rui nodded. Since he was already here today, looking at one piece of material or ten pieces was the same thing, and it wouldn't take up much of his energy.
"Hmm? This stone..."
Zhuang Rui walked to the stone next to Boss Jin's stone. He originally wanted to move the rough stone, which weighed only fifty or sixty pounds, onto the stone-cutting machine. However, upon glancing at it, he noticed a piece of material that he recognized very well next to the stone-cutting machine.
This is the same piece of blue jade that was snatched away during the bidding process. The winning bid was 3.8 million euros, which was 500,000 euros higher than Zhuang Rui's bid.
This blue-green jadeite rough is spindle-shaped, with a large belly in the middle and narrow sides, weighing over 200 kilograms, which is considered a large piece among jadeite roughs.
However, this rough stone is quite peculiar. Generally speaking, in rough stones of this shape, the jadeite inside is thickest in the belly-shaped part, and there are also traces of blemishes in that area.
However, this piece of material is different. About five kilograms of blue-green jadeite with floating flowers is all concentrated at the tip of the shuttle, which is very close to the stone skin. If you wipe it in three or four centimeters, you can see the jade material.
Zhuang Rui's offer for this piece of jade was actually quite high. With about five kilograms of jade, even if a master craftsman were to extract it, it would only yield a maximum of seven or eight bracelets and some other ornaments. The estimated total market value would be around 35 million RMB, meaning there wouldn't be much profit.
Zhuang Rui was mainly attracted by the rarity and market popularity of blue-green jadeite with floating flowers. He bid for this rough stone with the attitude of not making a profit, but unexpectedly, it was snatched away by these foreigners.
"Mr. Jin, how about I show you this piece of jade first, and let these foreigners cut the stone first..."
Zhuang Rui had a thought in his mind. This wasn't the first time he had found a bargain at the jade market. What if... these foreigners weren't skilled enough and couldn't cut into the jade? Wouldn't that be a waste of his money?
"Okay, Professor Zhuang, since you've said so, then let's let them have it..."
Boss Jin was eager for Zhuang Rui to take the rough stones seriously, so he immediately nodded in agreement, which made the foreigner who spoke Chinese hold Zhuang Rui's hand and thank him repeatedly.
"Mr. Jin, these pieces of jade may not be big, but they're not cheap, are they?"