The stone was indeed too big, and for quite a while, sand and stones flew everywhere. After the noise stopped, Old Zhang squinted and asked, "How do we cut the rest?"
The two stones, with the cut surface in the middle still grayish-white, not to mention green, there wasn't even a trace of any other slightly inferior color.
Zhou Xuan pointed to the right half and said, "Cut it in the middle!"
The onlookers couldn't help but shake their heads. This was just buying some stones for five thousand yuan and cutting them for fun. Who cuts stones like this? If there was jade, wouldn't it have been shattered too?
Zhou Xuan wanted to save the surprise for last, to provoke Chen Chen, and then encourage him to cut the stone, so that while he would envy him, he would also deliver a great tragedy to show this bastard his arrogance!
Old Zhang, thinking that it was just waste stone anyway and didn't care about ruining his reputation, cut the half into several pieces according to Zhou Xuan's instructions. No matter how he cut it, not a single bit of green appeared.
With only the left half of the large stone remaining, Zhou Xuan walked to the cutting machine, hugged the half in his hands, seemingly to test its weight, but actually to release icy energy to pinpoint the jade's location. Then, he clasped his hands together and chanted a sutra: "Amitabha, Bodhisattva, please bless us with a piece of jade!"
Everyone found it amusing. At first, he seemed indifferent and not worried at all, but with only half a minute left, he suddenly started to fawn over the Buddha.
Then Zhou Xuan scratched his head and said to Master Zhang, "Master Zhang, there's only half a slice left, so cut it slowly, don't give up all at once..."
Fu Ying couldn't help but chuckle. This guy did have a good sense of humor.
Old Zhang also liked Zhou Xuan's straightforwardness to some extent, and said with a smile, "Okay, whatever you say goes."
Zhou Xuan grunted in agreement, pointed to a spot about ten centimeters from the edge of the stone, and said, "Let's cut from here. One, two, three, four, we can make four more cuts. We still have four chances!"
Chen Chen chuckled and muttered under his breath, "Idiot!"
Although he spoke softly, Zhou Xuan had excellent hearing and was not far away, so he heard it. He hummed to himself, "In the end, let's see who's the idiot!"
No one cared at the moment, and Old Zhang was also indifferent. After cutting the stone with his knife, he looked at it and suddenly paused, exclaiming "Eh!" He then looked down at it and gently wiped away the stone chips with his hand.
In the center of the cut half of the stone, a bright green sliver just barely seeped out. If it were cut any more, it might be damaged, but if it were cut any less, this sliver of green wouldn't be visible. It was truly just the right amount, not too much and not too little!
At this moment, the people in the hall began to exclaim: "The bet is on! The bet is on! The bet is on!"
This wisp of green is like a verdant lawn, like a kingfisher, its watery green so vibrant it seems to drip with moisture. Although not very intense, it is a superior, bright green.
Just based on this hint of green, the value of this half-piece of raw stone has already soared. It's only slightly less green than the rough stone that Mr. Yang spent 13 million on. It's definitely a gamble that paid off!
This surprised everyone. The one who regretted it the most was the boss, Li Dagong; the one who was most envious was Chen Chen; and the one who was most surprised was the three girls, Fu Ying, Wang Jue, and Yang Xuan.
Zhou Xuan himself wasn't particularly surprised. He already knew the result, so what was there to be excited about? The only thing he wanted to know was how much the jade would be worth after it was cut open!
Old Zhang stopped moving and looked at Zhou Xuan, who was deep in thought.
Old Zhang actually wanted to ask Zhou Xuan if he was confused and wanted to resell the stone. Just based on the green strip that was cut out, it was worth at least five million. If he resold it like that, he would make money without taking any more risks. If he cut it again, it might turn into gray sandstone again. After all, this raw stone was originally a piece of waste material without any warning.
As Old Zhang was thinking this, someone actually made an offer. It was Boss Yang, who had spent 13 million before. He leaned over and asked Zhou Xuan, "Young man, would you be willing to sell it to me? I'll offer 4 million!"
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Volume One: The Lotus Buds Just Begin to Emerge, Chapter Forty-Three: A Knife That Brings Life, A Knife That Kills.
When Boss Yang bid four million, Chen Chen also bid. He was close to Zhou Xuan, held up two fingers, and said, "I'll add another two hundred thousand, four million two hundred thousand. How about that? That's enough for you to live on for a lifetime. You've struck it rich this time!"
Zhou Xuan glanced at him with a smile and said, "Your stone is better than mine, right? You'll make a fortune, hehe!"
He then turned to Master Zhang and said, "Master Zhang, continue cutting the stone. Now, well, I won't make the decision. You can use your experience to help me cut it!"
Chen Chen blushed slightly. He knew Zhou Xuan was referring to the fact that the rough stone he initially bought wasn't as good as this one, yet he'd spent 4.6 million yuan on it. Now, Zhou Xuan wanted to buy the better quality stone, but was only offering 4.2 million yuan. It seemed Zhou Xuan wasn't as foolish as he'd imagined. He knew that gambling on stones was risky; even if the first cut had yielded a profit, who knew what the next cut would bring? A country bumpkin like him was better off knowing when to quit while he was ahead. He could make four or five million yuan by selling now, rather than living in constant fear. ()
Chen Chen was slightly disappointed when he saw that Zhou Xuan ignored him and instead let Master Zhang cut again. But he thought that if it were him, he would also have to cut it again. After all, if he cut out a good green color, the chances of winning the gamble would increase greatly. Since it was a gamble, who wouldn't want to take another chance? Maybe he would cut out a good piece of jade!
Master Zhang also began to look at Zhou Xuan with new respect. Although this young Zhou seemed clumsy and inexperienced, he was incredibly lucky. He had cut a whole bunch of stones, and when he cut them open, they were all just piles of waste. But this last big stone was strange. He cut it in the middle, but there was no green in the middle. He cut the right half to pieces, but there was still no green. But for the last left half, he suddenly changed his mind and decided to cut it slowly. Who would have thought that when he made that cut, there was actually green!
Is Zhou Xuan really stupid or just pretending? Old Zhang wondered to himself, but his hands were not slow. He slightly turned the stone. If green is found on the rough stone, in order not to damage the integrity of the jade, one usually rubs more and cuts less. However, judging from the green that appeared on this side of the rough stone, the size and shape of the jade can be estimated in the center of this half of the stone.
Master Zhang was an experienced veteran. He made three cuts on the left, right, and back sides of the stone to cut open the outer thin skin, but no green came out from these three cuts.
Everyone couldn't help but sigh. They had just asked him to sell, but he wouldn't. After these few cuts, the price of the rough stone had dropped again.
However, the rough stone was still about the size of a basketball. At this point, Master Zhang stopped cutting it and started using a grinding wheel to polish the stone. Polishing the stone is the safest method for rough stones that have already revealed green color. If you slowly polish from the side inwards, you will not damage the jade inside.
Sure enough, after wiping it a few times, a little bit of green appeared on the right side and the very center of the back.
Master Zhang had a plan in mind, and then he changed to wiping from top to bottom. When he slowly wiped away the dust and sand from the outer shell of the rough stone, the remaining stone core was about the size of a wine bottle, slightly rectangular, and completely covered with a layer of green.
It's definitely safe to say the bet has won!
Amidst the gasps of amazement, Old Zhang handed the green rough stone to Zhou Xuan and said, "Young man, you're really lucky. Now you can decide whether to resell it or continue gambling. With the core surrounded by green on all four sides, this piece of material is almost certainly going to yield jadeite. The only uncertainty is the quality and clarity of the jadeite. The best green jadeite is generally characterized by 'richness,' 'brightness,' 'vibrancy,' 'purity,' and 'harmony.' If it has mixed colors or intermittent stripes, then it's considered 'impure' or 'blemished'! Judging from the green it's exposed, although it's slightly pale, it's a vibrant green without any impurities. I estimate there's a very high probability it will be of medium to high quality. If you resell it now, you can get at least eight million. Think about it!"
Chen Chen, eager to try, said again, "How about I offer six million?" Although Old Zhang said he could offer at least eight million, the jade hadn't been fully unearthed yet, so he didn't know the quality of the jade. Besides, no one had made an offer yet. If no one made an offer, then his offer of six million wouldn't be unreasonable. A deal requires mutual consent.
Although Chen Chen was somewhat frivolous, he was capable enough to be a manager at such a young age. He had been in the industry for quite some time and had already realized that Zhou Xuan's stone was much more valuable than the one he had bought. His stone was still a rough stone with only green on the surface, while Zhou Xuan's stone had already had its outer shell completely polished off and was entirely covered in green, confirming that it contained jadeite inside. Naturally, its value was higher than his stone.
Zhou Xuan remained unmoved. Since even raw jadeite that revealed green was so valuable, the genuine old mine jadeite inside would be worth at least as much. He disdained Chen Chen's temptation.
Even Fu Ying and the other two girls were surprised and fell silent, since Zhou Xuan had indeed won the bet.
Zhou Xuan handed the green stone core back to Old Zhang and said, "Master Zhang, I'd like to trouble you one more time. I've decided to polish it all out."
Old Zhang nodded. "Let's polish it then." As a jade gambler, the gambling mentality plays a significant role. Even with his current mindset, he desperately wanted to polish the stone completely. After all, it's extremely difficult to find a piece of good quality jadeite these days. Besides, given the price Zhou Xuan offered, he wouldn't lose money no matter what the quality of the jadeite turned out to be. Judging from the color of the jadeite encased in the outer layer, even the worst piece wouldn't be worse than an oily green jadeite. Even if it were an oily green jadeite, its value would far exceed the five thousand yuan he offered.
Master Zhang changed to a finer grinding wheel and carefully rubbed away the surface layer by layer. He stopped rubbing whenever the surface of the jade was slightly exposed and started rubbing the other side. This period of fine work was much more tiring than when he first started cutting the stone. After half an hour, Master Zhang's forehead was covered in sweat.
This job is extremely demanding in terms of energy and physical strength.
Finally, when Lao Zhang had almost completely wiped away the outer layer of the jadeite, the entire piece was revealed. It was about 30 centimeters long, 20 centimeters wide, and about ** centimeters thick. However, it was covered with too many stone dust particles, making it impossible to see the texture.
Old Zhang rolled up the hem of his shirt and began wiping the jade, cleaning away the dust and pebbles before taking a closer look.