Zhou Xuan's understated words made his meaning clear. He was letting Master Zhao make his own decision, and whatever the outcome, he wouldn't blame Master Zhao.
Master Zhao nodded and said nothing more. With his experience and skills, he knew that if there was jade inside this rough stone, it was impossible to break it.
I adjusted the fine grinding wheel for rubbing the stone. The stone shouldn't be fixed on the machine, otherwise I wouldn't be able to get a feel for it. Some fine details can only be felt by hand.
After turning on the power, Mr. Zhao used a small grinding wheel to polish the small stones. The grinding wheel he used was only ten centimeters in diameter. The grinding machine had a handle, and Mr. Zhao held the handle and brought the wheel to the non-green area of the stone to grind it.
Master Zhao first cleaned the grayish-white areas on the stone where there was no green. When cleaning a stone, the first thing to do is to clean the areas without green, because there is a chance that the stone will produce jade in the areas where green appears.
Master Zhao is indeed very experienced. He wasn't particularly optimistic about this rough stone, though the green was indeed very good. As the saying goes, "Where there's a dragon, there's water." In their line of work, "dragon" refers to the green on the jadeite rough. People who gamble on stones usually judge by whether there is green on the surface of the rough stone, or how much green there is, and the direction of the green. Sometimes, even if the green on two rough stones looks similar, an expert can distinguish from some very subtle details whether the direction of the green is from the inside out or from the outside in. If it's from the inside out, then there is a high probability that there is jade inside the stone. If it's from the outside in, then you should be careful. As the saying goes, "One who is near vermilion gets stained red, and one who is near ink gets stained black." Stones near jadeite will have green seeping out over time, which is what is called the green of the rough stone.
The green color that extends from the outside to the inside is usually an extension that seeps out from the jadeite itself. It is very likely that the ore was split during the mining process, thus separating the rough stones that actually contain jade. This rough stone with green color is actually a stone without jade, but it has been soaked in green.
Distinguishing these requires highly advanced skills and years of experience. Of course, this excludes Zhou Xuan, who defies conventional logic. His icy aura allows him to see through objects, determine their age, authenticity, and even cure diseases—abilities beyond the comprehension of these seasoned masters.
In the journey of gambling on jade, it is said that where there is a dragon, there is water. Those who gamble on jade will never choose rough stones with green. How to choose? Of course, it is a matter of each person using their own unique methods. The more green there is in the rough stone, the greater the possibility of finding jade. The better the green, the greater the possibility of finding top-grade or top-quality jadeite.
Of course, nothing is 100% certain. The reason why gambling on rough stones is so tempting is because there is no certainty. If all rough stones had green color and good green color would produce good jade or jadeite, then it wouldn't be gambling. You could just buy rough stones with good green color on the surface.
The uncertainty of jade gambling lies in the fact that a rough stone with excellent green color may turn out to be devoid of jade after being cut open, while a rough stone that is grayish-white and has no green color at all may turn into a high-quality jade. This is why there is the legendary saying that "one cut brings life, one cut brings death, one cut brings heaven, and one cut brings hell." Sometimes, gambling on a single stone can lead to financial ruin, while other times, it can lead to overnight riches!
The unpredictability of jade gambling is what keeps jade gamblers rushing in, even knowing that one step will lead to an abyss of no return. They still plunge headlong into it regardless of everything, because there are good green stones without jade, and there are also lucky things like finding high-quality green stones in the dirt!
While Master Zhao was polishing the stone, Fujimoto and Ito Kinji moved closer to watch. There weren't many other merchants watching, mainly because they all had the same opinion about the rough stone: the green was good, but the size was too small to be considered jade, so they lost interest in watching. Master Zhao had only polished for about ten seconds when his hand paused slightly. He saw that the polishing wheel had just scratched away the surface, revealing a bright, deep green underneath. Polishing green from the outside and polishing green from the outside in are completely different concepts. Polishing from the outside in and revealing green inside means that the green is from the inside out, which basically confirms the presence of jade. As for whether it is ordinary jade or high-quality jadeite, that depends on the difference in the green color, and also on a bit of luck.
Based on the analysis of the green color that had just been rubbed out, it was full, bright, and very moist, as if water was about to seep out. Master Zhao was certain that if he went any further into this green area, it would be the jadeite itself!
Several merchants watching nearby exclaimed in surprise, "The bet has been won! The bet has been won!"
Their exclamation immediately drew a larger crowd of merchants.
This makes one wonder: Zhou Xuan really struck gold? Such a tiny stone yielded a jade piece? That's too easy a gamble!
Master Zhao then stopped. Generally, after the green color is revealed in the stone, one has to see if the owner of the rough stone wants to resell it while it's still in good condition.
A customer approached and examined the rough stone closely. Although it was small, the green that Master Zhao had just polished was different from the green on the outer layer. The outer layer was clearly still stone, though it had some green, but stone is stone, not jadeite. The area that Master Zhao had just polished was clearly the surface layer of a cabochon, indicating that jadeite had already been found. The fact that jadeite could be found on such a shallow surface meant that there was definitely jadeite inside. As for the size, that depended on luck. The green that had been revealed was indeed very good, bright, full, and with good translucency. Even so, it could be used to make several cabochons. In the current international market, a top-quality glassy green jadeite cabochon could cost more than five million yuan. The area that Master Zhao had just polished was at least three centimeters in size. This area could be used to make at least two cabochons.
The merchant glanced at it and said, "Little Poison Brother, I'll offer four million yuan. Are you willing to make the move?"
Fujimoto and Ito knew that Zhou Xuan had won the bet again, but they never expected that Master Zhao would just lightly wipe it and discover a little bit of green, and the value would immediately increase tenfold. Damn, this money is too easy to make!
Zhou Xuan bought this piece of raw material for 480,000 yuan, which the merchant also knew. Judging from the green that was revealed, if they were lucky, there would be at least two pieces of fabric. If they were done well, there would be a profit of more than 8 million yuan. But this also depends on the operation. To be honest, the price he offered of 4 million yuan was a little low, but not unreasonable.
At this point, the gamble is no longer on ordinary rough stones. It's on jadeite that has already been extracted, and it's high-quality jadeite, not just green. This is very different from ordinary rough stone gambling. Usually, after cutting out the green part, it's sold for a price, but there's still risk for rough stone gamblers. There might not be any jadeite inside. But Zhou Xuan's rough stone is different. Now that jadeite has been extracted, the gamble is only on the size of the jadeite area inside, with no risk whatsoever. From this perspective, and considering that the merchant offered a very low price, at least this rough stone is a sure thing!
As soon as he said that, another merchant immediately said, "I'll offer four and a half million!" More and more merchants gathered around him. They were all like-minded people who played this game, and they would naturally rush to buy anything good.
Volume 1, Chapter 164: Tall Green Emerges from Dog Shit
After two consecutive bids, people placed bids, but the price increases were not significant. Na Yuan also bid 50,000 or 100,000, and after several bids, the price was still only 4.85 million, which was only ten times the original price, not even five million.
Lin Shitu then smiled slightly at Zhou Xuan and said, "Boss Zhou, I don't think it makes much sense to call me that. We're all discerning people, so I'll give you ten million."
Zhou Xuan was taken aback. If the rough stone contained jadeite, it would certainly be worth more than this. But based on what Master Zhao had revealed so far, ten million was already an astronomical price. If the jadeite inside was only a small amount on the surface, then ten million wouldn't be profitable at all, because the ten million price referred to the finished product price—the price Lin Shitu was offering. Zhou Xuan knew clearly that Lin Shitu was trying to curry favor.
Lin Shitu actually wanted to help Zhou Xuan out of the current siege. He had been secretly observing Zhou Xuan's expression. The more he observed, the more he felt that Zhou Xuan was extraordinary. Zhou Xuan's indifferent expression clearly indicated that he didn't want to make a move now. Regardless of whether he would make a profit later, he didn't care about the immediate profit. He immediately offered the maximum price of ten million for him. If Zhou Xuan was satisfied and made a move, he thought that Zhou Xuan would also have a good impression of him. He would consider it as not making a profit, but losing money to gain publicity. As long as he could gain Zhou Xuan's favor, that would be good. Besides, if Zhou Xuan really didn't want to make a move at this time, then he had helped him block the attack. It was a good thing. Zhou Xuan knew that Lin Shitu was deliberately trying to be friendly to him. He was just being a smiling man. He smiled at him and said, "Mr. Lin, thank you very much, but I would still like to ask Master Zhao to wipe it again and see how big it is?"
Lin Shitu thought to himself, "Just as I expected." He admired Zhou Xuan's composure and calmness even more. If it were an ordinary jade gambler, they would definitely resell it after he offered that price. Earning the highest price without having to put in any more effort—that's the style of a true jade gambler.
But Zhou Xuan still refused.
At Zhou Xuan's instruction, Master Zhao started grinding the other side of the surface, the one with green but no green. This was about one-third of the way from where the jade had just been polished.
Amidst the buzzing sound and under the watchful eyes of a large crowd, Master Zhao meticulously and forcefully rubbed the stone. The process was similar to the first time, even a few seconds shorter. Then, Master Zhao saw a sudden green appear and quickly stopped, turning off the power.
At this moment, the merchants who had been there for a week exclaimed in amazement and envy!
Even Bei Shitu couldn't help but secretly admire Zhou Xuan's calm judgment. Zhao Shi's second polishing of the stone revealed that the outer layer of the rough stone was still so shallow. Judging from its current shape, the carving was far different from the initial polishing of only one area. It was more likely that the jadeite inside was only slightly thinner than the outer shell, rather than the initial estimate of only two layers of material. Based on its current shape, there was at least enough material for three to four bracelets, and the remainder could be made into six or seven cabochons. A genuine, high-quality green bracelet like this would cost over ten million. Three bracelets and six cabochons would have a total value exceeding six hundred thousand. Of course, this is just the total selling price after being made into finished products. If sold here on-site, the seller would also need to make a profit from the carving and polishing. Even after deducting these costs, the value of Zhou Xuan's jadeite would be at least thirty to forty million.
At that point, no more bids were made. Everyone knew the truth, even Zhou Xuan himself. It was impossible to gamble on the size and volume of the jadeite to earn a greater profit based on its actual value. They decided to wait until Master Zhao had completely cut out the rough stone before discussing it further.
The jadeite from Zhou Xuan's rough stone is already considered a top-quality treasure. Anyone who gambles on stones knows that such high-quality jadeite is extremely rare and hard to come by. Most of the merchants stopped selecting materials and gathered around to watch Master Zhao polish the stone.
Master Zhao then carefully and meticulously polished away the grayish-white areas that lacked green, and then polished the areas where green had appeared. As expected, the surface layer in other areas was indeed very thin, only one-tenth of an inch in some places and no more than two-tenths of an inch in others. In the areas where green was present, he polished in about half an inch, and after removing the misty stone layer, a glassy, pure, and water-like inner substance was revealed, as vibrant and fresh as scallions and jade!
Polishing a stone is far more complex, meticulous, and time-consuming than cutting it. After Master Zhao completed the initial work, the jadeite, slightly larger than a fist, had revealed its true form. Although it wasn't possible to polish it to a perfect shine yet, the jadeite's luster, vibrant green color, transparency, and flawless texture all indicated that it was a top-quality, bright green jadeite!
Wiping it clean is a very meticulous and time-consuming task. If you're doing it smoothly, it usually takes about ten days, and for some small pieces with uneven textures, it can sometimes take several months to get it clean.
However, if we only consider the point of revealing the true form and demonstrating its practical value, then this is undoubtedly sufficient.
Zhou Xuan achieved his goal. He didn't care how much this piece of jade was worth; his primary objective was to entice Fujimoto and Ito Kinji to gamble, and secondly, to truly realize the value of jade. Whether he made a few million more or less was irrelevant. But something worth tens of millions couldn't be sold at a price far below its intrinsic value.
"Everyone, if you're interested in this jade, please make an offer. As for its clarity, texture, and color, I don't need to elaborate. You're all experts, hehe!" Zhou Xuan chuckled and spread his hands. He'd already unraveled it. He didn't necessarily intend to keep it.
Zhou Bo still has dozens of rough jade pieces. After selling this piece of jade, firstly, it will strongly stimulate the mood of the two Japanese devils on F, and secondly, it will give you cash. You can buy back rough jade without spending any capital, and you can also make a lot of money. Why not do such a thing?
Zhou Xuan didn't even take the jadeite in his hand for another look, gesturing to the surrounding merchants. Only then did he truly make his move.
"Twenty-five million, I'll offer twenty-five million!"
The merchant who initially offered Zhou Xuan four million was still the first to bid. The price of twenty-five million was actually quite low, but that's how business works. No one will push the price to the highest level all at once. If no one bids, then you can buy it at a relatively low price, right?
"Twenty-six million!"
"Twenty-seven million!"
Thirty-one million!