At that moment, Su Cheng was on her way to the nearest Dafu Jewelry store to find out more about jadeite rough stones.
“Shen Xiangyi is going too today? Then there’s definitely some good rough coming in! All right, I’ll be there soon. I’m sure I’ll strike it rich with a good piece today. When I do, drinks are on me!”
Zhang Zishu was so excited that he completely forgot to lower his voice.
Talk about perfect timing.
Su Cheng hurried over and smiled lightly.
“Excuse me, sir. I just heard you mention that you’re going to look at some rough stones?”
Zhang Zishu gave her a discreet once-over.
“If you’re interested, I can take you along. There happens to be a new batch of old-pit rough coming in tonight.”
“Sure. Thank you. My surname is Su.”
“I’m Zhang Zishu.”
“If you’re free, Miss Su, we can head over now.”
Zhang Zishu drove for about an hour before they arrived at Minsheng Street.
The area seemed to be filled with gambling-stone shops, along with numerous antique stores. The displays were dazzling, with all kinds of treasures packed into the storefronts.
It was very different from the mainland in the original host’s memories.
It was 1994, and according to those memories, prices in Xiangjiang were much higher than on the mainland. The city was also far more prosperous and developed.
The two of them arrived at a shop with three flamboyant characters on its signboard:
Jade Pavilion.
As soon as they stepped inside, Su Cheng saw piles of raw stones.
On the right was a small heap of stones, each roughly the size of two adult fists. A sign beside them read:
300 dollars each.
Su Cheng quickly walked over.
Among the stones was one about half the size of a basketball. Its exterior looked completely ordinary.
But Su Cheng could sense an intense concentration of spiritual energy coming from it.
This is it!
The spiritual energy was practically overflowing from the stone.
Su Cheng placed one hand firmly on it, her expression remaining completely calm.
Zhang Zishu followed her over and smiled.
“Miss Su, these are all discarded stones that have already been cut open. Normally, you won’t find any jadeite in them.”
“I’ll try my luck here first. Manager Zhang, if you have something else to take care of, go ahead. I’ll look around on my own.”
“All right, Miss Su. I’ll go take a look over there first.”
Su Cheng continued examining the stones.
She ran her hand over several of them, but couldn’t sense even a trace of spiritual energy. They were definitely ordinary rocks.
She dug deeper into the pile.
Finally, she sensed spiritual energy again.
A stone slightly smaller than a basketball appeared before her eyes.
The spiritual energy inside it wasn’t as dense as the first one.
Su Cheng casually picked out several larger stones to make up the numbers.
There were six stones in total.
She took them all to the counter to pay.
The cashier was a chubby, bald man wearing a colorful shirt. A thick gold chain hung around his neck, while three gold rings set with jade adorned his left hand.
Could this be one of those legendary nouveau riche types? Su Cheng wondered silently.
“Miss, would you like to have the stones cut?” the fat man asked enthusiastically.
Su Cheng answered calmly, “Yes.”
The area was bustling with activity.
Several people had gathered around a raw stone larger than a soccer ball that was currently being cut open.
An elegantly dressed elderly man chuckled.
“Heh, this rough stone looks quite promising. Look at the direction of the pine flowers. There’s definitely jade inside.”
“I’ll take your word for it.”
The speaker was Xu Dagui, his slicked-back hair gleaming with so much pomade that it looked as though someone could skate across it.
Two bodyguards stood behind him, giving him an imposing air.
“Green! It’s green!”
Someone in the crowd suddenly shouted.
The stone cutter splashed water over the cut surface.
Sure enough, there was green inside—and the color looked quite good.
A crowd immediately gathered around.
The transparency was decent, and the color appeared to be a pale green. It was a bean-green jadeite, but even among bean-green jadeite, this piece could be considered top quality.
“Are you selling this bean-green jadeite? I’ll offer 100,000!”
Someone had already started bidding.
“I’ll offer 150,000!”
Another person immediately raised the price.
“Keep cutting.”
Xu Dagui, with his slicked-back hair, spoke arrogantly.
“Have the master grind it down at this spot.”
A while later, the stone was fully opened.
Unfortunately, black streaks appeared in the portion that had just been exposed.
Xu Dagui’s expression darkened.
People in the crowd began whispering among themselves.
“If he’d sold it just now, he would’ve made a profit!”
“He lost the gamble.”
Su Cheng stepped forward and placed her stones on the cutting table.
The stone cutter glanced at the discarded-looking pieces.
“Miss, how would you like them cut? Should I cut them directly, or would you like to mark the lines first?”
“Cut them directly.”
The stone cutter looked at the rough stones and thought to himself:
It makes no difference how I cut these. They’re not going to produce any jade anyway.
But this was his job. Whether the customer brought in high-quality rough or worthless stones, he still had to ask how they wanted them cut.
The stone in his hands was one Su Cheng already knew was nothing but waste.
The cutting machine began to hum.
Bzzzz…
With the first cut, there was a sharp crack.
White stone appeared.
The cutter made another cut.
Still nothing but white stone.
The piece was only slightly larger than a fist to begin with, so there was no point in cutting it any further.
The master picked up another stone.
One cut.
Again, nothing but white stone.
The spectators sighed.
All of them had turned out to be duds.
It seemed making a fortune through gambling on stones wasn’t going to be easy.
Su Cheng remained expressionless.
The master moved on to the third stone.
The result was exactly the same.
Finally, Su Cheng handed him the piece containing the densest spiritual energy.
“Master, draw the cutting lines on this one. The reason the previous ones produced nothing must be because we didn’t mark the lines first.”
Su Cheng’s expression remained perfectly calm.
The stone cutter’s mouth twitched.
What does drawing lines have to do with it? They’re worthless stones to begin with. It’ll be a miracle if jade actually comes out of them.
Still, he nodded.
“All right.”
Su Cheng took the marking pen.
She placed one hand on the stone and marked the areas where she could sense the spiritual energy.
“Master, that’s enough.”
The stone cutter took the stone and began cutting along the lines Su Cheng had drawn.
A thin layer was sliced away.
A faint green glow appeared beneath the surface.
The stone cutter froze.
He stared at the cut in disbelief and muttered,
“There’s green…”
He immediately splashed water over the surface.
“It’s really green! There’s jade in this discarded stone!”
“It’s green! It’s green!”
Someone in the crowd shouted excitedly.
The stone cutter quickly began carefully grinding away the outer layer.
After several minutes, he splashed more water over the stone.
“A huge rise in value! This is a massive increase!”
“That’s Imperial Green!”
“It’s old-pit glass-type jadeite!”
Excited voices rose one after another from the crowd.
The stone cutter’s hands trembled with excitement.
“Imperial Green… Imperial Green… It’s really glass-type jadeite!”
Someone immediately began bidding.
“Miss, I’ll offer you 200,000!”
“Miss, I’ll offer 250,000!”
Another voice came from the crowd.
“I’ll offer 300,000. Miss, you should think carefully. If you keep cutting, it may not be worth that much once the rest is exposed.”
There was an ulterior motive behind the man’s words.
This was what was known as a half gamble.
If Su Cheng sold the stone now, she could potentially make a considerable profit. After all, gambling on stones was unpredictable. There was always the possibility that the rest of the stone would turn out to be nothing but worthless white rock.
And if she continued cutting, she might lose more than 300,000 dollars.
But if the entire stone turned out to be high-quality glass-type jadeite with excellent transparency, its value would be far beyond 300,000.
“Keep cutting.”
Su Cheng’s voice remained calm.
The stone cutter followed the lines Su Cheng had drawn and continued cutting.
The machine hummed loudly.
After removing some of the outer shell, the master switched to grinding.
The shape of the jade was gradually revealed.
It was roughly the size of two adult fists.
“It’s old-pit glass-type jadeite—and there’s this much of it!”
Someone exclaimed excitedly.
The crowd erupted.
The jadeite was an intense, rich emerald green, its color vivid and dazzling beneath the light. Its surface gleamed brilliantly.
A middle-aged man wearing high-quality casual clothing stepped forward.
He had an elegant, refined air about him.
Looking at Su Cheng, he smiled.
“Miss, you’ve certainly got incredible luck.”
He then turned his attention to the jadeite.
“The jadeite crystals are microscopic and evenly distributed. The jadeite itself is pure, without impurities, and the texture is exceptionally fine.”
He paused before giving his assessment.
“It’s a top-grade glass-type Imperial Green.”
Su Cheng glanced at him indifferently.
The man smiled warmly.
“I’m the owner of Cui Pin Xuan. My name is Shen Xiangyi.”
Su Cheng lifted the hand that had been resting on the jadeite and shook his hand briefly.
“My surname is Su.”
Her expression remained impassive.
She then placed her hand back on the jadeite.
To anyone watching, it looked as though she was simply touching and examining the stone.
In reality, she had already begun using the Five Elements Chaos Art to absorb the spiritual energy within it.
“I’ll offer 15 million!”
Someone shouted a new bid.
“I’ll offer 20 million! I’m Xu Dagui, manager of Dafu Jewelry. Miss, you should sell it to me.”