Even though Zhegui followed Jiang Ci over, she couldn’t help but whisper a reminder, Miss, that’s thirty thousand silver dollars…
Manager Yu and the other merchants heard this and exchanged glances, their expressions showing some disdain.
Great, another inexperienced amateur who doesn’t know the limits of heaven and earth.
They looked away and were about to leave when Jiang Ci waved over the shop assistant and said, Could you help me turn this stone over? I want to see the back.
Please wait a moment, I’ll go get some men to help.
The assistant ran off to call people. Jiang Ci looked at the window on the stone surface and recalled the hand-copied notebook given to her by Old Ge.
Old Ge’s notebook recorded thirty years of his experience in stone gambling.
Of course, Old Ge himself didn’t have enough money to gamble on stones; it was the owner of Jubao Zhai who actually did the buying.
As one of the top jade shops in Shanghai, Jubao Zhai handled countless stones.
Taking advantage of his position as a carver, Old Ge watched many cuttings and recorded the characteristics of stones from different mines and types, compiling everything into this notebook.
The stone in front of her had a typical black python stripe.
According to experience, stones like this have a certain probability of containing high-quality green jade.
There is a saying in the trade: Green follows black. That describes exactly this phenomenon.
However, stones with black python stripes often have another characteristic: the colored part inside usually runs parallel to the stripe.
This means that although there is a high chance of finding green jade, the area covered by the green is likely only as wide as the stripe itself.
This is commonly known as ribbon green.
The raw stone in front of Jiang Ci had an irregular, coral-shaped window cut into it. The color visible was an icy, bright yellowish-green. The seller had cleverly positioned and sized the window exactly at the widest point of the python stripe, which was barely an inch wide.
Stones sold on consignment after being windowed are considered half-gamble items. The exposed jade clearly tells buyers that there is good material inside.
However, no one can guarantee how large that good area is, or whether there are cracks, changes in quality, or impurities inside.
Looking through the stone with her ability, Jiang Ci could see that those men had every reason not to make a move.
Indeed, only the section directly beneath the python stripe was of good quality. The rest was at best waxy quality, and it got worse towards the edges.
But the good section didn’t go straight down; it slanted diagonally, meaning the actual area was much larger than what they had discussed.
As for the color, because the window was so small, Jiang Ci could only see the color one or two centimeters deep.
That small range wasn’t enough for her to take the risk.
The reason she asked them to turn the stone over was to use her flash point to see the color of the entire area behind the stripe.
But to prevent light from leaking out through the window, she needed to have the window face down.
By now, the assistant had brought help. Three young men strained their faces, grunting as they heaved the heavy stone over.
Manager Yu also stopped, curious to see what Jiang Ci was up to.
The back of the stone had no python stripe, but it did have scattered patterns that looked like moss, known as pine flowers.
These are also signs that the stone might contain green jade.
However, these pine flowers were positioned almost perpendicularly opposite the python stripe on the other side. This further confirmed that the stone was most likely just ribbon green and unlikely to have a larger spread.
The merchants beside Manager Yu began to comment.
What’s there to see? We’ve seen this kind before!
Cut this open, and ninety-nine percent it’s just ribbon green!
Actually, ribbon green isn’t the worst case. The real worry is cracks. If there are cracks, you can’t even make bracelets. And if the green doesn’t go deep, that thin layer against the skin is practically worthless.
The speaker counted on his fingers. Let me do the math for you. This stone is thirty thousand. Best case scenario, it’s ribbon green. If the quality holds and no cracks, you can get two pairs of bracelets from this slab. But this yellowish-green isn’t Imperial Green. Even with bracelets, pendants, and ornaments, the maximum you can get is maybe forty or fifty thousand. But if you lose, you lose everything!
The seller is being stubborn. If they dropped the price by ten thousand, the risk would be balanced, and we might have bought it.
As they discussed, Jiang Ci took out a roll of bank drafts from her small silver handbag and said to the assistant, Thirty thousand dollars. I’ll buy this stone.
Standing behind her, Zhegui was stunned. She wanted to stop Jiang Ci but didn’t dare.
The assistant looked terrified that she might change her mind and immediately ran to get the manager.
Madam wishes to buy this stone? Will you have it cut here or take it back? If you take it back, I can arrange a carriage for you right away.
No need. Cut it here.
Jiang Ci glanced at the assistant, who quickly wheeled over a cart. Several men lifted the heavy stone onto it and pushed it into the cutting room.
The stone weighed over three hundred catties. It was an irregular, flat oval shape, much wider than it was thick.
A stone this size couldn’t be cut on a table; it had to be placed on the ground.
Spending thirty thousand dollars and cutting it immediately attracted a huge crowd, packing the room until not even water could flow through.
The master cutter looked at Jiang Ci eagerly and asked, Madam, how would you like us to cut it?
Start cutting from the edge.
Jiang Ci gestured casually at the perimeter.
She knew perfectly well that the first cut wouldn’t hit jade, but this time had to be wasted.
Otherwise, if she started cutting diagonally right away, it would look too suspicious.
The harsh screech of the saw against stone filled the air, and white dust flew everywhere. Jiang Ci stood with her arms crossed, waiting patiently.
No one knew what she had seen just moments ago.
She had seen a dreamlike array of colors. Not only was there green, but there was also a gorgeous purple, and even a small patch of yellow near the inner edge.
The three colors were distributed naturally, blending into one another like a Monet watercolor painting.
At the very least, this was a Fu Lu Shou tri-color jadeite. Even if judged more conservatively, it was definitely a Spring with Colors.
In the jade world, purple is called ‘spring color’. Spring with Colors is a very popular type of multi-colored jade.
Jiang Ci knew that after today, many more people would come to visit her Longchang Jade Shop.
Cutting this stone open would first reduce Ajin’s workload, as she wouldn’t have to carry back all the worthless low-quality parts. Second, it would further increase the reputation of Longchang.
As she was thinking this, she felt a tight grip on her arm and came back to reality.
Miss… no green came out…
Zhegui was staring nervously at the first slice, not realizing she was clutching Jiang Ci’s arm so hard.
Madam, what do you think?
Move back two inches and continue cutting.
Outside the room, some people were getting impatient and shouted, Why waste time? Just make two cuts along the python stripe!
Easy for you to say! It’s not your money! If you were the one paying, would you be so eager to cut it up?
It’s obviously ribbon green! What’s there to hesitate about?
Hah! Keep bragging! Thirty thousand dollars would make anyone break out in a cold sweat…
Their arguments were quickly drowned out by the sound of the saw.
A while later, another slice fell off with a clang. On the cut surface, a streak of green finally appeared.
Green! It’s out!
It really is green! Luckily we didn’t cut straight along the stripe! The good part is slanting!
If that’s true, we can get so many more bracelets!
The cutter was energized. He connected the green from the window and the new cut into a line and suggested, Madam, the safest way is to make the next cut here.
Jiang Ci nodded. Do as you suggest.
Miss! It’s really a profit!
In the crowd, Manager Yu closed his eyes tightly.
He had misjudged it!
This piece of yellowish-green jade was twice as big as he had expected!
But his regret was about to double very soon.
The third cut revealed even more.
It’s Spring with Colors!
Not just Spring with Colors! There’s yellow too! It’s Fu Lu Shou!
That’s just a small patch, enough for one bracelet. The rest is still Spring with Colors!
Huge profit! Massive profit!
Amidst the noise, Manager Yu pushed through the crowd and walked up to Jiang Ci. I am the manager of Jubao Zhai. Madam, would you be interested in selling this icy Spring Colors material? I am willing to buy it for eighty thousand silver dollars.
Hearing the number, Zhegui looked at Jiang Ci, only to see her frowning slightly.
I’m afraid I’ll have to disappoint you. I don’t plan to sell this jade.
Wait! That is a fair price. Won’t you reconsider?
It’s not about fairness, Manager Yu. I own a jade shop myself, and we are in dire need of materials. I really cannot part with it.
Having said that, Jiang Ci ignored him and turned to the cutter. Please move back one inch from this cut and make another slice. The remaining low-quality jade doesn’t need to come back with me; you guys can dispose of it however you want.
Out of the three hundred catties of stone, only about ten to twenty catties were valuable. The rest was common grade, but even that was enough to keep the cutters paid for several months.
So as soon as she finished speaking, they worked even harder.
Half an hour later, Jiang Ci took the precious slab of Spring with Colors jade and got into a rickshaw.
Miss, how much is this really worth? Is it much more than the eighty thousand Manager Yu offered?
I don’t know the exact price, but his offer is definitely wrong. Jiang Ci ran her fingers over a specific area in the middle of the slab. The quality of this jade is very unique, unlike anything I’ve seen before. If it were just an ordinary ice grade, his offer of eighty thousand would leave him very little profit. The people at Jubao Zhai aren’t fools. Would they buy it just for fun?
Only then did Zhegui remember what they said earlier. Right! They were just saying that even made into bracelets, the maximum would be forty or fifty thousand!
Exactly. It’s only twice as big as he expected, and it’s still raw material. For him to offer eighty thousand right away, I don’t believe it’s because he’s being generous. Jiang Ci snorted. When we get to the shop, have them polish it slightly and spray some water on it. Then we’ll see the truth.
Just then, a strange noise came from behind them.
Jiang Ci turned around just in time to see a runaway carriage charging straight towards them!
Ajin!