Chapter 22: A Huge Rise
It’s showing a mist?!
The jewelers gathered around again, looking at the cut surface of the stone.
As the stone was sanded, the white mist grew thicker and thicker.
The jewelers grew excited. With such a dense white mist, there was a high probability that this stone would yield green!
Lin Xinghe reached the same conclusion. He looked at Cheng Yuan, speechless. ’This kid’s luck is just too good, isn’t it?’
’A stone with such a nasty flaw could actually turn a profit?’
A jeweler named Wang Peiqiang’s eyes glinted slightly. ’Based on the trend of this mist, it’s highly likely to be a huge win.’
’I have to seize this opportunity.’
Wang Peiqiang said in a deep voice, "Young brother, my surname is Wang. Here is my business card. Could you ask Master Liu to stop for a moment? This stone is about ten jin. I’ll offer one million. What do you think?"
One million?
Lin Xinghe and Hua Yao looked at each other and smiled bitterly. They had just suffered a massive five-million-yuan loss, while Cheng Yuan was making a huge profit on his very first stone.
Lin Ruoxi and Shen Manwen’s faces were flushed red with excitement!
They remembered very clearly that Cheng Yuan had only spent a total of twenty thousand yuan when he bought this stone!
That was a fifty-fold return in an instant!
’He’s hit the jackpot!’
The two women kept shooting glances at Cheng Yuan, urging him to accept.
Unfortunately, Cheng Yuan ignored the two women’s hints and rejected Wang Peiqiang without hesitation.
"Boss Wang, I’m sorry, but I have a good feeling about this stone. There’s a high chance it’s a big winner. Master Liu, please continue cutting."
"You got it."
Seeing Cheng Yuan refuse, Lin Xinghe grew a little anxious. ’Young people are just blindly confident. In the stone gambling business, the most important thing is to secure your profits. Until the Jade Flesh is exposed, nothing is certain.’
’If the quality of the Jade Flesh is poor, it’ll be worthless!’
Lin Xinghe lowered his voice and advised, "Cheng Yuan, since Boss Wang wants it, you should just let him have it. What if the quality of the Jade Flesh is just average?"
"Don’t worry, Uncle Lin. The jade in my stone is at least glutinous rice type. One million would be a bit of a loss."
"Cheng Yuan, don’t be blindly confident. Stone gambling... it’s all about the ’gamble.’ Before the jade is revealed, no one can say for sure what the quality will be. You really should..."
Halfway through his sentence, Lin Xinghe abruptly held his tongue.
Because several jewelers around them cried out in shock at the same time!
"It’s showing green! It’s showing green! The base should be glutinous rice type—no, wait, it might even reach ice type!"
"Half glutinous rice, half ice type! A huge win! Definitely a huge win!"
"Hahaha, Old Wang has a sharp eye. He just tried to snag a bargain for one million. It’s a good thing Brother Cheng didn’t sell!"
"Brother Cheng, I’ll take this stone! I’ll offer two million!"
"Two million? Are you kidding me? This raw stone is a full ten jin, and its base is half glutinous rice, half ice type. Even if it only yields two or three jin of jade, it would be worth at least 2.6 million!"
"I’ll offer 2.8 million!"
"Three million!!"
The jewelers clamored chaotically, all shouting out their bids.
Soon, Wang Peiqiang offered a high price of three million!
Only then did the crowd quiet down.
This price was already quite substantial. If this stone belonged to Lin Xinghe, he would have definitely sold it without a second thought.
After all, no one knew how much jade was inside. What if it was just a thin layer?
Everyone stared eagerly at Cheng Yuan.
Cheng Yuan shook his head lightly. "Three million is still a bit of a loss. If President Wang can offer five million, the stone is yours."
Five million?
Wang Peiqiang’s brows furrowed deeply.
A price of three million was already very good. It meant that at least thirty percent of the stone had to be jade just to break even. For five million, more than half of the stone would need to be jade to break even.
Wang Peiqiang couldn’t be sure how much jade was inside. What if there was only a thin layer?
Finally, Wang Peiqiang grit his teeth. "Brother Cheng, five million is a bit high. Four million. The most I can give you is four million."
Hearing the high price of four million, Lin Xinghe trembled with excitement. This one stone had basically made back all the money he had just lost!
Lin Xinghe kept shooting glances at Cheng Yuan, urging him to sell quickly.
Unfortunately for him, Cheng Yuan had absolute confidence in the stone. ’There’s about seventy percent jade inside!’
Cheng Yuan shook his head lightly. "My bottom line is five million. If I have it fully cut open, it won’t be this price anymore. President Wang, please reconsider."
Wang Peiqiang sighed. "Then cut it open. Five million is too big a risk."
Cheng Yuan shrugged nonchalantly. The only reason he’d offered it for five million was to avoid the hassle and get it over with quickly. Fully cutting open the stone would take at least another half an hour.
Cheng Yuan grabbed a piece of chalk and drew a few lines on the stone. "Master Liu, don’t bother with grinding. Just cut it directly. It’s fine if you nick a bit of the Jade Flesh. I’m in a hurry."
"You got it!"
SCREECH! SCREECH!
Master Liu began to cut along the lines Cheng Yuan had drawn. Soon, the stone’s outer rind was sliced off, revealing a huge piece of jade inside, weighing a full seven jin!
Everyone around drew in a sharp, collective gasp!
"He won the gamble!! A huge win!!"
"Such a huge piece of Jade Flesh? At least seven jin? And that’s after cutting off some of the scraps!"
"Even though the half of glutinous rice type brings down the value, the other half of ice type is a brilliant green! It’s full green!!"
"Old Wang, he offered it to you for five million and you refused. You really took a big loss on this one!"
Lin Xinghe was at a complete loss for words. The stone was about ten jin in total, with a flaw running ten centimeters deep, yet it had yielded seven jin of ice and glutinous rice type jade!
’How is this even possible?’
’His luck is simply explosive!’
It was a good thing Cheng Yuan hadn’t listened to him and sold it early, or they would have lost out big time!
This piece of jade alone could sell for at least seven million!
Wang Peiqiang said with a wry smile, "Brother Cheng, is the five-million price still on the table?"
Cheng Yuan smiled. "Of course not. The minimum is now seven million. Let’s have a live auction. Highest bidder wins."
Wang Peiqiang cupped his fists to the crowd. "My friends, my company is about to run out of jade. Please do me a favor. I bid seven million."
It was unclear whether it was because of Wang Peiqiang’s good relationships or because no one wanted to be fleeced by Cheng Yuan, but no one else made a bid.
In the end, the jade was sold for a price of seven million.
Wang Peiqiang promptly transferred the money and preciously tucked the jade away.
After the transaction was complete, Lin Ruoxi, her face flushed with excitement, walked up to Lin Xinghe and Hua Yao.
"Mom, Dad, did you see that? Cheng Yuan won the gamble! He won on his very first stone! You can’t interfere in our relationship anymore."
Lin Xinghe and Hua Yao were silent.
Just a moment ago, they had been so certain that it was impossible for Cheng Yuan to win the gamble.
The reality check had come so quickly, it was truly hard for them to accept.
After a full few seconds, Hua Yao said with a sour expression, "Cheng Yuan was just lucky, that’s all. We admit defeat and will keep our promise not to interfere in your affairs. But that doesn’t mean we approve of Cheng Yuan! Not unless he can prove he relies on skill, not just luck!"