Chapter 76: It’s Just a Rock
Bai Shishi paid the money, and Xia Jianren took the stone to the cutting area.
"Master, please help us cut this open!" Xia Jianren handed over the stone while offering a cigarette.
The master in charge of operating the cutting machine held a small cigarette, his hands wet as he started cutting the stone.
Standing nearby, Lin Tian smelled the burnt scent, his pitch-black eyes narrowed slightly.
To put it complicatedly, the surface of the jade raw stone suddenly disappeared, the inside of the stone was completely visible, pitch-black, with only a few patches of green.
Simply put, what jade raw stone? It’s just a piece of worthless rock!
"Miss Bai, it’s just a stone!" Lin Tian patted Bai Shishi’s shoulder.
"The stone hasn’t been cut open, and you’re already speaking ill?" Xia Jianren was displeased upon hearing this.
What do you mean by saying this before the stone is even cut open?
No wonder Xia Jianren was displeased; he picked the stone, and Lin Tian’s words clearly questioned his gambling skills on stones?
Anyone would be angry if their professional skills are doubted, and Xia Jianren had already shown considerable restraint by not arguing with Lin Tian on the spot.
"Just watch quietly, don’t speak!" Bai Shishi believed in Xia Jianren’s ability, while she didn’t care at all about what Lin Tian, an outsider, said.
The saying goes that outsiders watch the fun, insiders watch the details, which isn’t said lightly.
Lin Tian doesn’t even understand gambling on stones, what could he possibly see?
"It’s a loss!" The cutting master shook his head after cutting the stone open, seeing it was entirely pitch-black inside.
Hearing these words, the cigarette in Xia Jianren’s mouth fell to the ground in disbelief, and he picked up the stone split into two pieces to examine it again and again.
"Alas~ This time I misjudged!" Xia Jianren sighed after spending a long time looking through a flashlight and magnifying glass.
"It’s okay; in stone gambling, it’s all about luck!" Bai Shishi comforted Xia Jianren.
"The surface of this raw stone looked too good!" Xia Jianren defended himself: "There’s a saying in stone gambling, ’Even gods can’t predict jade inside!’"
"Sometimes the skin looks great, you buy it for hundreds of thousands, millions. With one cut, it’s only worth tens of thousands, thousands, or even worthless!"
"Fortunately, we bought a small one!"
Listening to Xia Jianren’s defense, Bai Shishi remained silent, while Lin Tian wished he could find something to plug his ears.
If you misjudged, you misjudged, why so many excuses?
Isn’t it all about trying to show off?
"What should we buy this time?" Bai Shishi asked for Xia Jianren’s opinion as she looked at the various stones in the market.
"Nine out of ten won’t lose, let’s buy a big one this time!" After the first failure, Xia Jianren decided to find a good piece this time to prove his capability to Bai Shishi.
"Why buy a big one?" Bai Shishi finally spoke after a long silence; a small jade raw stone costs only tens of thousands, even less if lost.
But a large jade raw stone can cost hundreds of thousands or millions, and if you gamble and lose... it’s a huge loss.
Bai Shishi may be wealthy, but her money didn’t come from nowhere.
"The bigger the jade raw stone, the easier it is to produce results, unless you’re extremely unlucky!" Xia Jianren animatedly explained.
Bai Shishi nodded thoughtfully, feeling Xia Jianren’s reasoning was quite sound. After all, with a larger stone, even if the first cut doesn’t yield anything, you can cut a second, third...
It’s like buying one lottery ticket versus a hundred, the chances of winning are certainly higher with a hundred.
Xia Jianren circled the market twice, finally stopping in front of a large jade raw stone that reached knee-high.
He shone a flashlight over the surface of the big raw stone repeatedly, using a magnifying glass to examine it carefully.
After half an hour, Xia Jianren finally stood up: "Shishi, I assure you, this one will make a fortune!"
"Really?" Bai Shishi half doubtedly asked.
"Absolutely no problem!"
During their conversation, Lin Tian’s eyes narrowed again, staring at the interior of this large jade raw stone.
Inside, it was pitch-black with only a few green spots, not even as many green spots as the stone next to it!
"This is also just a stone..." Lin Tian rushed to remind, not wanting Bai Shishi to waste her money.
"Can you shut up?" Xia Jianren shouted with a flushed face: "What are your intentions, saying such inauspicious words while others are choosing stones?"
Xia Jianren originally didn’t want to fall out with Lin Tian in front of Bai Shishi, first because it would damage his gentlemanly demeanor, and second, he feared it would upset Bai Shishi.
But after a warning, Lin Tian still shamelessly claimed this was just a stone.
"You’re already calling it a stone before it’s cut?" Xia Jianren challenged: "Since you’re so accurate, why don’t you pick a stone? I’d like to see what you can cut out!"
"Pick..." Lin Tian was about to say "pick," but was interrupted by Bai Shishi: "Lin Tian, true gentlemen don’t speak when watching a game, don’t speak anymore!"
Bai Shishi didn’t know how Lin Tian could tell it was just a stone, but she still chose to believe Xia Jianren; after all, he was the expert in this field.
"I’m the expert in this field; I don’t need you to tell me if it’s just a stone!" Xia Jianren said arrogantly, seeing Bai Shishi backing him up.
"Alright!" Lin Tian shrugged helplessly; his good-natured advice went unheeded, but at least he wasn’t the one losing money!
Seeing Lin Tian dare not speak, Xia Jianren snorted coldly and asked the shop owner, "Boss, how much for this stone?"
"One and a half million!" The shop owner priced it.
"Hiss!" Lin Tian gasped; spending ten thousand yuan on a piece of worthless rock seemed extravagant to him, and this one was even more absurd, asking for a million.
Lin Tian was surprised, and so was Bai Shishi; this was a million yuan.
Equivalent to a month’s income from Xianglong Tea House.
If they gamble and lose, it’ll be a total loss.
"Cheaper, please!" Xia Jianren was accustomed to the pricing and wasn’t that surprised, instead, he started bargaining.
"If you’re sincere, take it for one point four million!" The shop owner discounted by ten thousand yuan and ignored Xia Jianren and the others, making it clear they could take it or leave it.
"Isn’t that a bit steep?" Even after the bargain, Bai Shishi felt the price was still not suitable.
"One point four million is a bit steep, but if it triples or quadruples, it’ll be three or four million!" Xia Jianren understood Bai Shishi’s concerns well.
Bai Shishi hesitated a bit, but she couldn’t deny the allure of tripling or quadrupling the amount.
"Swipe the card!" Ultimately, after weighing the pros and cons, Bai Shishi chose to take the risk.
"Alas!" Lin Tian shook his head on the side, knowing full well that the money would go down the drain but unable to stop it, what a pity!
Once the money was swiped, the large jade raw stone was loaded onto a small cart and pushed toward the cutting machine.
"Shishi, if you earn money today, you must treat us to dinner tonight!" Along the way, Xia Jianren and Bai Shishi chatted and laughed.