Chapter 74: One Hundred Thousand, Five Hundred Thousand!
“Is this the one you picked? It’s so small…” Old Tang commented casually, suspicious. “You didn’t just buy it because it’s easy to carry, did you?” He was utterly convinced that Sui Yi had no real knowledge of evaluating raw jade stones.
Sui Yi tilted her head and smiled, as if admitting it.
Tang and Yu fell silent, then obediently went to select their own stones. After all, if Sui Yi had the courage to play around like this, how could these two grown men not dare to try?
The stone-cutting proceeded quickly. Most people had spent their money in vain, but since the amounts were generally small—much like a trip to the casino—those not seeking ruin refused to leave. Instead, their gazes burned as they watched each stone being cracked open.
“People are like that. When their own stone disappoints, they seek comfort in others’ outcomes. See, those whose faces were gloomy before are now smiling?” Old Tang muttered to Sui Yi.
It was indeed so. Sui Yi smiled, but not everyone left empty-handed. For instance, now…
“Wow! Look, jade!”
“Really? Where?”
“I see it!”
Various voices rang out—Mandarin and local dialects alike. Hundreds of eyes stared at the raw stone, now split in two.
To Sui Yi, it appeared as a gray-white surface, with two thumb-thick lines of green running through it.
Green meant good fortune.
This was Sui Yi’s first time seeing a raw stone with green. Curiosity was inevitable, but she was more intrigued by what kind of jade it might be.
“Impressive!” Many seasoned owners were surprised, glancing at the delighted yet bewildered office lady.
“There’s a dragon…”
“Dragon emerging from water. The base color looks average, but the most important thing is that line… Ha, this raw stone is good. This young lady made a fortune!”
The “dragon” referred to jadeite, “dragon emerging from water” meant the stone yielded jadeite. The “water” indicated the base, a crucial factor in jadeite quality.
Just as a stagnant pond breeds only roaches and rats, only good water can produce a dragon, not mere insects.
“A price of two hundred? Truly a windfall.”
The last remark came from Old Tang, grinning as he explained to Sui Yi, pointing to the green line revealed, “This ‘line’ refers to the shape of the green. There’s also the ‘patch.’ See, this stone has a line. There’s a saying in the trade: ‘Better a line than a patch…’ because a patch might just be skin green.”
He thought Sui Yi wouldn’t understand and was about to elaborate when—
“Is it the difference between a ‘line’—vertical—and a ‘patch’—horizontal? The thickness of the line is known, but the depth is unknown. The area of the patch is known, but the thickness is unknown. In terms of presence, the probability of extracting thick jade from a line is much higher than getting thin jade from skin green… Is that what you mean?” Sui Yi mused, glancing at the eight-thousand-yuan stone at her feet.
This one wasn’t line-shaped inside. If cut, it would reveal a patch, since it was spherical.
Sui Yi’s explanation was crisp and scientific, causing Tang, Hang, and the others to look at her.
Her learning ability was astonishing—she got right to the point after a single explanation! Unlike these earthy experts, she could almost write an encyclopedia entry.
Even Zhang Guangbiao, who happened to overhear, gave Sui Yi a few extra glances, then looked at the stone by her feet—eight thousand yuan?
She was a rather serious customer.
“Ha, the young lady’s explanation is excellent. Is this your purchase? Very good, it will certainly have green inside…” Zhang Guangbiao spoke in his usual ambiguous manner. Sui Yi simply smiled and asked, “Mr. Zhang, what category of jadeite do you think is inside this stone?”
She was referring to the newly-cut jadeite.
“This one? Bean green, with a touch of oil blue, base water is about rice soup level—overall, it’s low-grade.” Zhang Guangbiao answered offhand, then glanced at Boss Wang and others in the jewelry business with a smile, “Gentlemen, do you agree? But, do make your offers. Haven’t you noticed the young lady is anxious?”
The young lady he referred to was the office worker struck by fortune. She was still dazed, but upon hearing Zhang’s words, immediately looked at the bosses. The crowd was already in an uproar, cheering and asking questions, which irritated the bosses. They’d intended to let the lady stew to drive the price down, but now their plan was ruined…
Actually, Zhang Guangbiao wanted this drama—the higher the purchase price, the better the advertising effect. Who cared about the buyer’s fortune?
“What’s going on? Why is it so lively?” Su Ziyi returned, carrying several bottles of water. He handed them out, including one to Sui Yi, then asked about the commotion.
“Someone found jadeite,” Sui Yi replied, already observing people raising their hands to bid.
“Fifty thousand.”
“Sixty-five thousand…”
Boss Wang and Boss Qian needed jade jewelry for the upcoming Cultural Antiquities Conference. Tang, though also involved in jade, wasn’t as anxious as those running retail shops, and watched with a cheerful smile.
Quickly, Boss Qian pushed the price to one hundred thousand.
One hundred thousand!
The office lady’s colleagues’ eyes turned green.
They’d worked hard for two or three years and might never save that much. Yet she’d spent two hundred yuan on a stone for fun and earned a hundred thousand?
Those who’d bought stones felt frustrated—they’d spent several times more, yet found nothing but dirt.
Two hundred, one hundred thousand?
“A five hundred-fold return…” someone calculated.
With that, everyone’s eyes reddened.
They all looked at the office lady.
Boss Qian squinted and smiled at her, “Young lady, my price is absolutely fair. Sell to me and you’ll make a hundred thousand.”
The office lady was already tempted, excitedly about to agree, when someone said, “The jade hasn’t been fully extracted. Plus, its depth isn’t determined yet. If it’s deeper, ha—then a hundred thousand would be too cheap! At least five hundred thousand!”
Everyone froze at the words—five hundred thousand? At least five hundred thousand?
Breaths tightened.
Boss Qian’s expression was ugly; he cursed Old Tang for always causing trouble.
Nearby, Qian Shuangyu and others approached. Qian Shuangyu sneered, “It’s also possible there’s no depth at all, not even skin green. If we buy it for a hundred thousand, we’re taking the risk.”
She stared contemptuously at the office lady, “Miss, think carefully. If nothing good emerges, forget a hundred thousand, no one will pay two hundred.”
Her words hit hard.
The office lady’s expression shifted—one hundred thousand, five hundred thousand… or worth nothing at all.
This required a gamble.
Even after winning, another gamble awaited. Such was the allure of stone betting.
Sui Yi, standing near the stone-cutting machine, extended a thread of magnetic sense onto the jade surface. Probing gently, she saw the jade color inside was even deeper than outside, and the base color below was evenly distributed. Generally, such linear patterns tended to run deep, rather than abruptly ending.
She hoped the girl would make a clear choice.
Boss Qian and Qian Shuangyu were impatient, their attitudes arrogant. Others were used to it—rich people were always like this.
Some businesspeople even spoke up in support, confidently stating the Qian family would secure the stone.
Zhou Ran stood beside Qian Shuangyu, basking in the reverent gazes of others, feeling extremely comfortable. He glanced at Sui Yi, who was speaking quietly with Su Ziyi.
He knew Su Ziyi—the young master of Shuxiang Workshop, the future heir, wealthy…
Well done, Sui Yi, attracting another rich young man!
Zhou Ran’s face darkened, and he casually remarked to the office lady, “Miss, a hundred thousand is no small sum. Think about it—unless you do something shady for a quick fortune, where else does a hundred thousand just fall from the sky?”
His words cast a shadow over the office lady and others; Old Tang’s face turned black, and he instinctively looked to Sui Yi.
Sui Yi heard it too, her brow furrowing slightly. Zhou Ran had changed so quickly, but she had already told him—her last patience for his rudeness was spent.
So…
Sui Yi looked at the office lady, her gaze light as glass, her voice gentle: “Fate never favors anyone for nothing. Perhaps you only get one chance in life. If you don’t try, how will you know what you’ve missed?”
She paused, then smiled, “What can a hundred thousand do?”
If you are wealthy, a hundred thousand means little. If you are destitute, a hundred thousand cannot fundamentally change your fate.
Unless you have the confidence to gamble that hundred thousand into five million. Yet, if you truly had such ability, why rely on stone betting?
Sui Yi’s words, always persuasive, shook the office lady’s heart. She glanced repeatedly at Sui Yi.
She was currently facing extreme hardship at home, needing money. When she went out to eat with colleagues, she passed by here. Perhaps out of despair and longing, she boldly spent two hundred yuan on a stone.
Like a desperate gambler buying a lottery ticket to change fate, she hoped fate would favor her just once.
Regret followed the purchase.
Yet, unexpectedly, luck had smiled upon her.
A hundred thousand—such a sum!
But she needed more. A hundred thousand was not enough!
Zhou Ran sneered, “What if nothing comes out? Sui Yi, will you take responsibility?”
Sui Yi smiled, looked at the office lady, and said softly, “Even if you don’t gamble, I’ll buy your stone for two hundred thousand. How about it?”
The office lady was stunned; the crowd erupted in excitement!
Two hundred thousand—the young girl was offering two hundred thousand for the stone!
Twice Boss Qian’s offer! (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please support it on Qidian with votes. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.reading.)