Chapter 114: Let Them Wait!

Wang Tao led Su Zheng and Chen Muxue straight up to the second floor. Directly opposite the staircase, the doors of a large hall stood open. A crowd had gathered in the center, and the constant buzz of excited discussion filled the air.

Judging from their luxurious clothing, most of them were people of considerable status. The majority were young men and women, likely the children of wealthy families or scions of prominent clans.

Several heavily built staff members in blue jackets stood to one side. On the floor sat a stone-cutting machine, with waterproof sheeting spread beneath it, still holding traces of pooled water and scattered fragments of stone.

Gambling on jade?

Su Zheng paused briefly, instantly realizing that these people had gathered here to gamble on uncut jadeite.

After inheriting the mark of his ancestors, he was naturally no stranger to jadeite gambling. In fact, when it came to experience and technique, there was probably no one present who could surpass him.

As soon as he entered the hall, Su Zheng saw temporary display tables covered with rough stones of various sizes, all greenish-brown in color. Most were about the size of bowling balls or basketballs. The occasional larger piece was no more than the size of a suitcase.

The wealthy young heirs crowded around the stones, discussing them animatedly. From time to time, they pointed at one piece or another, speculating about which might reveal jade and which might bring a spectacular profit.

Chen Muxue had never witnessed a scene like this, nor had she ever seen so many wealthy heirs from high society gathered in one place. A trace of unease flickered across her face, and an abrupt sense of inferiority rose in her heart. Her confidence seemed to shrink by half.

Given her family background and current social standing, she was still far from being on equal footing with these people.

“President Chen, you and Mr. Su wait here. I’ll go greet Young Master Cheng first.”

Wang Tao motioned for Chen Muxue and Su Zheng to remain where they were, then hurried into the crowd toward a man dressed in custom-made casual clothing. His manner was deferential.

“Young Master Cheng, this is President Chen, whom I mentioned to you. She came because she wanted to—”

“Have them wait over there!”

Cheng Hui cut him off impatiently before he could finish. He turned to a man in his forties beside him, his expression full of reproach.

“Didn’t you say this stone would produce glass-grade jade? How did it fail?”

“Well... well, that shouldn’t have happened. A stone with a yellow-pear rind and color in the skin like this usually has a very high chance of appreciating...”

The middle-aged man’s face paled, and he answered nervously.

“Useless. I’ll choose one myself this time!”

After cursing him, Cheng Hui carefully scanned the stones covering the table. His eyes suddenly lit up. He pointed at a massive piece of black-skinned Black Crow Sand material in the middle of the table, a look of satisfaction appearing on his face.

“That one. I’ll take that one!”

The moment he spoke, an uproar swept through the hall.

The others had also judged the stone to be promising, believing it had a high chance of containing jade.

At the same time, however, its price was extremely steep, which was why no one had dared to make a move. Now that Cheng Hui had selected it, many of those who had hesitated earlier secretly regretted not acting first.

“Young Master Cheng certainly has a discerning eye!”

The organizer’s mustached manager immediately gave Cheng Hui an ingratiating thumbs-up and smiled obsequiously.

“This is top-grade material I obtained from the Old Pakan mine. The marked price is five point two million. Since it’s you, Young Master Cheng, I’ll waive the odd amount and make it an even five million!”

Cheng Hui nodded in satisfaction and waved his hand grandly.

“Cut it!”

“It’ll fail once it’s cut!”

A calm voice suddenly drifted through the hall.

Cheng Hui’s brows knitted at once. With a flash of anger, he turned toward the speaker and saw a handsome, imposing young man standing nearby.

It was Su Zheng.

Seeing the jadeite gambling, Su Zheng had grown curious. He wanted to test whether the abilities recorded in his ancestral inheritance were truly as extraordinary as they claimed.

He had therefore stepped forward to examine the stones. Unfortunately, the batch was rather disappointing. Even the Black Crow Sand piece Cheng Hui had chosen, whose outer appearance was excellent, was nothing more than an attractive shell. There was hardly any jade inside.

“What did you say?”

The anger on Cheng Hui’s face deepened as he barked the question at Su Zheng.

At first, he thought he must have misheard. In the whole of Qingyang, no one had ever dared curse him so openly.

Wang Tao, standing beside Cheng Hui, had heard Su Zheng as well. When he saw that Su Zheng had come over without permission and even made such an ominous remark, his expression changed instantly, and his face went white with fright.

Fortunately, at that moment the mustached manager respectfully reminded Cheng Hui,

“Young Master Cheng, please come over and mark the cutting line. We’ll open the stone according to your markings.”

Only then did Cheng Hui refrain from arguing with Su Zheng. He gave a cold snort and turned toward the Black Crow Sand stone.

Wang Tao hurriedly tugged at Su Zheng’s sleeve, his face tense with anxiety and frustration.

“Didn’t I tell you to wait over there? Why did you come over? And do you realize that spouting nonsense like that could easily anger Young Master Cheng?”

“I wasn’t spouting nonsense.”

Su Zheng remained perfectly composed.

“I was telling the truth.”

“Su Zheng? Who told you to go over there?”

Only then did Chen Muxue realize that Su Zheng, who had been standing behind her moments earlier, had somehow made his way into the crowd. She immediately spoke up anxiously.

She hurried over, grabbed Su Zheng by the arm, and pulled him back. With an exasperated look, she lowered her voice and warned him,

“We don’t know anything about jadeite gambling. If you go over there and talk nonsense, you’ll leave an awful impression. We’re here to discuss a business partnership. Do you have any idea how important a first impression is? Never mind—you’ve never taken part in this kind of business negotiation. Just say less for now and follow my lead later.”

Su Zheng could only shake his head helplessly. He truly wanted to tell Chen Muxue that when it came to cutting and gambling on jadeite, he was probably better than every single person present.

“Rumble—screech—”

A tremendous mechanical roar suddenly filled the hall. After Cheng Hui drew a line through the middle of the Black Crow Sand stone, several workers switched on the cutting machine and began opening it. Amid the deafening noise, white powder sprayed rapidly from the blade, forming a cloud of pale mist.

The onlookers covered their mouths while staring wide-eyed at the rough stone, their faces filled with anticipation.

“It’s showing green!”

A wealthy young man suddenly shouted excitedly from within the crowd. From his angle, he could just make out a streak of bluish-green along the edge of the stone.

The others grew even more excited, eagerly awaiting what promised to be a spectacular reveal. A smug look flashed across Cheng Hui’s face, and he unconsciously thrust out his chest.

As the blade cut deeper and deeper, the grinding noise grew increasingly harsh. Then, with a sharp crack, the entire stone split cleanly in two.

Two gray-white cut surfaces were revealed. Only a narrow half-ring of bluish-green remained around the outer edge. It was a common oil-green variety, and it was riddled with cracks, making it impossible to salvage any usable material.

The stone was utterly worthless.

“It failed? My God, even a piece that looked this good failed!”

“Seriously? Luckily I didn’t choose this one earlier. Damn, I made the right call this time. Heh-heh...”

“Heh-heh...”

“...”

A chorus of astonished cries erupted from the crowd. Clearly, many of them found the result unbelievable. Some were disappointed, while others took open delight in Cheng Hui’s misfortune.