Chapter 119: Shocking the Entire Audience

The man with the handlebar mustache looked up at Su Zheng, whose expression remained indifferent. A flash of astonishment crossed the man’s eyes, but he held his tongue, waiting to see if the other two raw stones would also yield such spectacular results.

The surrounding crowd immediately urged the staff not to waste time cleaning the first stone, but to hurry up and cut the remaining two. Gone was their earlier mockery and disdain, replaced by an intense, palpable excitement as they waited with bated breath to see what the other stones held.

Chen Muxue gazed at the vibrant green jade, her eyes wide with shock. "Su Zheng, your ability to guess is just too insane!" she exclaimed.

Su Zheng nearly choked. *Guess?* he thought. Please, is this something you can just guess?

The staff member, following the crowd’s impatient demands, moved the soccer-ball-sized stone over and looked at Su Zheng. "Sir, how should this one be cut?"

The crowd fell silent, no one daring to interrupt as they waited for Su Zheng’s command.

"Just cut it," Su Zheng replied. "Straight down the middle."

"You got it!" The staff member agreed, positioned the stone, and started the machine.

The harsh sound of the blade biting into stone rang out, and soon, the rock was split in two. The crowd leaned in, craning their necks to see. The cross-section revealed a striking contrast of white and green. The green occupied a full seventy percent of the surface, and judging by the clarity and color, it was exactly what Su Zheng had predicted: an ice-variety, vivid 'Zhengyang' green.

The green portion was pure, evenly distributed, and lush, looking as though it were about to drip with moisture. Visually, it even appeared brighter than the top-tier imperial green. It was a rare, high-quality find, rich and vibrant.

A massive gain! Another massive gain!

The crowd erupted into a flurry of discussion, all of them both shocked and overjoyed. As jade-gambling enthusiasts, they felt incredibly lucky to witness such a miracle: "bare-handed selection, two consecutive massive gains." Most of them were already secretly praying that the third stone would indeed be the glass-variety red jade Su Zheng had claimed. If they could witness a triple win, they would have plenty of bragging rights for a lifetime.

Urged on by the impatient crowd, the staff quickly placed the third stone onto the cutter. Even the staff member himself was trembling with excitement. Not waiting to ask for instructions, he simply aligned the stone and cut it straight down the center. Having cut stones for years, he had never seen a triple win and was desperate to see it for himself.

"Vroom!"

As the machine roared to life, the entire hall fell deathly quiet. Everyone held their breath, staring fixedly at the final stone. Chen Muxue’s eyes were wide, unblinking, and a flicker of anticipation grew in her heart—she realized now that this couldn't possibly be just a guess.

With a crisp *crack*, the stone split in two, revealing two brilliant, radiant red surfaces!

Glass-variety red jade. Another massive gain!

"Wow!"

The crowd burst into cheers. Many were so excited they began clapping, their faces flushed with adrenaline.

"Cockscomb red?!" The man with the handlebar mustache shoved his way through the crowd to the stone, trembling with excitement. Having spent years in the industry, he had seen plenty of red jade, but it was always low-to-mid-grade. He had never encountered such fine, vibrant, and brilliant "cockscomb red." Though the piece wasn't large, cutting two ring faces from it would easily fetch over a million.

"How did you do that?!" Chen Muxue asked, staring at Su Zheng in pure disbelief.

"I guessed," Su Zheng said with a wink and a small smile.

"If you don't want to tell me, then don't!" Chen Muxue rolled her eyes and turned away, feigning irritation, though her heart was filled with a sense of relief and joy.

"Alright, enough celebrating," Su Zheng said, smiling at the excited crowd. "I won. Come on over and pay your respects to your big brother and sister-in-law."

The crowd fell silent at his words. They suddenly remembered their wager. They looked at one another, hesitating. To these young socialites, calling an "in-law living off his wife" their big brother was... well, embarrassing.

"Big Brother! Sister-in-law!"

Suddenly, a quick-witted young man in black from the crowd shouted, sprinting forward with a flattering smile. "Big Brother, I acknowledge you as my older brother! Could you teach me how to gamble on stone?"

He no longer cared about face. If he could latch onto a master like Su Zheng, he’d be making money while he slept. Being a "brother" to someone so talented was something to be proud of!

"Sure. First, apologize to your sister-in-law," Su Zheng said, standing with his hands behind his back.

The young man beamed, bowing repeatedly to Chen Muxue with genuine sincerity. "Sister-in-law, I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"

"It... it's alright..." Chen Muxue was nervous, her face flushing. It still felt like a dream.

The other young men realized what was happening. *Why worry about face?* Su Zheng was clearly a gold mine! They rushed forward, shouting "Big Brother" and "Sister-in-law," fighting to be the first to apologize.

"Don't rush, one by one. Line up, there’s enough for everyone!" Su Zheng said with a faint smile, gesturing for them to form a queue.

Chen Muxue stood with her hands clasped, watching these high-status socialites of Qingyang City line up to bow and call her "Sister-in-law" with such reverence. It felt completely surreal.

"Sister-in-law, I'm... I'm sorry. I was too impulsive earlier..."

To Chen Muxue’s even greater surprise, the arrogant and high-born Cheng Hui, the young master of the Cheng family, stepped forward to apologize as well!

"Young Master Cheng, you don't need to apologize to me!" she said nervously.

"I do, I do. A bet is a bet. Besides, what I said earlier... was indeed excessive." The young master looked apologetic, then turned to Su Zheng. "Brother Zheng, I owe you an apology too. I was blind and insulted you earlier..."

"Forget it, I forgive you," Su Zheng said, waving his hand with calm composure.