Chapter 20: Gambling on Stones (Part 2)

  Chu Chen was shocked to find that such a woolen fabric would also have jade inside, it was really surprising. Moreover, his special ability could actually be applied to identifying jade, how could he not feel delighted and excited, he was so happy that he almost couldn't help but burst out laughing.

  After calming down his emotions, Chu Chen secretly observed Li Guodong again. Fortunately, he was still focused on picking out the wool, and shouldn't have noticed him. This couldn't help but let him breathe a sigh of relief, otherwise, if he really took out the jade, it would be hard to explain to him.

  Then, he carefully observed the original stone in his hand again. The volume of this stone is slightly larger than two adult fists. The whole body is dull and has nothing to do with ordinary stones, let alone seeing any python patterns or pine flowers.

  Chu Chen secretly shook his head. As the saying goes, people can't be judged by their appearance, and this sentence is also applicable to gambling on stone materials. Who would have thought that such a brick material would produce jade?

  Then, he immediately activated his ability and prepared to experience it. The spiritual energy in the jade and the spiritual energy in the antique would not be different. After absorbing the spiritual energy from the wool with his left hand, he really found a few differences.

  Firstly, in terms of time, the spiritual energy in jade can be absorbed for exactly one second, which is different from the time rule of antiques previously deduced by Chu Chen. He guessed that it was very likely that this time was fixed for jade.

  Another thing is the manifestation of spiritual energy, the spiritual energy in jade seems to be more delicate than that in antiques. Chu Chen thought for a moment and could use "dense" to describe it, perhaps the quality of spiritual energy in jade is better than that in antiques.

  This point is actually similar to the spiritual energy absorbed from Yuyi before, the spiritual energy in Yuyi is soft and delicate. At that time, Chuyan thought it was a wrong feeling, but now it seems that this kind of natural treasure has its own unique phenomenon, and the quality of this type of spiritual energy should be better.

  As for the intensity of the spiritual energy, it is similar to the previous calculation, representing the high and low value. The intensity of this jade's heterogeneity is about the same as the three-fruit-patterned bowl seen at Wu Shu's place before, and its value should be around 600,000 to 700,000 yuan.

  Feeling the lingering aura of spiritual energy, Chu Chen's mood was like drinking honey. He hurriedly squatted down and began to rummage through this pile of fur again, thinking that since he could find a piece of jade here, maybe there were others too.

  It's unclear if it was just his good luck today, but after only a few minutes, he felt the reaction of spiritual energy on another piece of fabric. He hastily used his special ability again, and as a result, his face suddenly froze.

  At this time, Chu Chen's mood was like a flock of crows flying in front of his forehead. The higher the expectation, the greater the disappointment. The spiritual energy inside this piece of cloth was actually not as good as what he had absorbed from the copper coins at the beginning, making him extremely disappointed. However, after the disappointment, he immediately woke up again.

  I was blinded by personal gain just now, being able to find a valuable piece of jade in this pile of junk is already a blessing, and I actually fantasized about having such good luck again, which is not right. Not to mention the disappointing result, but also wasted an opportunity to use my special ability.

  Actually, the jadeite that comes out of the stone is largely dependent on luck, but most of the rough stones that produce jadeite have some characteristics, like the brick-like material in Chu Chen's hand now has no characteristics at all, and the chance of producing high-value jadeite is almost negligible.

  Abilities are limited every day, although poor-quality wool can be used to make a fortune, the opportunity to produce high-priced jade is really too slim. It's better to use abilities on good-quality wool to maximize their effect.

  If every time the ability is used like just now, it's better to use it on antiques, there are more opportunities to pick up leaks.

  After reflecting on his behavior just now, Chu Chen casually picked a few pieces of wool and put them in the pushcart on one side, then said to Li Guodong: "Brother Li, how's the selection going? Is there anything to collect?"

  Li Guodong pointed to the wool at his feet and said, "Only these few pieces have some feeling, the others really don't look good, forget it, just take these, continuing to pick would be a waste of time."

  In Zhang Guosheng's store, there were two dehairing machines, both of which were placed in the backyard. After the two men finished settling their accounts, they brought the raw materials to the backyard together and prepared to dehair them.

  There are two awnings on both sides of the courtyard, and two stone cutting machines are placed inside. Because a batch of goods has just arrived, both stone cutting machines are in operation. A middle-aged man in his thirties or forties and a young man in his thirties with glasses are cutting fabrics on the two stone cutting machines respectively.

  Several people were also gathered around the stone-breaking machine, with Zhang Guosheng and three others on the east side, while there were two people on the west side. At this moment, they all stared nervously at the result of the stone-breaking machine, their faces tense and solemn.

  "It's sprouting!"

  Suddenly a cheer came from the stone grinder on the west side, and the two onlookers danced with joy, hugging each other in excitement.

  The four people who were watching the scene, only one of them looked enviously at the opposite side and then still stared at the stone grinder. The other three people heard this voice and immediately rushed over, led by Zhang Guosheng, who was running wildly while shouting loudly:

  "What kind of water? What kind of water?"

  Chu Chen and Li Guodong also immediately surrounded them.

  Only a rough stone about the size of a volleyball was washed with water, and on the cutting surface of the original stone, a faint green color could be seen inside. The owner of the original stone took out a strong light flashlight and shone it on it, and the green color instantly filled up.

  The owner of the raw stone saw this, and both hands had a slight tremble, using his excited and somewhat hoarse voice to say:

  "Oh no, glass!"

  The man then covered his face with both hands and sobbed, while his companion comforted him on the side.

  Glass-like jade, as the name suggests, is like glass in its transparency, with extremely fine quality and dense crystalline particles, making it a top-grade jade. This type of jade usually has a glassy luster, with a smooth and pure texture that is free from blemishes, and a color that is a vibrant, bright, rich, and even emerald green.

  In general, glass species are derived from old pits, so they are also commonly referred to as "old pit glass species" in the industry.

  Chu Chuan's original owner asked Zhang Guosheng what was going on, and Zhang Guosheng explained the reason to him.

  This man's surname is Liu, and he is also an old gambler of jade stones. However, in the past, he was always at another jade store "Juyuan Ge" on Antique Street, where tens of thousands of yuan worth of jade stones were nothing unusual. The bigger the gamble, the easier it is to get rich overnight or lose everything.

  This Mr. Liu belongs to the latter, originally came from a small company, and his family is considered to be a warm and harmonious one with wife and children. However, a few years ago, after hearing about the profession of gambling on stones, he dove headfirst into it without considering whether he had learned anything or not, thinking that relying on luck would make him rich.

  The result is predictable, although there are wins and losses, but the wins are few and the losses are many, and in the end, he loses everything, his wife and children all run away with others. Like this, he still doesn't give up, but having no money, he can only come to Zhang Guosheng's place to gamble on rocks.

  After hearing Mr. Liu's story, Chu Chuan thought that it was no wonder people often said that the jade stone business was "crazy buyers, crazy sellers, and crazies waiting", which really is the case.

  After Mr. Liu calmed down a bit, an old man in the crowd came forward and asked: "Mr. Liu, are you willing to sell this jade? I'll give you 600,000."

  This old man, Chu Chen, is also familiar with him. He is the boss of a jewelry store "Qianji Jewelry Store" on Antique Street, Qian Yifeng. From his name, it can be seen that Qianji Jewelry Store's strength is still pretty good.

  Chu Chen saw this and asked Zhang Guosheng beside him with some curiosity: "I say, Brother Zhang, why don't you go bid? If we talk about the size of the glass jade, it shouldn't be very big. You shouldn't have trouble swallowing it, should you?"

  Zhang Guosheng smiled and said, "Xiao Chuan, you just don't understand. This high-quality jade is definitely tempting, but good jade needs a skilled craftsman to carve it. Unfortunately, I don't have one at the moment. If I were to take it down and ask someone to carve it, the cost would be substantial. Moreover, if I participate in the bidding, the price will definitely go up. It's just not worth it."

  Chu Chen sneered at this, Zhang Guosheng was a bit narrow-minded. If it were him, as long as he didn't lose money, he would definitely try every means to buy this piece of jadeite. Once the store had glass and jadeite, its reputation would definitely rise. This would be an opportunity to introduce some mid-range jadeite, and the overall taste of the store would improve.

  To know, the jade industry only makes big money when it has a high level. Haven't you seen that in recent years, the top-level jade has risen the most, followed by mid-range and low-end which have barely increased? Since doing business is all about making money, why wouldn't one seize the opportunity to make more?

  Of course, these words were just Chu Chen's own thoughts, and Zhang Guosheng was not someone he would say such things to.

  Mr. Liu, the owner of the jade, had already made up his mind and listened to Qian Yifu's offer. He smiled and shook his head: "Thank you for your kindness, Mr. Qian, but I'd like to cut it a bit more to take a look."

  Qian Yiyu nodded after listening, and didn't say anything. Although cutting out the middleman might mean paying more money himself, at least his own risks would be eliminated. After all, this was a business worth tens or hundreds of millions, so it's better to be cautious.

  Mr. Liu and his friend discussed the cutting surface, asked Master Shi's opinion, drew a line on the original stone, and then let Master Shi start cutting.

  In the midst of the mechanical "zizi" sound, everyone present was waiting with bated breath for the result of this cut. At this moment, Chu Chen noticed that the stone analyzer on the east side had stopped, and the original owner of the stone was staring at the cutting surface of his stone in dismay, unexpectedly losing the bet.