Chapter 30: Green Again?
“Collapsed!”
“Cut! Next one!”
“Collapsed again… Old Zhou, I think we should call it a day…”
“Cut!”
Looking at the pile of stone debris on the ground, Zhou Bokang’s forehead was drenched in sweat. He shakily pulled out a handkerchief to wipe it off, his eyes never leaving Master Liu for a moment.
Zzzt… zzzt… zzzt…
Another raw stone was sliced open, revealing nothing but worthless material. At this moment, Zhou Bokang felt like crying but had no tears left.
“Impossible, this can’t be…”
Zhou Bokang slumped to the ground, his expression dazed.
Suddenly, as if experiencing a final burst of energy, Zhou Bokang’s face darkened. He rushed over and shoved Master Liu aside. “Get your filthy hands off! I’ll do it myself!”
Caught off guard by the push, Master Liu was already displeased. Being scolded on top of that made him lose face completely. He let out a cold huff and stepped aside.
Zhou Bokang had cut plenty of raw stones before and wasn’t unfamiliar with the process. He picked and chose, hesitated and deliberated, but couldn’t make up his mind. Yang Ning, standing nearby, couldn’t help but yawn.
“How about I go first?” Yang Ning suddenly interjected.
“Anyone who tries to take my turn, I’ll fight them!” Zhou Bokang snapped his head up, glaring fiercely at Yang Ning.
He quickly grabbed two raw stones, fuming with frustration. “I refuse to believe I’m this unlucky. Out of so many stones, one has to yield green!”
Yang Ning pursed his lips. Yield green? You’re lucky if you don’t see red at this rate.
As if confirming Yang Ning’s thoughts, with a sharp crack, the stone split in two under the cutting wheel and fell to the ground. Everyone took a closer look—forget yielding green, there wasn’t even a hint of usable material.
Zhou Bokang’s expression grew uglier. He grabbed another raw stone and started cutting again.
Collapsed!
Collapsed!
Collapsed again!
Damn it, still collapsed!
Fuck! Collapsed yet again!
After cutting nine raw stones in a row, all of them turned out to be worthless scraps without a trace of jadeite. Zhou Bokang went berserk, clutching his hair. “Fake! They’re all fake! I’m calling the police!”
By now, his box was empty of raw stones. Looking at the ground covered in stone chips and waste, Zhou Bokang was on the verge of tears.
“My turn.” Yang Ning couldn’t be bothered to listen to Zhou Bokang’s complaints.
Zhou Bokang seemed oblivious, squatting on the ground and muttering repeatedly about “fakes” and “scams.”
“Master Liu, just cut any of these four pieces.” Yang Ning appeared very calm.
In his mind, if all these raw stones were cut, every single one would yield green. The thought was admittedly a bit crazy. But Yang Ning didn’t care, nor was he worried about arousing suspicion from Lin Manxuan and the others.
His sharp eye and deep knowledge of antiques had already planted a seed of trust in their hearts. Now, with the title of [Millionaire] added to his name, their faith in him would only grow stronger, not turn into doubt.
Since he was already exceptional in antiques and oil paintings, being equally outstanding in stone appraisal was something they could accept.
The stronger and more versatile his abilities, the happier these people would be, rather than digging into his background. After all, he was representing the Lin Family in this year’s Appraisal Tournament.
What? Suspect him after the competition?
Don’t be ridiculous. By that time, he’d already be famous far and wide. Who would suspect him? Who would dare?
“Green!”
Master Liu shouted, immediately splashing water on the raw stone, looking very excited.
Zhou Bokang, who had been staring blankly, suddenly stood up and snatched the stone from Master Liu’s hands. Seeing the crystal revealed inside, he screamed, “Impossible! Damn it, how is this possible!”
To be honest, Master Liu felt a bit of sympathy for Zhou Bokang. “Your luck was a bit off this time. This barely qualifies as water-grade.”
“Keep cutting.” Yang Ning picked another ordinary-quality raw stone.
Master Liu seemed to trust Yang Ning completely, handling each of his stones with meticulous care.
“Green again!” This time, Master Liu’s voice trembled slightly.
“Ice-grade?” Seeing Master Liu’s reaction, Meng Jianlin couldn’t help but be stunned.
“Similar to the last one, barely water-grade.” Master Liu shook his head.
“Then why are you so excited? You nearly gave this old man a heart attack.” Meng Jianlin grumbled.
Master Liu’s face flushed. “I just think Mr. Yang is incredible. All three stones he handled yielded green.”
His words were heartfelt, and everyone turned their bright gazes toward Yang Ning, making him sheepishly rub his nose.
Zhou Bokang was utterly dumbfounded. As Master Liu said, all three stones Yang Ning handled had yielded green—and those stones were originally his!
Could it be that this kid had extraordinary talent in stone gambling, beyond ordinary people?
If he could think of this, others naturally could too. Unlike Zhou Bokang’s frustration, Lin Manxuan, Lin Ziqing, and the others were thrilled. With Yang Ning representing the Lin Family in the Appraisal Tournament, they might actually secure a top ranking!
Of course, they wouldn’t speculate whether Yang Ning had some supernatural ability or an otherworldly cheat.
What a joke!
This is an era of science. Superstitious ideas are ridiculed and condemned. Talk to me about special powers? Are you out of your mind? Should I send you to a mental hospital for some rest?
“Mr. Yang, shall we keep cutting?” Truth be told, looking at the other two ordinary-quality raw stones, Master Liu was getting excited.
“Cut them.”
“Alright.”
Grabbing the two raw stones, Master Liu carefully drew lines and polished them. Soon, a shallow cut revealed a glimmer of crystal.
“Green again?”
Master Liu was only momentarily surprised before continuing to cut with care, as if, in his mind, not yielding green would be abnormal.
This mood infected everyone else. Even the easily excitable Meng Jianlin remained quite calm. It seemed that today’s events had tempered everyone’s mental resilience.
Of course, Zhou Bokang was the exception.
At this moment, he was both shocked and on the verge of tears. With his experience, he could tell that the quality of this jadeite was worse than the previous ones, not even qualifying as water-grade.
But the problem was, Yang Ning had cut four stones in a row, and regardless of quality, every single one yielded green. And him? Over a dozen stones, all complete trash!
What hurt the most was that these raw stones were originally his. Someone else had picked out all the jadeite from him for a fraction of the price!
“It’s a bit subpar, but it’s passable. Better than nothing.”
The speaker meant no harm, but the listener took it to heart. Master Liu’s words deeply stung Zhou Bokang, making him glare fiercely.
Master Liu seemed oblivious and continued cutting the other raw stone. Soon, he exclaimed in surprise, “Green again? The quality is pretty high, almost ice-grade.”
“Green again?” Zhou Bokang screeched. “High quality? Almost ice-grade?”
His eyes bulged as he reached out to grab it, but upon meeting Lin Ziqing’s cold gaze, he immediately backed down.
After all, he’d been a manager at the company for several years. If he got kicked out by the company’s security, he’d have no face to stay in this line of work.
“Mr. Yang, these jadeites…”
To be honest, Lin Ziqing wasn’t too concerned about these water-grade jadeites. However, as the Lin Family was entering the jewelry business for the first time and aiming for the high-end market, they might end up failing spectacularly.
In her view, it was necessary to develop some mid-tier markets as well.
“No rush. Don’t I still have two more?” Yang Ning shook the two raw stones in his hands.
Lin Ziqing’s eyes lit up with curiosity. “Could it be that Mr. Yang thinks these two raw stones…”
She didn’t finish her sentence, but the implication was clear.
“I’m not a god. I don’t have the ability to predict the future.” Yang Ning shook his head with a smile. “But I feel these two are pretty good.”
Lin Ziqing’s eyes brightened. “I wonder if Mr. Yang would be willing to part with them? I’ll offer five million to buy these two raw stones.”