"The raw stones are divided into full gamble and half gamble. Full gamble refers to these untouched stones here, which are high-risk and known for the saying ‘one cut can make you rich or poor.' Half gamble involves cutting a stone partially, also known as opening a window or scraping a bit off, ultimately revealing jade. If it shows green, it proves there's jade inside, which carries relatively lower risk," the bald middle-aged man explained patiently.
Cao Yi listened with a sense of awe, realizing how much there was to learn about cutting raw stones. It truly echoed the saying that "different trades are like different mountains." The bald man smiled and walked away.
Cao Yi continued searching for a stone with spiritual energy. After a while, he spotted a jade stone numbered 667. It was the one the bald man had mentioned, known for producing only mid to low-grade jade. It radiated a familiar energy, though not very intense.
Cao Yi bent down and removed the label from it.
The bald man, who had not walked far, glanced back and shook his head helplessly. To him, Cao Yi's actions made him look like a stubborn fool.
Then, to the bald man's astonishment, Cao Yi removed the label from a small stone no bigger than a fist.
Finally, what completely dumbfounded him was when Cao Yi took the label off a stone over a meter tall, which clearly seemed to be just for show.
Seeing Cao Yi holding the labels and heading toward the trading area, the bald man couldn't help but laugh. Since joining his father Zheng Yutong's Chow Tai Fook Jewelry Company at the age of twenty-six, this was the first time he'd seen someone gamble on stones so recklessly.
At the trading desk, Cao Yi swiped his card on the POS machine.
For stone number 667, the mid-grade jade, he paid $1,500.
For stone number 2333, the one over a meter tall, he paid $120.
For stone number 666, the small piece, he paid $5.
In total, he spent $1,625.
"Would you like to cut the stones on-site?" a staff member asked, stifling a laugh.
Cao Yi nodded.
In just a few minutes, including the enormous jade stone, they were prepared for cutting.
The crowd gathered around as people eyed the outrageous choice of jade stones, including Big Gold Tooth and Wang Kaixuan, who had wandered over. When they saw that Daoist Priest would be cutting the stone, anticipation lit up their faces.
Standing next to the three stones, Cao Yi suddenly looked up and met Big Gold Tooth and Wang Kaixuan's eyes, a smile flashing across his face.
Wang Kaixuan instantly returned the smile.
Big Gold Tooth smiled halfway before a thoughtful expression crossed his face, and he turned away.
"Daoist Priest, which one should we cut first?" the cutter asked with a serious expression, trying to suppress a smile.
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The tension in the air was palpable; everyone knew the stones numbered 2333 and 666 were just there to fill space.
"Let's cut number 666 first," Cao Yi replied, calm and collected.
Ignoring the murmurs and occasional snickers around him, the cutter placed the fist-sized stone numbered 666 on the grinder, observing it closely.
The crowd quieted down, sensing the gravity of the moment.
One minute passed, then two. Once the cutter finished his assessment, he moved to lightly scrape the edges as a trial.
Someone in the crowd couldn't hold back, saying, "It's obviously a worthless stone; is it necessary to be so careful?"
Such remarks resonated with the onlookers.
"Exactly, it's clearly scrap, yet they're so cautious, now I'm nervous!" another voice chimed in.
"Honestly, just put it on the cutting machine and slice it. It's a waste of time!"
The cutter, unable to maintain his serious facade any longer, placed stone number 666 on the cutting machine, intending to slice off one-fifth. By mistake, he ended up cutting more than a third.
The crowd burst into laughter.
"With just over half left, it's only a bit bigger than an egg; there's no way it'll have jade!"
"Hey, did you do that on purpose?"
The cutter chuckled awkwardly, continuing to cut. The stone, slightly bigger than an egg, gradually shrank until it was the size of a grape.
Laughter erupted again around him.
Finally, the cutter simply sliced it open and, predictably, found nothing inside.
The crowd's laughter grew louder.
Wang Kaixuan, who had been irritated by the laughter, was now confused—was it possible that Daoist Priest could also make mistakes?
Cao Yi approached the cutting machine, bent down, and picked up the more than one-third piece that had been cut off, placing it back on the machine with a calm expression. "Continue, polish it."
The cutter glanced at Cao Yi, confirming he was serious, and placed the raw stone back on the grinder.
This time, however, he had lost all hope and treated it as a joke.
As the machine whirred, a stunning green hue began to reveal itself.
The cutter quickly stopped, his eyes sparkling with excitement.
"It's green! It's really green!"
"Damn, this is unbelievable!"
"It's really green; how incredible! The last person who thought of this as scrap must be choking on blood right now!"
The crowd gasped in astonishment.
Now, the cutter was fully focused, carefully peeling away the outer layer of the stone. It took him a full twenty minutes to finish.
"The green is distributed very evenly; there's not a hint of variation, almost transparent—what a miracle!"
The cutter held the egg yolk-sized jade, muttering in disbelief.
"The green is vibrant, crystal clear, and flawless—could it be the legendary glass-type imperial green jade?"
"Even in the auction scene, glass-type imperial green is a rare find. Daoist Priest hit the jackpot!"
"The cost was only $5!"
The crowd began to chatter excitedly, completely forgetting how they had mocked the previous stones.
With trembling hands, the cutter reluctantly handed the egg yolk-sized glass-type imperial green jade to Cao Yi.
Even though it wasn't his first encounter with top-grade jade, Cao Yi was still momentarily dazzled by its beauty.
"I bid $30,000!" someone suddenly shouted from the crowd.
"You must be dreaming; this is glass-type imperial green. Though it's small, it can still make three rings. I bid $70,000!" another voice called out.
Just then, a loud, arrogant voice broke through, "Everyone, step aside!"
The crowd instinctively parted.
Big Gold Tooth, sporting a slick hairstyle, swaggered in, cigar in hand.
He pulled out a fancy ZIPPO lighter from his pocket, igniting it with a thick stack of cash, then lit his cigar.
He walked right up to the person who had bid $70,000 and casually blew a smoke ring. "I'll go with $100,000."
Seeing Big Gold Tooth's performance, a lyric popped into Cao Yi's mind: just because I looked at you a little longer in the crowd.
Exactly, that look, that smile, had prompted Cao Yi to get Big Gold Tooth and Wang Kaixuan involved.
As a result, Wang Kaixuan had returned a smile that almost drove Cao Yi mad with frustration.
Fortunately, Big Gold Tooth was sharp.
This time, they could definitely raise the price, gathering enough funds to participate in the jade auction.