Chapter 30

After seeing off most of the people, Wu Di finally had some peace. Zhong Qi and the other three approached again, and the four of them sat down together. Zhong Qi smiled and said:

"Originally, I was worried that you didn't have a way to make money, and I was thinking of giving you a company to train in. Now, it seems that your money-making speed is something even I can't match. Xiao Wu, what do you plan to do next at that company?"

"No, I'm already in the process of resigning. When a person's mindset changes, it's hard to find that feeling again."

"Then what do you plan to do next?"

"I want to go home for a few days first. So much has happened, and I've made a lot of money. I should let my parents enjoy some of it. Then I want to find someone to learn about antiques and jade from, and take some time to settle down."

"Returning home with wealth and honor is like wearing fine clothes at night. It's good to go home. It would be best to bring your aunt and uncle to Beijing. Taking some time to settle down is very necessary. I'm just afraid that in a moment of enthusiasm, you'll spend all the money you've earned on stones. You should know that the supply of jade rough is decreasing. In recent years, even a ten-to-one loss is considered good. Many old hands in the industry have lost everything. One cut to heaven, one cut to hell. Those who truly play with stones never cut them. When you come back from your hometown, we'll have a good chat and find a good path together."

Wu Di gratefully accepted the advice.

Qian Fatzi came over to invite Wu Di to dinner. Wu Di realized it was already past one o'clock and quickly got up to say goodbye. Just before leaving, he remembered something else. After some consideration, he decided to handle it at the same time. He remembered the twelfth piece of rough stone displayed in the Heavenly Book, a high-ice, high-jade, spinach-green stone, which was the stone stool he had been sitting on.

Wu Di organized his thoughts and asked:

"Boss Qian..."

Before he could finish, Qian Fatzi interrupted him:

"Brother Wu, if you respect me, call me Brother Fat. If you don't, call me Qian Fatzi. I can't really accept 'Boss Qian.'"

"Oh, okay, Brother Fat, this stone stool seems to be rough stone, too?"

"Brother, you noticed that? Did someone tell you?"

"No, I was just guessing out of boredom."

"You're amazing, Brother. Your random guess is embarrassing us old hands who have been in this industry for decades!"

"Is this really rough stone? How did it end up as a stone stool?"

"Ha, Brother, if you don't mind, there are a few old friends who play with stones over there. Let's have a meal together and chat while we eat. Many people know about this stone stool. It's a bitter memory for your Brother Fat."

"Ha, a few bitter tears, four stone stools! Fatzi, are you going to tell your struggle story again? Hurry up, is the feast ready? We're all starving!"

The boss of Qishi Workshop, Mr. Liu, couldn't help but shout when he heard about the meal.

Fatzi said:

"It's already ready, right here in the courtyard. It will be delivered in ten minutes!"

Wu Di looked helplessly at Zhong Qi and the others. Yang Yanzi ground her small white teeth and made a diamond shape with her mouth. Wu Di nodded repeatedly, and the girl happily pulled Chang Linlin to look at the stones. However, she commented on the stones based on their appearance, saying things like "This one is so ugly," "That one is so cute," and "This one has so much character," which made Zhong Qi, who was already sitting at the large round table with Wu Di, blush.

Including Wu Di and the others, there were ten people left. The boss of Qishi Workshop, Mr. Liu; the boss of Bogu Studio, Mr. Fang; the boss of Jade World, Mr. Qian (Qian Fatzi's brother); and the helper, Brother Liu; and Mr. Zhang, whom Wu Di met on his first visit. Mr. Zhang was half in the industry, running a logistics company, and Bai Shihengtong was his business. He mainly dealt with stones, buying good raw stones and holding them for a few years before selling them, often making a fortune. He would also sell good or cheap polished stones because he wasn't purely in the business, and he looked at the future market, so his bids were often aggressive, which was hated by merchants like Old Liu of Qishi Workshop. As soon as they sat down, the two started arguing.

Before the meal, a middle-aged man entered. He was Liu Feng, the boss of Jade Garden, known as the first in Beijing for jade. Everyone except Wu Di knew him and greeted him.

Liu Feng said regretfully:

"Boss Qian notified me yesterday, and I planned to come and meet old friends, but I was delayed by something. I didn't get to see Brother Wu open the stone. Even if I had been here, the price would likely have been taken by the Hong Kong people! It seems we should discuss whether the market has changed in ways we don't know."

Qian Fatzi laughed and said:

"Boss Liu, you're too kind. What could you not know in this industry? A few friends said that if you had been here, Old Chen wouldn't have gotten it! Let's not talk about that. Everyone is hungry, let's eat, let's eat."

The meal lasted until three in the afternoon. After everyone left, Wu Di pulled Qian Fatzi aside and asked:

"Now that no one is around, Brother Fat, can you tell me the story of the stone stool?"

"Ah, there's nothing special. It's just a story of youthful arrogance. I gambled on a few stones and thought I was invincible. There was a large stone in Tengchong, weighing over two tons. Many people liked it, but the seller's price was too high, and no one dared to buy it. Someone encouraged me to take a chance, and I had speculative thoughts. I sold my house and car and took a big gamble. I lost everything. At that time, tens of millions was a huge sum. But I'm grateful for that big gamble; it taught me never to gamble on stones again! With my family's help, I gathered some money and started dealing in raw stones. The timing was good, and I made a fortune over the next ten years. The remaining part of that rough stone was made into four stone stools, which I use to remind myself not to touch gambling stones again. It was a big deal at the time, and many old friends knew about it."

"Brother Fat, I think there's jade in these stone stools. At least, I think there's jade in the one I was sitting on. Why don't you try cutting it?"

"No, I said I wouldn't touch it. If you're interested, I'll give you one to play with."

Wu Di had thought about this. Although Qian Fatzi was cunning, he had been good to him, genuinely teaching him how to identify jade and its value. For Wu Di, with the Heavenly Book as a cheat, there would be many opportunities to find good stones. Giving a piece of high-ice stone to Fatzi as a friend was worth it, so he suggested Fatzi try it. But Fatzi had been badly hurt by that stone and didn't believe there was jade inside. When the large stone was cut, the remaining part was made into stone stools without any sign of jade. How could he believe Wu Di, a gambling stone novice, who was just talking nonsense?

Wu Di hesitated and said:

"I can't accept it as a gift. How about you set a price, and I'll cut it for fun."

"Do you really think it's good?"

"Ha, Brother, you know I gamble on luck. While my luck is still here, I should take the chance to cut a few more stones. When my luck runs out, I'll stop."

"Ha, then Brother Fat won't be polite. You've made so much money these past two days, making me envious. I'll take a cut, one million. One million, and I'll help you cut it!"

"Okay, let's prepare to cut the stone."

Zhong Qi kicked Wu Di under the table, and Wu Di shook his head slightly, staring at Qian Fatzi.

"Hey, Brother, you're teasing me! Just throw a few bucks at this broken stone. One million was a joke."

"I said one million, so it's one million. If the price is too low, I won't take it! Transfer the money quickly, so you don't regret it later, saying I bullied you."

"Brat, are you burning money? This won't work. If you really want it, throw me ten thousand, and we'll call it a deal. No more talk of gifts."

Wu Di was about to argue, but Yang Yanzi rolled her eyes and smiled:

"Boss Fat, this guy is burning money. If I were you, I'd ask for ten million and see if he still wants to burn it. Right, Linlin, is he burning money? I'm not wrong, right?"

Chang Linlin smiled bitterly:

"You're not wrong, Yanzi, but don't meddle."

"How can it be meddling? They can't solve the problem, so I'll help. Boss Fat, if he offers one million, take it. Let him lose a bit here, and he won't think his luck is too good. It might be a good thing!"

Wu Di joined in, shouting to transfer the money. Qian Fatzi reluctantly accepted it and prepared to cut the stone.

Fatzi shook his head and asked:

"Brother, how do you want to cut it?"

"Old way, one cut in the middle!"

Fatzi didn't say much. It was just a broken stone stool, and he wanted to finish it quickly. He had cut a large stone in the morning and had a bit of beer at noon, so he was a bit tired.

One cut down, Fatzi bent over to look as usual. But as he bent down, he felt a rush of blood to his head and couldn't stand up.

"It's green, it's green!"

Qian Fatzi's voice was hoarse and high-pitched, trembling. Zhong Qi and the others ran over to look.

Wu Di calmly washed the cut surface with water and saw the tender green, like early autumn spinach, on the cut surface. The jade was large, and the closest part to the outer surface of the stone stool was only three centimeters away. It was also on both sides, and Wu Di's one cut had split it in two.

Fatzi's eyes bulged for a long time. After a violent cough, he straightened up, looked up to the sky, and wailed, excitedly saying:

"Glass jade! I sat on glass jade for years and looked for it everywhere! Brother, your luck, your luck! Ah, comparing people can drive you crazy!"

"Hehe, I'm just lucky, just guessing. Brother Fat, I think it's just high-ice. Let's cut it again."

"Get lost! Even if it's not glass jade, it's ice-glass, better than high-ice. The one you cut last time was true glass jade, rare and hard to find! If all the material was like that, the jade bosses wouldn't be able to do business."

Fatzi pushed Wu Di away and used a grinding wheel to polish the stone carefully. This was ice-glass, and he couldn't cut it like the morning's bean jade. Even a small mistake could cost tens of millions. Though the money was Wu Di's, no jade lover could bear such a loss.

Wu Di was happy to be idle. He watched as Qian Fatzi called two helpers to slowly polish the stone. It took over two hours for the jade to fully reveal itself. The two pieces were about the size of a baby's head, shining with a green glow in the sunlight, crystal clear, dazzling Qian Fatzi's squinting eyes!