Chapter 43

Wu Di, who had been fishing for two consecutive days, seemed to have a black veil covering his face, turning it dark and shiny. According to Pang Kuan and Zhu Ziming, he was so dark that he could almost become invisible in the dark.

On Sunday evening, Wu Di called Brother Long, expressing his desire to continue learning on Monday. Brother Long readily agreed.

The jade processing factory was always bustling. When Wu Di arrived, the sun was still soft and weak, but the workers were already working enthusiastically. Brother Long led Wu Di to the warehouse and pointed to two piles of rough jade, numbered 12 and 16, saying:

"Focus on these two piles today. One is for gambling on cracks, and the other is for gambling on moles. You can also pay attention to pile 18, which is from the Xiangdong mining area and is likely to produce colorful jade. Pile 21 is from Huikar, with the most varied base and color, making it easy to produce high-quality jade. Pile 22 contains several pieces from Muna, all from old pits. Find them yourself. When the stones are being processed, pay special attention to machines 1 and 3. Machine 1 is our ace, and machine 3 is brought by the villagers from Xialiang, a well-known expert in the area..."

Wu Di was so grateful that he didn't know what to say, and could only bow repeatedly with clasped hands.

First, they looked at the moles. Moles are black or dark gray streaks visible on the surface or inside the raw stone, essentially impurities. Moles can be black-blue, white, gray, or white-gray. Although they come in various shapes, they can generally be divided into two categories: clump-type, such as plaster moles, sleeping moles, and dead moles, which are formed by uniformly distributed impurities. Vein-type, such as straight moles, pig bristle moles, and hard moles, which are formed by impurities filling cracks.

Wu Di found it extremely interesting, with the only regret being the lack of negative examples. One piece of dead mole contained a live mole, and the live mole contained a dead mole, but Wu Di couldn't determine the direction. Anyone who dared to bet on this stone must be a super expert.

Cracks, officially called 'liu li,' are extremely harmful to raw stones. They can be linear, curved, connected, or dispersed, known in the jade gambling community as well-shaped cracks, tree branch cracks, chicken claw cracks, horse tail cracks, and so on. There are also skin cracks, flower cracks, hidden cracks, floating cracks, and evil cracks, with different names and classification criteria.

The person operating machine 1 was a young man around twenty, with a steady, accurate, and fierce technique. He would often make large, bold cuts, slicing through the stone in one go. In contrast, the middle-aged man operating machine 3 had a more graceful technique, seemingly exerting little effort, yet cutting the stone in half quickly. Wu Di found it extremely exciting to watch.

Brother Long occasionally came over to give Wu Di some pointers, but most of the time, Wu Di followed the line-drawing master. Although there were not many high-quality stones, the occasional words from the masters gave Wu Di a sense of enlightenment.

As usual, Wu Di slept on the floor at Brother Long's house and continued the next day.

There were fewer rough stones today, mainly brick-shaped ones. After lunch, Wu Di had the workers bring out the waste material and old elephant skin that hadn't been processed last time. Brother Long smiled and asked:

"Are you not keeping it as a souvenir?"

"Hehe, I'm leaving this afternoon, so let's consider it a conclusion."

Brother Long personally took the knife and started with the waste material. He made a quick and steady cut down the middle, splitting the stone in two. After looking at the cut surface, he exclaimed:

"Wow, it's a flower blue fuchsite!"

Without waiting to pour water, he wiped the cut surface with his sleeve and called out:

"Brother, you've got good luck. If the stone were bigger, you'd have made a fortune!"

Brother Long excitedly started to extract the jade. It was quite good, with the two pieces adding up to about two pounds, worth around 200,000 to 300,000 yuan. He excitedly handed the jade to Wu Di:

"Tomorrow, I'll have them cut all the waste material!"

Wu Di took a look and handed it back to Brother Long, smiling:

"Let me offer this flower to the Buddha, as a fee for my apprenticeship."

Brother Long paused, then handed it to his subordinate to store, smiling:

"I won't be polite, brother. This material doesn't match your level. You're welcome to visit and teach us anytime."

Wu Di liked this straightforward person and pointed to the old elephant skin, saying boldly:

"Bring it out and cut it!"

Brother Long asked:

"How do you want to cut it? Another middle cut?"

Wu Di hesitated:

"Let's first clean the original windows and open two more. It'll be a learning experience, okay?"

Brother Long, still excited, had no objections. He picked up a small grinding wheel, looked for a while, and started working. The original windows were easily cleaned, with a total of eight, covering four sides of the raw stone. By this time, Wu Di had already identified six fake spots, but seeing Brother Long find eight made him feel a bit embarrassed.

After examining carefully with a flashlight, Brother Long said:

"Indeed, there's nothing special. Even if there's material, it's not high-quality."

Wu Di pointed to one side:

"Brother Long, I've been studying for two days and have a feeling about this side."

"Really?"

Brother Long examined it carefully for a while, even using the grinding wheel, and smiled:

"I think it's all the same. Why don't we start cutting from this side? If there's nothing, we'll break it into pieces."

Wu Di thought:

"Brother Long, you might not get the chance to break it into pieces. Just don't be so surprised that you swallow the stone."

The first cut showed no reaction, and Brother Long's face fell, losing hope. This was a stone worth five million yuan.

"It's okay, keep cutting. I have a feeling."

After cutting another two centimeters, Brother Long suddenly called out:

"There's a mist! Damn, brother, there's material!"

They carefully cleaned the mist, and after half an hour, a piece of fine jade the size of a baby's palm appeared.

"Glass jade! Damn, if it can penetrate two fingers, we can make a bracelet, a big win!"

People nearby gathered, and even some stone-cutting machines stopped. Brother Long moved to another side, cleaning the surface where the fake window was, and then cleaned the side where the jade was exposed.

"Such a long dragon!"

The crowd erupted. Brother Long completely cleaned this side, two centimeters deeper than before, and then moved to the opposite side, continuing to clean. After ten minutes, the shape was clear: a ten-centimeter-long, high-quality yellow-green glass jade!

An hour later, the rough stone became a clear piece, and the jade processing factory was surrounded by a crowd. Firecrackers were set off outside. Wu Di held three large pieces of high-quality yellow-green glass jade, his eyes fixed on the pure color, unwilling to look away.

"Brother, are you selling? I'll offer ten million!"

"Thirty million! Damn, do you even have that much money?"

The crowd became restless, and Wu Di called out loudly:

"This material is not for sale! Thank you, thank you, not for sale!"

Brother Long had Wu Di put the jade away and started dispersing the crowd. After half an hour, the factory returned to calm. Brother Long and Wu Di, exhausted, returned to the office. They didn't notice the dark, gloomy face of Old Qin in the crowd.

Brother Long drank some water and said with a bitter smile:

"Brother, I've caused trouble today. I'm sorry. Drink some water and leave immediately. Once you get to Yudu, prepare to return to the capital. It's best to take your family with you for a few days. I'll arrange for someone to send you."

"What happened?"

"Wealth stirs the heart. This material is worth over a hundred million! I'm afraid someone might have evil intentions. I was too overjoyed."

Wu Di smiled:

"No problem, the security in Yudu has been good in recent years."

"But this is the countryside."

Brother Long didn't want to say too much, just kept urging Wu Di to make plans. Wu Di felt uneasy. When the four strong young men Brother Long arranged for entered the office, he immediately left with the cotton bag containing the jade.

The journey was smooth, and he arrived home safely. Wu Di called Brother Long, but no one answered, so he gave the young men some money and told them to tell Brother Long not to worry, that everything was fine.

Half an hour later, Brother Long called back, his voice urgent:

"Brother, are you okay?"

"I'm fine! I've already sent them back. Brother Long, you're too cautious. Have faith in the party."

Wu Di's tone was relaxed.

Brother Long's voice lowered, without a hint of a smile:

"Old Qin's son's car just came back, the front was smashed, and only the driver was left, with a few front teeth missing. The others are said to be in the hospital."

"Ah?"

"Wasn't it you who sent someone?"

"No, my companions were with me the whole time, and I didn't even make a phone call."

"Damn, I just found out. As soon as you left, Old Qin's son drove a minivan after you. It looks like they had a car accident. You're safe, but listen to me, take your family to the capital for a few days."

Wu Di hung up, feeling a bit shocked, worrying about how to explain to his family. The phone rang again; it was Brother Long:

"Brother, it's a big deal. The police, quality inspection, industry and commerce, and tax authorities are conducting a joint operation. Over twenty vehicles, the entire jade gambling street is sealed off, and a whole truck of people has been arrested. It's said that nearby villages are surrounded by the police. We're all forced to stay at home, not allowed to go out. Brother, what's your background?"

Wu Di hung up, thought for a moment, and called Zhong Qi:

"Damn, you finally remembered your fourth brother. The next month is the Ruili public auction, you need to come back on time..."

Wu Di rudely interrupted him and asked:

"Fourth brother, do you know what happened in Yudiao Village?"

"Yudiao Village, where is that? Hello, hello? Damn, you hung up on me again!"

Wu Di hung up on Zhong Qi and called his godmother:

"Godmother."

"Hehe, don't be afraid. Your godfather secretly arranged for someone to follow you, and it turned out to be a good thing. A group of bandits, can they provoke the Zhong family? Stay at home and rest, gain some weight, and when you come back, your godmother will find you a wife!"