Chapter 57

Lan and Meng Yao used their last day off before work to travel to Spring City. Their classmate, who was hosting them, arranged for their first stop to be the flower and bird market. In the morning, they had just seen a group led by Dalong overturn an old woman's stall. After lunch, when they came out to gamble on jade, they ran into Dalong and his gang again. Lan noticed that although this dark-faced man was quite arrogant, a strong dragon does not suppress a local snake. If they lost, the consequences would be unimaginable. In a moment of urgency, a small sense of justice flared up, and she gave a warning.

Wu Di turned around, and there stood a girl as pure and elegant as a small white flower swaying in a spring field, wearing a simple white floral dress, standing outside the red line, her face full of anxiety. The girl had a slightly round face, with a bit of baby fat under her cheeks, and her crescent-shaped eyes radiated a look of worry, concern, and compassion, as if striking a chord in his heart.

Wu Di was momentarily stunned, shook his head in a daze, and softly said, "Thank you." He then turned and walked toward the raw jade stones. Suddenly, he caught a glimpse out of the corner of his eye of a disheveled man sitting on a square stone that was not part of the neatly arranged row of raw jade. Wu Di's heart stirred, and he pointed at the stone, asking:

"Boss, is this stone yours?"

The boss followed Wu Di's finger and immediately shouted loudly:

"Erzi, don't run, you're trying to steal my stone again!"

The man stood up sheepishly, not backing down, and shouted back:

"Which eye did you see me stealing your stone? Can't I sit down when I'm tired?"

From his shifty eyes, anyone could tell something was off.

Wu Di walked over, patted the stone where the man had been sitting, and his eyes lit up as he said:

"I see that your forehead is purple, and your luck is on a downward trend. Since this stone has been sat on by you, it must have taken your luck. Boss, I'll take this one."

Zhong Qi and the others walked over to take a look. Was this raw jade? It was clearly just a square stone! There wasn't even a trace of a python pattern or a speck of pine flower!

Qiang Ge took a look and immediately felt relieved. He had seen that stone before; it was definitely not raw jade. It must have been deliberately mixed in by this unscrupulous boss!

The boss heard this and hurried over, wanting to praise Wu Di's discernment to get a high price, but with this stone, he really couldn't bring himself to speak! This was clearly the stone he had placed in the cargo box for the movers to sit on during his last purchase! Was this young man even skilled at gambling on jade? If he wasn't, how dare he bet a million yuan? Now he couldn't back down, could he? He wanted to say it wasn't raw jade, but with it in the pile of raw jade and so many people around, his reputation would be ruined. Ah, no matter, the boss gritted his teeth:

"Eighty thousand!"

A few people nearby burst out in shock:

"Too black, boss, that's just a stone!"

"Nonsense! I bought this raw jade with real money from Yingjiang! Look how discerning this young man is, he picked it out right away! He really knows his stones."

Indeed, who would dare say someone who could bet a million yuan on a whim didn't know raw jade? The crowd quieted down.

"Boss, I'll take this one."

Qiang Ge helped the boss out of a bind.

Song Hongyan carefully examined the stone and whispered:

"Little junior, I think you should choose another one. This one, this one really won't do."

Wu Di shook his head and smiled:

"Senior, I don't really understand gambling on jade. I'm purely betting on luck. I have a feeling about this stone."

Song Hongyan was about to persuade him further but remembered the raw jade Wu Di had opened before, which was similar to a stone. He immediately closed his mouth and stood up.

Lan glanced at the stone from a distance and pouted. Meng Yao whispered:

"You're so sympathetic. I don't think that dark-faced guy is a good person. Why care about his life and death? Let's go first. If those thugs see you warning him, they might come after us."

"No, I want to see the stone being cut."

A boy standing behind them said:

"It should be fine. If Lan wants to watch, let her. Neither side is good, so they won't bother us."

Meng Yao pouted, thinking, "Flatterer, with your attitude, you think you can chase after our little white flower?"

After paying, they started cutting the stone. Qiang Ge pretended to be generous and said:

"Let you go first."

Wu Di didn't respond, picked up the stone, placed it on the cutting machine, moved it a few times, turned on the switch, and cut it with one swift stroke!

Qiang Ge and Dalong chatted casually, not even looking at the cut. If this wasn't a novice, what was? If they could encounter such a fool every day, they'd be billionaires in ten days! Even if not every day, once every ten days would be great. Once a month, once a year would be fine too!

The harsh grinding sound stopped, and the crowd surged forward. Even if they surged, they couldn't see the cut surface, but that's just how people are, isn't it?

Zhong Qi sprinkled some water and suddenly shouted:

"It's up, there's green!"

The crowd became restless, and a few people standing at the edge of the red line quickly maintained order. Qiang Ge, hearing Zhong Qi's shout, felt a sense of foreboding and walked over with Dalong.

Song Hongyan, Fat Man, Luo Quan, and Chang Linlin took turns examining the cut surface. Wu Di's cut was incredibly precise; even without a strong flashlight, the green could be seen through the white mist, and not a bit of jade was damaged.

Qiang Ge was blocked by the crowd and couldn't see the cut surface, scratching his head in frustration. Finally, after everyone had finished looking, Qiang Ge saw the green and his face darkened.

Dalong, seeing Qiang Ge's expression, asked softly, and Qiang Ge whispered back:

"Not good, we've run into an expert."

Dalong's eyes flashed with a fierce light, glared at Wu Di, took out his phone, and ran to the side to make a call.

Wu Di turned the stone and, without drawing any lines, cut it again, and it was up again! This cut was even riskier, just grazing the edge of the jade.

Fat Man leaned in and shouted:

"Damn, it's actually an ice-type pea green full color!"

The crowd broke through the red line and rushed toward the jade. In a moment of urgency, Wu Di turned on the cutting machine, and the sound of the grinding wheel made the crowd quiet down. Wu Di shouted loudly:

"Thank you all for your concern. Since this involves a bet of millions, I ask everyone to maintain order and step back behind the red line. Otherwise, if the boss's stone is lost, it will be hard to explain. Thank you, thank you all!"

The boss, experienced, had already called for help from the market management when Wu Di's first cut revealed green. By now, a dozen security guards had arrived, pushing the crowd back. After a moment of chaos, everyone retreated behind the red line.

The boss looked down and cursed:

"Damn, another stone is missing!"

Wu Di searched the crowd for the girl with the crescent-shaped eyes, as pure as a little white flower, but she was gone. He didn't know that the little white flower was actually outside the crowd, comforting Meng Yao, who had been stepped on.

Wu Di turned the stone and prepared to cut again. Fat Man snatched the handle and scolded:

"Prodigal, stand aside. This is an ice-type full green! Even a small piece is worth hundreds of thousands. Boss, bring the tools to polish the stone."

Half an hour later, a somewhat irregular square piece of ice-type full green jade was cut out, weighing at least five kilograms. Qiang Ge was drenched in sweat, and even the stone he had chosen, which weighed no more than ten kilograms, was almost too heavy to place on the cutting machine. He wiped his sweat, closed his eyes to rest for a moment, then shook his head and called out:

"Dalong, you come, start polishing from this side."

Dalong gave Qiang Ge a reassuring gesture and began polishing. Qiang Ge took a few deep breaths, his face calmed down, and he greedily looked at the stone in Fat Man's hands, smiling:

"Little brother, you're really strong. Today, I've met an expert."

"Brother? I can't dare to be so presumptuous."

One doesn't hit a smiling face, but no one said you couldn't ignore it.

Qiang Ge was embarrassed and cursed inwardly, "I'll show you later!"

"Qiang Ge, it's green, we have green too!"

Dalong's trembling voice came. If they could win by fair means, who would resort to underhanded tactics?

Dalong, without waiting for Qiang Ge's instructions, polished along the green edge. Soon, a green line appeared, and the clarity was revealed, but it wasn't ice-type, at most it was ice-moist. Should they bet on the size? Looking at the jade in Fat Man's hands, this stone probably wouldn't win.

Dalong gave a signal, handed the stone to Qiang Ge to continue polishing. He secretly pressed a button on his phone in his pocket and folded his arms, ready to watch the show!

"Move, move, police, everyone move, someone reported gambling here. Those who don't move will be arrested!"

A few neatly dressed police officers pushed through the crowd, showed their badges, and asked:

"Boss Li, someone reported gambling here. Is that true?"

"No, no, just a bit of a dispute between these two brothers. They're cutting stones to compare, a friendly bet. No, not a bet, a friendly stone-cutting."

"What's in your hand?"

Boss Li, thinking quickly, said:

"The money they paid for the stones."

"Let me see. A million, a million! Boss Li, your stones are quite valuable!"

The police officer stopped paying attention to the sweating Boss Li and walked to Fat Man, who was holding the stone, saluted, and said:

"I'm Officer Li Ming from the Flower and Bird Market police station. We received a report of gambling here. Please come with us."

Zhong Qi had been observing Dalong's face since the police arrived and knew what was happening. He laughed coldly and watched the show. Fat Man was initially anxious but, seeing Wu Di and Zhong Qi's expressions, remembered that this was someone who couldn't be touched! He admitted his bad luck and apologized, knowing that playing such tricks would cost more than just a million.

None of them noticed that Chang Linlin had shaken her head at the crowd when the police arrived.

Wu Di stepped forward and said:

"Officer, the bet was mine, and the stone was bought by me. You've got the wrong person."

"You're all together. He's also involved. Please come with us to clarify the situation."

Officer Li Ming then walked to Qiang Ge and said the same, asking him to cooperate and come to the police station.

Qiang Ge smiled:

"I'll definitely support the police. Dalong, carry the stone, let's go."

Zhong Qi patted Fat Man's shoulder and quickly followed.

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