Chapter 68

Wu Di had just placed the stone when a cheer erupted from the crowd nearby,

"Eleventh piece, parrot green ice jelly, eleven consecutive rises!"

"I'll offer two million! Two million!"

"Two point one million!"

A few merchants near Wu Di also joined the crowd.

Zhong Qi wiped the sweat from his face, making it look like a big flower, and spat out the sand and dust in his mouth, asking:

"Xiao Wu, how should we cut this one?"

"Still cut along the line, but the skin might be thicker, so be sure to keep your hand steady and don't damage the inside!"

The fat man hesitated and said:

"Brother, let me do it?"

"It's not about the bun, but about the spirit. I want to see who's better today! I'll do it myself!"

Wu Di carefully adjusted the stone. There was no mist under the skin, just jade, so he had to be very careful. One cut could mean a difference of hundreds of thousands.

Zhong Qi held the handle with both hands and cut steadily. The skin was thick and hard, and the recoil was significant. Zhong Qi's face turned red, and he gripped the handle tightly, sweat streaming down his forehead. Chang Liling felt a bit heartbroken and wanted to help wipe the sweat, but Song Hongyan stopped her.

The sound of the grinding wheel was particularly loud, but the bidding voices nearby were no less intense. Wu Di paid attention to both Zhong Qi cutting the stone and the bidding. Finally, at 2.85 million, the price stopped rising, and a big-bellied merchant won the piece. The young man didn't hesitate and immediately placed another rough stone to start cutting.

For a moment, the piercing sound filled the entire area, as if competing. The skin of the stone on the other side was also very hard, and the grinding sound was no less than here. Wu Di looked at the two men who seemed like fighting roosters and shook his head helplessly,

"Even the stone-cutting prince is so competitive. If it were the jade-gambling prince, they would probably fight to the death!"

The sound of the grinding wheel came to a stop as Zhong Qi turned off the switch and lifted the blade. Chang Liling quickly grabbed a wet tissue to wipe it, but he waved her away, pouting and sulking. Zhong Qi, who was now focused, asked Qian Fatzi, who had his face almost pressed against the stone after rinsing it with water.

Qian Fatzi's voice trembled, almost on the verge of tears,

"Glass type, apple green, top quality, top quality!"

The last three words were very loud, and a crowd quickly gathered,

"Top quality, what top quality? Fatzi, explain clearly!"

Song Hongyan pushed Fatzi aside, took a look, and said:

"Color grade up one level, it's glass type, no doubt!"

"Glass type! Oh my God, I finally saw the legendary glass type imperial green! Fatzi, let me touch it!"

"Get lost, go home and touch yourself. Touching me, can you afford it?"

"Idiot, that's apple green, still a bit short of imperial green. If you don't understand, don't make a fuss here!"

"Where did you come from, idiot? I just said apple green..."

"I, I... I rely on your grandpa!"

Another person burst into tears!

A scream rang out, it was Chang Liling, who had just realized what was happening. She hugged Zhong Qi, jumping and shouting,

"Husband, I told you I could hear the stones speak, I told you! This is the third piece! Ah! I admire myself so much!"

"Little brother, don't cut anymore, just name a price!"

"Eight million, little brother, this is just the first cut. If it collapses, you'll lose big. Eight million, I'll take it, I'm not afraid!"

"Lao Hong, you're trying to get a bargain again. I'll offer ten million!"

Zhong Qi turned and slowly scanned the crowd, like a proud general. The crowd gradually quieted down. He turned, gripped the handle with both hands, and shouted:

"Xiao Wu, cut!"

Wu Di smiled bitterly, "If you don't want to show off, you'll die, right? Your acting is so bad. Look at me, I handle the reluctant, conflicted, and aggrieved feelings so well. Don't you see those idiots staring at me?"

"What are you daydreaming about? The stone is ready, get out of the way, or do you want to lose your hand?"

Qian Fatzi pushed Wu Di, who shed a tear, "Don't hold me back, brother, I also want to burst into tears, I can't face anyone!"

Two cuts later, the stone revealed its true face. Zhong Qi was quite tired, and the fat man, who had been itching to do it, took over, carefully polishing the stone, more carefully than he would with his own child.

The cutting sound from the other side stopped, and a sigh of relief came,

"It collapsed, finally collapsed, it's too scary. If it had risen twelve times, oh my God!"

"Why does everyone else's rise, but mine collapses? Why?"

"I'm so stupid, I actually believed in cutting instead of gambling!"

"Damn, he's the stone-cutting prince, not the jade-gambling prince. If you picked a bad stone, can you blame him for it collapsing? If you picked a stone from the roadside, even a stone-cutting god couldn't turn it into jade!"

"Exactly, just accept your bad luck!"

"Stone-cutting prince, my ass. That guy over there even cut out glass type!"

"Damn, Wang Liqiang, you're insulting people. Do you still want to buy their stones?"

"Slip of the tongue, just a slip of the tongue! Li Qing, you called my name, I won't let this go!"

The stone-cutting area was in chaos, and people in the market rushed out. Wu Di quickly shouted,

"Fatzi, stop polishing, run!"

Suddenly, a person appeared and said,

"You can't run, people outside are rushing in! Follow me quickly!"

"Quickly, look at the glass type imperial green! I heard two people were competing to cut, and both got imperial green!"

"Bullshit, I heard two groups were gambling and fighting, and several people were knocked down!"

"Latest news, someone removed the blade from the cutting machine and is swinging it around!"

"Damn, are you still rushing in? Run back!"

The entire market was in chaos.

Wu Di and his group followed Fatzi's friend to a small storage room. They heard the chaos outside, with people shouting about killings, imperial green, and stampedes. Someone even triggered the fire alarm, and screams were continuous, like a riot. They felt a chill, thinking that if they were surrounded by these crazy people, and if someone with ulterior motives caused trouble, they wouldn't just lose the stone, they might lose their lives.

As the noise moved away from the storage room, their hearts gradually calmed down. Wu Di suddenly felt something was wrong and turned around to find two more people behind him!

Wu Di was startled and shouted,

"Who are you? What are you doing here!"

Two young men stepped out of the shadows, one of whom was the stone-cutting prince in work clothes. He nodded to Wu Di, walked to Zhong Qi, and bowed deeply, saying:

"I'm sorry for causing you trouble. If I hadn't been so competitive, this wouldn't have happened."

The other young man quickly added,

"Wang Sheng, I should be the one to apologize. If I hadn't spoken out of turn, this wouldn't have happened."

Zhong Qi listened to the noise outside and said,

"It seems you've mistaken your target, and there was no right or wrong today. If we need to apologize, we should all go to the hospital to apologize to those injured in this incident."

Chang Liling shivered and asked,

"Will people really get hurt?"

"Didn't you hear the screams just now?"

"Ah, this is just a regular glass type. If it were real imperial green, I can't imagine the chaos! I think this is why imperial green is so rare on the market. Possessing it is a curse."

Wu Di became deeply cautious. In the future, if he finds top-quality jade, he'll cut it secretly in his own house. These people are too crazy.

Suddenly, gunshots rang out outside, and the courtyard fell silent. Police sirens,整齐的跑步声, and shouts of orders echoed,

"The police are here, it looks like the market will be closed for a few days."

Fatzi's friend, Liu Li, glanced at the group, thinking, "Can I blame them? But if not them, who else?"

Half an hour later, Liu Li quietly opened the door, looked around, and was about to call the group out when a black gun barrel pressed against his head!

"Come out, everyone inside, you're surrounded! Come out quickly!"

Zhong Qi laughed in anger, "Are you watching too many cop movies? I'm not a terrorist! But whether or not I'm a terrorist, after learning that we were the cause of the market chaos, we were taken to the police station for questioning.

"Do you know that because of your pointless competition, there was a stampede in the market, injuring thirty-seven people, two of whom are still in the emergency room? Do you know that because of you, twenty-three merchants' stalls were damaged, losing over three million yuan worth of raw stones? Do you know..."

"What did we do wrong? Why are we here listening to your accusations?"

The police officer, who was speaking with a pained and earnest tone, was suddenly interrupted by Zhong Qi's cold words and became furious!

"I suspect you are colluding with outsiders, using the stone-cutting competition as a cover to rob the market!"

"Raw stones were stolen, but you don't go after the thieves. People were injured, but you don't go after the ones who caused the injuries. The market was in chaos, and just because glass type appeared, a riot broke out, but you don't go after the market management. Instead, you're shouting at us. I remember you, Officer Li, and you will be held responsible for your accusations."

Zhong Qi looked at the police officer's badge and said sternly.

Officer Li shivered, "Did I provoke the wrong people today? My team was the first to arrive at the scene, reported the situation promptly, and suggested the deployment of the police, which quickly quelled the riot. I just received an award and heard that the culprits were caught, so I came to show my concern to the leadership. How did I end up with this troublemaker?"

Seeing the smirks on his subordinates' faces, Officer Li was deeply provoked and subconsciously raised his hand, slapping Zhong Qi's face!