Chapter 71

Upon first glance, a terrifying crack ran through the entire piece of rough stone, dividing it into a larger and a smaller piece. If the vibration were stronger, it might split into two halves. However, if it really did split into two halves, Wu Di wouldn't have seen such a miraculous stone.

On the left side of the crack, which was about two-fifths of the size, there were numerous grid-like cracks. Inside these large cracks were smaller ones, and if all the jade material were extracted, it would likely only yield a few pendants, making it essentially scrap.

The larger side was completely different. Under the surface of the stone, about two fingers deep, was ice jade. All the cracks seemed to have agreed to stop at this point. Beyond this, a large mass of colorless old pit glass jade appeared, with at least forty kilograms remaining after removing the outer layer. Such a large piece, even if it were just colorless glass jade, would be quite valuable. Moreover, this piece wasn't just simple colorless glass jade. In the nearly transparent jade material, there were many white cotton inclusions. These white cotton inclusions, however, significantly increased the value of the glass jade by several dozen times!

The white cotton inclusions were evenly distributed, with one every ten to twelve centimeters. Each piece had a different shape, some resembling goats, some snakes, and others rabbits. Wu Di carefully counted them and couldn't help but draw a sharp breath. If cut properly, without any carving, this piece of glass jade could yield sixteen identical jade screens, and they could even form a complete set of the twelve zodiac signs! Except for the dragon, which slightly differed from the traditional Chinese image, the others were incredibly lifelike! Wu Di calculated that a single screen could sell for around five million, but if the twelve screens were auctioned as a set, they could fetch at least three hundred million!

However, without Wu Di's guidance, whoever cut this jade would likely end up with a bunch of pendants and bracelets with cotton inclusions. If they tried to make larger pieces, they might be lucky to preserve one or two of the natural white cotton shapes, but if not, they would end up with a pile of cotton-like fragments.

Wu Di stretched his sore legs and feet, then took out 100,000 yuan and gave it to the little boy. He then started to worry about how to get the stone down. If it were ordinary glass jade, Wu Di might have tried to find something to knock it and see if it could be split into two halves, but he didn't dare now. He was afraid that the stone might suddenly crack when they tried to lift it, injuring both the stone and the people.

The little boy called over a girl from next door, and the two of them counted the money. Judging by the girl's happy expression, they were probably siblings. The little boy saw Wu Di scratching his head and smiled, pulling out a rope net from under the bed. It had large mesh on both sides. Wu Di understood immediately; the stone had been lifted up using this net, and the large mesh on the sides allowed people to insert their arms and hang the net over their shoulders.

Wu Di looked at Song Hongyan, who was eager to try, and began to call for help. Soon, Luo Quan arrived and laughed as he entered the room.

"You guys are like the Japanese invading the village today! The fat guy just cleared out a whole room of goods, complaining that he didn't bring enough cash. I can help you carry the stone down and take it back, and he can get some more money."

"Where's the fat guy?"

"He's watching the car! What about your stone?"

Wu Di pointed to the corner, and Luo Quan exclaimed, "Damn, a thunderstruck stone, and you bought it even though it's cracked like that?"

"Stop talking and get to work. We still have a dozen more inns to visit!"

"More like a dozen, and there are people in each one. By the time you get there, the flowers will be cold."

"Can't a brother get a good deal?"

The three of them struggled to get the stone into the rope net, and the little boy even came to help. Finally, they were ready.

Wu Di and Luo Quan tried to lift it, but it was a struggle. However, once they got it downstairs, they had a plan. There was an old stone-cutting machine in the yard. If the blade cut into the stone, it would likely split into two halves, making it easier to handle the remaining sixty to seventy kilograms.

They lifted and rested, and the rope left deep marks on their shoulders. Finally, they reached the ground floor. The fat guy came to check, worried that something might go wrong. He was surprised to see such a large piece of stone. He shook his head, thinking that these Burmese people were stubborn. Even if the stone were thrown in the yard, no one would likely take it without a fight.

The stone-cutting machine was powered on, and it made a deafening noise. Song Hongyan advised, "Maybe we should stop. We don't want to damage the stone. We can get more people to help carry it to the car."

Luo Quan was more direct, "Boss, your stone-cutting machine is a thousand yuan per cut. You should throw it away and get a new one."

The boss lady was fierce, "The blade is sharp enough to cut you in half!"

The boss lady was right. The handle of the stone-cutting machine only needed to be pressed down a third of the way, and the stone split into two pieces.

Song Hongyan looked at the large piece of colorless glass jade and gave Wu Di a thumbs-up, then looked at the smaller, severely cracked piece and sighed, "What a pity."

"Yeah, we should thank this large crack. Otherwise, the whole stone would be useless."

The fat guy and Song Hongyan carried the large piece back to the car and were ready to return. Luo Quan asked, "What about the small piece?"

"We don't want it. It will only yield a few pendants, not enough to cover the cost of cutting the stone."

Luo Quan said, "Wait a moment."

He ran back and carried the small piece to the car, laughing, "It can sell for a lot of money. You don't want it, so I'll take it."

Wu Di laughed, "You, your arms aren't sore anymore?"

"Who said? It's hard to lift!"

The fat guy shook his head, "People die for wealth, birds die for food."

Since the fat guy would be back later, they didn't call Zhong Qi. Song Hongyan went back with them to help carry the stone.

By noon, they had finished, and Wu Di called Zhong Qi. The two were having a great time and hadn't even noticed that Wu Di and the others had left. They agreed to eat separately, and Wu Di and the others had a simple fast food meal. After eating, the fat guy dragged Song Hongyan to look at more stones, while Luo Quan pulled Wu Di aside.

"Xiao Wu, let's go. We have nothing better to do. Even if we can't touch the stones, we can still look."

Wu Di smiled bitterly and got into the car, saying, "Alright, I'll risk my life to keep you company. If it doesn't work, I can at least watch the car."

The quality of the stones they saw in the afternoon was not as good as in the morning, but it wasn't terrible. Luo Quan laughed, "These kids are good at business. They don't show all their good stuff at once. Otherwise, who would come back the next few days? And every night, someone secretly brings more goods here."

Wu Di noticed that the fat guy and Song Hongyan seemed indifferent, realizing that they were experienced and he was just a novice worrying unnecessarily.

Wu Di was determined to find a good deal in the afternoon. Since he had seen many good stones recently, the Heavenly Book didn't lack energy. Besides, there were indeed some good pieces among the goods from Myanmar. He followed Song Hongyan, tapping each stone. Song Hongyan laughed, "Xiao Wu, are you talking to the stones again?"

They visited three inns, and Wu Di found two pieces of ice jade. Song Hongyan bought five small stones from famous mines. With some good finds, they became even more enthusiastic.

The fifth inn had a larger yard. As soon as they entered, Wu Di saw a large object in the corner. It was a stone block about one meter high and half a meter wide.

Wu Di approached and saw that the surface was smooth, likely a large stone. The boss lady suddenly shouted, "Jin Mei, someone is looking at your rough stone!"

A clear voice replied from upstairs, and Wu Di's eyes lit up. Finally, he saw a pretty Burmese girl. She was about 1.6 meters tall, with a delicate face and lively eyes. She spoke standard Yunnan Mandarin. After a bit of chatter, Wu Di understood that the stone cost 300,000 yuan and was definitely rough stone.

Wu Di noticed that the girl blushed slightly when she mentioned the rough stone, suggesting she wasn't sure about it. Song Hongyan shook his head and went upstairs. Wu Di leaned against the stone and chatted with the girl, realizing he was quite eloquent with girls. Maybe he should try with Wen Lan when he got back to Beijing?

The girl kept urging Wu Di to examine the stone carefully. When she realized he was just teasing her, she stomped her foot and ran upstairs to entertain Song Hongyan. Wu Di, adhering to the principle of "better to make a mistake than to miss an opportunity," placed his pinky finger on the stone.

A miraculous thing happened. A strong, cool sensation rushed into Wu Di's body, instantly reducing the pain in his shoulder. But where was the jade? Where was the jade?

Wu Di forgot he wasn't using his eyes and rubbed his eyes. The large stone was still there. He realized he needed to use his left hand and quickly placed it back, carefully searching.

A hint of green appeared, light green, then deep green, becoming deeper and forming a green cylindrical piece of jade, about the size of a cigarette. Wu Di examined it carefully but couldn't determine its quality. It was clearly visible, but it didn't seem completely transparent.

Wu Di frowned, and the boss lady, seeing him holding the stone without speaking, asked, "Young man? What's wrong? Don't think too much. It's just a big stone. The girl is crazy for money! Many people have seen it, and no one has offered a price!"

Wu Di thanked the boss lady, "Sister, I'm just thinking about something. You can go about your business."

Wu Di leaned against the stone, placing his pinky finger on it from behind, and continued searching. There were five cigarette-sized green cylinders in the stone. Wu Di noticed that the area around the cylinders was colorless, and the green seemed to be reflected from the cylinders. Who would be so bored as to put light bulbs in a big stone? But even if they did, it wouldn't sell. Wu Di decided to stop thinking and take the stone back. The only problem was its size. How did the girl get it here?

Jin Mei insisted on 300,000 yuan, saying her grandfather had said the stone should be sold to someone with a connection. Wu Di thought it was incredible. Could the old man have known about the green cylinders? It seemed unlikely. Given the size of the stone and the cylinders, it could easily be mistaken for a piece of scrap if cut in the wrong place.

When faced with a problem, turn to Luo Quan. When the fat guy and Luo Quan saw the large stone, they looked at Wu Di with a mix of admiration and disbelief.

"Wow, first the strange stone, now this shiny big stone. Others look for jade in rough stones, but you dream of finding jade flowers in stones!"

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