Chapter 47

Update time: 2013-03-28

The next morning, Zhang Yang changed into a casual outfit and, following the address he found online, drove to the headquarters of Lido Gemstone Company, specifically the Chaoyang branch. The store was about 500 to 600 square meters, luxuriously decorated, and bustling with people.

Security guards patrolled the hall from time to time. Zhang Yang saw jade displayed in several showcases, some as large as fists, some exquisitely transparent, and others wrapped in stone, with the jade inside barely visible. No wonder there were so many security guards; if the jade were to be stolen, the loss would be severe.

Zhang Yang looked around. His main goal was raw jade, the only place where he could cheat. The already cut jade was of no use to him. There was a dedicated area in the hall with shelves full of raw jade.

Zhang Yang carefully examined the raw jade. Indeed, from the surface, there was no sign of anything unusual. No wonder it's called "gambling on stone." Thinking about extracting jade from such stones, it really does feel like a gamble. After looking for a while, he thought these should be fully gambled stones.

He didn't know what semi-gambled stones looked like, so he continued to walk inside. Soon, he saw some raw jade with cuts exposing green inside, but the cuts were small and not very noticeable on the stones. These were the so-called "windowed" stones, or semi-gambled stones. Although the green could be seen through the window, no one could tell how much jade was inside. It could be the entire stone or just the area around the window.

This tests both experience and luck.

Further inside were the clear stones. Some were cut in half, exposing the jade inside, and others were cut into strips, making the shape and size of the jade clearly visible.

The prices of these stones were much higher, ranging from hundreds of thousands to millions. One was even priced at ten million, which left Zhang Yang speechless.

With over thirty million in funds, Zhang Yang felt like a wealthy man, but looking at the jade here, his money could only buy a few jade bracelets.

No wonder some people become rich overnight while others go bankrupt. The unpredictability is too great.

"Is this your first time here, young man?" A middle-aged man greeted Zhang Yang with a smile.

Zhang Yang smiled and said, "Yes, I've only heard about gambling on stone before, but I don't know much about it. I just walked in to take a look. Big brother, could you introduce me to how these stones are sold?"

The middle-aged man smiled and said, "Sure, I have nothing to do today! I'll introduce you. These are called fully gambled stones. They test your eye and experience, but most importantly, your luck. As they say, even the gods can't predict the quality of an inch of jade. No one knows what the next cut will reveal! So these stones are the most numerous and relatively cheaper. As for semi-gambled stones, the risk is much lower. There is definitely jade inside the raw stone, but no one can guarantee the size. The price is much higher than fully gambled stones. Clear stones are straightforward, with clear prices. They are usually bought by jewelry companies for processing, unless you want an unusual pendant. As for investment, there's not much profit."

Zhang Yang nodded and looked at the prices on the shelves, his interest waning. Even the semi-gambled stones, priced at hundreds of thousands or even millions, with just a small cut, were so expensive. Even if there was profit, it wouldn't be much. Zhang Yang came to make money, and such a small margin was not worth it compared to buying lottery tickets.

Seeing that Zhang Yang was not interested in the rough stones, the middle-aged man said, "Young man, if you want to gamble, you can go to the warehouse at the back. There are more fully gambled stones, and the prices vary greatly. You can try your luck with one."

Zhang Yang's eyes lit up. To be honest, seeing the rough stones on the shelves, his interest had truly waned. The hall was crowded, and the items were on the shelves; he couldn't just move them to examine. If there was a warehouse, he would have more options, and he could examine a stone for a long time without drawing attention.

"Thank you, big brother. I'll go to the warehouse at the back," Zhang Yang said.

The middle-aged man smiled and said, "Go ahead. There are many people in the back. Take a look."

After Zhang Yang left, the middle-aged man smiled. It seemed the gemstone gambling industry had a new participant, but it was unknown how his luck would be.

Zhang Yang also sneered. If his guess was correct, this man was likely a shill for Lido Company, or at least another gemstone company. Otherwise, he wouldn't know so much! His introduction wasn't out of kindness, just like how insurance salespeople introduce insurance. It was a habit. If his guess was correct, the man would come back to him later, revealing his true intentions.

Zhang Yang no longer believed in unconditional love. No one helps without a purpose. What a joke, how many such good people are left in this world?

Zhang Yang walked to the back yard, where there were even more people than in the store.

In the middle of the yard, a crowd gathered, making it hard to see what was happening inside. However, a machine was humming. Zhang Yang asked a person at the back, and learned that someone was cutting a stone.

Zhang Yang stopped. He had never seen gemstone gambling before, and this was a good opportunity to understand the price of jade.

So far, he didn't know how much the jade extracted from the stones was worth. The prices in the store were inflated and couldn't be trusted. This was a good chance to avoid selling at a low price due to lack of knowledge.

Unfortunately, reality didn't go as planned. The people in the center suddenly gasped, followed by sighs. The crowd dispersed, with some saying, "It failed again."

"This was a semi-gambled stone, costing 50,000 yuan. Who would have thought there was only a bit of green on the surface, and nothing inside?"

Zhang Yang's heart sank. 50,000 yuan gone just like that, faster than in a casino!

But thinking about his special ability, he had to try. He gritted his teeth and entered the warehouse.

The warehouse was crowded with people, all picking stones, seemingly unaffected by the failed stone cutting outside.

Zhang Yang was stunned by the dense array of raw jade in the warehouse. If the raw jade he saw at Jade轩 last night seemed plentiful, it was nothing compared to this. The difference was significant.

The raw jade varied in size, from as large as a person to as small as a fist, with irregular shapes. Zhang Yang stood for a while, unsure how to proceed.

Looking at the people picking raw jade, he noticed they all had strong flashlights and magnifying glasses. They were clearly professionals. No wonder the warehouse seemed dim; they had to bring their own tools!

He searched carefully but found no one like himself, without any tools, purely relying on luck.

However, Zhang Yang sneered. What difference did tools make? They couldn't see inside either. His eyes could see what they couldn't. It was time to get to work.

He ignored the fist-sized rough stones, as his ability had a limited time, and he didn't want to waste it on small stones. He focused on the larger ones, like basketball-sized stones and those weighing 50 to 60 pounds, examining each one.

To his frustration, he didn't see any jade, not even a hint of green. One after another, after ten minutes, Zhang Yang was sweating.

Although both eyes could see through, the duration of his ability hadn't changed. He had only about fifteen minutes, and more than half had already passed. If he didn't find any jade soon, his efforts today would be a complete failure.

Failing here meant he might also fail at Jade轩. Fortunately, he had come to scout the area first; otherwise, he would have no chance to regret it when facing Duan Fei.

After examining a few more rough stones, Zhang Yang lost confidence and gave up.

There were too many raw jade stones, and his ability had a limited time. Finding a stone with jade in such a short time was too difficult.

Maybe the gemstone gambling industry wasn't suitable for him, Zhang Yang thought dejectedly.

He plopped down on an oval-shaped rough stone.

Looking at his watch, Zhang Yang sighed. There was only a minute left. No wonder gemstone gambling was so difficult. With his ability, he had examined dozens of stones in over ten minutes but found none with jade. Who the hell said having X-ray vision could help with gemstone gambling? With so many stones, even X-ray vision couldn't keep up!

This is just a scam!

Zhang Yang muttered angrily. Since there was still a minute left, he didn't want to waste it. He casually looked at the stone under his buttocks.

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