Chapter 63

Update Time: April 1, 2013

Zhang Yang hoped his clairvoyance ability would evolve again, allowing him to perceive the jade inside the raw stones without examining them piece by piece. However, he was disappointed. Absorbing the spiritual energy from the jade only increased the duration of his ability, with no other changes.

Perhaps he had absorbed too little, Zhang Yang could only console himself.

Since he couldn't cheat, Zhang Yang had to examine each raw stone one by one. Fortunately, he had plenty of time and didn't need to rush like yesterday. Soon, he noticed something unusual. The raw jade stones here were better than those at Li Duo Gemstone Company. Before long, he found jade inside one of the raw stones.

The surface of this raw stone was ordinary, grayish-white, but unlike yesterday's, it had several black and yellow stripes. Zhang Yang didn't know what this meant, but an experienced gemstone appraiser would recognize it as iron rust skin, indicating a high risk and high reward. Such raw stones were generally more expensive.

Master Zhou also noticed Zhang Yang examining this raw stone, his eyes flashing with a peculiar light. He remembered this raw stone because he had a good feeling about it. If the boss hadn't wanted to use it for advertising to prove the quality of his raw stones, he would have already opened it. He didn't expect this young man to spot it at first glance.

"Xiao Duan, you said he gambled on a stone for the first time yesterday?" Zhou Yiran asked.

Duan Fei gave Zhou Yiran a strange look and replied, "Yes, when he came that day, he even asked me what these stones were! Is there a problem?"

Zhou Yiran nodded and said, "From what I see, either he's hiding something or he's just lucky. The raw stone he's looking at now is one I have a good feeling about."

As his ability unfolded, the jade inside the raw stone was clearly visible to Zhang Yang. To his disappointment, the jade inside this raw stone was smaller than the one he had opened yesterday, only about the size of a pack of cigarettes. Considering the raw stone weighed over twenty pounds, this amount of jade was too small.

However, Zhang Yang wasn't a novice anymore. After examining so many raw stones yesterday, he knew how rare it was to find jade. Even if the piece was small, he couldn't miss it.

"Brother Duan, how much is this raw stone?" Zhang Yang asked, pointing to it.

Duan Fei glanced back at Zhou Yiran, who had the final say on the price.

"Little brother, you have good eyes. This is an old pit stone, with no cracks, a complete surface, many pine flowers, and a python band..." Zhou Yiran began, but Zhang Yang interrupted, "I don't understand those terms, just tell me the price."

Zhou Yiran's throat seemed to be choked, and he said with a grim face, "Three million."

He had thought this young man had talent and wanted to chat, as he was tired of dealing with people like Duan Fei who knew nothing about gemstones. He didn't expect his good intentions to be rudely interrupted.

Zhang Yang almost jumped and shouted, "How much? Three million? Are you kidding me? The one I bought yesterday, which was basketball-sized, only cost me thirty thousand. You want three million for this one?" More importantly, Zhang Yang had already seen the jade inside, and it was so small that it might not even sell for fifty thousand, let alone a million. This made him even angrier than if there were no jade at all. He wanted to set a trap for Duan Fei, not for himself.

Manager Ma didn't show any surprise. He was more experienced than Duan Fei, as he knew the prices in the raw stone market and understood that some high-quality raw stones could be very expensive. Duan Fei, on the other hand, looked very upset, just like Zhang Yang, unable to accept the price. He thought deeper, wondering if Zhou Yiran was trying to deceive him. Zhou Yiran had always claimed to have clients, but no one had come to gamble on stones since the store opened. Could he be jealous and trying to scare Zhang Yang away with a high price?

Zhou Yiran was so angry that his mustache was flaring, and he said with a grim face, "Do you know what kind of stone this is? It has iron rust skin, a python band, and pine flowers. There might be glass-type jade inside."

"What's glass-type jade?" Zhang Yang asked, puzzled.

If it weren't for Zhang Yang being his first customer, Zhou Yiran would have kicked him out. He was now certain that Zhang Yang was a complete novice, not even knowing what glass-type jade was.

"Glass-type jade is the best quality of jade. It is fine, pure, and flawless, with a bright, rich, and uniform emerald green color. It's what everyone dreams of, and it's priceless. Glass-type jade only comes from old pits, and you should know how rare it is. A fingernail-sized piece of glass-type jade is worth millions. This raw stone comes from an old pit, and only 1% of raw stones in the origin are from old pits. You're saying three million is too expensive? This raw stone could fetch five million at an auction, and you're saying thirty thousand?" Zhou Yiran was almost at his wits' end.

Zhang Yang smirked. This might fool others, but not him. The jade inside wasn't as good as Zhou Yiran described, and it was no different from the one he had gambled on yesterday.

Just as he was about to say something, he noticed Duan Fei's eyes shining. He realized Duan Fei was interested. The words he was about to say changed.

"Glass-type jade, sure, but there might not even be any jade inside," Zhang Yang said.

Zhou Yiran sneered, "With the characteristics of this raw stone, who would dare say there's no jade inside? Gambling on stones is about guessing the quality and color of the jade. You're too inexperienced, kid. This is the result of centuries of experience, and you have a long way to go."

Zhang Yang snorted, "I'm not gambling three million, no matter how good it feels. Your price is too high. I'll look at others."

Duan Fei heard Zhang Yang's words clearly. Feeling good? Could there really be jade inside? If it's glass-type jade as Master Zhou said, wouldn't he be rich?

A fingernail-sized piece is worth millions. Duan Fei's eyes were fixed on the raw stone.

Zhang Yang saw Duan Fei's gaze from the corner of his eye and sneered inwardly.

It seemed fate was on his side, with such a raw stone. With the old man's explanation and his own "feeling," Duan Fei would surely be tempted. Now, he just needed to add some fuel to the fire.

Thinking this, Zhang Yang looked at other raw stones. He needed to find another piece of jade to build the momentum. He wasn't in a hurry; he would definitely find one. The raw stones on the shelves were too expensive, so he focused on the smaller ones on the ground.

These raw stones were mostly brownish-gray, each weighing only three to four pounds, and their appearance was poor. But precisely because they looked bad, Zhang Yang was interested in them. If he found jade in these "trash" stones, it would be a huge stroke of luck, and Duan Fei would trust his luck even more.

The raw stones were small, so Zhang Yang examined them quickly. Surprisingly, the quality of this batch was high, and he found another piece with jade. It was a brownish-gray raw stone with a rough surface, lacking the pine flowers and python bands of the previous one.

However, there was indeed a piece of jade inside, about the same size as the one in the previous raw stone. This jade was not very transparent and had a darker color. The only difference was a dark green color band, distinct from the light green of the jade itself.

Zhang Yang frowned, unsure if this was good or bad. But as long as there was jade, it should be a profit, except for the exaggerated raw stone.

"Brother Duan, how much is this raw stone? If you overprice it, I won't gamble. There are more raw stones at Li Duo, and they're cheaper. I wouldn't have come here if it weren't for your sake. You know, I gambled on jade for the first time yesterday," Zhang Yang said deliberately.

Duan Fei hesitated and glanced at Zhou Yiran.

The old man said coldly, "This is a wood-cut stone, known for producing red jade." Seeing Zhang Yang's dismissive expression, he was furious and said angrily, "Talking to a brick wall. Ten thousand, take it or leave it."

Hearing the price, Zhang Yang was delighted. He was sure he would make a profit. Even though it was smaller than yesterday's, it was still jade and should be worth a few hundred thousand. It was time for Liang Fat to make an appearance.

"Alright, I'll take it," Zhang Yang said.

He handed ten thousand yuan to Duan Fei.

Duan Fei asked, "Little brother, are you going to open it?"

He was eager to see if there was jade inside.

Zhang Yang smiled, "Of course, but I need to make a call first."

He dialed Liang Fat's number, "Brother Liang, are you free?"

"Really, little brother, you found jade?" Liang Fat asked, surprised, remembering Zhang Yang's call last night.

"Ha, I think so. I found a piece that feels just like yesterday's. Come over now, and I'll sell it to you after I open it," Zhang Yang said.

Liang Fat didn't believe it but didn't want to refuse Zhang Yang, especially since Zhang Yang had sold him jade yesterday, and they had gotten along well.

"Alright, little brother, where are you? I'll come over now," Liang Fat said.

After giving the address, Zhang Yang hung up and said with a smile, "I'll open it when he gets here. I'll sell it to him."

His demeanor made it seem like the jade was definitely inside. Zhou Yiran looked at Zhang Yang with disdain, almost certain that there was nothing inside the raw stone. The idea of finding jade was wishful thinking.