Chapter 64

Update time: April 2, 2013

After more than half an hour, Liang Fatzi walked into Feicui轩 (Feicui轩 is a place name, so it's kept as is).

"Little brother, you're really amazing. You even found this newly opened shop," Liang Fatzi said with a chuckle.

Zhang Yang replied, "It was just a coincidence."

"By the way, little brother, this place deals in jadeite. Why didn't you sell it to them directly?" Liang Fatzi asked, a bit puzzled.

Zhang Yang deliberately glanced at Zhou Yiran and said, "I already mentioned it to Brother Liang yesterday, so I have to keep my word. Besides, I was afraid of being cheated by the people here."

Zhou Yiran was almost fuming with anger.

So, he called in other merchants to avoid being cheated by him. What kind of person did he think Zhou Yiran was?

Duan Fei, seeing the two of them talking endlessly, said anxiously, "Brother Zhang, shouldn't we start cutting the stone?"

Zhang Yang slapped his head and said, "Right, cutting the stone. I can't feel at ease until my jadeite is out."

Hearing Zhang Yang agree, Duan Fei hurriedly called over the stone cutter. No matter how much Zhang Yang talked, Duan Fei wouldn't believe it until he saw the jadeite. Zhou Yiran sat on the side with a look of disdain, thinking that if the young man were more humble, he would have cut it himself. After all, he was the first customer. Now, he hoped Zhang Yang would fail, to teach this young man who didn't know his place a lesson. Gambling on jadeite isn't something just anyone can afford.

Relying on luck, what a joke. In this day and age, who still relies on luck to gamble on jadeite? If it were that easy, they, the jadeite consultants, would have been out of business long ago.

"Boss, how should I cut it?" the stone cutter asked.

Zhang Yang casually drew a line on the rough stone and said, "Cut it here."

"Sure, boss," the stone cutter replied excitedly. This was his first time cutting a stone here, and he also wanted a good start.

The stone cutter placed the rough stone under the cutting machine and skillfully cut along the line Zhang Yang had drawn.

Zhou Yiran's sneer grew louder. Cutting it in the middle, neither opening a window nor rubbing the stone, even if there was jadeite inside, such a low-tech cut would damage its value. Besides, could this rough stone even produce jadeite?

Stop joking around.

Zhang Yang didn't care about Zhou Yiran's opinion. As long as he could get the jadeite out, it would be better than arguing a hundred times.

The rough stone was split in half along the line Zhang Yang had drawn. The smaller piece showed nothing but white and was thrown aside by the stone cutter. The stone cutter then used a powerful flashlight to examine the larger piece, and a hint of tender green appeared.

"It's a success, it's a success," Liang Fatzi was the first to exclaim excitedly.

The stone cutter also said excitedly, "Boss, should we continue cutting?"

Seeing the stone cutter's skilled movements, Zhang Yang said confidently, "Of course, cut it all out."

"Alright," the stone cutter agreed and skillfully operated the cutting machine to gradually reveal the entire piece of jadeite.

When that hint of green appeared, Zhou Yiran, who had been sitting in his chair sneering, suddenly stood up, his eyes fixed on the rough stone on the cutting machine, with an expression of disbelief.

How could this be? The rough stone showed no signs of containing jadeite, yet it produced jadeite. Even after the entire piece of jadeite was cut out, he still couldn't accept it. Thinking of his earlier sneer, it felt like a slap in the face.

If he was ashamed, Duan Fei's expression was even more vivid. First, he was excited and then jealous, a jealousy that couldn't be hidden.

"Boss, this is your jadeite," the stone cutter handed the jadeite to Zhang Yang.

"Let me see, let me see," Liang Fatzi stepped forward and took it, then pulled out 500 yuan from his pocket and handed it to the stone cutter, saying, "Brother, thank you."

The stone cutter happily took the money.

Zhang Yang looked at Liang Fatzi in confusion.

"Little brother, you don't understand. The stone cutter helped you get the jadeite out, so you should show your appreciation. It's an unwritten rule," Liang Fatzi explained.

Zhang Yang nodded, learning another trick.

"Brother Liang, how does this piece of jadeite look?" Zhang Yang asked, a bit nervous.

To Zhang Yang, this piece of jadeite was much smaller than yesterday's and didn't have as nice a color. The color band seemed out of place, and the price might be much lower.

Liang Fatzi looked at the jadeite in his hand, which was smaller than yesterday's but had no impurities or cracks. More importantly, it had a color band. Looking at the dark green color band, Liang Fatzi couldn't help but marvel at Zhang Yang's luck.

"The jadeite is good. Little brother, do you see this color band? Without this color band, this piece of jadeite would be worth about 70,000 to 80,000 yuan. With this color band, the price will skyrocket," Liang Fatzi said.

Zhang Yang was surprised and asked, "Brother Liang, you mean this color band makes it more valuable? I thought having this band in the middle would make the jadeite cheaper."

Liang Fatzi looked at Zhang Yang, both amused and exasperated, and said, "Little brother, your luck is amazing, but your knowledge of jadeite is really lacking. You should study more about it, so you don't let good jadeite go for a low price."

Zhang Yang nodded, realizing he needed to learn more.

"Brother Liang, what price do you offer for this piece of jadeite?" Zhang Yang asked.

Liang Fatzi thought for a moment and said, "350,000 yuan. Any more, and my profit would be too low."

Actually, this piece of jadeite could sell for 500,000 yuan, but with no other buyers, Liang Fatzi, being a businessman, naturally wanted to buy it at a lower price. He had also noticed Duan Fei's expression, which clearly showed they had had an argument. They probably wouldn't interfere.

"350,000 yuan? That's a 35-fold increase!" Duan Fei exclaimed.

Liang Fatzi hadn't asked about the price of the rough stone. Hearing Duan Fei, he was surprised and said, "Little brother, your luck is really something."

Zhang Yang said proudly, "It's nothing. I told you I have good luck and a good sense. Actually, I felt even better about the other piece of rough stone. But that old man tried to rip me off, so I picked this one."

Zhou Yiran looked at Zhang Yang, both amused and exasperated. He now believed in Zhang Yang's luck and that elusive sense. Otherwise, how could this rough stone have produced jadeite?

Hearing Zhang Yang, Duan Fei looked at the old pit rough stone with a burning gaze.

Liang Fatzi's heart skipped a beat and asked, "Little brother, where is the rough stone you mentioned? I want to see it!"

Zhang Yang pointed to the old pit rough stone on the shelf and said, "That one. The old man talked about iron skin, pine flower, and python belt, but I didn't understand any of it."

Liang Fatzi's steps paused. Iron skin, pine flower, and python belt—oh, that's real old pit rough stone! How could such material be here? Such rough stones are often snapped up by major jewelry companies in Myanmar.

Liang Fatzi walked to the rough stone, put on a pair of glasses, and took out a flashlight to examine it carefully. Zhou Yiran nodded, recognizing a professional jadeite gambler.

After examining it for about five minutes, Liang Fatzi took off his glasses, turned off the flashlight, and asked seriously, "Little brother, what price did the other party offer?"

"3 million yuan, too high," Zhang Yang said.

Liang Fatzi's expression turned bitter. Indeed, it was a sky-high price.

"Brother Liang, is this rough stone really that valuable?" Zhang Yang asked.

Liang Fatzi nodded and said, "Little brother, the other party didn't overprice it. This rough stone is worth that much. It's definitely old pit material, and it will definitely contain jadeite. Whether it has glass jade can only be known after it's cut. But this price is too high for most people to accept!" Then he looked at Zhou Yiran and said, "Old master, this rough stone was brought from Myanmar, right?"

"Finally, someone recognizes it," Zhou Yiran's expression improved slightly.

"Little brother, you said you had a good feeling about this rough stone?" Liang Fatzi suddenly asked Zhang Yang.

Zhang Yang was taken aback. Was Liang Fatzi interested in this rough stone? Didn't he say he didn't gamble on jadeite? This trap was set for Duan Fei. If Liang Fatzi bought this rough stone, what would happen to Duan Fei?

Duan Fei, who had been looking at Zhang Yang with envy and jealousy, changed his expression when he heard Liang Fatzi's question.

Stimulated by Zhang Yang's success, Duan Fei was no longer calm.

Zhang Yang, a complete novice, had already cut out two pieces of jadeite and made over 2 million yuan. How could he, who was sitting on such a treasure mountain, just watch others get rich? Moreover, Zhang Yang's mention of his sense made Duan Fei even more interested in this rough stone. He had already secretly decided to cut it out when no one was around.

So what if it's 3 million yuan? If he cut out glass jade, he could sell it for tens of millions and then pay the store. As for Xiao Fei's reaction, with millions in his pocket, he wouldn't have to care about Xiao Fei's face.

If this fat man bought this rough stone, wouldn't he lose this opportunity?

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