Chapter 37: Scrap

"No, I must continue to cut it!" The middle-aged man with the Wang surname had a look of unwillingness in his eyes.

He ignored the advice of those around him, picked up the slightly larger of the two pieces of rough stone at his feet, which weighed about ten kilograms, and fixed it on the stand again. Without even consulting the stone-cutting master nearby, he turned on the switch, gripped the handle of the grinding wheel, and without drawing any lines, slowly cut through the middle of the rough stone.

Seeing his actions, Liu Dong, who already knew the condition of the rough stone, sighed inwardly. With the middle-aged man's current method, he wouldn't be able to find any jadeite in either of the two pieces of rough stone.

It wasn't because there was no jadeite in this piece of rough stone from the Pa'gang mine with its white and yellow sandy skin. Rather, the position of the jadeite was quite unexpected. It wasn't in the center of the rough stone but had formed on the left side of the piece the middle-aged man was cutting, in a rather off-center position.

Moreover, the quality and color of the jadeite that hadn't been cut out were quite good. According to Liu Dong's experience, it was at least an ice-type yellow-green material, and the size was more than twice that of the golden-threaded apple-green material Liu Dong had initially obtained. It was enough for a skilled craftsman to make two pairs of bracelets, five or six pendants, and over a dozen rings.

Furthermore, jewelry made from such high-end jadeite has always been in short supply in the jewelry market, often being in high demand. If Liu Dong processed this piece of jadeite and sold it in a high-end jewelry store, earning ten million yuan would be quite easy.

While Liu Dong was thinking about this, the middle-aged man had already re-cut the two pieces of rough stone. As expected, he failed again.

Hearing the surrounding discussions and sighs, and seeing the disappointed look on the middle-aged man's face, Liu Dong felt the huge disparity in the world of stone gambling for the first time, where one cut could make you poor and another rich. He also felt the charm of stone gambling up close.

"Boss, do you still want to sell these remaining pieces of rough stone?" Just as the middle-aged man was about to tidy up the failed pieces and leave, a young voice from behind made him stop.

Turning around, he saw a tall young man in his early twenties, wearing a blue and white checkered short-sleeved shirt with a small collar, blue and white washed-out jeans, and black men's sandals. He looked ordinary but was exceptionally spirited.

Not only the middle-aged man, but also those who had stayed after the stone gambling failure, turned their attention to him.

"Xiao Dong, why do you want these failed pieces of rough stone? If you want to try stone gambling, you might as well pick two random pieces from the front. The chances of finding jadeite are much higher than with these failed pieces!" Zhou Bin, standing next to Liu Dong, frowned and advised.

Honestly, these continuously failed pieces of rough stone had almost no chance of containing jadeite. They were considered scrap, so Zhou Bin couldn't help but advise Liu Dong when he heard he wanted to buy them.

Hearing Zhou Bin's words, the middle-aged man's eyebrows twitched, and his expression turned particularly ugly. After all, anyone would feel uncomfortable if the rough stone they had spent a fortune on was called garbage.

If it weren't for Zhou Bin's extraordinary demeanor, his attire, and the two bodyguards who looked like gangsters, the middle-aged man might have already confronted him. Moreover, these failed pieces of rough stone indeed had little value.

"It's fine, Brother Zhou. These failed pieces won't cost much. Even if I buy them and find no jadeite, it's fine. I'll treat it as practice!" Liu Dong said.

Although he said this, Liu Dong had already determined which piece of rough stone contained the jadeite.

That's why, when he saw the middle-aged man about to tidy up the failed pieces and leave, he couldn't help but speak up to buy them. After all, he had no grudge against money. Additionally, after seeing Zhou Bin's nearly two million yuan Hummer SUV, Liu Dong began to realize that the three and a half million yuan he had earned from selling the snuff bottle was not much. He would probably spend most of it when he opened a shop in the antique market.

Therefore, seeing over ten million yuan worth of jadeite in front of him, Liu Dong naturally wouldn't let it go easily.

Hearing this, Zhou Bin didn't stop him. He thought the failed piece of rough stone wouldn't be too expensive, and even if Liu Dong wanted to buy it, it wouldn't cost much.

Looking at Liu Dong's gaze, the middle-aged man said with an unnatural expression, "Twenty thousand yuan, and all these pieces of rough stone are yours!"

"Twenty thousand? Is Old Wang out of his mind? These pieces of scrap, which no one would want even if thrown on the street, are worth two thousand at most, let alone twenty thousand!"

"Ah, don't say that. Losing over five hundred thousand yuan in one go is hard for anyone to take. It's understandable that Old Wang wants to recover some of his costs."

Hearing the surrounding discussions, the middle-aged man's face turned red and white. He knew his price was exorbitant, but who could blame him for his frustration? Moreover, the person who wanted to buy his rough stone was clearly associated with the distinguished middle-aged man who had mocked him earlier, so he couldn't help but feel resentful towards Liu Dong.

Of course, Liu Dong didn't realize that he was being targeted because of Zhou Bin.

After hearing the middle-aged man's quote, although Liu Dong knew the value of the jadeite inside far exceeded twenty thousand yuan, he didn't want to be seen as a fool. If he agreed too quickly, it might raise suspicions. If the middle-aged man decided to re-cut the stone, Liu Dong would be left with nothing.

"Boss, twenty thousand yuan is too expensive for these four pieces of rough stone. Five thousand yuan, and I'll buy them all!" Liu Dong said.

"At least ten thousand yuan. Less than that, and I won't sell!" Clearly, the middle-aged man was stubborn. With the surrounding discussions, his temper flared, and he refused to consider anything less than ten thousand yuan.

After all, although he had lost over five hundred thousand yuan, it wasn't a huge sum for him. The key was saving face, a typical Chinese philosophy.

"Hey, you...!"

Liu Dong grabbed Zhou Bin's arm, stopping his words. "Forget it, Brother Zhou. Ten thousand yuan is fine. I can afford it now."

Zhou Bin looked at him and said helplessly, "Alright, if you say so, go ahead and buy it. But if you lose, don't cry about it."

He knew Liu Dong had the thirty thousand yuan from the Guan Yu wood carving and that, with his skills, earning money wouldn't be too difficult. So, ten thousand yuan, while not a small amount, wasn't a huge sum for Liu Dong. Therefore, Zhou Bin didn't stop him.

After calming Zhou Bin, Liu Dong turned to the middle-aged man, who had a determined look on his face. Liu Dong understood that this was his bottom line, and he wouldn't lower the price. "How about this? Five thousand yuan, and I'll pick two pieces from these four. Is that okay?"

Liu Dong knew that the more desperate he appeared, the more likely the middle-aged man would suspect something and change his mind. After all, in the year 2000, China's wealthy were mostly self-made, and none of them were simple characters.

Finally, the middle-aged man looked at the young man with a hint of doubt, then glanced at the four pieces of rough stone, each weighing about five to six kilograms, confirming that he hadn't missed anything. He nodded and said, "Alright, five thousand yuan. You can take two pieces from these four."