Chapter 38: Picking Up a Bargain in Gemstone Gambling

Upon hearing this, Liu Dong couldn't help but feel a surge of joy in his heart. To be honest, just a moment ago, when that middle-aged man was scrutinizing him and the rough stone on the ground with a doubtful gaze, Liu Dong felt quite uneasy, fearing that the man might see through something.

However, in the end, everything went smoothly, and the middle-aged man finally agreed to his terms.

Just as Liu Dong was feeling joyful and preparing to pay, he felt his expression turn awkward when he touched his pocket. Although he could be considered to have a small fortune and had a bank check for 300,000 yuan on him, the money in his pocket added up to less than 1,000 yuan. Moreover, he had only recently become wealthy, and unlike Zhou Bin, he didn't have an anonymous checkbook. So, although 5,000 yuan wasn't much, Liu Dong couldn't come up with it at the moment.

Seeing the conflicted look on his face, Zhou Bin, who was well-versed and had keen eyes, immediately understood the difficulty Liu Dong was facing. He smiled, said nothing, and reached into his pocket to take out his wallet. He then took out a thick stack of hundred-yuan bills and handed them to Liu Dong without counting.

After giving Zhou Bin a grateful look, Liu Dong didn't say anything, as this wasn't the time to express gratitude. He counted out 5,000 yuan and handed it to the middle-aged man beside him.

"5,000 yuan, you can count it if you want!"

"Forget it, no need to count!" This amount of money was just a drop in the bucket compared to the money he had spent on the rough stone. The middle-aged man didn't take it seriously.

After paying, and with Liu Dong's insistence, they drafted a transfer agreement, signed it, and pressed their fingerprints. Only then did he truly feel relieved. Even if the middle-aged man changed his mind, he wouldn't have to worry.

Liu Dong quickly bent down and picked up two of the four rough stones from the ground, placing them in the basket by his feet, alongside the golden thread jade rough stone he had bought from the front store.

Seeing his swift actions, one might doubt that the two stones he picked up were not the failed rough stones but valuable jade stones worth thousands.

However, at this moment, Liu Dong didn't care what others thought. Only by putting the jade worth millions into his pocket could he truly feel at ease.

"Xiao Dong, take this opportunity to open all these rough stones. It will save you the trouble of carrying them around," Zhou Bin, who was standing beside him, suggested.

After hearing his words, Liu Dong thought for a moment and nodded. He would eventually have to open these jade rough stones, but he didn't have a stone-cutting machine at home. It was more convenient to do it here. Moreover, after watching the middle-aged man cut the stone, Liu Dong felt a strong urge to try, especially since one of the stones was a high-end jade worth over ten million yuan.

Seeing Liu Dong nod, Zhou Bin's face lit up with excitement. He rolled up his sleeves and said, "Come on, I'll assist you!"

Seeing his eager expression, Liu Dong smiled and didn't refuse.

He then bent down and took out a piece of rough stone from the basket by his feet. It had smooth surfaces but no trace of jade. He placed it on the stone-cutting platform. However, this time, he didn't intend to cut it but picked up the electric grinder and started grinding the edges.

With a harsh grinding sound, a large amount of dust rose from the electric grinder. Zhou Bin, standing beside him, held a water pipe and occasionally rinsed the surface of the rough stone that Liu Dong was grinding, hoping that Liu Dong could see the jade as soon as it appeared and move the grinder to avoid damaging the precious jade inside.

However, his concern was unnecessary. After grinding away half of the four to five-kilogram rough stone, not a trace of jade was found, only grayish-white limestone.

"Alas, another failure!" The people gathered around sighed. However, most of them were just there for the spectacle, their eyes gleaming with a sense of schadenfreude.

Seeing Liu Dong's failure, the middle-aged man who had sold him the rough stone also looked relieved. After all, it was somewhat comforting to know that someone else was as unlucky as he was. He also felt a bit fortunate. Although 5,000 yuan was far less than what he had paid for the rough stone, even a small amount was better than nothing and could help reduce his losses.

Seeing the rough stone, which had been ground down by more than half, still showing no trace of green, Zhou Bin's face also showed disappointment. Although he hadn't been optimistic about this stone, which was almost scrap, he had still harbored a bit of hope. Now, that hope had clearly turned into disappointment.

However, Liu Dong, who already knew the situation inside the rough stone, wasn't surprised by the reactions of the crowd. In fact, he had deliberately taken out this stone without jade first when he started cutting. Otherwise, if he had opened a successful stone first and then eagerly bought these almost unwanted scraps, it might have raised suspicions. It was also possible that the middle-aged man might have regretted the deal and caused trouble.

After this rough stone failed, the crowd gradually dispersed. No one liked to watch a stone that was destined to fail. Therefore, when Liu Dong took out another rough stone from the basket, only two or three people were still watching.

Seeing his actions, Zhou Bin's face showed a hint of helplessness. This young man wasn't satisfied with one failure and wanted to open another stone. If it were him, he would have thrown away the remaining stone, which was almost scrap, to avoid getting upset.

However, despite this, he was somewhat impressed by Liu Dong's mental fortitude. After a stone worth several thousand yuan failed, his expression didn't change at all.

As the stone grinder emitted a harsh sound again, Liu Dong's eyes showed a look of anticipation. He knew that inside this four to five-kilogram rough stone was a piece of jade that would drive all gemstone gamblers crazy. He only needed to grind away one centimeter of the outer layer to reveal the jade inside and make a substantial profit.

More importantly, he had finally found a path to wealth besides finding bargains in antiques, which was gemstone gambling. With the special ability in his eyes, he would be invincible in the gemstone gambling industry, which meant a large amount of money.

"Brother Zhou, water!" After stopping the grinder, Liu Dong looked up and saw that Zhou Bin was somewhat distracted. He couldn't help but say, "Oh, okay! Young brother, I don't think there's any jade in this stone. Let's not waste our time..."

As he spoke, Zhou Bin scooped a ladle of cool water from a nearby metal bucket and poured it over the gap Liu Dong had ground. As the gray-black rock fragments were washed away, a small, smooth, green spot, about the size of a fingernail, appeared in his eyes. He couldn't finish his sentence, and his face turned to one of astonishment.

"Green, it's green, a success!" Zhou Bin muttered unconsciously, then exclaimed joyfully, "Xiao Dong, it's green, you've succeeded!"

"What? It's green!"

"Is it really a success?"

At this moment, the few people still around the stone-cutting machine quickly gathered around upon hearing Zhou Bin's words.

Soon, a bright green color appeared before their eyes. "It's indeed green. The quality is already at the ice jade level, and the color is excellent, with intensity, brightness, and uniformity. Although it's not the top-grade imperial green or yang green, it has reached the apple green level," said an elderly man with a refined appearance, slightly graying hair, and a clear face. "Young friend, do you want to sell this rough stone? I'll offer 50,000 yuan!"

"I'll offer 100,000 yuan! Old Qian, I'm sorry, but I also have my eye on this rough stone!" A middle-aged man with a slender face and wearing a sleeveless T-shirt immediately doubled the old man's offer.

Hearing this, the old man looked at him and said calmly, "Good rough stones are always in demand. Let's see who offers the highest price!"

"Ha ha, no need to argue, I plan to open this rough stone myself and have no intention of selling it!" Seeing the two men bidding as if he weren't there, Liu Dong couldn't help but feel a bit amused and said.