Chapter 63

Early in the morning, Xu Jianxing, after eating the breakfast he had prepared himself, drove to the Jade Street and parked his car in the parking lot.

As soon as he entered Jade Street, he saw the bustling crowd, and the noise from all around was incessant—some were hawking their wares, some were bidding, some were using cutting machines, and some were cursing the heavens and the earth.

Although Xu Jianxing had been to Jade Street many times, every time he came here, he found it somewhat amusing. Even though people knew that playing with raw jade was a game of more losses than gains, countless people still flocked here from all over, showing the allure of the word "gamble."

Not long after Xu Jianxing entered Jade Street, a merchant he had seen several times greeted him with a smile, "Young Master Xu, you're here again today. Why don't you come to my shop and take a look? I just got a new batch of old pit jade. If you buy it and cut it open, I guarantee you'll make a big impression on your father."

Xu Jianxing had been coming to this place every day for the past few days, and at least half of the merchants here knew him. They naturally believed the lie he had fabricated, that he was the young master of a jewelry company.

Hearing this, Xu Jianxing walked over and put on a mournful face, "Boss Ma, I'll go in and take a look, but please don't rip me off. The raw jade I bought a few days ago almost all turned out to be worthless, and my father scolded me. He said if I don't get anything good this time, he'll kick me out and cut off my allowance."

"Hmm..." Hearing this, Boss Ma almost burst out laughing but quickly suppressed it, his face turning red. He thought to himself, "If I were your father, I would have stopped you from embarrassing yourself here long ago."

Although he thought this, he put on a surprised face and said, "Young Master Xu, that's not right. I think your judgment is good, and it might just be bad luck. What your father is doing is really too much."

"Exactly." Xu Jianxing looked at Boss Ma with the eyes of someone who had found a kindred spirit and vented, "I've been doing my best, so who did I offend? Just because I didn't get good jade, who knows what's inside? It all depends on luck, right? I just had bad luck, that's all."

"Right, right, playing with raw jade is all about luck. Otherwise, who could tell if there's jade inside and wouldn't have gotten rich long ago?" Boss Ma said a few words in agreement and then smiled, "Young Master Xu, come into my shop and take a look. I think you'll have great luck today and find some good stones."

This might be the last chance to make money from this young master, so Boss Ma didn't want to miss it. He flattered Xu Jianxing and pulled him into the shop.

Of course, this so-called "pulling" was done with Xu Jianxing's half-hearted resistance. Otherwise, even if five or six more people came, they wouldn't be able to drag Xu Jianxing away against his will.

Once inside the 200-square-meter shop, it felt spacious, but with the various raw jade pieces displayed on the shelves, the space became much smaller. With the crowd, it felt even more crowded.

Xu Jianxing took a quick look and said boldly, "Boss Ma, I won't look at the stuff outside. Today, I want to play big. It might be the last time, and I have to spend all the money my father gave me. Maybe I'll have great luck and make a fortune."

"Play big!" Boss Ma's eyes lit up at this. Previously, Xu Jianxing's bets weren't small, with each transaction around several hundred thousand. This time, it would definitely be even bigger. He asked enthusiastically, "Young Master Xu, how big do you want to play this time?"

"I have about 2 million left. You decide." Xu Jianxing said nonchalantly.

"2 million?" Boss Ma's eyes lit up even more. Although there were occasional transactions over a million here, they weren't frequent. In his shop, if he had bad luck, it could take several months to make such a big deal. But when he did, the profit was in the tens of thousands, and if he got a fool, the profit could be even more terrifying.

In his eyes, Xu Jianxing was clearly a fool.

Boss Ma said enthusiastically, "Come, come, Young Master Xu, I'll take you to the warehouse. It's more comfortable and quiet there."

"Alright, lead the way." Xu Jianxing looked like a young master, exuding arrogance.

Under Boss Ma's guidance, the two passed through two doors and soon arrived at a warehouse. The warehouse was about 200 square meters, filled with various sizes of raw jade, some as tall as several meters, others as small as a soccer ball. Of course, the smaller pieces were mostly semi-gambling types.

At this moment, Boss Ma asked with a smile, "Young Master Xu, are you planning to take it away as usual, or cut it here?"

He asked this for a reason. According to Xu Jianxing's habits from the past few days, if he took it away, he could only buy small pieces. Now, if he cut it on the spot, he could introduce any type of raw jade.

"Cut it." Xu Jianxing said without hesitation, "The raw jade I bought a few days ago, my father said was worthless, but I never saw it. Who knows if he was lying? This time, I'll cut it on the spot and see if my luck is really that bad."

"That's good." Boss Ma smiled and then led Xu Jianxing around the warehouse, pointing to a blackish stone about 1.5 meters high and 7-8 meters long, "Young Master Xu, this is a sand-skinned stone from the Mo mine. It has been examined by many experts, who say it has great potential. I'm asking 2.6 million for it, but if you buy it for 2 million, it won't be a waste of our friendship."

Xu Jianxing walked up to the stone, feeling it with his hand, and looked at Boss Ma with a gaze that seemed to see him as a fool, "Boss Ma, do you think I'm an idiot? This thing is black and has no green on the outside, and you want 2 million? You still talk about our friendship? I think 10,000 is more like it."

Although he said this, after some time of learning, Xu Jianxing knew that Boss Ma's price wasn't entirely unreasonable. The stone showed signs of pine flower and withered appearance, indicating good potential. However, he had always maintained the attitude of a spoiled young master, and the act had to be convincing.

Boss Ma wasn't surprised by the 10,000 offer. In his eyes, Xu Jianxing was a useless person. When it came to gambling on jade, even the children around here could outperform him by a wide margin.

So, Boss Ma said with a bitter smile, "Young Master Xu, we can't just do business once or twice. If I trick you this time, will there be a next time? Besides, you plan to cut it on the spot. If I take this stone outside and others see it and know I sold it to you for 2 million, what will they say if it's not worth that much? Will you not hear it?"

"That's true." Xu Jianxing's eyes suddenly sparkled as he looked at the stone. From about 3 cm inside the surface, there were green lines extending intermittently to the right side of the stone. At the end, there was a piece of emerald green jade, slightly larger than an adult's fist. Under Xu Jianxing's keen eyes, the jade was pure and bright, a rare and valuable piece.

Although Xu Jianxing didn't know the exact value of the jade, he was very clear that in jade, a difference in color could mean a tenfold difference in price. The finer the texture, the higher the transparency, and the more crystalline the appearance, the rarer and more valuable it was, and thus the higher the price.

In a jewelry store, a piece of jade jewelry of the same craftsmanship, size, and style could vary in price by ten times, dozens of times, or even a hundred times due to differences in water content and color.

Therefore, Xu Jianxing had already decided to buy this large piece of raw jade, but he would definitely try to negotiate the price down. He wasn't a real fool.

Hearing this, Boss Ma was delighted and continued, "That's true, and what I said is completely honest. Besides, this is a full-gambling stone. As long as there's a piece of jade inside, you won't lose money. If you get a piece of emerald green jade, it will be worth a fortune."

Xu Jianxing replied without good humor, "What if I don't get anything?"

"Uh." Boss Ma was slightly embarrassed and then said, "Young Master Xu, didn't you just say that gambling on jade is all about luck? When luck comes, you can't help but get rich. Besides, who can guarantee anything with other raw jade? It's better to bet on your luck, and there are many experts' opinions to consider."

"Right, I agree with you that gambling on jade is all about luck. I believe in my luck. Okay, give me a fair price. Don't think I'll pay 2 million just because I said I want to play big. Do you want me to walk home?" Xu Jianxing said boldly.

Hearing this, Boss Ma was delighted and said, "Since Young Master Xu has spoken, let's make it 1.9 million."

"You can be a bit more generous, can't you? My face is worth 100,000." Xu Jianxing showed a very unhappy expression and pointed to a piece of raw jade weighing about 50 kilograms, "1.6 million, including that stone. Deal or no deal?"

Following Xu Jianxing's finger, Boss Ma's face fell, and he said bitterly, "Young Master Xu, that stone isn't cheap either. You want both for 1.6 million? That's too low."

In fact, he was secretly delighted. The full-gambling stone Xu Jianxing pointed to had only cost him 120,000, and the larger one cost 1 million. The profit was obvious, even without considering transportation costs. Even so, he would still make at least 350,000.

What he didn't know was that Xu Jianxing had intentionally pointed to the smaller stone to quickly secure the larger one. He had no intention of looking at the smaller one; it was just a cover.

Xu Jianxing said nonchalantly, "If you don't want to sell, that's fine. I'll go to other shops and take a look."

Boss Ma pretended to hesitate for a moment and then said, "I'll sell it. I'll sell it at a loss today to make Young Master Xu a friend."

"That's the right attitude." Xu Jianxing patted his shoulder and laughed heartily.