Chapter 64

In order to figure out why this piece of rough stone gave him such a feeling and where this feeling came from, Su Zhe decided to buy this piece of rough stone. He found a staff member of the gemstone gambling shop and clearly pointed out the rough stone he wanted.

The staff member quoted 500 yuan for this piece of rough stone. This price was not low, but compared to other rough stones that could cost thousands, tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands, this piece of rough stone at 500 yuan seemed quite cheap.

Su Zhe did not understand the price of rough stones and did not know if the gemstone gambling shop allowed bargaining. Therefore, he did not haggle and directly bought the rough stone for 500 yuan.

To unravel the mystery of this rough stone, Su Zhe decided to go to the stone-cutting area to open it. This was the most direct and simplest method. Su Zhe did not look for a cart or any other tool; he carried the rough stone, which was about the size of a basketball, to the stone-cutting area. The weight of the rough stone did not affect him at all.

In the stone-cutting area, Su Zhe happened to meet Liu Xiong, who also seemed to have made a good find. A staff member was pushing a cart behind him, on which a piece of rough stone was placed. That piece of rough stone was at least five times larger than the one Su Zhe was holding.

"Hey, did you find something satisfactory too?" Liu Xiong immediately saw that the rough stone in Su Zhe's hand was unwanted brick material, but he did not say anything to avoid dampening Su Zhe's spirits.

"I just bought it cheaply to try my luck. Even if I lose, I won't be heartbroken." Su Zhe did not bother to explain further.

Neither of them wasted any more words and were eager to open their rough stones.

There was only one idle stone-cutter in the stone-cutting area, so Su Zhe let Liu Xiong go first. Liu Xiong did not stand on ceremony and discussed with the stone-cutter how to cut the stone. After that, he placed the rough stone on the machine.

The first cut revealed a grayish stone with no hint of green. Liu Xiong's expression did not change; he still stood and chatted with Su Zhe, unaffected by the rough stone, as if it were not his valuable piece.

The stone-cutter adjusted the angle and made another cut. This time, a lot of green appeared.

At this point, someone had already offered 350,000 yuan. Liu Xiong was not moved and asked the stone-cutter to continue cutting. This price was equivalent to what he had paid for the rough stone, so he neither gained nor lost.

In the end, the jadeite that was cut out had good quality and color, and was not small in size, which made Liu Xiong very satisfied. Someone on the spot wanted to buy it for one million yuan, but Liu Xiong did not want to sell. He kept the jadeite he cut out himself if it had good quality and value. As Liu Xiong put it, cutting out jadeite himself was a kind of achievement, and he could not easily sell it.

After the stone-cutter cleaned the machine, Su Zhe handed him the rough stone and told him how to cut it.

When the stone-cutter first received the rough stone, he was a bit surprised, as it was rare to see someone bring such a piece of rough stone to be cut. However, the stone-cutter did not say anything.

He placed the rough stone and, following Su Zhe's instructions, cut it at one-third of its length.

"Such a beautiful green, this stone has really paid off."

"This green is so pure, it looks like Imperial Green."

The first cut drew the attention of everyone present because the green was so prominent. Su Zhe did not expect to cut out jadeite from a random spot he chose.

Su Zhe let the stone-cutter continue cutting according to his experience, as he knew nothing about stone-cutting and did not want to direct an expert.

The stone-cutter made another cut from a different direction, and another streak of green appeared on the cut surface.

At this point, the merchants who had been watching could no longer hold back and started bidding, with the highest offer reaching 400,000 yuan.

Under normal circumstances, Su Zhe would have sold it at this price, but to understand why the rough stone gave him that feeling, he decided not to sell and asked the stone-cutter to continue.

The value of the rough stone had already reached 400,000 yuan, which made the stone-cutter a bit nervous. He wiped the sweat from his forehead and carefully used the grinding wheel. As the grinding wheel spun rapidly, everyone's hearts were on edge. For a moment, the only sound was the friction of the grinding wheel.

Soon, under the watchful eyes of the onlookers, the entire piece of jadeite was revealed.

It was an ice-type Imperial Green, with good water clarity, bright color, and strong texture. Even though Su Zhe did not know much about jadeite, he felt that the overall quality of the jadeite was excellent. When he held it in his hand, the desire to absorb divine power was even stronger without the weathered skin, and Su Zhe began to understand where this feeling came from.

At this moment, a voice broke the silence: "Sir, are you selling this piece of jadeite?"

Su Zhe looked in the direction of the voice and saw a beautiful woman in a well-fitted business suit, wearing spotless high heels. She looked clean and neat, with clear and bright eyes, long eyelashes that fluttered slightly, arched eyebrows, and flawless, fair skin, and rose-petal-like lips.

"If the price is right, I will sell it. Do you want to buy it?" Su Zhe said.

"Of course, I will give you a satisfactory price. How about 1 million yuan for the jadeite in your hand?" Xia Hanruo stepped forward, shook hands with Su Zhe, handed him a business card, and briefly introduced herself before getting straight to the point.

Su Zhe did not know the value of his jadeite, but from Liu Xiong's hints, this price was very reasonable. So Su Zhe did not hesitate and agreed.

Xia Hanruo breathed a sigh of relief. She was the manager of a newly opened jewelry store. The store had no shortage of customers due to good publicity, but it lacked high-end products, which were the most important for a jewelry store. Since the store was new, it did not have the depth of a well-established store and lacked a steady supply of high-end raw materials.

Even a skilled housewife cannot cook without rice, which was the biggest problem for all new jewelry stores and the biggest challenge in their development. Therefore, Xia Hanruo came to the gemstone gambling shop to find suitable sources, as did other jewelry stores. So, when good jadeite was cut out in the gemstone gambling shop, someone would usually offer to buy it on the spot.

This was good for the gemstone gamblers, as they did not have to take the jadeite to a jewelry store to sell it, and the price of jadeite in the gemstone gambling shop was often higher than in a jewelry store. After all, with buyers gathered together to bid, the price would naturally be higher.

Xia Hanruo was also afraid of delays, so she offered the highest price to avoid competition from other buyers. Her price was the highest for this piece of jadeite, and no one would offer a higher price.

This was because the buyers at the gemstone gambling shop had a consensus: they could compete, but they could not engage in malicious competition that would disrupt the balance of the jadeite market. If they did, they would be ostracized by their peers.

Xia Hanruo immediately transferred the money to Su Zhe, who confirmed the receipt and handed over the jadeite. She put it away and left the gemstone gambling shop with her entourage.

Soon, the news of the million-yuan jadeite spread throughout the gemstone gambling shop, and it quickly became known that the rough stone that produced the million-yuan jadeite was only worth 500 yuan. This news drove all the gemstone gamblers into a frenzy.

A 500-yuan rough stone sold for one million yuan, a 2000-fold increase. Million-yuan jadeite was not uncommon, but a 2000-fold increase in value was unheard of. Liu Xiong's million-yuan jadeite, for example, only attracted a little attention because his rough stone was worth 350,000 yuan, and the value only tripled, which, while impressive, paled in comparison to Su Zhe's 2000-fold profit.

A 2000-fold profit, this news spread, and everyone focused on the unwanted brick material. Suddenly, the brick material, which had no hope of selling and was only there to fill the numbers, became in high demand. Even when the gemstone gambling shop doubled the price of the brick material, it could not meet the gamblers' dreams of wealth.

This was not just the case in the gemstone gambling shop where Su Zhe cut out the million-yuan jadeite; the same thing happened in other gemstone gambling shops after the news spread.

These events occurred after Su Zhe left the gemstone gambling shop. After completing the transaction with Xia Hanruo, Su Zhe and Liu Xiong left the gemstone gambling shop early to avoid drawing attention.

"Su Zhe, you're a gemstone gambling expert, hiding your skills," Liu Xiong joked.

"Liu Brother, don't tease me. You know this was my first time gambling on rough stones, and I just got lucky," Su Zhe said with a bitter smile. Seeing the jadeite Liu Xiong was playing with, he suddenly thought of his guess and said, "Liu Brother, can I see your jadeite? I didn't get a good look at mine before I sold it."

Liu Xiong did not doubt Su Zhe's words and handed him the jadeite.

Sure enough, when Su Zhe held the jadeite, the feeling returned, the desire to absorb divine power. It was just a bit weaker, but Su Zhe's guess was not wrong. He understood why other rough stones did not give him this feeling, while the one that produced the jadeite did. The reason was that the other rough stones did not contain jadeite.

One could say that jadeite, formed over a long period, had a life of its own, but like plants, it did not have consciousness. It just instinctively wanted to absorb divine power, like how plants need sunlight and water. When Su Zhe held a plant, he could also feel its desire to absorb divine power, a life instinct.

Although Su Zhe could not yet fully confirm his guess, he believed it was basically correct. He still needed to touch various types of jadeite to clearly and definitively determine the feeling.