Chapter 89: It'll Make You Dizzy!
Chapter 89: Prices Will Make You Dizzy! (Please Subscribe)
Xu Zhiyi calmly took the piece of raw material in her hand.
This piece of material is about the size of two fists. Its surface is dark gray, pitted and uneven, with a few shallow cracks. It looks no different from a stone picked up randomly on the roadside.
The window was only about the size of a coin, and the quality of the jade looked very average. Among this pile of rough jade, it was neither good nor bad, and it was the kind of jade that wouldn't stand out at all.
He glanced at the price tag; this piece of material cost 32,000.
It's alright, within his acceptable range.
Xu Zhiyi placed the piece of raw material at her feet and then continued searching through the pile of raw materials.
"You've become addicted to picking things out for him?"
Zhou Zhize chuckled, arms crossed, barely suppressing a laugh, and said, "Hey buddy, are you buying vegetables at the market? You can't tell the quality just by touching them."
Mr. Zhou watched quietly from the side, a confident smile playing on his lips.
Seeing Xu Zhiyi's actions in selecting stones, he became even more certain that this young man was an complete novice who knew nothing about the subject.
A truly knowledgeable person wouldn't be as picky as him.
Who doesn't hold a powerful flashlight and a magnifying glass, examining the wool fabric carefully for a long time?
The onlookers around them were also talking about it.
"Is this young man genuinely clueless or just pretending?"
"They must really not know anything; who picks and chooses materials like that?"
"Young people like him are concerned about their image, especially in front of a girl. He probably got put on a pedestal by Boss Zhou's words and couldn't back down, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and make the choice."
"What a pity, it seems like those tens of thousands of yuan are going down the drain."
"That's not necessarily true. This batch of materials is said to all come from Moxi Sha. Although it has changed hands several times, there might still be some that slipped through the net."
"There are definitely opportunities, but not many! How could an outsider like him possibly seize them?"
"It's all about luck, isn't it? Who can say for sure? Even seasoned veterans who've been in this business for decades make mistakes all the time, don't they?"
"The chances are too slim. Young people, it's good to pay some tuition now, so you don't suffer even greater losses later."
Hearing these comments, Jiang Shangge's face grew increasingly grim.
-
After thinking for a moment, she stepped forward to help Xu Zhiyi choose.
Although she had never gambled on jade before, her family's tradition of jade gambling meant she could still discern many of the intricacies involved.
With her help, even if the bet doesn't go up, at least the loss won't be too great.
But as soon as she stepped forward, Zhou Zhize reached out and stopped her.
"What are you going there for?" Zhou Zhize said with a smile, "It's agreed that he chose it himself. If you interfere, the bet won't stand."
Jiang Shangge snorted coldly.
However, Xu Zhiyi was still focused on selecting stones.
She couldn't make decisions on her own, so she could only hope that the other party was really lucky.
Although Xu Zhiyi heard the commotion behind him and the people's discussions, he no longer cared. His attention was now focused on the pile of rough stones in front of him, and he only wanted to find another good piece of material from it.
He picked up and put down the raw materials one by one, while the notification messages in front of him kept refreshing.
You have obtained 1 Common Rock.
You have obtained Rock 1 containing a fragment of inferior jade.
You have obtained Rock 1 containing a fragment of inferior jade.
You have obtained 1 Common Rock.
They're all just ordinary stuff.
He remained calm and continued searching.
This pile of raw materials is worth at least two hundred yuan, enough for him to take his time choosing.
But this is really not an easy thing.
Just like Jiang Shangge said, the stones here have changed hands countless times. The good ones have long been picked up by those in the know. What's left are either fakes or rip-offs!
In other words, Xu Zhiyi's ability to recognize all things is what allows her to accurately identify the only good material among these hundreds of stones.
Time passed second by second.
Zhou Zhize glanced at the time again and impatiently urged, "Hey, have you made your selection yet? You don't intend to touch every single piece of material in this pile, do you?"
Xu Zhiyi really did have this plan.
-
However, just as Zhou Zhize finished speaking, another piece of good news arrived before his eyes:
You have obtained a rock encased in top-grade jade.
Top-grade jade!
It's not a fragment, which means the jade inside is a larger piece!
Xu Zhiyi's heart skipped a beat.
He calmly brought the fabric to his face.
This piece of material is about twice the size of the previous one, roughly the size of a cantaloupe. It's priced at 30,000, which is 2,000 cheaper than the previous one.
The main reason is that its window is not good, the water content looks average, and there is a noticeable crack. It is estimated that no one has made a purchase because they think it is too likely to crack.
Xu Zhiyi placed the two pieces of raw material together and looked at the sales assistant waiting on the side.
"These are the two pieces."
As soon as he said this, a burst of laughter immediately erupted around him.
"This young man has some guts, daring to pick two pieces?"
"They're planning to pay double the tuition!"
"Young people these days really don't know their own limitations."
"I just hope he doesn't cry after it breaks down."
At this moment, Jiang Shangge stepped forward, leaned close to Xu Zhiyi's ear and whispered, "I'll have them put these two pieces of material on Tianhe Jewelry's tab later, consider it my treat for you."
"Need not."
Xu Zhiyi quickly stopped her, saying earnestly, "I can do it myself."
Jiang Shangge frowned slightly, but seeing Xu Zhiyi's serious expression, he finally nodded, "Alright, then I'll go with you to negotiate the price. Tianhe and Cuixi have been cooperating for many years."
Xu Zhiyi naturally wouldn't refuse to haggle over prices.
The manager of Cuixi Jewelry had noticed the situation and greeted them very politely.
After some haggling, they finally gave me a 20% discount.
Xu Zhiyi ultimately paid 49,600.
After receiving that pile of documents and certificates, it meant that the two stones already belonged to him.
Correspondingly, his wallet shrank by more than half.
But he didn't feel sorry for him at all.
Even a little to laugh.
For less than 50,000 yuan, you can get two top-quality jadeite pieces, one large and one small!
This deal looks like a sure-fire way to make a profit.
Seeing that he paid so readily, the onlookers became even more excited.
Anyway, people love to watch the drama unfold.
"That kid's got guts!"
"He's just burning money. I've seen plenty of these hotheads."
"Don't let his current smugness fool you, he'll be crying his eyes out once the cut is done!"
""
Zhou Zhize leaned close to his father's ear and whispered, "Dad, is there some reason why that kid chose those two pieces? Could he actually be a genius?"
Mr. Zhou glanced at him and said irritably, "What can you say? Didn't I teach you? With this kind of semi-gambling information displayed, experienced people can tell the general idea at a glance."
One of his two pieces of jade was of poor quality and lacked translucency, while the other had cracks. What good things could possibly come from them?
Upon hearing this, Zhou Zhize was immediately relieved.
He turned to Xu Zhiyi, his face flashing that smug grin again. "Dude, since you've paid, let's get started! Let's all see what kind of amazing find this divinely blessed material you've got!"
"Okay."
Holding the two rough stones, Xu Zhiyi walked towards the stone-cutting area surrounded by the crowd.
Jiang Shangge bit her lip and followed beside him, her heart pounding with anxiety.
She both hoped that Xu Zhiyi would win the bet and slap the Zhou family father and son in the face, but she also knew that the possibility was extremely slim, almost impossible.
The stone-cutting area is located in a corner of the jade and gemstone area. There are several machines specifically used for cutting raw jadeite, and two experienced craftsmen in overalls are standing next to them, responsible for cutting stones for customers on-site.
Seeing a large group of people walking towards them, the two experienced workers immediately knew they had a job to do.
"Do you want it cut into pieces?"
"Um."
Xu Zhiyi placed the two rough stones on the cutting table, pointed to the one priced at 32,000, and said, "Let's cut this one first."
The master craftsman picked up the raw material, examined it, and then looked at Xu Zhiyi, asking, "How should I cut it?"
This touches on Xu Zhiyi's area of blind spot.
Jiang Shangge noticed his confusion and stepped forward to suggest, "How about we cut inwards from the opposite side of the window, one centimeter in?"
"Okay, cut it like that."
"Okay."
The experienced mechanic pressed the switch, and the oil cutting machine emitted a deep roar as the diamond cutter head slowly descended.
"Sizzle!"
A piercing cutting sound rang out.
Everyone around held their breath, their eyes fixed on the rough stone.
Only Xu Zhiyi remained calm and composed.
The cutting sound stopped quickly.
The master chef lifted the cutting board, picked up the basin of water next to him, and poured a ladle of water onto the cut surface.
As the stone chips were washed away by the water, a vibrant green instantly caught everyone's eye.
"It's green!"
It's unclear who shouted first, but the crowd immediately erupted in chaos.
"It's gone up!"
"Holy crap, this color—it looks like spicy green!"
"The water content is also good; it's at least a glutinous ice-type jadeite!"
"It's gone up! It's gone up! It's definitely gone up!"
Many of the onlookers were knowledgeable, and they all crowded forward, staring at the green hue with amazement and envy.
Jiang Shangge is also knowledgeable.
The moment she saw that patch of green, she couldn't help but excitedly grab Xu Zhiyi's arm.
"It's gone up! It's really gone up!"
Xu Zhiyi smiled and nodded, "Yes, I saw it."
The experienced chef perked up, looked up at Xu Zhiyi, and asked, "Young man, do you want to continue cutting?"
"Let's cut it out and take a look."
The experienced chef adjusted the angle and continued cutting along the cut surface.
Another ear-piercing cutting sound followed.
When the water washes away the stone chips, the vibrant spicy green color on the cut surface is fully revealed to everyone.
Although it was only a small piece, the color was perfect, the luster was good, and there were no obvious cracks or impurities.
"Great stuff!"
"These drifting flowers are so beautiful!"
"That's enough to make at least two pendants, and maybe even a pair of earrings!"
"With this condition, the market price would be at least 80,000!"
"Eighty thousand? That's too little! I bet people would be fighting over it even for one hundred thousand!"
The onlookers chattered amongst themselves, their gazes toward Xu Zhiyi now completely changed.
Those who had just been laughing at him for being an amateur and a greenhorn now shut their mouths, their eyes filled with surprise and envy.
However, the people who are suffering the most at this moment are none other than the Zhou family father and son.
The smile on Zhou Zhize's face vanished the moment he emerged from that patch of green.
President Zhou's expression also changed.
However, he was still somewhat shrewd and quickly calmed down, looking at Xu Zhiyi and saying, "Congratulations, young brother, you really made a good bet on this piece of material."
Xu Zhiyi smiled slightly.
"I've said it before, I've always had great luck. Even the gods bless me to win at gambling. By the way, Mr. Zhou, what you said earlier still stands, right?"
Mr. Zhou's facial muscles twitched slightly.
But he quickly regained his nonchalant demeanor.
"Of course it counts."
He looked around and announced loudly, "This young man is lucky! I, Zhou Jianguo, keep my word. This piece of jade is worth about 80,000 yuan on the market, but Hongfu Jewelry offers 240,000 yuan for it!"
After saying that, he gestured to Zhou Zhize.
Although unwilling, the latter had no choice but to take out his phone and transfer 240,000 yuan to Xu Zhiyi on the spot, and then take away the piece of material with a market value of about 80,000 yuan.
Xu Zhiyi's wallet suddenly became bulging.
He nodded in satisfaction. "President Zhou is indeed straightforward."
Mr. Zhou gave a forced smile and said, "Good luck, young man. You're welcome to visit Hongfu Jewelry sometime."
After saying that, he turned to leave.
"Wait a moment."
Xu Zhiyi called out to him.
Mr. Zhou paused and turned around.
Xu Zhiyi pointed to the remaining rough stone on the cutting table, revealing an innocent smile, "I still have one left to cut, Mr. Zhou, aren't you going to accept it?"
President Zhou finally couldn't keep his composure any longer.
He turned and stared at Xu Zhiyi, a sinister glint in his eyes.
"You mean this material can still increase in value?"
"Of course it will go up."
Xu Zhiyi was full of confidence.
Seeing his confident demeanor, President Zhou felt inexplicably uneasy. However, with so many colleagues watching, he couldn't just leave. He could only say in a deep voice, "Then let's cut it open and take a look."
The experienced craftsman, who had been waiting impatiently, picked up the rough stone, about the size of a cantaloupe, and looked at Xu Zhiyi, asking, "How should I cut this one?"
Xu Zhiyi then looked at Jiang Shangge.
The latter was prepared and pointed to the crack on the raw material, "Cut from this side of the crack, make a thin cut first."
"Okay!"
The experienced mechanic pressed the switch, and the cutter head fell down again.
About two or three minutes later, the master craftsman lifted the cutting board and picked up the basin of water next to him to rinse away the stone chips on the surface.
A green even more vibrant than before was revealed!
Holy crap!
"This color—pure, vibrant green?!"
"The crack is gone! There wasn't a crack inside this piece! Impossible! This is absolutely impossible!"
"A huge surge! Holy crap! This is a huge surge!"
"The water content is good! This is high-grade icy jade! It's a pity there's some cotton-like inclusions and the color isn't even enough; otherwise, it would be a top-tier piece!"
"My goodness! Such a huge piece of material! We can make at least a pair of bracelets from it! And the rest can be made into a dozen or so pendants!"
"How much is this worth?!"
The entire stone-cutting area was in an uproar.
They were like madmen, their eyes glued to the stone.
The Zhou father and son are not crazy.
They felt dizzy and disoriented, and at one point wondered if they were in a nightmare.
crazy!
They've all gone mad!
How could anyone possibly gamble on a high-quality, pure green jadeite at a trade show?
Are all the people at Cuixi idiots?
Why not just use some inferior or counterfeit goods to fool people? Why mix in such high-quality goods?
Of course, the people who own Cuixi could not possibly know that this is a top-quality item.
After all, the window appearance of this piece of material is very poor, with a large crack in it. It has changed hands so many times, and no one thought it could yield good quality.
President Zhou's face was extremely grim.
Such a large piece of high-quality, bright green jadeite would have a market price of at least two million!
If it's three times that, then that's six million!
Thinking about this made Mr. Zhou feel a little dizzy again.
Just then, Xu Zhiyi looked over at him, still smiling innocently.
"Mr. Zhou, are you still going to buy this piece of material?"