Seeing Tang Yi insisting, Lin Shaocong didn't say much more, turned around and left. In a short while, there came the grating squeal of a machine, Lin Shaocong had somehow dragged over a raw stone cutting machine.
Lin Shaocong turned to Tang Yi with a smirk, "Bro, since you're so determined, how could I, the great me, not support you!"
"Much appreciated!" Tang Yi smiled slightly, then focused his Mind and Spirit and walked to the pile of raw stones.
Although gambling on stones seems to be a matter of luck, those who truly know the trade still have some tricks up their sleeves. Of course, Tang Yi didn't know these tricks, but he had his own method.
Tang Yi slowly closed his eyes and silently began to practice the "Tai Xu Breathing Scripture," feeling the Spiritual Energy around him. Before long, he reached his hand slowly into the pile of raw stones and picked one out.
"This one?" Lin Shaocong looked at the raw stone in Tang Yi's hand, about the size of a fist, round and smooth, almost like an ordinary pebble.
"Mm!"
Tang Yi nodded his head; he was sure that the raw stone in his hand contained something valuable, for he had felt the presence of Spiritual Energy within it.
"Alright!" Seeing Tang Yi's confident face, Lin Shaocong, without a word, took the raw stone from Tang Yi's hands and prepared to cut it.
Just then, Xiaowen, who was playing games on the side, suddenly spoke up, "Fatty, don't blame me if I didn't remind you, but gambling on stones you've got to pay up!"
"No shit! Do you think I don't know the rules!" Lin Shaocong said, taking out a stack of cash from his pocket and slapping it down on the counter, boasting proudly, "I've been watching people gamble on stones since I was a kid, today I'm going to test my own luck!"
Seeing Lin Shaocong really put down real money, Xiaowen stopped talking, while Tang Yi felt a warmth in his heart. Lin Shaocong was clearly willing to share the risk of gambling on stones with him.
Luckily, Tang Yi was fully confident, "Go ahead and cut!"
"You got it!" The chubby guy, without another word, rolled up his sleeves and started up the raw stone cutting machine, and made a straight cut through the stone in one go.
The deafening sound of cutting instantly attracted some passing customers to gather around and watch.
"These days, someone actually dares to gamble on stones, not sure if they're experts or just ignorant of their own mortality!"
"When cutting raw stones, you do it one slice at a time, who cuts it in half in one go? Even if there was something valuable, it'd be ruined!"
"Looking at the two of them, they're clearly just naive youngsters, just spending money for the thrill!"
...
The onlookers had thought they were about to watch a stone gambling master in action, but seeing Lin Shaocong's technique, they realized they were just-arrived greenhorns, and their interest waned. Just as they were preparing to leave, Tang Yi's lips slightly curved into a smile.
Suddenly, Lin Shaocong's voice rang out, "Wow! There's something here!"
The crowd that had been about to leave immediately crowded around again, only to see that the raw stone Lin Shaocong held had been cut in two, and on the smooth cut surface, aside from the outer layer of stone, the inside was gleaming pure and clean, reflecting the soft luster of Jade Stone.
In the crowd of onlookers, those who knew their stuff immediately brightened, "Green tinted with white, white tinted with green, the color is uniform, a typical first-rate Qingtian jade!"
"What a pity, judging by this, if it had been cut slowly slice by slice, at least a jade medallion could have been made, but now at most a few pendants can be fashioned!"
Although he spoke with a hint of regret, the people nearby immediately became excited and began to ask Lin Shaocong whether he was willing to sell.
Gold has a price, jade is priceless. A piece of top-grade Qingbai jade, though not as valuable as Hetian white jade, is still worth thousands per gram. Even a Qingbai jade pendant the size of a coin can fetch a price of hundreds of thousands. In other words, the Qingtian jade in Lin Shaocong's hands is probably worth at least a million.
Who wouldn't be overjoyed to suddenly come into a million more? However, Lin Shaocong, though happy, didn't let his excitement cloud his judgment and looked at Tang Yi with a questioning gaze.
"Let's sell it!" Tang Yi thought for a moment and ultimately decided to sell it.
After his earlier observations, Tang Yi had found that among the pile of gambling stones, several contained spiritual energy not inferior to the piece just uncovered. This meant that if those were cut open, their value would far exceed that of this piece of Qingbai jade.
So Tang Yi wanted to buy them all. However, with limited funds, he couldn't possibly ask Lin Shaocong to pay again. Therefore, Tang Yi had to sell this piece of Qingbai jade first.
With Tang Yi's approval, Lin Shaocong didn't hesitate, choosing to auction it right there and then. After all, those who could enter Treasure Tower were either rich or noble, each with a net worth over a hundred million; where else could one find so many wealthy magnates?
"Five hundred thousand!" The bidding started and someone immediately made an offer.
"Eight hundred thousand!"
"One million!"
...
The offers came in quick succession, and in a short while, the bidding reached above a million, bringing a huge grin to Lin Shaocong's face as he eagerly encouraged them to raise their bids.
But just as the competition was heating up, a arrogant voice suddenly rang out: "I bid three million!"
Hearing a bid of three million, the crowd that had been fiercely competing fell silent. The price was incredibly high, tripling the previous highest bid and exceeding many people's limits.
The crowd turned towards the source of the voice and saw a man and a woman slowly entering 'Duobao Zhai.' The man was extremely handsome and impeccably dressed, clearly coming from a wealthy and noble family.
However, as eye-catching as the man was, his female companion was even more stunning.
This young lady appeared to be around twenty years old, and crucially, she was mixed-race.
Especially the aura she exuded—noble and elegant—was that of a perfect goddess, instantly commanding the attention of every man present.
Among the men, however, the one with the biggest reaction had to be Lin Shaocong, whose eyes nearly popped out of his head with hearts aflame.
Seeing Lin Shaocong's reaction, Xiao Wen at his side, for some reason, felt a surge of jealousy and huffed discontentedly.
"Bro!" Lin Shaocong nudged Tang Yi beside him while fixating on the mixed-race woman as if afraid she would suddenly run off.
Lin Shaocong said excitedly, "Remember the new mixed-race girl I told you about in the dorm? That's her, that's her. What do you think? Beautiful, right? I told you, she's definitely a match for your Mo Qingxue!"
Tang Yi ignored Lin Shaocong's words because his attention was also drawn to the man and woman, but unlike others who were focused on the mixed-race woman, Tang Yi was observing the man.
"Du Yiming!" Tang Yi murmured a name softly. This man was Tang Yi's cousin, Du Yiming, who, more than anyone else in the Du Family, loved to bully him.
"Three million—I doubt anyone will offer a higher price now, right?" Du Yiming looked around at everyone present with a disdainful gaze, then said arrogantly, "Seeing as that's the case, then this Qingbai jade is..."
However, just then, Tang Yi suddenly spoke up: "I bid three million and one!"