Always on the edge of crisis, gambling with my life, I have a strong sense of urgency. Life is always forced into gambling out of necessity, which is not good. Once I lose the gamble, there will be no room for a comeback.
The underworld is hard to navigate...
I looked at the large pieces; the prices of the materials here are all around ten million, which should be considered top-tier materials. Even Boss Wei's shop doesn't have so many pieces worth over ten million. These materials come from various markets.
You can basically find all the major gambling stone venues here, like Lao Pagang, Muna...
The materials here are all good, all with open windows. I looked around and my eyes got a bit dazzled. To be honest, this is the downside of having too many choices. Everything looks good, so it's hard to tell which one is not. The downside of betting on open window materials is that you can't make a decision; there's no greater excitement.
Suddenly, I saw a piece of material I had never seen before, very unusual. When I saw this piece, it had a green skin, very thin, and the green wasn't very intense. Generally, jadeite gambling stones rarely have green skins; I had never seen one before, but I had heard about them. Only a few of them have naturally green skins.
I looked at the material, and it was also open-windowed. The material weighed about 300 to 400 kilograms. When I opened the lid, I saw that the color underneath wasn't very good; it was very dry, but the texture was old and had a bit of blue base. This kind of material is only suitable for ornaments or low-grade bracelets.
I suspect it should be the material from the Massa market. This market belongs to the new factory and is relatively unknown. However, at the previous public auction, a world-famous Taohua Spring material was sold, which is violet. That piece weighed over three tons and yielded a fully saturated violet with excellent water quality and very old species. In the end, it was divided among several big bosses from Guangdong for over a billion.
I looked at this piece, and I was like... damn... they actually want 16 million for it. Before they opened the lid, this piece was just a run-of-the-mill item. New factory pieces aren't worth much, no one buys them. Damn, at most, it could be had for 600,000. But they opened a window, and it skyrocketed by hundreds of times. This is just highway robbery.
I looked at the material, and I felt a bit tempted. That piece of violet was worth over a billion, and although this one isn't as big, it has already been opened. If we cut it, the color and clarity inside might jump, not too much, just enough to be ice-grade. If the color is just right, it could be worth ten to eight times more. But the risk is too high. If the new factory's material doesn't work out, it could be a huge loss.
I hesitated, and Maran, holding the sign, looked at it and said, "Oh my God, what kind of material is this, selling for over ten million? Look at this blue, it's really freaking cold. Even I, who don't know much about jade, can tell this color doesn't look good."
I said, "It might be a surprise. If a glass-grade one comes out and the color is a bit enhanced, this piece could easily be worth ten times more."
Malin listened and then asked, "Is that true? What if I don't jump?"
I said, "If you don't jump, you can sell for at most six million. The person who opened the window for this material has a wicked heart. He gives you a blue color, gives you a glimmer of hope, just to see if you dare to gamble. He doesn't gamble himself, but exchanges hundreds of thousands for ten million. Damn it, the person who opened the window is really disgusting."
Malin lit a cigarette and said, "So, are we betting or not?"
I bit my finger and looked at Wang Gui. He knew what I meant, came over, and said, "Fei Ge, this material is a one-cut product. One cut down, and if it jumps, you can make a profit. The color will definitely rise, and with a blue base, how can it not turn into violet?"You shouldn't be worried about him not changing color; instead, you should be concerned about it cracking. Violet materials tend to crack a lot.
I listened and then took out my flashlight to shine it inside. It looked very clear, and there were some tiny cracks at the cut. Wang Gui's analysis was correct; it seems he knows quite a bit about cutting stones after all this time.
I looked at the material; it looked like an oversized axe, thick on top and thin on the bottom, with an opening at the bottom. It was over a meter wide and weighed 120 kilograms. If it were made into bangles, it could probably yield over a thousand pairs. I wouldn't lose money if a pair sold for 160,000. However, the violet market is already good and scarce, so as long as the water is good and the color is vibrant, selling for 160,
I said, "Let's bet on this, you put in 1500, I'll put in 100..."
Malang took a deep drag on his cigarette, nodded, and said, "Alright..."
She agreed, so I took out the card, and she gave me her card. I went to Wang Gui to place the order. This was a big gamble—over six hundred thousand worth of materials, which we bought for over ten million. The price difference and risk were hundreds of times higher, but if we won the gamble, we would earn a lot.
We swiped our card to open a tab, and the person collecting the money was a Myanmar woman, a very skinny one. She asked if we wanted her to cut it, and I said no, we would cut it ourselves when we got back.
Here at the jadeite gambling site, you can cut the stones yourself or have them cut by the workers, but most merchants choose the raw material and then take it back to cut it themselves. That's why the stone-cutting business here isn't very good, and it's no wonder Wang Gui switched jobs.
After we settled the bill, Zhao Kui single-handedly lifted the over hundred-kilogram material and stuffed it into the trunk of the Maran.
"Hey, damn it, this stuff is so heavy. Don't crush my car. My car is worth hundreds of thousands!" Ma Lan said with a bit of heartache.
I said, "If the material is revealed, it will be worth over a hundred million. Do you want it? If not, I'll take it away."
She was a bit angry and said, "Damn it, can't we just do it here? Why go through all that trouble?"
I said, "I want to impress Seventh Master, I want to make his heart race too..."
Malan burst into laughter and said, "Although my dad has seen a lot in his life, he's getting old now. If he gets scared and falls ill, you're done for. But I also want to see the look on his face when he gets scared."
I smiled, not joking, but drove to Seventh Master's restaurant. Malan called and asked the restaurant staff to prepare the cutting machine. In Ruili, cutting machines are the most common; almost every household has one, and they are used for gambling on stones.
We drove to the restaurant, Zhao Kui carried the supplies upstairs, and the restaurant staff were all idle, with no business, it was very bleak.
I asked Zhao Kui to put the materials in the living room, and at that moment, Ma Qing came over and curiously asked me, "What are you guys doing?"
Malan said, "Give Dad a surprise, this is worth over a hundred million..."
Ma Qing looked at the fabric and got very angry, saying, "Don't mess around..."
Malan ignored her and went straight upstairs to find Seventh Master. Ma Qing looked at me, very annoyed. She said, "Zhao Fei, you have disrupted our peaceful life as you wished. Do you know that many people will die, and you will die too? I warned you long ago..."
I said, "I know, but I have no way out, I have to take a gamble."
At that moment, Seventh Master came down, followed by a few people, presumably his subordinates. He looked at me and said, "What do you mean?"
I said, "Seventh Master, this piece was bought for sixteen million. I want to cut it in front of you. I believe it will turn out..."
Seventh Master smiled slightly, calmly sat down in the chair, and said, "Alright, I also want to see just how capable you really are."
Seventh Master doesn't say much, but when he does, it's very thorough. I said, "Wang Gui, start..."
A few people pushed over the pre-prepared cutting machine and secured it. Zhao Kui carried the material onto the machine, and Wang Gui asked me, "Fei Ge, how do we cut it? You tell us."
I looked at the material; the fracture surface is weathered and thin, the water content is dry, the texture is old, the material is very large, and the bracelet position can be seen at the opening. However, this stone still has a high degree of uncertainty. There could be large cracks, variations, or color changes, which are all unknown factors before cutting.
I said, "Open the window for me, three centimeters of meat, a bit deeper. If it changes color, we can still put a label on this three centimeters."
My decisions are always aimed at maximizing the benefits of the finished product, so that the small leftover pieces won't go to waste and can't be turned into finished products.
Wang Gui lit a cigarette and said, "Fei Ge, look, it's definitely going to come up Violet..."
Wang Gui started the machine, and at that moment, quite a few people gathered around, all employees watching the commotion. Suddenly, stones flew out from the machine, sparks flying everywhere, scaring many people to retreat far away.
I was nervous; this was betting on stones in front of Master Qi. If I couldn't make it, damn it, not only would it be embarrassing, but it could also cost me my life. That over ten million would go down the drain, so I had to make it work.
I was waiting dry-mouthed for the first cut. The stone was quite long, and it took a long time to pull it apart. The people around me were watching curiously, their faces full of curiosity, but there was no tense atmosphere. Unlike me, sweat was already forming on my forehead, and my back was wet. I was really nervous. If I messed up this first cut, it would be really difficult afterward. The fortune lies in this first cut.
Suddenly, Wang Gui's machine stopped, and the material was cut open. Wang Gui picked up the long strip of material and looked at it, then suddenly shouted, "Fei Ge, it's swelling, damn it, violet, I told you it was violet..."
When I heard Wang Gui's words, I clenched my fists tightly, feeling excited. I quickly walked over and looked at the stone's cut. The large cut was very fair, with small cracks on the edges, but they didn't affect the extraction of the bracelet. The color was very pure and clean, and the quality was impeccable, reaching the ice type, which was exactly what I had been hoping for. However, unfortunately, the color inside didn't jump much because the water had risen, making it look
Wang Gui was smoking heavily and said, "Brother Fei, the material is worth at least 30 million. For such a large piece, getting a thousand pairs of bracelets is not a problem."
I started to laugh, having won, but not by much. I looked at Seventh Master; he calmly held his teacup and sipped his tea without much reaction. I knew he was used to grand scenes, and this little matter didn't faze him.
Malan excitedly hugged my neck and said, "Damn, it just swelled up, wow, the color inside has changed, it's really watery, let's sell it, okay?"
When I heard Malan's words, I frowned and said, "Don't you want to gamble one more time?"
Malan was a bit surprised and said, "You're still gambling even after doubling it? Earning sixteen million in ten minutes, what more do you want?"
I said, "I still want to earn 160 million..."
My words shocked Maran, but she suddenly stood up, patted my shoulder, and said, "Be a man, bet..."
Malan was very generous, gambling again. I looked at Shitou and thought, damn it, let's gamble one more time. I want to make Seventh Master stand up in shock!