Reborn As Super Heiress

Chapter 122: Chapter 119: Gambling on Stones is Risky

Huo Sining felt fortunate to be able to stay in a star-rated hotel, but was also surprised that so many people enjoyed gambling on stones.

Apparently guessing what Huo Sining was thinking, Su Jinyuan explained with a smile:

“There’s a popular saying in this circle: ‘A madman buys, a madman sells, and another madman is waiting. The allure of gambling on stones is too great, one cut makes you poor and another cut makes you rich. Countless gamblers hope to strike it rich overnight; stone gambling is a very good shortcut to wealth.”

Huo Sining sneered, “But how many actually get rich? I’m afraid there are more who go bankrupt, right?”

Su Jinyuan nodded, “Nine out of ten gamblers on stones fail, and not even one in a hundred might get rich through this method. But what of it? As long as there are some who succeed this way, many people will rush in, even if they risk their entire fortune.”

Hearing Su Jinyuan say this, everyone in the group, including Bai Yishan, fell silent. Huo Sining looked on with a complex expression, understanding that human nature is inherently greedy, and it is greed and desire that are at the root of all this.

...

In the evening, Huo Sining and the others ordered a table of signature Cantonese dishes at a local Cantonese restaurant.

Claiming to be daredevils who eat anything with “four legs” apart from tables, Cantonese people naturally have a wide variety of food choices. Although there were many dishes that Huo Sining and the others had never even seen before, they all tasted very authentic and were full of flavor.

Even though the market hadn’t opened yet, there was a place in Foshan where you could always buy stones for gambling, regardless of whether there was a jade market or not, and that place was Pingzhou Jade Street.

Pingzhou Jade Street, located in the Nanhai District of Foshan, is quite famous in the industry. The street is known far and wide for processing Jadeite A-goods Bare Body Jade Artifacts and ranks first in production and sales volume among China’s four major jade markets.

Of course, in addition to finished jade artifacts, there is another item in abundance on this street: stones for gambling.

As a Myanmar Jadeite Jade Distribution Center, Pingzhou Jade Street is nationally renowned.

In recent years, with the soaring prices of jadeite, the quantity of jade traded in Pingzhou and the number of merchants involved in the business have surged dramatically. Many professionals from both sides of the strait, as well as from Myanmar, flock to the area, eager to join the fray.

With countless rough jadeite stones gathered here, Su Jinyuan decided to try his luck at Pingzhou Jade Street the very next morning after arriving in Foshan.

Huo Sining and the others were novices, of course, so they followed wherever Su Jinyuan led, doing whatever he said.

Pingzhou Jade Street has nearly a thousand jade stores, and almost every one of them sells rough material. The three women felt like country bumpkins entering the city, finding everything fresh and new.

Entering a jade store, Huo Sining saw a pile of rough stones placed at the entrance. The chunks of rough material were not large, each weighing only about ten kilograms, with some possibly weighing less than one kilogram.

The rough stones were placed haphazardly, and as Huo Sining had little interest in stone gambling, she just glanced around at the dazzling array of jade artifacts in the store.

Su Qingqing and Bai Yishan, on the other hand, were different; they had come with the intention of making money from gambling on stones so as soon as they saw the pieces of rough stone piled at the entrance, their eyes involuntarily sparkled with eagerness.

Seeing Su Jinyuan and others enter, the store owner looked up and quickly ascertained that Su Jinyuan was likely the leader of the group. Noticing that Su Jinyuan entered the store and only looked at the stones, the owner knew that these people had come to gamble on stones.

Perhaps it was because he had already dealt with several groups of such customers, so the shop owner seemed somewhat negligent and not very enthusiastic. Seated on a bamboo chair not far away, he didn’t even bother to get up, but simply said indifferently:

“Those are rough stones from the old pits, and they’re all gambling material. Five thousand yuan per kilogram, non-negotiable. Fifty meters away there’s a stone cutting factory where you can try using the stone cutting machine for free. If you want to hire someone to cut the stone, it’s a hundred yuan per time.”

Hearing the shopkeeper’s words, Huo Sining couldn’t help but frown deeply.

However, Su Jinyuan clearly was not fazed by this cold treatment; after hearing the shop owner’s words, he didn’t ask any unnecessary questions and immediately crouched down, stretching out his right hand towards the stones.

The two purchasing masters beside them also crouched down to flip through the stones, while Su Qingqing and Bai Yishan exchanged glances, both of them also crouched down and each picked up a stone, pretending to examine it closely.

“Eh…” Seeing the two faking their actions, Huo Sining felt a torrent of black lines cross his head and couldn’t help but ask in a low voice, “I mean, who are you performing this act for? Does it have to be so funny?”

Bai Yishan’s face turned red with embarrassment; she seemed to realize that her actions were somewhat foolish. Yet Su Qingqing next to her was full of self-righteousness: “It’s not easy to come here, we should at least touch more stones. Maybe we’ll get a feel for it as we go along. Aren’t even the jade gamblers using their tactile sense and experience to slowly accumulate their skills? It’s not like anyone is born knowing how to gamble on stones.”

Huo Sining was at a loss for words by Su Qingqing’s argument. She always had a slew of skewed justifications for her actions, and most importantly, Huo Sining found he couldn’t refute these apparently noble reasons.

“So, have you figured anything out? What kind of pit does the raw stone in your hand come from, what’s the quality, and can it produce jadeite?” Huo Sining couldn’t help but ask.

Su Qingqing shook her head with a face full of confusion and innocence.

Idiot! Huo Sining couldn’t help but give Su Qingqing an annoyed look.

Bai Yishan was initially embarrassed, but seeing Su Qingqing’s expression, she couldn’t help but let out a snort of laughter.

Bai Yishan had always received a cold reception from Su Qingqing, which had made her feel somewhat uncomfortable. She hadn’t expected that Su Jinyuan’s sister could be so adorable, truly a treasure.

The two masters had already checked each piece of raw material inside and out, but after finishing, they covertly shook their heads at Su Jinyuan. Other than a few stones with a hint of green on the surface, the rest didn’t show any potential for gambling.

Su Jinyuan wasn’t disappointed either. Since he didn’t fancy any, he started walking toward the next shop. After all, with nearly a thousand shops on this street, comparison shopping would eventually yield a few stones that caught his eye.

“Let’s go,” Su Jinyuan said briskly and headed out first.

Huo Sining and the others quickly followed suit, with Su Qingqing feeling puzzled, “Bro, those raw materials were quite cheap, why didn’t you buy any?”

Su Jinyuan said helplessly, “Those were from the new pits, and after taking a look, most of them were nothing but brick and waste materials. And that owner dared to ask for five thousand yuan per kilogram as a firm price. Obviously, he’s just fishing for suckers; it’s impossible to find any jadeite in there!”

“Ah?” Su Qingqing was taken aback.

Su Jinyuan had specifically brought Su Qingqing along to give her some experience. Although Su Qingqing was not following the path of jade gambling, the circle of treasure appraisal was quite similar to that of jade gambling, with no less tricky business involved. By letting her gain first-hand experience, she could accumulate more expertise and avoid taking unnecessary detours.