Reborn As Super Heiress

Chapter 123: Chapter 120: Enter the Profession with Caution

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“Gambling in the jade circle is fraught with issues: fakes, setups, and ripping people off. With just a little carelessness, you can capsize in the gutter!”

“The reports you see about gamblers making millions overnight are deliberate. Jade dealers hype up these news stories to inflate the price of jadeite, making everyone envious. Those unaware of the truth get excited and rush to engage in stone gambling.”

“But the truth is, only a few really strike it rich. How many lose everything gambling in Pingzhou each year? How many more, overwhelmed by the pressure of handling raw stones, jump to their deaths? You have no idea how ruthless this circle can be.”

On this trip to Foshan, Su Qingqing and Bai Yishan had their own agendas, and Su Jinyuan knew it. He didn’t expect them to understand all the rules of the circle so quickly, but he had to clearly explain the risks and intricacies of the business. At the very least, he wanted these two women—dreaming of striking it rich with stone gambling—to understand that money in this industry isn’t easily earned.

Huo Sining understood the point of Su Jinyuan’s words. It was a subtle warning to Su Qingqing and Bai Yishan not to be misled by the appearance of the raw stones and act on impulse. There were many dark and dirty secrets they were unaware of, and one misstep could trap them.

...

The timing of his words was perfect. After hearing Su Jinyuan’s speech, Bai Yishan and Su Qingqing felt like a bucket of cold water had been dumped on their excitement. They immediately sobered up.

Su Jinyuan’s gaze was sharp as he said, “Remember, in this line of work, you should listen more, look more, think more, and feel more. The one thing you shouldn’t do is buy more. Only make a move after careful consideration. Don’t let others read your emotions easily; otherwise, they can take advantage of you.”

Both women remained silent, but their grave expressions showed that they took Su Jinyuan’s words to heart.

Relieved, Su Jinyuan continued on with the group. They visited a few more shops, but the raw stones didn’t look promising. After sifting through a bunch, they reluctantly settled on one.

Since it was the first day, Su Jinyuan wasn’t too picky. He decided on the stone and, after paying for it, prepared to head to the Stone Cutting Factory to try his luck.

Guided by the shop owner, Su Jinyuan and the others walked a few dozen meters to a Stone Cutting Factory. They hadn’t even entered when they saw a crowd gathered at the entrance. Drawing closer, they heard voices of pity.

“Ah, it’s a bust! It relied on surface green—such a shame. If Boss Wu had acted just now, he could have had 200,000 in his pocket. Now, that little bit of surface green will only make a ring face!”

Huo Sining looked toward the center of the crowd. He saw a stone cutting machine with a sliced-open raw jade on it, and beside it stood a middle-aged man, looking frustrated at the ruined stone.

Buying stones to gamble on jadeite relies solely on vision and luck. After the first cut revealed green, an offer of 200,000 was made, which he was too reluctant to accept. Who could have expected the second cut to be disastrous? Now his 200,000 had shrunk dramatically, with only a ring face that at best might fetch a few thousand.

“It’s gone, it’s gone. In stone gambling, there’s always a risk of failure. A ring face is better than nothing,” Boss Wu tried to console himself with a bitter smile.

A few people holding stones, who had been waiting for the machine and were growing impatient, saw Boss Wu step aside. A man in a blue cotton shirt, unable to wait any longer, hurried forward with a large stone and placed it on the Green Luo Jade Cutting Machine.

The grinding wheel of the stone cutting machine spun vigorously, making a hissing noise.

All eyes around were fixed on the new stone, with everyone intently watching the man’s raw material, nerves on edge.

Since someone had just messed up their cut, not only was the cutter nervous, but also the onlookers, all with their hearts in their throats.

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This was an irregularly shaped blackish-brown stone, around seven or eight kilograms in weight, with a surface that had grayish-green patterns.

“This stone is showing well,” Su Jinyuan, standing beside it, turned his head and said to the two purchasing masters.

“It should be authentic old-pit Mameng Jade. Although Mameng Jade cannot yield a very high green, the likelihood of its value increasing after cutting is comparatively high,” Master He, one of the purchasers, explained while examining the stone.

Su Jinyuan nodded, “If it reaches the Flower Green Species, we can buy it.”

At this moment, the middle-aged man had already marked the stone with lines and pushed it towards the sand wheel of the stone cutting machine, following the cut line in one smooth motion.

Everyone’s scrutiny was fixed intently on that stone, and as the machine made a ssshhh sound, a thin sliver of stone fell to the ground, revealing a hint of light green.

“Ah, there’s green, there’s green!” someone with sharp eyes exclaimed in surprise upon seeing the green.

A basin of clear water was passed over, and the middle-aged man, restraining his trembling hands with excitement, scooped up a handful of water and poured it over the freshly cut surface of the stone, unveiling a pleasing new strip of green.

“The texture is fine and the green color is pure and unadulterated, although it’s not very transparent, it should undoubtedly be of the Hibiscus Kind,” commented Master Liu, the purchasing expert beside him, and an old hand at evaluating raw jadeite materials. Though only a strip of green had been exposed, Liu quickly determined the type and quality of the jadeite within the stone with just one glance.

The stone cutter straightened his back, unable to hide the wild joy on his face; he had only spent less than fifty thousand RMB on the stone, and the appearance of green meant an increase in its value—how could he not be thrilled?

Su Jinyuan narrowed his eyes and suddenly asked, “Boss, although this stone has shown green, what lies further inside remains unknown, and there’s still quite a bit of risk proceeding with the cutting. What if, like Boss Wu’s earlier piece, it’s just surface-level green? Then you’d be at a loss. Why not sell it straight away? I’ll offer you one hundred thousand, what do you think?”

Huo Sining jumped at the offer, startled. He looked at Su Jinyuan in astonishment. Su Jinyuan’s smile seemed casual, but a sharp light suddenly revealed his calculating gaze.

People in the crowd started to instigate.

“Cut it open, it must be of the Hibiscus Kind. If the whole thing is like this, the stone could sell for at least five hundred thousand. Take a gamble!”

“One hundred thousand isn’t little, just sell it. Don’t lose both your wife and your troops!”

“Make another cut to see if the green goes deep!”

“…”

The diverse opinions left the middle-aged man somewhat uncertain. Su Jinyuan’s offer of one hundred thousand was already quite high. If he didn’t sell now and ended up destroying the stone, he wouldn’t be able to recover his initial investment, just like Boss Wu’s piece, which had more promising green but still depreciated in the end, hadn’t it?

Yet, it was not easy for him to have a piece appreciate in value; if there was actually a large piece of jadeite inside, wouldn’t selling it now mean giving up the chance to get rich to someone else?