Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
After the first rock was cut, they brought forward the Aung Bar Lay rocks they bought in an unending stream, and there were a lot of them. With every cut rock, the crowd broke out into scattered discussions.
“Son of a b*tch, hints of blue in the jade on top of it being an ice-grade? Oh my, this a good rock, look at how cleanly the outer layer comes off the jade. When was the last time we saw a rock this good?”
“The only flaw is that it’s a little small, but even so, it could likely still sell for about eight million!”
“My God, it’s another ice-grade. This one’s not as blue, but it glows under the light. This is a good one… is it also from Aung Bar Lay?”
“Why are there so many good rocks from Aung Bar Lay here in Longken? Does anyone know where they came from? Tell us, Master Pao, let us in on the good deal!”
The crowd was no longer interested in being mere spectators. They were glaring jealously at Zhong Dapao; some were already on their phones asking for information on Aung Bar Lay rocks.
Da Mao said gleefully, “Aung Bar Lay has always had good rocks, you guys were just tricked into not buying from there. There’s an Aung Bar Lay stall outside, just walk north all the way to the end. It’s easy to spot an Aung Bar Lay rock: they have rough but thin shells and are covered in sand and mud.”
Liu Zi could not stop himself from elbowing the teen. “Are you stupid? Why are you telling them that?”
A few middle-aged people rushed out after hearing what Da Mao said.
Da Mao mumbled, “Why not? It’s not like this is some kind of secret. Besides, I’ve got to help a fellow townsman with business.”
Liu Zi sneered, “You’re still going on about that? Who are you, friggin’ Mother Theresa? You treat him like a fellow townsman, but do you think he treats you the same? Look at how much he gave you in that red packet just now. Would a fellow townsman be so stingy?”
Da Mao giggled cheerfully. “Nah, it’s fine! We’re still from the same town, and that’s almost like family. Besides, he bought me quite a bit of food when I was hungry at that time.”
Li Du kept mum and listened to their conversation. He approved of Da Mao. The boy had a good eye; he bore no grudges and made sure to repay his debts. He was as rare a find as a big chunk of glass-grade jade.
After their rocks from Aung Bar Lay were cut, It turned out that almost half of them contained jade. The odds were high enough for the buzzing crowd to sigh and stir with ambition.
After the last Aung Bar Lay rock was cut, Old Hua could not believe his eyes. “How is this possible?! How could the rocks from Aung Bar Lay bear so much good-quality jade? This is impossible, the statistics don’t support it! It is not scientific!”
“You’re talking about science here? When we’re gambling on rocks?” Zhong Dapao retorted disdainfully. “Old Hua, have you gone senile?”
Li Du chortled, “He’s right, actually. There’s a science to picking rocks. The thing is, what does he know about science? I don’t think he’s ever been to school.”
Li Du and Zhong Dapao delivered blow after blow in perfect coordination, their words wearing Old Hua down. He bit back firmly, “Watch yourselves! It’s just a few green pieces, so what of it?! What about the billion-dollar goal? You’re still far from hitting that!”
Liu Zi hauled a 45kg mountain rock up onto the counter and said, “Cut this open, just a little. Let me tell you, Old Hua, just pay up without pulling any tricks. We’ll win for sure this time!”
“You really believe the rock is worth a billion?” Old Hua bickered. “You guys got lucky with the few Aung Bar Lay rocks, but you don’t have any more of those, so we’ll see if you have any jade left!”
The others agreed with him. “That’s right. You were lucky to have found the few Aung Bar Lay rocks you have, but the other rocks won’t have the same odds of yielding jade, right?”
“This was really something else. There’s supposed to be a 90% chance of failure, but one in every two rocks had top-quality jade?”
“Calm down, everyone, it’d be weirder if every single one of the rocks had green jade. That’s impossible, no one could possibly achieve that!”
Amidst the sea of discussion, the blade sliced off a layer from the rock. The polishing master rinsed the rock with water and it became evident that there were no visible traces of jade after the first cut.
Da Mao drew another line, which the polishing master followed as he cut. Like before, there were no traces of green or water, which meant to say that there were no traces of jade in the rock.
They made four successive cuts, which reduced the size of the rock by a quarter, but there were still no traces of jade. Zhong Dapao and Liu Zi tensed up. “This rock isn’t bad. The python stripe on it is so big… this isn’t just python skin, is it?”
Da Mao hesitated, and Li Du chuckled as he took the pen from the teen. He drew another line on the rock. “Master, cut from here, please.”
The cut would split the rock into two, which people in the industry frequently referred to as ‘cutting the big dragon’. It was a very risky cut to make.
The polishing master looked towards Zhong Dapao, who nodded as he said, “What this young master says goes.”
The hum of the cutting blade sounded out and the stone was swiftly sliced into two. A rich green sheen emerged.
At the sight of it, the polishing master exclaimed, “Hey, this foggy color is dense but even. Not bad, not bad at all!”
The surrounding people were stunned. “No way, again? Is this for real? How can this be?”
They had a saying in the casino: bet ten times and lose nine. There was a similar saying in the business of gambling on rocks. Cut ten times and make a loss nine times. Generally speaking, if one cut ten rocks, it was considered lucky if even one of them had jade in it.
Old Hua kept up his calm appearance and said, “No rush, this is just a fog. What’s the big deal? You guys are making such a fuss out of this it’s hilarious.”
The polishing master continued to cut. Under the foggy layer, a pale but clear green emerged. At this, Old Hua’s mouth fell open.
The crowd had a similar reaction. “No way, jade again?!”
Zhong Dapao and Liu Zi were over the moon. The former kicked the latter and howled, “We’re rich! We’re rich!”
Liu Zi kicked Da Mao in a friendly manner. “Not bad at all, punk! However, not as good as young master Li. Young Master Li, you’re awesome. You have my respect!”
Li Du laughed quietly, and said, “Keep cutting.”
Zhong Dapao nodded vigorously. “Yes, keep cutting!”
Aung Bar Lay rocks had the highest odds of containing jade, so it was almost a one in two chance. The subsequent rates of green appearing in the rocks dipped slightly; on some occasions, they made losses off four or five rocks in succession. However, they had many rocks. They were there cutting from midnight until dawn, and they would not be done until long after the sun has risen!
Aside from the numerous rocks that were broken into pieces, the rest were yellow, green, or pale blue jade. The people in the public market who had initially been waiting to have their rocks cut were now all crowded around here. This was a rare sight, a first for a number of people, so they could only stare in wonder.
The last rock was cut. Its value fell because there was no jade in it, but nobody minded. Their gaze shifted to the gemologist from the public market who would set the price of the stones.
The three gemologists looked at piece after piece of the jade before they huddled round to discuss. Then, they handed a piece of paper over to Zhong Dapao — the initial pricing list.
After calculating the total value of each rock, Zhong Dapao laughed uproariously. “F*ck me. A billion and 45 million, in RMB no less! Old Hua, pay up!”
