Chapter 1495: Stone cutting
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
It had nothing to do with Li Du, so he stood aside quietly and passively.
Lu Dayou no longer had the heroic attitude he had displayed just now. He turned his head to the young man and smiled. “Xiao Liao, Brother Xiao Liao, be steady. Can you take the needle back a little? This is no joke.”
Xiao Liao stared at him furiously. “Is it a joke that you stole my money? Damn you, that was my marriage money, meant to pay for the betrothal gift and the house.”
Although his words were harsh, the young man, after all, was not as cruel as Master Dao. He carefully retreated his hands a little and took the needle away from Lu Dayou’s neck.
Lu Dayou smiled gratefully and said to Master Dao, “No need to look so carefully, Master Dao. These stones are from the finest of Damakan, and their quality…”
Master Dao ignored him. He looked at the pieces carefully one by one, and then he raised his head and said to Xiao Liao, “These stones are now ours. This will go towards repaying some of your debt.”
Hearing this, Lu Dayou struggled and cried, “No, damn it, Master Dao, you are not being fair! These stones are worth millions, and I only took half a million. You can’t take them all!”
Master Dao sneered. “Millions? Go to hell with your millions. These are only worth six or seven hundred thousand dollars. Do you take me for a fool?”
“Alright, six or seven hundred thousand. But there are also the ten thousand you have in your hand. Therefore, I owe you four hundred thousand. Why the hell do you…Damn!”
Saying this, he elbowed Xiao Liao in the ribs. Xiao Liao was unable to react and let go of his hand. Lu Dayou pushed him aside and tried to grab the stones.
However, Master Dao was guarding him all the time. He looked thin, but with his speed and explosive power, he was like a hungry wolf.
Master Dao quickly snatched away the six stones and stretched his hands to grab Lu Dayou.
Lu Dayou knew his adversary. He was scared and his facial expression changed. Leaving the stones, he ran, and while running he shouted, “Damn you, Master Dao. F**k! You wait, I’ll make you give back what you took from me!”
He ran very fast, and after he went out, he got on a motorcycle and sped off.
Xiao Liao took off and ran after him. After reaching the teahouse door, he came back helplessly and said, “Damn, the old fox runs really fast.”
Master Dao sneered and said, “The fox can run, but his nest stays. Since the stones are here, let him run. We will keep this.”
Xiao Liao was worried and asked, “Will he go to the police?”
Master Dao sneered. “He would not dare to do so. If this old fraud reports to the police, they will take him first. Besides, there are military police units outside. They can shoot him and end the whole business.”
As he spoke, he poured tea for himself and Xiao Liao.
He took a sip of tea and smiled. “This tea is not bad. The authentic Xihu Longjing. This bastard Lu Dayou could pay a high price to set up a fraud.”
Xiao Liao had no mood to drink tea. He looked at Li Du, then at Master Dao, and said in despair, “Master Dao, we only recovered around 100,000, while we lost more than a million.”
Master Dao tapped the stones on the table and said, “Who told you that? If these stones are of good quality, we could easily sell them for a million, maybe even more.”
Xiao Liao shook his head and said, “I don’t trust those stone anymore. Master Dao, you know this. I swore I would not put my trust in jade any longer.”
“You are too despondent.” Master Dao rolled his eyes and turned around to look at Li Du. “Little brother, did you come here to buy jade too?”
Li Du smiled and said, “I’m just looking around.”
Xiao Liao said with a gloomy face, “I only came here to take a look in the beginning too. Damn, I was duped. You are lucky that you met Master Dao. They wanted to scam you.”
Li Du stretched his hand to Master Dao and said, “Thanks, Master Dao. Let me buy you a cup of tea.”
Master Dao smiled playfully and said, “Hey, you’re interesting. Are you not afraid of the HIV virus in my body?”
Li Du said with a smile, “With your agility, you look far too healthy for someone who has HIV. Moreover, the virus cannot be spread through shaking hands, so why should I be afraid?”
Listening to his words, Master Dao tapped the table, laughed and said, “Good, boy, you are nice. I was not mistaken in you. Come, let’s drink up!”
Both of them drank tea. Godanwei, who was standing some way off until now, approached and asked Xiao Liao, “How did you fall for this trap?”
Xiao Liao sighed and said, “Well, it goes like this. Lu Dayou made money by selling me a stone. After getting close to him, Malanian took me to his house to look at the stone. Lu Dayou took advantage of my trust in him and set a trap together with that bastard Malanian. Damn, I was dumb.”
He was on the verge of tears.
Master Dao said to Li Du, “Brother Su… Is that right?”
Li Du smiled and said, “That’s right.”
Master Dao said, “Aren’t you curious about the stone you bought? You paid a hundred thousand for it, and that’s not cheap. Open it and see if you gained or lost.”‘
Before Li Du could answer, he waved to the owner of the teahouse and said, “Santa, I’d like to borrow your cutting machine.”
The landlord said in awkward Chinese, “Alright.”
He picked up the stones and took Li Du farther into the teahouse, where the owners kept a small stone-cutting mill.
Nearly every family-owned shop in Hpakant had a similar stone mill. Sometimes they would operate a stone-cutting business, but generally, they would let the customer do it himself because grinding stone was technical work and didn’t pay much.
There were three steps to opening a piece of raw jade ore, namely rub, cut, and grind. Just as the name implied, rubbing meant using a grinder to dispose of the outer layer, cutting meant slicing it open with a sharp blade, and grinding referred to initial, rough polishing.
What Li Du was doing now was the most exciting moment of the stone bet. He was going to open the stone to see if it had any jade inside.
Seeing people at the stone mill, many came over to take a look, crowding the teahouse and blocking the kitchen pathway that was not big to begin with.
Master Dao looked at him sideways and asked, “Do you believe in Master Dao? If you do, I’ll cut it open.”
Li Du handed the stone to him and said, “Master Dao’s hands are as agile as panthers. Of course, I trust you.”
Master Dao laughed. “I am starting to like you more and more. How do you want it to be done? Tell me.”
Xiao Liao urged, “Cut it, Master Dao. Give it a good swift cut. Cutting the stone open would show its quality at once.”
Master Dao stared at him. “Go aside, this is none of your business now.”
Li Du said, “Do as you wish, I don’t know much about this.”
Master Dao hummed in a deep voice and said, “This is a moderate-sized piece of ore from a nest in Damakan. If there is jade in it, and if you are lucky, it is a big piece. Let’s grind the outer layer so that the jade inside won’t be damaged.”
Hearing the confidence in Master Dao’s voice, Li Du nodded.
Master Dao spat on his hands, rubbed his palms and started the grinder.
He was a master of this, and as the fist-sized stones rolled slowly and steadily in his hands, the stone powder flew like snow.
