Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Listening to their conversation, a passerby laughed. “If you can sell it for three or four hundred thousand, then sell it. The shops might not buy those stones of yours. If you mill it, it would be better. As of now, they are all only stones. They have tons of stones in their shops. Why would they buy yours?”
Master Dao laughed and waved his hands. “Come over for a look, friend, and then tell us how much it’s worth.”
He pushed the stone forward and when the man looked at it, his face changed. “Wow, natural green?”
Natural Green Stones were a category of their own. That meant to say that one could see the shade of green from its exterior. Such stones would definitely have jade within. However, the top and bottom of the jade were hard to predict. Hence, the price of those stones could not be confirmed in advance.
In stone gambling, Natural Green Stones were the most popular and most expensive. That piece of stone weighed around two kilograms. It would be able to fetch a few hundred thousand.
Xiao Liao licked his lips and looked like he was struggling to make a decision.
In the end, he looked at Li Du with his fist clenched. “Brother Su, how about this? I won’t let the stone shops outside stand to profit. Four hundred thousand. All six stones. How about that?”
“Brother Su, the stone in your hand is from the same source as these. The Damakan source is famous in the entire Hpakant. Typically, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. They would at least be somewhat similar, wouldn’t they? Do you dare to give it a gamble?”
Li Du frowned and said, “Four hundred thousand for six stones?”
Xiao Liao said, “That’s right. Much cheaper than those you paid for just now, right? But I have a condition. If after milling the total value exceeds one million, you will have to split half of the excess with me. If it is less than one million, I don’t want another cent.”
Godanwei smiled coldly. “That’s a guaranteed gain. A good deal for you!”
Xiao Liao said forcefully, “Don’t say that I’m greedy. I think this is very fair. Otherwise, I will sell them to the shops, and that won’t be just four hundred thousand!”
Li Du folded his arms and thought about it. He said, “Let me do some calculations.”
After a while, his phone rang. Li Du picked up and said, “I can’t talk now. We’ll talk later.”
After hanging up, he thought about it again. Finally, he patted the table and said, “Alright, I will buy them for four hundred thousand.”
Xiao Liao looked ecstatic. Master Dao, too, smiled. He said, “Now at least you can recoup some of your loss.”
Li Du pulled out some US notes from his bag. After counting out six piles, he passed them to Xiao Liao and said, “Count them.”
Xiao Liao looked at his wallet and then said, “No need, no need. I can trust you, Brother Su, can’t I?”
Master Dao said, “In that case…”
Li Du said, “You help me to process them. I feel that today is my lucky day. There will be jade in these stones.”
Master Dao rubbed his hands and said, “All of them?”
Li Du picked the smallest one and passed it to him. “First start with this piece.”
Master Dao laughed to himself. “Today, I’ve become a professional miller. Young Su, let me tell you, my skills are quite valuable. In the future, if you want me to mill, you’ll have to pay.”
Li Du laughed. “Don’t worry. If the stones turn out green, I won’t forget about you.”
They brought the stones to the back of the place. A bunch of people followed in to take a look. Xiao Liao and Godanwei, too, squeezed in to watch.
The machine started working again and grit came off the stone. Master Dao wore a casual look on his face, but after he wiped off the surface of the stone, someone by the side shouted, “Hey, it’s turning yellow, it’s turning yellow again!”
Master Dao was stunned. He brought out the stone and washed it with water. Indeed, a piece of glowing yellow appeared.
As the top of the stone was revealed, the people watching nodded and called, “That’s possible, it is. The top of this stone can be worth at least one hundred thousand.”
Master Dao wanted to continue polishing it. However, Li Du pocketed it and brought out another piece of stone to pass to him. Li Du said, “No hurry, look at this first. I have a feeling that this piece is even better.”
Master Dao continued to grind. This time, much of the stone surface was removed. Almost half the stone was polished by now. However, this time around, the color that came out was even better. It was jade-green!
The onlookers held their breath. “This dude’s luck is too good. This stone would cost at least two to three hundred thousand!”
Li Du grinned and kept that stone. He said to Xiao Liao, “Brother, thank you.”
Xiao Liao looked at the piece of stone in his hand and then at Master Dao.
“All from Damakan. This little dude is in for a profit.”
“He bought it for four hundred thousand? Oh, don’t these stones add up to 1.4 million?”
“More than that. That piece just now is green. D*mn, if the bottom is the same color as the top, it can even fetch 2.4 million. That color is beautiful!”
Hearing the commotion, Xiao Liao gritted his teeth and held Li Du back. He said, “Brother Su, can I talk to you? Come over, please.”
“What’s up?”
Xiao Liao looked pleadingly at him, “Brother Su, you saw how the scammer took my money. Now I cannot even get half of it back. I can’t go back to face my parents and my fiance. Can you take pity me and resell those stones to me?”
“Resell them to you?” Li Du asked, surprised. “Didn’t you just sell them to me?”
Xiao Liao said, “Yes, yes. I sold them to you. However, I’m regretting it now. I want to buy them back.”
Li Du laughed coldly and was about to say something when Xiao Liao’s knees fell to the ground. As he groveled, he looked to be on the verge of crying. He said, “I know this is unethical. But Brother Su, I don’t have a choice. This is the only chance I have to turn things around. Otherwise, how can I go home? This money is what my parents worked for. It’s also money that they borrowed from their colleagues to help fund my wedding…”
Seeing that, Li Du immediately helped him up and said, “Get up first and we’ll talk.”
Xiao Liao said as tears welled up in his eyes, “Brother Su, if you don’t take pity on me, I won’t get up. I can’t go home empty-handed.”
Li Du’s face changed. He gritted his teeth and said, “How much will you pay for them? I definitely won’t accept four hundred thousand!”
“Six hundred thousand,” Xiao Liao said in anticipation. “I will offer six hundred thousand. Now I have five hundred thousand. I will go home for the remaining one hundred thousand. Then I will pay it all to you.”
Li Du frowned, “Six hundred thousand? Just these two stones are already worth six hundred thousand.”
Xiao Liao started to cry, “Brother, take pity on me, take pity on me. I beg you. Otherwise, my entire family is doomed.”
Master Dao walked over and said, “Brother Su. We are all from the same place. If you are keen to help Xiao Liao, I will help him too. I have two hundred thousand. I will lend the money to him. He will buy those stones for eight hundred thousand.”
Someone behind them heard their conversation and mocked them. “Ha, shameless. His stones are worth more than that. You guys want to get it all for eight hundred thousand?”
Li Du looked serious as he considered. Finally, he sighed and brought out the bag. He said, “Eight hundred thousand. After all, I made a profit too. Alright, I’ll just consider it as a good deed.”
Xiao Liao instantly looked happy. It seemed he was ready to bow and scrape before Li Du.
Li Du helped him up and Xiao Liao handed over the stacks of dollars he just received. Then, he passed Master Dao an ATM card. There was a bank in the small town. Master Dao returned soon, with a bag in his hand.
When the bag was opened, there were red RMB notes stacked neatly inside. Li Du checked that there was no problem with the money, and after taking the bag, he passed the stones over.
Just like that, they were all happy!
