Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
A big taboo in the business of gambling on rocks was talking about someone else’s rock. Old Hua’s face dropped the moment Da Mao made that remark on his stone. “F*ck you, you son of a b*tch. Who are these louts you came with?”
Liu Zi did not admonish Da Mao this time. Instead, he stepped in front of the boy and slapped away the finger Old Hua was pointing towards the latter. “And who are you with? Get lost, we’re trying to make money and you’re in our way.”
Old Hua laughed coldly, “Oh dear, is Master Liu trying to make money by gambling on rocks? What’s going on today, why are you all so funny?”
Zhong Dapao held Liu Zi back before he could lunge at the man and said in a somber voice, “That’s enough. Don’t waste any more of our time. We’re looking to have our rock cut, and if you really think we’re not going to make it, then let’s make a bet. You down?”
Old Hua agreed without hesitation. “I might be scared of anything else but I’m never scared of gambling on rocks. How are we doing this?”
Zhong Dapao patted the rock in his arms. “This rock I have here, we spent 20 million on it. This time, the total value of the jade here will exceed a billion.”
Old Hua sneered, “And I’m supposed to take your word for it?”
Zhong Dapao pointed at the refund counter in the public market. “If we have the Longken public market evaluate this, will you take their word? You down for letting them take charge of this? If it’s below a billion, I’ll pay you a million. But if it’s above, you owe us as much.”
Old Hua said contemptuously, “Alright, but do you even have that much? You guys from the Chinese Village can’t pool together a million even if you all sell your kidneys.”
Li Du flipped over the credit card in his hand and said, “I think 10 million would work better.”
Zhong Dapao shook his head. “No. This guy is all talk and no smack. He doesn’t have much. He won’t be able to fork out all that money. Honestly, a million is his limit.”
Old Hua prickled at that remark, but he did not let his anger guide his actions. He retorted, “It sounds to me like you can afford to fork out 10 million. Let’s do this then.”
The people who had gathered around to watch became excited and egged him on “That’s it, let’s do this!””A million isn’t much, come on!””What’s gotten into Old Pao this time? A rock worth billions? Has he gone mad?”
Betting on rocks was still a form of gambling, which made the public market something of a casino. Someone came over to host that round, going as far as to take bets from the crowd. Odds for Old Hua were 1.5 to 1, and 5 to 1 for Zhong Dapao. Judging purely from the odds, it was very clear that the public market had no confidence in Zhong Dapao.
Li Du then asked, “Can I place my bets even though I’m directly involved in this?”
The host smiled. “Sure, sir.”
Li Du poked Zhong Dapao’s arm with his credit card. “I’ll bet ten million.”
The host was shocked, but he assessed the situation carefully. “I don’t think I’ve seen you around before. Where are you from? I’m sorry to say this, but we gamble small, so we don’t take bets as big as the one you just offered. We cap at a hundred thousand.”
Li Du called his bodyguards in. “All of us will pool in then, a hundred thousand per person.”
The host smiled, “You must be very confident, Sir.”
The crowd placed their bets accordingly. Save for the few who placed their bets on Zhong Dapao because they were envious of him, the majority had their bets on Old Hua. “It’d be good to earn some to spend on girls.”
“You’re betting on Master Pao? That’s real gutsy of you. I’ve known him for a whole decade and he’s never once earned off betting rocks.”
“But what if he wins this time? It’s a billion dollars, how many times will the public market see such a number? Besides, this rock is still loose. What is he, a gambling god? Doesn’t he know there’s a 90% chance he’ll lose?”
Li Du asked Zhong Dapao, “What did you guys get up to before? Why do you have such a bad rep?”
Da Mao thought carefully before his face lit up in understanding. “Wait, are you guys Dumb Pao and Foul Hand Liu?”
When they heard the monikers, the two looked ashamed and angry. “Shut it!””What did you just say?!”
Li Du pushed forward the first Aung Bar Lay rock they bought and said, “Cut it. Also, what was it that you were saying about Dumb Pao and Foul Hand Liu?”
Da Mao chuckled quietly and said, “These two were really famous losers in Hpakant, so famous that I knew of them even from Ruili. Master Pao and Master Liu made losses from every rock they bought, so they called Master Pao ‘Dumb Pao’ and Master Liu ‘Foul Hand Liu’. You understand why, right?”
Li Du knew Zhong Dapao and Liu Zi had lost before, but he had no idea it was this bad. They had such a bad hand that it was almost unbelievable.
The rock Li Du pushed forward was huge, so it had to be cut directly. The polishing master asked, “Where should I start cutting?”
Li Du wanted to test Da Mao’s abilities, so he nodded at the teen and said, “You decide.”
Da Mao took out a marker pen and carefully drew a single line on the surface of the rock. “Start from here.”
Li Du nodded in approval. This boy was a bona fide talent; he was made of the real stuff. Should he decide to set up shop here, he absolutely had to have the boy with him. The line that Da Mao drew ensured that the cut would be right by where the jade was. That was to say, the polishing master would be cutting right along the jade, ensuring that the jade and its value would remain intact as far as was possible.
The cutting machine whirred to life. As the blade cut into the rock, dust sprayed everywhere like a white rainbow. Slowly, the rock was cut open. Somebody immediately went forward to rinse off the dust. After that, the polishing master’s eyes gleamed. “Hey, there’s shine and green. It’s a win!”
Zhong Dapao and Liu Zi were cheering, which Da Mao regarded coolly. He said in a bland voice, “Yep, just as I expected, it’s translucent and moist, just on the right side of clearness. This is an ice-grade jade!”
There were many factors influencing the value of a piece of jade, but the main one was transparency: it was good as long as the jade was sufficiently transparent. Glass-grade jade and ice-grade jade gained their name because they were as clear as glass or ice respectively. Generally speaking, glass-grade jade was more transparent than ice-grade grade and, naturally, the former was also of a higher quality than the latter. However, ice-grade jade was still of outstanding quality. As long as there were no cracks or cotton, it could fetch a high price, too.
Da Mao took on the role of a commander. He took out his LED flashlight to inspect the exposed jade before signaling for the polishing master to continue his work. They could not continue cutting any further. There were some areas they had to grind off instead, and others they had to polish. They could not afford to be careless.
The crowd was absolutely stunned. A large number of people exclaimed in shock, “F*ck, am I seeing things right? Master Pao and Master Liu actually got green out of their rock?”
“An ice-grade from Aung Bar Lay? How’d they get so d*mn lucky?”
“Don’t stress, these rocks aren’t worth much, a mere million at most! What’s he gonna use to hit the billion-dollar mark, his life?”
Da Mao turned and chuckled humorlessly, “‘A mere million at most’? You really know nothing!”
As they pulled off the top layer, a perfect, huge block of ice-grade jade appeared. Everyone present knew their stuff and froze at the sight of the block. “F*ck, that’s a huge block. It’s easily worth more than a million.”
Da Mao declared proudly, “I know you all believe the rocks from Aung Bar Lay rarely produce good jade, especially with the whole issue of erosion which has led to a worsening in the quality of the rocks. Naturally, you would avoid picking rocks from Aung Bar Lay.”
“However, that is a lie. Aung Bar Lay rocks do sometimes yield ice-grade and glass-grade jade as well, and some even produce Imperial Green jade. Someone spread the rumor that Aung Bar Lay produce bad material because they wanted to monopolize it!”
