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墨書 Inktalez
"Thank you for the reminder!" Although Bai Tang was just playing around and didn't intend to make money through gambling on stones, she still sincerely appreciated the kind reminder from others. Zhang Feng, although he always wore a false smile in front of outsiders, was very sincere towards those he recognized. Bai Tang felt grateful for Zhang Feng's sincerity, which is why she charged him so little when giving him antiques.
Zhang Feng smiled as the two of them looked over at the stone in Jiang Zhengze's hands.
Jiang Zhengze made a cut, and the surface was dull and gray, revealing nothing.
"One cut makes you poor, another makes you rich. This cut yielded nothing, but the next one might. There's also a chance that you might never cut into the jade flesh, and then it would all be over," Zhang Feng said as Jiang Zhengze made his second cut.
"It's rising, it's rising." Cheers erupted from the crowd. Following their gaze, they could see wisps of white mist appearing on the surface of the raw stone, with a hint of green visible inside.
"Good omen! Old Jiang's shop will definitely have booming business these days," Zhang Feng observed closely. "It's a bean green type; it could be worth fifty to sixty thousand."
Bai Tang didn't know much about jadeite but understood that bean green was one of the least valuable types. The term "type" refers to the overall color and transparency of jadeite and can also indicate its structural fineness and clarity. The type is an important marker for evaluating jadeite quality, as significant as color; hence there is a saying: "Outsiders look at color, insiders look at type." When selecting jadeite, there's a saying: "Don't fear lack of color; fear lack of type." It's not that color isn't important; rather, jadeite that is only green can feel dry and lacks a certain spirit. Therefore, jadeite with good type not only makes lighter-colored jadeite appear warm and translucent but also enhances the uniformity and richness of green jadeite, making it clear and full of Qi. Bean green is the largest category of jadeite, with "nine out of ten being bean green." This type has a coarser texture with visible granular structure to the naked eye and lower transparency, classifying it as mid to low-grade jade. Jadeite is a polycrystalline material; if the crystals that make up the jadeite are coarse—such as larger than one millimeter—they can easily be seen by the naked eye. Coarse jade crystals are mostly short columnar shapes; when these short columnar crystals have clear boundaries, they resemble grains of mung beans, hence the name "bean type."
The onlookers began bidding, and eventually, this piece of jadeite sold for fifty-five thousand yuan. The seller happily paid five thousand yuan to the boss without needing change; Boss Jiang naturally accepted it with a smile and cheerfully sent off the seller. Seeing that there was no more excitement to watch, most of the crowd dispersed while some rushed into the pile of raw stones in search of similar luck as the seller had. The boss smiled with his eyes squinted into slits, deciding to wait until later to offer three incense sticks to the God of Wealth in gratitude for his blessings.
"Old Jiang!" Zhang Feng called out quickly as he saw the boss about to enter his shop.
Jiang Zhengze turned around and saw Zhang Feng; his smile grew more sincere: "Old Zhang, what brings you here? Aren't you busy with your antiques?"
Zhang Feng led Bai Tang forward: "This friend of mine has never gambled on stones before; I brought her here to experience it."
Having known Zhang Feng for over ten years, Jiang Zhengze understood that anyone whom he sincerely referred to as a friend must be worth getting to know. Therefore, even though Bai Tang appeared young and was a woman, Jiang Zhengze did not look down on her and extended his right hand earnestly and kindly.
"Do you know how to choose stones, miss? Would you like me to help you?"
"I don't," Bai Tang honestly shook her head. "But I'm just here for fun; mainly trying my luck, so there's no need to trouble Boss Jiang."
"That's fine; choose for yourself!" Jiang Zhengze led Bai Tang to where the raw stones were piled up and let her do as she pleased while he chatted with Zhang Feng nearby. "Once you've made your choice, I'll help you cut it for free."
"Thank you very much," Bai Tang accepted Jiang Zhengze's kindness.
Regarding gambling stones, Bai Tang had no understanding at all. Although she had read several books about gambling stones and seen the basic knowledge on how to select stones, she only knew it theoretically. In practice, Bai Tang was completely clueless. She glanced at the rough materials on the ground, feeling lost; she couldn't tell any differences and certainly couldn't identify which piece contained jade.
"Old Zhang, your friend knows nothing!" Jiang Zhengze's conversation with Zhang Feng reached Bai Tang's ears, although it was quite loud.
"Hehe, anyway, Bai Tang is just playing around."
"This girl doesn't seem like a rich person?"
"Don't judge a book by its cover; this girl is low-key. She just made a deal with me that earned enough money to buy five stores like yours."
"Really can't tell!"
"This girl's background is not simple; getting close to her will benefit you."
"Should I choose two good raw stones to give her?"
"Wait until she hasn't opened any jade before you give them."
"Do you think she can pick out any stones with jade?"
"Hehe."
The two watched Bai Tang's reaction, seeing her as a novice who couldn't even compare to a beginner. If she could really find raw stones that contained jade, it would definitely mean she had some sort of cheating system. However, they didn't know that their casual remarks had actually guessed the truth. Since Bai Tang couldn't tell which piece contained jade, she activated her external system. Hehe, don't underestimate it; the Identification Technique was indeed useful. The waste stone and the valuable ones were clearly visible to Bai Tang.
Out of the corner of her eye, she glanced at the smiling Zhang Feng and Jiang Zhengze, smiled back, and selected three stones.
"Boss Jiang, these three stones; help me open them!"
"Not going to pick a few more?" Jiang Zhengze subtly glanced at the three stones, which were unremarkable. He couldn't help but shake his head secretly; such stones wouldn't yield jade at all—there wouldn't even be any White Cotton.
"No need, just these three! If they don't yield anything, I'll only lose a few thousand." Bai Tang chuckled inwardly; was she really bringing the plot into reality?
"Alright, I'll open it for you right away. Which one should I start with?" Jiang Zhengze asked.
"This one!" Bai Tang pointed at a stone the size of a watermelon, having arranged the stones in order of size.
Seeing that someone was about to open a stone, the crowd gathered around again, all eyes wide as they stared at the Jade Disintegration Machine operated by Jiang Zhengze's assistant. One cut, nothing; two cuts, still nothing... Just when everyone thought the gamble had failed, a hint of green appeared before their eyes.
"It's green!" The crowd cheered.
Jiang Zhengze was surprised as he rinsed the broken piece with clean water, watching the vibrant green on the cut surface. He realized he had misjudged this time; this was Glass Clock!
"One hundred thousand!"
"One hundred ten thousand!"
Bids were already being called out. Jiang Zhengze asked Bai Tang, "Should I keep going?"
"Open them all," Bai Tang replied with a smile.
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