Chapter 405: Chapter 371: Stone Gambling
"How could such a straightforward guy like my junior brother take in a scheming disciple like you..." Dongguo Sun muttered as he walked.
Lin Miao laughed shamelessly.
As long as his face was thick enough, he’d take any advantage he could from his senior uncle without a second thought.
The Raw Stone Hall was much more lively than the Treasure Hall. It was bustling with people, and there was a raw stone auction scheduled before the final auction event.
It served as a warm-up for the final auction.
Gambling on stones could really stir emotions and enliven the atmosphere, which is why the raw stone auction was placed just before the final grand auction. Even the venue was the same.
The auction hadn’t started yet; the Raw Stone Hall was currently open for displaying and selling.
In the Raw Stone Hall, bargaining was allowed, which was the only difference from the other halls. The prices of the items displayed in the other halls tonight were fixed, unless you had VIP privileges for discounts, no bargaining was allowed.
But in the Raw Stone Hall, bargaining was possible. The price was based on the agreed transaction price between the parties, with no discounts even for VIPs.
Because there was an element of gambling involved, it was a process of mutual understanding and negotiation.
The old pit mines in Longchuan Canyon were almost exhausted long ago. Occasionally, a good piece came out, but they were extremely rare.
A new pit hadn’t been found yet.
Some people firmly believed there was one, but it just hadn’t been discovered. Anyway, every area where people could reach had been explored, except for places inhabited by beasts and some more isolated, rarely visited locations.
Yingfeng Valley was claimed by Lin Miao. Many wanted to cause trouble, but Lin Miao was strong, and he had ties with the embroidery village.
This made many give up their attempts.
Although Yingfeng Valley was on the edge of the old pit mine, there were no signs of jade veins. After clearing out the snakes, it was just a scenic, habitable place, whose value greatly decreased for some people.
A place fit only for building houses and enjoying the scenery didn’t hold much value.
If they knew the most precious treasure of Yingfeng Valley was the Zhu Fruit plant reaching deep underground towards an underground river, they might go crazy.
Tonight’s raw stones were carefully selected.
There were many stones, and their quality was not bad, to meet the reputation of tonight’s year-end auction. When Lin Miao and the others arrived, someone had hit a small jackpot, and not just one or two people.
In stone gambling, there were open-window and closed-window options.
The open-window stones were easy to understand. They had a small patch of the outer skin removed to reveal a bit of the jade inside. These stones had some material, but the size and quality of the material depended on personal judgment.
With closed-window stones, it was all up to one’s eye.
Both types of stone gambling were thrilling. Some got rich overnight while others lost everything with a single stone.
Lin Miao didn’t like stone gambling much, as gambling could be addictive. He wasn’t sure his willpower was strong enough, and it would be troublesome if he became addicted.
So, unless he was just playing around, he never thought of becoming rich through it. After all, those who venture out have to pay the price eventually.
However, this activity did make adrenaline levels soar.
So, when the blade fell, though it wasn’t a matter of life and death, it was almost like it.
Anyway, he followed Dongguo Sun.
This old guy had obviously scouted ahead. As soon as he entered, he headed straight to a counter, seemingly relieved to see that a stone he fancied hadn’t been bought yet.
The stone was priced at 800 taels of silver, with its full skin intact. Lin Miao didn’t really understand jade raw materials, nor could he see what was special about the stone Dongguo Sun had picked.
Anyway, he was ordered to pay for it right away.
Then Dongguo rushed eagerly to the stone-cutting area, paid the fee, and had the stone master cut it open for him.
The stone masters were skilled and professional. If ordinary people were to saw it, it would take forever.
The professionals easily split it open along the line you indicated.
"Wow, hibiscus variety, with excellent water content..."
The approximately seven or eight-pound stone instantly multiplied in value four to five times, astonishing the crowd. It was considered a small jackpot, with everyone enviously eyeing Dongguo Sun.
The old man’s luck was truly something!
Dongguo Sun smiled so widely his mouth nearly reached his ears and immediately put the stone up for sale. Eventually, he sold it to a jewelry merchant for 4,200 taels of silver.
With money in hand, Dongguo couldn’t wait to rush to the next one, seemingly having already set his sights.
Unfortunately, the next stone he was interested in had been bought, but he had more than one target and hurried to the next one.
This time, it was still there.
Upon cutting the stone, he didn’t hit a jackpot nor did he incur a loss, just made a small profit. Dongguo Sun now had 5,000 taels on him.
With 5,000 taels, he could now look at some medium-sized raw stones.
This time, he picked a 30-plus pound open-window stone, with a hint of yellow jade, between the golden autumn and soy sauce categories, priced at 5,500 taels.
If this type of jade and water content is present, five thousand five hundred taels is worth it, and might even result in a small profit. However, if it turns out differently, whether it’s profit or loss is unknown.
"Mr. Lin, may I borrow another five hundred taels?" Dongguo Sun hesitated for a moment, gritted his teeth, and said.
"We agreed on eight hundred taels before, now another five hundred taels; two hundred taels is lent to you, and you can repay me the principal later. I am lending you three hundred taels; the profit will be mine. If there’s no profit, just return the principal, and we’ll settle the books transaction by transaction?" Lin Miao said.
"Alright, no problem." To be honest, these terms are quite generous. Dongguo Sun agreed immediately.
He spent five thousand five hundred taels to buy the stone, then took it over to be cut.
Swipe.
The stone was opened.
It turned out to be a large piece of yellow jade, with a gold-autumn piece about the size of a fist in the middle. The surrounding jade flesh was somewhere between gold-autumn and soy sauce in color, but this stone’s value had definitely increased.
The gold-autumn yellow jade in the middle looked extremely noble, even making Lin Miao feel the urge to buy it.
It got him thinking about buying and cutting a few stones for fun. In this stimulating atmosphere, it was hard not to get carried away.
Dongguo Sun openly called for buyers because he was here to make money.
Eventually, the yellow jade raw stone was purchased by someone for as high a price as twenty-two thousand silver taels. This buyer wouldn’t lose money, either. If they went back and cut the raw stone, the gold-autumn yellow jade in the middle could make at least two bracelets, with each one selling for five to six thousand taels. The bracelet cores could be made into pendants, while the leftover material could be used for ring faces...
If all this material was utilized and labor costs included, there would be at least twenty to thirty percent profit.
Of course, there aren’t many buyers who can afford such precious stones, and the time cost is a bit high, but it’s definitely not a loss.
At five thousand five hundred taels, Lin Miao invested three hundred taels and earned one thousand two hundred taels—after repaying all the principal, Dongguo Sun should give Lin Miao two thousand five hundred taels of silver.
In other words, Lin Miao made nearly one hundred percent profit in such a short time.
Dongguo Sun wanted to repay the full two thousand five hundred taels to Lin Miao, but Lin Miao then said, "Think it over, the one thousand taels I lent you, you can repay me anytime you like; I’m not demanding your profit-sharing. If you repay me now and need to borrow again later, I’ll demand shared profits on the loan, which means if you win, I get a cut. If you lose, you’ll still need to repay the principal."
Hearing this, Dongguo Sun retracted the ten hundred-tael silver notes he had taken out. Clearly, repaying now would be a disadvantage for him; if he ran short of real money later and needed to borrow, winning would mean sharing more profits.
"You already have more than twenty thousand taels; is it enough?"
"Not enough, far from enough..." Dongguo Sun mumbled and continued searching for the next stone.
Lin Miao and Sun Youwei continued to follow Dongguo Sun, who soon selected a stone priced at eight thousand taels, only to find a small loss of three thousand taels after cutting it.
Gambling on stones is like this; there isn’t always a rise in value. Loss is the norm.
Throughout this journey, Lin Miao was observing and learning earnestly, listening to others’ various evaluations and analyses of stone selection.
He couldn’t help but feel an itch to try his hand at buying a stone himself.
It’s no fun just watching others buy them; wouldn’t it be a shame to leave empty-handed without trying once?
He wondered whether his internal energy, which could analyze the human condition, might also detect what’s inside a stone?
With a little attempt, he found it possible, but only about half an inch deep; any further, and it was impossible—stones have too high a density, even more than bones. His internal energy could only probe human blood vessels and organs. With bones, unless they have gaps, he couldn’t see inside.
But this was enough because different colored jade stones responded differently to his internal energy probing.
He sensed something akin to a certain energy—like perceiving his own internal organs, where kidneys align with water, represented by a black aura, while the stomach belongs to earth, with an earth-yellow aura.
Jade stones also have their aura; this is the legendary spirit of jade.
Different colors of jade reflect different aura colors, which is purely a matter of perception.
This way, he could use this to judge whether a raw stone had any worthwhile material. If this were true, his stone gambling would be a guaranteed win with no loss.
"Mr. Dongguo, please keep watching. We’ll go over there for a look. If you need to borrow money, come find us; we’re not leaving for now." Lin Miao, eager to verify his judgment, said.
"Alright." Dongguo Sun nodded, seemingly free to dominate the scene when Lin Miao left his side.
"Senior sister, let’s also buy a stone for fun. If it reveals some jade, we won’t sell it—perhaps we can make some jewelry and keep a memento?" Lin Miao proposed.
"Sure." Sun Youwei nodded, also caught up in the atmosphere of stone gambling, eager to try her hand at buying a stone herself.
"Let’s go for the kind that’s had a window opened; this way, it’s more certain. Even if it devaluates, the loss won’t be too severe." Lin Miao suggested.
"Senior sister, you choose. After all, it’s just for fun." Lin Miao handed the decision of stone selection over to Sun Youwei.
"Me?" Sun Youwei pointed at herself with surprise.
"Yes, you choose." Lin Miao nodded. After all, they all had a window open with a clear price, so buying at a loss wouldn’t be much of a loss.
Sun Youwei crouched down, looked here and there, and picked the biggest and cheapest one among seven or eight stones.
Seeing this scene, Lin Miao was a bit speechless. This was stone selection, not bread shopping—only looking for the biggest ones.
Lin Miao weighed it in his hand, probed with his internal energy, and actually found material inside; the aura was very rich. He couldn’t help but wonder if a newcomer’s luck is inherently good.
Lin Miao paid for it, took the stone, and held Sun Youwei’s hand as they headed to the stone-cutting area.
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