King of Gamblers: Growing from a Student to a Jade King

Chapter 35: Reach Out

Regarding Boss Wei's kindness, I can only say, "Thank you, Boss Wei, let's talk about it later."

Boss Wei listened, nodded, and didn't say much. I admire Boss Wei even more for this. He is neither arrogant nor impatient, doesn't push for more than necessary, knows when to stop, and leaves a good impression without being overly greasy. It's no wonder such a person makes money.

I picked for a while; there were many styles of stones, each from different places—black sand skin, yellow sand skin, white salt sand. It was dazzling, but I couldn't calm my mind, so I wasn't in the mood to look at the stones.

Moreover, I was still thinking about whether to help Fat Pig Zhu pick a bad stone, so that he would lose the bet. If he loses, maybe he won't let me follow him anymore. However, losing a million at once, I estimate that after losing, I won't have these hands anymore, so I must win the bet.

But I feel very anxious inside, not knowing what to do. I know it's because I lack experience and panic when things happen, but this can't be rushed. I haven't experienced it, so naturally, I will be scared...

At this moment, Boss Wei walked over, pulling a cart with a few stones on it. He said, "Brother Zhao Fei, take a look at these stones and see if any of them catch your eye."

I am very grateful in my heart. I know Boss Wei is helping me. He can see that I am anxious and knows I have no intention of gambling on stones. If I lose the gamble, there will definitely be no good outcome.

I gave him a grateful look and then squatted down. I looked at the stones on the cart—three pieces. One large piece, nearly a meter tall and half a foot wide, was a conical piece with a white sandy skin, weighing around a hundred pounds. There were also two smaller pieces, one with a black skin, only the size of a fist, and the other also fist-sized but with a yellow sandy skin.

At first glance, I had a good impression of this yellow sand skin material because it looked refreshing, the skin was tight, and the granules felt full. I picked it up and weighed it; it was almost four kilograms, very heavy. The material wasn't large, but it was very heavy, which indicates that the internal water quality is good and the texture is full.

I looked at Boss Wei and asked, "How much is this piece of material?"

Boss Wei stood up, but instead of looking at me, he looked at Fat Pig Zhu and said, "Boss Zhang, this material is not bad, it's from the public market. I bought it for 150,000 euros, and after taxes, it's 350,000 euros. I'm not making any profit off you, we're friends. Just give me the cost price, and I'll sell it to you for 350,000 euros."

Fat Pig Zhu smiled and ignored Boss Wei, instead asking me, "How's this material? Is there a chance to gamble? What's the winning probability?"

I looked at the material and said, "This is yellow sand skin material, it has a very good texture. Turning it over, you can see the gray-black color, which is in patches. This should be material from Nanchi. The stones produced in Nanchi include yellow sand skin, yellow-red sand skin, and gray-black sand stones. This raw stone is a classic third-layer gray-black sand skin shell, but it might be between the second and third layers, so there's a bit of yellow skin

Fat Pig Zhu waved his hand, a bit impatiently, and said, "You don't need to tell me these things. Just tell me if this piece can win the gamble and how much it can win."

I looked at Fat Pig Zhu; he and Qian Guang share a common trait—they only care about the outcome, not the process. But that process is the most thrilling and exciting part.

I said, "Nanqi's materials are very good. I haven't seen many raw stones from Nanqi, but all the Nanqi raw stones I've seen have a common characteristic: the texture is exceptionally clear and clean, giving a feeling of the blue sea and sky. This piece can produce two pairs of bangles. If it were a full material of ice type with blue floating, it could earn at least two million."

Fat Pig Zhu listened and stroked his chin, saying, "Three hundred thousand to bet two million, that's fine, but Brother Zhao Fei, I like to win, not lose. Someone cheated me at the gambling table before, won a hundred thousand from me, and I caught him. Guess what? I chopped off one of his hands. That hundred thousand was worth a hand, right? So I bet..."

Fat Pig Zhu's words made me a bit scared. Chopping off a hand for a hundred thousand yuan? He's trying to tell me that if I lose the bet, I might lose a hand, and possibly even a foot. Sure enough, Fat Pig Zhu is a dangerous person. I absolutely cannot work with him, or my life will be in danger sooner or later.

I swallowed hard and said, "Boss Wei, this is the piece I want."

Boss Wei smiled, went with Sha Qiang to open the account, and then called the stone cutter's master up. I took the stone and handed it to the stone cutter's master. I was very scared inside; this was different from being nervous. Being nervous doesn't come with a price, but being scared does. If I gambled stones with Qian Guang and lost, I wouldn't face such severe consequences. If I gambled stones with Fat Pig Zhu and lost, I might end up with my hands

This pressure is unprecedented, so I have to win the bet.

I took a deep breath, cleared my mind, and said, "Master, please make an opening for me first..."

The master said, "Hmm, the material from Nanchi is small but pure. First, make a cut. If you see color and the texture is good, you don't need to cut it further. You can basically determine the quality of the material. If you don't see any color, then there's no need to cut it further. This is a straightforward material."

I nodded a bit. The master also knows about stones. He took the drill and didn't use the cutting machine, fearing it would damage the texture.

I watched as the drill bit into the rock, I kept swallowing, I was nervous and scared, thinking to myself, "I must see the color..."

"Must see the color..."

As long as it shows color, this piece won't be considered a loss. I have my own way to deal with Fat Pig Zhu. We must see color. As long as we get through today's ordeal, I'll handle Fat Pig Zhu later. Really, just give me one chance.

The beads of sweat on my forehead dripped onto the ground, and I quickly wiped my sweat. I clenched my fists tightly, watching eagerly. Suddenly, the master exclaimed, "Oh, you're really seeing colors now. Hey, a deep blue color, this kind of water isn't bad either, icy and glutinous..."

I listened to my master's words, clenched my fists tightly, and let out a sigh of relief. However, before I could say anything, Fat Pig Zhu nervously ran over, hugged the stone, and looked at it closely. He looked left and right but couldn't figure anything out, so he hurriedly asked me, "Did we win? Did we win?"

I nodded, wiped my sweat, and said weakly, "Yes, at least it's not a loss. Look at the meat quality in this window, very clear and a deep blue color. In our industry, we call this type of material 'ice type with blue floating.' It can be sold for a high price, with a market value of five hundred thousand per pair."

Fat Pig Zhu listened and, excitedly looking at Shitou, said, "Damn, what the people of Ruili say is really true, one cut makes you poor, one cut makes you rich. I cut one piece for 300,000 and it turned into 2 million. Zhao Fei, you're amazing."

I watched him hold onto the stone tightly, and I knew how much he loved money. I said, "Zhang Laoda, this piece still needs to be gambled on. It has just opened a window. If we peel it and find no color underneath, the stone won't be worth much."

Fat Pig Zhu listened and glared at me, very angry, saying, "Why didn't you say so earlier..."

I felt a bit helpless. Seeing me looking timid, he handed me the stone and then went back to sit down, still wearing that stern expression.

I handed the stone to my master and said, "Go ahead and beat me."

The master looked at me, smiled slightly, and said softly, "He doesn't understand, so don't scare him. This kind of material, with clear skin and flesh, you can tell at a glance it's a full piece."

I nodded. Master was indeed an expert. The reason I deceived Fat Pig Zhu was just to give him a turning point. If he thought that betting on stones was an easy thing, then I would be done for. Once I lost once, he would think I did it on purpose, and then I would be in big trouble. This piece of jade was won entirely with Boss Wei's help. He really got a good piece, one that came from the public auction. The stones at the Myanmar public

So, betting on stones is still very difficult. The master held the grinder and continuously polished along the previously cut window. I watched as the stone chips flew, and sure enough, beneath the removed skin, there was all blue flesh, very old texture, ample water content, and it was a very rare Nanchi ice-type stone with blue floating.

The master only polished half of the shell, then soaked it in water for a bit, and handed it to me, saying, "Congratulations, the material is solid, two pairs of bracelets will be no problem."

I nodded. At that moment, Fat Pig Zhu came over, looked at me, and asked, "Did you win?"

I nodded and said, "Lucky me, it's a full ice-type material with a blue hue. Master has worked hard, let's give him a red envelope."

Fat Pig Zhu listened and hurriedly brought over the material, looking at it with great fondness. He said, "This material is really beautiful, haha, really beautiful. How much is it? Boss Wei, come here, how much do you want for it..."

I looked at Fat Pig Zhu and felt very excited, but he didn't mention the red envelope at all. From this, you can see how stingy Fat Pig Zhu is.

Boss Wei held the material in his hand, scrutinized it carefully, glanced at me with admiration, but said nothing more. I was very grateful. The more he praised me now, the stronger Zhu the Fat Pig's determination to keep me in his grasp would be, and my life would become even harder.

Boss Wei said, "The material is good, but there's a small crack here. However, a minor flaw isn't a big deal. Are you planning to make a bracelet to give as a gift or for consignment, Mr. Zhang?"

Fat Pig Zhu Gang wanted to speak, but the phone rang. He answered the call, and his whole demeanor became a bit submissive.

"Wife, I'm really busy right now. I'm betting on stones. I just won a pair of stones worth two hundred thousand. Really..."

I listened to Fat Pig Zhu's explanation and watched his demeanor. I was a bit curious about his wife—what kind of person could make this arrogant and overbearing man so submissive?

"Alright, I got it. You like bracelets, right? I'll definitely get you a pair of bracelets. Oh, with this person helping me, you won't have to buy the jade you like in the future..." Fat Pig Zhu exaggeratedly said.

I looked at him, he glared at me, suddenly a bit helpless, and said, "What? You know this person? Invite him to dinner?"

Fat Pig Zhu looked at me, a bit reluctant, but quickly said, "Okay, got it. You can book a table at Seventh Master’s restaurant. I’ll take him there tonight..."

He finished speaking and looked at me with a slightly displeased expression. I didn't know what had happened, but I knew he definitely didn't want to take me to meet his wife.

But why is that?