"Master, could you please cut these raw stones for us?" Tang Xin walked up to a jade stone cutter named Master Zhang who was waiting for customers, swinging the plastic bag in her hand.
Master Zhang glanced at the plastic bag Tang Xin was holding. "Little girl, it costs fifty yuan to cut one raw stone. Are you sure you want to cut them?" He hadn't opened for business today because the past few days he hadn't managed to cut out a single piece of green jade. For gamblers on jade stones, they needed to have a lucky start, so customers would naturally choose a master who had good luck to cut stones for them.
"Yes, I'm sure," Tang Xin nodded.
Master Zhang hesitated a bit, "Little girl, I've had a streak of bad luck these days. You may want to find another master instead."
"No worries, just cut them for us." Tang Xin handed the plastic bag containing the raw stones to Master Zhang.
Ling Yue and Lan Ji also passed their chosen raw stones to Master Zhang.
Master Zhang smiled as he took them, "Are you really okay with my bad luck?"
"We don't mind," Ling Yue, Tang Xin, and Lan Ji shook their heads with a smile.
"Alright then, I'll cut them for you. I'll charge twenty yuan each." Master Zhang placed one of the raw stones on the machine, putting the rest beside the machine. For raw stones of this size, cutting them was quick.
"No need for a discount, just charge the market price," Lan Ji took out money and paid Master Zhang.
"You guys are really kind," Master Zhang was touched.
"Master, do you have a pen? I want to draw on them," Ling Yue spoke up. Although these few raw stones were small, the quality of the jade inside was excellent. However, three of them didn't contain any jade at all. If they had chosen six raw stones and all six contained jade, that would have been too conspicuous.
"Yes, yes," Master Zhang took out a pen from his pocket and handed it to Ling Yue.
Ling Yue received the pen and drew lines on the raw stones as if he knew what he was doing.
"He's putting on quite a show, as if these raw stones could actually produce jade."
"They must be first-time jade gamblers, thinking every raw stone will have green inside."
"You can tell from their age that they've never gambled on jade before."
After drawing lines on all six raw stones, Ling Yue returned the pen to Master Zhang. "Master, I'll leave the rest to you."
"Alright!" Master Zhang bent down and placed one raw stone on the machine, starting it up. As the machine rumbled, sparks flew from the stone.
In less than three minutes, the raw stone was cut open.
Tang Xin hurried over to check and saw that the cut surface was completely white, feeling a bit disappointed.
"Hahaha... I knew it wouldn't produce green jade."
"If these few dozen yuan raw stones could produce green jade, I'll eat them myself."
"I can guarantee the next few will be the same."
Master Zhang glanced at Tang Xin, then picked up the second raw stone and started cutting it.
As the machine rumbled again, the second raw stone was quickly cut open, and the situation was the same as the first one - the cut surface was completely white.
Mocking laughter and jeers sounded from the crowd occasionally, as no one expected Ling Yue and the others' chosen raw stones to produce jade.
Next, the third raw stone was placed on the machine.
Zhu Yang walked over with a smug smile, "My raw stones have arrived too. You might as well check mine out. Don't bother cutting the rest, they won't produce any green jade."
Ling Yue and Lan Ji didn't even give Zhu Yang a glance.
Tang Xin really wanted to glare at Zhu Yang, but remembering his identity, she forcefully held back. Her grandfather would still have to deal with Zhu Yang in the future, so she couldn't offend him and make things difficult for her grandfather.
"Green jade! Green jade!" Master Zhang exclaimed excitedly.
Hearing this, Tang Xin hurried over and scooped up a ladle of water, splashing it onto the cut surface. A gorgeous emerald green hue shone into her eyes, dazzlingly beautiful.
"What a beautiful green!"
"This is golden silk bright green jade. The luck is just too good!"
"I didn't expect them to actually cut out green jade. It would be even better if this piece of jade was a bit bigger."
"Will you sell this jade? I'll offer two million."
"Two million one hundred thousand."
"Two million five hundred thousand."
Zhu Yang stared at the emerald green hue in disbelief, his expression filled with incredulity. How was this possible?
"Ah~" Tang Xin cheered excitedly, running up to hug Ling Yue as she jumped up and down. "Green jade, we cut out green jade!" This was the first time in her life, and she didn't expect to be so lucky. All thanks to Ling Yue, as he was the one who helped her choose the raw stones.
"Don't get too excited, there will be plenty more of this in the future," Ling Yue smiled and patted Tang Xin's shoulder.
"Yeah," Tang Xin nodded happily, unable to wipe the smile off her face. Her grandfather would be thrilled to know about this too.
Master Zhang was also very excited. After so many days, he had finally cut out green jade. His streak of bad luck was finally over.
Picking up a grinding machine nearby, he carefully ground away the stone shell from the jade, as he had noticed earlier that the jade was only about a centimeter away from the shell. Using the cutting machine could easily damage the jade inside, so he had to slowly grind away the surface stone shell with the grinding machine.
As layer after layer of the stone shell was ground off, the jade gradually revealed its true form. The color, luster, and texture captivated everyone present, their gazes unable to move away.
"Little girl, will you sell this jade?"
"Of course not," Tang Xin stepped forward and took the jade from Master Zhang's hand, cradling it lovingly in her palms. This was the first jade she had ever cut out in her life, so she would definitely keep it as a cherished possession.
The onlookers were all disappointed. What was going on today? Why did no one want to sell?
Master Zhang continued cutting stones, his energy renewed after cutting out a piece of jade.
On the other side, Zhu Yang's raw stones also began being cut.
Amid the rumbling of machines and swirling dust, the cutting continued.
