Old Mr. Tang called out this price, so naturally no one else bid against him. He smoothly won the auction for the second raw stone. Although the price was a bit high, he believed in Ling Yue. Since she had instructed him to bid, that raw stone must be able to produce an exceptional jade piece after being cut.
Yang Hai smiled smugly at Old Mr. Tang. He did that intentionally to annoy the old man.
Old Mr. Tang suppressed his anger, letting out a cold snort and turning his head away.
Yang Hai felt extremely delighted and cheerfully asked his master beside him, "Are you certain that the third raw stone will definitely produce red jadeite?"
"Absolutely certain," the master assured, thumping his chest. "I just went backstage and had a look at those three raw stones. With my experience, the third stone is the most promising for producing jadeite, while the second one has the worst quality among the three."
"Great!" Yang Hai nodded with a smile.
On the stage, Elder Zhang began introducing the third raw stone, "Next, we will auction the final raw stone. This stone is from the Muludanwei quarry, which is known for producing violet and red jadeite. The starting bid is five hundred thousand."
Ling Yue leaned over and whispered a few words into Lan Ji's ear. Lan Ji's eyes lit up, and he turned to murmur something to Old Mr. Tang.
Old Mr. Tang smiled and nodded. He had the same thought. His nemesis had only won one raw stone in the silent auction, so he would surely go all out in the open auction. Since he had failed to bid successfully for the first two stones, he would undoubtedly pin all his hopes on this final one.
As expected, the opponent soon raised his bidding paddle, "One million!"
"One million and one thousand," Old Mr. Tang followed without hesitation.
Yang Hai glared fiercely at Old Mr. Tang and continued bidding, "Two million!"
Old Mr. Tang smiled and matched the bid, "Two million and one thousand!" The opponent had annoyed him earlier, so he was paying him back in kind.
"Five million!" Yang Hai angrily raised his paddle. He was determined not to miss out on this third raw stone, and even if he couldn't win it, he wouldn't let Old Mr. Tang have it either.
Old Mr. Tang bid one thousand higher than Yang Hai each time, taking great delight in seeing Yang Hai's increasingly sour expression.
"Ten million!" Yang Hai yelled through gritted teeth.
Old Mr. Tang shrugged and gestured for Yang Hai to continue.
Yang Hai was shaking with rage, but remembering his master's words, his mood improved again. Once he produced red jadeite from this stone, he would make Old Mr. Tang green with envy.
"I declare this auction session a complete success," Elder Zhang smiled at Ling Yue. "Little friend Ling, do you want to arrange for your imperial stone to be cut now?"
"Yes," Ling Yue rose and nodded with a faint smile.
"Then let's move to the cutting area. This way, please," Elder Zhang gestured invitingly to Ling Yue.
Ling Yue and Lan Ji walked up to Elder Zhang. Ling Yue smiled graciously at him, "After you, Elder Zhang."
Upon hearing this, everyone followed behind the three, eager to witness whether that imperial stone could truly produce emerald jade.
The imperial stone was soon brought to the cutting area.
"Little friend Ling, how would you like it cut?" Elder Zhang met Ling Yue's phoenix-like gaze.
"Any way is fine," Ling Yue replied nonchalantly. The jade inside this imperial stone was located twenty centimeters beneath the surface, so no matter how it was cut, jade would be revealed.
"Then let's start with a conservative cut from the left side," Elder Zhang suggested.
"Alright," Ling Yue nodded.
With her permission, the master picked up the stone-cutting machine and began slicing into the imperial stone.
The machine's sound soon echoed across the entire area.
Everyone stared unblinkingly at the imperial stone, though most secretly hoped it would fail to produce jade. Otherwise, if such a massive stone yielded jade, it would be worth an astronomical fortune, making them burn with jealousy.
Time ticked by amid the sound of the cutting machine.
After a full hour, the imperial stone was finally cut open.
"Emerald jade!" someone with sharp eyes spotted the greenish hue showing through the cut.
Lan Ji poured a ladle of water over the cut, making the green color even more vivid and alluring, captivating everyone's gaze.
"This... This is top-grade imperial green glass jadeite..."
"Heavens! Such a massive piece of top-grade imperial green glass jadeite must be worth hundreds of billions. With a single cut, she has become fabulously wealthy."
"How I wish this jadeite belonged to me."
"If only I had boldly risked everything I had to bid on it back then."
People turned their envious, jealous, and resentful gazes towards Ling Yue.
But Ling Yue's expression remained indifferent, as if this imperial green glass jadeite was a mere worthless stone in her eyes.
