In a blink, five thousand RMB was turned into 900,000. In this laid the charm of stone-betting.
“Old Yu is amazing!”
“Old Yu is a true appraiser!”
“Old Yu’s reputation precedes him.”
“How admirable!”
The crowd turned to bootlicking in an instant as Yu Boyan inspected the jade and waved them off, “There’s no need to flatter me, it is boss Wei who is exaggerating. Even if this jade is valuable, as it is this small, it’s worth 350,000. But this jade is also flawed, with a black line running through it. As such, this jade can be rated as average. This black line is enough to ruin its beauty.”
“It barely reaches the price of 100,000 RMB, nowhere near 900,000.”
“Old Yu is so honest!”
“He is ethical and upright.”
“A man of character.”
Yu Boyan nodded and said to boss Wei, “I won’t pay for this stone, and I will give this jade to boss Wei as a gift.”
“Thank you so much Old Yu. Men, this jade is a gift personally bestowed by Old Yu!”
Boss Wei knew his trade well. He shouted that sky-high price to fawn over Yu Boyan, so that he would appeal to his integrity and give him the 100,000 jade.
“Another one, Old Yu.”
“Old Yu, why not choose another?”
“Old Yu, what do you say of this stone?”
“Old Yu…”
It only worked to stoke the crowd into fawning even stronger. All of them hoped Yu Boyan would point out a lucky rock.
Yu Boyan smiled, “People, I didn’t come for the jadeite, but to visit the Boss Wei’s jade king.”
Jade king was that waist-high rock, the heaviest and largest.
“Wow, does Old Yu find this rock promising?”
“God, if this 100 million rock is chosen by Old Yun, its value will go even higher!”
“It might go for as high as a billion!”
The crowd was in uproar.
Yu Boyan smiled, “I didn’t buy this jade king. I do have some wealth, but not enough for this rock. This jade king is something a dear friend of mine trusted me and Zhang Jingshen with its appraising.”
“People, stone-gambling isn’t without risks. I am 60% sure that this rock has jadeite. But that is as far as I can make of it. Whether it has a black line or not, depends on luck.
“The larger the stone, the greater the risk. Don’t look at its price of a hundred million, once cut up at the auction, it might be nothing more than a plain rock.”
The people calmed. Yu Boyan’s words worked to dampen their enthusiasm.
Yu Boyan took out his professional flashlight and small hammer, beginning to tap on the jade king. He hit it then listened for a long time, and only then did he breathed easier.
“Boss, scrapp these three rocks!”
The glasses youth came to a decision after his investigation of the stones laid before him.
Boss Wei shouted, “First the money!”
“First the scrapping, don’t I always pay?”
“The rule can’t be broken.”
“Then why can he?”
“Old Yu is the best in this industry, his name carries weight, and I even know where he lives. And you? Friend, I know next to nothing about you.”
The glasses youth went red in the face and started transferring the funds, but the warning on his cellphone told him he was short.
He was broke.
“Put it on my tab. I am Bo Jiesheng, a reporter for Eastern Cloud newspaper. This is my license. You can take it as collateral.”
Boss Wei chuckled as he returned his license.
The youth found only a thousand RMB on him, yet the smallest rock he asked for was priced fifty times that.
He had nothing to buy with.
Plop!
The youth dropped to his knees before Boss Wei,
“The money I lost was the company’s. Please give it back or I’ll be dead.”
Bo Jiesheng kowtowed.
Boss Wei frowned, “Friend, admit you lost. If I return such a large sum I will go bankrupt. These stones aren’t cheap, even for me.”
Bai Jiesheng was weeping. At the end of it all, face, horoscope, and fortune telling were useless.
“I have parents and a child to support. I don’t ask for everything, just 2 million to come out of this crisis.
“I beg you. If I don’t have it, I might as well be dead.”
Bai Jiesheng smashed his head on the ground.
Boss Wei was indifferent. He was a businessman. If everyone was as bothersome as Bai Jiesheng here, then he’d never entered this business.
“Old Yu, help him.”
“Yeah, Old Yu pick some stones for him. He won’t make it otherwise.”
“Help him, Old Yu.”
The crowd echoed but Yu Boyan was still inspecting the jade king, then slightly frowned at Bai Jiesheng.
Yu Boyan walked before the rocks and looked for twenty minutes before choosing a fist-sized rock.
“People, this is the best rock I can find in this batch. I will buy it myself and give it to brother Bai.
“But I have to be frank. Stone-betting relies on three parts skill and seven parts luck. If you believe me to be modest, then even I can’t help you.”
“Old Yu is modest.”
“If Old Yu can’t do it, no one can.”
Yu Boyan shook his hand.
Not long after, Yu Boyan’s rock showed a green hue at start, but had a deep scar in its center.
It wasn’t a pure jade, cutting at its value.
After appraising, it was considered to be a poor jade, valued several thousand RMB.
Yu Boyan thought for a while longer then chose two more rocks of similar size.
They resulted in average and poor glass, valued less than ten thousand.
“These three!”
Yu Boyan chose another three.
Nothing, nothing, nothing. They were all cut to reveal just stone.
Not worth a dime.
Yu Boyan stood up and gave a bitter smile, “People, I am not doing it on purpose. Despite how cold the jade is, I am a man of compassion.
“Brother Bai, forgive me. I cannot help you.”
Yu Boyan paid for the stones and Boss Wei accepted.
“Dad, mom, Xiangjun, Momo, forgive me!”
Bai Jiesheng wailed, smashing his head on the jade king…
It all happened too fast and Boss Wei, the closest to him, didn’t have time to stop him.
Whoosh.
When Bai Jiesheng’s head was about to hit the rock, a faint blue qi wrapped around him..
Bai Jiesheng collapsed.
