Chapter 166: Chapter 166 A Dream of Yellow Millet!
Ding Mo's face was full of disbelief. If Song Yun even slightly misjudged the cutting process, he might damage the jade, and who would bear the loss???
"That's right! Haven't you been egging me on to cut the stone? Now do you have the guts to give an old man a hand?"
Song Yun, without a second word, confidently started up the stone-sawing machine beside him.
"Old man, maybe you should prepare some Fast-acting Heart-saving Pills first?"
Song Yun joked as he cut the stone.
Old Mr. Gong's eyes were deeply fixed on the slowly cleaving stone, oblivious to the words around him.
"Splash!"
Water poured over the split stone. It fell apart in two, and the onlookers crowded forward to catch a glimpse of the spectacle.
But upon closer inspection, they found everything but jade!
"This..."
Ding Mo said in astonishment, "Mr. Gong, how about a few more cuts?"
"Mm!"
This time Ding Mo took charge himself, making three or four cuts, but still no trace of jade was found.
Old Mr. Gong... had made a blunder!
A raw stone that had been treasured for sixty years turned out to be a worthless piece of junk!
Such an outcome was unbearable for anyone.
Old Mr. Gong clutched his heart as he sat down slowly, his face pale and gasping for breath.
"Call a doctor quick!"
"Damn it! Mr. Gong, you can't have anything happen to you! Where's the doctor?"
"Sixty years... How many sixties does a person have in a lifetime... Old Mr. Gong... alas..."
Some were concerned, some were spectating, some were sighing, and others were secretly calculating how much money they could win from the betting.
Song Yun pushed through the crowd and after checking Mr. Gong's pulse, he found that the old man wasn't seriously affected; it was just a momentary affliction of the heart that had caused his bodily functions to decline.
Song Yun pressed and kneaded Mr. Gong's life-returning acupoints, and after a few minutes, Mr. Gong's complexion gradually regained its rosiness.
"My whole life has been a joke!"
Old Mr. Gong sat on the ground, disheveled and despondent, murmuring to himself, "Sixty years! Sixty years! To end up with this result, why... why should I bother with stones anymore!"
Watching Old Mr. Gong as if he was possessed, Song Yun restarted the stone-sawing machine, leaving everyone baffled by his actions. What was he doing???
Hadn't the stone already been declared a worthless piece? Why was he still making more cuts?
Song Yun gently rubbed the surface of the stone using his perspective, and before long, particles of dust from the stone began to show hints of green.
Then, with a splash of water, the imperial green of the jade appeared!!!
The crowd was once again excited. Many there were avid fans of stone gambling. Over the years, they had only heard of imperial green but had never seen it. They never expected to encounter it today; such luck!!!
"Mr. Gong! It rose! The stone has risen in value!"
"Imperial green, oh my god, how much could this stone sell for?"
"I said it, with Mr. Gong being a leading figure in the jade world and personally picking and treasuring a raw stone, how could it be worthless!"
Song Yun lifted the stone in front of old Mr. Gong, who looked obsessively at the impeccably green radiance.
"Bring the torch, I want to see how deep this jadeite goes!"
Gong Lao mustered his strength, and after carefully examining through the light of the torch, he sighed deeply.
"So it comes down to this, my sixty years of being deceived are not unjust!"
The thin layer of jadeite that had formed was exactly at the limit of penetration by the intense torch light.
Therefore, anyone who saw this green glow would believe that there was a treasure concealed within the stone.
Gong Lao rubbed his face and said faintly, "I will place this stone in the most conspicuous spot, letting everyone see what is meant by 'even gods struggle to ascertain an inch of jade!' Don't think that after playing with jade stones for a few years one can look down on stone gambling. I'm already over a hundred years old this year, and yet I've been deceived so blatantly!"
"Gong Lao's spirit is admirable!"
"To be able to fully showcase the pain, Gong Lao is truly a grandmaster of the jadeite circle!"
As if he hadn't heard the flattery of the crowd, Gong Lao turned to Song Yun and said, "Young man, you have extraordinary vision to pinpoint the exact location of the jadeite. Let's discuss something. How about you take over my legacy?"
Upon hearing Gong Lao's words, Ding Mo's eyes gradually widened—what the hell!!! Why is he suddenly offering to take Song Yun as his disciple???
He had originally thought that Song Yun was a rough jade for his old friends and himself to compete over, but now it seemed not at all!!!
How could even Gong Lao be considering taking a disciple!
He was on a completely different level from Gong Lao, how could he compete?
"I'm sorry, Gong Lao, but stone gambling is just a hobby for me, with no serious thoughts of delving deeper."
Song Yun shook his head and refused.
This move shocked everyone present; nobody could have imagined that an offer from a grandmaster of the jadeite world would be turned down by a greenhorn!
"Young man, haven't you heard of Gong Lao's great name? You could call your family and ask them. I believe they will give you good advice!"
"Have you gone mad, brother! Gong Lao, the living fossil of the jadeite world! And you dare to refuse!"
"Really ignorant! You will regret this decision for the rest of your life!"
The crowd started reprimanding Song Yun. In their eyes, someone like Gong Lao was a godlike figure whom they couldn't even flatter on normal days, and to become his disciple, they would willingly give up all their wealth!
"Won't you reconsider, young man?"
Gong Lao too was quite surprised.
"No need, I came here today just to cut a few beautiful jadeites for my wife's jewelry."
Song Yun refused again.
Gong Lao thought for a moment, then took out a purple bead from his jacket pocket, unmistakably a top-grade purple jadeite, a kind that could definitely fetch a sky-high price at auction!
"If you become my disciple, I will give this to you as a gift. How about it?"
"Accept the offer, young man! People have to give gifts to Gong Lao to ask for apprenticeship, and you still want more?"
"My god, that purple jadeite looks like the one Gong Lao personally cut open last year, right? It is indeed extraordinary as seen today!"
"Is this kid a bit too self-important? He's making me so angry!"
Song Yun, as if he hadn't heard the criticism of the crowd, shook his head and said with a smile, "Once again, I thank you for your kind offer, Gong Lao. I'm truly grateful."
After speaking, he took Ye Qingqing by the hand and left this contentious place.
The crowd was dumbfounded—was he really leaving just like that???
Turns out this kid wasn't just putting on airs; he genuinely wasn't interested...
Gong Lao wasn't angry. He patted Ding Mo's shoulder and said, "The time isn't right. Forcing it won't do any good!"
"Gong Lao, you go ahead and rest. I'll follow this young man and see what he manages to cut. If it all turns out to be worthless, I will bring this matter up again with him!"
Ding Mo seemed somewhat angry. The most respected figure of their generation, Gong Taidou, had been snubbed, and it was a matter that concerned the reputation of their entire circle—it could not be taken lightly!