BXBX NOVEL Chapter 1496: Heartbeat
Chapter 1496: Heartbeat
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Master Dao milled a layer off the stone. Then he brought the stone off the machine and washed it. After running it through the water, he brought it out and his eyes lit up. “Wow, young man, some good luck you have!”
Li Du did not have to look to know the reason. He was truly in luck. That was a piece of pure jade.
There was not only jade in the stone. There was a layer of stone around the jade core. The layer of stone wrapped around a large piece of jade, just like how an eggshell covers the egg. It was one of the most superior stones that had ever been seen in that mill.
However, the stone was still considered very small. If it had been the size of a basketball, Li Du would be able to make a good profit out of it. A piece of jade like that could be sold for a few hundred thousand.
The revelation from the milling could cause a stone’s value to plunge, rise, or remain the same. That was a scary thing and the thrill of stone-gambling.
Godanwei, Xiao Liao and the other people watching rushed forward for a closer look. The people wore either an envious or a jealous look on their faces. They said, “It’s turning yellow, yes, turning yellow. Oh boy, this piece of stone is worth at least one hundred thousand!”
“Such good luck. This man is a newbie. He bought a good stone on his first try.”
“This is a bait. Didn’t you see what happened just now? A scammer must be stringing him along, so he offered him one good stone. Otherwise, how can they continue cheating him?”
Xiao Liao came over and said, “Congrats, man. The value of your stone has multiplied. It’s worth at least one hundred thousand now.”
Li Du said, “I bought it for one hundred thousand.”
Stunned, Xiao Liao said, “One hundred thousand for such a small thing? You are really rich!”
Li Du could not comprehend. “Why? Didn’t you just say it’s worth one hundred thousand?”
Xiao Liao said, “This stone is worth one hundred thousand now. That’s because it has turned yellow and the color of the jade is showing. It proves that there must be jade within. This indicates it is worth one hundred thousand. Otherwise, it would only be worth ten thousand!”
Li Du smiled. “Oh, I see. That’s not a problem. I’ve always enjoyed good luck.”
Master Dao asked, “How do we treat this next?”
Li Du replied, “Continue to mill it. See what happens after grinding off another layer.”
Master Dao said, “You really want to continue to mill it? I will tell you first that stone gambling is a risky thing. In a casino, there’s a saying that goes ‘stop once you reap’. Now you have some gains. If you decide to continue, things might become better. However, it could also be that you will lose everything. Then this stone will be worth nothing.”
Someone egged him on from the side, “Go on and gamble on it. I think this stone has a chance.”
“That’s right. The top of it looks good. There will be no issue at the bottom. There’s better stuff within.”
“Wow, bro, there are really many of us Chinese people here…”
Xiao Liao looked on with anticipation and said, “If it really changes in color, then you’re really in good luck.”
The color change indicated the presence of jade. Jade was beautiful and elegant thanks to its shade of green. Currently, the stone had been milled to a light yellow. That was a common color of Damakan jade.
The value of a yellow stone was much lower than of green stones. They were typically used to make Buddha statues and pendants. If the color of the stone turned green, its value would rise.
Li Du waved his hands. “Continue milling then. For now, we are happy to do so.”
The machine started again, and more sand from the stone came off. With the piercing jig-jig sounds from the machine, the surface of the stone was quickly polished.
“Oh dear, there’s nothing in the next layer. It’s going down, it’s going down…”
“D*mn it, idiot. How much has been shaved off now? Continue milling…”
“Hey, that’s nice. Continue, continue, it’s turning yellow again. This yellow, hmm, it doesn’t look right. It’s changing, changing color!”
A series of excited yelling rang out. Master Dao immediately brought down the stone from the machine and washed it. Then, when he brought out the stone again, it looked like a half-hatched egg. Half was in its original state and the other half was a revelation.
It was real jade, pale yellow on top and pale green in the middle.
Master Dao shone on it with a flashlight. The light shone clearly through the stone, unobstructed. The green glowed brightly and was mesmerizing.
Some of the people were getting excited. That stone was not big, but the yield could be extremely high. It was rare in Hpakant. Naturally, the crowd got excited seeing such high-quality material.
Xiao Liao wore a strange expression, a mixture of envy, jealousy, regret and something more troublesome. He mumbled, “Lu Da You is an idiot. He’s in bad luck. He’s suffered a huge loss now!”
Li Du asked, “How much is this stone worth now?”
“I’m offering 150,000, my friend. How about selling it to me?”
“Go to hell with your 150,000. Is that all you’re prepared to give? You might as well ask to have it for free. I’m offering 155,000!”
“Pfft, dudes, are you guys in a talk show? I will pay 200,000!”
Li Du shook his head and placed the stone in his bag. He said, “This is the first stone I bought in Hpakant. I won’t sell it for any sum. I will keep it. This is my lucky stone.”
He was indeed lucky. That stone found him. It was not like he had used the abilities of the little bug to discover it. The meaning of it was starkly different.
After all, it was only a small piece of high-quality material. Although the top of the stone was good, and it had a pleasant color, it was too small. That affected its value greatly. It would be worth at most slightly more than 200,000.
In Hpakant, one would often encounter stones with such value. A stone worth hundreds of thousand was nothing there. Only stones worth millions would be rare.
Hence, after Li Du bagged the stone, the crowd started to disperse.
However, that incident had become a hot topic. A scammer had used a stone to swindle a rookie and deceived him of one hundred thousand. In the end, that stone turned out to be worth twice as much.
Master Dao went back to drinking his tea. As he sipped, he laughed. “Lu Da You and Ma La Nian, these two old dogs. Haha, wait for them to regret this. F*ck their mother and grandmother!”
Xiao Liao stared at the remaining six stones and thought hard. “Master Dao, do you think these stones…”
Those six stones were larger than the one in Li Du’s hands. Even the smallest of them was twice the size of the one Li Du had. Altogether, they weighed around twenty kilograms. They weighed down the bag holding them.
Master Dao said to him, “Why, you want to do it? Those are your stones, you go ahead then, hmph!”
Hearing Master Dao’s cold laugh, Xiao Liao smiled sinisterly. “No, no, no, I’m not going to do it. Haha, I’ve sworn never to gamble on stones again. Otherwise, I will be cursed for the rest of my life!”
Li Du almost spat out the tea in his mouth. That dude was quite interesting. He dared to swear on anything.
Xiao Liao asked, “Master Dao, these stones are mine, right? I can do anything with them, right?”
Master Dao pushed the stones towards him and said, “That’s right. I suggest that you sell them to the jade shops outside. You could sell them for three or four hundred thousand.”
Xiao Liao said anxiously, “Didn’t you say they are worth millions?”
Master Dao rolled his eyes. “I guess I exaggerated a little. However, they are definitely worth five or six hundred thousand. These are of high quality. That piece in Brother Su’s hand is from the same source. There won’t be much difference between those stones.”
Xiao Liao said, “Then why would they only fetch three or four hundred thousand in the market?”
Master Dao said impatiently, “Is your brain working right? Those shops want to make profits. To them, offering three to four hundred thousand is already pretty high.”
Xiao Liao said, “That sounds too low.”
He kept his eyes on Li Du and said, “Brother Su, what do you think?”
Li Du laughed bitterly and said, “Brother Liao, it’s not too good for me to offer my opinion. After all, it involves money.”