The gambling stone street was crowded with people. In case Su Dalang and Su Erlang got lost, Xiao Jinhan and Su Hua each held one of them by the hand, while Dabai and Xiaohei were each held in the arms of the Su Dalang brothers.

Su Hua walked to the entrance of the gambling stone street, feeling somewhat strange.

When she first saw this Third Young Master Yan, she felt that he seemed somewhat familiar. However, the Third Young Master Yan's appearance and temperament were both excellent, and she had a good memory. If she had really seen such a person before, it was impossible for her not to have any impression of him.

"Sister Su, come here quickly, let's hurry to Liu's shop to pick out some raw stones."

Before Su Hua could figure it out, Qin Yingxian had already affectionately taken Su Hua's arm and whispered in her ear, "Although the Liu family's jade shop isn't very big, they've produced quite a few good pieces at the jade gambling conventions in recent years. Sister Su, you should take a good look at them later and don't be polite with her."

Su Hua smiled and nodded, then asked curiously, "Are there any rules or considerations when choosing raw stones?"

Qin Yingxian smiled and said, "They say even immortals can't judge the quality of jade. There are skills involved in picking raw stones, but it's not always possible to pick the right one."

Su Hua raised an eyebrow, signaling her to continue.

"When we select raw stones, we usually observe the characteristics of the skin on the surface of the raw stone first. The skin is mainly divided into fog, python, tinea and pine flower."

Among them, fog is mainly used to judge the green color. Red fog is the worst, white fog and yellow fog are good, with high color retention and good water quality. The best is black fog, which often has high green color.

"Python" refers to the striped distribution on the skin, which can be used to judge the distribution of green color. Large python patterns, striped python patterns, python patterns with pine flower patterns, and half python patterns are always the best.

The color of jadeite is related to its variegation. Varieties are mainly divided into green and black. If linear green variegation appears on the surface of the rough stone, this green is very likely to seep into the stone, and the chances of finding jadeite inside are high. However, if the green is in large patches, then it is not likely, and the green may just be floating on the surface.

Besides green, black spots on the surface of the raw stone are also a good omen.

Green follows black; green and black are symbiotic. The presence of green does not necessarily mean the presence of black, but the presence of black spots will inevitably lead to the appearance of green...

Just as Qin Yingxian was getting into the conversation, a heart-wrenching wail suddenly came from outside a jade gambling shop in front of them. Then, an old man in his fifties or sixties ran out of the shop with a frenzied expression.

He was holding a large, cut-open rock in his hands, with a red piece protruding from the top.

"How could it just be a scratch!"

“Three thousand taels! A full three thousand taels! This is all the wealth my family has.”

"It should have been red jade, how could it be just a piece of polished red jade? I shouldn't have blocked the window! My money! All the money I've saved up my whole life is gone! There's even the money I prepared for my daughter's dowry in there..." The old man hugged the stone and wailed, pleading with everyone as he cried.

"Could any of you lend me a little more money? Just two hundred taels will do!"

"I just saw a piece of green jade with a python pattern in the shop. If I buy it, I can break even and make a fortune. Can any of you lend me two hundred taels? I'll pay you back double or even triple later. Just lend it to me for a little while..."

The old man cried so hard that snot and tears streamed down his face, and his eyes were frighteningly red.

He looked like he had lost his mind completely.

A group of people were gathered outside the shop, sighing, but not a single one of them was actually willing to lend him money.

Seeing that the old man's crying and shouting were getting louder and louder, two shop assistants outside the shop went up and threw him outside the gambling stone street.

Su Hua frowned slightly. "Does Ying Xian know what this redness on the skin means?"

"Red rubbed skin refers to a small opening on a rough jade stone where a tiny bit of the outer skin has been rubbed away, revealing a small opening. This small opening is also called a window. If the window is green, it's called green rubbed skin; if it's red, it's called red rubbed skin. Customers can use the window to see if there's any material inside. Rough stones with windows are usually more expensive than those without." Qin Yingxian withdrew his gaze and sighed softly.

"There are four common types of rough jade gambling: full block, windowed, half block, and exposed material. Full block basically relies on intuition and experience, with the highest risk and lowest price; windowed material is slightly more expensive; half block, compared to windowed material, exposes more of the jade and is more expensive; as for exposed material, it is no longer considered rough jade gambling, it is just a competition of who is willing to pay the most money."

Su Hua was somewhat astonished. "Today I finally understand what it means to be poor with one cut, rich with one cut, and shredded with one cut."

The old man was dressed in ordinary fine cotton cloth. Three thousand taels might really be all his savings. If he had kept it safe or started a small business, he could have lived a peaceful life.

Now, it's all gone.

"Among those who gamble on jade, some have become incredibly wealthy, while others have lost everything and even committed suicide. Aside from experience and judgment, it all comes down to luck." Qin Yingxian shook her head; she had seen this kind of thing since she was a child.

"If the red jade under the window just now was all real jade, this old man would probably be ecstatic right now."

Su Hua raised an eyebrow, her curiosity piqued. "Is red jade really that valuable?"

Qin Yingxian took her arm and continued walking forward, her face regaining its previous smile. "There's an old saying in the jade gambling world: 'Thirty-six waters, seventy-two beans, one hundred and eight blues.' Different jade stones have vastly different values, and among them, color and texture play a decisive role in the value of jade stones."

Color refers to the color of jadeite. Among pure colors, red, green, and purple are the most valuable. The purer and more uniform the color, the higher the value.

As for the quality of the jadeite, it's currently categorized into seven main types from low to high: bean, glutinous, fine glutinous, glutinous ice, regular ice, high ice, and glass. If Sister Su can pick one that has both excellent quality and appearance, this trip will definitely be worthwhile.

Su Hua nodded in understanding, roughly meaning that red, green, and purple are the best colors, and among them, the more vibrant the color, the better the quality of the jade.

"I never expected that Yingxian, at such a young age, would have such a thorough understanding of jade."

"Actually, all of these were taught to me by my older brother when he was a child." Qin Yingxian stuck out his tongue and smiled. "My older brother may not be perfect at picking raw stones, but he can pick out five or six good ones out of ten without any problem."

After saying that, she pulled her silly older brother forward and winked playfully, "Brother, when Sister Su is choosing jade later, you must help her take a look."

However, before Qin Yucheng could respond, Liu Lin had already stepped forward quickly, smiling at Su Hua, "We just agreed that the jade was to compensate Miss Su's family. Wouldn't it be unworthy of the name if we troubled Young Master Qin?"