The storefront of Liu's Jade Shop doesn't look very big, but once you go inside, it's about 250 square meters.
Unlike restaurants that emphasize style and ambiance, jade gambling shops are extremely rough and unrestrained. Raw stones are piled directly on the ground in three piles, with a wooden sign standing in front of each pile.
From left to right, they are written as: 10 taels per catty, 30 taels per catty, and 50 taels per catty.
Dozens of people are now standing on the two piles of stones behind, carrying raw stones, while only two or three people are sparsely standing on the first pile of stones next to it.
At the very edge of the three piles of raw stones was the stone-cutting area, where two elderly men, around fifty or sixty years old, were cutting the stones. Each of them was holding one end of a large saw and rubbing the stone back and forth to make windows.
Several circles of people surrounded the stone-cutting area. In the very center stood a middle-aged man, his eyes fixed intently on the raw stone on the cutting platform, as if he wanted to bore a hole through it. His lips moved as he muttered incantations, making everyone watching feel tense as well.
The two brothers, Su Dalang and Su Erlang, stared at the piles of stones, looking at each other for a long time.
They heard everything Aunt Qin and her younger sister said clearly, and even remembered it almost exactly. But hearing it is one thing, and actually letting them choose is another.
Apart from their different sizes and shapes, these stones all seemed pretty much the same, even indistinguishable from the stones next to the outhouse behind their old house.
The two exchanged a glance, then both turned to look at Su Hua.
My aunt is good at everything, so she's sure to be good at picking stones too. Even if she picks a stepping stone, it will definitely be the most beautiful one.
Su Hua received the brothers' gazes, and the corner of her mouth twitched involuntarily, but she did not respond for the time being. Instead, she turned to look at the Liu siblings and asked, "The compensation of ten raw stones means you can choose any of these three piles of raw stones, right?"
“Of course, Miss Su, please feel free to choose whatever you like.” Liu Lin waved his fan and smiled warmly. “Please choose whichever piece you prefer, Miss Su, don’t be picky.”
Su Hua nodded and led the two little ones toward the pile that cost fifty taels per catty. The prices of the stones varied from pile to pile, and the quality of the raw stones was naturally different as well.
Fifty taels of silver would take an ordinary family over twenty years to save up, and that's assuming good weather and no illness or disaster. But here, it's just the price of a pound of stone.
The area with fifty taels of silver was the most crowded. Su Erlang gently pushed through the crowd with his small hands, but before he could take two steps, he tripped over something and cried out, "Ouch!"
The little boy was wearing royal blue embroidered shoes. When the toes of his shoes touched the stone, they were immediately stained with a bluish-black stain.
"How are you? Is your foot hurt?" Su Hua quickly took the big white dog from his arms and tried to pull Su Erlang up from the ground.
"Don't worry, Auntie, I'm fine. I just tripped a little." Su Erlang smiled sheepishly, patted his shoes, and suddenly seemed a little stunned.
"Why is the shoe surface so black? And there's a hint of moisture in it."
He rubbed the shoe surface vigorously with his fingertips several times, but the black grime seemed to be imprinted on the shoe surface and did not fade at all; in fact, it even felt a little damp.
Su Erlang glanced subconsciously at the stone that had tripped him earlier, his obsidian-like eyes brightening. "Is that large black patch on the stone the python that Aunt Qin mentioned earlier?"
As he said this, his voice suddenly dropped to a very low hue. Forgetting about polishing his new shoes, he spat into each hand and tried to carry the stone to Su Hua. "Auntie, take a look! Aunt Qin just said that a large piece of jade has hidden color. This stone has a large patch of bluish-black. Does that mean there's jade inside?"
However, he wasn't strong enough, and he almost dropped the stone as soon as he picked it up. Su Hua quickly took it from him, and subtly touched the raw stone with the blue stone bracelet in her hand.
The stone bracelet did not get hot; it only heated up slightly.
The reaction was much smaller than that to the jade bowls and pendants that Qin Yingxian had given her before.
"Auntie, should we choose this stone?" Su Erlang's eyes gleamed. A stepping stone, this really is a stone that has been stepped on. He just didn't know if it was a real stepping stone or a great treasure with jade inside.
Su Hua examined the rough stones carefully, then shook her head. "Second Brother, don't rush. There are several thousand rough stones here. We can look at the others first and then make a decision."
There were many people here, so she couldn't be too direct. Picking ten rough stones might seem like a lot, but it wasn't enough among the thousands of rough stones.
We need to try our best to pick out the good materials.
"Okay, I'll listen to my aunt." Su Erlang didn't react much when he heard this, and he and Su Hua put the raw stone back on the ground.
But as soon as the raw stone hit the ground, a delicate white hand reached out from the side and picked it up.
Holding the rough stone, Zheng Baoling looked at Su Hua with a smug expression. "Ha! A python with black spots, priceless. Miss Su, haven't you even heard of the simplest terms in the world of jade gambling?"
"The dragon-shaped black moss on the back of this rough stone must indicate that there is high-quality green inside."
"Such a fine rough stone would have been picked up long ago if it hadn't been lying on the ground all this time. Miss Su saw it but didn't want it. She really has no taste at all. What kind of talented woman is she? Who knows how much of her talent is just hype?"
“Little one, when you go back to your village later, remember to tell your family what you’ve been told. Your aunt has completely ruined your family’s wealth…”
Zheng Baoling got more and more excited as she talked until Xiao Jinhan stared at her coldly, at which point she reluctantly stopped.
She still looked like a peacock who had found a treasure. After giving Su Hua a disdainful look, she proudly carried the raw stone to the counter to pay.
At fifty taels per catty, this raw stone weighed a full thirty-four catties, totaling one thousand seven hundred taels. Zheng Baoling carried one thousand seven hundred and fifty taels with her, which was all the private money she had saved up over the years.
After buying the raw stones, I only had fifty taels left, and my purse was almost completely empty.
However, she didn't feel any heartache at all. She directly picked up the raw stone and placed it on the stone-cutting table, her eyes shining brightly. "Master, please cut this stone for me."
The stone-cutting master had already cut several pieces of waste stone, and his face was already somewhat listless. But when he saw the raw stone on the cutting table, his eyes finally brightened. "Miss Zheng, you've picked up a good piece of material today. This large black moss is always the rarest."
Zheng Baoling has been attending the jade gambling fair every year for the past few years, and the stone-cutting masters naturally remember her. However, in previous years, she only played small games with stones worth three hundred taels of silver. This is the first time she has encountered such a large and fine stone.
Zheng Baoling raised her chin, gesturing meaningfully in Su Hua's direction, her tone becoming even more sarcastic, "I'm quite lucky today, I just happened to run into someone who doesn't know what's good for them, and I just happened to pick up this good stuff."
The two craftsmen followed her gaze, glanced at the material, and simply smiled. "Miss Zheng, are you planning to polish this piece or cut it directly?"
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