If you ask what makes money the fastest in the world, besides gambling, it's jade gambling.
When Xiang Wan and Rui left Daishan, they were almost penniless except for the snakeskins they had collected. They asked the locals if there was a market or a place to buy medicinal herbs nearby, but they only found a very small wholesale market that didn't buy medicinal herbs. However, there was a very hidden jade raw material wholesale market nearby, and anyone who went there to try their luck was usually not an ordinary person.
So the two of them stood in a rough stone yard with a large crowd of onlookers, watching people gambling on stones have the merchants cut and buy the rough stones.
Xiang Wan looked at the rough stones; they varied in size, and from their appearance, it was almost impossible to determine what was inside any of them.
Every time a merchant cuts a piece, some are happy and some are sad. If it's a good piece, people will bid on it on the spot, but if it's a bad piece, the buyer can only accept their bad luck.
The minimum price for a rough stone is 50,000. Some people buy it directly and have it cut on the spot, while others gamble with the seller. If a good piece of material is found, the seller will buy it at the price agreed upon beforehand. However, if the material is not good, they can only accept their bad luck.
Xiang Wan observed the place for a while, learned a little about the rules of jade gambling, and then quietly left. She found a shop with very few onlookers and discussed the matter with the shopkeeper.
"This snakeskin of mine is big and thick enough. Look at its size, it must have come from a giant snake. In a pharmacy, it would fetch at least several hundred thousand yuan. I'm short on cash right now, so I'll gamble with it. I'm not greedy; I'll just pick the smallest piece. If it turns out to be a top-quality jadeite, you can buy it from me for fifty thousand yuan without hesitation. If I lose the gamble, the snakeskin is yours, and we'll never renege on our promise. How about it?"
The shopkeeper was a middle-aged man, slightly overweight, balding, and seemingly honest, but his shrewdness was undeniable. He first sized up Xiang Wan and Rui's attire. Xiang Wan looked confident, while Rui seemed indifferent, but both possessed an air of refinement, unlike ordinary people. Moreover, Xiang Wan herself was wrapped in a snakeskin, suggesting she was genuinely short of money.
He squatted down, picked up the snakeskin, looked it over, rubbed it a few times with his fingers, and then smelled it. As expected, Rui pinched his nose, took a step back with a look of disgust.
The shopkeeper looked at it for a long time before getting up and saying to Xiang Wan, "Your snakeskin is indeed quite rare, but I'm not a herbal medicine dealer, so I can't tell if it's good or bad. Since you're going to gamble on stones, let's add this piece you're wearing to the mix. If you don't find anything good, I won't treat you unfairly. I'll give you and someone else a set of clothes each, and we'll be even. How about that?"
"This is my first time gambling on jade, and I don't really understand the rules, but we should probably draw up a written agreement first to avoid any unpleasantness."
The shopkeeper glanced at Xiang Wan and sneered, "Who comes here and reveals their true identity? It all depends on their character. If you trust me, we'll do it this way. If you don't, go find someone else. I can't be bothered with this."
Seeing the shopkeeper's sullen face, Xiang Wan knew she had offended him and stopped talking. She looked around; the surrounding stone shops were either packed with people or had many inquiries, but his shop was deserted. She had originally come here hoping to try her luck because there were few people, but she hadn't expected the shopkeeper's attitude to change so quickly.
Rui leaned closer to Xiang Wan and whispered in her ear, "What are you doing with this?"
"Get money, we can't go anywhere without money."
"Use this?" Rui pointed to the snakeskin and said, "It's better to get a few bears. You can fill your stomachs and sell them for money. It seems you humans really like to eat bear paws."
Xiang Wan pinched Rui's soft waist and said seriously, "From now on, you are also a human being. You are not allowed to say 'you humans' anymore. Besides, bears are nationally protected animals. Hunting bears is illegal. Do you want to be locked up?"
Rui grunted, but didn't make a sound. He turned around and hugged Xiang Wan, holding her hand and saying, "My wife has a really strong grip."
Xiang Wan stepped on his toes, dodging to the side, warning him not to talk nonsense. Rui touched his nose and smiled.
The shopkeeper sat on a recliner in front of the door, seemingly dozing with his eyes closed, but the occasional slight opening of his eyes completely betrayed his true feelings.
Xiang Wan placed the snakeskin in front of him and said, "Shopkeeper, I'll take the bet. However, I have to choose the raw materials. If it's a top-quality one, I want to sell it on the spot. Besides the original 50,000, I'll give you an extra 10% of the profits. How about that?"
"make a deal!"
The shopkeeper stood up, his eyes gleaming, and a smile appeared on his face. He beckoned Xiang Wan to come into the shop to select stones, while he himself carried the snakeskin to the table next to him.
In the shop owner's eyes, Xiang Wan and Rui were complete fools who walked right into his trap. In the world of jade gambling, only one in a hundred will yield a truly exceptional piece, and even slightly good stones are extremely rare. What else could Xiang Wan be but a free lunch? Even if, hypothetically, Xiang Wan did indeed unearth a top-quality stone, he would gain money and enhance the shop's reputation—a win-win situation, so why not?
The shopkeeper had his own calculations, and Xiang Wan had her own plans. While observing others cutting raw materials, she subtly sensed the material with her vital energy. Those yielding good quality material all contained a relatively pure, cold energy. Upon entering this shop, she sensed a lot of icy cold energy, so she decided to take a gamble. She was confident she wouldn't lose!
As she moved through the stones, Xiang Wan used her fingertips to sense the aura of each stone. The intensity of the coldness varied, and when she passed a raw stone, she found that she could not sense any aura inside it at all.
Xiang Wan looked around at the surrounding stones again, puzzled. All the stones exuded a chilling aura, but this one was completely devoid of it. This was strange; what was going on?
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