Chapter 7: Green
When Old Wu heard that there was a customer coming, he stood up from his stool and asked, "Who wants to cut the stone?" Why didn't he see anyone?
The old grandson pushed Du Ruo forward and said, "It's this young lady. She just bought a piece of top-quality rough stone from me and came to you to cut it."
The people who were betting on stones and watching the fun here were all big bosses. They just thought that this female comrade was here to look for someone, but she didn’t expect that she was here to cut stones?
Someone saw Du Ruo holding two children's vests in her hands, which looked like the kind that cost one dollar each on the street, and couldn't help but laugh.
There are all kinds of people in this world. Why does this woman not stay at home to cook and take care of the kids, but come here to do this? She deserves a beating!
Someone couldn't help but laugh and said, "She's still trying to figure out how to solve the problem? Does she know how to write the word 'gamble on stones'?"
"Why don't you go home and cook dinner and take care of the kids? What are you playing with rocks?"
Old Wu doesn't care about this. He injured his hand a few years ago and can't move large stones. He has no other way out and can only make a living here.
He said to Du Ruo, "Girl, show me your wool."
Du Ruo handed the raw material to Lao Wu, who was delighted when he saw it. The performance of this piece of material was not good, but it could only fool an outsider.
He said, "Okay, girl, come with me."
Lao Wu's workshop is not big, and you can see the end at a glance when you open the door.
He asked, "Should I cut it or rub it? This piece of rough material is not big. Cutting it costs thirty, and rubbing it costs fifty."
If we follow Old Wu's opinion, we can just cut it off with one stroke. It will save trouble and we will give up.
Du Ruo looked around and said, "Wipe carefully."
Old Wu was speechless. Others might not know, but he knew exactly what was on Old Sun's stall. He was even more careful. Was he kidding?
However, it is the boss who gives the money, so just use it, he has plenty of time anyway.
Old Wu put the rough material on the stone calender, looked it over and made a slight adjustment. The stone was not big, so since it needed to be rubbed, he had to be careful.
Although Lao Wu thought it was impossible to get cheated, he had been in this business for a long time and could encounter anything, so he had to be careful.
The machine made a friction sound, and in a moment, it wiped off a layer of the surface. Old Wu didn't care and wanted to adjust the angle.
Suddenly, his eyes widened, and a touch of fresh green appeared on the surface of the stone, like a bud on a branch in early spring, which was eye-catching.
Old Wu shouted in surprise: "It's green!!"
This sound was like a bolt of thunder. People who were smoking and chatting outside swarmed in, filling the small tin house.
Old man Sun was squatting on the ground with a cigarette in his mouth. The match in his hand had already been lit, but he didn't feel it at all.
Until the crowd swarmed in and pushed Old Man Sun to the side, he staggered and slowly stood up. The cigarette in his mouth had fallen to the ground, his eyes still fixed on the stone calender.
Really, it’s green…
The crowd gathered in front of the stone calender, talking a lot.
"This water head looks good, doesn't it?"
"Not bad, not bad, it looks like it's at least ice type?"
"Although the green is a little lighter, the water is good. Is it going to rise?"
"I don't know how much this lesbian paid for it."
The old grandson's heart ached with pain. How much? Fifty yuan...
He originally wanted to teach people a lesson, to make them pay for it...
Old Wu has stopped the machine. Such fine jade cannot be wasted. The machine cannot be used accurately enough, and it would be painful if a little bit of it was wiped off.
Old Wu picked up the manual sander and rubbed the skin carefully.
He was very excited, as he hadn't gotten a green one in years. Although this wasn't his, he was lucky to be able to solve it himself!
As the surface layer peels off, the jade inside gradually reveals its true appearance.
The water head is good, and the green floating flowers are deep and shallow. Although it is not the best, it is top quality.
Someone said, "I'll give you three thousand dollars, will you sell it to me?"
The person next to him said, "Are you kidding me? I'll pay 8,000 for such good water."
"I'll give you 10,000!"
"I'll give you 12,000!"
"Fifteen thousand dollars!"
Seeing that the price was getting heated, Du Ruo said, "I won't sell it. I want to keep it as a souvenir."
There was a burst of sighs at the scene. They also wanted to get some luck. They finally saw a green one, maybe they could get one too?
Someone whispered, "I wonder if there are any more good things like this among the pile of broken stones that old man has?"
This was like a wake-up call to the young man. Everyone rushed forward and headed for the old man's stall.
Old Wu pushed his grandson and said, "Why don't you go?"
The old man just woke up from a dream. What was lost could never be found again. He might as well take this opportunity to sell his pile of rotten stones for a high price, which would not make him lose money.
The jade that was taken out was only the size of a fist. Du Ruo put it directly into his pocket and waved goodbye to Old Wu.
Old Wu stared in amazement as she casually put the jadeite into her pocket. He was so surprised that his mouth opened wide. Wasn't this a bit too casual?
Du Ruoke didn't care what others thought. It was already one or two o'clock in the afternoon. She had to hurry to the farmers' market to buy vegetables and then go home to cook.
After crossing the road and returning to the other side, Du Ruo headed straight for the farmers' market.
There was not much first-class meat left at the farmers' market in the afternoon, and most of the remaining meat was lean meat such as tenderloin and bones.
Du Ruo knew that in this era, what people called first-class good meat was fat that was more than three fingers wide. Du Ruo did not comment on this.
There was no refrigerator at home, so Du Ruo bought half a pound of lean meat and a pound of large bones.
I went to the vegetable stall and picked up a cabbage, some rapeseed, and two large green onions.
I walked to the entrance of the farmers' market, picked up a few more heads of garlic, and carried them home in large and small bags.
As soon as I entered the small courtyard, I heard my eldest sister-in-law Liu Mei say in surprise: "Oh my, has my second brother's wife made a fortune? Mom, come out and see how filial your brother's wife is. She bought you so many good things."
Upon hearing this, Han's mother came out of the kitchen. When she saw that Du Ruo had bought so many things, she felt a little angry.
She knew clearly that these things were not bought for her, but Han's mother's eyes flashed, and she took two quick steps, reaching out to grab the things in Du Ruo's hand, while complaining: "You spend money recklessly again, I save money for you, but you don't want to, if you spend like this, how can there be any left?"
Unexpectedly, her hand grabbed nothing.
Han's mother yelled, "You've grown up and become so capable? I'm Han Ming's mother. I gave birth to him and raised him. It's only natural for me to spend his money. You bought something with his money, and you dare not show respect to me and your father? Aren't you afraid of being struck by lightning?"