King of Gamblers: Growing from a Student to a Jade King

 I'm waiting for Brother Guang to make a decision, Boss Wei is also waiting, but it seems to me that Brother Guang doesn't want to gamble with Boss Wei.

 I waited for a while, and Qian Guang said, "Alright, Boss Wei, let's go halves on the gamble."

 After hearing it, I immediately said, "I'll offer 200,000..."

 The two of them looked at me and both smiled. Boss Wei said, "Alright, you take half, I'll take half. If we get good material, I want the good stuff. I'll give you cash for it, and you won't lose out at all. But how to cut this material, that will be up to you, Brother Zhao Fei. The responsibility is on you."

 After listening to it, I suddenly had an epiphany. I felt that Boss Wei was truly testing me here. He seemed very eager for me to take responsibility for cutting this piece. I knew Boss Wei wanted to see if I really had the skills.

 I nodded, but before I could say anything, Boss Zeng pointed at me and said, "Boss Wei, you let him cut? Haha, you, just wait for things to fall apart."

 Boss Wei was a bit unhappy and said, "Boss Zeng, are you interested in buying a share?"

 Boss Zeng looked at the material and said, "I don't understand gambling stones, but I know this material is just rock, there's nothing good to bet on. You still say it's good material? Aren't you just deceiving people? You're not as straightforward as Old Niu."

 Boss Wei forced a smile, his face looking grim, and said, "Then please, Boss Zeng, go check the other stones first. Brother Zhao Fei, it's up to you now. Whether you have the skill or not will be decided with this one cut."

 I listened to Boss Wei's advice, took out a strong flashlight from my pocket, squatted down, and pressed the light against the snake skin on the stone. This snake skin wrapped around the stone, and if there was material inside, it could be a full piece. As soon as I shone the light inside, it immediately became extremely transparent, as if it had been penetrated. I was very happy because this meant that if there was material inside, it could potentially be ice-grade material. Sure

 This material is very attractive.

 I touched the stone; although the outer skin is grayish-white, if it can produce sand after being cut open, it's a win. This kind of sand from an old pit is truly top-notch. If it's fully colored and of high ice quality, a wide-edge bracelet can be worth tens of millions. That's why gold has a price, but jade is priceless.

 However, I don't know if I have the luck to get through this.

 I said to Wang Gui, "Wipe it for me, along the python belt, first wipe the python belt for me."

 Wang Gui nodded, and Boss Wei had someone move the material next to the cutting machine and secure it. I looked at the material, thinking to myself that materials that get stuck have the saying "the more you rub, the more it swells, the more you cut, the more it collapses," so it must be rubbed first. If it swells, we need to see how much it swells. If it doubles, we will stop.

 Wang Gui was holding the cutting machine, his left hand was a bit uncooperative, pressing down on the stone very stiffly. He gritted his teeth, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. I knew his hand hurt, but he endured it, showing that Wang Gui was a tough person.

 Boss Wei said, "Is it okay? If not, I'll go downstairs and get the master."

 Wang Gui glared at Boss Wei and said, "If you cheat me by an inch, I'll chop off your hand..."

 I laughed when I heard that, then lit a cigarette and stuffed it into Wang Gui's mouth. He bit down hard, then pressed the grinder against the python belt and started grinding. Sparks flew everywhere, and stone chips scattered. Brother Guang also stood up and watched from the side with Qian Laowu. Although he still looked calm, the beads of sweat on his forehead were real. I knew he cared; this was five million worth of material. If he lost, all the money he had won

 Time passed little by little as I watched Wang Gui grind away the python skin on the stone, making a two-inch deep cut. Suddenly, Wang Gui stopped. He took a spray bottle and sprayed some water on it, clearing away the debris on top. I hurried over to look at the stone, and Wang Gui, very excited, said, "The water is really damn good, two points of water, ice type base. If we cut it, it could be a full stone, can't be less than

 Listening to Wang Gui's words, I was very excited. Boss Wei and Brother Guang also came over. They all looked at the three-inch deep, five-inch wide window that had been polished open on the material. Boss Wei was very happy, reached out to touch it, and said, "Where there are pythons, there must be greens, indeed. The bottom of the python is ice type. I really want to cut it now."

 I listened and started to think. The so-called ice type refers to material that has no visible crystal particles, is semi-transparent, and lacks the lively luster of the base.

 Large, vividly colored, fully green ice jadeite flower pieces can sell for three to eight million at auction, while colorless ice jadeite can differ in price by thousands of times.

 So, now we have to cut it open to see the color inside. As long as there's a bit of green, this piece is worth at least ten million. The odds are quite high for this kind of gamble, but I'm starting to worry because the material that gets stuck isn't that easy to cut. The more you cut, the more it collapses, so if we cut it, the risk is high.

 I said, "Brother Guang, let's give it a try."

 Boss Wei was a bit surprised. He said, "Brother Zhao Fei, polishing doesn't count as an increase, cutting does. This piece has already been polished to such a good base, there's no need to polish it further. Look, this python band is growing around this stone. I am certain there is material inside. As long as we cut it and see some green, the value will increase a hundredfold."

 I shook my head and said, "Go ahead, let's see after you're done. There's no rush. Wang Gui, clean this python belt for me."

 Wang Gui nodded. Boss Wei was a bit frustrated, but he said that how I told him to cut the stone was how he would cut it, so he had no choice. He patiently went to the side with Brother Guang to watch. I bet that Brother Guang wouldn't ask about the stone; he only cared about the result.

 Wang Gui was once again using the cutting machine to grind the stone. I was very nervous, extremely nervous, even more so than the first time I bet on a stone. I was eagerly hoping to see green during the grinding process, preferably a bright green or a deep green, typical of jade.

 If either of these two colors appears, this piece is a top-quality piece. If it's a full piece, it can be sold for fifty million. In that case, I would get a bigger share.

 At this moment, rather than saying I'm nervous, it's more accurate to say that greed has blinded me. I'm a bit high on this; I hope this material can multiply tenfold, so my two hundred thousand becomes two million.

 My heart was pounding, I felt like it was about to jump out of my chest. My mouth was dry, and I watched as the stone chips were gradually polished away. But unfortunately, damn it, it was always the same, a seamless blend of sea and sky, all icy material.

 Suddenly, I saw a tiny crack appear on the window, and my heart sank. If the material has a crack, the risk increases by half. If it's a small crack, it's even worse; once the material is out, it can't be repaired. The crack on the cut surface looked like shattered glass, with tiny cracks extending inward.

 Suddenly, Wang Gui stopped cutting. He sprayed a bit of water on the stone, clearing away the long strip of debris on the window. He said, "Cracks have appeared, but there's a bit of green. Although it's light green, it's still green. It's a mixed bag of emotions."

 Boss Wei looked at the material, his expression slightly grim. He said, "It's appreciated, at least ten million as a base. But this crack is giving me a headache. If it were a big crack, I could fix it through trimming, but a small crack is a flaw. I hope it doesn't get worse."

 Boss Wei's words were exactly what I wanted to say. Brother Guang came over and asked me, "How's the material?"

 I said, "Ten million is fine now, but if it's cut and the inside remains unchanged from the outside, then this piece would be worth twenty million at the base. Of course, it depends on how the crack formed. If it has grown in, it will lose value. However, it probably hasn't grown in because there's none on one side; it might just be a coincidence."

 Brother Guang frowned and said, "Look carefully before speaking."

 I nodded slightly; Brother Guang is a meticulous person. After turning on the flashlight, I held it against the rock and said, "Give me a magnifying glass."

 Boss Wei hurriedly went to get a magnifying glass for me. After I took it and looked inside with the magnifying glass, suddenly, I was startled. After the strong light was shone in, the refracted light surprisingly didn't pass through, unlike when there was a shell before. This puzzled me, why is it like this?

 It shouldn't be like this. I took a closer look with a magnifying glass, and suddenly, I saw many tiny bubbles forming in the meat. My mind went blank for a moment.

 I was sweating, and Boss Wei asked me, "What's wrong?"

 I looked at Boss Wei and said, "Let's not cut it. There's still a bit of green on this piece. We can definitely sell it for ten million. Let's just sell it."

 Boss Wei listened and was not happy. He said, "Brother Zhao Fei, not betting 50 million, and you want 10 million? Isn't that a bit too cowardly?"

 "Boss Wei, who are you saying has no guts? Who doesn't know the five brothers of the Tian family in the underworld? You should do your homework," said Old Man Qian, displeased.

 Boss Wei gave a bitter smile and said, "Brother Guang, this piece is originally ice-grade material, worth ten million by itself. There's a bit of light green at the window. As long as we make one cut and there's material inside—just a little, as long as it stays the same—we'll go from ten million to twenty million. Can you do the math on that?"

 Qian Guang listened, then clenched his fist, pinched his nose, looked at me, and said, "Can we gamble?"

 I shook my head and said, "The risk is too high. Right now, it's a sure win. This material can't be cut; the more you cut, the worse it gets. Let's stop here."

 Brother Guang nodded and said, "I trust what Brother Zhao Fei said."

 Boss Wei listened and was almost in tears. He said, "What is this? After all the effort to get such high-quality material, you're not going to gamble?"Brother Guang, after all these years, you don't really need this little bit of money, do you?"

 Brother Guang was just about to speak when Boss Zeng, who had been watching for a long time, hurriedly said, "Boss Wei, he doesn't dare to bet, I'll bet with you. Is this piece of material as you described?"

 Boss Wei listened and nodded, confidently saying, "As long as we cut out some green, we'll have a guaranteed minimum of twenty million."

 "Alright, if he doesn't want to gamble, I'm willing to take over," Boss Zeng said slyly.

 I couldn't help but sneer to myself when I heard that. It really proves the saying, "Those who are greedy for money will lose their wealth." Boss Zeng, get ready to cry.