Chapter 162

Large jade raw stones are quite troublesome to process, with many steps involved, and just finding the right place to cut can take up a lot of time.

However, Zeng Shirong had already become very familiar with this piece of jade raw stone and had completed all the preparatory work before cutting in less than two hours.

He wiped the sweat from his forehead and smiled, “I didn’t expect that I would be the one to make the third cut on this jade raw stone. It seems like fate.”

“Lin brother, look at the line I’ve drawn, this area is where the material has been revealed, with green blossoms floating beneath the surface. I estimate we can get two pairs of bracelets and twenty to thirty earrings from it, which can be seen as a guaranteed income of around a million.”

“Unfortunately, the water-like quality here turns into ‘beans’ and ends abruptly.”

“Now look here, this part of the stone from here to the bottom is just a thick layer of unwanted gray base, there’s no need to cut it open.”

“Below that is the python mouth I’ve drawn, where I suspect there might be a significant amount of green translucent quality.”

“Of course, even gods can’t predict the outcome of cutting jade. This is just my personal guess, and there’s also a chance we could end up with nothing. Lin brother, you should be mentally prepared.”

Lin Mo’s knowledge of stone gambling was limited to the basics found on Baidu.

Terms like “green blossoms floating beneath the surface”, “python mouth”, and “green translucent quality” were relatively specialized and he didn’t quite understand them.

Nevertheless, he could sense that Zeng Shirong had an exceptional understanding of this raw stone, which piqued his curiosity, and so he asked, “Manager Zeng seems to have a lot of confidence in this jade raw stone. Wiry not cut it yourself instead of giving it to the auction house?”

Lin brother,” said Zeng Shirong, who didn’t hide his feelings, “it’s a long story.” He sighed before continuing, “This jade raw stone was acquired by me. I felt sure there was something inside it, but unfortunately, the previous two cuts were all failures, and the family’s stone gambling consultant recommended auctioning it. I had no choice but to give it up.”

“As for me, I can only show off in this market. In my family, I actually don’t have much say.”

“Speaking of which, I should thank you. If you hadn’t bought it, I might not have had the chance to verify whether my initial judgment was right.”

Stone gambling consultant?

There’s actually such a profession?

Lin Mo had not found any information related to this on the internet before, but he didn’t ask further; he just smiled and nodded, “That’s very kind of you, then let’s cut it as you suggested.”

“There are so many people here, all waiting to see me make a fool of myself. Let’s not keep them waiting too long.”

“Let’s begin.”

When he first met Lin Mo in the morning, Zeng Shirong hadn’t taken him very seriously, merely thinking Lin Mo was lucky to have stumbled on a windfall. But after talking a bit more, he felt indescribable about Lin Mo.

Confidence…?

Yes,

it was confidence!

Absolute confidence!

This was an investment of a full 8 million, not a small amount at all, but why did Lin Mo seem as if he knew for sure that he would make a profit?

And the painting from this morning… Could it be it wasn’t just a coincidence?

Not just good luck?

“This guy is probably just thick-skinned and comes from a wealthy family, so he doesn’t care about losing a bit here and there. To him, 8 million might be like 800 yuan to an ordinary person.”

“If it’s not that, then this person might actually be formidable!”

Zeng Shirong thought to himself without showing it on his face. He nodded and said, “Alright, Lin brother, take a seat over there and have some tea. Wait for a while, I’ll go arrange the equipment and personally open up this jade raw stone for you.”

“Thankyou, Manager Zeng.” Lin Mo went to a seat set aside for him and sat quietly, waiting.

Even though another two hours had passed, the crowd on the scene had grown instead of diminished, each person craning their necks, waiting for the final result.

A stone gambling scene involving nearly ten million isn’t something one can easily witness even at Yongshunxiang Antique and Raw Stone Market.

Merely being able to observe a stone gambling event of this caliber was a considerable topic of conversation and experience in itself.

After waiting a bit more,

and making sure everything was correct, the jade raw stone was finally placed on the cutting machine that was specialized in cutting large raw stones. Zeng Shirong adjusted the angle, pressed a button, and closed the exterior dust cover.

Whirr… Whirring…

The cutting machine started up, and everyone’s nerves became tense.

Including Zhang Yihua who was standing next to Lin Mo; he was now clenching his fists tightly and chanting in a low voice, “Rise… rise… rise…”

One could learn many things in a visit to the antique market, but at least he had learned this slogan.

Just like Lin Xiaoxiao did yesterday.

Xiang Feiwen was also standing with his arms folded, coldly watching the jade raw stone cutting machine, thinking about what he could say to break Lin Mo’s composure later.

The cutting process was swift.

In less than half an hour, the machine stopped, indicating that the jade raw stone valued at 8 million had been cut.

Life or death now hung on the lifting of the dust cover.

There was silence in the venue, so quiet that even the drop of a pin could be heard clearly.

“Lin brother,” Zeng Shirong came over with a smile and politely said, “this jade raw stone is yours, so you should complete the last step of the stone unveiling.”

“Do you have any particular customs? Would you like to purify your hands with clean water, or should we open a couple of ‘thunder seeds’ to settle the scene?”

Lin Mo didn’t understand what they meant, but he guessed it was probably some kind of ritual performed before lifting the cover.