Fang Xuelin didn’t dare use the golden pupil more than once, and he stopped looking at the circle of stones around him.
When he had first come here a few months ago, he had used his golden pupil to look at the stones in this garden and discovered that the best ones were the dozen or so stones that came out at the end.
But at that time, he was so shy that he could only settle for the second-best. He selected the best few from the stalls on the ground. He then sent them to the polishing and carving masters to carve the finished products before selling them to the jade shop. Some he just polished and sold to the jade shop.
Although it was just jade in the stones, it was enough for him to enjoy the thrill of getting rich overnight.
And after buying here for about three or four months, he had the money to bid off the more valuable stones brought at the end.
Gambling on stones made it look like money was falling from the sky, which was addictive.
He wasn’t interested in it at first; he was just a hobbyist in antiques and paintings, but after enjoying such an extravaganza, he attended almost every gambling session. Not only for the monetary gain but also the crowd’s envy and respectful glances.
He already enjoyed a superior status in the gambling arena, something he could not enjoy elsewhere.
Fang Xuelin smiled coyly around him and withdrew from the crowd.
He scanned his surroundings and saw that Bai Lixin was still weaving in and out of the stalls, seemingly not interested in this side at all.
Fang Xuelin smiled coldly. He was right; Wen Xuyao had no money left. Even if he saw a stone, he couldn’t afford it, right?
He despised Wen Xuyao, forgetting that it was his jade soul that had caused the Wen family to fall into such a sorry state.
The problem between Fang Xuelin and Wen Xuyao began in their school days. Wen Xuyao was the son of a large family and had a large number of junior brothers in school. Fang Xuelin was conceited and ignored all of the gifts that Wen Xuyao sent him to invite him to his group, and they eventually became enemies.
He was now dressed in satin and wrapped in a fleece cloak. He was very rich.
However, in the past three years, Wen Xuyao was now wearing a heavy blue cloth shirt underneath and a somewhat old jacket.
As he watched from afar, Fang Xuelin suddenly smiled. The events of the school year were still fresh in his mind, and the contrast with this scene was stark.
Back then, Wen Xuyao had given him the jacket he had worn and Fang Xuelin thought it was to belittle him, acting as if he was superior to others. He was also a student and should have been on an equal footing, so how could he wear something leftover from someone else?
That Wen Xuyao was really hateful. He looked kind, but he was mocking him!
Fang Xuelin’s heart was filled with pleasure at venting his anger.
[Hey, kid, why are you so happy?] laughed the Jade Soul.
[Well, it’s thanks to you. If you hadn’t sucked out the aura and luck of the Wen family, how would I have seen Wen Xuyao in such a depressed state today]. Fang Xuelin was overjoyed to the extreme, a slightly grim smile on his face.
Liao Sufan, who had been secretly observing, saw this scene and his eyebrows knitted together. He suddenly remembered Wen Xuyao’s complaint that day.
What if what Wen Xuyao said was true?
The incident with Peony had already opened his eyes to “ghosts and gods”, and he had also seen Wen Xuyao’s ability. He sometimes seemed crazy, but he was as wise as he looked foolish to others.
What he said the night before was nothing more than coaxing, but was it true? Maybe Wen Xuyao just explained his behaviour at the station because of his aversion to the supernatural!
He could see a sinister aura in Fang Xuelin’s smile, let alone Wen Xuyao, who knew Daoist magic.
With this in mind, Liao Sufan moved his eyes back to Bai Lixin’s direction.
Bai Lixin didn’t look again but bought a dozen stones in total. He felt in his pocket and found that there was a little left. He frowned and stopped.
When he saw that Fang Xuelin had put away his smile and was heading in Bai Lixin’s direction, Liao Sufan felt uneasy and followed him.
Fang Xuelin and Liao Sufan walked up to Bai Lixin almost at the same time and said, “If the money is not enough, I’ll lend it to you.”
Fang Xuelin was trying to embarrass Bai Lixin, but Liao Sufan was genuinely trying to help him.
Bai Lixin was stunned. He looked up at the two men and suddenly smiled. He shook his head and reached out his hand to Huang Hongyuan, who took out ten yuan from his pocket and gave it to Bai Lixin, saying, “Xian Zhi, ask me for more if you don’t have enough.”
Bai Lixin took the foreign currency and waved it to Liao Sufan and Fang Xuelin, smiling. “Thank you very much. You two have a tacit understanding and deserve to be best friends. ”
Liao Sufan’s body stiffened and he wanted to bite off his tongue.
He was being told off, but instead of feeling angry, his body was warming up. However, the fact that Wen Xuyao misunderstood that he and Fang Xuelin were close friends made Liao Sufan very unhappy.
“We are just acquaintances, not close friends.” Liao Sufan did not want him to misunderstand and explained.
Fang Xuelin was still blushing with joy when he heard Bai Lixin’s words, but now his face turned white at Liao Sufan’s words, and he looked over incredulously.
Bai Lixin laughed in his heart, “Boy, don’t dare to make a fool of me with this “love rival” thing again, or you’ll be able to judge for yourself.”
“Oh, so that’s how it is.” Bai Lixin nodded, bowed his head, and paid for the last stone that he wanted.
One could cut the stone on the spot after buying it to see the colour of the jadeite jade inside. But Bai Lixin had some ideas in mind and did not rush to cut them open. Instead, he put the dozen or so stones under his feet and waited for the finale of the stone auction.
The half-hour that Wang Baiqian said passed quickly, and the auction started.
The starting price for most stones was already high, but the stones that Fang Xuelin really wanted were not sold at a high price, and some were not even bid for.
When the stone that Fang Xuelin had looked at in amazement was put up for auction, Fang Xuelin pretended to raise his hand, but someone else raised their hands even faster. When Fang Xuelin raised his hand again, someone else was the first to call for a bid.
After three times of this, Fang Xuelin felt his pockets and finally put down his hand with a sigh of regret.
The stone had been bought by someone from outside the city, and he was about to return to the city with it in his arms.
But the crowd stopped him and wanted him to cut it up on the spot. Bai Lixin sighed and thought to himself, “I wonder if this man has any quick-acting heart pills with him.”
The man could not resist the crowd’s coaxing, and as this was the stone that master gambler Fang Xuelin had chosen, he was sure that the stone would rise.
Fang Xuelin saw this and cried out in his heart and hurriedly said, “The auction is not over yet. And if this gentleman’s cut is of the highest quality, how will the rest be auctioned off?”
The man thought it was right. He shouldn’t be so high-profile, so he pushed back and laughed, “I will cut it after the auction. I will definitely cut it.”
Only then did the crowd give up and stop arguing.
Next came the stone that Fang Xuelin really wanted, and he let out a long sigh before acting reluctant as he raised his hand.
The stone had a rough surface and did not look very good. The crowd thought that he was just buying a random stone because he hadn’t got the one he wanted, so no one fought with him.
“100 yuan!”
“100 yuan once!”
“100 yuan twice……”
“101 yuan!”
Someone suddenly shouted behind the crowd, interrupting the sound of the auction.
The crowd turned around and looked at the origin of the voice – it was Bai Lixin standing in front of a pile of stones.
Seeing the pile of stones that Bai Lixin had bought, the crowd first couldn’t help but laugh, and then they covered their mouths and snorted.
He bought so many small stones. Is he planning to cast his net directly?
Feng Xuelin didn’t expect to have competition after waiting so long. But then his face changed and he hesitated for a moment before saying, “200 yuan.”
“201 yuan.” Bai Lixin smiled and continued to open the bidding.
Hearing this price increase, several loud chuckles suddenly erupted from the room.
“Young Master Wen, do you have money or not? Don’t bid if you don’t have money; it’s too ugly to raise the price by one yuan every time. ”
“Young Master Wen, everyone knows that something has happened to your family, and everyone knows that you are angry, so don’t lose your last bit of money just to vent.”
Bai Lixin sneered and tilted his head up to scorn these people who were laughing loudly, “It’s my business if I don’t have money, it’s also my business how much I raise the price. What are you guys blindly worrying about?”
Fang Xuelin bit his lip and continued, “300 yuan!”
“301 yuan,” Bai Lixin continued to follow up.
To be honest, Bai Lixin had not gone up to examine the stone, nor did he know what it was worth, but he had seen all of Fang Xuelin’s little tricks for millions of years.
Playing tricks in front of him? It had been a long time since he had met such a person.
“350 yuan!”
“351 yuan!”
“400 yuan!”
“401 yuan!”
“600 yuan!”
“601 yuan!”
It was as if Bai Lixin was so energetic. He followed Fang Xuelin’s shout with an extra yuan.
Gradually, the crowd noticed something as the price went up.
If the stone was truly ordinary, it was impossible for Fang Xuelin to keep raising the price.
If Fang Xuelin wanted to take his anger out, he could have just let go now and let Wen Xuyao get the stone, cut it open, and be dumbfounded by the loss of money.
But Fang Xuelin didn’t. His expression was now grave, and he was really serious about raising the price.
Those who dared to play with the stone were not foolish. At this point, everyone suddenly woke up and started to raise their bids along with him.
The price was soon raised to two thousand dollars, but Bai Lixin stopped shouting at that moment and smiled at Fang Xuelin.
Fang Xuelin touched the ticket in his pocket and looked at the stone. He clenched his teeth and went to Liao Sufan, begging, “Governor Liao, can you lend me some money for the time being? I’ll pay you back another day. ”
Liao Sufan glanced at Fang Xuelin and took a step back to put distance between them before shaking his head coldly: “Sorry, I don’t have any money.”
Fang Xuelin’s face turned white: “But..but you clearly wanted to lend Young Master Wen money just now.”
Liao Sufan hooked his lips into a sneer, “But you also said you wanted to lend money to Young Master Wen just now.”
Fang Xuelin was choked by Liao Sufan and was actually speechless.