Chapter Sixty-One: Furious Profit of Ten Million!

Just as the final scene of the flowing water and falling stones was about to unfold, Lu Yi’er suddenly spoke up. “Let’s insert one matter—the stone from yesterday’s last wager, the one Sister Hong opened. We’ve found the final appraisal agency and received the ultimate price!”

All our attention was drawn to Lu Yi’er. He then proceeded to show us the appraisal process for that jade stone. In the end, the agency gave it a valuation of four million.

None of our three parties had any objections to this. On Sister Hong’s side, the appraisal box was also opened. Only when it was opened did we react: Sister Hong’s own estimate was four million two hundred thousand.

At this, everyone laughed—except Sister Hong, whose face was cold as ice. One had to admit, Sister Hong had come quite close with her estimate. The crucial point, however, was that she hadn’t been exact, so she could only profit from the price difference.

A difference of two hundred thousand: Su Li and I offered four hundred thousand, the others twenty thousand each. In this round, Sister Hong earned only eight hundred thousand. Truly, a diamond’s worth of effort for a porcelain’s profit!

Gao Youde couldn’t help but laugh from the sidelines. “Such a big stone, worked all day, and ended up making less than a million. Sister Hong, it looks like making money is tough for you. Why don’t you massage my feet? I’ll give you three million tonight.”

Sister Hong cast Gao Youde a cold glance, a flicker of disdain in her eyes. She smiled lightly, her tone calm but edged with sarcasm. “Brother Gao, your words sound pleasant, but my hands aren’t suited for that kind of work. I don’t know how to massage feet—but if you want me to squeeze your balls, that I’d be interested in.”

Gao Youde was silenced, forced into an awkward laugh, and refrained from any further teasing.

Lu Yi’er, sensing the tension, hurried to smooth things over. “Alright, alright, are you all ready? If so, let’s begin the final round today. Next, we continue the jade betting to see who gains the most!”

Everyone nodded in agreement, and the atmosphere gradually eased. Lu Yi’er, seeing this, called on us to proceed with the last flowing jade betting session.

The staff took their positions. The remaining hundred or so stones were piled behind the landscape table. We lined up as before. Su Li stood at the front, taking my place. Next came Sister Hong, Gao Youde, and Old Leopard Chen.

Soon, the first raw stone clattered out on the miniature train. Barely had the train revealed the stone when I sharply prompted Su Li, “Pause! Choose this one!”

Su Li was startled, but quickly caught on and signaled the staff to halt. The others eyed us, as if guessing whether this stone was special. The spectators were astonished, since most hadn’t even gotten a glimpse before I had Su Li intercept the train.

The staff carefully removed the raw stone and placed it on the table. Su Li scrutinized it, then nodded. “This one.”

Sister Hong and Gao Youde exchanged a glance, their eyes filled with doubt and disdain. Old Leopard Chen remained indifferent.

Lu Yi’er smiled. “Since Su Li has chosen, let’s have the staff begin the cutting.”

The cutting machine roared, its blade sinking into the stone. As the process began, everyone’s gaze was fixed on the raw jade, the air thick with tension. Su Li had already written down her price.

Suddenly, a green light shone from the crack. Su Li’s eyes sparkled with delight. The machine stopped; the staff carefully split the stone, revealing a piece of jadeite, clear and translucent, before everyone.

Gao Youde and Sister Hong’s faces grew grim, while Old Leopard Chen was left dumbfounded. Lu Yi’er clapped his hands and laughed. “Congratulations, Su Li. The value of this jade is certainly not low.”

Su Li smiled faintly and turned to me, her eyes full of gratitude and trust. Our choice had evidently won us the first step in this jade betting round.

For this stone, Su Li, guided by me, priced it at one million two hundred thousand, and their appraisal matched—one million two hundred thousand. We nailed the price, earning three times three hundred sixty thousand.

This round, I made one million eighty thousand. Instantly, Su Li and I had one million eight hundred eighty thousand in funds. Sister Hong’s side had one million six hundred twenty thousand. Gao Youde had three million one hundred forty thousand. Old Leopard Chen had two million one hundred forty thousand.

Seeing our success, the expressions on everyone’s faces varied. In fact, the audience below grew excited. Hu San even shouted, “Tiger, you’re amazing!”

Unfortunately, because Su Li and I didn’t avoid suspicion, we violated the rules. In reality, our principal was worth only a bit over nine hundred thousand. However, at this pace, if I bet on another stone like this, my principal would soon exceed Sister Hong’s.

Sister Hong remained composed, as if the recent setback hadn’t affected her at all.

She raised her chin slightly, signaling Lu Yi’er to continue. Lu Yi’er nodded and announced, “The second stone is about to enter. Please pay attention.”

The miniature train rolled out again, carrying a new raw stone. Su Li watched it intently, clearly confident after her recent success. I, too, calculated silently, searching for the best moment.

This one was trash.

Clatter, clatter—when the train reached the end, no one chose it. The train then brought out five more stones in succession, but all were rejected by us.

Obviously, this batch had a much higher probability of yielding jade than yesterday’s. It seemed fate truly played a part.

As it turned out, Gao Youde had the best luck; five stones, and three turned out useful. Now, out of over a hundred stones, after a dozen or so, only one valuable raw stone had appeared.

At that moment, another stone was about to come out. I was about to speak, when Gao Youde loudly declared, “This one’s mine! Rules!”

Everyone paused, then nodded in agreement. According to the earlier arrangement, Su Li had yielded the right to choose three times.

The staff promptly removed the stone from the train and placed it on the table. Gao Youde’s eyes glimmered with excitement; he clearly had high hopes for this stone.

“Start cutting!” Gao Youde urged impatiently.

On the other side, price tags were written and sealed away.

The cutting machine roared again, blade slicing into the stone. Everyone held their breath, eyes fixed on the raw jade. The machine growled, blade slowly penetrating the stone. The air was thick with tension, all waiting for the outcome.

As the blade advanced, stone chips flew. Suddenly, a deep green light shone through the crack. Gao Youde’s eyes flashed with ecstasy; he nearly leapt in joy.