"I, I don't know." Hearing the staggering price of forty-five million, Lin Xiaoyu's entire mind was reeling.
Her business was different from Shui Xiang's. Shui Xiang primarily dealt in gambling stones, supplemented by finished jade products, and also ran restaurants and other shops. Lin Xiaoyu, on the other hand, practically lived by selling finished jade products.
This way, Lin Xiaoyu completely avoided the risks inherent in gambling stones. She would generally acquire raw jade materials after cutting stones, have them processed into ornaments, and then sell them.
Compared to Shui Xiang, her risks were very, very small. Coupled with the fact that her shop wasn't very large, her profits naturally weren't as substantial as Shui Xiang's.
After years of hard work, she only had five million in her pocket.
Today, after a brief visit to the gambling stone market with Li Yang, she opened a stone, and her net worth immediately skyrocketed by more than eight times!
It was no wonder Lin Xiaoyu felt dizzy.
But the others were unaware, assuming she thought the price was too low. Immediately, someone shouted, "Forty-seven million! That's the highest! Madam Boss, you have to let me make a little profit after buying it, right?"
"Xiaoyu, I think this price is good for selling," Li Yang said.
Lin Xiaoyu hummed in agreement, "I'll listen to you."
"Oh, thank you, Madam Boss, thank you, sir, for fulfilling this! I'll pay now!" The jade merchant who had been waiting there eagerly took out his money.
While he wouldn't make a profit buying the raw stone itself in the short term, the price after processing was a different matter entirely.
As everyone knows, the higher the grade of jade, the more astonishing the premium.
It was like pre-packaged meals entering a restaurant. A pre-packaged Mapo Tofu costing twelve yuan would be heated by the restaurant, served on a new plate, and priced at eighty-eight yuan, earning them seventy yuan with tears!
But that's a rip-off. The premium for finished jade products was high for two reasons: firstly, high-quality raw jade materials were extremely scarce; secondly, there were few excellent craftsmen who could process jade.
This piece of high-ice-grade dual-color jade could be considered a rare, high-quality raw jade material. The merchant who bought it would definitely find a renowned craftsman to create a finished product, allowing for a double premium, and the selling price would certainly far exceed the current raw material purchase price.
As for who would buy it?
Where there's a price, there are always rich people who can afford it!
The only fear is when there's no price, and you can't even buy it if you wanted to.
The merchant paid the money and picked up the stone, saying, "Ah, there's still a section of this stone whose true face hasn't been revealed! Young man, beautiful lady, I suggest you don't splash it anymore. Four million, I'll take it all." "Dream on! I want this stone, forty-one million!" Someone immediately shouted. "You bought one and want to take the whole lot? That's too much!"
"Exactly, handsome, I bid forty-two million."
"Thank you all for your support, but this stone here can't be sold at that price. I don't want to cheat anyone." Li Yang shook his head and looked at the stone-cutting master, "Could you please help me clean it?"
"Certainly, sir." The stone-cutting master splashed water and cleaned it a few times, his expression suddenly changing, "White?"
"Grayish-white?"
"What's going on? It's not even glutinous ice grade. Is this waste?"
"It's not entirely white, there's a bit of light green. Probably bean grade. But it's also not very valuable. Such a large piece, probably not even worth two hundred yuan."
"It's perfectly separated!" Outsiders watched for the excitement, but insiders saw the skill. With just one glance, Professor Ning's eyes sharpened, and he scrutinized that section of the stone.
Soon, he was very sure that this section of the stone contained no valuable jade at all!
Compared to the dual-color jade from before, it was like comparing heaven and hell!
Some people with discerning eyes also noticed the anomaly at this moment, exclaiming, "This cut is simply divine!"
"What amazing eyesight, what incredible marking skills, master, how are you so awesome!"
"I, I'm not that awesome. It was this gentleman who said he wanted it cut in half." The stone-cutting master blushed a little from the praise and quickly looked at Li Yang.
Professor Ning took a deep breath and looked at Li Yang, saying, "Mr. Li, you knew this would happen beforehand, didn't you? You are truly remarkable."
"I apologize for my earlier underestimation."
"Oh, Professor Ning, what are you saying? Didn't you guide us to cut it in half?" Li Yang said with a loud laugh. "Xiaoyu, since you've made such a fortune, you must give Professor Ning a red envelope."
"Yes, yes!" Lin Xiaoyu quickly fumbled for some cash and handed it to Professor Ning. "Professor Ning, thank you for your guidance."
"No, I didn't do anything. Wasn't it Mr. Li just now..." Professor Ning was a bit bewildered. When did I say to cut it in half?
Before he could finish speaking, Li Yang stuffed the red envelope into his hand and then loudly addressed everyone, "Everyone knows Professor Ning, right?"
"Yes, it was Professor Ning who previously unearthed the imperial green."
"Professor Ning is a renowned figure in the entire gambling stone circle of our Yun Province. Who doesn't know this esteemed scholar!"
"So it was Professor Ning guiding from behind. I thought, no matter how good the eyesight of these two young people is, it couldn't be this amazing. Professor Ning, could you guide me sometime too?"
"No, it's not like that." Professor Ning was sweating profusely and hurriedly tried to explain.
But a person's reputation precedes them, and the influence was immense. Especially since he had recently unearthed the imperial green, becoming a legendary figure known to everyone here, his denial only made them more convinced that he was the expert guiding Li Yang and Lin Xiaoyu from behind the scenes.
Seeing that he couldn't explain clearly, Professor Ning helplessly looked at Li Yang and said with a wry smile, "Mr. Li, I rarely admire anyone, but today I truly admire you."
"Before cutting the stone, you had already planned for me to take the spotlight for you, didn't you?"
"How could that be?" Li Yang smiled and shook his head.
Professor Ning chuckled twice, "You won't admit it! I know in my heart anyway."
"But since I'm in the spotlight now, I'll help you take it. However, if you do this again next time, our friendship will be over."
"As for the red envelope, take it back."
"Since you've said so, I definitely won't dare to do it again." Li Yang said with a smile, "You must accept this red envelope. Although the money isn't much, it's for good luck. We'll treat you to a meal when we have the chance."
"Alright." Professor Ning looked at him, accepted the red envelope, and then said, "But you have to tell me the truth. This skill of marking and cutting stones, did you learn it from that great master?"
"Half of it is due to family background, and half is from my own tinkering," Li Yang said with a smile.
Lin Xiaoyu chimed in, "Big Brother Li's family has been in the antique business for generations, so he naturally has talent and expertise in this area."
"A descendant of an antique family? No wonder you're so impressive. I can't even compare to you in this regard." Professor Ning was surprised and gave him a thumbs-up, saying, "If you talk more about it, you might even become a 'Divine Cutter'."
"Professor Ning, what is a 'Divine Cutter'? It sounds a bit strange," Lin Xiaoyu said, confused.