Meanwhile, the owner of the stone-cutting shop emerged with a man in his fifties.
He immediately addressed Ye Feng and the other young man, "Young sirs, this is our finest stone-cutting master, Master Wu!"
Upon hearing "Master Wu," the surrounding crowd gasped in shock.
Even Xiao Feifei and Zhao Yanxuan looked up, surprised, and turned their attention to the middle-aged man.
Although Ye Feng didn't know Master Wu's background, the reactions of the people around him indicated that Master Wu was someone of importance.
"Wow! Master Wu was invited?"
"Hey, hey, I'm a bit ignorant. I've only recently gotten into jade gambling. Could you tell me who Master Wu is?"
"You don't know Master Wu? What are you even doing in jade gambling!"
"Exactly! Master Wu is one of the few people in the country who has cut out Imperial Green glass-type jade!"
"What? You mean the Master Wu who cut out a piece of Imperial Green glass-type jade the size of a head three years ago?"
"Yes, that's him. I can't believe he was invited..."
Listening to the discussions around him, Ye Feng began to understand Master Wu's reputation.
Tang Zhiyang, hearing this, became even more pleased. "Haha! Excellent! Enough talk, let's begin! Ye Feng, do you want to go first, or should I?"
Ye Feng replied indifferently, "As you wish!"
"Heh heh! In that case, I won't be shy! I'll go first!" Saying this, Tang Zhiyang immediately handed his smallest stone to Master Wu.
Although Tang Zhiyang's stone was the smallest, its volume was still slightly larger than a human head.
It was also marked with a price: six hundred and fifty thousand.
This prompted the surrounding people to praise him.
"Wow, six hundred and fifty thousand, Young Master Tang is so generous!"
"Indeed! Young Master Tang is so generous, he's bound to find good material!"
"That's right, this raw stone looks like it'll yield good quality. I'm so excited..."
Ye Feng heard this and shook his head, saying nothing more.
Master Wu took the stone and began to examine it carefully.
Stone cutting can be more difficult than selecting raw stones, as one must have a deep understanding of jade rough.
If one accidentally cuts in the wrong place and damages a good piece, not only will they not receive payment, but they will also have to compensate for the losses.
Master Wu's fame stemmed from his profound knowledge of the structure and characteristics of raw jade, always managing to cut out perfect pieces without any waste.
After taking a glance at Tang Zhiyang's stone, which was slightly larger than a head, a hint of disappointment flashed in his eyes.
The next moment, he said, "Mr. Tang, for your jade rough, I suggest cutting it directly down the middle!"
Tang Zhiyang was stunned by this. "What? Cut it directly down the middle? Are you kidding me! What if you ruin my material?"
Not only him, but the surrounding crowd was also taken aback. After all, it wasn't a particularly large stone, and who would suggest cutting it down the middle right away?
However, they seemed to have misunderstood Master Wu's intention. Master Wu, unfazed, said, "Alright! Then shall we start by rubbing from the side?"
"Of course!" Tang Zhiyang nodded.
Master Wu said nothing more upon hearing this, merely nodding. He picked up his tools and began to rub from the side.
However, after a few minutes, Master Wu had already rubbed a large portion from the left side, but there was still no sign of jade.
"Hmm? Nothing inside?" someone asked, puzzled.
"How is that possible? Keep rubbing!" Tang Zhiyang said, somewhat stubbornly.
Master Wu, with a sigh, rubbed all sides of the raw stone, but still, not a speck of jade appeared.
"Damn, could it be a waste stone!"
"After rubbing all around and still no jade, it's probably a waste stone!"
"Alas, it seems someone's six hundred and fifty thousand is going to go down the drain!"
Seeing this, the surrounding people began to sigh.
To these people, finding good material made you a grandfather; failing to find it made you a grandson.
"Young Master Tang, may I ask if we can cut from the middle now?" Master Wu inquired.
Tang Zhiyang quickly replied, "Wait a moment! Let's still cut slowly from the side!"
"Alright!" Master Wu nodded helplessly.
In Master Wu's opinion, this was a waste stone; no matter how it was cut, it wouldn't yield anything, it would just be a waste of time.
But alas, the client had spoken, so he had to comply.
Soon, under Master Wu's operation, one-fifth of the left side of the jade rough was cut off.
But still, no jade appeared!
"Damn it, cut another fifth!" Tang Zhiyang instructed.
Master Wu was patient and continued to cut it, one-fifth after another.
However, after the entire raw stone was cut into five pieces, everyone discovered that there was no jade at all.
In other words, it was a waste stone.
"Pfft! What a joke! This is worth six hundred and fifty thousand?"
"Haha! Indeed! And they even had Master Wu rub it first, then cut it slowly? What a waste of time!"
"Alas! All my waiting and anticipation were for nothing..."
Upon seeing that it was a waste stone, the surrounding people showed disdain.
Tang Zhiyang's expression turned extremely unpleasant, and even Zhao Yanxuan showed a hint of shame.
This was because he and Tang Zhiyang had chosen this stone together, and it had turned out to be a failure.
"Heh heh! Young Master Tang, I told you long ago! A large volume doesn't necessarily mean good material, but you didn't believe me!" Ye Feng said with a smile.
Tang Zhiyang scoffed, "Hmph, as if yours is guaranteed to have something!"
"Heh heh! You'll know soon enough!" Ye Feng said, handing his smallest stone to Master Wu.
"Tch, even if it has something, such a small piece, it's good if it's worth a few hundred yuan!" Tang Zhiyang sneered.
"Heh heh, let's wait and see then!"
Ye Feng said no more and ignored him.
At this moment, the surrounding onlookers shook their heads.
The stone was not large, only about three fists in size. As Tang Zhiyang had said, even if it yielded jade, it wouldn't be worth much.
But was that really the case?
Master Wu took it and looked at it, his eyes immediately showing surprise.
Then, he picked up his tools and began to rub it.
However, after only a little rubbing, a translucent color of jade appeared.
"Wow, it's out after just a little rubbing?"
"Holy cow, no way! Jade appeared after just this much rubbing?"
"What, it's out? What kind of quality is it?"
Upon hearing that there was jade, the surrounding crowd all gathered around.
As Master Wu operated, everyone present showed expressions of astonishment.
It turned out that after Master Wu rubbed around the stone, he discovered that apart from a layer of weathered skin, the inside was entirely jade.
The jade's quality was quite good, likely either ice-glutinous or ice-type.
This caused the surrounding people to discuss it animatedly.
"Is this glutinous type?"
"This is much better than glutinous type! It should be ice-glutinous!"
"What are you talking about, this is definitely ice-type..."
Ye Feng listened to their words and showed a faint smile.
In fact, regardless of which level they mentioned, Ye Feng would likely not lose money.
If it reached glutinous type, Ye Feng would basically break even.
Reaching ice-glutinous would be a profit, and reaching ice-type would be a huge profit!
But all of them had underestimated the quality level of this piece of jade...