The largest jade raw material yard in Longyan City is located in the southwest suburbs. It covers several hundred mu and is backed by a jade mountain. Most of the jade in the southwestern region of the Dragon Kingdom is said to be mined from this jade mountain.
When Xiao Yunlong arrived, he found the jade raw material yard crowded with people. The parking lot at the entrance was already full of cars, almost overflowing.
After inquiring, he learned that the annual Stone Gambling Convention was being held there today, which was why it was so lively. Not only were jade buyers from the southwestern region participating, but people from all over the country had also come.
In addition, there were many tourists who came to watch the excitement. After all, the Stone Gambling Convention did not set a very high threshold for entry. As long as one paid an entrance fee of three hundred yuan, they could enter to observe and learn.
Of course, the three hundred yuan was not paid in vain. It included a bottle of purified water and lunch. Additionally, after the event, participants could choose a piece of scrap jade from the discarded area. If they were lucky, they might even find some good items.
"Stone Gambling Convention? It's better to arrive at the right time than to arrive early. Since I happened to catch it, let's go in and take a look!"
Xiao Yunlong smiled slightly and, after paying the six hundred yuan entrance fee with Jun Bufan, they entered.
In fact, on the way there, Xiao Yunlong had considered going directly to the antique jade street to investigate. However, he then thought that since there was a jade raw material yard here, why go the long way around? After all, the quantity of jade raw materials here was very large.
If there was a possibility of spiritual energy being contained within the jade, then the jade raw material yard would undoubtedly have the highest probability.
The material yard was very large, estimated to be no less than several hundred mu. It was divided into five areas, A, B, C, D, and E, according to the price of the raw stones.
Originally, Xiao Yunlong was not very concerned about this so-called Stone Gambling Convention, but he learned about it from the constant discussions around him.
The prices of raw stones in the five areas were different. Area A was the highest. Some of the raw stones here had already been opened, and it was completely certain that there was jade inside. In addition, many raw stones were very large, some even as large as a small mountain.
The price of such raw stones was naturally not cheap. Of course, this Stone Gambling Convention was conducted uniformly across the five areas, so it was impossible to compare who chose the most valuable jade. Otherwise, wouldn't those who chose from Area A have the greatest chance of winning?
This would be unfair to ordinary participants who could not afford Area A. This Stone Gambling Convention competed on excavation value!
For example, if someone spent three million yuan to buy a raw stone from Area A, and after opening it, its price increased to five million yuan based on the quality of the jade, then the excavation value would be two million yuan!
And if someone else chose a raw stone from Area E for one thousand yuan, and after opening it, its value increased to four million yuan, although the overall price was not comparable to that of Area A, the excavation value reached more than 3.9 million yuan. Naturally, he would win.
This kind of competition was relatively fair. Of course, it was not only very low in probability but also very difficult to choose high-value jade from places like Area E, as the raw stones in this area were basically leftovers.
According to previous years' situations, the winners of the Stone Gambling Convention were basically from Area A, and those who could buy raw stones from Area A were basically wealthy people. In other words, this Stone Gambling Convention was essentially a game for the rich.
Xiao Yunlong was not concerned about this, as he was not here for the Stone Gambling Convention, nor was he aiming for the champion prize of several million yuan.
After a general glance, Xiao Yunlong headed straight for Area A, as it was the most likely place to find jade with good quality and the possibility of containing spiritual energy.
Area A was also not small. It was already noon. The area was already crowded with people. The jade stones were placed in a disorderly manner. Each jade stone had a label, including the pit number, origin, and price.
Dense crowds of people were browsing and selecting in groups of two or three. Some were even using special flashlights to constantly examine them.
Xiao Yunlong moved around and observed without making a sound. Throughout the entire process, he did not touch or examine the jade stones. He just kept walking back and forth. During this time, he was secretly circulating the "Three Thousand Divine Kingdoms Technique." As long as he approached a raw stone containing spiritual energy, he would immediately have a reaction.
However, to his disappointment, after spending nearly half an hour and walking through more than half of Area A, he still hadn't found any raw stones that gave him a special reaction.
"It seems that even if most of these raw stones contain jade, they do not contain spiritual energy!" Xiao Yunlong shook his head and sighed.
Just then, an extremely harsh voice suddenly came over.
"Kid, I've been watching you for a long time. You're dressed like a poor bird, what are you pretending to be here? Do you understand how to appraise raw stones?"
As the voice fell, a rich young master dressed in an Armani tracksuit, accompanied by two followers, walked over.
In addition, behind him were two old men with goatee beards and reading glasses. These two old men also held a raw stone and a magnifying glass in their hands, and they seemed to be the stone gambling masters hired by this rich young master.
Xiao Yunlong glanced at the other party and frowned slightly, but he was too lazy to speak.
Jun Bufan said in a deep voice, "What business is it of yours whether we understand stone appraisal or not? Besides, is there any rule in this area that prohibits us from entering?"
"There is no strict rule, but can you stop pretending to be rich? If you don't have money, then don't have money. Why don't you honestly go to other areas? I've been watching you for a long time, and you don't look like you can afford it. I dislike people like you the most!"
This young master, dressed in famous brands, said with a disdainful curl of his lips, thinking he was being very righteous.
In fact, besides those who came to gamble on stones, many so-called socialites and internet celebrities also participated in this Stone Gambling Convention. These socialites and internet celebrities came to broadcast and gain traffic on the one hand, but also to seize opportunities and see if they could be lucky enough to be noticed by some boss.
Therefore, these socialites and internet celebrities, dressed in sexy and beautiful attire, were almost all concentrated in Area A, as all the wealthy people were concentrated in this area.
For example, the rich young master in front of him was always surrounded by a group of female internet celebrities, some of whom were even frequently winking at him.
The reason why this rich young master felt compelled to step forward righteously was that he thought Xiao Yunlong and his companion were pretending to be rich and trying to attract these female internet celebrities.
After all, these two guys were quite good-looking. If their mouths were even more eloquent, they might be able to trick a not-so-innocent internet celebrity into bed tonight.
Jun Bufan couldn't help but laugh in anger and snorted, "You say we're pretending to be rich and can't afford these raw stones? You really judge a book by its cover. I'll pick the biggest and most expensive raw stone here right now..."
Speaking of which, Jun Bufan was also a young master from a wealthy family in Sucheng, and his family was well-off. Especially after following Xiao Yunlong, the Jun family gave him many family permissions, including the permission to use family assets. He could still come up with one or two hundred million yuan.
However, before he could finish speaking, Xiao Yunlong said in a deep voice, "That's enough. Why bother arguing with someone like this? Let's go to other areas to take a look!"
Saying that, he turned to leave.
"Stop, what did you say, kid? Not bothering with someone like me?"
This rich young master couldn't help but laugh, a cold laugh, of course. He grinned and said, "If you dare, tell me, what kind of person am I?"
Xiao Yunlong turned his head and glanced at him coldly. At this moment, his gaze was like a knife, extremely sharp and chilling.
"If you dare to talk nonsense and obstruct me again, believe it or not, you'll be a dead man!"
Xiao Yunlong's words, unexpectedly, startled the surrounding rich young master, and he momentarily forgot to speak.
Too lazy to bother with this ignorant and arrogant rich dandy, Xiao Yunlong turned and left this area, with Jun Bufan closely following.
It was only then that this rich young master reacted, gritting his teeth and shouting at Xiao Yunlong's retreating back, "Unreasonable! This poor bumpkin actually dared to threaten me! I must teach him a lesson!"
Saying that, he was about to angrily chase after him.
However, a companion beside him said, "Let's forget it, Young Master Ge. What are our identities? Why bother arguing with this country bumpkin and lower our standards? Let's hurry up and look at the stones!"
"That's right, you're absolutely right. Arguing with this country dog really tarnishes our status!"
This Young Master Ge curled his lips disdainfully before continuing to look at stones with his two stone gambling masters.
Of course, this was just a small interlude, and Xiao Yunlong didn't take it to heart. However, what made him feel depressed was that after looking at the raw stones in Area B and Area C consecutively, he still hadn't found any raw stones that could make him sense a special reaction.
"Could it be that in such a large jade raw material yard, there isn't a single piece of jade that contains spiritual energy?" Xiao Yunlong shook his head secretly, feeling quite depressed.
Soon, he had looked through Area D as well, and still found nothing. At this point, Xiao Yunlong was already considering giving up, because Area E was basically a waste material area. Not to mention spiritual energy contained within the raw stones, the probability of even opening jade was very slim.
It was already afternoon. Those participants who had chosen suitable raw stones early had gone to the designated area to open the stones.
Every time a piece of jade with good quality was opened, cheers would erupt from the stone opening area.
Xiao Yunlong shook his head and forced himself to continue towards the last Area E. Since he was here and had nothing else to do, he might as well check everything to avoid regret.
However, he had already lost hope. Yet, after walking in Area E for a short while, the long-lost special reaction in his heart finally appeared.
Xiao Yunlong's heart immediately rejoiced, and he directly focused his gaze on a raw stone that was unremarkable, even looking somewhat ugly, about the size of an adult's fist.
"It's this stone!" Xiao Yunlong was excited. He directly picked up this raw stone. It felt heavy in his hand, and its surface looked no different from ordinary stones, but at this moment, his divine kingdom's reaction became even stronger.
This undoubtedly made Xiao Yunlong even more certain that it contained spiritual energy.
However, what surprised Xiao Yunlong even more was that at this time, he discovered another area of stones next to it. These stones were palm-sized and had the same texture as the previous one, and they also caused his inner divine kingdom to react.
"This also contains spiritual energy!"
This was an unexpected joy for Xiao Yunlong. However, it was also within reason, as both stones originated from the same place, and it looked like the other batch of stones was likely cut from that fist-sized raw stone.
In fact, it was precisely because it had been cut and no jade was found inside, coupled with its extremely ugly and ordinary appearance, that it was discarded in this area.
Subsequently, Xiao Yunlong spent a total of eight hundred yuan to buy these two unremarkable and ugly stones, and then headed to the stone opening area.
Jun Bufan watched from the side throughout the entire process, but he did not ask any questions. He was just very curious in his heart, not understanding why his elder brother looked down on so many raw stones earlier, but specifically chose these two ugly discarded material stones.
Could there be some hidden mystery within them?