Chapter 145: The Jade Gambling Continues

He Zhixing handed the stone to the twin sisters and continued his search. Luck was on his side; he found another large piece with an apple-green hue. The exterior of the stone was unremarkable, marred by "chicken-claw" cracks and dark moss. Fortunately, the moss was minimal—just a tiny streak. Using his X-ray vision, He Zhixing peered inside and saw that the moss dissipated only ten centimeters deep. Within the two-hundred-plus-pound boulder, nearly half contained high-quality apple-green jadeite.

He Zhixing lifted this stone and placed it alongside the smaller one with the purple "eye" he had previously selected, leaving them in the care of the young women. He then continued his search, accompanied by the beautiful Xiao and Zheng Huizhen, who watched his selection process with keen interest.

After spending most of the day scanning the inventory, He Zhixing realized that while there were many stones, few were of significant value. Most were mixed-color Bean Green or Hibiscus variety. He eventually picked out eight more raw stones rich in jadeite, bringing his total to ten. The largest weighed about three hundred pounds, and the smallest five or six. All of them were "blind" stones—unopened and uncut. He called over the proprietress and asked, "Madam, I’ve made my selection. How do you price your raw stones?"

The proprietress replied, "These raw jadeite stones are all imported from the mining areas near YN in Myanmar. To be honest with you, many of these are from newer mines. If I charge by the kilogram, it would be 4,600. If we don’t calculate by weight, there are over a thousand pounds here in total; I can give them to you for a flat price of 2.5 million."

He Zhixing felt the price was quite steep, but he knew that with so few shops dealing in raw jadeite, he had little room to negotiate. He had already inquired about the market prices in Pingzhou, and he knew the proprietress was offering a discount; otherwise, it would have been even higher.

After a moment of thought, He Zhixing said, "Very well, I will take them all. Do you accept card payments?"

"Certainly, please follow me," the proprietress said.

She led him to a small counter in the shop to process the payment. Other patrons in the store watched in awe as He Zhixing purchased ten raw stones at once, spending over two million without batting an eye. They whispered among themselves, clearly impressed by this wealthy young man.

After the transaction, the proprietress asked, "Young man, would you like to open these stones on the spot? We have two master cutters here who can help you for free. We guarantee you'll be satisfied!"

He Zhixing considered it; transporting over a thousand pounds would be difficult, and cutting them down would reduce the weight. "That sounds good. Let's open them here."

When the other gamblers in the shop heard that He Zhixing was going to cut his stones on-site, they gathered around the cutting area with expressions of excitement. Once the two masters moved the stones to the designated area, they prepared to begin.

"Sir," one of the masters asked, "which two would you like to start with?"

"Let's begin with the two smallest," He Zhixing replied. "Please be careful not to damage the jade inside!"

He Zhixing then marked the cutting lines on each stone. The masters assured him, "Don't worry, sir, we won't let you down!"

As the cutting began, the shrill sound of the grinding machine drew even more onlookers, until the area was packed with people.

Suddenly, someone shouted, "It’s green! There's green!"

The master immediately stopped the machine and splashed a bottle of mineral water over the cut. Sure enough, a splash of green appeared. He carefully continued cutting along the edge of the color. At the same moment, another voice cried out, "Wow, there's green on this side too! It's green...!"

"Look, it's Bean Green and Hibiscus variety!"

The double success thrilled the six women accompanying him, and the crowd of onlookers was equally electrified. An unexpected voice called out from the group: "Young man, are you selling these? I'll offer twenty thousand for this one, or fifty thousand for the pair!"

As the masters continued to cut and more jadeite was revealed, others began to outbid each other: "I offer eighty thousand!"

"One hundred thousand!"

"One hundred and ten thousand!"

"One hundred and fifty thousand!"

The bids kept rising. The six women looked at He Zhixing in disbelief, feeling that this man was truly miraculous. To strike jade in two stones simultaneously was not something an ordinary person could achieve, and the shock it brought them was immense.