The master held the stone in his hand and stared at me, saying, "You understand stone gambling?"
His hand was large, and the stone was completely hidden when he held it. I didn't know why he asked me this, so I said, "No, I just like it and want to try my luck, see if I have the fortune."
Master: "Since you don't understand, why did you insist on polishing the surface?"
I said, "I just wanted a complete piece. After all, the material is too small, and if I cut it, there wouldn't be much left to do."
The master nodded, seemingly satisfied with what I said. However, he immediately shook his head and said, "You're young and not honest. I told you from the start there was no color, yet you insisted on polishing. This shows you understand stones. If you didn't, you wouldn't persist. But I admire you; to be so young and have your own opinions is rare at your age."
After speaking, he opened his hand, placing the stone under the desk lamp. Several people craned their necks, and suddenly, with a collective gasp, they all exclaimed in surprise. In the master's palm lay a stone about the size of a duck egg, radiating a red glow all over. It was flawless, with no impurities or color variations, truly beautiful!
At this moment, the boss walked over, put on his reading glasses, and took the stone to examine it closely. He muttered continuously, "Rouge Red, Rouge Red. I haven't seen such a clean, pure Rouge Red in many years. It's truly rare, young man. Whether you're willing to let me buy it back or not, I'll set off firecrackers. This is good news for our shop!"
I was also very excited. Although I didn't know how much it was worth now, I had won, and I had won decisively. The material had come out entirely according to my plan, which was the greatest affirmation for me.
The boss arranged for people to set off firecrackers, then handed the material to me and asked, "This piece of material can be carved into a blooming flower. Are you selling it? I'll buy it."
Earlier, I had said I was buying it for myself out of shyness, but that wasn't my true intention. If the price was right, I would definitely sell it, and then I would have the capital to gamble on jade. No matter how good the South Red material was, it was still far inferior to jade and couldn't be compared.
I hesitated for a moment, asking him the price with my eyes.
He thought for a moment and said, "This piece of material is worth three thousand. If you want to keep it, I'll give you the money upfront; you don't have to wait for the finished product."
Typically, shops buying materials would give only half or a little more than half the money, with the rest paid only after the finished product was sold. Unless it was an exceptionally good piece of material, they rarely paid the full price upfront.
The boss was making an exception by paying me the full price.
I said, "Alright, then I'll look for other materials to play with. I'll leave this one to you."
The boss took the material and went to the counter to count out the money for me. I took out five yuan for the cutting fee and then gave the master over two hundred as a thank you for the effort he put into polishing the stone.
Today was a small test of my abilities, and it had a good start. I didn't linger here and prepared to head to the master's shop. It was more important to learn from him. I couldn't get caught up in the vortex of stone gambling like a gambler.
Just as I reached the door, I encountered the person who had mugged me that morning. Damn it, he was a persistent ghost. Was he specifically targeting me? It didn't seem like it, as he hadn't spotted me, but was simply walking in my direction. I ducked into the shop, put the money I had just received into my inner pocket, and watched to see where he was going.
He walked past me and headed directly for my master's shop. It seemed he was indeed looking for me, probably coming to find me there.
Damn, this "female demon" was relentless, trying to corner me. I didn't know what grudge she held against me to go to such lengths to mess with me.
Instead of hiding, it was better to confront him directly. This was also a gamble, and at worst, I'd lose. Since I couldn't avoid it anyway, I might as well take the chance.
However, this enemy was different from Da Laizi. I gambled against Da Laizi and he lost, so I let him lose, even though he and his four lackeys were thoroughly defeated.
This person was different; he was a tough character, tougher than me. He had almost choked me to death earlier and had taken all my belongings. To gamble with him, I would need to exert at least twelve parts of my strength.
I made up my mind and walked in calmly.
The person was looking around the shop, pretending to be a stone gambler, but in reality, he was looking for me. I ignored him and went back to the stone by the door, sitting on it, watching the master cut the stone.
The master looked up at me, said nothing, and continued with his work.
The master was splitting a piece weighing twenty to thirty jin. It was a bit dry, lacking in water, with a pale green hue, and contained inclusions. Fortunately, it had no cracks. The lack of water could be compensated for by polishing in later stages; a higher luster could mask some of the deficiencies in the water. This piece could yield a few thousand yuan for a pair of bracelets.
This was likely material from a new mine, with a tender texture and insufficient water.
However, it was still a win, though not a large one.
At this moment, the person spotted me and pretended to walk out casually, staring at me as if afraid I would escape.
I sat there, ignoring him, and continued to watch the master split the stone.
This piece of material yielded four slices, enough for ten pairs of bracelets.
It could produce twenty Ruyi pendants, as well as a pile of small ornaments.
After the slices were prepared, the owner came over and packed them up, likely to process them himself.
Shops that gamble on stones usually didn't buy this kind of material; it wasn't easy to sell.
The person stopped in front of me, looking at me askance.
I had been his defeated opponent that morning, so he assumed I would be afraid of him and do whatever he wanted.
He lowered his head and whispered, "Let's talk somewhere private!"
His tone was not a request but a command.
I stood up and walked towards the east end of the street. I knew that at the end of this street was a large open lot, probably an area the government planned to develop into a market, left there after demolition.
I walked quite quickly, and he followed me without falling behind.
I was calculating how I could defeat him in one move. I knew I was no match for him in a direct fight; it would only end like it did that morning.
That open space wasn't far, only a hundred meters or so, about a two or three-minute walk.
I walked ahead, then suddenly turned, jumped to his left, and swept my leg into the back of his knee. He was walking quickly, already leaning forward, and immediately fell to the ground.
Taking advantage of the situation, I kicked him in the soft ribs. He cried out in pain and rolled over onto his back. I then kicked him in the stomach. His face contorted in pain, and he sat up, clutching his abdomen, completely incapacitated.
I pulled him up. He stood opposite me, hunched over. I asked him, "Why are you still following me?"
He didn't say a word, nor did he cry out. I truly admired him; he was in so much pain, yet he didn't make a sound.
I patted him down and found my pager. I held it in my hand, then looked for my money, but couldn't find it. I figured he must have spent it all. I punched him in the head again, then grabbed his hair and forced him to answer me.