The business of gambling on stones is extremely risky, with the saying "one cut to poverty, one cut to riches."
A seemingly ordinary stone might yield rough jade worth millions, while a raw stone priced at tens of millions might yield nothing at all.
Yan Shouyi initially did not want to get involved in gambling on stones, because whenever he wished, he could earn a fortune through it. However, he no longer needed to accumulate wealth through gambling on stones. Moreover, as a folk sect, he was destined to be poor; forcibly accumulating wealth would only attract trouble.
But things were different now. Wei Changqing intended to test Yan Shouyi's eyesight and might even offer pointers, which was why Yan Shouyi was willing to try.
Gambling on stones and carpentry might seem unrelated at first glance, but as the saying goes, all paths lead to Rome. Anything done to its extreme can transcend industries and find certain techniques.
As a descendant of Lu Ban, proficient in carpentry, he already had a deep understanding of building materials like wood and stone. Combined with his innate and enhanced observational skills, he could easily see through the hidden mysteries within raw stones.
Just as Yan Shouyi could simulate the layout of the complex Jianwang Tomb in his mind and never lose his way, so too could he simulate the internal conditions of a raw stone with careful observation, thereby knowing the proportion of jade within and its quality.
This skill was a basic entry-level technique in the Lu Ban Book, called "An Autumn Leaf at a Glance."
When he was with his grandfather, Yan Shouyi's eyesight could clearly see a strand of hair from thirty meters away and accurately draw its curvature!
At this moment, Yan Shouyi walked into the area piled high with raw stones.
These raw stones were casually discarded on the ground. Due to long-term weathering, their internal conditions were impossible to discern.
The stall owner categorized them by shape, size, and so on, with raw stones in different areas priced differently.
Yan Shouyi chose the cheapest area, a zone of palm-sized raw stones, where each stone cost only two hundred yuan.
Because of the low price, many people were gathered, observing and selecting. Tourists and outsiders were eager to try their luck, as two hundred yuan wouldn't cause them significant loss or be a rip-off, but it could buy some excitement.
Seeing Yan Shouyi's young age, the stall owner immediately categorized him as a gullible customer and kept introducing him to raw stones priced over a thousand yuan.
However, Yan Shouyi was not interested. He sifted through the two-hundred-yuan stones and finally selected an ugly, irregularly shaped raw stone, picked it up, and tossed it to Old Jin.
"This one. Ask the stall owner to cut a window."
Cutting a window meant slicing off a small piece from the edge of the raw stone to examine its internal condition, as if opening a window and shining a flashlight inside to discern some clues.
"Certainly!"
Old Jin had absolute faith in Yan Shouyi and immediately paid two hundred yuan.
The stall owner, with agile hands, used a cutting machine to cut a window in the raw stone. After wiping it with water, the internal condition of the stone became visible.
The opened window was completely different from the external surface of the raw stone, and it was not the emerald green of jade, but pitch black, like ink.
Immediately, some onlookers who didn't know better let out sighs of dismay: "Oh dear, another loss, another loss!"
It was black and shapeless, like a stone from a latrine. What value could it have?
Old Jin also felt a bit uncertain and asked the stall owner, "What's going on here?"
The stall owner remained silent. He took the flashlight hanging around his neck and shone it inside. After a brief observation, he said, "You've struck it lucky. This is a piece of ink jade. Although it belongs to the mid to low-grade jade, this piece of yours is of very good quality. I'm willing to buy it back for three thousand yuan."
Ordinary tourists naturally didn't have channels to sell rough stones, so owners of stone gambling establishments would often buy back rough stones.
Once a tourist got lucky and unearthed good rough stones, the owner would directly make an offer to purchase them, usually at a minimum price, thereby making a profit on the side.
Old Jin was overjoyed at this, but he couldn't make up his mind and couldn't help but look at Yan Shouyi.
Yan Shouyi casually said, "Three thousand is fine. This boss is quite honest."
Actually, in his heart, this piece of ink jade was worth at least five thousand. Three thousand was a bit low, but on one hand, it saved trouble, and on the other hand, if he took this piece to sell to others, they might bargain even more fiercely.
Most importantly, at this point, the ink jade only had a window cut. The stall owner still didn't know the internal situation, so three thousand was already pretty good.
With this transaction, the two hundred yuan turned into three thousand yuan, and Old Jin was ecstatic.
Next, Yan Shouyi directly headed towards the area of raw stones priced over a thousand yuan.
He had just made a small test of his skills. To pick out good raw stones, size was a prerequisite.
The raw stones priced over a thousand yuan were about the size of basketballs. Even if they yielded the cheapest brick-grade material, the loss wouldn't be too great.
As Yan Shouyi was carefully selecting, a short man suddenly squeezed through the crowd and blocked his path. He cautiously took out a raw stone from his embrace and said to Yan Shouyi:
"Young man, I see you have a good eye. Why not take a look at my raw stone?"
Yan Shouyi looked down. This raw stone was about the size of two palms, with a small window cut. The rough material inside was of a true, deep color, appearing to be Imperial Green, with good translucency.
Such a piece of Imperial Green would be worth at least a million yuan.
The short man smiled and said, "I stole this from a jade factory and dare not sell it through formal channels. You seem to know your stuff. I'm short of cash, so I'll sell it to you for a hundred thousand yuan. What do you say?"
Old Jin, who had overheard the short man, also leaned over to take a look and immediately became excited: "Lao Yan, I think this stone is genuine!"
Yan Shouyi smiled and shook his head, "Buying a fake for a hundred thousand yuan? I'm not interested."
"Fake?" Old Jin was startled.
How could that be? The raw stones laid out on the ground were nothing, but the one in the short man's hand had a window cut and looked quite convincing. How could it be fake?
The short man forced a smile: "Young man, if you're not buying, don't just say things."
"Let's not even mention that your raw stone has a piece of Imperial Green glued onto a low-grade stone. Just this raw stone of yours is also a fake. You glued quality jade skin onto waste stone and buried it in soil treated with acid and alkali. Do you really think I'm an idiot and can't tell?"
Yan Shouyi exposed the short man's scam in one sentence, leaving the little swindler speechless.
The short man knew he had encountered a master and could only accept his fate. He was about to flee with the stone in his arms.
Yan Shouyi snatched his raw stone and smashed it hard onto the ground.
"You...?!" The short man's face showed anger.
Yan Shouyi said calmly, "When a fake is exposed, it must be smashed on the spot. This is the rule of the jianghu. It's already good that I didn't call the police to arrest you. Do you still want to take this broken stone and continue to deceive people?"
The short man gritted his teeth, then cupped his fist towards Yan Shouyi from a distance and swiftly disappeared into the crowd.
The jianghu is a complex jianghu. There are no clear boundaries between good and bad; there are only rules.
For example, those who guarded households in the past and those who robbed might know each other, even being from the same school.
However, everyone made a living by their own skills. Only by adhering to the rules could they prosper together.
Deceiving people was this short man's way of survival. Yan Shouyi had seen through his trick, so he could only abide by the rules, accept his defeat, and withdraw without further entanglement.