The first floor of the Yu Cai Pavilion was spacious, divided into two areas. One side featured display cases for finished jade jewelry, while the other was the stone gambling area.
The finished jade jewelry display cases were filled with a dazzling array of jade pieces of varying grades, including high-quality ice-type jade bracelets, Guanyin and Buddha carvings, and modernly designed jade jewelry in various styles, ranging from hundreds of thousands to millions, even tens of millions of yuan.
In the stone gambling area, rectangular tables were laden with raw stones from various mining regions. Stones without exposed windows were colloquially known as "blind stones."
There were also semi-exposed stones, where the seller had opened a window to reveal the interior. However, these were not fully opened, but rather had a few points exposed to allow assessment of whether the stone contained fully colored material.
Of course, the most thrilling were the blind stones. However, experienced gamblers could appraise the origin and apply their knowledge to uncover priceless jade.
But for blind stones, luck played a significant role. It was precisely because of this that unsuspecting tourists enjoyed gambling on them.
As for stones with exposed windows, the intricacies were far too deep for the average person, and few dared to gamble on "blind stones."
"These look no different from the stones we see by the roadside."
Wan Yunting, Niu Qiuling, Yang Dong, Meng Hu, Di She, Ji Jing, and Kong Lian arrived at the stone gambling area. They looked at the "blind stones" of various sizes and colors. If they hadn't been displayed here, they would have been dismissed as ordinary rocks.
"Brother Dong, you must have gambled before. Tell me, which of these stones has a higher chance of containing jade?"
Wan Yunting was clueless about these matters and had no real interest in gambling. He only feigned strong interest to avoid arousing suspicion from Yang Dong and Meng Hu.
After all, he and Niu Qiuling were out tonight to meet with the police here!
Yang Dong, believing he was genuinely interested, pointed to a raw stone with a slightly yellowish, sandy skin. "Is this from the Huika mine?"
"Yes, boss. These blind stones are all from the Huika mine; they were just transported in today."
The manager responsible for the stone gambling area recognized that Yang Dong and Wan Yunting were not ordinary individuals. Especially since Yang Dong knew about the Huika mining region, indicating he understood the trade. Naturally, there were no ulterior motives or tricks involved.
"What is Huika?"
Wan Yunting, Meng Hu, and Di She looked bewildered. Yang Dong smiled, "Huika is the name of the mining region for these raw stones. When stones come from well-known mining regions, the quality of the jade extracted is usually not too poor. Huika is also a famous jade mining region in Myanmar. Brother Wan, just choose a few of these blind stones and try your luck."
"Alright, let me see."
Wan Yunting looked at the blind stones of varying sizes. Clueless, he pointed to a stone about the size of a washbasin in the middle. "This one! My intuition tells me there's definitely jade inside this one..."
The store manager saw that Wan Yunting was a novice with no knowledge but smiled and said nothing. "This piece of material is very good. If you want it cut, it will cost fifty thousand!"
"A small sum," Wan Yunting waved his hand grandly. Fifty thousand yuan was indeed a small sum to him.
Seeing a wealthy patron, the manager became even more delighted. He waved for two stone cutters to come over. They took the blind stone to the nearby stone-cutting machine, fixed it inside, closed the cover, and pressed a button. The blade spun, and the grating sound of the stone being cut echoed throughout the venue...
Others nearby were also attracted, eager to see if the raw stone Wan Yunting chose would yield jade.
"Let me handle this,"
Yang Dong stepped forward and stopped Wan Yunting, who was about to pay. He smiled, "Brother Wan, it's a rare opportunity for you to visit. As the host, it's natural for me to treat you."
"Brother Dong is generous. I won't stand on ceremony then," Wan Yunting shrugged, smiling indifferently.
Yang Dong smiled and nodded, taking his bank card to pay the manager fifty thousand yuan...
"Brother Wan, that purple jade bracelet is so beautiful. Will you buy it for me?"
Niu Qiuling, linking arms with Wan Yunting, pointed to the finished jade jewelry area and said with a pout.
"Sure, let's go pick one out. Whichever one you like, I'll buy it for you."
Wan Yunting put on a show of nouveau riche extravagance. Niu Qiuling pulled him over, and Yang Dong and the others were too polite to follow and play the third wheel...
"Have you contacted our people here?"
Standing before a display case with Niu Qiuling, looking at the jade jewelry, Wan Yunting asked quietly.
"We've made contact. He's on his way!" Niu Qiuling, still linking his arm, said softly.
"Okay, later you can excuse yourself to use the restroom and meet him. I'll handle things here," Wan Yunting said.
"Okay."
Niu Qiuling nodded, then pointed to a jade bracelet and exclaimed happily, "Brother Wan, this bracelet is beautiful. I want this one."
"Alright, let's buy it."
Wan Yunting was extremely generous. The sales assistant immediately took out the bracelet and had Niu Qiuling try it on. It fit her perfectly. She happily said, "I want this one, and this jade pendant is nice too."
Wan Yunting gave her a look and asked, "How much are these two items?"
The beautiful sales assistant smiled, "This bracelet is made from ice-type material, with a very fine texture. Whether it's the color, transparency, or purity, it's of top-grade ice-type quality..."
"Alright, don't tell me all that. I don't understand it anyway. Just tell me the total price for the bracelet and the jade Buddha." Wan Yunting interrupted the sales assistant impatiently.
Seeing this, the beautiful sales assistant directly stated, "This bracelet is one million three hundred and eighty thousand yuan. The jade Buddha is made from top-grade water-type material, and the craftsmanship is by our best master carver, so it's one million two hundred and eighty thousand yuan. The total is two million six hundred and sixty thousand yuan!"
"So expensive..."
Wan Yunting was taken aback for a moment, then turned and gave Niu Qiuling a look. "Let's not buy it then."
"No, I want it."
Niu Qiuling pouted and acted spoiled, inwardly delighted. She finally found an opportunity to get back at this scoundrel.
Wan Yunting, who could see through her intentions, was speechless. He whispered, "I didn't bring that much money. Let's forget about it."
"I don't care, I want these two items anyway. And this necklace, how much is it?"
Niu Qiuling ignored Wan Yunting and pointed to a meticulously crafted necklace in the display case. The sales assistant said, "This is made from excellent water-type jade and costs two million eight hundred thousand yuan. If you buy all three items, I can apply for a ten percent discount from the manager."
"We'll take them," Niu Qiuling said with a sly smile, asking the sales assistant to pack all three jade jewelry pieces.
"Buy it, buy it. Anyway, I'll get reimbursed by Director Pang when I get back."
Wan Yunting gave her a look, knowing Niu Qiuling was doing this on purpose. He then took out a bank card and swiped it directly for the sales assistant. After all, Jiang Wenhao had transferred ten billion yuan to this bank card earlier, so he wasn't short of money.
Just then, a young man in plain clothes walked in. It was Zhong Zhicheng, who had rushed over!
"The contact person is here!"
Niu Qiuling, who recognized Zhong Zhicheng at a glance, whispered to Wan Yunting.
Wan Yunting turned his head and immediately locked onto Zhong Zhicheng. Zhong Zhicheng also happened to see Niu Qiuling. Zhong Zhicheng and Wan Yunting made eye contact, and Zhong Zhicheng knew he was the undercover agent from Huadu, Wan Yunting!
Seeing Niu Qiuling dressed in a sexy, fiery dress and intimately linking arms with Wan Yunting, Zhong Zhicheng's heart sank, and his gaze towards Wan Yunting became hostile.
Naturally sensing his contemptuous and hostile gaze, Wan Yunting looked at Zhong Zhicheng with some confusion, asking doubtfully, "Is that him?"
"Yes, it's him!"
Niu Qiuling nodded, as she had Zhong Zhicheng's WeChat and they had been in contact along the way.
"Brother Wan, the stone has been cut."
Yang Dong from the stone gambling area turned and called out.
"Coming."
Wan Yunting called back and then instructed Niu Qiuling, "You go and meet him first. Remember, at most five minutes, don't take too long!"
"Okay."
Niu Qiuling nodded and went to meet Zhong Zhicheng, while Wan Yunting headed towards Yang Dong and the others...