Chapter 133: Jade Convention
"Sure, let’s go take a look," Chu Feng said with a nod.
He really didn’t know as much about this stuff as Zhao Liu.
"There’s still some time before the auction starts. Brother, you can look around for a bit. I have some things to take care of, so I’ll let you know when it’s about to begin," said Zhao Liu.
"Alright. Go on and take care of your business, Sixth Master," Chu Feng said.
The venue was filled with hundreds of stalls, both large and small, all selling jade. They had both finished pieces and raw stones.
The prices ranged from a few hundred to tens or even hundreds of thousands. There were even some worth over a million, though those were rare.
Chu Feng took Su Miaoke’s hand and started to wander around.
"Hey, young boss! Looking to buy some jade? The chances of finding good jade here are super high. Why not buy a few and try your luck?" someone shouted at Chu Feng as he walked past a stall.
"Hmm, can I pick them up and take a look?" Chu Feng asked, walking closer and gesturing toward the raw jade stones.
"Of course! Take your time," the owner said with a smile.
Chu Feng didn’t stand on ceremony. He picked up a raw stone and felt it, sending his Spiritual Power inside. He sneered inwardly.
He then examined a dozen more raw stones, and the result was the same for all of them.
These raw stones had small "windows" cut into the surface, revealing what looked like jade, but in reality, there was nothing inside.
’Anyone who buys this stuff is a complete idiot.’
Seeing Chu Feng pick through the stones without any intention of buying, the owner started to get impatient.
"Hey boss, you’ve been looking for a while now. How about it? See anything you like? Or how about I help you pick one out?" the owner asked, looking a little anxious.
Chu Feng remained completely unhurried in the face of the owner’s coaxing.
Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted an inconspicuous raw stone at the very edge of the table.
It was technically a raw stone, but it was ugly and looked like it couldn’t possibly contain any jade.
"This one?" The owner looked at Chu Feng, a bit surprised, but handed the stone over anyway.
"Yes, I want this one. Name your price, boss," Chu Feng said with a nod.
When Su Miaoke saw the raw stone, a look of disdain immediately crossed her face. "Honey, is this one any good? It looks like it won’t have any jade in it. Let’s not buy this one."
"Hm? Why not? You know about this stuff?" Chu Feng asked, turning to Su Miaoke.
"I’ve been asking around and got some advice these past few days. They say if you shine a strong flashlight on it, you can tell if there’s jade inside. When you shine a light on this one, you see nothing at all. It definitely doesn’t have any," Su Miaoke said confidently.
"When did you go asking for advice? How come I didn’t know? You even brought a little flashlight?" Chu Feng asked in surprise.
"I’m not telling you," Su Miaoke said with a huff.
As she spoke, Su Miaoke kept shining the flashlight on the stone.
"So? What’s your verdict?" Chu Feng asked.
"This stone definitely doesn’t have any jade!" Su Miaoke said, still just as certain.
"Boss, how much for this raw stone?" Chu Feng asked the owner directly.
"This one? I paid a pretty penny to get it. But since you seem to like it so much, boss, how about this—I’ll sell it to you for just ten thousand," the owner said with a smile.
When the man smiled, his eyes narrowed into slits, making him look extremely cunning.
"What? Ten thousand? Why don’t you just rob us? Ten thousand for a worthless rock like this?" Su Miaoke couldn’t sit still after hearing the price and retorted unhappily.
"Hey now, beautiful, what’s that supposed to mean? I run an honest business here, no pressure to buy. If you want it, take it for five thousand. If not, then be on your way," the owner said, feigning displeasure with an angry look on his face.
"Fine. Five thousand. I’ll transfer it to you," Chu Feng said, immediately scanning the payment code without another word.
Su Miaoke grew anxious when she heard Chu Feng agree to buy it.
"Honey, why are you wasting money like this? You can tell just by looking that there’s no jade in it," Su Miaoke said.
"It’s fine. We’ll find someone to cut it open. We’ll know for sure then," Chu Feng said with a smile.
After receiving the five thousand yuan transfer from Chu Feng, the owner’s face instantly lit up with a huge smile. He said to Chu Feng, "Boss, there’s a professional stone cutter just up ahead. It’s cheap."
"Okay, thanks," Chu Feng said to the owner.
"Yours definitely doesn’t have any jade. You don’t even need to get it cut," Su Miaoke said.
"How will we know if we don’t try?" Chu Feng said calmly.
The two of them quickly followed the owner’s directions and arrived at a stone-cutting shop. The venue had only just opened, so there weren’t many people around.
"Master, can you take a look and tell me how much it would cost to cut this stone?" Chu Feng asked as he walked up.
"This one in your hand?" The master glanced at the stone in Chu Feng’s hand and said, "It’s not very big. I’ll charge you a thousand."
"But you have to show me how you want it cut. I’ll follow the lines you draw, but if it breaks, I’m not responsible," the master continued.
"Alright. Please cut it for me, Master," Chu Feng said after casually drawing two lines on the stone.
Seeing Chu Feng draw the lines and pay the fee, the old master immediately beamed with joy.
He immediately began to cut the stone for Chu Feng.
With the first cut, a piece of the outer rock fell away, but there wasn’t the slightest hint of jade.
"No jade. Honey, I told you this stone definitely didn’t have any jade in it," Su Miaoke said.
"Don’t be hasty. Let’s wait until it’s all cut open," Chu Feng said with a faint, confident smile.
Then came the second cut. Before long, the stone-cutting master shouted, "Boss, your stone has jade in it!"
"Master, please trouble yourself to cut the rest of it open. I’ll pay you more," Chu Feng said.
After saying that, he transferred another two thousand yuan to the master.
Hearing the notification that the money had arrived, the master was even more energized and immediately got to work.
In no more than ten minutes or so, the entire stone was cut open.
A piece of jadeite, roughly the size of a fist, was revealed. It looked very pure, with a brilliant luster.
"It really has jade! The color is so beautiful," Su Miaoke said, her face filled with pleasant surprise.
The only drawback, however, was that the jade had cracks—and quite a few of them. This would significantly lower the stone’s value.
But because its purity was quite high, it could still sell for several tens of thousands.
He had only spent eight thousand in total, meaning he had multiplied his investment by nearly tenfold.
"If you like it, it’s yours. We can find someone to process it later," Chu Feng said, handing the jade to Su Miaoke.
Su Miaoke caressed the fist-sized piece of jade, her eyes fixed on it, full of delight.
"Honey, how did you know for sure that this stone had jade inside?"