Chapter 144: 5-Colored Jade
"Yeah, okay. I’ll go check on the auction," Chu Feng said with a nod.
After all, cutting a raw stone this large would take some time.
When the next raw stone came up, Chu Feng took a look and found that while its jade content was high, the quality was poor.
So, he once again decided against bidding.
He then went straight to the jade-cutting area. The raw stone was large, but the cutting machine was relatively fast. By the time Chu Feng got back, a small piece had already been sliced off.
"Mr. Chu, your eye is truly sharp. We hit jade on the very first cut! It looks like this stone is going to yield a lot of it, and the quality is top-grade, pure jadeite," Old Mo said to Chu Feng with a smile.
"Good. Keep cutting. Just follow the lines I drew," Chu Feng said with a smile.
Actually, he already knew the stone would yield jade, so he wasn’t all that shocked by the sight.
"You got it. Mr. Chu, go take a break. We’ll have this done in no time," Old Mo said with a smile.
In fact, the further they cut, the more astonished Old Mo and his son became. Chu Feng’s lines had seemed so casually drawn, but in reality, they were incredibly precise.
Every line was perfect, almost as if he had measured them in advance.
Soon, all the lines Chu Feng had drawn were cut.
After the initial cuts, it still needed to be further broken down; after all, the raw stone was massive.
Even though Old Mo’s son was a big, tall man, the raw stone was so huge that fully extracting the jade would be no easy task.
By the time it was all extracted, they would probably be dead tired.
Just then, Old Jiang and Zhao Liu got word and rushed over, wanting to see what was going on.
"Brother Chu, what’s the situation over here? Did you hit jade?" Old Jiang was the first to rush over and ask.
You could tell from his face that the man was extremely curious.
"We did," Chu Feng said.
"With Brother Chu’s eye, any stone he picks is bound to have jade. As for the quality... if he pulls out a top-tier piece, that would be insane," Old Jiang said.
As they were talking, Old Mo suddenly let out a cry of surprise.
"Huh? Something’s not right here." Old Mo shone his flashlight on the cut stone, continuously washing the muddy slurry from its surface with water.
"What is it, Old Mo? What do you mean, ’not right’?" Old Jiang immediately asked.
"Boss Jiang, Mr. Chu, Sixth Master Zhao, look at this jade. Its color... it’s a bit strange," Old Mo said, pointing at the stone.
"What’s strange about it?" Old Jiang asked again.
"From the first cut, I thought this was glass-variety jadeite. But as I’ve continued working on it, I’ve discovered that under different lights, the jadeite turns into purple jade, blue jade, Blood Jade... several different colors," Old Mo said.
"What? That’s impossible," Old Jiang said, stunned. He shot a shocked glance at Chu Feng.
With that, Old Jiang grabbed a flashlight and began to shine it on the stone. Chu Feng and Zhao Liu watched from the side.
As the flashlight beam moved closer and farther away, the color of the jade changed completely. Not only that, but the intensity of the light and the angle of the beam also caused the stone to display different colors.
It was like looking at a rainbow-colored gemstone, so dazzling it made one’s eyes swim.
"Could it be... this is *that* kind of jade?" Old Mo suddenly blurted out. His face was filled with contemplation, and his eyes betrayed a deep sense of shock.
"Huh? What kind of jade? Your expression is creeping me out. If you have something to say, just say it! Don’t be so mysterious," Old Jiang, thoroughly spooked by Old Mo, said nervously.
"It’s like this... my family has been in the jade-cutting trade for ten generations. Over all these years, my lineage has handled countless types of jade. We’ve seen them all."
"I once heard my grandfather say that while the so-called Emperor Jade is precious, it’s not the absolute pinnacle. Above Emperor Jade, there are several even more valuable types of jade," Old Mo said.
"Old Mo, are you talking about Blood Jade?" Old Jiang asked curiously.
"No, not Blood Jade. Blood Jade is rare, yes, but it can’t change colors like this stone," Old Mo said, shaking his head.
"Then what is it?" Old Jiang’s curiosity grew.
"It shows different colors under different light. I suspect this is the legendary Five-Colored Jade. Rumor has it that the Seven-Colored Heaven-mending Stone used by Nuwa to mend the heavens was a type of Five-Colored Jade. Of course, that’s just a way of describing how precious and rare Five-Colored Jade is," Old Mo explained.
"Alright, that’s enough. This matter is to be kept secret for now. We’ll talk after the jade is fully extracted. Once it’s out, get it away from here immediately. No one is to breathe a word of this!" Zhao Liu stepped forward and declared.
"Yes, Sixth Master is right. Let’s finish extracting the jade. Once it’s out, we’ll haul it away immediately," Chu Feng said.
’Whether or not this is the Five-Colored Jade Old Mo mentioned, the safest thing to do is get it home first.’
’Who knows what kind of trouble might start if they left it here.’
"I’ll arrange for a truck to come over. We’ll load up everything we bought today and take it all back," Zhao Liu said.
By the time Zhao Liu had arranged for the truck and it arrived, Old Mo and his son had finished completely extracting the jade.
Seeing the fully extracted gemstone, everyone was stunned. The so-called Five-Colored Jade was simply too beautiful, its colors incredibly vibrant.
It felt as though they were looking at something from a dream.
"It’s gorgeous! If this was made into jewelry, it would sell for an astronomical price! Brother Chu, you’ve hit the jackpot!" Old Jiang was dumbfounded. The original raw stone had weighed over a ton.
Even after cutting away the waste rock, the jade itself was still nearly a ton.
"Quick, find a tarp and cover it," Zhao Liu said.
He was quick-witted. This stone absolutely could not be seen by anyone else. If it was, word would spread like wildfire.
"Boss Jiang, Five-Colored Jade like this usually can’t be measured in money. Even a small piece would be priceless," Old Mo said from the side. He and his son quickly found a tarp and covered the Five-Colored Jade.
"Holy shit, it’s priceless! Brother Chu, you’re incredible! How did you know this raw stone would have Five-Colored Jade inside? Your piece is so huge, how about you sell me a little?" Old Jiang was practically bouncing with excitement as he spoke to Chu Feng.
Even an incredibly wealthy man like Boss Jiang didn’t dare ask to buy Chu Feng’s entire piece of Five-Colored Jade; he probably couldn’t afford it even with his entire net worth.
