I asked him, "Did you cut any?"
Anqi said, "They cut two pieces, both materials worth over thirty thousand. They were still picking, and my brother stopped them, so they beat him up."
I told Wen Siqiang, "Go make a phone call. Go get Third Brother's people here. No matter what, they need to be here in ten minutes."
After Wen Siqiang left, I walked over and whispered a few words to Ang Chai, telling him to let them pick first to keep them calm, and that I had a plan.
Ang Chai knew I had an idea, so he nodded and stepped back, saying to them, "You can pick stones, but you have to pay for them."
As one of them was about to make a move again, I quickly stopped him, "Brother, please calm down. Gambling on stones is about the mood. A good mood brings good luck. I also like gambling on stones and want to learn from you, to catch some of your good luck."
The man, hearing my softly assertive words, fell silent and went to find raw stones.
I pulled Ang Chai aside, told him to calm down, and that I would handle the rest, asking him to stay out of it.
The man picked a piece of Maikan material, weighing about ten pounds. Maikan raw stones are generally small, with three to five pounds considered medium to large. This five-kilogram piece was already a giant.
I understood their logic: the bigger, the more valuable. They were picking the biggest, and this was a gamble.
I said, "You have a good eye, brother. Can you tell me which mine this material is from?"
The man glanced at me sideways with a disdainful tone, "What are you babbling about if you don't know stones? This is Maikan material, a typical Maikan water stone. I need a display piece at home, and this will be perfect."
This kid knows his raw stones, talking so convincingly. It seems even robbers these days need real skills; they have to be connoisseurs to rob.
I told Angqi, "This brother has sharp eyes. Go weigh it for the customer."
Angqi snatched it from his hand and placed it on the scale.
The man, unable to gauge my intentions, restrained himself from reacting.
Angqi finished weighing and said, "Total nine catties and four taels. At eighteen thousand per catty, that's 169,000."
I said, "Didn't the customer take two pieces earlier? What's the total? Let's combine them. These brothers clearly have money and won't short us."
When the man heard that sixteen to seventeen thousand, plus the previous twenty thousand, he immediately got agitated and shouted, "What the hell? Are you robbing us? A broken stone costs tens of thousands? You're fooling ghosts! You think I won't kill you if you try to fool me!"
I said, "We do business here by valuing fair trade and harmony for prosperity. You came here without intending to pay, you started being physical, breaking the rules of stone gambling, and you're making threats to kill us. Fine, come at me. Let's see how you kill me. Remember, if you can't kill me, this time next year will be your death anniversary."
The man handed the stone to his companion and, burning with rage, came towards me to fight.
Calmly, I took out a foot-long section of jujube wood stick from my waist, like a small rolling pin. Holding it in my hand, I struck the man on the head just as he reached me.
He wasn't expecting this and couldn't dodge, blood streaming down his face.
Without giving him a chance to recover, I swung back with another blow, and blood flowed down from that side instantly.
The men behind him moved to intervene, but I pointed at them, "If you're not afraid of death, come on. This stick doesn't discriminate."
Those men hesitated. The one being beaten shouted, "Are you all dead? With so many of you, are you afraid of one person? Get him!"
At this moment, several men from behind, hearing the command, rushed forward. I grabbed the blood-covered man and pulled him towards me. With my other hand holding the stick, I pointed at them, "All of you, stop! Believe me, I'll beat him to death?"
As I spoke, I swung the stick again onto him. He yelped and bent over, his face contorted in pain.
This kind of stick hurt terribly. Wearing only a thin short-sleeved shirt felt like wearing nothing at all.
The men watched me hesitantly, eager to move but afraid to approach.
I started counting down: five, four, three, two, one. Third Brother's people should be here.
I saw several people moving swiftly towards us from the side, each carrying a nylon rope about a foot long. They approached the men, quickly and accurately looped the ropes around their necks, and pulled tight. The ropes instantly constricted, and by the time the men realized what was happening, they had lost the ability to resist, being passively pushed outwards. Then, two more people arrived, each taking an arm of one of the men and dragging them away.
I glanced at the group of people being led away. Outside, there was a van. It looked familiar; it was the same one we drove yesterday. They were really something, to have found it.
I understood then. These men were likely being taken back to their hometown for processing.
After all, causing someone's death here is not a trivial matter.
As the crowd dispersed, I turned and saw Lan Yajinglei hiding behind the counter. I told them, "The troublemakers are gone. Let's get started."
At this point, the Anqi brothers came over. Ang Chai shook my hand and said, "Thank you, brother. If you hadn't stepped in, I would have been in trouble today!"
I said, "It was their bad luck to run into me. No need for thanks. Hurry up and manage your business; my friend and I will play here for a while."
Ang Chai asked, "Do you want good materials? I won't charge you extra today. I'll give them to you at cost price."
Cost price, in his terms, meant the price he acquired them at, plus his fee, without any profit.
I said, "That wouldn't be right. I'm just playing. You do business as usual. We're friends; there's no need for so much fuss."
He gratefully agreed and turned to leave.
Remembering Lan Ya's desired cabochons and pendants, I quickly called them over to find suitable raw stones.
To increase the chances of success, we should look at Houjiang materials. Their water and color are generally good; the main challenge is the cracks.
Houjiang materials are small. It's fine for us, as we only need them for a pair of cabochons and a few pendants.
We headed straight for the Houjiang material section. I crouched down, brushed aside the stones on top, and began searching.
It's not that there weren't good stones on top; perhaps it's psychological, the belief that better things are hidden within, and the outer ones have already been picked.
In reality, everyone thinks this way, and stones on the inside and outside have been turned over countless times.
I spotted a small piece weighing around 100 grams. Although small, its shape was very round. If it wasn't cracked, it would be perfect for producing those pieces.
I picked it up from within. Lan Ya looked at me, somewhat surprised, and said, "This thing can produce cabochons? Are you feeling alright? What's the difference between this and river pebbles?"
Holding it in my hand, I observed that the material had intact wax, and the sand particles were full and prickly, making cracks unlikely. It was practically a done deal.
I handed it to Angqi to weigh and price.
Ang Chai said, "Forget it, brother. Consider it my treat. Take it to play with."
I said, "Other things are fine, but this one isn't. We must conduct business properly."
Angqi reluctantly placed it on the small scale. Houjiang materials are usually weighed in liang (a unit of weight), calculated by the gram, similar to buying gold.
Back then, gold was only a hundred-plus yuan per gram. Could Houjiang materials be more expensive?
Angqi said, "110 grams, ten thousand one hundred yuan."
See, it's priced like gold.