We ate something, and I casually put the takeout boxes from the coffee table into a plastic bag, saying to the two of them, "Let's go."
They stood up and went to the washbasin one after another to reapply their makeup. Women, their greatest concern is their own face.
When the car pulled up to the entrance of the Ongi brothers' shop, Ongi was just removing the last door panel from the door. He turned and saw me and happily shouted, "Brother Li Hua, long time no see."
We had bought quite a few things from him at the last Rough Stone Convention, but I hadn't been back since then. It had been a full half-year.
"Do you have any new stock today?"
"Yes, my brother just got back from across the way yesterday with several bags. He said they're all old, not opened yet. I don't know what kind you're looking for, Li Hua, you can pick yourself later."
"What a coincidence, I'm really itching to try my luck. Let's see what your elder brother's high-grade stones are like, if I can really find something decent."
Upon hearing this, Ongi hurried to the backyard to call his brother over.
Not long after, the Ongi brothers came in from the backyard. Ongchai came in, clasped his fists towards the three of us, and exchanged pleasantries. I got straight to the point.
"I heard you have new stock, can I have a look?"
"Of course, Li Hua. I wouldn't hide anything from you. But please go easy on me. Old stones are hard to come by lately. I'm relying on these to keep the shop running. Don't pick all the good ones dry."
"I don't have that big an appetite. I just want to test my skills. I haven't touched stones in a long time, my touch is rusty."
"When has Li Hua ever missed a shot? But I'm not afraid of your discerning eye. We're here to sell, as long as you don't take it all, leave me some."
"Alright, let's stop bickering. Open them up and let me see."
Ongchai had Ongi pour a bag for me to look at the stock first.
I crouched down and looked at the bag of stones of various shapes. None were particularly large, the biggest weighing only about ten pounds, and the smallest about the size of a fist.
I picked up a piece of black jadeite, weighing over ten pounds. This stone was shaped like a potato, with a jet-black, thick rind. When I shone a flashlight on it, the light only illuminated a small patch on the rind, and I couldn't see inside. There wasn't even any fluorescence.
This was a fully gambled piece. Just looking at its rind was enough to draw attention. Experts generally wouldn't gamble on such stones, as the chance of winning is less than fifty percent. If it's gambled poorly, it's just a piece of granite.
However, the gamble is precisely on this twenty to thirty percent chance. If won, the return is at least twenty to thirty times.
I carefully ran my hand over the rind, and the first sensation was its smoothness, like the patina on a hand-carved item, and it felt a bit oily, giving a very comfortable feel.
I asked Ongchai, "How much for this one?"
"This is from the old mine, so the price is a bit high."
Nonsense, I knew it was from the old mine. It's just that black jadeite is too risky. The price in most shops isn't high. Ongchai saying this was just a prelude to a higher price.
I didn't say anything, waiting for him to name his price.
"One hundred thousand, not a cent less," Ongchai said after a moment's hesitation.
Ten pounds for one hundred thousand. This price was indeed a bit steep, almost ten thousand per pound.
"Brother, you're being a bit unfair. This is a completely gambled piece. In the pile of black jadeite, it's worth at most a thousand or so. How did it become a treasure in this bag?"
Ongchai probably knew I would ask this, so he wasn't in a hurry. He took the rough stone from my hand and said, "Brother Li Hua, you're right, this rough stone is indeed unremarkable, and this price is a bit outrageous. But if I tell you its origin, you'll feel it's not expensive."
"A rough stone is a rough stone. Even if you say it was obtained from the Queen Mother of the West, it's still a piece of black jadeite."
"Brother, let me finish," Ongchai said unhurriedly. "I acquired this batch of stones from an organization in northern Myanmar. As you know, these armed groups don't have mines themselves; their sources are mostly through certain means. They contacted me not long ago, saying they had robbed a rough stone mine owner and found these bags of stuff in the mine owner's underground warehouse. At the time, the mine owner offered to exchange all his property for these bags of rough stones, and even brought out his property deeds. The leader of the armed group sensed that this pile of rough stones was not ordinary. Besides, they are guerrillas; property deeds are useless to them and might even be a burden. So they firmly refused. Later, they sent me photos and asked me how much they could get for them. After looking, I gave them a quote, and they transported these stones back to their base. In this context, do you think they are still ordinary rough stones on the shelf?"
Indeed, for someone who would give up his life to protect these stones, their value was self-evident.
I didn't ask him how much he paid for this batch of goods; that wasn't the done thing. Fifty thousand yuan wasn't a large sum for me, but it wasn't about the money; I cared about winning or losing. Even if it was only a few hundred, losing would always put me in a bad mood.
I took the rough stone again and examined it with my hands. Jing Lei and Lan Ya looked at me strangely. There were so many stones on the ground, why was I so fond of this obscured one?
They don't gamble on stones, so they don't understand a gambler's psychology at all. Since it's a gamble, the more uncertain the gamble, the more it attracts gamblers. Because the less you see, the more room for imagination there is. Moreover, if you win with black jadeite, the lowest you'll get is a yang green, and its texture is stable, making it hard to find flaws like cracks.
If luck is good, it could even be an imperial green.
Once, Ongi gave me a piece of black jadeite, and I got an imperial green from it, which was my first pot of gold.
This piece was much larger than the one Ongi gave me. It would be enough for at least four bangles and a pair of pendants.
Through the black rind, I could feel a subtle graininess. The particles were plump. I handed it to Wen Siqiang next to me and said, "I won't haggle for this one, but I won't open it here. If I make a mistake, I'll lose face. I'll take it back to examine it carefully."
Jing Lei said nothing and took out one hundred thousand cash from her bag and gave it to Ongchai.
Ongchai said regretfully, "I still wanted to take a look and verify the quality of this batch of stones. It seems you've become much more cautious than before."
"Indeed, I've been bogged down by various matters lately, and I lack confidence in myself."
In fact, I deliberately didn't open it at his place. If I really got an imperial green, he would have no idea how to price it afterward.
I then found another old mine material from the Mu Na mine area, also weighing about ten pounds. It was long and narrow, about thirty centimeters long and ten centimeters thick, with a white sandy rind. In the areas where the sand had fallen off, green could be seen with the naked eye. I shone a flashlight on it, and the light immediately penetrated. There was no suspense with this piece; as long as it wasn't cracked, a yang green was certain.
He still priced it quite high, fifteen thousand per pound.
A stone like a whetstone cost two hundred thousand.
This time, I didn't put it away. I handed it directly to the stone cutting master and asked him to make a cut on the smaller end.