Mr. Zhang's exhibition featured over thirty pieces, ranging from a couple of pounds to over fifty pounds, each a masterpiece.
Sister Xiang was eager to see the bright materials, but Brother Qing lingered, glancing back at the large stone, as if finding it unbelievable for such a big rock to be a stubborn one.
Brother Qing: "Did you cut it open again to take a look?"
I said, "I drilled two holes, one at each end, and the material that came out was still limestone. It's unsalvageable."
Brother Qing shook his head in confusion and muttered, "This stone should have yielded something. How could it be like this?"
Perhaps before preparing to bid on this large stone, Brother Qing had it appraised by an expert, which is why he had Brother Bao make the acquisition, hoping to make a fortune from it. He never expected it to be limestone, and it left him in disbelief.
I didn't explain further to him. Brother Bao and the others had already walked a short distance with Sister Xiang. I gestured for Brother Qing to go and look at the bright material area first.
Brother Qing still seemed reluctant, glancing back once more before he left.
My heart skipped a beat. It seemed Brother Qing truly couldn't let go of this colossal stone, his lingering gaze and unwillingness evident.
I said, "Let's go see the bright materials first. I'll recommend a couple of pieces for you later. They're from Bo Gang, supposedly confiscated smuggled goods, with quite a few good stones."
Brother Qing exclaimed in surprise, "Really? If they're truly confiscated smuggled goods, there might be some good stuff. Take me to see them later."
The last time Brother Qing acquired raw stones from Bo Gang, he was only on the periphery and didn't get to see the quality of the raw stones.
I said, "It's a bit messy, and it was messed up by Young Master once, but I had the师傅 pick out the good ones."
As we spoke, we arrived at the bright material area. Sister Xiang was already shouting excitedly, pointing at the stones and urging Brother Qing to buy them all.
Brother Qing chuckled and said, "Okay, I'll have Ah Bao load them all onto the truck for you, and keep them in your room so you can admire them every day."
Sister Xiang clapped her hands with delight. Although she knew he was just trying to please her, she was overjoyed.
Brother Qing: "Hua Zi, let your sister-in-law feast her eyes here. We're going to look at the gambling materials."
Brother Bao had Da Kui bring two security guards and two hostesses to accompany Sister Xiang, while the three of us went to the warehouse.
Master Zhang was still organizing things here. I said to him, "Where are the materials we picked out that day? Open them up so Brother Qing can have a look."
Master Zhang quickly hurried to a cabinet, unlocked it with a key, and presented the stones to Brother Qing.
It was a vertical iron cabinet with several shelves holding stones of various sizes, more than ten in total, most of them weighing over ten pounds.
Brother Qing looked at me and said, "Hua Zi, I'm an amateur when it comes to stones. Help me pick one. A smaller one is fine. Just enough for your sister-in-law to make a few pieces of jewelry and a bracelet. But it's best if it has good clarity and true color."
Well, with that simple request, he passed the buck to me. He had just talked about gambling for imperial green, and now he casually said "best if it has good clarity and true color." I'm not a clairvoyant, how could I find such a top-quality jade?
I said, "Brother Qing, just play around with them. They're all our own things anyway. If they don't cut well, we can pick again later."
Brother Qing: "I don't know anything about it. Don't let me waste them. Our own raw stones are also money. We sell them as we can. Moreover, these are fine pieces you picked out, so they can't be gambled away carelessly. You do it, and let me broaden my horizons too."
Unable to refuse him, I walked over to the cabinet myself to examine the materials inside.
I went through them one by one. Most of the stones in this cabinet were from the Mu Na mine. They had white salt sand skin, felt rough to the touch, and the texture and clarity were very old.
Brother Qing casually mentioned wanting good clarity and color. His saying this proved he truly didn't understand stone gambling. Jade with good clarity and fine texture usually has very light color. The heavier the color, the less you can see the clarity. They are actually a contradictory pair and cannot be achieved simultaneously.
Mu Na materials are mainly for gambling on color. If you're gambling on clarity, don't consider imperial green.
The so-called "ice" and "glass" types refer to transparency. If you compare a colorless lens with a tinted lens, which one has higher transparency? Of course, it's the colorless lens.
I hesitated for a long time, deciding to sacrifice clarity and gamble on color. As long as it yielded high green, it would be passable.
After looking for a while, I found a piece weighing about three kilograms. This weight wasn't very conspicuous in the cabinet. I thought Master Zhang must have noticed some characteristic of it when picking it out, which is why he kept it.
Mu Na mine materials generally have very fine skin, thin rind, and even sand. They seem to be wrapped in a layer of yellow-white mist, which is very beautiful and pleasing to the eye. Just looking at the skin makes one reluctant to put it down.
Mu Na mine jade generally has obvious cotton-like inclusions, with snowflake-like textures inside. The color is usually bright green, imperial green, and yellow-green. The surface luster is oily, making it one of the high-grade jades.
Mu Na can yield imperial green. Even if it's not, the color won't be too bad.
This stone looked like a large mango. If there was enough meat, it could yield a pair of pendants, a pair of cabochons, and even a pair of bracelets.
I held up the flashlight. The light in the warehouse was relatively dim, making it easier to see the effects under the light.
Under the light, there was a heavy mist color. I didn't see any fluorescence reaction. There was definitely color, but I didn't know if it was bright green.
Although Mu Na mine materials are prone to yielding imperial green, that's by chance. You can't pick up a piece and have it be so. If that were the case, there wouldn't be the saying of "one cut poor, one cut rich, one cut in rags" in stone gambling.
I turned it over and continued to shine the light. This side showed a slight fluorescence reaction, but it wasn't strong. What I saw was still the mist.
It is said that Mu Na materials have thin skins, and some even show green on the skin. However, I am not very interested in such materials. If the color is visible on the skin, it not only lacks the fun of stone gambling but also, if it's just on the surface, the loss can be even more tragic when exposed to light.
Generally, materials with visible color on the surface are priced very high. If you cut it open and it turns out to be half-cooked, it's not surprising to lose.
The less you can see, the greater the potential change and the stronger the gamble.
Brother Qing and Brother Bao were not looking at the stones at all, standing aside chatting.
I looked at the number of this stone, called over Master Zhang, and quietly asked him about the reserve price of this stone.
The bidding prices were all set by Master Zhang. He knew the approximate value by looking at the stone.
He said the reserve price for this stone was one hundred thousand.
I had a rough idea. With a reserve price of one hundred thousand, if someone bids, it would cost at least five hundred thousand to acquire it.
I asked Master Zhang, "For the color and texture of this stone, what are your chances?"
Mu Na materials rarely have cracks. If the texture is not pure, with a lot of cottony inclusions and impurities, even having color would be a waste.
Master Zhang picked it up and examined it under the light, then said to me, "This stone has a heavy mist. I picked it out because of this feature. There are no major problems with the texture. It can reach bright green. As for whether it's truly bright green, I can't tell."
I admired Master Zhang's insight. What I saw under the light was the same. I couldn't guarantee if it was high green, but bright green would be quite good.