I heard my phone ringing; it was Jing Lei calling. It was a bit noisy in the background, so I quickly grabbed my phone and ran outside.
Jing Lei said, "The Hong Kong client is already on the plane. I'm heading to the airport to pick them up now."
This stone yielded four colors. Honestly, I felt reluctant to sell it at any price.
The probability of this happening was incredibly low.
It seemed Jing Lei's description had impressed this influential figure, as he flew here without delay.
I told her to drive carefully and contact me after settling the guest.
The roar of the machinery finally stopped. The few of us quickly made our way to the giant stone in the center of the warehouse.
The ten-centimeter slice had been carefully removed by the workers, and one craftsman was pouring water over it.
From a distance, the color looked deep. This was no longer mist, but color, occupying over a square meter in the middle of the giant stone.
Brother Bao was also somewhat excited. Buying a piece of granite for over ten million yuan would be hard for anyone to stomach. If they could reveal some color, even if it was just a dull hue, they could at least recoup some of the investment, given its sheer weight.
They could create a large jade carving, and recovering the tens of millions in capital wouldn't be difficult.
Although the distance from the entrance to where the stone was placed was less than a hundred meters, it felt as long as dozens of miles. It took a long time to get there.
I was the first to cross over and hurriedly shone my flashlight on it. It was dazzling. Although I didn't see a high grade of green, it was a bean-green with scattered floral patterns, high ice, and full of translucency. Furthermore, the texture was very old, and it was flawless!
It was basically ruled out for making large decorative pieces; that would be too extravagant!
However, its rind was too thick. Coupled with these ten centimeters, I had already cut nearly fifty centimeters to reveal the flesh. There was nearly fifty centimeters of white meat enclosing it from all sides, like thick fat wrapping a green heart.
This stone required immense courage, or one risked losing every penny!
However, the material was there. Now, it was only possible to break even. To make a profit, another cut was necessary, a gamble on how thick the flesh would be.
I marked a one-meter line. Just this one meter would be enough. If one meter was revealed, it would yield over a ton of flesh, with a value exceeding a hundred million. If more was revealed, they could make a fortune!
Brother Bao's face was beaming with excitement. This stone, brought back as junk, had instantly turned into a treasure. He had never dreamed of it. If I hadn't insisted, this jade hidden in his heart might have remained dormant forever. Because no matter what kind of decorative piece you made, you couldn't possibly excavate fifty centimeters deep; you could only work on the surface.
Once made into a jade carving, its true appearance would never be revealed!
Brother Bao patted my shoulder and praised me, saying, "Brother, you're amazing. I didn't misjudge you!"
I wiped the sweat from my face and told him, "We're all brothers. I just did what I was supposed to do. Brother Bao doesn't need to be like this."
Lan Ya was also very excited. Brother Bao's tens of millions of yuan were all swiped through her. Having gambled and lost two pieces weighing over ten tons each would be upsetting for anyone.
Ten million yuan could buy a row of street-facing shops, at least fifty of them! If fifty shops were left closed, unoperated, and unrented for fifteen years, they would be astronomically valuable, worth two hundred million!
Looking at the streets of Ruili now, in any slightly prosperous area, a single shop was being traded for tens of millions.
But at that time, tens of millions were still an astronomical sum. A person, without eating or drinking for a lifetime, couldn't even save a million, let alone tens of millions.
When Brother Bao saw the stone had failed, he didn't even blink. He even waived Qing Ge's shares, taking the burden all by himself.
That's a man; he accepts his losses when he gambles!
However, I felt a sliver of unease. Although Brother Bao's losses were recovered, if Qing Ge found out we had gambled and found high-grade ice, would he suspect us of deliberately misrepresenting the stone to pocket his shares?
I suddenly felt a chill. I had heard of Qing Ge's ruthlessness. If he believed we were playing dirty, he would be a second Bo Gang, no, even more ruthless than Bo Gang!
By rights, this stone had nothing to do with anyone else, and we had a clear conscience. But would Qing Ge think that way? It's one thing if a stone yields some color and you make hundreds or thousands of inexpensive bangles; that's fine. But the current situation is that each bangle is worth at least a hundred thousand yuan, and at least several hundred such bangles would have to be produced, not to mention pendants and ornaments cut from the leftover pieces.
If it truly yielded a cubic meter of material, this number would likely increase, and the value would increase further.
I was no longer just feeling a chill; I was gasping for air.
I felt a pang of anxiety for Brother Bao.
Conversely, there was no reason to ask Qing Ge to invest again. This matter had reached its conclusion. If they shamelessly asked him back, Brother Bao couldn't do it, nor was it necessary.
I said, "Brother Bao."
Brother Bao, perhaps sensing my worry, said, "That stone won't be cut anymore. Ask Ms. Zhang if her family has any craftsmen who specialize in large decorative pieces. I want to have a decorative piece made, just that size. Let the craftsman design it first."
I nodded. I knew why he didn't want to cut it. He was afraid that if both were cut, and the other one also showed some texture and luster, even if you invited Qing Ge to invest, he would suspect you. No matter how much more material you explained, he would think you had hidden the good parts.
So, he decided not to cut it. Whether there was anything inside or not, it would quietly remain a work of art for people to admire.
I once again admired Brother Bao's ability to seize the opportunity and let go!
When the flesh couldn't be cut out, he didn't sigh. Now that he had obtained high-grade material, he wasn't greedy. He still wanted to maintain this balance and not disrupt it.
Because the shoulder of that stone had a smear of bean-colored mist, it was highly possible that there was still texture and color inside, just too thickly encased to be seen.
I, on the other hand, lacked Brother Bao's magnanimity. I had originally wanted to make a cut in the middle of this stone, following the window on the shoulder, and cut straight down to see if there was any change underneath. Even if it was just green penetrating, with a little texture and luster, as long as it wasn't cracked, recouping the cost would be no problem.
For bangles priced at a thousand yuan each, and pendants at a thousand yuan each, producing two thousand of each would amount to eight million yuan.
My phone rang again. Jing Lei said she had picked up her friend from Hong Kong and asked where I was. The guest insisted on seeing the stone immediately, and she wanted me to come over as well.
I looked at the situation here. It would take at least another hour of cutting. I told Lan Ya to stay here with Brother Bao and asked her driver to take me to Jing Lei. Someone was interested in my material, and I needed to go to Jing Lei's commercial building.
Brother Bao said, "That's perfect. Let's talk about the craftsmen then. It's best if they understand design, to see what kind of decorative piece would be suitable."
I acknowledged and went outside to find the driver.
Jing Lei said she would wait for me in her office. As I passed the counter and walked towards the elevator, most of the staff in the commercial building recognized me and greeted me continuously.
I knocked and entered. Jing Lei was making tea. A middle-aged man with impeccably styled hair was sitting on the sofa. Seeing me enter, he politely stood up. Jing Lei immediately said, "Li Hua, let me introduce you. This is Mr. Lin Hui, a friend of my father. And this is my friend, Li Hua. He's the one who gambled on the stone we were talking about."
Lin Hui quickly came over and shook my hand, saying politely, "I didn't expect Mr. Li to be so young. Xiao Lei told me, and I thought you were an old gentleman like myself." He then chuckled.
I cupped my hands, invited him to sit down, and waited for Jing Lei to bring the stone.
Jing Lei took the stone out of the safe and placed it on the coffee table.
She casually turned on a few more lights, instantly making the room much brighter.