“Are you sure you want to buy it?”
The middle-aged uncle didn’t believe him and asked again tentatively.
“I’m sure I want to buy it,” Lin Xiao Tian nodded.
“Then, do you want it for three thousand yuan?”
“Okay!” Lin Xiao Tian cut to the chase, scanned the middle-aged uncle’s QR code, and completed the payment.
The surrounding onlookers looked at Lin Xiao Tian with disbelief.
“Is he crazy? They all say this stone is worthless, and he still wants to buy it?”
“Alas! Another fool with more money than sense.”
“Some people are just destined to be cheated; no one can help them. It’s a shame that Boss Hu kindly came out to help; I truly feel it’s not worth it for Boss Hu.”
Almost everyone was scolding Lin Xiao Tian for being ungrateful, with only a very small minority choosing to stand by him.
“I think this person looks very confident; perhaps this stone is indeed unusual?” a young man said carelessly.
“Young man, is this your first time here?” an uncle asked him.
“No!” the young man shook his head, “This is my second time!”
“Alas!” the uncle couldn’t help but pat the young man’s shoulder, “You’re still too young.”
“To be so confident after only two visits; I’ve been in this business for decades, and I don’t have your confidence! To be honest with you, this stone will absolutely not yield jade. If it does, I’ll livestream myself eating feces standing on my head!” said a stall vendor wearing glasses.
“The young man is so confident; why don’t you buy one yourself? I bet you wouldn’t dare spend thousands on a broken stone?” another person taunted.
Discouraged by everyone’s barrage, the young man’s face immediately turned red, but he was still unconvinced and stubbornly retorted:
“This stone hasn’t been cut yet; how do you all know I’m wrong?”
As he said this, he himself lacked much conviction.
“Cut? Does this need cutting? The cutting fee alone is over a thousand yuan, and this stone is so large, it will cost extra. In the end, it will be cut into a pile of useless stone chunks, which would be an even greater waste of money!” the stall vendor with glasses shot him a glance.
“Alas, stop talking; the young man is just impetuous!” the uncle chimed in.
While everyone was discussing, Lin Xiao Tian had already packed up the stone and was heading to the raw stone cutting area.
“Oh? He’s really planning to cut it?”
“Haha, this is truly a rare big spender from a hundred years!”
“Let’s go; let’s go watch the excitement!”
The onlookers, eager for drama, followed Lin Xiao Tian. Some even turned on Douyin and started livestreaming.
Beside them, Hu Tao shook his head helplessly. He hadn’t expected Lin Xiao Tian to be so stubborn.
However, since this was Lin Xiao Tian’s choice, he couldn’t say much.
He had already broken the unwritten rules by helping Lin Xiao Tian in public. He felt he had done all he could for Lin Xiao Tian.
Jessica also prepared to follow but was stopped by Hu Tao.
“You little brat, what do you think you’re doing?”
“Oh, Dad, I want to go and see!”
“See what? Haven’t you caused enough trouble already? Can’t you just stay behind me honestly?”
“I refuse!”
Jessica stuck out her tongue at Hu Tao and then ran off towards Lin Xiao Tian on her own.
“You little brat, wait for me!” Hu Tao, helpless, could only follow.
Meanwhile, at the raw stone cutting workshop.
When the staff saw Lin Xiao Tian taking out his stone, their expression was complicated.
Although not a professional jade appraiser, after years of experience, they had gained some understanding of jade.
This stone was large, and it didn’t even have its outer skin. It couldn’t even meet the most basic condition of being a raw stone, let alone yield jade.
“Boss, are you sure you want to cut this stone?”
Out of kindness, the staff member still asked Lin Xiao Tian.
“I’m sure,” Lin Xiao Tian nodded.
“No further consideration?”
“No need to consider,” Lin Xiao Tian smiled faintly.
Seeing Lin Xiao Tian so calm, the staff member frowned slightly.
So confident?
Didn’t he hear everyone advising him?
This was making him feel unprofessional!
With a complex mood, the staff member took Lin Xiao Tian’s stone and began to cut.
The machine whirred to life, attracting more onlookers.
This kind of on-site raw stone cutting was undoubtedly the most captivating event for the jade enthusiasts present.
In a moment, a large crowd gathered around the cutting workshop.
“Oh! Don’t push! What’s there to push about? It’s just an ordinary stone; it won’t yield jade, what’s there to see?” the previous stall vendor said carelessly.
The streamers, however, clearly ignored him.
Although this was the Jade City, on-site raw stone cutting was not a common occurrence. If livestreamed, their popularity would undoubtedly increase.
“My dear viewers, today we’re very lucky. As soon as we arrived at the Jade City, we caught an on-site raw stone cutting. I don’t know if anything will be cut out later. Everyone follow the streamer’s channel, and the answer will be revealed soon!”
“Friends who just arrived, remember to follow!”
“Thank you, Top Fan Brother, for the great sword. Thank you, thank you!”
A scruffy young streamer was earnestly talking into his phone.
The youth, named Liu Tao, was a moderately famous outdoor streamer who had come to the Jade City specifically to livestream. Initially, he just wanted to look at jade and show off his knowledge of jade. He never expected to be so lucky as to witness Lin Xiao Tian cutting a raw stone.
“What? Has anything been cut out yet?”
“No, no, it’s just starting to be cut.”
“What? You don’t know what will be cut out?”
“Alas! It will definitely just be a pile of stone chunks! Boss Hu, the renowned jewelry magnate from Qingzhou, already said it’s an ordinary stone.”
“What? What if something is cut out later? Heh, if anything is cut out later, this streamer will livestream himself eating feces standing on his head!” Liu Tao said disdainfully.
At this moment, the cutting workshop had already yielded results.
The staff member sighed helplessly as a layer of stone skin fell away.
The facts proved his judgment correct.
The cut was in the center, and if even this area didn’t yield anything, it was highly unlikely to produce anything.
“Continue cutting?” the staff member looked at Lin Xiao Tian.
But seeing the confident expression on Lin Xiao Tian’s face, he was momentarily stunned.
“Continue!”
Lin Xiao Tian’s answer was as he expected.
The staff member shook his head and continued his work.
Meanwhile, Liu Tao began to offer his commentary on the situation.
“It’s a pity. Three thousand yuan is gone just like that, which is almost a white-collar worker’s monthly salary.”
“My dear viewers, what does this tell you? Gambling on stones carries risks; enter the market with caution!”
Liu Tao sighed.
Just as he was sighing, the second cut was completed.
Liu Tao, expecting the same result, thought it was a complete waste of time to be there and decided to go elsewhere.
However, just as he stepped out of the crowd, he suddenly heard a fervent shout from behind.
“It’s out!”
“This stone has turned green!”