The onlookers were all waiting for Hao Jian's response. The reason they gathered here was to see Hao Jian make a fool of himself. Why else would they waste their time? They wanted to see if this poor kid could actually come up with the money and get scammed.
In Huaxia, what never lacks are people eager to watch the spectacle. No matter how busy they are, if there's something to see, they'll definitely be there. It's a phenomenon that's persisted for ages.
The shop owner urged Hao Jian again, threatening that if he didn't produce the money, he should leave immediately. He mocked him saying it was ridiculous to gamble on stones without even having ten thousand yuan, implying that a poor kid like Hao Jian should give up on pursuing someone like Liang Yuwei, a rich and beautiful woman.
Hao Jian wiped his hands, looked at Liang Yuwei, and said, "I didn't bring any money with me. Lend me ten thousand yuan, and I'll pay you back later!"
He had been threatened by Liang Yuwei to come out without much preparation, and didn't bring anything except his phone, so he didn't have ten thousand yuan on him. He had no other choice but to borrow from Liang Yuwei.
The owner sneered when he saw Hao Jian borrowing money from a girl: "Damn! Boy, you have no shame at all, borrowing money from a girl! Where's your dignity?"
Hao Jian just ignored him and kept looking at Liang Yuwei. She didn't initially want Hao Jian to take such a big risk; the stone in his hand obviously looked like waste stone and couldn't possibly yield jade. Besides, the owner was blatantly overpricing it at ten thousand yuan. So, she was hesitant to give Hao Jian the money.
It wasn't because she begrudged the money, but she was uncomfortable with the owner's shameless and sly behavior.
Knowing Liang Yuwei's temperament, Hao Jian said, "Lend it to me, I promise you'll be surprised!"
Knowing she couldn't out-stub Hao Jian, Liang Yuwei took out ten thousand yuan and handed it to him. Since she was here to gamble on stones, she had come prepared, and the money was intended for such purposes anyway.
Hao Jian took the money and handed it to the owner. After receiving the money, the owner counted it carefully, afraid that Hao Jian might have given a lesser amount or a fake bill. He counted several times and used a money checker before finally putting it in the drawer.
He then looked at Hao Jian with a vigilant expression and said, "Let me tell you, there are rules in stone gambling. Once you pay and receive the goods, you can't regret it later if you don't get any jade. That's the rule!"
Hao Jian ignored the owner, confident that he would regret it later.
When people saw Hao Jian really spent ten thousand yuan on such a waste stone, some started mocking him.
Someone said, "Haha... Fools are everywhere this year! This idiot actually spent ten thousand yuan on a waste stone. It's hilarious!"
A gambling stone shop owner said, "If I encountered such a fool, I'd raise the price to one hundred or two hundred thousand and he'd still buy it, don't you believe it?"
Someone else replied, "I think, let alone two hundred thousand, even five hundred thousand, if this fool had it, he'd spend it."
Some looked at Hao Jian with silly expressions, pointing and cursing, "Idiot! Idiot! Idiot! This is the dumbest idiot I've ever seen. Even if you have money, you shouldn't spend it this way, especially not when you look like a poor loser. It's like pretending to be rich when you're not!"
Hao Jian didn't react to these words; he was used to them. But Liang Yuwei was different, she was uncomfortable and upset upon hearing them talk about Hao Jian. She gestured for them to shut up. Seeing such a beautiful girl so angry made them laugh even more.
They joked with Liang Yuwei, asking what she could do about it. Liang Yuwei simply went over and kicked one of them, breaking his bones, leaving the others silent.
Hao Jian sighed quietly on the side, wondering why there are always such idiots in the world, doing idiotic things just to attract attention, not realizing their actions are foolish in the extreme.
The owner, seeing so many people and knowing Hao Jian couldn't back out, was unexpectedly happy with his ten thousand yuan gain. He looked at Hao Jian and asked, "Do you need me to cut it for you on the spot?"
Hao Jian handed the stone to the owner and said, "Go ahead, cut it!"
The owner took the stone and moved to the machine, turning it on and placing the stone inside.
At that moment, the onlookers felt another inexplicable excitement. It was the most thrilling moment. Watching this poor loser spend ten thousand yuan on a waste stone and pretending to be cool, they were waiting for the moment when the stone was cut open. They expected him to cry and regret spending that money.
They were all waiting to see Hao Jian make a fool of himself.
The owner, having run the Gambling Stone Shop for so many years, was skilled in cutting stones. He easily secured the stone on the machine, then looked at Hao Jian and asked, "Where do you want me to start cutting?"
Because stone gambling is risky, once a stone is purchased, ownership transfers to the buyer. Although they offer free cutting services, they always ask the owner where and how to cut the stone. This is a way to absolve themselves of responsibility; otherwise, if they make a mistake during cutting, what then? So, they cut as the owner instructs, though sometimes they offer a bit of advice.
The shop owner looked at Hao Jian, now that he'd gotten the money, he didn't hold back. He smiled and said, "Kid, I don't think this stone has much chance of producing jade. It's best to start cutting from the middle; it's more convenient and faster this way."
Without even looking, Hao Jian said, "Cut from the very edge!"
What! Cut from the very edge! When the onlookers heard Hao Jian say this, they exploded with chatter again. Some people couldn't help but laugh out loud. Damn, a loser is just a loser, holding a piece of waste stone and thinking it's a treasure. Anyone can see this stone is as ordinary as it gets, how could anything come out of it? This loser must have been driven mad by poverty, thinking he could suddenly become a rich man.
The crowd started mocking Hao Jian again, some more, some less.
The shop owner gave Hao Jian a cold glance, then chuckled and said, "Alright, since you want to cut from the edge, we'll cut from the edge. Once it's cut, you'll be disillusioned!"
Saying this, the owner got to work, skillfully starting the machine, which began to rumble loudly.
The onlookers held their breath, waiting for the waste stone to show its face. Once it's cut, and what's revealed is just ordinary waste, they could mock Hao Jian again collectively.
Hao Jian stayed silent, but he couldn't understand why some people could be so enthusiastic about something that had nothing to do with them and talk so much, acting as if it was a matter of great importance to them. Clearly, it had nothing to do with them, yet they kept babbling.
Perhaps this is the saddest aspect of this nation.
Hao Jian wouldn't say anything; he'd just use the undeniable truth to smack those talkers in the face, then and now.
As the machine operated, the moment it touched the stone, an immense friction force was generated, countless small stones being sliced off.
The shop owner concentrated on cutting, yet as the machine dug deeper, a look of disbelief appeared on his face.
"Hmm?"
He paused, thinking it was impossible, then continued to cut in the direction Hao Jian pointed. But the deeper he cut, the more complex his expression became.
Seeing the complicated expression on the owner's face, Hao Jian was already eighty or ninety percent certain of the outcome.
At this point, the machine stopped, and a small piece of stone from the edge fell off. The onlookers instantly fell silent, staring intently at the stone on the machine.
It's green, it actually came out green!
They looked incredulously at the green area. They originally thought the stone was worthless, yet it could produce green. It's known that generally, stones can yield green, but how could a stone identified at first glance as waste produce green? It seemed impossible.
The shop owner abruptly stopped his actions, took a deep breath, and thought damn, it's just a waste stone. He had identified it many times before, and since it was clearly identified as waste, it was casually placed to the side.
He had planned to discard this pile of waste during the next stock arrival, but unexpectedly, before he could throw it away, a fool like Hao Jian spent ten thousand to buy it.
This was something the owner had not anticipated.
Some of the onlookers were silent at this moment, but quite a few still sneered, saying Hao Jian was just lucky, that's why the stone had green, but such green was of no use. Only a complete jade could be valuable.
They didn't believe this stone still had more green inside; the outermost layer was surely the last bit of green.
The shop owner looked at Hao Jian and asked, "Do you want to continue cutting?"
Unexpectedly, Hao Jian pointed to the edge and said, "Yes, cut it. Cut from the very edge and remove all the impurities from the edge for me."
Reading Settings
#1a1a1a
#ef4444
Comments