44: Chapter 44: Old Man Shen in Stone Gambling 44: Chapter 44: Old Man Shen in Stone Gambling Having unexpectedly received one string of cash for running errands, Wufu, who usually didn’t have snacks at home, bought some to have on hand; she also bought some embroidery thread for her mother.
As noon approached, Wufu touched her stomach, just as she sat down at a small wonton stall and ordered a bowl, only having had a couple of bites when she saw people rushing past her.
“Quick, someone is betting on stones at the Hundred Treasures Silver Building again.”
“Oh, could it be stones found on Maofeng Mountain again?
After so many years, not many good stones have turned up.”
“That’s exactly why we should go watch the fun.
That stubborn old man lost several bets without yielding any good items and he is back for more?
Let’s go, let’s go take a look!”
Wufu’s eyes lit up for a moment, hastily finished the wontons in her bowl, paid the bill, and then followed the crowd over.
In front of the Hundred Treasures Silver Building, a crowd had already gathered to watch the excitement.
Wufu spotted the shopkeeper standing on the steps at a glance; what was his name?
Ah, it seemed to be Lin.
At that moment, Shopkeeper Lin was talking to an old man around sixty with a white beard next to him.
At the bottom of the steps, another old man was squatting down, but this one looked much shabbier, with ragged clothes, and hair that hadn’t been washed in days, all tangled.
The old man had an old, worn cigarette stub in his mouth and was dry puffing, with no trace of smoke coming out of the pipe.
At his feet lay an old piece of blue cloth, on which sat an uneven stone about the size of an ostrich egg.
“I’ve heard that Old Man Shen is really keen on treasure hunting.
A few years back, he even took his son up the mountain, but the boy fell off a cliff and died.
His daughter-in-law left her daughter behind and remarried, tsk tsk.”
“Yeah, I’ve heard that too.
Didn’t they say that Old Man Shen’s ancestors were skilled at jade appraisal and hunting?
They were quite prominent back in their day, even having servants at home.”
“Hey, that’s all in the past.
Elder Shen’s grandfather was indeed skilled at spotting mines, but the family declined with each generation.
When it came to Shen’s father, he was nothing but a spendthrift, incapable of learning any skills, except for gambling away the family fortune on stone betting.”
“That’s what I’m saying, leaving his descendants in poverty.
And Old Man Shen, he only learned a bit from his grandfather, but he is so stubbornly fixated on treasure hunting.
He even lost his son to it, and what can a little girl do?
It’s a sad sight; the Shen Family is on its way to extinction.”
Wufu, while overhearing the town gossip, got a rough idea about Old Man Shen.
He could be considered a kindred spirit.
“How about it, are you sure?” Old Man Shen didn’t care in the least about the murmuring crowd and only looked to Shopkeeper Lin, saying, “I searched the deep woods of Maofeng for more than a month, turning over every stone, to select this fine piece.
I, Shen, swear on the Shen Family name, this stone will surely yield jadeite.”
The crowd stirred, suggesting that there might be jadeite within the stone?
“Name your price, if you can afford it, take it, if not, I’ll take it elsewhere.
Just don’t regret it later, Lin.
I’m offering it to you because your Hundred Treasures Silver House is reputable and we’re acquainted.”
Someone in the crowd started to shout, “Old Man Shen, why even gamble?
Cut it open and let’s see, we’ll know immediately if there’s jadeite or not.
If there is, the Silver House will buy it.”
“Right, stop with all these pointless formalities,” another person chimed in.
Old Man Shen chuckled, “That takes all the fun out of it.
If we’re going to bet on stones, it’s all about the gambling aspect.
What’s the point if we cut it open now?”
As he spoke, he casually resumed puffing on his pipe.