45: Chapter 45 All Based on Experience 45: Chapter 45 All Based on Experience Hearing Elder Shen speak like that, Wufu laughed.
She wasn’t sure if the old man aimed to win big with little or was just bursting with confidence.
Either way, his approach was well-suited to stone gambling.
After all, gambling relies on luck and skill, doesn’t it?
If one revealed their hand beforehand, it wouldn’t count as gambling.
As for Elder Shen’s demeanor?
Wufu glanced over; the elderly man had salt-and-pepper hair and was of advanced age.
His eyes were calm, without much stir.
Perhaps he had seen through it all over the years?
She didn’t try to guess too much about the old man’s thoughts and feelings but focused her gaze on the stone instead.
In her previous life, she was no stranger to gambling on stones.
She had even taken part in many high-stakes games.
That thrill was something only those in the business could understand: win and you achieve wealth and glory; lose and you face utter ruin—all dependent on luck and experience.
Stone gambling primarily involved three methods: rubbing, cutting, and grinding.
How to rub, how deep and how large, and even whether to rub at all were matters that required careful consideration.
Once you started, there were no take-backs.
Cutting stone was the same.
There was a saying in the trade, “Rubbing doesn’t count as an increase, only cutting does.” Whether the stone could or should be cut also rested on experience and luck.
A single cut could either lead to riches or to poverty.
Indeed, this was the excitement of stone gambling—it tested one’s luck as well as experience.
Wufu squatted down and studied the pitch-black stone closely, her mind filled with the detailed experiences of past stone gambling.
To gamble on a stone’s inner potential, whether it contained top-quality material or inferior quality, involved numerous steps and required exceptional vision.
First, one would examine the stone’s skin and the condition of its crystals, as well as their size.
Generally, coarse-skinned jadeite pebbles had larger crystals with a loose structure, low hardness, and poor transparency, which denoted inferior quality.
On the other hand, fine-skinned pebbles with small crystals encapsulated a compact and delicate structure with high hardness and good transparency, counting as top quality jadeite, colloquially termed “dog-shit eggs.”
In addition to visual inspection, water could be used to examine the stone.
The more Wufu looked at the stone, the more intrigued she became.
She simply turned to the old man and asked, “Grandpa, may I have a closer look?”
Elder Shen opened his eyes, saw a young woman squatting before him with eyes shining brightly, and nodded subconsciously, “If you want to have a look, go ahead.
There’s nothing you can’t look at.”
Wufu thanked him with a smile, unapologetically took the stone into her arms, and peered closely.
Meanwhile, Shopkeeper Lin cleared his throat and said, “Old Master Shen, this stone bears no jadeite.
We at Hundred Treasures Silver Building do not want it.”
Upon hearing this, Elder Shen wasn’t annoyed but looked toward the man standing beside him, with hands clasped behind his back and nose nearly pointing to the sky, and motioned with his lips, “That old fogey said that?”
Lin is the treasure of the Silver House, known as Ghost Hand.
He’s been involved in jade his whole life.
His craftsmanship is always top quality.
If he says there’s no jadeite, there is none.
Could he really deceive you, you crazy old coot?” An assistant heard Elder Shen’s insulting words and couldn’t help but defend.
Lin Gonyun, snorted and said, “This is just an ordinary stone, which will not yield jadeite.
Of course, if you insist on carving it, I could make a stone sculpture for you.”
The crowd laughed and began telling Elder Shen, “Come on, Elder Shen, give it up.
Maybe if you dig deeper in the mountains, you’ll find something better.”
Elder Shen didn’t argue but just looked to Shopkeeper Lin and asked, “Truly, you don’t want it?”
Shopkeeper Lin smiled and bowed slightly.
As Elder Shen was about to speak, Wufu interrupted, “This stone will yield jadeite, top quality!”