“I can’t. I can only rub it,” the shopkeeper chuckled. He then asked some people from the crowd whom he knew to help cut the stones.
Going one by one would take too much time. Their shop had all the tools anyway.
A strong, young man raised his hand, “Uncle Wu, let me help my goddess rub her stone!”
The crowd burst into laughter. The shopkeeper nodded. “As long as Miss Yun doesn’t mind.”
Yun Xiangxiang paid the shopkeeper before handing the little stone to the young lad. He couldn’t pluck up the courage to even look at Yun Xiangxiang.
“Don’t be nervous. I never expected it to contain any jadeite,” Yun Xiangxiang calmed him down softly.
“En en en,” the young lad was still nervous.
“It’s fine. You have my thanks no matter if there’s any jadeite in there. Let’s take a photo together after you’re done,” said Yun Xiangxiang.
“Thank you, goddess!” The young lad was fired up.
Rubbing stoned was tiring work. It only took three strikes of the blade for Sun Qiluo’s stone to be completely cut. There was no jadeite inside.
“It’s fine, it’s fine. Everything comes down to luck in this. You’re a great guy though, shopkeeper. Recommend a good necklace for me later,” Sun Qiluo’s mood was buoyant.
“We got something here!” Someone shouted from the other side.
When Yun Xiangxiang looked in the direction of the shout, she found out that the first strike revealed some jadeite in He Xingzhou’s stone.
It looked beautiful, but Yun Xiangxiang didn’t know what kind of jade it was. She heard the people around her saying that it was an omphacite jade of relatively old mine. That didn’t help Yun Xiangxiang and the gang at all.
Under normal circumstances, there would be a few people making their offers already. But since everyone knew they were here to play and were already flowing with cash, they didn’t offer any prices.
“Lucky me, hahahaha,” He Xingzhou was elated. After surviving that disaster of a scandal, his luck seemed to be changing.
But his joy didn’t last for long. The second strike revealed nothing but normal stone. Judging by its size, the jadeite wouldn’t be too big.
Yun Xiangxiang finally understood the maxim in the stone gambling world that went: One strike of the blade can make you rich, one strike of the blade can turn you poor, and one strike of the blade can slit your throat.
The shopkeeper asked He Xingzhou’s permission before striking the stone again. It was revealed to contain some jadeite. Similar to the omphacite jade, it was the size of half a finger. It could be made into numerous bracelets, accessories, and stones on rings.
“Mr. He, if you wish to sell it, I can offer you two million yuan,” said the shopkeeper.
They might be here to experience stone gambling, but taking these home would do nothing for them.
Two million yuan was a decent price, but some raised, “I’ll offer you three million.”
A stone bought for ten thousand yuan could sell for three million just because it was opened. Stunning would be an understatement for what they were feeling now.
“I heard something circulating in the stone gambling world before,” Lu Jin whispered to Yun Xiangxiang. “A maniac buys, another maniac sells, the last maniac waits out well.”
“Pfft,” Lu Jin amused Yun Xiangxiang.
He Xingzhou didn’t sell the piece of jadeite. He asked the shopkeeper to help him make some jewelry out of it and give it to everyone who was here today.
“That’s generous of you,” Sun Qiluo slapped He Xingzhou’s shoulder.
The reveal of a decent piece of jadeite piqued everyone’s interest. They were on the edge of their seats, waiting for the next possible reveal.
Unfortunately, Hou Cang’s and Lu Jin’s stone didn’t reveal any jadeites. It was normal though. Everyone was unfazed. At any rate, they gained a piece of jewelry from He Xingzhou.
Everyone forgot about Yun Xiangxiang’s stone, until the young lad who was rubbing it for her shouted, “Uncle Wu, you might want to take a look at this!”
He attracted everyone’s eyes. The surface of the stone was rubbed away, revealing a black, lustrous stone.
“A black jadeite?” Someone said with uncertainty after seeing it.
“There are black jadeites out there?” This was Yun Xiangxiang’s first time hearing it.
“Keep rubbing it off. Go on,” the shopkeeper was more excited than Yun Xiangxiang.
The goose-egg sized stone looked like it contained nothing. If it was someone else who bought it, he might have cut it open with one blow.
But since Yun Xiangxiang bought it, the shopkeeper didn’t want to be too rough. That was why he chose the long route: rubbing it off. He was glad he did.
The stone’s skin was too thin. Rubbing it off was similar to peeling off egg shells.
As he rubbed off the edges, the obsidian jade slowly showed itself.
The crowd waited patiently. The stone-rubbing took nearly two hours before the whole jadeite revealed itself.
After washing it clean, it was held up high, as night time made things hard to see. Everyone noticed the hint of green showing through the stone.
“Why did it change colors?” Yun Xiangxiang thought she was seeing things, but when she took a second look, she confirmed that it really changed colors.
“Goddess, the stone is not changing colors. This is a top-grade obsidian jadeite!” The lad who rubbed the stone
“Is there a difference between black jadeite and black nephrite?” She knew nothing of jades.
“A world of difference,” the shopkeeper carefully took the black jadeite from the young lad. “Come with me, Miss Yun. I’ll take you to see their differences.”
“Heavens. It is really a black jadeite. And a beautiful one at that too. This is the first time I have seen one in my life.”
“I have been in this business for more than ten years, and have seen a lot during that time. But this is also my first time seeing a black jadeite.”
“I have seen some black jadeite’s finished products though. They are extremely rare.”
Ignoring the crowd’s exclamations, the shopkeeper took them back into the shop. He took one finished product made from black nephrite and picked up a small torchlight.
She shone the torch on the black nephrite, but it still only showed a black hue. But when he shone it on the black jadeite, it showed a mesmerizing green.
It was dark, mysterious, deep, and mesmerizing.
This was the charm of black jadeites.
Yun Xiangxiang never thought that stones could have that charm which could mesmerize people. She thought those stone gamblers did it only for the money.
Until she saw this piece of jadeite. Her heart inexplicably skipped a beat. It was gorgeous.
“Heavens. This transparency, this texture. It can’t be. A black jadeite of the best quality?”
“Isn’t a best quality black jadeite considered a miracle?”
“Look at its translucency, the green light it refracts. No doubt it’s the best quality.”
“Miss Yun. Please keep this carefully,” the shopkeeper looked at it lovingly before keeping it in a pretty box. He handed it carefully to Yun Xiangxiang, “This is a priceless treasure.”
There were a lot of people making offers for He Xingzhou’s jadeite, but nobody said anything about Yun Xiangxiang’s goose-egg sized black jadeite.
They simply couldn’t afford it!
The news that a super rare black jadeite was unearthed in the old town sent the jadeite world into a frenzy. There were people who were there who posted a photo they took and immediately garnered high levels of attention.
If it was some normal person who revealed this, perhaps only the jade world would be shaken. But of all people, it had to be Yun Xiangxiang who had the stone.
With this, the top hashtag in Trending on Weibo was #YunXiangxiangandtheSuperRareJadeite#.
You’re asking who Yun Xiangxiang is?
Do you know about “The King’s Plan,” which is currently airing?
You don’t?
Then go watch it.
Even before the variety show started its recording, Yun Xiangxiang shot “The King’s Plan” popularity into the heavens.