"Xiao Tian, come take another look at these jades," Elder Zhou called Lin Tian over and carefully explained, "Jadeite belongs to the category of hard jade and differs from that giant jade stone. Here I’ve collected almost all varieties of jadeite."
Lin Tian walked over and looked closely; he needed to make money through jade in the future, so he watched very attentively. Seeing his focused demeanor, Elder Zhou went on to explain, "There’s an industry saying when assessing jadeite: ’one type, two colors, three crafts.’ Good quality can conceal three flaws. The jadeite’s quality grades from high to low generally include glass type, ice type, glutinous type, golden silk type, oily green type, bean green type..."
"Secondly, look at the jadeite’s color. There are over a hundred colors of jadeite, but they are generally classified as colorless, white, green, purple, black, yellow, red, and combined colors. The standards for good quality are rich, positive, accurate, bright, and even. As for which color is the best, it depends on personal preference."
"The value of jadeite also depends on its carving and decorating craftsmanship..."
As Elder Zhou spoke, he took out corresponding jadeite stones for Lin Tian to observe, even more diligently than a schoolteacher. Lin Tian, with his x-ray vision, gained an increasingly deeper understanding of jadeite under Elder Zhou’s patient explanations.
His x-ray vision was almost like a cheating device; things others might study for months, Lin Tian could understand more thoroughly in just an hour. He listened with great interest, while Zhou Botong yawned repeatedly, almost falling asleep as he listened.
With a "smack," Elder Zhou gave him a slap on the shoulder, startling Zhou Botong.
"You little rascal, getting sleepy every time I try to teach you something. Look at Lin Tian, see how patient he is." Elder Zhou took the opportunity to lecture him. No wonder Zhou Botong was so afraid of his grandfather; it turned out he had been scolded into fear from childhood.
"Alright, grandfather’s teaching is correct. I’ll definitely learn earnestly from classmate Lin Tian," Zhou Botong had long figured out his grandfather’s temper. You can’t argue when being taught a lesson; you have to accept it. If you dare to argue, there’s a whole basket of trouble waiting for you.
Sure enough, seeing that he accepted the lesson meekly, Elder Zhou didn’t continue. Zhou Botong stealthily made faces at Lin Tian, looking very pleased with himself. Lin Tian could only shake his head speechlessly. However, thinking about it, Zhou Botong was especially talkative usually, and his eloquence was probably inherited from Elder Zhou.
The three of them stayed in the collection room all morning until Zhou Botong was so hungry he couldn’t take it, his stomach growling. Only then did Lin Tian and Elder Zhou come back to their senses. Lin Tian himself could go without eating, and Elder Zhou was purely fixated on his work, talking about jade identification to the point of forgetting to eat.
"Xiao Tian, have lunch here. I still have a lot to tell you. Sigh, Botong here never wants to listen to me. Today, I’ve finally met a willing and talented young man," Elder Zhou said, pulling Lin Tian to stay for lunch.
"Grandpa, Lin Tian is my guest, and you’ve monopolized him all day. I don’t accept this," Zhou Botong said discontentedly. He had initially invited Lin Tian to hang out, only to have him hijacked by his own grandfather.
Elder Zhou glanced at him lightly and said, "You don’t accept it? Tomorrow, I’ll give you a two-hour lesson too. If you don’t nod off, I’ll stop meddling with you after that and let you be free."
"That, haha, I was just kidding around. Ah, I’m so hungry. Let’s go eat. Brother Lin Tian, let’s go eat. Auntie makes delicious food," Zhou Botong looked around, pretending he hadn’t said anything, and led Lin Tian to the living room.
The vegetables and fruits they had for lunch were all personally grown by Elder Zhou, fresh and tender, and even more natural and green compared to those from the market. After lunch, Elder Zhou pulled Lin Tian to look at more jade stones.
"Grandpa, can I not go?" Zhou Botong grimaced. He knew once his grandfather got immersed in work, he’d neglect sleep and food, and following him was simply torture.
Unexpectedly, Elder Zhou wasn’t angry about his laziness this time but simply said, "Later, we’ll be looking at jade raw materials. I heard someone suffered a huge loss last time at the jade market. Since you’re not interested, forget it. Xiao Tian, let’s go. Don’t mind him."
Upon hearing his grandfather’s words, Zhou Botong’s eyes sparkled, and he hurriedly fawned, "Ah Grandpa, do you know what people say about you when it comes to identifying jade raw materials? They say you have the ’Eyes of Golden Flame,’ just like Sun Wukong! That you are incredibly accurate."
Lin Tian finally saw just how shameless Zhou Botong could be. How come he hadn’t shown such thick skin when they went underwear shopping yesterday? However, Lin Tian also found this grandfather-grandson pair quite amusing—seemingly disrespectful but in complete harmony, with Elder Zhou fully understanding his grandson’s temperament.
This time, they were going to the basement of the villa, which was even bigger than the Treasure Room above. Lin Tian figured the whole area beneath the villa was nearly hollowed out.
The basement was well-lit and ventilated, so when Lin Tian entered, there was no sense of stuffiness or humidity. The light was very bright, and on the ground, there lay stones of various shapes and colors.
Of course, to Lin Tian, these were just ordinary stones because he had yet to see what jade raw materials looked like.
"Brother Lin Tian, look, all of these are the jade raw materials Grandpa has collected. There are some really good items in here!" Zhou Botong said, his eyes shining, and saliva almost drooling.
"You rascal, wanting to gamble on stone yet not willing to learn anything properly. All your envious drooling is useless, hmph!" Elder Zhou huffed.
However, Lin Tian was puzzled. Why wasn’t Zhou Botong this excited when they saw the real jade this morning? Why was he so thrilled by these uncut jade stones?
"Brother Botong, are these stones really that exciting? We don’t even know what’s inside them," Lin Tian asked curiously, not understanding at all.
Zhou Botong, pretending to be experienced, patted Lin Tian on the shoulder and said with the air of someone who had been through it all, "Lin Tian, you just don’t understand. Gambling on stone is all about this uncertainty. You haven’t experienced the feeling of ’heaven with one cut, hell with another.’"
"Xiao Tian, don’t listen to his nonsense. Gambling on stone can indeed make one rich or poor with a single cut, but it can also be addictive. Some people have ended up bankrupt and destroyed because of it. It’s not that you can’t gamble on stone, but one must have limits. Those who can’t control their ’Heart Demon’ will eventually fail miserably, no matter how rich they become temporarily. I’ve seen too many such examples," Elder Zhou said with a profound sigh.
"Elder Zhou is right. Any unknown allure of profit can make people lose their sense of proportion. Those who remain clear-headed are the true winners," Lin Tian said, nodding in agreement with a smile.
"Good, Xiao Tian. I introduced you to stone gambling not to have you take chances with luck and fate, but to train your ’Eyes of Golden Flame,’ to uncover these dusty gems and make them shine as they should," Elder Zhou said with a nod.
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