Chapter 49: One Knife Brings Poverty, One Knife Brings Wealth, One Knife Pierces Through Hemp

  A forty-year-old fat man standing next to Zhang Yang saw the emerald green jade stone that Zhang Yang was sitting on and burst out laughing.

  "Little brother, is this your first time playing Jian Shi?" The fat man looked like a chatty person and asked proactively when he saw Zhang Yang not speaking.

  Zhang Yang curiously asked: "How did you know?"

  The fatty crouched down, pointing at the jade rough stone and said: "Little brother, it's not me saying this, take a look at your piece of rough jade. The appearance is ordinary, the color is dull, there are no inclusions, no cracks, and the size is still so big. It must be something that others have picked over. An old man wouldn't want such rough jade, he'd rather gamble on those with smaller pieces. Whether or not it can produce jade isn't about the size of the rough jade, but about its surface appearance."

  "So you're saying I overpaid?"

  "Little brother didn't buy it expensive, but bought it wrong. If he had bought it expensive, as long as he could make a profit with the jade, there would still be some gains. But if he bought it wrong, the money would be wasted. By the way, little brother, how much did you pay for this wool fabric?" said the fatty.

  Zhang Yang said without hiding: "Thirty thousand, I didn't understand the first time I gambled on stone, if I had known earlier, I would have pressed the price down!"

  "Three million is not expensive, it's strange that they didn't fleece you for more, unlike their usual practice!" Seeing Zhang Yang's puzzled expression, the fat man added: "Little brother, this piece of stone would only cost a few hundred yuan in Myanmar. Once it crosses the border, the price rises to 10,000, plus transportation costs and other expenses, so the cost is at least 15,000-16,000 by the time it reaches Beijing. Now that more and more people are speculating on stones, the market price has been rising all the way. If they're willing to sell for three million, it means they're still being lenient. Of course, this also has something to do with the poor external appearance of this rough stone; otherwise, they would have asked for 100,000 or 200,000."

  Zhang Yang almost shouted out loud, this profit is too huge, earning twice the profit, and it's still a discount in someone else's mouth? Gambling on stones, gambling on stones, it's really about money! Thinking of those white stones in the warehouse, selling for 100,000 to 200,000, Zhang Yang suddenly felt a chill, no wonder people who gamble on stones are called crazy!

  "Hello, I'm Zhang Yang. This is my first time playing Go, what should I call you?" Zhang Yang saw that the fat man was very enthusiastic and had a kind heart, so he took the initiative to greet him and ask some questions about things he didn't know.

  "Call me Liang Pangzi, everyone calls me that," said the fat man with a smile. "Come to think of it, I'm also a newcomer!"

  Zhang Yang looked at Liang Pangzi with an inexplicable gaze.

  "I only look but don't buy, or rather, if I don't see any jade material, I won't make a purchase." said Liang Pangzi.

  "Are you a jeweler?"

  Liang Pangzi smiled and said, "It's not a big deal, just opened a small shop, barely making ends meet. I often come here to take a look, if anyone solves the jadeite and wants to sell it, I'll buy some."

  "Boss Liang, by doing it this way won't your profit be much less? Why not gamble instead? If you were to dissolve the jadeite, wouldn't you earn even more?" Zhang Yang asked.

  "Call me Liang Pangzi, don't call me boss, I'm not used to it. Can't gamble, what's the point of gambling for stones? One knife makes you poor, one knife makes you rich, one knife pierces through everything, my heart can't take this kind of stimulation. Never mind that, little brother, what do you do and how did you think of gambling for stones?"

  Zhang Yang smiled and said, "I used to work in the express delivery industry, but I found that there was no future in it, so I quit. Coincidentally, a friend mentioned this place to me, so I came to take a look. By the way, why haven't they figured out what's going on upstairs yet? What are they waiting for?"

  Not understanding is asking, it has always been Zhang Yang's good quality, he thinks there's nothing to be ashamed of, on the contrary, not understanding and pretending to understand will make people look down on you even more. As a newcomer himself, if he pretends to be experienced, who knows what kind of situation he might get deceived into?

  "He's thinking about how to crack open the stone. Normally, people with experience would choose a spot to make an opening, and if they see green, they'd continue to scrape along that line. After all, if there is jade inside, keeping its original shape intact is better for the carver to make into a pendant, and it'll be worth more money too. But if they don't see any green or the material is too big, they'd find a route to cut open and take a look at what's inside! After all, you can only know if there's jade inside by opening up the raw stone - that's why they call it a gamble!"

  Zhang Yang heard Liang Pangzi say this, lowered his head and took a look at the piece of wool he had, no good, he would have to find a route later, just like Liang Pangzi said, the price of the whole piece of material would be higher. Zhang Yang used his ability to confirm the location of the jade, stretched out his hand and drew a line, he knew where the green was coming from, decided to cut it open right there, so as not to waste time cutting back and forth.

  Liang Pangzi watched Liu Jian making gestures, smiled and didn't say anything. In his opinion, this piece of stone had no betting value, but as long as the material was not opened, there was a possibility of producing jadeite. Over the years, he had also seen cases where unappreciated materials were opened to reveal jadeite, so he smiled and looked at Zhang Yang.

  After making sure, Zhang Yang raised his head and happened to see Liang Paozi's smiling face.

  "Mr. Liang, sorry about this, it's my first time betting on a Go match and I'm a bit nervous," Zhang Yang said.

  Li Bao smiled and said: "Nothing, this way I'm a few years older than you, so just call me Li Ge, one mouthful of 'Li Boss' is unbearable for me!"

  Zhang Yang readily agreed, but he would never underestimate this Liang Pangzi. Anyone who can afford to buy half a ton of goods and Ming dynasty antiques is not a simple person. Besides, this is the capital city, where it's said that you don't know the officials if you haven't been to the inner city, and you don't know how much money is little if you haven't been to the upper city. Liang Pangzi can open a jewelry store in the capital, so he must have at least tens of millions of yuan on hand. Maybe even more. Someone like this, it's good to make connections with him, it will definitely be helpful for entering the gambling stone industry.

  "Brother Liang, you must come here often. I'm asking you, do you know this person?" Zhang Yang thought of that Meng Zong who had actively sold him a good deal.

  "Who is it?" asked Liang Pao Tzu.

  "There is a Meng Zong." As soon as Zhang Yang's words fell, Liang Pangzi's face changed.

  "How did you know him?" asked Liang Pangzi.

  Zhang Yang will go through it again, and there's nothing good to hide anyway.

  "Xiao Zhang, you have to be careful. Meng Zong can't be considered a gambler, although he occasionally comes to gamble too. He's an antique shop owner, I think he's eyeing your money. The antique business is even deeper than the water of gambling, you must be careful. At least with gambling stones, there's a one in ten thousand chance, but with antiques, if you don't have the ability, it'll definitely end up being a losing proposition." said Liang Pangzi.

  Zhang Yang sneered in his heart, as expected, he had guessed correctly. No one would offer kindness without ulterior motives; this Manager Meng probably thought he was one of those rich young masters since he drove here, and wanted to swindle him.

  "Thank you, Brother Liang, I'll be more careful," Zhang Yang said.

  Liang Pangzi nodded, and the crowd erupted in a commotion. He hastily stood up and said: "The stone is going to be solved."

  Zhang Yang stood up straight on his own wool and looked over.

  Sure, here is the translation:

  As expected, the gambler above finally drew a line, placed the stone on it, and then retreated to one side, watching the worker's operation.

  The machine hummed, and the crowd that was just discussing in a flurry fell silent, watching the machine with bated breath. It all came down to this one move - would it be life or death, profit or loss?

  The stone workers followed the lines drawn by the guests, started the machine from the edge and slowly cut it. With the high-speed rotation of the gears, the debris continued to fall off the wool, and finally, with a rustling sound, one-third of the wool fell to the ground.

  Both sides are a vast expanse of white, without any trace of green.

  The onlookers couldn't help but let out a collective sigh, as if that piece of fabric was theirs too, with disappointment etched on every face.

  Li Angzi sighed and shook his head: "It seems like it's all over."

  "Isn't there still a lot left?" Zhang Yang asked in puzzlement.

  Li Pangzi said, "You see the line he drew, don't you? Judging from its appearance, that's where the jade is most likely to come out, so he started cutting from there. But now nothing's coming out. Either his judgment was wrong or this piece of rough stone has gone bad. In my experience, it's more likely to be the latter."

  Zhang Yang looked at the wool on the machine, this big piece of wool is even bigger than his own, how could it be like this? Isn't it just saying that the tens of thousands of yuan he spent buying wool has now become worthless, not worth a single penny.

  It dawned on him that Zhang Yang's face was extremely ugly, fortunately he had his ability, otherwise he would have ended up like him. He had seen so many stones in the warehouse, but only this one had jadeite. Good heavens, how many people were going to lose big time!

  The man's face turned somewhat pale, stabilized his emotions, gritted his teeth, picked up the chalk and drew a line on the remaining fabric, saying to the staff: "Unravel from here, I don't believe it. The fabric looks so good, how can there be nothing inside?"

  The staff remained silent, and according to the customer's request, they put the wool back on again. They had seen such situations many times before and were already somewhat numb to it. If every piece of wool could be unraveled into jade, then the price of jade wouldn't be so expensive.

  The man stared intently at the place where the gear had passed, and the people below also became tense. If it didn't turn green, then it was really over. The greater the hope, the greater the disappointment, the stone that had been split in two was still white and flower-like, without a hint of green shadow.

  "It's all over, completely finished." Liang Pangzi shook his head and said.

  Zhang Yang couldn't help but feel some sympathy for the man, who looked miserable. He clearly remembered that the person in front of him had paid 180,000 yuan for a coat made of wool, and now he seemed to have lost every penny.

  Liang Pangzi sighed again and said: "Gambling on stones is like this, one knife makes you poor, one knife makes you rich, and one knife cuts through the hemp cloth. No one knows what's inside until it's cut open!"

  Seeing the man leave with a gloomy expression from her side, Zhang Yang's heart felt a pang of sadness.

  "Little brother, see for yourself, this is gambling. There's too much risk involved, it's okay to play around but don't get addicted!" said Liang Pangzi.

  Zhang Yang nodded ambiguously, seeing no one going up, Zhang Yang packed his own wool, whether it was morning or evening, and there was jadeite inside, Zhang Yang couldn't wait to know what kind of situation the jadeite would be in, and after absorbing all the spiritual energy, would the jadeite change?

  Li Baozi saw Zhang Yang walk up so quickly and thought to himself, "This young man's mental quality is really good. Others would have taken some time to continue after seeing what just happened, but this kid not only didn't receive a blow, he even looked eager. Indeed, newborn calves are not afraid of tigers!