"My shop might not be large, but it's fully equipped. We have everything from diamonds, rubies, emeralds, jade, amber, and even ivory. Feel free to browse, and if anything catches your eye, I'll give you a direct cost price."
After Du Fei and Gong Chengbin entered the shop, the owner, Shao Junjie, led them around.
The jewelry store was brightly lit, and with slender, attractive sales assistants standing by each counter, it created a pleasing and comfortable atmosphere.
Gong Chengbin chuckled, "I say, Ajie, you even sell ivory? I'm going to report you!"
"Report what? Everything here is legitimate, I have permits, okay? Investing so much money to open a shop these days, I don't want to suffer a big loss over a small issue."
Shao Junjie knew Gong Chengbin was joking, but he still offered a brief explanation.
Du Fei and Gong Chengbin looked around, but neither spoke.
Gong Chengbin remained silent because he wasn't particularly interested in the jewelry; his main intention was to give Du Fei something as a token of his gratitude.
Du Fei, on the other hand, had surveyed Shao Junjie's shop and found that while the items looked good, they were rather ordinary. Nothing immediately captivated him.
Seeing Du Fei's prolonged silence, Gong Chengbin began to guess his thoughts.
"By the way, Ajie, isn't everything here a bit too uniform? Do you have any other good stuff hidden away? Don't worry, brother isn't short on cash anymore. As long as the item is good, I guarantee you'll be satisfied with the price!"
Gong Chengbin said it in a playful tone.
Shao Junjie didn't get angry. He led them to a seating area and instructed a staff member to bring three cups of tea.
"Abin, do you think everyone who comes here to buy things has hundreds of millions like you? Of course, these items are just ordinary goods in your eyes."
Even though Gong Chengbin wasn't the eldest son of the Gong family and might not inherit the majority of their assets, his status was undeniable. Shao Junjie naturally didn't believe his shop held anything that would impress Gong Chengbin.
"Hey, you say that, but I don't have that much money. It's just that my friend here wants to buy something special. Do you have any good recommendations?"
Gong Chengbin sat down and communicated with Du Fei, asking on his behalf.
Just then, a noisy sound of footsteps came from outside. A large group of people hurried past.
"What are all these people rushing for?"
Gong Chengbin took a sip of tea and stood up to look. He saw a large crowd scrambling towards the back of the jewelry street.
Shao Junjie clapped his hands. "Right, how could I forget? Today, in the plaza behind the jewelry street, there's a jade-gambling competition. Didn't you say you wanted to buy something good? I guarantee you'll be satisfied there."
"Jade-gambling competition? What's that?"
Gong Chengbin repeated the term.
Du Fei beside him also showed some curiosity.
Shao Junjie said, "One cut leads to poverty, one cut leads to wealth. After one cut, you might be wearing sackcloth. Essentially, a jade-gambling competition is a gamble on jade stones."
After Shao Junjie's detailed explanation, Du Fei and Gong Chengbin finally understood what a jade-gambling competition was.
It turned out to be jointly organized by several of the largest jewelry stores on the street. To attract customers and build brand awareness, a competition was held every month. Each winner received the title of "Jade Gambling King" and a cash prize of over a million yuan.
Thus, on the days of the jade-gambling competition, the jewelry street would be crowded with people who came from afar.
Whether these people were there to watch the excitement or to win the million-yuan prize, the major jewelers achieved their goal: successfully attracting a large crowd and generating a hot topic.
"Hearing you describe it, it sounds so interesting, I can't help but want to go see."
Gong Chengbin, who enjoyed liveliness, was immediately drawn in after Shao Junjie's brief introduction.
Although Du Fei wasn't as excited as Gong Chengbin, he also wanted to see.
Seeing their reactions, Shao Junjie gave some instructions to his staff and then left the jewelry store with them.
...
"Green! Green! Green!"
"It's green! It's green!"
"Damn it! It's only a thin layer. I've lost big time this time."
"Haha, although the green is small, this piece alone can fetch a good sum!"
On a square covering several thousand square meters, people were packed everywhere, each one as excited as if they had been injected with stimulants.
When Du Fei and Gong Chengbin arrived with Shao Junjie, they were greeted by such a lively scene.
"Ajie, how does this jade gambling work? I see everyone here acting like they're on stimulants."
Gong Chengbin looked around. He saw people shouting, some extremely excited, others dejected.
Hearing Gong Chengbin's question, Shao Junjie pointed to the western side of the plaza. "See those raw jade stones over there? They are classified into three grades: A, B, and C. Grade A is the most expensive, starting at a million yuan. Grade B is mid-range, around a hundred thousand yuan. Grade C is the cheapest, starting at five thousand yuan."
"Choose a raw jade stone you like, buy it, pay a cutting fee, and hand it over to a specialized stone cutter to open it."
"Speaking of which, at a previous jade-gambling competition, a beautiful woman found a piece of top-quality glass jade. Although it was small, it was worth tens of millions!"
After hearing Shao Junjie's explanation, Gong Chengbin's interest was piqued.
While tens of millions wasn't a significant amount for Gong Chengbin, the thrill and excitement of jade gambling were the real draw.
Imagine spending a few thousand or tens of thousands on a raw jade stone, and after careful cutting, revealing jade worth millions – that's a thrill that cannot be understood by those who haven't experienced it.
"Du Fei, let's buy a couple of pieces to try our luck."
Gong Chengbin was tempted, but he didn't forget that he wasn't alone. He spoke to Du Fei, inviting him along.
Seeing Du Fei nod in agreement, Gong Chengbin immediately headed towards the area where raw jade stones were being sold.
Upon reaching the raw jade selling area, dozens of people were gathered around several stalls, discussing and selecting stones.
"Old Zhang, this one is good. Although it has cracks, I feel its direction is right, and it should yield some green."
"Forget it, Old Gu. You haven't even cut out any green so far, and you have the nerve to direct others? I think you should save your breath."
"Let's not listen to him. I say buy this one. It looks like an old pit raw stone. Even if the green is minimal, we won't lose much."
The people ahead of Du Fei and Gong Chengbin appeared to be in their forties, seemingly quite well-off.
Soon, they selected their desired raw jade stones, and then it was Du Fei and Gong Chengbin's turn.