Da Laizi lunged at me, swinging his arm towards my face. I dodged his fist, grabbed his arm, and pushed it outwards. Da Laizi tumbled to the ground with a clumsy fall. I stepped on him and kicked him in the soft ribs, causing him to yelp in pain and writhe on the ground.
I stepped on his face and asked, "Are you going to keep fighting?"
His contorted face struggled to squeeze out a few words: "No more, you’re too brutal. You're trying to kill me!"
"Are you convinced?"
"Yes, I am. I'll follow you from now on. These followers are yours now. I'll call you Big Brother!"
"Being convinced isn't enough; I need proof. I'll wait for you at the school gate after class today. You have to apologize to Wang Xin in person and never bother her again!"
"Yes, yes, I understand. I promise to do it. Please spare me!"
I released my foot from his face and walked away. His followers rushed to help him up only after I was gone. He then turned around and berated them.
I ignored them and headed straight for the jade cutting shop. I had promised Master Hu Zi that I would learn stone cutting from him whenever I wasn't in school.
The cutting shop was busy today, and Master was occupied. I sat down and looked at the stones.
Master was polishing a piece of rough stone about the size of a fist. It was covered in a yellow rind. Master had mentioned before that this was a white-yellow sand-skin material, which was rare and came from the Mu Na mine. The Mu Na mine is shrouded in mystery. Because Mu Na jade is formed in a symbiotic deposit, its characteristics vary greatly. Some jade rough on the outside often appears a vibrant green, but when cut open, it reveals a bluish hue. Conversely, many rough stones that look pale on the outside become rich and vibrant after cutting, making it truly unpredictable. Therefore, Mu Na jade is sensitive to bluish tones, which can make the color appear dull. While Mu Na produces some slightly bluish varieties that are less ideal when made into finished products, it does not diminish its status. This is because Mu Na yields a significant amount of top-quality glass jade, and the chances of a successful gamble are higher than with rough stones from other mines. Another characteristic of Mu Na is that jade with color usually has excellent texture within the colored bands, while the areas outside the bands have relatively poorer texture. Furthermore, it tends to have bright colors.
This customer appeared to be an experienced gambler, having found this piece from somewhere.
It seemed the customer was also uncertain, as he didn't cut directly but instead used a grinding wheel to polish the side.
This stone was being gambled on for its color and clarity. Small stones generally don't have cracks. As long as there's color, there's no loss. If the clarity is good, there's a profit.
After polishing an area the size of a thumbnail, Master rinsed it with water and handed it to the customer. The customer's eyes lit up. The exposed window was crystal clear, showing a vibrant green! If the entire stone were like this, it would increase in value by at least dozens of times.
As the saying goes, a successful polish doesn't guarantee a win; only cutting reveals the true value.
The customer handed the stone to Master, saying, "Make a cut on the back, just three millimeters into the rind."
This stone weighed only about half a kilogram, and if it had goodเนื้อ inside, cutting too much would be a waste.
Master sat on his stool, secured the stone, adjusted the blade, and checked the cutting position. Then, he switched on the machine, and a piercing sound instantly filled the air.
The stone was small, and the cut was so thin that it was finished in just a few minutes.
Master rinsed the dust off the stone with the faucet and picked it up. The customer jumped up in excitement. It had paid off!
A piece about five centimeters square was cut off. Except for a few streaks of cotton-like inclusions, the entire stone was a vibrant green, incredibly beautiful!
The shop owner rushed over, also extremely excited. Such a good stone being cut in his shop immediately boosted business.
The shop owner said, "Are you selling this piece? I'll buy it."
The customer asked, "How much will you give me?"
I had overheard someone nearby saying that he bought this stone for a thousand yuan. Despite its small size, the price was high because it was Mu Na material.
The shop owner held it in his hand and said, "This piece is small, there's no bracelet-making section. It can only be used for accessories and pendants. However, the texture is old, the clarity is good, and there's color. I'll give you thirty thousand. Let me know if you think it's fair."
The customer thought for a moment. It was a thirty-fold increase. He said, "Although your offer isn't high, it's reasonable. I want to gamble on larger stones, so I'll sell it to you."
As the customer went with the shop owner to collect the money, the onlookers cheered, urging the customer to hand out red envelopes and set off firecrackers. The customer took the money, smiling, and distributed red envelopes to everyone. Each person received one, including me. Then he asked someone to set off firecrackers.
The shop owner said, "The firecrackers are on me!"
As he spoke, firecrackers crackled outside, attracting people from other shops.
I looked at the money in my hand. It was five yuan. Five yuan each for over a dozen people amounted to a thousand yuan. Master received a hundred-yuan note. He looked at it without any expression and put it in his pocket.
Perhaps he was used to such things and was no longer moved.
The shop suddenly became lively. Several people lined up next to Master with their stones, waiting for him to cut them.
This was truly a magical stone. On the outside, it looked no different from a pebble from a river. With one cut, it multiplied in value thirty times. At that time, a house in Ruili cost only twenty to thirty thousand yuan. This stone could buy two houses.
Master continued cutting the stone with his head bowed, as if none of this concerned him. Whether it was a thirty-fold or fifty-fold profit, his job was to fulfill the customer's requests.
I knew Master understood stones thoroughly. When it was just the two of us, he had taught me a lot about stones: the mines, water stones and mountain stones, skin colors, vein patterns, and more. I had memorized everything.
However, once he started working, his sole focus was on the tools in front of him. Whether the stone yielded high-quality or ordinary jade, he showed no emotion.
Although many of the stones in the queue were cut, most yielded nothing. Some people simply threw the cut stones aside and left without even looking at them.
While stones could make people rich overnight, not everyone had that destiny. It was like buying a lottery ticket; there were winners every day, but it wasn't you.
Most people spent money to buy an empty hope.
Later, a few ordinary pieces were cut. Although they had color, they lacked clarity and texture, making them too dry to be profitable for jewelry polishing. These few people said they would take them back as decorations, which was better than a plain rock.
At noon, Master and I ate some rice noodles at a small eatery nearby. Master paid, and I ate without hesitation.
After lunch, there weren't many people. The same customer from the morning was still sifting through the pile of stones. Although he had said he wanted to buy larger stones, he was actually rummaging through the pile of smaller ones. It seemed this person was very cautious and had his own ideas.
He was unlike others who would buy stones with attractive colors without hesitation. He wasn't like that. He hadn't touched any stones since the one he cut that morning and only started again when the crowd had thinned out.
I admired him greatly. He was neither rushed nor impatient, examining each stone in his hand as if it were a work of art. I thought he must be searching for his own special stone.