Master Zhang took the stone to the cutting machine, found a spot, and made an incision to open a window.
Master Zhang studied it for a long time, fixed the stone, measured with the blade a few times, started the machine, and gently shaved off a thin layer from a small slanted surface.
It was more of a shave because only a very thin layer was cut off.
The white salt sand skin was very thin. If several centimeters were cut without revealing the flesh, then there was no point in looking further; the stone was worthless.
He stopped the machine, took the stone off, and handed it to me.
I wiped the cut surface with a cloth. There was a hint of green on the surface, not the intensely green I had expected.
Of course, shaving off such a small amount of skin didn't mean much. I just wanted to verify its color, whether it was green.
I shone my flashlight inside. The light penetrated, and my heart leaped with joy. It was very translucent, and the green was rich under the light. I handed it to Master Zhang and said, "Peel it."
Master Zhang nodded, took it, and fixed it onto the machine.
Just then, my phone rang. It was an unknown number. I took my phone and went outside to answer it.
Although the number was unfamiliar, the voice was not: "Kid, you've got a tough life. Looks like I'll have to go to the trouble again. Wait for me. Tomorrow, after I secure that piece of land, I'll have some fun with you."
That's right, it was Crown Prince.
I said, "Even if you don't let me have fun with you, I'll still settle the score. Coincidentally, I was planning to settle with you after I secured that land. It seems we truly have a connection, thinking of the same thing. It appears you're determined to get this land. Good, perhaps you'll need it. It's a prime spot for a geomantic grave. Burying you there would bless your descendants for generations! Oh, by the way, you don't have any descendants yet, so your line ends with you."
Crown Prince was so angry his teeth were grinding audibly. I could hear it clearly through the receiver.
I said, "If you really want this land as a burial site, I'll give it to you. It's good that I won't have a burial place after I'm done with you!"
Crown Prince: "You just wait. What's the point of being defiant now? When your women come to collect your corpse, tell them to buy you a nanmu coffin and give you a proper burial!"
I said, "Fine! It's a deal. I'm just afraid you won't live to see that day. Your father will be mourning his son, and your family has plenty of wood. You can switch coffins when you're buried!"
I hung up the phone decisively. I had too many things to do, and arguing with him was pointless.
No matter how arrogant Crown Prince was, I could see and touch him. But what I feared was Kang Gong. His strategic planning was the real enemy we had to rack our brains to deal with.
I turned and walked back into the workshop. Master Zhang's machine was still humming. Wen Siqiang was directing workers to unload the trucks. The first truck was nearing the end of its unloading, and a few workers had already moved to the next truck, climbing into the cargo bed.
The raw stones were denser than ordinary rocks. Eight or nine tons of stones didn't look like much in a five-ton truck bed.
If it were coal, it would have filled the entire truck bed.
I walked up to Master Zhang. He had already peeled off the skin from three sides, with only a little left.
I watched him carefully polish the last bit of the skin. This stone was somewhat like an ostrich egg, narrow at both ends and round in the middle. Weighing just over three pounds, even if it yielded, it could only be made into pendants, small pendants, or egg-shaped cabochons. At most, it could yield a pair of bangles.
The machine finally stopped. Master Zhang washed off the dust with water and said excitedly, "Mr. Li, your eye for quality is truly sharp. You see higher than me!"
I took it. In natural light, its green was dazzling. This was an imperial green, with a translucent base and excellent water content. It had no cracks, like a green ostrich egg, radiant and spectacular!
This single piece alone could cover the total price of these two truckloads of raw stones, including Bo Gang's IOU.
I told Wen Siqiang to take me to Brother Leopard's office first, then to buy some good food and beer, and also some good cigarettes to distribute to the workers.
Brother Leopard was on the phone. Seeing me enter, he gestured for me to sit down, said a few more words, and hung up.
He said, "Brother Qing seems to have become suspicious about the matter of the big stone. He called earlier to ask if there was a stone carving of that stone during the opening ceremony."
The big stone had turned out to be a failure at the public auction. Brother Leopard said he would bring it back to make a stone carving to place at the entrance. Now that both stones had been opened, it would be too late to find such a large stone on short notice.
If there was no sign of the big stone during the opening ceremony, Brother Qing would surely be suspicious.
I said, "The previous stone was only hollowed out from the core. It can be restored by filling it, but carving something out of it would be difficult."
Brother Leopard: "That's acceptable. You don't have anything else to do today. Focus on this stone. If this matter isn't resolved, it's a ticking time bomb, and both of us could end up with no burial place!"
I had heard of Brother Qing's terrifying nature. He would never let any brother who was disloyal to him see the next sunrise.
Cold sweat broke out on my back. I had been involved in this matter all along, even as the instigator. Brother Leopard's words were not an exaggeration at all.
I said, "Don't worry, Brother Leopard. This stone is at Mr. Zhang's processing plant. I'll go find a suitable stone shortly to fill in the excavated part."
After speaking, I handed the raw stone to Brother Leopard. His eyes lit up, and he looked at me in confusion.
I said, "This piece came from Bo Gang's raw stone. This one alone has paid for itself. Anything else is profit."
Brother Leopard: "Excellent! This is also a good omen for our raw stone market. Later, have Lan Ya get some cash, and we'll give out red envelopes to the workers."
I asked Brother Leopard to put the stone in the safe for safekeeping. I quickly called Wen Siqiang and told him to pick me up and take me to Jing Lei's factory after he finished his tasks.
Although that stone was only hollowed out from the core, it still yielded over a ton. Finding such a large, identical stone would be very difficult, unless we used bluestone and then sculpted it to resemble the original.
I was a bit perplexed. To be honest, I didn't have the skill to make two completely different stones appear as one.
I thought of my master. If I entrusted this matter to him, it would surely be no problem, but I wasn't sure if he would agree.
Although it wasn't for selling, it was indeed a deception, and in a sense, it was cheating people.
Even if I asked him, I would need a good reason.
Wen Siqiang's car pulled up to the office building. I went up and told him to go to the pedestrian street first.
I had to confirm whether my master was willing to help me. If he agreed, everything would be much simpler.
The stone was just there, it wasn't going anywhere. The key was how to handle it.
Wen Siqiang turned the steering wheel and drove towards the old town.
On the way, I couldn't just sit idly; I had to come up with a reason.
After thinking long and hard, I couldn't find a good solution. If it was just for carving, leaving the middle empty would be fine. Many design options could cleverly utilize this flaw, perhaps even making it unique.
It seemed this reason wasn't sufficient. I had to think of another one.
My head ached from thinking, but I still had no good ideas.
Wen Siqiang didn't care about these things; he drove like the wind. Before long, we arrived in front of my master's shop.