Seeing the woman like that, Shui Xiang’s cheeks couldn't help but flush. She thought of what had happened between herself and Li Yang, and subconsciously glanced at him.
Li Yang waved his hand, drawing lines, and said to the stone cutter, "I've marked numbers along the lines. Please cut according to this sequence."
"Certainly, Young Master Li," the stone cutter nodded. He and a few others then worked together to carry the half-person-sized stone onto the cutting platform.
He then used his tools, starting to cut along the lines Li Yang had drawn.
The first cut fell.
The crowd saw a flash of green light and immediately exclaimed, "It's green! Young Master Li got green!"
"What grade is it?"
"There's a thin layer of ice mist, like jelly after freezing. It looks like glutinous ice jade, doesn't it?"
"It's indeed glutinous ice jade apple green."
"Haha," Zhao De laughed heartily, "A mere glutinous ice jade is worlds apart from imperial green. Aren't you going to admit defeat yet?"
"Why is Boss Zhao in such a hurry? Just like you need to get into the zone step by step, isn't it?" Li Yang said with a smile. "Oh, sorry, you can't get into the zone at all, so it's no wonder you're so anxious."
"You!" Zhao De glared at him angrily.
Li Yang smiled and looked at the stone cutter, saying, "Continue cutting."
"Yes, Young Master Li."
The second cut was quickly made.
The crowd leaned in closer to look. Someone shouted, "There's purple."
"It's ice jade pale lavender."
"This is much more valuable than the last one."
"Of course. Lavender jade only appears in ice jade, and it's quite rare, so its price is higher than jade of the same grade in other colors. Only imperial green jade is slightly lower."
"Young Master Li, what do you think?" the stone cutter asked Li Yang.
Li Yang said, "Keep cutting. The next cut will be imperial green."
"Still not giving up," Zhao De sneered. "I want to see if your eyesight is really that good."
"Cut quickly!"
The stone cutter glanced at him and continued cutting.
During the few minutes it took for this cut, no one around felt bored enough to leave or play on their phones. Some even joined the onlookers, staring intently at the stone.
As the blade bit into the stone bit by bit, finally reaching the bottom, everyone's gaze became even more focused.
With a *crack*, the stone split apart.
Zhao De said coldly, "Is it imperial green?"
"Yes, it's imperial green!" someone nearby immediately shouted.
Zhao De's face darkened. He had expected to hear "no," but instead, there was someone so tactless. He angrily said, "Who's speaking nonsense without discretion!"
"They're not speaking nonsense; it really is imperial green," Li Yang said with a smile.
"That's impossible!"
"You haven't even looked at it, how do you know it's impossible?" Li Yang asked.
Zhao De snorted, put his arm around the woman, and leaned closer. He squinted several times, his face growing paler. The stone was exceptionally transparent, a vibrant, lush green, and within the green, there was a patch of orange-yellow, like sunlight.
This was precisely the characteristic of rich, vibrant green jade.
Moreover, the stone's transparency was very high, possessing a glass-like texture, clearly indicating glass jade.
The combination of these two was what people commonly referred to as imperial green.
"It really is imperial green!"
"Amazing! Young Master Li is too amazing!"
"Damn! He said it would be, and it is! Has his eyesight been blessed?"
The crowd erupted in exclamations, as excited as if they had cut it themselves.
"Boss Zhao, everyone can see it. How much longer do you need to look?" Li Yang said with a smile.
Zhao De gritted his teeth, staring at him, and said, "Consider yourself lucky, kid. I'll have someone send the hundred million over."
Saying that, he turned to leave.
"Wait a moment. You said you'd have someone send it, so could you please write an IOU?" Li Yang called out. "Don't go back on your word after you've left."
"As a big boss like me, would I go back on my word with you?" Zhao De said angrily.
Li Yang smiled, "Better safe than sorry. Please write an IOU, or pay up immediately."
"You!"
Zhao De snorted and said, "What if I just leave without writing an IOU?"
"Then I can guarantee you'll end up like this stone," Li Yang narrowed his eyes, grabbed a small stone, and squeezed it with force.
*Crack, crack.*
The crowd watched as the small stone shattered, and they all showed surprise. "Wow! That's incredible!"
"What great strength!"
"Boss Zhao, I think you'd better not go back on your word. Your bones aren't as hard as this stone."
"You're threatening me!" Zhao De's face turned ashen as he stared at Li Yang.
Li Yang smiled, "It's not a threat, just an explanation."
"Fine, I admit defeat. But you'd better not get too smug, kid. You'll have your downfall later," Zhao De grunted. He took out two checks, each for fifty million, tossed them to Li Yang, and turned to leave, no longer even holding the gaudy woman.
The gaudy woman quickly called out, "Boss Zhao, wait for me!"
"Get lost! It's all your fault, you woman, bad luck! You've caused me to have bad luck!"
She finally caught up to him in her high heels, but Zhao De simply slapped her, venting all his frustration from the loss onto her.
With a cry of pain, the gaudy woman was startled, but she still followed.
It wasn't easy to find another big boss like this. If taking a few slaps could maintain a longer-term relationship, she felt it was worth it.
Li Yang took the checks and handed them to Shui Xiang, smiling, "Shui Jie, please help me deposit this into my bank account."
"Alright," Sister Shui smiled.
Li Yang then took out some cash for the stone cutter, "This is for you, a lucky money."
"Thank you, Young Master Li," the stone cutter said happily.
This lucky money was an old rule in the jade gambling circle. Those who found good items almost always gave the stone cutter some lucky money.
Li Yang smiled, "You're welcome. Please cut out the imperial green completely. I want to take it as a gift."
"Certainly, Young Master Li."
"Who are you giving it to?" Shui Xiang asked curiously.
Li Yang smiled and said, "Guess?"
"I won't guess, and I'm not interested in knowing. I'm going to cash the checks," Shui Xiang smiled and turned to walk away.
After the imperial green jade was cut from the large stone, it was only half the size of a palm, nearly half the size of what Li Yang had cut last time. However, its quality was higher, considered top-grade jade.
Especially a small portion of it could be used for a gem setting, professionally known as "gem setting material," which was very expensive.
Li Yang carefully held the imperial green jade and then called Tang Xin Yu. "Hello, are you free?"