Chapter 85 Raw Stones "My maternal grandmother's house has two large stacks of them."
Reading Settings
Chapter 85 Raw Stones "My maternal grandmother's house has two large stacks of them."
Cheng Zhao's comment that "God is blind" caused the live stream chat to be completely drowned out by "hahahahaha".
Hahahaha!
I've never been disappointed by his mouth!
Bro, you're so jealous!
【Peach, quickly smell around you, does it smell particularly sour?】
[God: Say that again?]
Don't worry, because of Ye Hantao's shady tactics, Ren Lang doesn't want to be in a group with her anymore~
[Hates, don't worry. Tao Tao has top-tier jewelry designers like Jin Yong and Gu Long waiting for her in ads, and the top five magazines waiting for her on covers, hehe.]
[Ye Hantao's earrings today are Jin Yong and Gu Long's starry sky design, aren't you jealous?]
Ye Hantao was amused by Cheng Zhao's overly straightforward answer. She glanced to the side, and Gu Fanghao and Ren Lang, who were walking over, clearly heard her.
"Tao Tao, what do you mean God is blind?" Gu Fanghao's eyes lit up when she saw Ye Hantao, and she quickly walked over. "Did you have any stones you liked that you didn't manage to buy?"
Ye Hantao snapped out of her daze. "We're still watching."
The program team stipulated that the stone selection time was 60 minutes.
After they buy the stones they want, the staff will help move them to a temporarily rented place for unified stone cutting.
The rules determine the winner based on the value of the jadeite found; the two groups with the lowest scores are penalized. If no one finds jadeite, all of them are penalized.
Gu Fanghao said excitedly, "I just heard Brother Ren talk about a lot of methods for identifying stones. It was more detailed than the booklets we read. I learned a lot."
Hearing Gu Fanghao's praise, Ren Lang was pleased.
During the two years when Aurelia was at the height of its popularity, he designed both clothing and jewelry.
As the creative director of Aurelia, he is naturally qualified to attend major high-end jewelry exhibitions.
Once, when I attended a jewelry exhibition at Velvion, the organizers provided the guests with a stone-cutting experience.
It is said that the founder of Velvion made his fortune by gambling on jade.
He gazed longingly at the jade jewelry in the display case.
After carefully listening to the experiences shared by those around him about gambling on stones, Ren Lang secretly planned in his heart that he would buy some stones when his luck improved to a certain extent in the future.
Unexpectedly, Kim Si-wol unilaterally broke off relations without warning.
Later, he kept changing his targets, which was enough to improve his design talent. He no longer dared to gamble on stones.
Seeing the raw stones and jade, I was suddenly reminded of an old friend.
[Hahaha, Ji Changtu?]
[If he were here, he'd definitely be showing off his expertise in identifying rough stones at all times (doge.jpg)]
Ren Lang couldn't see the comments in the live stream, but he had watched some replay clips before coming to the show.
Ji Changtu's ostentation was too low-class in his eyes.
Not wanting to follow in Ji Changtu's footsteps, he focused on encouragement when introducing himself to Gu Fanghao, successfully raising the gratitude level to 13%.
“Xiao Gu, you’re very smart too.” Ren Langyan’s voice was gentle, with the composure of an elder. “I only need to say it once, and you can remember it all.”
[Gratitude Points: 14%]
Hearing that Gu Fanghao's gratitude level had risen to 14% and he was still lively and energetic, Ye Hantao was temporarily relieved. "After we finish picking the stones, let's see who can find jade."
As she said this, Ye Hantao gently raised her chin, her tone even rising in a light and confident manner.
"Tao Tao, you know how to distinguish stones too?"
"I understand."
Gu Fanghao immediately forgot about Ren Lang. "Tao Tao, you're amazing! You not only know how to paint and brew tea, but you can even distinguish stones."
Ye Hantao immediately said, "I know a lot of things. If you don't understand something in the future, just come and ask me."
Don't look for Ren Lang.
"Tao Tao, you're being too domineering," Ren Lang said jokingly. "Fang Hao and I are teammates. If Fang Hao really wants to ask, he should ask me."
Ye Hantao ignored him and took Gu Fanghao's arm, saying, "We're still roommates, aren't we?"
Gu Fanghao replied without hesitation: "Yes!"
I feel like Ye Hantao really wants to separate Xiao Gu and Ren Lang.
【Same feeling. 】
[I told you long ago, Ye Hantao is jealous that Gu Fanghao is treated differently by Ren Lang. She was originally the one chosen.]
[Can't they even tell they're filming a variety show?! Is Ye Hantao's joke being analyzed so seriously?]
[Hehe, Ye Hantao knows perfectly well whether it's a real joke or not!]
[Disease progression: 26%]
Ye Hantao glanced quickly at Ren Lang and, finding that he didn't react, was even more certain that Ren Lang most likely couldn't hear her system's electronic voice.
Ren Lang didn't really want Gu Fanghao and Ye Hantao to continue their relationship.
Once Gu Fanghao is influenced by Ye Hantao, his gratitude points can easily drop inexplicably.
Ren Lang advised, "Tao Tao, you're so confident, you probably memorized all the knowledge in the booklet, but distinguishing raw stones still requires experience."
Ye Hantao pointed into the store and said, "In my experience, it will definitely produce green."
Ren Lang looked in the direction Ye Hantao was pointing.
The cameraman also focused his lens on the stones inside the store.
Stone material at a fixed price, 600,000.
[Disease progression: 25.5%]
As expected, Ye Hantao smiled with delight at the feedback from her character.
Cheng Zhao, however, was looking at the 600,000 yuan piece of fabric.
They can only spend the 50,000 yuan provided by the production team and cannot add any more money.
Fortunately, he had someone waiting there beforehand.
My feelings towards Ye Hantao are quite mixed.
[Hahaha, a sister's comment earlier was spot on; Ye Hantao can make 100 yuan look like 100 million.]
Ye Hantao was studying the identification manual very seriously in the car; she was clearly a newbie.
[Everyone knows that a 600,000 yuan stone has a high probability of yielding jadeite. Ye Hantao is probably worried that the stone she chose won't turn into jadeite, so she's trying to salvage the situation in advance.]
[Ji Changtu has been arrested. Are you here to take over his shift?]
If he were here, he would probably say the same thing as you.
[There's more than just this one piece there; there are other stones worth millions nearby. If Ye Hantao is really making this up, why doesn't she choose the ones worth millions?]
[Come on, anyone who believes Ye Hantao should hurry to the Five Stones Market and have this stone cut open right there! Let me see!]
A few minutes later, the four parted ways.
Ren Lang used the excuse that it was getting late and the mission was important to take Gu Fanghao away.
They were teammates, so even if Ye Hantao was worried, she couldn't say anything, especially since she had no evidence to accuse Ren Lang.
"Let's choose from this shop first." Cheng Zhao walked into the shop with 600,000 rough stones. "These on the table with fixed prices of tens of thousands are also quite reasonable."
Ye Hantao followed him to the table.
Compared to the piles of stones outside the shop that cost tens or hundreds of yuan per kilogram, the piles inside the shop are several sizes smaller.
The fixed price ranges from 10,000 to 100,000.
The stones range in size from as small as a ping-pong ball to the largest being only the size of a basketball.
When the shopkeeper saw customers, he wasn't particularly enthusiastic. "Feel free to look around and choose whatever you like. All the materials in our shop come from the Moxi Sha and Muna mines. Last month, we even found some high-quality icy violet jadeite, which we resold for a net profit of several million."
One cut can make you poor, another can make you rich – that's the saying that describes their gambling on stones.
Some people spend millions or tens of millions and never hear a sound, while others become millionaires with just a few hundred thousand.
Ye Hantao stood in front of the stones priced at tens of thousands of yuan and selected them.
Midway through, a customer entered the store and went straight to the stone next to the one priced at 600,000.
That one is more expensive, worth 3.2 million.
Ye Hantao heard him call for the shop owner to bring a powerful flashlight and shine it close to the stone's outer layer.
This method is not described in the stone identification manual.
Ye Hantao and Cheng Zhao exchanged a glance and leaned closer to each other in tacit agreement.
The guests were very understanding. Seeing that they seemed to be newcomers, they explained, "The light can't be shone directly on the surface; it must be swept at an angle to let the light penetrate..."
After a few seconds of pause, he suddenly looked up and said, "Boss, this stone looks pretty good."
Ye Hantao watched as he moved the flashlight to a different spot and then back to the original position. "The light can penetrate about 3cm, no wonder you said before that it has a high probability of being glassy jade."
The boss knows this customer.
I saw another rough stone at the store a couple of days ago, and recently I heard that he has received more material at the store, so I came over.
"But there's no trace of pine flower pattern on it." The man tapped the stone with his finger. "It might be a veneer."
The boss gave a wry smile, "If I were bold enough, I would have kept it and gambled it myself."
He can be willing to part with tens of thousands of yuan, but he really can't do it with millions.
If he loses the bet, his wife will kill him.
Ye Hantao pointed to the piece in the middle, "Don't you want to take a look at this one?"
The customer handed over a flashlight, saying, "You'll see if you shine the flashlight on it; there are tiny, net-like cracks on its surface."
Ye Hantao took the high-powered flashlight from his hand and shone it at an angle; sure enough, there were cracks that were difficult to see with the naked eye.
Upon seeing the cracks, the shop owner sighed again, "It's only because of these cracks that its price has dropped to 600,000; otherwise, it wouldn't even be worth 2 million."
[Ren Lang really knows his stuff! I heard Ren Lang talk about cracks and pine flower patterns in his and Gu Fanghao's live stream.]
[Look at Ye Hantao's bewildered expression as she listens to the lesson...]
[That's really experienced; how could they not think to shine a flashlight?]
That's why I said Ye Hantao was just making things up when she pointed at the 600,000 yuan stone.
In the shop next door, Ren Lang was instructing, "Xiao Gu, take a picture like this, and you can see the light going through, right?"
Gu Fanghao excitedly said, "Yes, we can! Shall we buy this one?"
Ren Lang is not a patient person, and besides, he didn't intend to be tied to Gu Fanghao forever; he was just a temporary tool.
Seeing that Gu Fanghao had only answered without increasing his gratitude points, he looked slightly displeased. "I won't buy it."
Gu Fanghao lowered his head and said, "I understand."
"..." Ren Lang laughed again, "It's covered in cracks, so even if you're lucky enough to find jade, it's very likely to be just some broken pieces that aren't worth much."
Gu Fanghao relaxed when she realized that Ren Lang was not upset by her questions.
[Current gratitude level: 18%]
Ren Lang felt a surge of urgency upon hearing that the gratitude level had only reached 18%.
He can only use his luck to increase his fortune if the target he is bound to generates 20% gratitude towards him.
In the past, he wouldn't have acted so soon.
But he had just experienced a series of bad luck yesterday, and not long ago his bag was stolen after someone stepped on his foot at the stone market.
Ren Lang now only wants to quickly fill the -3 luck gap.
He turned off his flashlight. "If you want to buy stone in the future, you can ask me first. Don't let anyone fool you."
Gu Fanghao doesn't even buy funds normally, so he certainly wouldn't buy stone materials.
Just as she was about to answer, Ren Lang said, "Don't ask Tao Tao anymore; she's just a theorist and not to be trusted."
[Current gratitude level: 16%]
Ren Lang subconsciously thought that his luck had risen to 20% and was about to exchange his luck with Gu Fanghao when he suddenly woke up.
What did he just hear?
How could it be 16%?!
It used to be 18%!
Gu Fanghao said in a low voice, "Brother Ren, Tao Tao is very capable, she's not just all talk."
She believed Tao Tao's experienced advice without question and was not happy that Ren Lang said Tao Tao was all talk and no action.
Ren Lang stared intently at the 16% mark on the panel.
After a long pause, he suppressed his anger and apologized as calmly as possible, saying, "I was too arbitrary in my words. Tao Tao's experience from childhood to adulthood is definitely far greater than mine."
Ren Langzhen is a truly respectable person.
If only he and Xiao Gu had come and seen what Ye Hantao looked like as a complete newcomer.
Customers came and went in the store, leaving only Ye Hantao and Cheng Zhao.
Ye Hantao picked out stones from a pile that resembled the surface of the stones in her grandmother's yard.
When she was choosing a jade rabbit, she thought that the less it resembled the ornaments in her home, the more realistic it would be. However, the one that looked most like a rabbit turned out to be a real jadeite.
Thinking of her older brother and great-aunt's concealment, and the wooden bracelet they brought again, Ye Hantao decided to choose whichever stone resembled the image this time.
It really does look like it—
The stone with the fixed price of 600,000 yuan is still the most similar.
There was a pile of stones in the corner of my grandmother's house, right on top of it. She and her family would hide behind it when they played hide-and-seek.
Once everyone has lost sight of her, she will crawl out from behind the pile of stones to scare people.
Grandpa laughed heartily, "Our Tao Tao is a descendant of Sun Wukong!"
Cheng Zhao noticed that when Ye Hantao was selecting stones, she would glance at the stone with a fixed price of 600,000 every few seconds, clearly still out of curiosity.
He turned his head towards the door and met Guan Sen's gaze in the crowd.
Guan Sen, the senior assistant, instantly understood what his boss was thinking.
He pushed past the crowd and the cameramen of the TV show, handed the shop owner his bank card, and said, "I'll take this 600,000 yuan stone."
Shopkeeper: "?!"
Where did this spoiled brat come from, buying it without even looking at it!
Cheng Zhao coughed lightly twice.
Under the shop owner's gaze, who still wanted to confirm, Guan Sen continued, "Pack these two pieces, the 320w and 160w ones, together too."
Shopkeeper: "!!"
Ye Hantao looked over in surprise.
In her line of sight, she could only see Guan Sen's back and the busy shop owner, and she also learned about the entire process of purchasing stone.
Ye Hantao thought it was pretty good too.
If she leaves it in the shop and no one buys it, she'll have to sit up in the middle of the night to think about the stone.
It's one thing if she can't come up with 600,000 in her account, but the real issue is that she actually can :)
This is 600,000, not 60 yuan. Ye Hantao has no intention of taking the risk of gambling on stones.
After Guan Sen left, Cheng Zhao suddenly said, "I'll give you a gift when we get back to Yuncheng. Thank you for the cake."
【A cake? What kind of cake?!】
[If you don't know anything about cakes, ask Flash, haha.]
[I asked about the cake box and Cheng Zhao showed off his skills.]
Ye Hantao didn't think much of it and happily said, "I also brought you a gift. I'm at the guesthouse, I'll give it to you when I get back tonight."
I originally planned to give it to Cheng Zhao when I was packing my suitcase on the first day, but then I ran into Ren Lang, which was an unexpected surprise.
Her entire attention was diverted to Ren Lang's system.
Cheng Zhao was surprised that he received a gift. He hesitated for a moment, but couldn't help asking, "Did you bring gifts for other people too?"
Come on, let me tell you: Is it only me who received a gift, or did everyone else receive one?
[Hahahaha, are you kidding me!]
"No, it's just the two of us."
Okay. ^_^
The shop owner had just received several million yuan in revenue and now had the leisure to chat with customers.
"Young lady, I noticed you didn't use a flashlight," he said earnestly. "You should still use it."
Ye Hantao smiled and said, "Thank you, Uncle. I'll pick a few first, and then take the photos."
Before leaving, the shop owner glanced at the stone that Ye Hantao had chosen.
He remembered that stone; beneath the surface was a layer of mist that couldn't be penetrated by strong light, making it seem unlikely to produce green.
Half an hour later, a large crowd of onlookers gathered at the meeting point for the production crew.
The tools for cutting the stone were already in place, and a skilled worker was also on hand next to the oil-cutting machine for cutting the stone.
The program also invited two highly authoritative figures in this field.
The others saw the staff carrying two stones smaller than volleyballs and several fist-sized pieces of gravel over to Ye Hantao.
Jin Shiyue asked in surprise, "What are you going to do with all this gravel?"
Ren Lang thought to himself, what else could he do but pretend to know what he didn't? He could only cast a wide net and try to catch fish.
Even with crushed stone costing tens or hundreds of yuan per kilogram, you might not find a single piece of green jade among a hundred stones.
Ye Hantao walked briskly: "After Cheng Zhao and I bought two stones, we still had a few thousand left, so we picked out a few more and had the shopkeeper weigh them."
Su Yi'ang glanced at the stones that Ye Hantao and Cheng Zhao had bought at a fixed price.
One for twenty thousand, one for twenty-four thousand.
“Tao Tao, I’ve heard them say that the more expensive the stone, the higher the probability of it being green,” Su Yi’ang said regretfully. “You should have bought a more expensive one. Wu Xia and I had our eye on a stone that was initially priced at 60,000, but after a lot of haggling, we finally got it down to 49,998.”
Wu Xia used the remaining two coins to buy bottled water.
Ye Hantao shook her head, "The expensive ones don't look like it."
"Doesn't look like it? Doesn't look like what?"
"The stones in my grandma's yard."
Ye Hantao said in a serious tone, "My grandma's house has two huge piles of these stones."
Off-screen, Grandpa Tao slid off the recliner and onto the floor.
-----------------------
Author's Note: Peach Grandpa: Danger! Danger! Danger!