Chapter 6: Green with One Cut
Among the many treasures Mu Lantu had collected, there were quite a few raw jade stones—some were gifts, others he had bought at great expense. He had three pieces of raw jade prepared in his storage space. As long as he could find three stones in the shop that looked roughly similar to them in appearance, he could make a swap. These three might not necessarily reveal green jade inside, but because he had chosen them carefully, the odds of getting valuable jade were definitely higher than the shop’s selection. Even if just one revealed green jade, it would be a win for Mu Lantu.
Mu Lantu was good-looking, which initially drew attention from people in the store who watched him for a while. But they quickly realized he didn’t even behave like a novice and lost interest. Not even carrying a flashlight?
This was all within Mu Lantu’s expectations. He spoke internally:
[Xiao Wu, help me confirm that no one is watching me and that this area isn’t covered by surveillance cameras.]
[Leave it to me, Host.]
Raw jade materials come in different price ranges—some as cheap as a few hundred to a few thousand yuan, while others could cost millions.
Mu Lantu only had a little over 6,000 yuan, so he could only choose from the cheap pile.
Pushing a cart, he picked through the materials endlessly. Once the cart was full, he swapped some out repeatedly… doing this several times, Mu Lantu inconspicuously replaced the raw jade stones. By the end, his cart contained five stones—three from his storage space and two from the store.
Altogether the five pieces cost 6,200 yuan, leaving Mu Lantu with only a few hundred left.
This shop was clearly doing great business. Two craftsmen were busy cutting stones, and a crowd had gathered to watch. The atmosphere was tense and no one spoke.
Mu Lantu joined the crowd.
A middle-aged man standing next to him gave him a once-over and struck up a conversation:
“You look pretty young, little brother. Still a student? What are you doing here gambling on jade?”
The timing of the question was perfect.
Mu Lantu gave a shy smile. “I just officially graduated yesterday, and I’m leaving the capital tomorrow. I thought I’d come for the thrill—consider it a graduation gift to myself. Whether I win or lose, this is just a one-time thing.”
Many people nearby overheard and nodded in understanding.
The middle-aged man’s expression softened. He had built his life from scratch, never had the chance to go to university, and had suffered a lot. He couldn’t stand students who wasted their parents’ money. But if it was a one-time graduation treat, that was easier to accept.
He glanced at the stones in Mu Lantu’s cart and seemed about to say something but stopped. In his opinion, the stones didn’t look promising—probably picked from the cheapest pile. Cheap stones weren’t guaranteed to be worthless, but the odds of winning were extremely low. Shops usually had experts check those and only sold them cheap because they were sure they wouldn’t yield valuable jade.
He didn’t want to crush the kid’s enthusiasm, but the chubby boss standing on Mu Lantu’s right didn’t hold back. Shaking his head, he said:
“Young man, you probably just wasted your money today. ‘You get what you pay for’—there’s some truth to that.”
Mu Lantu remained noncommittal. “Really?”
The chubby boss just shook his head and stopped talking, turning back to watch the craftsman cut a stone. The cutting was nearly finished, and a sigh rippled through the crowd.
“Sigh—bust.”
“What a pity!”
The crowd dispersed, ready to pick out new stones. But when they saw Mu Lantu pushing his cart over, they gathered again. One look at the stones, and everyone instinctively shook their heads.
A few stayed behind; most left directly.
“This? Hah.” — That was the polite comment.
“Thousands of yuan down the drain.” — That was more blunt.
“Kids these days are just too impulsive! Think it’s so easy to get lucky? Might as well keep dreaming!” — That one had the “elderly know-it-all” vibe.
Mu Lantu pulled a mask from his pocket and put it on. He didn’t say anything, but somehow, that silence said everything.
The crowd’s expressions turned strange. A young girl struggled to hold back her laughter and quickly hid behind a friend.
The man who mocked Mu Lantu noticed this scene and immediately realized what had happened. His expression changed. Now he neither wanted to leave nor stay and stood there awkwardly.
005 gave a big thumbs-up in Mu Lantu’s mind:
“Awesome, Host!”
The craftsman chuckled to ease the mood. “As the saying goes, ‘Even gods can’t predict a piece of jade.’ Who knows, maybe this young man has good luck today. Young man, do you want to cut them all?”
Mu Lantu nodded. “Yes, all of them please.”
“No problem, no problem.”
Perhaps trying to lighten the still-awkward atmosphere, the craftsman took the initiative and picked one of the stones from the cart.
Mu Lantu’s eyes flickered. That one was from his storage space.
The experienced craftsman didn’t cut it right away. He first carefully examined the stone’s surface to find a suitable cut line, then placed it on the cutting machine, drew a guide line, and asked Mu Lantu, “Cut here—is that okay?”
“I don’t really know. You decide,” Mu Lantu replied.
The craftsman activated the machine and cut down decisively.
Mu Lantu heard someone nearby hold their breath and found it amusing. These stones weren’t even theirs, but they were more nervous than the actual owner. Maybe this was part of jade gambling’s charm.
Just as that thought crossed his mind, a loud voice rang out:
“Holy sh*t! Green showed up!”
