Chapter 7: Worth Tens of Millions
Who could’ve seen this coming?
The entire audience was stunned!
They had overheard the earlier conversation between the young man and the middle-aged man in the leather jacket. By all appearances, this kid was just a clueless rookie. Yet somehow, on his very first cut, the raw jade stone revealed green—something even seasoned jade gamblers rarely achieve. How could they not be shocked? Was this truly beginner’s luck? But they had all been beginners once, and none had ever had this kind of fortune.
The onlookers moved in closer, and even other customers picking out raw stones stopped what they were doing and gathered around, eyes fixed on the scene.
Someone couldn’t hold back and called out, “Little brother, selling? I’ll offer twenty thousand!”
His words sparked a flurry of bids.
“I’ll pay twenty-one thousand!”
“Twenty-three thousand!”
“Listen, kid,” one said candidly, “yeah, it’s green, but it’s just a single line. Who knows what’s really inside? Better to cash out while you’re ahead. I’ll offer twenty-four thousand—what do you say?”
Mu Lantu could easily guess what they were thinking: this young man had picked five raw stones from the cheapest pile, none priced over two or three thousand. Offer him five or six times that amount, and surely he’d bite.
And honestly, that wasn’t a bad calculation. The last one to speak—Uncle Leather Jacket—might even have meant well. But Mu Lantu wasn’t just any young man.
“Not selling. Keep cutting.”
The crowd shook their heads. Ah, typical youth—too greedy.
The uncle in the leather jacket left with a grim expression. No one paid him much attention.
The stone-cutting master’s attitude had changed noticeably—more serious now. If this really turned out to be a major win, the shop’s reputation would skyrocket, and so would his own status.
For the second cut, the master switched sides and sliced about three centimeters from the previous cut. With his experience, following the green vein’s trajectory, if there was jade inside, this cut would confirm it.
The machine started again.
“Holy sh*t!”
This cut was something else. Aside from a roughly two-centimeter layer of white rock around the edges, the rest was all imperial green jade—flawless, vivid, and with excellent translucency. Absolutely top-tier!
The crowd flushed with excitement, and bidding erupted again, fiercer than before.
“Little brother, I’ll offer 200,000!”
“I’ll pay 250,000!”
“260,000!”
Several customers immediately dashed to the cheap raw stone pile to try their own luck.
The boss and staff were beaming. The boss had already rolled out fireworks and firecrackers in advance. One of the assistants clutched a lighter in his pocket, ready to ignite.
Third cut. Fourth cut… Finally, what appeared was a slender gourd-shaped piece of jade—its value had skyrocketed!
Crackle! Bang!
The fireworks and firecrackers went off all at once, deafening the ears!
A massive crowd came running, packing into the shop like a bustling morning market.
After a round of bidding, a wealthy jewelry dealer bought the jade for 22 million yuan, transferring the funds on the spot.
In recent years, top-quality jade had become increasingly rare. If this piece had been larger, a price over a hundred million wouldn’t have been surprising.
“Want to cut the rest?” the master asked.
Mu Lantu answered without hesitation, “No.”
That earned him several approving glances.
A sharp-eyed woman looked casually at the remaining rough stones in his cart and said, as if just making conversation, “Little brother, I heard you’re leaving the Capital tomorrow. It’s not convenient to carry these around—willing to sell?”
“Not selling. Sorry.” Mu Lantu walked up to the boss. “Boss, could you please help me give this master a red envelope? I’ll transfer you the money.”
Everyone’s gaze on Mu Lantu changed once more.
The master grinned ear to ear, clearly thrilled. He wasn’t about to refuse a celebratory red envelope.
The boss cheerfully agreed, “Of course!”
Mu Lantu transferred 2,000 yuan. “One more favor—can you help me find a car?”
The boss understood. Someone with this kind of fortune was worth befriending.
“No problem. Give me a moment.”
“Little brother,” the jewelry dealer who’d bought the jade came over and handed him a business card. “Here’s my card. Feel free to contact me anytime.”
Mu Lantu glanced at it—just a name and phone number.
“So you’re Boss Xiao. Got it.”
Xiao Nanfeng gave a faint smile and left with his bodyguards.
Mu Lantu turned to the boss again. “Mind if I borrow this cart? I’ll have someone return it later.”
The boss, now grinning at his overcrowded shop, said, “It’s just a cart. It’s yours!”
“Thanks, boss.”
The car soon arrived. Mu Lantu returned directly to campus and gave the driver 500 yuan.
The driver understood the cart was included in the fare and didn’t argue.
Back in the dorm, no one was there. All three of his roommates’ beds were empty.
Aside from important documents, certificates, and his laptop, Mu Lantu didn’t plan to keep any of the original owner’s belongings. He packed everything else up and brought it downstairs to the recycling station. After handing over the dorm key and student ID to the dorm manager, Mu Lantu pushed the cart to a hotel.
It wasn’t that he wanted to parade around with a few jade stones, but in modern society, cameras were everywhere—not to mention nosy people who liked filming short videos. A single misstep could expose his personal space secret. You could never be too careful.
Leaving the stones in his hotel room, Mu Lantu headed to the mall for a shopping spree—clothes, shoes, socks, backpack, smartphone, laptop, iPad, and suitcases. He had to buy two suitcases: one for clothes and electronics, the other for the jade. He also bought gifts for his family.
The next morning, Mu Lantu boarded a flight home.
