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This is what it means to cast a long line to catch a big fish.
Truthfully, Lin Fan hadn't expected to get two raw stones for just 5,000 yuan.
He was only putting on a show, casually bargaining for fun.
Once the deal was made, the vendor handed over the stones to Lin Fan.
Following the tour guide, Lin Fan returned to Master Li—the same stone cutter he'd visited earlier.
As soon as Master Li saw Lin Fan, he frowned.
"You're back again? You lost money on your last stone. Still not giving up?"
Master Li looked to be in his early 40s, with a sharp and fierce demeanor. But Lin Fan understood what he was implying.
Having worked in the raw stone market for over a decade, Master Li had seen it all.
Clearly, he realized Lin Fan had been duped before, and this was his subtle way of offering a warning.
Whether Lin Fan took the hint or not, he didn't really care.
But the tour guide picked up on it and immediately got angry.
"Master Li, stop trying to scare my customer! You know the rules of the jade market, don't you?"
"If you scare my client again, I'll report you to the manager. You won't be able to work here anymore!"
Master Li flew into a rage. He grabbed the stone-cutting knife in his hand and pointed it at the tour guide.
"Pah! When did I scare your customer? Don't spout nonsense! Believe it or not—I'll kill you right here!"
Terrified, the tour guide turned pale and quickly shut up.
Lin Fan didn't want to make a scene. He smiled and approached Master Li.
"Master Li, these two raw stones weren't expensive. I bought them just to try my luck. Could you help me cut them?"
Lin Fan's tone was calm and polite. Master Li gave him a glance, then took the stones with a deep nod.
"Which one should I cut first—the big or the small one?"
Before Lin Fan could reply, the tour guide quickly jumped in.
"Cut the small one first!"
Clearly, the tour guide knew something about the two stones.
He wanted to cut the cheaper one first to boost Lin Fan's confidence—make him believe jade gambling was really profitable.
Master Li glared at the tour guide, then turned to Lin Fan.
"Alright, we'll cut the small one first."
Master Li's cutting skills were top-notch.
Within 10 minutes, he had skillfully cut open the smaller stone.
As the skin peeled away, a duck-egg-sized piece of jadeite was revealed.
There were many jade merchants present, but most just watched out of curiosity—very few intended to buy.
Tourists, however, were a different story. They tended to buy based on appearance and personal taste.
At that moment, a tourist stepped forward and made an offer.
"Although the color isn't the purest, this jadeite looks pretty nice. I'll take it for 11,000 yuan!"
The offer was fair—even slightly higher than the value estimated by Lin Fan's system.
So Lin Fan readily agreed.
The tour guide chimed in excitedly:
"Young man, congratulations! I told you—you're lucky today! See? You've made 6,000 yuan!"
Lin Fan gave him a cool glance and smiled faintly.
"All thanks to your excellent recommendation, Tour Guide. Otherwise, how could I be this lucky?"
Heh… wait until he sees what's inside the black stone—how will he feel then?
After some polite small talk, Lin Fan turned to Master Li.
"Please help me cut this black raw stone too."
Master Li nodded and began examining it.
He first cut a small section—this technique was known as "opening a window" in the jade world.
If green jade didn't show up in the first cut, it usually meant the stone was worthless.
Though there were rare exceptions, the odds were extremely low—if it were easy, everyone would be gambling to get rich.
Master Li's first cut revealed nothing green. He shook his head and looked at Lin Fan.
"Want me to keep going?"
Before Lin Fan could answer, the tour guide cut in again:
"Master Li, don't waste the customer's time. If there's nothing, move on!"
The meaning was obvious: Hurry up and give up. Don't delay me from scamming this naive guy.
But Lin Fan remained calm.
The system had valued this stone at 100,000 yuan. There had to be something inside.
He nodded to Master Li, signaling him to continue.
This next cut took some effort.
Master Li's usually calm face suddenly tightened.
The tour guide, standing closest, noticed the change immediately.
Could it be... green jade?
Just as Master Li was preparing for the next slice, the tour guide spoke again, his tone darker this time:
"Master Li, if there's nothing inside, just stop. No need to waste time."
But this time, the meaning was very different:
I know there's something inside. Don't you dare cut any further, or you'll be asking for trouble.
Master Li didn't argue.
He could feel it—this cut was going to be big.
He sliced carefully, and the moment the stone skin fell away, a brilliant green emerged!
The onlookers gasped in awe.
"Could this be… top-grade imperial green!?"
Even Master Li was visibly excited.
It had been a long time since he'd cut open jade of this quality.
He glanced at Lin Fan, who gave him a nod to keep going.
The black stone, originally about the size of two hands, was now just a fist-sized core.
As more of the outer layer was peeled away, the crowd's anticipation grew.
The tour guide's expression turned uglier by the second.
Finally, the cutting was complete.
The tour guide stood frozen, eyes locked on the jade, utterly stunned.
One by one, jade merchants surrounded them, inspecting the now fully revealed piece.
Under the sunlight, the jadeite gleamed brilliantly.
Even those unfamiliar with jade could tell—it was something extraordinary.
"This piece looks familiar... Wait! I remember! Years ago at an auction, there was a piece just like it. It was smaller, but the quality was the same."
"Yeah, I remember too! They called it Amber Jadeite—it sold for 20,000 yuan back then."
"I want it. I'll offer 50,000 yuan!"
"50,000? Too low! I'll go as high as 80,000!"
...
Hearing all the offers flying around, the tour guide was filled with endless regret.
Amber Jadeite? And of such high quality?
Damn it… I practically gave it away for free!
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