Although Lin Fan already knew the value of the raw stone, the excitement of the crowd was infectious.
Unsurprisingly, he felt a surge of excitement himself.
"This piece of raw jade—our Tian Hang Jewelry is offering one million yuan for it."
"One million? Has your jewelry store never seen jadeite before? Just the words Imperial Green are worth at least two million!"
"Exactly! That price is an insult!"
Seeing that the crowd was well-informed, the person offering the low price felt embarrassed and quickly backed off.
Just then, a middle-aged man stepped forward.
"Brother, I'm willing to pay ten million yuan personally. I sincerely want this stone—what do you say?"
Lin Fan glanced at him and nodded, but had no intention of selling.
"Big brother, I can tell you really want it, but I'd like to make one more cut first. Sorry."
"You've got guts," the man said. "But if that next cut reveals nothing, the stone will lose all its value."
At that moment, a young man arrived with three middle-aged men in tow.
"Who owns this raw stone? Our Long Yue Jewelry wants it. Name your price."
Lin Fan looked up and immediately recognized the young man—just another arrogant rich kid. His face darkened slightly.
"Not for sale~"
"Who do you think you are? Is this stone even yours?"
"What if it isn't? I'm handling it for someone."
"You don't look like someone who can afford it. If it's not yours, then shut your mouth."
Before Lin Fan could respond, the woman beside him stepped forward.
"This raw stone is mine. Or is your Long Yue Jewelry store trying to pick a fight with Zhou Fu Jewelry?"
As soon as they heard "Zhou Fu Jewelry," the men from Long Yue immediately backed down.
Zhou Fu Jewelry was the number one jewelry brand in the country—no one dared provoke them.
The woman turned to Lin Fan, speaking seriously:
"Are you sure you still want to cut it? That man was right. One more cut could destroy its value."
"You already agreed to let me handle the cutting. You're not supposed to interfere now."
She didn't argue further.
Even if the next cut devalued the stone, it was still worth several million—she wouldn't be at a loss. She was curious to see what Lin Fan would do.
"Cut."
Master Li now trusted Lin Fan completely. Without hesitation, he began slicing the stone again.
Layer by layer, bit by bit, he peeled away the stone's skin. The crowd held their breath with every move.
Master Li wiped sweat from his forehead, took a sip of water, and slowly rinsed the exposed section.
"It's out! The same rich green color—unbelievable!"
"This stone just doubled in value!"
"A top-grade Imperial Green jadeite… Why couldn't I have bought that stone?"
"Now that both Zhou Fu and Long Yue Jewelry are here, the rest of us don't stand a chance."
Lin Fan walked up to the woman and said,
"At this point, the base price is at least 20 million yuan. That's good enough."
"So, are you ready to make the payment?"
"At Zhou Fu Jewelry, we always honor our word. Open your phone."
Lin Fan received 10 million yuan plus an extra 10,000 via WeChat and smiled with satisfaction.
"Since you seem like good people, here's a friendly tip: don't make a fourth cut."
"Sell the stone as-is. Ideally, to that idiot over there."
He cast a glance at the arrogant young man from earlier.
The woman laughed.
"Want a little revenge? That's easy. I'll take care of it."
"Let me reintroduce myself. I'm Zhou Momo, from Zhou Fu Jewelry."
Lin Fan ignored the earlier group of troublemakers—they weren't worth his time.
"I'm Lin Fan, just an ordinary traveler here on vacation."
Ordinary traveler? Zhou Momo didn't buy it.
She was no stranger to this raw stone market. She had even seen Lin Fan chatting casually with a tour guide earlier—people who usually had under-the-table deals with sellers.
That Lin Fan could walk through this place so confidently meant he wasn't ordinary.
The two exchanged WeChat contact info. Naturally, Lin Fan didn't refuse—Zhou Momo was at least a 9 in looks, and getting to know someone starts with a simple chat.
Afterward, Lin Fan transferred 10,000 yuan to Master Li and left the market with flair.
His calm and generous exit made Zhou Momo even more intrigued.
Still hesitating, she glanced at the jade, but Master Li gave her some advice.
"That young man clearly has a sharp eye. If he said not to cut further, there must be a reason."
"But whether you cut or not is your decision. If you want, I'll do it."
After hearing that, she gave up on cutting it further and decided to take the stone to the high-end market to sell.
But before that, Zhou Momo made a phone call.
"Dad~ The jade's been opened. It's definitely top-grade Imperial Green. Not fully revealed yet, but it's estimated at 20 million yuan."
Zhou Fusheng laughed joyfully on the other end.
"Very good! My daughter is truly capable."
"Once it's fully opened, bring it straight back to our store. It'll be worth several times more after processing."
"But Dad~ I didn't cut it myself. I met a young man named Lin Fan. I watched him reveal valuable stones several times, so I asked him to help me."
"When he left, he specifically told me not to keep cutting. He advised selling it directly."
Zhou Fusheng was instantly interested.
"Really? I want to see if he has real talent or just luck."
"Daughter, go ahead and cut it. The money doesn't matter to us. If this guy really has skill, he's someone worth knowing."
After hanging up, Zhou Momo still decided to trust Lin Fan and not cut the stone again.
She brought the jade to the high-end trading center, where it was submitted to an auction with a reserve price of 15 million yuan.
In the end, it was sold for 26 million yuan—coincidentally to none other than Long Yue Jewelry.
They immediately had a master cut the stone on-site.
Once the cut was made, the entire room burst into laughter.
"Long Yue Jewelry is really down on their luck. They just spent 26 million, and now the stone's only worth 5 million after one cut!"
"One cut to riches, one cut to ruin—it's real, alright. Thankfully, they can afford it. If it were a private buyer, they'd be coughing up blood right now."
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