Chapter Eighty-Five: Unexpected Fortune

Mei Liansheng grew increasingly excited and nervous; he had never expected these foul stones to reveal such vibrant green hues. Judging by their current appearance, the likelihood of jade within them had risen to over seventy percent. With the stone-cutting blade fixed in place for the next cut, Master Mei’s hands trembled. Thankfully, the blade was stationary—had it been movable, it would have been troublesome, especially since he no longer cut stones daily as he used to; in Jin City, opportunities like these were rare.

Zhu Senlin was no longer deeply anxious. Once the green appeared, his worries dissipated, his trust in Zhang Can’s abilities reassuring him.

The first cut yielded no green, but Master Mei didn’t converse with Zhu Senlin as before. He carefully examined the stone, determined the next cut, extending forward just a fraction. Zhang Can offered no objection; this cut struck the jade core precisely, unlike the previous side which had only exposed green. Here, a third of the jade’s surface would soon be visible to the naked eye.

After making the next cut, Master Mei switched off the machine and wiped the surface with a cloth. Zhu Senlin, already at his side, watched intently. When Master Mei removed the cloth, both men exclaimed in astonishment.

This was a genuine cry of surprise.

On the cut surface, just as Zhang Can had foreseen, a palm-sized area of jade emerged. It was true jade, far superior to the previous green; its color was verdant and gentle, evenly distributed, and under the lamp light, it shimmered. If the entire piece were revealed, the light would seem to penetrate through. Zhu Senlin, though not versed in stone-cutting, understood jade well enough, and Master Mei, of course, even more so. Both stared at the exposed face, trembling.

If the green from the other side was valued at one million, then the jade revealed now was worth at least ten million.

With a single cut, the value increased over tenfold. Moreover, judging by the shape, Master Mei estimated that the exposed jade was only elliptical, suggesting that further cutting would reveal an even larger core. Its true worth could only be determined once fully cut.

This was truly an old mine glass-type jadeite; in color, transparency, moisture, and purity, it was a rare treasure.

Mei Liansheng could hardly believe his eyes. Zhu Senlin and Zhang Can had eagerly come to him to cut a few stones retrieved from a pigsty, which he hadn’t taken seriously; yet he had genuinely uncovered such extraordinary jade.

Jadeite comes in new and old types. New types are generally loose in texture, coarse and uneven in grain, contain more impurities and cracks, and are often used to make lower-grade products. Old types, also called old mine jade, are fine in structure, uniform in grain, with few or no impurities, no cracks, and are the hardest. The “ground” refers to the purity and harmony between the green and the moisture or color.

Thus, jadeite is described as either old mine or new type, with various grades of “ground.” The best is “glass ground,” followed by “ice ground,” “water ground,” “egg white ground,” “nasal mucus ground,” and so on; the worst are “gray water ground” and “dog dung ground.”

Master Mei understood the principle of “never judge color under artificial light,” which applies to finished jewelry and jadeite. With huge profits at stake, counterfeiting techniques have become extremely advanced, with even more fakes than antiques.

Anyone knowledgeable knows that gems should not be judged for color under artificial light, especially jadeite. Its hues—such as flashes of gray, blue, or oil-green—appear much better under lamps than in natural light. Experts only examine cracks, water content, and other features under artificial light, but to judge the purity of the green, natural light is best.

However, the situation now was different; this jade had just been cut from rough material, not finished, so counterfeiting could be ruled out.

“Old Zhu... you... you’ve struck it rich!” Mei Liansheng stood stunned for a moment before speaking to Zhu Senlin, his tone befuddled.

Zhu Senlin’s cheeks flushed, but he replied unabashedly, “I know, Old Mei. Cut the rest carefully. I’ll pay you ten times the usual fee, and later I’ll treat you to a feast anywhere you choose!”

At this point, Mei Liansheng’s mind was wholly absorbed in stone-cutting; Zhu Senlin’s generosity barely registered. Normally, he would be delighted, but his excitement now was overwhelming.

After another two hours, Mei Liansheng cut the remaining two sides. The rough outline of the jade emerged, its area more than twice that of the exposed surface.

Based on its size, Mei Liansheng calculated that it could yield at least three bracelets, more than a dozen Guanyin pendants, at least a dozen ring stones, and several pendants from the thinner parts. As finished products, their value would exceed fifty million; even as bare jade, the quality would fetch no less than twenty million.

After hours of tense, strenuous work, Master Mei was bursting for the restroom. Now that the task was essentially complete, all that remained was slow polishing with the grinding wheel—a meticulous process that could take a week or longer to finish a fine jade.

“I need to use the restroom; wait here!” Master Mei couldn’t hold it any longer and hurried out, as if afraid to miss a pivotal scene in a film.

As soon as Master Mei left, Zhang Can moved another fine piece onto the stone-cutting machine. Knowing exactly where the jade core was, he didn’t need to test with gradual cuts; he fixed the position, switched on the machine, and cut straight through. Zhu Senlin watched, delighted to see the edge of the jade core exposed with a single cut.

Without hesitation, Zhang Can made three more cuts, clean and precise, revealing all sides. In just four cuts, the stone had become a bowl-sized lump of jadeite, with only some stone still clinging to the edges. It was clear that this piece was comparable in size and quality to the one Master Mei had cut.

Zhu Senlin was dumbfounded. He had always known Zhang Can’s keen eye, but never imagined his stone-cutting skills would surpass even veteran masters. The proficiency was astounding.

Mei Liansheng rushed back down from the restroom, calling out as he came, “Old Zhu, don’t be too greedy. You’ve already struck it rich with this piece; the others might not—” His words broke off abruptly. He saw Zhang Can lifting another rough stone from the machine, its green hue delightful, another jadeite of equal quality to his own. The value of these two pieces alone approached fifty million, leaving Mei Liansheng frozen in shock.

How could this young man cut so quickly? It had taken him only three or four minutes in the restroom, yet Zhang Can had already cut the stone, and without damaging the core. Such skill required immense experience—and above all, time!

Zhang Can placed the newly cut jadeite on the side table and asked Mei Liansheng, “Master Mei, there are two more pieces. Shall we cut them now or leave them for later?”

“Cut, cut, cut them right away...” Mei Liansheng replied urgently; he had no desire for anything else but stone-cutting.

The remaining two were lesser ice-type jadeites, smaller in size, but still worth one or two million each, and their value would double once finished.

These were the only pieces among the seven or eight rough stones that contained jade; the rest were worthless, not even low-grade “dog dung ground.” Zhang Can had chosen only these—not because the others were of low value, but because they were worthless altogether.

While Mei Liansheng worked on the last two stones, Zhu Senlin was no longer nervous. Everything worth having had already appeared. Even if the last stones yielded nothing, it would not affect his mood. He was now considering whether to hire a master craftsman to turn them into jewelry or sell them as-is. Finished pieces would be worth tens of millions more, but would take much longer. Quick money meant showing them to jade merchants, who would pay handsomely for top-grade materials—since the finer the jade, the higher their profits.

Yet top-quality jadeite is as rare as legendary treasures like diamonds and luminous pearls. Even in Myanmar’s mines, decades of intense extraction had nearly depleted them; fine jade is a rarity. To cut a piece of premium ice jade is already considered extraordinary.

Currently, the best ice jadeite on the market fetches prices in the tens of millions.

Zhu Senlin bought a large bag of drinks and snacks from a shop in the neighborhood, and he and Zhang Can sat in the basement eating and drinking as they watched Master Mei cut stones.

Mei Liansheng spent another four or five hours to cut the last two stones. They turned out to be decent ice-type jadeites. When the final piece was cut, Mei Liansheng stared, dumbfounded, at the four pieces of jade before him and the pile of stone debris by the machine—unable to believe his eyes.

Even in his years as a stone-cutting master in Tengchong, he had never seen a gambler’s rough stones yield jade in every single piece, with each one winning!

As the saying goes, “nine out of ten lose,” but in truth, it is “ten out of ten lose.” To win ten times out of ten is mere fantasy.

Master Mei stared for a long time, then looked at Zhu Senlin and Zhang Can as if they were two monsters.

Zhu Senlin laughed heartily, stood up, and pulled out a thick wad of cash from his pocket, tossing it onto the jade table without even counting—it was at least five thousand.

“Thanks, Old Mei. We’re leaving!” With that, Zhu Senlin and Zhang Can each took two pieces, carefully carried the four jadeites, and after spending six or seven hours at Mei Liansheng’s, it was already nightfall.

As they drove out of Mei Liansheng’s neighborhood, Zhu Senlin asked Zhang Can, “Brother, how do you think we should handle these pieces? Sell them as-is, or hire craftsmen to carve them ourselves?”