Chapter 84: Stone Cutting I
Hearing this, An Jiahuan stopped abruptly, her expression a mixture of confusion and disgust towards Gu Wanrong. She muttered, “Nonsense.”
Gu Wanrong, observing An Jiahuan’s solitary and diligent performance, narrowed her eyes slightly and said calmly, “That man is your person.”
It wasn’t a question, but a statement, a declaration of Gu Wanrong’s absolute certainty.
An Jiahuan turned and walked away quickly, her aversion to Gu Wanrong vividly displayed. Any momentary hesitation she might have shown upon hearing Gu Wanrong’s words seemed like an illusion to others.
The next afternoon, Gu Wanrong went to Tianguang Market in Pingshan, immersing herself in the local culture.
Pingshan was Rongcheng’s largest rough jade trading market. It not only sold jade raw stones from Nandian but also those imported by jade groups from Myanmar.
Fu Zhenzhuobao’s participation in Rongcheng’s jade public auction was precisely Pingshan’s auction.
Therefore, besides the Pingshan public auction, numerous jade shops throughout Tianguang Market also stocked a considerable number of raw stones for tourists to choose from.
Gu Wanrong, blending in like an ordinary tourist, wandered among them. She would observe tourists using their phones to search for methods to select jade, and at other times she would linger near the stone-cutting areas, curiously watching the process.
Each stone-cutting area was surrounded by varying numbers of people, some holding their breath in anticipation of a miracle, others whispering and discussing.
Gu Wanrong watched several tourists cut stones, all of which yielded nothing but plain white rock. This wasn’t unusual. The stones merchants sold to tourists for tens or hundreds of yuan had already been screened.
Failing to find anything was normal; cutting out any color was difficult, and finding a usable stone was even rarer.
“Green!”
A shout rang out.
The cry was like a stone thrown into a pond, instantly attracting everyone’s attention. The scattered crowd surged towards the source of the sound.
Gu Wanrong was no exception, even securing a good position with Tong Shenba’s help.
She saw that the cutter had already ground away a layer of the outer skin, revealing a rather rich emerald green. Gu Wanrong shook her head inwardly; this wasn’t going to work.
However, the gathered onlookers congratulated the man who had bought the stone, saying he would definitely profit from this gamble. After all, most were amateurs, seeing only the green.
The cutter, with years of experience, shared Gu Wanrong’s assessment, knowing the stone only had a thin layer of green. He didn’t show this on his face, however.
He calmly asked the man, “How do you want to cut it?”
The man gestured at various cutting methods, while the onlookers offered suggestions.
Finally, the man pointed to the middle of the stone, instructing the cutter to cut it directly down the center.
The cutter followed instructions, splitting the stone in two. Neither half showed any sign of green; the inside was just like any ordinary stone.
The stone only had a thin layer of green, useless for anything beyond a souvenir.
“Sigh—”
Not only did the man slump in disappointment, but the onlookers, once full of anticipation, also shook their heads and sighed, feeling sorry for him.
They murmured, “Looks like we won’t be sharing in the good fortune this time.”
The crowd gradually dispersed, and Gu Wanrong followed suit, leaving the area.
Since deciding to come to Rongcheng, Gu Wanrong had purchased a jade raw stone identification skill set from the system mall, ranging from beginner to advanced levels.
Due to the limited energy for daily learning in the learning space, she had only mastered all the knowledge by yesterday, two days later.
However, judging whether a raw stone contained jade, and the jade’s quality, relied not just on theoretical knowledge but also on years of practical experience.
Gu Wanrong had zero experience in stone cutting. Today’s trip to Pingshan was to gain experience and practice selecting stones.
After browsing for a long time, Gu Wanrong decided to try her hand at selection.
She entered a random shop, where piles of raw stones were grouped by price.
The stones varied in shape and size, some priced by weight, others by dimensions. Each stone was inexpensive.
Several stones with windows were displayed separately, with vastly different prices. The shop owner likely didn’t expect anyone to buy them; stones with windows were too expensive for amateurs and obviously unsuitable for professionals.
The pile of 30-yuan stones attracted the most tourists—the lowest price. Most people were willing to spend a few tens of yuan for a unique experience during their travels.
More importantly, they secretly harbored a hope: What if they were the lucky one who unearthed valuable jade?
Gu Wanrong didn’t expect to find anything valuable in the double-digit priced stones. She scanned the pile and saw that there was indeed no high-quality material capable of producing jade.
As she was about to move to another pile, a tourist accidentally knocked over several stones, which landed at her feet.
Gu Wanrong bent down to pick them up and return them. However, she discreetly kept one in her hand, then selected a few more from nearby piles.
She took out the flashlight she had just bought and, like other tourists, carefully examined the stones, putting some back. She kept the 30-yuan stone.
The shop owner glanced at Gu Wanrong, thinking, What a beautiful girl.
He only gave the stones a cursory glance before asking, “Have you made your choice?”
“This one. I like it,” Gu Wanrong nodded.
“Picking stones is all about liking them,” the owner agreed, pointing toward a nearby cutting area. “Go there to cut your stone.”
Gu Wanrong nodded, “Thank you, boss. I’ll go later.”
Instead of immediately going to the designated area, she visited several more shops, selecting stones.
One shop, named “Fine Raw Stones,” caught her eye. She selected many stones from this shop, all of which she felt contained jade.
In the end, aside from the first 30-yuan stone about the size of an adult male’s palm, all her other stones came from “Fine Raw Stones.”
Along the way, Gu Wanrong’s exquisite face, refined demeanor, and the ever-present Tong Shenba attracted the most attention. No one paid much attention to the stones she selected; her casual selection and use of a flashlight were common sights in Tianguang Market. Eight out of ten people did the same.
With her two stones, Gu Wanrong walked towards the cutting area.
Passing the first shop, the owner recognized her.
Seeing her, he greeted her enthusiastically, “Finished browsing? So many stones, are you going to cut them all?”
“Yes,” Gu Wanrong smiled sweetly. “I thought I’d buy more, hoping to find more jade.”
The owner smiled, thinking, There’s no such thing as the more you buy, the more you find!
But he said, “Good luck then! Which one are you cutting first?”
Gu Wanrong turned to Tong Shenba, who understood and handed her the adult male palm-sized stone.
“The one I bought from your shop,” Gu Wanrong said, showing the stone to the owner.
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