Although Ian had promised Harold Han to help curb Victor Liu's arrogance, Victor's repeated scorn and contempt still left Ian feeling quite annoyed.
So, meeting Victor Liu's provocative gaze, Ian said, "I'm not interested in small bets. How about this: we each pick three rough stones to cut. Whoever's jade is worth more wins. The loser hands over all their jade to the winner, and also pays fifty million!"
"Uh...?" Victor hesitated when he heard about the extra fifty million side bet. He was still learning under Harold Han and hadn't fully graduated, but even so, he'd made over sixty million from stone gambling.
But now Ian was asking for a fifty million wager, which was most of Victor's fortune. He was confident in himself, but there was still some risk.
"What's the matter, afraid to gamble?" Ian said playfully, looking at Victor.
"Hmph! You rich kids only know how to throw money around. What else can you do?" Victor snapped, a bit embarrassed and angry.
"Ha! Young Master Ian's got money, Young Master Ian does what he wants. If you're scared, just admit it—no need for excuses!" Ian kept provoking Victor.
Victor finally couldn't take it anymore and agreed, "Fine, let's gamble!"
"I'll be the witness!" Harold Han said with a smile.
"Haha, then I'll trouble Master Han!" Ian called out cheerfully. Suddenly, he turned to Sabrina Han and said, "Miss Han, would you like to join in?"
Harold Han rolled his eyes inwardly. This Ian was clearly planning to dig a pit for his granddaughter too—truly a sly one. But he couldn't say it outright, so he just signaled Sabrina Han with a glance.
Unfortunately, Sabrina misread his look, thinking her grandfather wanted her to join in. She smiled and asked, "Young Master Ian, how do you want me to participate?"
Ian held up two fingers: "Two choices. First, you can invest twenty-five million with me, and if I win, I'll split twenty-five million with you. Second, you can bet on your senior brother—if he wins, whatever you wager, I'll match it!"
"Young Master Ian, are you really that confident?" Sabrina Han asked with a smile.
"Absolutely!" Ian replied confidently, which earned a cold snort from Victor.
"But I side with reason, not family," Sabrina said. "I bet my senior brother will win—five hundred million. Ian, do you dare take the bet?"
Hearing Sabrina's five hundred million bet, Ian pretended to struggle. "This really puts me in a tough spot!"
Seeing Ian hesitate, Victor couldn't help but jump in to mock him. "Isn't Young Master Ian supposed to be loaded? Just five hundred million and you're backing down?"
Ian smiled calmly. "I am loaded, and five hundred million doesn't bother me. I'm just worried Miss Han will feel bad if she loses it."
"Save your boasting. You can show off after you win!" Victor sneered.
"Since that's the case, I'll take the five hundred million!" Ian said with a wave.
Harold Han, standing to the side, secretly blamed Sabrina for her recklessness. Even though Zhouman Jewelers had over 600 billion in assets, five hundred million was still a huge sum.
But he couldn't say much, since it was Sabrina's own decision.
The wager was set.
Ian and Victor Liu both went off to choose their rough stones.
"Grandpa, why do you look so worried?" Sabrina Han noticed Harold Han's expression and asked with concern.
"I'm just feeling bad about that five hundred million!" Harold Han sighed.
"Grandpa, do you really have so little confidence in my senior brother? He may not be as skilled as you, but surely he's inherited seventy or eighty percent of your abilities! Beating Ian should be easy!" Sabrina protested, feeling her grandfather was worrying too much.
"So what? Even if he inherited everything from me, he still wouldn't be a match for Ian!" Harold Han replied, exasperated.
"No way, is Ian really that amazing?" Sabrina asked in surprise.
"More than amazing. I've gambled on stones my whole life, and the only time I ever lost was to him. You tell me if that's amazing!" Harold Han said heavily.
"What? Ian is the mysterious person who beat you?" Sabrina was stunned.
"Would Grandpa ever lie to you?"
"If you knew how amazing he was, why did you let my senior brother bet against him?" Sabrina asked, confused after her initial shock.
"I wanted to use Ian to curb your senior brother's arrogance, but I didn't expect Ian to be so sly—he dug a pit for you too. When I winked at you, I meant for you to stay out of it." Harold Han explained.
After hearing her grandfather's explanation, Sabrina felt both frustrated and a bit lucky. "What if my senior brother wins?" she asked hopefully.
"That's impossible!" Harold Han said without hesitation.
"Nothing in life is absolute. Maybe Ian just got lucky last time!" Sabrina protested.
"Girl, just watch and see!" Harold Han said, not wanting to argue further.
Soon, Ian and Victor Liu each picked out three rough stones, paid, and told the staff to move them to the cutting area.
It was already midday, so there weren't many people cutting stones; lots of cutting machines were free.
Harold Han and his granddaughter also moved to the stone-solving area.
As for Xiang Shan, he didn't seem curious at all and continued drinking tea in the lounge area.
"Let's start cutting!" Victor Liu said provocatively to Ian.
"You go first." Ian replied with a casual smile.
"Alright!"
Victor Liu had been studying under Harold Han for seven or eight years, so he was quite skilled at stone gambling. He quickly marked the cutting lines on his three selected rough stones and declined the help of the cutting master, choosing to do it himself.
Sss sss sss! (Sound of cutting)
Stone powder and sparks flew everywhere.
Crack!
A thin piece of the rough stone fell away, revealing a patch of green.
After rinsing it with clean water, the color and texture revealed it was a 'golden silk type.'
It was a great start, and since golden silk type is a mid-grade jadeite, Victor Liu grew more confident.
He quickly finished cutting out the whole piece. After Harold Han appraised it, they determined that, based on the local market, it was worth six million.
Victor Liu had only paid three hundred thousand for the rough stone, making a profit of 5.7 million.
Twenty minutes later, Victor Liu cut open his second rough stone. This time, he found jadeite again, but it was the lowest grade, horse tooth type, worth only sixty thousand.
Still, Victor Liu didn't lose money, since he had only paid thirty thousand for the rough stone.
He continued with the third rough stone.
Victor Liu had high hopes for this one. It was an old pit rough stone, purchased for 1.2 million, and already showed a hint of green.
He was very cautious, choosing to grind it instead of cutting directly.
With the harsh grinding sounds, time slowly passed.
Victor Liu had already ground five or six spots. If he didn't find jadeite after one more, the chances of failure would be high.
Finally, when he ground the sixth spot, a patch of pure green appeared.
Victor Liu was instantly energized and quickly enlarged the spot. More and more green appeared, and soon he had ground out a three-centimeter oval patch. After cleaning, the whole patch was filled with a noble green.
"It's Imperial Green!"
Harold Han was shocked, and Sabrina Han beside him broke into a delighted smile. If her senior brother really found Imperial Green, their chances of winning the bet were at least eighty percent.