After the stall owner and the middle-aged man went off to make their deal, Ian Song left Stall No. 99 and started wandering around the stone yard. Most of the people trailing him were more interested in whether the middle-aged man’s stone would “rise,” so they drifted away, losing interest in Ian.
As he strolled, Ian freely used his Clairvoyant Vision and actually spotted several rough stones of considerable value.
However, he didn’t make a move right away, just memorized them for later, planning to wait until the middle-aged man finished cutting his stone before buying.
After a while, Ian also arrived at the cutting area. The middle-aged man was sweating as he anxiously directed the stone-cutter, but even after half the stone was cut, there was still no sign of jade.
As time passed, the middle-aged man grew more and more agitated.
Finally, after twenty minutes, the entire rough stone had been sliced into small pieces, but not even a trace of jade was found.
Suddenly, spotting Ian nearby, the middle-aged man stormed over in a rage, jabbing a finger at Ian’s nose and demanding, “Was it you? Did you and that stall owner set me up?”
Ian felt zero sympathy for this kind of person and sneered, “You tried to snatch my pick, so why blame me? Did I force you to buy that rough stone? Actually, I should thank you—if you hadn’t bought it, I would’ve lost over a hundred thousand myself!”
“Damn it, I’ll kill you!” The middle-aged man was so furious he nearly spat blood. In a fit of rage, he swung a fist at Ian’s face, but Ian easily caught his hand and gave a casual shove, sending the man stumbling backward, tripping over a stone, and landing squarely on his butt.
Ian didn’t bother with him any further and simply walked out of the cutting area.
The people around looked at Ian with newfound respect, realizing he wasn’t someone you could easily take advantage of. That middle-aged guy was living proof—trying to snatch Ian’s deal had just cost him nearly two hundred thousand.
Ian returned to Stall No. 99. The stall owner was still enthusiastic, but his gaze had a subtle new edge to it—clearly, he’d heard the middle-aged man’s stone had collapsed.
“How much for this rough stone?” Ian casually pointed at one and asked, then paused and added, “You didn’t forget a digit this time, did you?”
The stall owner gave a couple of awkward laughs and quoted a price ten thousand lower than the tag.
“What about this one?”
Ian pointed at another rough stone and asked again.
The stall owner again quoted a relatively low price.
Ian kept asking for prices on several more stones but didn’t buy any, which started to irritate the stall owner. He finally snapped, “Are you just messing with me? I give you a discount and you don’t buy—what’s that supposed to mean?”
Ian’s expression suddenly turned cold. “Who said I’m not buying? I want this rough stone—let’s go make the deal!”
“Uh… Sorry, friend, I’ve got a bit of a temper, don’t take it personally. Let’s go do the transaction.” The stall owner quickly put on a smile and led the way.
After a round of bargaining, Ian finally bought the rough stone he wanted for eighty thousand yuan. Then he made a quick circuit of the yard, spending over half a million altogether to buy four more rough stones.
He had the stall owners from several booths move all five rough stones together to the cutting area.
After renting a cutting machine, Ian began the stone-cutting himself.
His hands were fast and steady—he worked several times quicker than even experienced stone-cutters. In just over ten minutes, he’d opened one rough stone and revealed a piece of high-grade jade worth thirty million.
News that someone had cut out high-grade jade spread like wildfire across the yard. Many people rushed over, and when they saw it was Ian again, their expressions turned oddly complicated.
“Friend, how about selling me this jade for thirty-one million?” The jewelry merchant who’d bought Ian’s other three pieces showed up again and offered a fair price.
“I’ll pay forty million.” Just then, a booming voice rang out. The crowd parted, and a stout, broad-faced middle-aged man with a thumb-sized black mole on his forehead arrived, surrounded by attendants.
The atmosphere in the yard instantly grew tense—clearly, this newcomer was no ordinary figure.
The jewelry merchant glanced at the stout man and immediately bowed out. “Since Mr. Jiang is making an offer, I’ll withdraw.”
“Boss Tai, let’s grab a drink sometime.” The stout man nodded, satisfied with the merchant’s tact.
Then his gaze landed on Ian. He smiled and said, “Friend, I’m Jiang Xianyong—the owner of this Jade Gambling Hall. So, what do you say, forty million for the jade?”
“Of course I’ll sell!” Ian replied with a smile.
“But I have a condition.” Jiang Xianyong’s eyes swept over Ian’s other four rough stones.
Ian’s face immediately darkened. “What condition, Mr. Jiang?”
Jiang continued, “I want you to sell me the other four rough stones as well. I’ll pay double what you paid. If you agree, you’ll be considered my friend from now on!”
“I appreciate your generosity, Mr. Jiang, but I’m not interested.” Ian said coolly. Even at ten times the price, he wouldn’t sell, since the jade inside those four stones was worth at least a hundred million.
“So you don’t want to give me face, huh?” Jiang’s expression turned icy, and his tone was unmistakably threatening.
“Friend, Mr. Jiang is a generous guy, worth getting to know. Why not accept his offer and make a good connection?” Boss Tai, the jewelry merchant, advised sincerely. But as he spoke, he winked at Ian, signaling that a wise man doesn’t suffer a loss in front of Jiang—better to agree and avoid trouble.
Ian just smiled at him, then looked at Jiang Xianyong. “We don’t even know each other—why should I give you face?”
As soon as Ian said this, Boss Tai’s face changed drastically and he instinctively stepped away. The people nearby also looked shocked, and several even showed gloating expressions.
Jiang Xianyong was no ordinary man. Thanks to this Jade Gambling Hall, he made a fortune every day, and rumor had it he had official connections and kept a crew of tough fighters—he was a big player in both legal and illegal circles. Most people tried not to cross him, but Ian had just openly refused to give him face. Typical ‘if you don’t seek death, you won’t die’ behavior!
“Good! Very good! This is the first time anyone’s dared not to give me face!” Jiang Xianyong ground out the words, his gaze turning even colder.
“Is that so? Guess I’m the trailblazer, then.” Ian replied with a faint smile.
“Let’s go!”
Jiang Xianyong snorted coldly and led his people away. He clearly wanted to teach Ian a lesson then and there, but since this was his own hall, making a scene would hurt his reputation, so he swallowed his anger for now.
But as soon as he left the cutting area, he ordered his men coldly, “Keep a close eye on that punk. The moment he steps out of the yard, grab him!”