"There's actually a way to play like this?"
"Whoa, looks like Harold Zhou is really going all in this time! These stones are all at least several dozen jin each, so just one round means the betting price for the stones alone is over a million! And that's not even counting the value of whatever comes out of the stones that the loser has to pay for!"
"This is gonna be a good show!"
Hearing Harold Zhou's words, quite a few people nearby looked fired up.
Rules like these for stone gambling? Never heard of it before.
"Are you serious right now?" Wade Wei froze for a moment. Even as a member of the Wei family, these stakes sounded way over the top to him.
At the same time, Wade Wei felt a bit tempted.
If he could take over the Zhou family's jade yard, then all the stone-gambling business in the Capitalview area would fall right into the Wei family's lap. They could run stone gambling on one side and buy up the jade at low prices on the other, closing the whole industry loop. It'd be nothing but good for the Wei family.
"Of course it's real. I, Harold Zhou, never joke around," Harold Zhou nodded.
"Alright! Let's play, then! Haha!" Wade Wei laughed heartily, glanced at Master Zane Zheng beside him, and said, "I'll be counting on you this time, Zane!"
"Mm!" Master Zane Zheng replied with an air of mystery, "I'll win this yard for you, Young Master Wei!"
He stood tall and spoke loudly, full of swagger.
"Wade's gonna make a killing this time." Irene Xu, standing to the side, looked just as excited.
"Not necessarily," Evan Lin said softly.
No one else noticed, but Evan Lin clearly saw Harold Zhou and Manager Victor Ren exchange a smile right after Wade Wei agreed to the new rules.
"Of course he's gonna win! You just didn't see it—Master Zane Zheng's stone-picking skills are legendary. He wins every time! Counting the last round, that's six straight wins for him!" Irene Xu rolled her eyes.
Evan Lin didn't say anything more.
On the other side, the stone selection began.
Master Zane Zheng only walked a few circles around the yard before pointing at a square-shaped stone, about half the size of a football.
Manager Victor Ren, after a moment of thought, picked out a stone of similar size from a messy pile nearby.
"Made your pick, Manager Ren? Want to swap for another one?" Master Zane Zheng glanced at the stone Victor Ren chose and gave a cold laugh.
"No need," Victor Ren shook his head.
"Haha, then let's cut the stones! Looks like today, I've really got to thank Brother Zhou for his generosity!" Wade Wei laughed heartily from the side.
His confidence in Master Zane Zheng was growing by the minute, and seeing the stone Victor Ren picked—which looked pretty unimpressive—only made him more certain he'd win.
Soon, someone ran over and took both stones to be weighed.
"Total weight: sixty jin!"
"Sixty jin, at twenty thousand per jin, that's 1.2 million. Multiply by ten, and it's twelve million. Young Master Wei, shall we begin?" Harold Zhou squinted at Wade Wei.
"Do it! Of course we're doing this—this is just the warm-up! Haha!" Wade Wei grinned from ear to ear. As soon as he spoke, Harold Zhou signaled to the cutters, and they got to work immediately.
The stone chosen by Master Zane Zheng was cut open first. Inside was gleaming jade, deep green and solid—a real beauty.
"Emerald jade, nice! Once it's processed, this piece alone should be worth at least two million."
Those who knew their stuff nodded in approval at the sight of the jade.
Then, Victor Ren's stone was cut open as well.
It was a round piece of jade. The jade inside had a faint dusk-yellow color, looking a bit mixed and rough at first glance. But any expert who took a closer look was instantly shocked.
"Dusk Jade!"
Someone shouted out in shock.
"Dusk Jade?" Wade Wei's face froze when he heard that, whipping his head around to look.
Master Zane Zheng, who'd been looking smug, suddenly turned pale. When he saw the jade, with its shifting colors, his heart skipped a beat.
"That's definitely Dusk Jade—the color shifts between green and yellow, but unlike ordinary mixed jade, that yellow is subtle and ethereal, appearing and disappearing. The quality is top-notch. This piece of Dusk Jade is worth at least five million!"
Everyone was full of admiration and surprise.
Wade Wei's face stiffened instantly.
"Master Zane, Young Master Wei, I believe this round goes to me," Victor Ren said with a smile.
"A bet's a bet!" Wade Wei took a deep breath and signaled to Lei Zi, who stepped forward and handed over a briefcase.
"There's fifteen million in here. The extra million rolls over to the next round. Let's keep going!"
Wade Wei frowned. The Chancellor Jade from earlier was worth ten million, so counting this round's loss, things were still about even overall.
But Wade Wei had no intention of walking away so easily, and Master Zane Zheng beside him looked just as grim.
"Then I'll accept it. Let's continue." Harold Zhou nodded coolly, his smile growing wider.
"We lost..." Irene Xu stared in disbelief, feeling a bit dazed.
She couldn't help but glance at Evan Lin, feeling puzzled, but figured he must've just made a lucky guess.
Soon, the second round began.
......
"How is this possible!"
Wade Wei's eyes widened, breathing quick and ragged. This was already the sixth round—he'd lost six straight! Even the Chancellor Jade he'd won at the start was gone, and now he owed a whopping sixty million!
"Tell me—are you working with them to set me up?" Wade Wei grabbed Master Zane Zheng by the collar, his face twisted with rage, like a wild beast.
"I... I swear I'm not, Young Master Wei! Really, I'm not!" Master Zane Zheng had lost all his swagger, face pale and legs shaking.
"Young Master Wei, that's going too far. You came to my place to play, and I welcomed you. When you won, I didn't say a word. Now you're losing, and you accuse me of setting you up? If word gets out, it'll be bad for both of us." Harold Zhou sneered. "Maybe you don't know, but back in the day, Manager Ren locked himself in the Nanyun quarry for ten years just to study stones!"
"Forget your Master Zane—there's probably not a single person in all of Nanyun who can match Manager Ren's stone-picking skills!"
Harold Zhou spoke with conviction. Manager Ren stood tall and proud, smiling, "You're too kind."
Wade Wei stood there, shaking with anger. Irene Xu snapped out of it and hurried over, grabbing his wrist. "Young Master Wei, luck's just not on your side today. Let's stop and go home."
"Luck's not on my side? Who the hell are you? Just a damn flight attendant, and you think you can tell me what to do? You really think you're something, huh?" Wade Wei suddenly flung his arm, catching Irene off guard and sending her stumbling backward.
Just as she was about to fall, Irene Xu suddenly felt a hand catch her from behind, steadying her.